It seemed like the perfect way to spend a rainy Saturday morning. I’d read all the James Herriot books at least once. ER was my favorite TV show and lastly, my Dad was a doctor. An Animal First Aid Class seemed appropriate. And it was.  I attended the First Aid for Cats and Dogs class at the Dunwoody Library on October 17th.

Our Christopher Walken look-a-like instructor (John McCarren from Paw Paws Pet Sitting Service) showed us the basics of pet first aid. We learned everything from the infamous Mouth to Muzzle breathing technique (on a dog replica that came with a heart beat and pulse to show you if you were doing the technique right).  We learned to use an old credit card to scrape out stingers and to carry a dog to the car rather than have him walk, if a snake bit him.  We learned how to perform CPR, how to stop bleeding, how to strap a dog to a backboard if his back was broken and my favorite–the doggy Heimlich manuever.

I came home from class and my dog, Sammy, knew he was safer or at least he let me take his pulse and shake on it.  If you missed this event, don’t worry–you could check out Emergency care for cats and dogs : first aid for your pet by Craton Burkholder.  Also, there are many other educational programs at the library.

Lately I’ve become a bit of a Brazil-o-phile. I know very little about Brazilian culture except for what I’ve seen in movies, read in books or listened to on radio and in my music collection. All I know is that Black Orpheus is one of my favorite films,  and that I could listen to the music of Bebel Gilberto and Ceu for hours upon hours. And now that Rio de Janeiro has been appointed the host of the 2016 Summer Olympics, I’m clamoring for a trip to Cidade Maravilhoso and for more information about Brazil in general.

It should come as no surprise that the Library has a wealth of information on this incredibly fascinating country. Here are some of the things I’ve been checking out so far:

Portuguese For Dummies: I figured that in learning about another culture, a great place to start is by getting acquainted with the language. Portuguese, particularly of the Brazilian variety, is a lovely yet complex language. But Portuguese for Dummies is a great introduction to the language. For me, it helps to see Portuguese grammar and Brazilian colloquialisms and makes learning less intimidating. Seeing Portuguese in print helps me tremendously by reminding me of its similarities to other Romance languages.

Pimsleur Language Programs Portuguese (Brazilian): Right now I’m on course 1A and it’s a great way to begin tuning the ear to the language. Pimsleur’s also great for learning just about any other language you can imagine…and at your own pace.

Brazil: Nothing helps you plan a vacation quite like a guidebook. DCPL has travel books by Fodor’s, Frommer’s and Lonely Planet. The one that I’m perusing right now is a Moon Handbook which, like most guidebooks, offers helpful lodging, dining and entertainment hints. But I really like the fact that this particular book has a nice little survival phrasebook in back and fascinating cultural tidbits throughout.

The DeKalb County Public Library system is participating in the Metro Atlanta Solar System (MASS) project. Chris Dupree, a professor of astronomy and director of the Bradley Observatory at Agnes Scott College, created this project.

The MASS project is a scale model of the solar system. The sun is located at the Bradley Observatory plaza at Agnes Scott. The Decatur Library represents the earth. The project uses the same scale for both the planetary size and their distances from the Sun. The scale of the model is approximately 1:150,000,000. Want to know where the other locations are and more about the project? Check out this link to Agnes Scott’s web page.

Interested in learning more about the solar system?

The library has several books about the solar system. We even have the Complete Idiot’s Guide to Astronomy written by Chris Dupree.

Here are a few more you might want to check out.

Lives of the Planets: A natural history of the solar system by R.M. Corfield

The Planets by Dava Sobel

Infinite Worlds: an illustrated voyage to planets beyond our sun. by Ray Villard

The big S you see on DCPL programming is for Seniors.  Yes, the library has programs geared towards senior patrons (though you don’t have to be a senior to attend).

We offer everything from Healthy Living programs to Senior Movie Times. Here is a sampling:

• come test your knowledge of trivia at the Chamblee Library
• come knit with us, on the second and fourth Thursdays of every month, except for holidays
• come discuss a book, we have book discussion groups at many different branches
• want to learn about what classes the Georgia Perimeter College has to offer?  Denise Rixter gives you the details
• learn how to use the computer
• map out your ancestry in one of our genealogy workshops, every third Thursday of the month, except for holidays.

Here is a list of all our senior programs.

Take two knitting needles, a skein of yarn and thou and what have you got? Hopefully a sweater, a scarf or at the very least – a pot holder. I am less than the very least. I cannot seem to get the hang of knitting.

Three of my more than patient co-workers, a knitting store and a few books with huge pictures cannot seem to get my needles and yarn going in the right direction to make anything more than some impressive knots. Not the knits that I was striving for.

I just wanted to join the ranks of the fifty-three million women who know how to knit or crochet (another dismal failure). This is an impressive fifty-one percent increase in the past ten years.

Plus, I wanted to join celebrity knitters like Madonna, Cameron Diaz and Julia Roberts. In fact, Julia is set to star in an upcoming movie about knitting called The Friday Night Knitting Club. (Also a book you can check out of the library.)

I longed to whip through patterns in Stitch and Bitch by Debbie Stoller or even Knitgrrl by Shannon Okey although I am much too old to check it out.

Knitting is so cool that it has blogs like www.yarnharlot.com. Or www.ravelry.com which is like Facebook for knitters with nearly 400,000 members.  I give up, I am turning in my needles (and crochet hook) for something like ?????

This month the feature database is Consumer Health Complete. This database is one of the many sources the DeKalb County Library cardholders have access through GALILEO. All of these databases can be found on our Reference Databases page.

Have you or someone you loved been diagnosed with a disease by the doctor? Have you wanted to know more information but were afraid to ask the doctor? Consumer Health Complete is a good resource to learn more about diseases and health information.

Consumer Health Complete contains many electronic versions of Reference books that we have on the shelf like the Complete Guide to Prescription & Nonprescription Drugs. You can browse the electronic versions of the Reference books or you can keyword search the books. Consumer Health Complete also has the type of documents it contains broken down by category such as Pamplet & Fact Sheets, Encyclopedias, Evidence-Based Reports, Images and Diagrams and Alternative Sources to name a few.

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If you haven’t noticed yet, the library now has a podcasting page, where you can listen, download, and subscribe to our Musical Bookings podcasts and our Author Talk podcasts.  Podcasts, as you may or may not know, are basically audio (sometimes video) “shows” that are available on the internet.  Think of it like a radio show, except you listen to it on either your computer or portable MP3 device.  In fact, many radio shows are available as podcasts, including NPR’s This American Life, Car Talk, and Fresh Air.

But because anybody with a mic and a computer can make a podcast, you don’t have to be Terry Gross to have a  show on the internet.  This has resulted in podcasts that focus in on many special niche interests that would never survive on normal radio, shows like Imprint (a show dedicated to the Twilight series), GolfBetter (dedicated to golf), and Manic Mommies (about motherhood).

I’m ashamed to admit that before last week, I had barely listened to any podcasts.  I imagined badly produced shows featuring 14 year old hosts talking about World of Warcraft (no offense).  But because I was in charge of helping coordinate the library’s podcasts, I decided to look around and see what was out there already.  Now I’m totally hooked!  There are many good podcasts.  After the jump, I’ll highlight three that I absolutely love.  Then I’ll give you a few technical tips on how to get started.

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Doing research and limited to a certain number of resources? Do not fear the Library is here! As a Reference Librarian, I often help people find sources to answer their questions, or write a paper. Often when it is school related, I hear “I can only use blank number of web sources. I have already checked the Internet.” When I ask if they have checked our Reference Database page, I often hear, I cannot use that because we are limited by the number of Internet sources.

Did you know there is a difference between Internet sources and electronic sources? The Library has electronic resources that are different from a web-based source. What is an Electronic Resource? You access the source through your web browser (Internet Explorer, Foxfire, Safari, Chrome…) but these sources were created in print before they were loaded and available on the Internet.

How do you access them? Go to our home page and click on the Reference Database button. Here you will find a list of resources that we have broken down by category. We have over twenty-six print based electronic resources. A few of these sources do have links to the Internet but most have a print-based component.

Curious to know which one you might be able to use? If you move your mouse over the title a short synopsis will show up and tell you what the resource is about and what it includes. For example, the Biography Resource Center’s synopsis indicates that it draws its information from Reference books, and from journal articles including  the Marquis Who’s Who. The Student Resource Center’s synopsis indicates that it draws its information from Reference documents, articles and dictionary entries.

Need an example of a source we have on the page that is an Internet Source? Look at The New Georgia Encyclopedia. According to the synopsis, it contains information on people, places, events and histories of Georgia. The site includes articles and images on every aspect of Georgia and links to related Internet sites. I hope this helps you or someone you know the next time there is a paper due. Remember these Electronic sources are available 24/7 through our elibrary.

I’ve always liked accents.  Every day people speak the same language very differently to each other, reflecting their unique backgrounds.  When I found out that there are websites that track and study accents in an organized fashion, I was hooked.

The Speech Accent Archive has an archive of people from all over the world saying the same (rather ridiculous) sentence.  You can browse by language or by geographical region. Their website stresses “that accents are systematic rather than merely mistaken speech,” and it even provides a guide to show you the common characteristics of each accent.

International Dialects of English Archive (IDEA) is another similar website, which also accepts online submissions of samples.  These websites can be very useful for people as diverse as the ESL teacher trying to teach English to non-native speakers to actors who are trying to master a certain accent.

The last accent-related website I found is the Language Trainers Group’s Can You Guess Where My Accent is From? game.  It’s pretty fun.  See if you can beat it!

Money is tight these days and lots of people are looking for ways to save a few dollars where they can.  If do-it-yourself auto repair is something you’re interested in, the Library has a couple of sources for auto repair information.  The Chilton’s series of auto repair books are available in most branches; some are available for checkout while some volumes are available for in-house reference use only.  If the book you need isn’t available, the Library has another source you might check into for car repair assistance.  Whether you’re wondering how to replace the tailgate on your ‘72 Chevy El Camino or looking for a service bulletin for your ‘08 Honda CR-V, Auto Repair Reference Center is a great source of auto repair information.

In addition to service bulletins, repair information, and wiring diagrams, Auto Repair Reference Center also provides an Auto IQ section, which provides video descriptions of vehicle parts and systems.  You can find general car care and repair tips, as well as a troubleshooting section.  There’s also an option for printing information.

To use the database, click on Reference Databases from our homepage.  Scroll down to “Consumer” databases and click on Auto Repair Reference Center.  You’ll need to enter your library card number and PIN, then you’ll be given a list of databases to choose from (just select Auto Repair Reference Center again).

Once you’re in the database, just click on the model year for your vehicle, then select the make and model.   Model years begin in 1945 for Jeep only, but more manufacturers show up in the database beginning with the 1960s.