Kobos and Kindles and Nooks – what’s the best e-reader for you?

Thinking of giving an e-reader for Christmas? Well get on it, man! It’s already December 22^nd!

Thinking of buying one on Boxing Day or over the Boxing Week, as it’s now become? OK, you’ve got some time. If you’ve got a library card, you can access Consumer Reports magazine from home, through our e-library.

Start at our homepage, select e-library, and then choose Research Databases from EBSCO (lower left hand side). Once you log in with your card number, you’ll be at a search screen. Choose the Publications tab (top of the screen) and then MasterFILE Premiere. Search for the Publication title “Consumer Reports” and then you’re off to the races. Read issue by issue, or search for a term like “e-readers”. If you’re not quite sure how to do this, then just call us or strike up a chat, through our homepage.

The e-library is a wealth of resources! Ask us how you can read Consumer Reports, The Economist, Maclean's and other popular magazines online.

Good luck in choosing an e-reader, and check out our program guide for upcoming demonstrations on e-books and e-readers.

I lead Career Tours at the Central Library for a variety of groups. Most of the participants are newcomers and immigrants who are highly educated, multilingual and eager to secure meaningful employment in their new land. I show them how to access the newspaper, job ads, print resources and programs. And I also show them how to find information about companies for which they may wish to work.

Here are some of the tools that I always ensure I mention:

Reference USA. This database will allow you to generate lists of companies, using SIC or NAICS codes, or keywords. Find who you’re looking for, even when you’re not sure who you’re looking for. Download financial and contact information into a spreadsheet that you can keep for your reference.

Business Source Complete. Find articles about companies’ histories, SWOT analyses and stock market reports - current and comprehensive information is not typically provided on companies’ own websites. You’ll be amazed at what a single keyword can generate. This is not your grandmother’s Google!

Canadian Newsstand. This archive allows you to search for news and magazine articles about your company. Has it ever been sued? Has it won awards? Has it been listed in any Top-10 type rankings? What are some of its most recently announced projects (or disasters)?

If you need help accessing information about a particular company, then drop by the information desk, give us a call, or strike up a chat through our homepage. We’re happy to help guide you through the electronic jungle, and hopefully, towards bigger and better employment opportunities. Good luck!

Here are a handful of great library resources to enjoy over the holiday season:

• Christmas music. Borrow CDs and make your own holiday playlist.
• Cookbooks. Yeah, that little bag is supposed to come out before you cook the bird. And if “bird” is certainly not the word in your house, then check out titles about vegetarian and vegan holiday foods.
• Programs. Holiday-themed storytimes, live music and more!
• Decorating tips. We’ve got hundreds of magazines and thousands of books, dedicated to helping your home look its very best. From DIY wreaths to knitting your own stocking.
• Presents. No, unfortunately we’re not giving them away. But, we’re suggesting that you get a library card for a friend or loved one. Give the gift of inspiration, entertainment and education, for only $12! (You weren’t really going to give her another boring pair of slippers, were you?)

Whatever you’re into, find it here at the Calgary Public Library. Happy Holidays!

Today's post was written by one of my favourite former co-workers. Here it is:

One of the many promises I constantly make to myself is to be more active in my community and this includes being more aware of what my elected representatives are doing for neighborhood I live and work in. Sadly, like most of my intentions, I have not followed through as much as I'd like. Like many Calgarians I keep finding myself in a voting booth, stubby little pencil in hand, wishing the choice I was about to make was more informed.

This Thursday night, at the Louise Riley Library Program Centre, citizens of Ward 7 have a wonderful opportunity to find out what Alderman (or, if you like, Councilor) Druh Farrell has been doing on their behalf over the past year, with a question period to follow. What a great way to connect with City Hall! We all hear that politicians need to listen to the people, but don't the people themselves have a responsibility to know what's going on?

One Year Later: Civic Update

Thursday, Oct 06 7:00 - 8:00 p.m.

Louise Riley Program Center (Just North of the Louise Riley Library)

You can register in person at any library branch, on-line at calgarypubliclibrary.com or by calling 403-260-2620

Okay, I don’t have an uncle Bob. My uncles are Gavin, Colin, Allan and John.

I work in Research Plus, where we get all sorts of questions about genealogy. Customers want our help in tracking down their birth parents, or their great aunt’s obituary, or the name of the guy who lived beside their parents’ house, in 1952.

Do you have a question related to genealogy? Visit the 4^th floor of the Central Library, where our well trained staff will help you find old city directories, newspaper clippings, high school yearbooks, family histories and more. Or check out the basement level of the Central library, for newspapers on microfilm. Or, contact Research Plus, and for a fee, we’ll do the work for you!

Check out our program guide for free genealogy programs, and read our Community History and Family Heritage blog, too!

One of my goals is to manage my money more effectively. So I typically browse through basic books or blogs on budgeting (spot the alliteration, kids!). In the reams of top 20 lists and collections of tidbits and tips, one piece of advice resounds again and again: use your library. Libraries allow you to borrow books for free, but it’s much more than that. Here are some more ways that your library allows you to stay frugal:

Libraries might encourage you to cancel your magazine or newspaper subscriptions, because many of these can be read online, with your library card. You might decide to borrow a movie rather than renting one, or perhaps you’ll attend a free screening in the library’s theatre. You might learn a new skill by attending a free program – perhaps one about budgeting – or renting an instructional DVD. You could use library books or databases to learn about fixing a car, bike or appliance, and spare yourself the cost of buying a new one. Explore our collections about cooking and learn to prepare healthy, frugal meals. Home cooking is a huge opportunity to exercise frugality! Attend some of the library’s special programs and speak with a lawyer, doctor, or career coach, for free! Check out the program guide for free concerts, and free access to our Writer in Residence.

Not all of our entertainment and enjoyment need be expensive. In fact, the library is a great place in which to instill a sense of frugality in your children. And children who have a sense of how money can be saved in simple ways will be well on their way to managing money when they’re adults.