Music to Your Ears

Music--great music--is part of our lives, but it can cost you...unless you can find a way to get it free and legal.

Enter the Fresno County Public Library and Freegal.

The library subscribes to databases and online services to make them freely available to the public. Freegal's catalogue of over 8,000,000 songs and 15,000 music videos is ready to be streamed or downloaded to a mobile device or a home computer.

The collection can be searched by song title, artist, album, or genre. Library card holders can download three songs for personal use a week and stream three hours of FREE listening pleasure per week. Everything from classic performers...

 

 to current hitmakers...

 

 to one-hit wonders...

 to unique kinds of music...

are all ready to be heard.

A month of downloads can give you all the songs on a great album that you can put on a CD or store on a device, or make up a set of your favorite tunes to set a mood while you work or study. The music is for non-commercial use only, to play for small groups of friends or listen on your own.

Freegal is one of the ways the FCPL tries to meet the needs of Fresno County and its people. Give it a listen.

Why Pop-Up Libraries Pop Up - Part One

Pop-Up Libraries

A pop-up library uses technology to provide library services in remote locations. It can be indoors or outdoors, be a card-table set-up or resemble a full-service library. A pop-up library can provide many services in many combinations, including:

·         Making library cards—The first step in library use is getting a library card. Library software and wi-fi access at an event means you don't have to go to a library building to get a library card.

·        Library checkout/checkin—The materials brought to an event fit the occasion: children’s books to a summer-reading kickoff, cookbooks and books on plants at a gardening center, and more. With a library card, you can check out and take home books, CDs, and DVDs.

·         Demonstration of library resources—with an Internet-connected laptop, tablet, or a smartphone, the library home page and online resources are a click away.

·         Explanation of library policies—Many people are surprised to learn that most items they check out do not have to be returned to the branch where they were borrowed, that our online databases are free, and you can get e-books for most devices...free. 

·         Placing holds—You want a book we didn't bring? Request items and pick them up at a local branch. It's easy to do with remote computer access.

·         Storytimes—Library staff love to read stories to groups of children. Our storytimes model early literacy techniques that families can use.

·         Crafts—Simple craft projects attract children and adults.

·         Flyers and brochures—They promote library events and services, providing a reminder of what the public has seen and heard.

       



Today's technology helps the library take its services into the community. The Pop-Up library uses technology and library know-how.

Stay tuned for more posts on Pop-Up Library services, why they are done, and how a Pop-Up Library is planned.

If you would like the WoW! WithOut Walls Library to Pop-Up at your event in Fresno County, fill out or request form-  WoW! Pop-Up Request Form 

Girl Scouts Halloween Event

The Girl Scouts of Central California South's invited the WoW! Team to their annual "Trunk or Treat" event celebrating the birthday of founder Juliette Gordon Lowe.  The scouts dressed in their best Halloween costumes, many as their favorite storybook characters, playing games at the activity booths.

The library represented by Mark, Misha, and Joanna.

Bookmarks to color were given out by WoW!

We made library cards on the spot for scouts and their families at our WoW! booth, while promoting the library's K-12 databases.  Popular with students is our homework center, covering subjects from arts to science, with invaluable research tools including encyclopedias, dictionaries, calculators, atlases, newspapers and journal articles. Remember that the library's databases are fact checked by experts, easily cited for reports, and encouraged by teachers to use over basic websites- which may have inaccurate information. (You can access most of our resources from home with your library card!)

The Halloween costume contest!

Give some of our K-12 sites a try, expanding your children's knowledge- and watch for those A+ grades!

WoW! JobNow!

Job-hunting can be difficult, time-consuming and downright stressful. If you haven’t created a resume in a while, or if it’s been years since you were interviewed, the prospect of going through the job application process may inspire serious anxiety. So where can you go for resume templates and interview advice? JobNow, an online resource provided by the Fresno County Public Library, is a great place to start. Simply go to the Library’s Job and Career page, click Job Now and log in with your library card number. (Never had a library card? Had one a while back but have no clue where it is? Visit any local library branch with your ID to get one.)

What’s so great about JobNow? JobNow gives you access to resume templates, resume advice and (perhaps most impressively) a resume lab where you can submit your resume and get feedback from an expert.

Worried about that job interview? JobNow also gives you access to online interview coaches, who will help you refine your answers and make you more comfortable with the process.

Now, JobNow is one of several Job and Career resources the Library offers. Visit the Library’s Jobs and Job Hunting page or call us at (559) 600-9699 to discover others.  

What to Do? What to Do?

School's over, and you're...bored. Looking for something to do? Wander in the Internet to the Fresno County Public Library’s database page, down to the Hobbies and Crafts Reference Center, and you’ll find a world’s worth of things to do.

Articles, book chapters, and other sources on various pastimes are ready to read, look at, or spark creativity, and it’s all FREE with your library card! You can find information on hobbies as common as:

Scrapbooking

  
     or Chess

    


or as unusual as:


Bell Ringing

or Bungee Jumping.

You can learn about:

• Mosaics (tile and grout are extra),
• Woodburning (Be careful! It’s hot!),
• Sketching (landscapes, still lifes, and more),
• Coin Collecting (foreign or domestic),
• Basketry (coiling and weaving and twining, oh my!),
• PEZ Collecting (Did you know they have the Star Trek crew on dispensers?),
• Candlemaking (dipped or poured),
• Postcard Collecting (“Having a wonderful time. Wish you were here”),
• Board Games (from Monopoly to Snakes and Ladders),
• Batik (wax-dyed fabric),
• Crochet (Hook it!),
• Knitting (Knit one, purl two, OOPS!),
• Origami (It looks like…folded paper),
• Model Trains (All aboard!),
• Cross Stitch (decorate clothing and ornaments),
• Lego Models (You’ve seen the movie, now step on the blocks in the middle of the night),
• Macrame (Knot, knot! Who’s there?),
• Bird Watching (the original tweets),
• Hang Gliding (“Is this thing safe?”),
• Geocaching (Hide-and-Seek for the GPS generation),
• Scuba Diving (“Under the Sea”),
• Magic Tricks (“Now you see it….”),
• Puppetry (strings, hands, and shadows),
• Piano (tunes at your fingertips),
• Astronomy (Star light, Star bright....),
• Robotics (Domo arigato, Mr. Roboto),
• Papermaking (What’s a deckle?)

and a host of other pursuits, trivial or otherwise.

Look at all the things you can do, and you’ll go “WoW!”

Have You Met Lynda Yet?

As we blogged previously, Lynda.com (a database you can access for free from the Library's website) gives you access to a wealth of online tutorials in the fields of technology, business and marketing. This is a superb tool you can use from home to improve all manners of tech and professional skills, regardless of your starting skill level. Want more info? Here are a few specific examples of what Lynda.com offers:

Programming and Software Development
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, software development jobs are forecast to jump 22 percent by 2022; jobs in computer programming are growing at twice the national average. Do you or your young ones want to jump into coding? Try Lynda.com's coding tutorials. Take classes in:

• Programming fundamentals
• C++
• Javascript
• XML
• App Development for IOS and Android

And one awesome thing about these classes: many offer a "practice environment" in which you get hands-on experience completing coding exercises. Sweet!

Marketing
Whether you're a PR professional or a small business owner, a nonprofit director or a community organizer, knowing how to market your organization and services is essential to your success. Log into Lynda.com and take classes in:

• Marketing Fundamentals
• Social Media Marketing with Facebook and Twitter
• Branding Fundamentals
• Google Analytics Tips
• Email Marketing Basics

Many classes also include downloadable exercises, worksheets or templates you can use on the job.

Software

How many software programs are covered on Lynda.com? More than 800. (That wasn't a typo: more than 800. Check out a list of offerings here.) With a huge variety of content like this, Lynda's tutorials run the gamut from common things like Microsoft Excel and Adobe to more specialized programs like AutoCAD and Hadoop. So whether you're looking to get acquainted with common software programs or sharpen the tools in your professional toolkit, Lynda.com probably has a class you can use. 

If you have questions about accessing Lynda.com (or any other FCPL resource), Library staff wants to help! Call us at (559) 600-9699 or email us. 

FCPL databases provide cardholders with a vast amount of accurate, free online information. This blog post is a part of a weekly series highlighting FCPL databases and is tagged with the blog tag “Resource of the Week.”

Looking for Work in the Medical Field?

Are you studying to be a nurse, medical assistant, radiology tech or other allied health professional? The Fresno County Public Library owns a few resources you should be aware of. All of these are accessible from outside the Library-- in your home, your office, your local coffee hangout-- as long as you have access to the internet.

Learning Express Practice Tests and eBooks
Use Learning Express to take practice tests for licensing and certification exams in eight different Allied Health fields. You can also download the full-text of review books as a PDF. These eBooks include practice questions and insider advice on acing your exam.

Career Pillar
Are you considering a career in the medical field but need more info before you get started? You may want to take a look at Career Pillar. Career Pillar allows you explore career pathways to employment in different fields, including Health Science and Medical Technology.

Jobs and Job Hunting

Trying to find a specific job in the medical field? Try the Library's Jobs and Job Hunting Resources page. Library staff put together this handy list of resources. Look for job openings, get career advice and find help writing a resume. A one-stop shop for jobseekers!

  

FCPL databases provide cardholders with a vast amount of accurate, free online information. This blog post is a part of a weekly series highlighting FCPL databases and is tagged with the blog tag “Resource of the Week.”

Stories…and Beyond!

One of the most important steps in learning to read is making that connection between letters on a page and words that mean something. On the Fresno County Public Library website, one of the best tools for doing that is a FREE service called BookFlix. All you need is a library card number to unlock dozens of hours of reading and learning!

It features animated videos of picture books for children. Each one is read aloud, with the words highlighted as the story goes along. Since schools are moving into non-fiction-based learning, each fictional story is paired with a book that gives facts about a subject connected to the story.

The non-fiction book can be read aloud for you, or it can be read without audio help. Words that might be new to the reader are highlighted, and their meanings are revealed with a click of the mouse.

 

The book-pairs are fun and interesting. Bark, George, about a puppy with a strange problem, is teamed up with Pets at the Vet, which tells how veterinarians take care of animals and help them get well.

Joseph Had a Little Overcoat shows a worn-out coat that becomes a jacket, a vest, a scarf, and other things as the remaining pieces are remade into useful items.  That book is featured with Recycle That, about new uses for old trash.
  

BookFlix is a great way to make reading a habit, building a bridge between the printed page and a world of imagination and information. WoW!

P.S.--The FCPL also offers "Dial-A-Story," a call-in recording where a book is read by library staff. It's a great bedtime-helper, with the story changed every few weeks. Call 559-600-8253 (600-TALE) and give it a listen!

Shaking the Family Tree

Do you have any famous ancestors, like:

Henry VIII?     

Marian Anderson

Alexander Graham Bell











Billy the Kid

     

            

If you don’t know, and you want to find out, the Fresno County Public Library offers Ancestry Library Edition, a FREE version of Ancestry.com.

Let the Search Begin!

Start with the basic facts you know about an ancestor or relative:

• Name
• Birthdate (you can even find a lot of information with just a year or decade of birth)
• Where they lived (born, died, or any place an important event in their life happened)
• Other family members (parents, children, spouses, brothers/sisters)
• Something important about that person (military service, profession)

With just a few bits of information, you’re on your way to discovering your past!

My Family Story

I’ve always been fond of the stories about my great-grandfather, Alexander Baird. Using Ancestry Library Edition and his name, where he was born and the year (Scotland, 1830 or 1832), I found:

• His parents (Robert Baird and Agnes Bell)
• His wives (married 4 times: one divorced him, one died)
• His children (22 of them)
• His military service (3 tours in the U. S. Navy; he was with Commodore Perry’s expedition to open Japan to Western trade)
• His theatre company
• The name of the ship he took to bring his family to America (The Cynosure)
• A story about the hand-me-down gun he took on his trip West across the Great Plains (one shot could bring down 20 birds)
• 3 obituaries
• His prison record

(Some sources say he was the man on the far left. I think he was the bearded one on the right.)

You may not locate as much information as I did about Alexander when you search for your relatives, but—whatever you find—it will make you go “Wow!”