Orange Zest

OUR WONDERFUL FOLs

2011-09-05T07:11:00.000-07:00

No, that’s not a typo, didn’t mean to write Foils or Folks and CERTAINLY not Fools! FOL stands for Friends of the Library – and they are friends indeed.

The Friends of the OC Public Libraries are volunteers who help promote the library to the community, enrich resources, provide legislative support and sponsor cultural programs. Most branch libraries have a local Friends group.

Funds raised by the Friends support children’s programs among other projects. If anyone in your family has ever participated in our Summer Reading Program, or come to a special event like a magician, musician or juggler, you’ve benefited from the work of our Friends. Have you every listened to an e-audiobook, or checked out an e-book? Friends groups provide support there too. Not to mention the myriad of books and movies in our collection that they have provided.

Many of our branches have a Friends’ Used Bookstore where you can shop for hardbacks, paperbacks and other materials. Bargains galore! Check out their locations here. Please note that bookstores are run by volunteers, and their open times can vary.

For Friends of the Library membership or bookstore volunteer information, please inquire at your local branch library. Friend us today!

90th Anniversary – The Eighties

2011-08-29T07:11:00.000-07:00

If you've got it, flaunt it! You can have it all! Shop ‘til you drop! Me! Me! Me!

Ah, the Eighties…hostile takeovers, leveraged buyouts, and billionaires; video games, aerobics, minivans, camcorders, and talk shows. Many, many lives were lost to AIDS. Sandra Day O’Connor became the first woman Supreme Court Justice. We began using PCs at home, school and work. The Human Genome Project was funded in 1988. Cats sang on Broadway; Morgan Freeman drove Miss Daisy into our hearts; and Kermit found it wasn’t easy being green.

Publishing moved from being a “gentleman’s profession” to become part of the holdings of giant entertainment conglomerates, and we began to see the shrinking of the author pool. Of 13 books which sold over a million copies during the Eighties, ten were written by Stephen King, Tom Clancy, and Danielle Steel. Other mega fiction included

The Bourne Identity by Robert Ludlum
Noble House by James Clavell
Love and War by John Jakes
The Mammoth Hunters by Jean M. Auel
Hollywood Husbands by Jackie Collins
Alaska by James A. Michener
The Satanic Verses by Salman Rushdie

Popular nonfiction titles included

Cosmos by Carl Sagan
The Lord God Made Them All by James Herriot
Living, Loving and Learning by Leo Buscaglia
In Search of Excellence: Lessons from America's Best-Run Companies by Thomas J. Peters
Iacocca: An Autobiography by Lee Iacocca
Fatherhood by Bill Cosby
Family: The Ties That Bind . . . and Gag! by Erma Bombeck
A Brief History of Time by Stephen W. Hawking
All I Really Need To Know I Learned in Kindergarten by Robert Fulghum

Past or present, all you really need to know can be found at OC Public Libraries!

CITY LIBRARY? COUNTY LIBRARY? WHAT’S THE DIFF?

2011-08-22T07:11:00.000-07:00

OC Public Libraries has 33 Branch Libraries, plus service at the Orangewood Children's Home. But we’re not the only public libraries in Orange County. While 24 cities contract with the County for library service, 10 other cities (Anaheim, Buena Park, Fullerton, Huntington Beach, Mission Viejo, Newport Beach, Orange, Placentia, Santa Ana & Yorba Linda) run their own libraries. We in the library biz call them…yes, city libraries.

So what’s the big deal? OCPL’s catalog lists everything in all our branches. The city libraries have separate catalogs, which you can access on their websites. OCPL uses a single library card that’s good at all our locations; city libraries each have their own card.

When you check out a book from us, you can return it to any OC Public Libraries branch and it will be checked in immediately, just as if you had taken it back to the same place you checked it out. If you return our materials to a city library (or vice versa), we’ll get them back eventually, but it takes more time. And your materials could end up with an Extended Use Fee (doesn’t that sound nicer than a fine?) if you turned them in close to the due date. Different library systems have their own policies; it's always a good idea to know which rules you’re operating under.

But we’re all public libraries. And we’re all glad that you’re a library user!

90th Anniversary – the 70s

2011-08-15T07:00:00.000-07:00

The social unrest of the Sixties continued into the following decade. A growing disillusionment with government; advances in civil rights; increased influence of the women's movement; a heightened concern for the environment; and increased space exploration all influenced American life. A Vice President and then a President resigned under threat of impeachment; Cesar Chavez organized farm workers to demand better conditions; the war in Viet Nam raged; and the first Gay Pride Parade was held in New York. We escaped into the cool dark of our movie theatres to watch the first Star Wars film, Rocky, American Graffiti, Kramer vs. Kramer, and any number of Godfather movies. A loaf of bread cost about twenty-five cents, and you could also buy mood rings, lava lamps, bell bottom pants, leisure suits, and pet rocks.

The best selling books of the Seventies reflect the wide diversity of events and culture. In 1972, the top two fiction titles were Jonathan Livingston Seagull by Richard Bach, a 93-page fable about a gull studying life and flight; and August, 1914 by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, a blend of fiction and history about Imperial Russia’s defeat at the Battle of Tannenberg. Other hot titles in the Seventies included:

Love Story by Erich Segal
Everything You Always Wanted To Know About Sex but Were Afraid To Ask by David R. Reuben
The Exorcist by William P. Blatty
Burr by Gore Vidal
The Art of Walt Disney by Christopher Finch
Watership Down by Richard Adams
The Bermuda Triangle by Charles Berlitz
Looking for Mr. Goodbar by Judith Rossner
Roots by Alex Haley
The Last Enchantment by Mary Stewart
Aunt Erma's Cope Book by Erma Bombeck

30 Million Words

2011-08-08T07:00:00.000-07:00

If you spend any time around babies and young children, you’ve probably noticed that they are language-learning sponges. Long before a child can produce speech, they are drinking it in. Neural pathways are being forged in their brains as they listen, and those pathways are creating smarter kids.

Did you know that the more words a young child hears, the more likely they are to be better at speech and reading throughout their lives? Studies have shown that some families talk to their little ones all the time, forty minutes or more out of every hour. These children hear over 11 million words a year! On the other hand, families that don’t talk much have children who hear only about 3 millions words a year. That’s still a lot of words, but when it comes to language learning, more is definitely better.

Children who hear more words are also more likely to hear a greater variety of words, and they develop larger vocabularies. Which leads directly to success in reading – you’re more likely to be able to read a word if you have heard it used in context.

Reading to a child is a great way to increase vocabulary. You’ll run across many words that you don’t use in everyday conversation, even in picture books for the youngest. One of my favorites is the scene in Beatrix Potter’s classic Peter Rabbit. Peter is caught by the big buttons on his jacket, and some birds fly down and “implore him to exert himself.” Now that’s vocabulary – and the meaning is perfectly clear from the lovely pictures!

Some researchers estimate that by the time children reach the age of three, there can be a 30 million word gap between those who hear lots of language, and those who hear little. The consequences can be life long. So please…talk to your kids! Continue past the directional talk we all need to get through the day (go here, wear this, eat that) and into the conversational. Describe things. Talk about what happens, what you’re seeing and doing. And read. OC Public Libraries has thousands of wonderful books waiting for you to share. And chances are you’ll pick up some new vocabulary yourself!

90th Anniversary – The Sixties

2011-08-01T09:03:00.000-07:00

There’s a hot best seller you’re dying to read. But it costs $25 and you have lots of places you could use that money. So being the smart person you are you go to the OC Public Libraries online catalog and put a hold on it.

And you see you are number 27 on the list. Harrumph!

We wish we could buy a zillion copies of the hottest titles, but the library too has lots of places where its money needs to go. So while you’re waiting for that best seller, take a look at the best sellers of yesteryear! We still have many of them, and any book you haven’t yet read is a NEW book for you.

Fifty years ago in 1961, the number one best selling fiction title was Irving Stone’s The Agony and the Ecstasy: a Novel of Michelangelo. We have a number of copies in two or three different editions, including an abridged version for children, as well as the film version (which was nominated for five Oscars). Not familiar with this blockbuster? How’s this for a description:

Celebrating the 500th anniversary of Michelangelo's David…Irving Stone's classic biographical novel in which both the artist and the man are brought to life in full. A masterpiece in its own right, this novel offers a compelling portrait of Michelangelo's dangerous, impassioned loves, and the God-driven fury from which he wrested the greatest art the world has ever known.

You can bet that the real prototypes of Mad Men were talking about this book at the water cooler! And that’s just one of the hot books from that year. If you’ve never read Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, you’re in for a treat. Other bestselling authors in 1961 were J.D. Salinger, Henry Miller, Leon Uris, and John Steinbeck. The rest of the Sixties included hits like:

Hawaii by James A. Michener
Sex and the Single Girl by Helen Gurley Brown
The Spy Who Came in from the Cold by John le Carré
This Rough Magic by Mary Stewart
In His Own Write by John Lennon
Valley of the Dolls by Jacqueline Susann
Games People Play by Eric Berne
Rosemary's Baby by Ira Levin
The Godfather by Mario Puzo

Any bets on which of today’s best selling authors will still be on library shelves in 2061?

Legos…We Got ‘em!

2011-07-25T08:58:00.000-07:00

It's always gratifying to reach a goal. To exceed that goal almost fourfold induces euphoria! We need at least one hundred pounds of Legos for library programs, we said. That’s a lot. It will probably take us ages to collect them. We were right and we were wrong. A hundred pounds of Legos is a whole lot of little pieces. But - that first hundred pounds arrived in about two weeks, thanks to two lucky circumstances. No, make that three. The first is the sheer generosity of folks in the OC. You opened your closets and toy boxes and dug out those Legos and toted them in to your favorite Branch Library. Thank you, thank you.

The second lucky thing was getting a plug for our campaign on the OC Register’s Mom’s Page. You OC moms know a good idea when you hear it and helped spread the word. And kept spreading it. Huge thanks!

The third piece of luck came from one little ad we put on Craigslist, the free online service that helps people connect with each other. Our ad described our project and asked for donations of Legos. We got exactly one response (sometimes that’s all you need!) from Paul Lee, an ambassador for the Lego Users Group of Los Angeles (LUGOLA), a Lego Club for adults whose territory covers most of Southern California, including Orange County. Paul and his cohorts got lots and lots (and lots and lots) of Legos for us. These master builders will also be attending some of our Legos programs, and we’re hoping to display some of their amazing creations in our branches. Kids will be inspired by their example of creativity.

(Side note: Paul is a talented artist, and we have three books in our collection that he illustrated: Hank Aaron: Brave in Every Way by Peter Golenbock; The Good Luck Cat by Joy Harjo; & Amistad Rising: A Story of Freedom by Veronica Chambers. Check ‘em out!)

Part of the fun of getting all these Legos has been the odds and ends we found in with them. Quite a few pieces of transportation…

…a few weapons…

…some blocks and marbles…

…enough tiny houses for a very tiny village…

…which could be home for these folks.

Sorry to say the cash was minimal!

But no matter. We are rich in Legos – over 350 pounds of them! Branch libraries are starting to have Lego programs, and the kids are having a great time. Keep an eye on our events calendar, and come build something cool.

Lights…Camera…Library!

2011-07-11T08:05:00.000-07:00

Watching movies sure has changed over the years, hasn’t it? Most of us see most of our films now in the comfort of our own homes. And some of us are getting those films for free – because we check them out from a branch of OC Public Libraries!

It's true that we have more books than films – but according to our catalog, we have over 9800 entertainment titles, and 3500+ nonfiction films. Topics range from parenting to nature to biographies to exercise. Especially in the nonfiction category, we have films you’re unlikely to find anywhere else.

To check out our film collection, use a Power Search. (Jump to the library’s catalog here, the click on ‘Power Search’.) Scroll to the drop-down list for “type” and select one of the DVD categories. (If you still watch VHS tapes, you can search for those too.) If the movie you want is checked out or at a distant branch, you can place a hold on it and we’ll let you know when it's your turn to check it out.

Great films from Hollywood are not the whole picture. Thanks to the magic of digital cameras and services like Youtube, OC Public Libraries has also been making films to promote library services. One recurring character you’ll see is our Children's Services mascot, Booker T. Dog, who has starred in several productions. Check him out in his latest blockbuster, The Travels of Booker T. Dog, or let him tell you all about OC Public Libraries:

You can visit Booker and view all our films on OC Public Libraries’ very own Youtube channel!

Where’s My Book?

2011-07-05T08:25:00.000-07:00

You’ve located exactly the right book in the OC Public Libraries’ catalog. Now where in the library is it? A good way to start searching might be to go to the Information Desk and ask, "Where are the Adult Shelves (or Children's Shelves)?"

Those are both huge areas and the staff can help you find your book. But if there is a line of people at the Information desk or you just want to look for yourself, there is a way to narrow down your search. Clicking on the "Details" box on the left of your catalog screen gives more location information. See if your item is located in a specific area such as Board Books, Biographies, Older Teen books, Adult Fiction or Children's Paperbacks (to name a few possibilities).

Some things to remember:

Nonfiction (information) books have location numbers (known as “call numbers” in the library biz) such as 599 for mammals. The call number is printed on a label on the spine of the book, and the books are in number order on the shelf. It's just like finding an address! Depending on the library, children’s (“juvenile”) nonfiction books may be shelved in the children's area or mixed in with the adult nonfiction.
Fiction books are arranged alphabetically by author, either in adult, teen or juvenile areas. If you’ve ever looked up a name in a telephone book, you know how to find fiction – we keep them in order by the author’s last name, then the first name.
Books located in Biography or with the call number "92" are most likely located by subject's last name in a special biography section. One exception: kings, queens and certain others are listed by first name as that is how they were known: Diana, Joan of Arc, Richard III, Tutankhamen.
If the call number starts with X, it's a children’s book.

This will get you started! Each library is arranged a little differently, depending on the configuration of the building. But the principles of how library materials are organized are the same in just about any public library. Once you learn how to locate things in one library, you’ll be able to find your away around any library you may visit in the future.

And don’t forget, the staff is here to help you!

By Kristen Proffitt

Free Fun, Cool Events – Summer Reading!

2011-06-22T06:58:00.000-07:00

Summer is a great time for kids to kick back and have fun. But families should make sure their children’s reading skills are not lost. One of the best ways is to take the kids in your life to the library!

Every summer OC Public Libraries conducts a free Summer Reading Program for children of all ages. The program encourages thousands of children and teens to visit our branch libraries over the summer months. Reading has been shown to be the most important educational activity for children during the long vacation from school, and children who participate in the library’s Summer Reading Program can maintain and even improve their reading skills.

Even better, kids get to read for fun! It's easy to sign up at your local library. All during the month of July, children and teens can keep track of their reading time to win prizes at their local library. And your favorite branch library may also sponsor a reading program for adults, so grown ups can be in on the fun too!

Libraries also offer special events during the summer, from crafts to magic to exotic animals. For a schedule, check out our calendar of events. Of course, all events are free!

90th Anniversary Celebration – The Fifties

2011-06-13T08:22:00.000-07:00

Ahhh, the Fifties! The rise of suburbs, cars with fins, and I Love Lucy. The Korean War, the first H-bomb. Rosa Parks refused to give up her bus seat to a white man. The Space Race began. Jonas Salk developed the polio vaccine that helped stop the dreaded disease. And the first copy of Dr. Seuss’s The Cat in the Hat rolled off the presses - and has sold over 100 million copies in the years since…now that’s a best seller!

Some of the decade’s big titles are still familiar, though often the film based on the book is responsible for at least some of that fame:

Kon-Tiki by Thor Heyerdahl
From Here to Eternity by James Jones
The Caine Mutiny by Herman Wouk
Giant by Edna Ferber
Auntie Mame by Patrick Dennis
Peyton Place
by Grace Metalious
On the Beach by Nevil Shute
Please Don’t Eat the Daisies by Jean Kerr
Doctor Zhivago by Boris Pasternak
Exodus by Leon Uris

Others are less familiar these days – but you can still find them at OC Public Libraries!

Jubilee Trail by Gwen Bristow (colorful characters on the trail to California in 1844!)
My Cousin Rachel by Daphne Du Maurier
Witness by Whittaker Chambers
Lord Vanity by Samuel Shellabarger
The Egyptian by Mika Waltari
Mrs. ‘Arris goes to Paris by Paul Gallico

Stop by today for some great mid century reading!

Needles and Yarns

2011-06-03T11:30:00.000-07:00

OC Public Libraries has lots of great resources for knitters. We have a wide selection of nonfiction books on the subject - great for browsing when you are looking for a new project. Need a sweater pattern or can’t figure out a technique? Try us first. Want to learn how to knit socks? The library has more than 20 titles on how to knit socks alone. Not enough time to read and knit? Do both! The library has a wide selection of audiobooks, in cassette, CD, portable Playaway and downloadable from our website.

Need more?

Rancho Santa Margarita Branch has the Knit and Crochet Club every first and third Tuesday from 4-5:30 p.m.

San Juan Capistrano Regional Library has KnitLit, the Knitting Book Club, the last Tuesday of each month starting at 6 p.m. Books are available at the check out desk the month before the meeting. Read the book ahead of time, grab your knitting and join the discussion. Don’t knit? Don’t worry. Bring your favorite craft, or just yourself, and join us.

Wait! There’s still more!

San Juan Capistrano Regional Library will host a World Wide Knit in Public Day Event. Held in the library’s beautiful courtyard, this free event will run from 10-4 on Saturday, June 11, and will focus on knitting for charity. Bring your preemie caps, Warm up America squares or other crafted items to donate. We’re hoping to get enough 7 x 9 squares to make a blanket to send to Warm Up America. Always wanted to learn to knit or crochet? Now’s your chance! Our ‘Learn To’ classes that day will help you get started.

The library is located at 31495 El Camino Real, one block north of the Historic
Mission. Exit Ortega off Hwy 5 and turn west, then right on El Camino Real. The library is 2 blocks north, with plenty of parking across the street to the right. Or – even better – take the train and knit all the way here. The train station is an easy 2 block walk from the library.

For more information on the event, contact the San Juan Capistrano Regional Library at 949-493-1752, ext. 3 and ask for Lori A. Or visit our website.

By Lori Artzner

Celebrate June with…a CAT!

2011-05-30T07:08:00.000-07:00

June is National Adopt-a-Shelter-Cat Month, a time close to many librarians’ hearts. Though we’re not all cat people, many of us know the comfort and affection and just plain laughs a cat can bring to our homes.

There are a number of animal rescue organizations in Orange County, and they’re sure to have plenty of felines to choose from. Our sister department, OC Animal Care, will be happy to help you find a new furry friend. Check out their nice kitties here. They have lots of kittens as well as older cats. One of our best cats ever was Puddy, who was at least 12 years old when he came to live with us. A mellow mature feline may be just right for you!

To prepare for your new friend, you might need some of our pet care books, like

Learning to Care for a Cat by Felicia Lowenstein Niven
The Natural Cat: the Comprehensive Guide to Optimum Care by Anitra Frazier
Cats: How to Choose and Care for a Cat by Laura S. Jeffrey
Totally Fun Things to Do with Your Cat by Maxine A. Rock

When kitty comes home, she might need some training, so take a look at

Cats on the Counter: Therapy and Training for Your Cat by Larry Lachman
The Tao of Meow: Understanding and Training Your Cat the Taoist Way by Deborah Wood
How to Speak Cat! by Sarah Whitehead

We hope you and your shelter cat will enjoy many years of reading together!

90th Anniversary Celebration: The 1940s

2011-05-23T10:35:00.000-07:00

Continuing our 90^th anniversary celebration we come to the 1940s – a decade that included a world war and the coming of age of the “Greatest Generation” (to borrow journalist Tom Brokaw’s term). Let’s see what best sellers they might have been reading.

In fiction, some of the hot titles were

Mrs. Miniver by Jan Struther

For Whom the Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway

How Green Was My Valley by Richard Llewellyn

Saratoga Trunk by Edna Ferber

The Keys of the Kingdom by A.J. Cronin

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith

Captain from Castile by Samuel Shellabarger

The Robe by Lloyd C. Douglas

The Wayward Bus by John Steinbeck

The Young Lions by Irwin Shaw

Father of the Bride by Edward Streeter

In nonfiction, we were checking out (among many others)

How to Read a Book by Mortimer Adler

Berlin Diary: the Journal of a Foreign Correspondent by William L. Shirer

Here is Your War by Ernie Pyle

Black boy: a Record of Childhood and Youth by Richard Wright

The Fireside Book of Folk Songs edited by Margaret B. Boni

Sexual Behavior in the Human Male by A.C. Kinsey et al

A Guide to Confident Living by Norman Vincent Peale

Cheaper by the Dozen by Frank B. Gilbreth

And would you believe that Betty MacDonald’s The Egg and I, a humorous account of her family’s adventures starting an egg farm on the Olympic Peninsula, stayed on the bestseller list for three years? The country was badly in need of a good laugh – which sounds a lot like today. Not to worry, you can still find it at OC Public Libraries!

Taking Care of Business

2011-05-17T07:23:00.000-07:00

By Laura Hearn

We all know how challenging today’s economy is. As businesses downsize in hopes of conserving resources, your local library is your best resource for free information and assistance. Along with the thousands of business books on our shelves, we subscribe to a number of business-focused databases to help you. For example:

Reference USA is a database of over 14 million US businesses, providing quality information to help you search for jobs, find new business opportunities and track down addresses and phone numbers, to name just a few.

Mergent InvestorEdge and Mergent Online are powerful business research tools. They provide access to important company documents and financial information of over 4,000 US and International Companies, including annual reports, industry reports and Corporate Bond Reports. There are also industry reports with sector level analysis covering current environment, industry profiles, performance, market trends outlook and more.

General Business File ASAP will help you analyze company performance and activity, industry events and trends as well as the read the latest articles in management, economics and politics. Includes access to broker research reports, trade publications, newspapers, journals and company directory listings with full text and images available.

For small businesses, Infotrac Small Business Collection provides coverage of periodicals that report on subjects relating to small business, and the Small Business Resource Center shows how to start, finance or manage your small business. Resources include sample business plans, how to guides, articles and websites.

Are you looking for a job or want to help employees you’ve had to let go with transitioning into a new job? Career Transitions Center database provides assistance in “Discovering Interests,” “Exploring Careers,” “Preparing a Resume,” and “Search” available positions across major job boards and company websites (all in one place!)

So check out our business databases. You just need an OC Public Libraries card to log in – and those are free too!

Just Imagine…

2011-05-09T07:18:00.000-07:00

OC Public Libraries has been a proud participant in the Imagination Celebration for over 20 years. If you’re not familiar with it, Imagination Celebration is a county-wide collaboration designed to help families experience the power and colorful creativity of theatre, dance, music, film, literary and visual arts. Participating organizations include professional arts organizations, cities, schools, libraries, universities and community venues.

Each OC Public Libraries branch has a display of local children’s art, which will be on view through May. Some branches have put out art materials so children can create on the spot. And of course we have many books to excite the creative imagination.

Find out more about Imagination Celebration, including a host of free and low-cost events, here. And here’s a little preview of the charming art you’ll see at OC Public Libraries branches.

1st Base, 2nd Base, 3rd Base…Database!

2011-05-02T08:44:00.000-07:00

Our lives today are awash with information. We’re swimming in a sea of television, newspapers, magazines, and perhaps most of all, the Internet. You can access information wherever you go if you have the right device. (Remember when telephones were stuck in one place…and just made phone calls?)

Trouble is, not all this information is “good information” – it may not be reliable. This might not matter much for some things, but if you’re buying something important or need to make a fact-based decision, you want the best information you can find. A good place to start looking is in OC Public Libraries’ databases.

Library databases contain information from published works, and are written by professionals or experts in the field. Facts are checked by experts. They are updated frequently and include the date of publication. You can search by keywords, subject, author, magazine title etc., and you get full info on who wrote the material and where it came from. Our databases contain thousands of full-text articles that you can print or email.

Information on a web site might be written by an expert—but it might not. Often it's hard to know where the information came from, or when. Absolutely anyone can publish anything on the Internet. This is why teachers sometimes prohibit students from using “the Internet” as a source when doing a research report. Although you access OC Public Libraries’ databases via the Internet, you’re getting exactly the same information you would find if you came into one of our buildings and opened a reference book or magazine.

So what kind of databases do we have for you? Dive in and be ready to be amazed! Chilton Auto Repair (fix your car!). Business sources – ReferenceUSA alone includes information on literally millions of companies, and that’s just one of our business databases. The Culinary Arts Collection includes 150 cooking and nutrition periodicals. Gardening, health, history, encyclopedias, the list goes on and on.

Whether you’re a student with a report that’s due tomorrow, an investor looking for that next great recommendation, a kid interested in how the world works, or a parent who needs to answer your child’s many, many questions, OC Public Libraries’ databases will help you navigate that sea of information—and stay afloat!

E IS FOR …

2011-04-25T06:59:00.000-07:00

When you think of a library, chances are you think of rows and rows of books. And that’s good—OC Public Libraries is definitely about books. We have a lot of them, we love them, we hope you love them too.

But public libraries today are much, much more than rows of books. We subscribe to hundreds of magazines that you can enjoy when you visit one of our branches, or access online through our databases. We have movies to check out, and sheet music at our Cypress branch, and historical images on our website. And we’ll talk about our great programs another time.

One of our newest collections exists totally in the digital realm: eBooks and eAudiobooks. You can download them to your computer and listen or read them from there, or transfer them to another device for portability. You’ll need an OC Public Libraries’ card to access them. You’ll never again be without something to read when you reach the last chapter at 2 o’clock on Sunday morning! And as you’re downloading, say a little thank-you to the Friends of the Library at our El Toro, Rancho Santa Margarita, Laguna Niguel and Irvine/Heritage Park Branch Libraries for their generous support.

Think ‘E’ – excellent, exciting eBooks & eAudiobooks!

90th Anniversary Celebration: The 1930s

2011-04-18T07:53:00.000-07:00

Continuing our 90^th anniversary celebration we come to the 1930s, when OC Public Libraries became a “teen.” Just as today, the country was mired in deep financial distress. And while this phrase may not have been coined yet, “libraries will get you through times of no money better than money will get you through times of no libraries” was just as true then as now.

So what were some of the hot titles people checked out from their adolescent county library?

Cimarron by Edna Ferber—a story of the Oklahoma Land Run, with a lead character based on Temple Houston, Sam Houston’s flamboyant youngest son. Check out the book today in regular or large-type!
The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck. We still have the book in several editions, plus large type, compact disc, e-audiobook, and DVD!
The Magnificent Obsession by Lloyd C. Douglas: When Robert Merrick's life is saved at the expense of the life of an adored surgeon, the carefree playboy is forced to reevaluate his own path. Rock Hudson got the lead role in the 1954 film.
Seven Gothic Tales by Isak Dinesen: her first novel, written after she returned to Denmark after her years on the coffee plantation depicted in the film Out of Africa.
Lost Horizon by James Hilton—the origin of the fictional utopia Shangri-La.
North to the Orient by Anne Morrow Lindbergh—a flight made by the Lindberghs in 1931, from Washington, D.C. to Japan and China.
How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie, who must have lots of friends by now, and
The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck.

You can immerse yourself in yesteryear, not only with past bestsellers but also with hundreds of books, plays, pieces of music and more from the 1930s—all at OC Public Libraries! And here’s a good chance to practice using our Power Search. Way down near the bottom of the Power Search screen is a field for pubyear (yeah, that means publication year). You can put in a single year, or if you want the whole decade put in 193? and you will get 2000+ titles to choose from. Animal Marionettes, anyone?

YOU’VE GOT THE POWER!

2011-04-11T05:03:00.000-07:00

When you go to the OC Public Libraries catalog on our website, you can type your search term into the box, click ‘Search’ and in moments you’ll have a list of materials. Trouble is, sometimes that list is quite long, or may not have just exactly what you’re after. You can hone your list by clicking the drop-down list by ‘words or phrase’ and selecting author, title etc. But if you want to experience the real beauty of searching our catalog, go for the Power Search.

One click takes you to an expanded search box. Now you can put your keywords into specific fields. If you know the author and title of your book, fill in those fields and your results will be much more focused than using the ‘words or phrase’ search on the previous page. But scroll down a little further, and behold the real power of the Power Search.

Do you want an item only if it's at a nearby branch? Select a particular library. Maybe you’d like to read something in a non-English language; you can limit your search to the language of your choice. Looking for mysteries, but you need them in large print? Check out the long list of possibilities in the drop-down TYPE list. Need picture books on butterflies? ITEM CATEGORY 1 is your new best friend—you can put ‘butterflies’ as your subject and choose ‘Children’s Primary Fiction’ in Category 1 and voila, you have a reasonable 67 titles to look at, instead of 200+ that are listed with just the subject. (And if you have a minute, check out the difference when you search for the subject ‘butterfly’ instead of ‘butterflies.’ Sometimes it pays to try variations on your search terms.)

Maybe you’re heading out on a road trip and you absolutely must have some recorded books to listen to in the car. A good opportunity to try some new-to-you authors. But you’re leaving in a few days, so what’s available now—at your favorite Branch Library? Open up a Power Search, click on the branch you want, then choose ‘type’ and select ‘Audiobook on CD or Tape’. That’s all you need. Leaving the author, title etc. fields blank will bring up a list of all the audiobooks available at your chosen branch. The results will be in the order of newest to oldest, so you may have to scroll down to find some that are on the shelf. (Newer items are likely to be checked out, but keep going, you’ll find something good!)

Maybe you only want some books for your kids to listen to on your trip. Add a click on ‘ITEM CATEGORY 2’ and select ‘Children’s Material.’ By combining the various elements of the Power Search you can dig deep into the OC Public Libraries catalog and find exactly what you need—and locate amazing items you never knew you wanted.

Power at your fingertips. We know you will use your power wisely!

Can You Hum a Few Bars?

2011-04-04T08:38:00.000-07:00

“I got rhythm,
I got music,
I got an amazing collection of vintage sheet music at OC Public Libraries
Who could ask for anything more?”

Yes, we changed Gershwin’s lyrics a little…but our new collection of sheet music (available on our website) has us singing! OC Public Libraries’ music collection, housed at the Cypress Branch Library, has grown to be the largest collection of scores in any public library in Orange County. With over 5,000 books and 4,000 individual scores, totaling over 50,000 song titles, you’d have to go to the Brand Library and Art Center in Glendale, Los Angeles Public Library, or the UCLA Music Library to find anything comparable.

Our music collection started in 1978 at the Chapman Branch Library, and was moved in 1996 to Cypress. The books focus mostly on 20th century popular music, while the individual sheet music dates back to the mid-1800s. Our latest venture has been to digitize titles in the public domain (published before 1923), which are now available here.

You can “Break the News to Mother” that the “Beautiful Roses” “Beneath the Pines of Maine” will be “Dreaming” of “Huckleberry Finn” “By the Light of the Silvery Moon.” Just the California titles alone could have you singing from morning to night: “California and You,” “California for Mine,” “I Love You, California,” and “My Heart’s Way Out in California.”

“Old man trouble
I don’t mind him
You won't find him round my door
I got starlight
I got sweet dreams
I got OC Public Libraries and books and movies and magazines and now historic sheet music…
Who could ask for anything more?"

SELF SERVICE STATIONS MAKE CHECKOUT A BREEZE AT THE LIBRARY

2011-03-28T09:34:00.000-07:00

Have you ever been at the end of a long line waiting to check out your library books and wished there was a quicker way? There is -- the Self Service Station!

At the Self Service Station, you can check out library materials (more info below!), and pay fines or add money to your printing account by using a credit or debit card.

You will find the Self Service Station near the check-out desk at all but our smallest library branches. You will need to know your PIN – the individual password attached to your account. If you don't know your PIN, show a photo ID to a library staff member and they will look it up for you.

To get started, look on the Main Menu screen and click on "Check Out Materials." Then you will need to scan or type in your library card number, which is printed under the bar code on your card. If your library card begins with the letter D you will need to replace the letter with the number 2. When entering your number do not include any spaces. The scanner is on the desk next to the Self Service computer and emits a red laser light. You do not need to move the scanner; just hold the barcode underneath so that the red line can "read" it.

The next screen will ask you to type your PIN. You can use the keyboard or touch the screen.

Now you will be asked to scan the barcodes on your books and other materials. Our barcodes are 12 digits long and begin with either a 3 or an A. Barcodes can be located on the front cover of an item or on the first page. Continue clicking on "Next" until you have scanned everything. Click on "Finish" to print out a receipt. And you are done!!

Some types of materials cannot be checked out at the Self Service Station, including Rental books. At some branches you will not be able to check out DVD’s. The best way to find out is to open the DVD case: if the DVD is inside you can check it out at the Self Service Station. If it is empty, skip Self Service and go to the regular Check-out Desk.

Try using the Self Service Station – it’s quick and easy!

By Mary Smith & Ginny Ortiz

Help for the Hardest Job of All

2011-03-21T07:30:00.000-07:00

That would be parenting! One minute you have a cute tiny baby, then before you know it they grow and grow and you’re dealing with all kinds of issues. Sure, you’ll get good advice from your own family and friends, but sometimes they’ll be stumped too. Time for a trip to OC Public Libraries!

Many of our branches have a special “Parent Shelf” collection. Here’s where you’ll find books (and some DVDs and CDs) on an incredible range of topics. You’ll find informational works for you and stories to read to your child on potty training

Healing Stories: Picture Books for the Big & Small Changes in a Child's Life by Jacqueline Golding.
No More Diapers for Ducky! by Bernette G.Ford.
The Prince and the Potty by Wendy Cheyette Lewison.

…or dealing with bullies

· A Smart Kid's Guide to Online Bullying by David J. Jakubiak.

Blue Cheese Breath and Stinky Feet: How to Deal with Bullies by Catherine DePino.
Nobody Knew What to Do: a Story about Bullying by Becky R. McCain.

…or acquiring a new brother or sister

Baby Baby Blah Blah Blah! by Jonathan Shipton.
The Most Important Gift of All by David Conway.
What to Expect When the New Baby Comes Home by Heidi Eisenberg Murkoff.

…or explaining where that new baby came from!

It's Not the Stork! A Book about Girls, Boys, Babies, Bodies, Families, and Friends by Robie H.Harris
What's the Big Secret? Talking about Sex with Girls and Boys by Laurie Krasny Brown.
Mommy Laid an Egg! Or Where Do Babies Come From? by Babette Cole.

Moving to a new home, the death of a pet or loved one, telling the truth, starting school and much, much more are topics you’ll see on the Parent Shelves. And because the library’s collection serves such a diverse population, you’ll find a wide variety in how topics are handled. Some will be appropriate for your family; others may not be right for you, but be perfect for someone else. Always read through a book before you share it with your child to make sure it supports your beliefs or brings up the kind of questions you want to discuss.

Parenting…it will still be a huge job. But our Parent Shelf has your back!

STICKS…BUT NO STONES!

2011-03-14T09:05:00.000-07:00

The La Palma Library has 50 pets! Can you guess? They shed their skin like a snake as they grow. They come in several sizes but the longest is 8 cm (a little over 3”). They look like plants but are really insects. They are brown or green in color. Stumped?

The answer is…walking sticks or stick bugs. At the La Palma Branch Library they live in a glass tank on the Information Desk, where they dine on leaves from rose bushes. Library visitors of all ages love to watch them and try to find them among the leaves. They are very good at hiding and pretending to be sticks. (Some library patrons think we have nothing in the tank but leaves!)

OC Public Libraries' original walking sticks live at the Cypress Library. The children’s librarian who started the collection, Kim Christofferson, made sure that the proper permits were filed with the State of California’s Department of Food & Agriculture. Evidently the sticks were very happy there, because they set about making more sticks. So now you can visit them not only at La Palma and Cypress, but Aliso Viejo and Costa Mesa as well.

Want to know more about these odd and interesting creatures? Why yes, we do have books about them!

Walking Sticks by Edward Hart
Stick Insects: Masters of Defense by Sandra Markle
Weird Walking Sticks by Greg Roza
Stick insects: Keeping Mini Beasts series by Barrie Watts

By Pat Campbell

Librarian, La Palma Library

NINETY…AND COUNTING!

2011-03-07T14:31:00.000-08:00

Ninety years!

OC Public Libraries opened its doors for the first time in 1921. The County Librarian and two assistants worked from a shared rented room on Main Street in Santa Ana.

My, how we have grown! Now our 34 branches are served by a team of nearly 500 dedicated librarians, library assistants, clerical staff and library pages, and we have a thriving adult literacy program. Last fiscal year we hosted 6,874,489 visitors; checked out 7,629,436 items; answered 1,546,186 requests for information; and presented over 6100 programs for all ages.

Our 90^th birthday celebration will take place throughout 2011. We hope you’ll join in the festivities. To get started, let’s look at what Orange County has been reading for the past 90 years. Today: a few best sellers from the Twenties—still available to check out!

Main Street by Sinclair Lewis (1921)
The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton (1921)
The Story of Mankind by Hendrik Willem Van Loon (1922 - the very first winner of the Newbery Award!)
The Sea-Hawk by Rafael Sabatini (1923)
Call of the Canyon by Zane Gray (1924) – you can download the e-audiobook these days!
When We Were Very Young by A.A. Milne (1925) – another available as an e-audiobook
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes by Anita Loos (1926)
Revolt in the Desert by T.E. Lawrence (1927)
The Bridge of San Luis Rey by Thornton Wilder (1928)
All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque (1929)

All these and so much more are at OC Public Libraries. Ninety…and counting!

HOLD IT!

2011-02-28T11:32:00.000-08:00

You want a book. You look in the library’s online catalog (catalog = a humungous listing of all the materials a library owns). There it is! So what’s the best way to get your hands on it soonest?

We love it when you place holds on library materials, because it means you’re getting what you need. But “placing a hold” can have different meanings. Here is your guide to getting hold of that book!

If the catalog says an item is available at a convenient location for you, give that branch a call and ask them to do a shelf check. Someone will make sure the item is really there before you make the trek down to the library. Staff can save it for you, usually at the check-out desk. We’ll keep it for a couple of days. If you haven’t picked it up by then, back it goes on the shelf. Please, if you ask for this service, do pick up the book!

What if the book is available, but none of the locations are convenient for you?

Click on “Place Hold” (in the blue bar near the top of the catalog page).
You’ll be asked for your library card number and PIN. (Don’t know your PIN? Call your Branch Library and ask. You’ll need your library card number and driver’s license info.)
Be sure to designate where you want to pick up your hold. We can send it to any OC Public Libraries branch.
When you’ve finished placing your hold…you have to wait. Even if the book is at the branch you’ve chosen for the pick-up, staff won’t know about your hold until a daily report has been run and they go looking for it (probably the next day). If your item has to journey to another branch, count on some transit time. We do our best to move things quickly, but a hold has to pass through a number of hands before it’s ready for you to pick up.
Which brings us to…don’t forget to pick up your hold! You’ll get a phone call or an email when it's ready for you (depending on how you chose to be contacted). If you change your mind, you can go into your library account online and cancel the hold.
One last detail: When you place a hold this way, we charge you twenty-five cents. A quarter only goes a little way to defray the cost of getting the book to you; it's a lot of service for so little cash!
Staff can also help you place a hold. Please ask!

In our first post on this blog, we promised we’d tell you about three kinds of holds. You’ve learned the first two, the shelf check and the hold. The third? That’s for when the book you’re looking for isn't in our catalog. It’s a fabulous service called Interlibrary Loan (I.L.L. to those in the know). You’ll have access to books, journal articles, microfilm, and other materials that are not available at OC Public Libraries. Jump over to our ILL page to find out all about it.

Now please—go find something terrific to read!

WELCOME TO ORANGE ZEST!

2011-02-15T11:07:00.000-08:00

Using your public library can add zest to your life! Sure, you think of the library when the kids have reports to do, or when you want to buy a new car or washing machine and need the latest consumer info. OC Public Libraries can certainly help with these situations, but we have so much more!

Orange Zest, our new blog, aims to bring you library news you’ll want to know. We’ll highlight ways to use your public library to YOUR best advantage, and let you in on some of our trade secrets. (For instance, you probably know you can “put a hold” on a book and we’ll save it for you…but there are actually three different kinds of holds. More on that soon!) We’ll highlight interesting parts our collections. And you’ll get to know some of the special people who make up our staff.

With 33 branches around the OC, plus a website that operates 24/7, you can enjoy all this library goodness just about any time. Come along for the ride…Orange Zest!