If you dread hearing “How much longer?” or “Counting cows is boring!” check out your local library for things to check out for your Christmas roadtrips. DCPL has tons of interesting, entertaining and educational DVDs, audiobooks and CDs to engage you and your children on the way to grandmother’s house or wherever you’re headed this holiday season.

Try out any or all of the Harry Potter books read by the vastly talented Jim Dale. Or get a life and listen to someone’s biography or autobiography. Watch a holiday classic like It’s A Wonderful Life or Home Alone.

All it takes is a scan of your library card and you can entertain yourself and your passengers for miles. Who knows you might be so engrossed in your story that you won’t want to stop for anything but gas. If not you can always go back to counting state license plates.

I’ve been feeling really nostalgic lately and that’s all thanks to my new washboard. I’ll explain if I may.

I live in a cute old apartment complex with a pool that, curiously, hasn’t been opened yet, at least 300 small children gone summer-crazy and a dodgy, probably-haunted laundry room. Needless to say, with its odd horror-flick lighting and creepy little noises, it’s not really an enjoyable place for sorting one’s fine washables and lingering around while the clothes are cleaning. So I decided, being kind of a romantic at heart, that I should get a washboard and launder my clothes the old-fashioned way.  I figured that it beats having to trudge to a laundromat or beg friends and family into letting me use their washer and dryer all the time. (I’ve tried to find a way to tie “washboards” to DCPL in some relevant way but this is the best I could do.)

I have to say, DCPLers, that I’m really enjoying my washboard. The most fun part–aside from the actual using of the washboard–was purchasing  and bringing it home Sunday before last.  The reactions I got when I bought it and toted it home on the bus were similar to the ones I get when I tell people  that I work at The Library: a mixture of amusement (“Oh, how cute! Do people still use libraries?”) and general good will.

“Oh, you mean a scrub-board?” the friendly ACE Hardware worker corrected me, before offering her assistance and quizzing me about how southern I was.

Later, as I was walking to the nearest bus stop with my new purchase, one lady hollered out of her car window ” I haven’t seen one of those since I was a kid! Where’d you get that?”

Not long after that the bus driver that day and the lady in the seat behind me  had their own fond memories of their mamas or other loved ones working their laundry over the scrub-board (but now I’m confused–is it scrub-board or rub-board?)

This is kind of what my washboard looks like...

I’m still trying to figure out how to bring this blog post home and make it some how relevant to the Library. I guess I just like the fact that it’s really useful, traditional (nostalgic, even) and inexpensive to use…kind of like the Library, perhaps?

Getting ready for my road trip. Checking my list… gas, tires inflated, extra money, what am I missing? Hey, I don’t have anything to listen to while I cruise. To my rescue again is my local library.

The Library has audiobooks on compact discs and they have some that you can download.  You can see a list of new audiobook titles on CD using the Library’s RSS feed. Click on the feed for audiobooks. You can read the list online or you can subscribe to the feed and read it through your RSS reader.

The Library’s downloadable audiobooks have gotten friendlier to iPod users and those of us with basic MP3 players.  You can access eAudiobooks through Netlibrary by using our homepage.  The eAudiobook link  can be found under the eLibrary tab. Netlibray has WPA file Audiobooks that will work with some MP3 players and then MP3 file Audiobooks that will work with MP3 players and iPods.

Once you get into Netlibrary, you will need to set up an account for yourself. It asks that you create a user name and password. I usually recommend using your library card number and pin number since you just used this information to gain access to Netlibrary. (I try to keep things as simple as possible.) You can browse the titles in Netlibrary or you can search for particular titles.  To find those MP3 titles, you can sort by format. This is rather handy if you have a basic MP3 player or an iPod.

Not sure how to download eAudiobooks? We have an FAQ page that might be helpful. You will need to have Windows Media Player or iTunes loaded onto your computer in order to transfer the file to your MP3 player or iPod.  If you are still having problems downloading an audiobook, feel free to call us or use our Email a Librarian service. Make sure you select need help finding information and one of our Reference Librarians will get back to you via e-mail.  Now I’m off to download some audiobooks for the trip!

I don’t have a car. And I live in Atlanta.

Those are two sentences that, to the casual observer, should not be uttered by anyone…in a single breath.  But they are true of many Atlantans, myself included.  Whether one is willfully car-less in our fair, sprawling city or whether one is financially restricted to public transportation (or a combination of both, such as I am), being without a car in Atlanta is not easy…but not impossible.

The most obvious and well-known option throughout Metro Atlanta is MARTA, with service in Dekalb and Fulton counties. MARTA isn’t perfect–limited bus services in many areas–but it is a feasible option. Planning ahead is imperative but, thankfully, that has gotten much easier with their website’s Trip Planner feature.  Other mass transit options have come about over the past few years and, in conjuction with MARTA, can really help you navigate around the city.  Buslines serving the Buckhead district (the Buc) as well as university communities such as Emory and Georgia Tech can also be a big help.

A great place for information about alternative transportation is the website for Citizens For Progressive Transit.  Here you’ll find all the latest news about developments in Atlanta’s transit system (for example, What is Concept 3 and what does it mean to Atlanta?  There’s a meeting about it tonight!).  You’ll also find links to informative websites about other means of car-less transportation, such as the Path foundation for bikers, runners and walkers and P.E.D.S, a site about pedestrianism (is that a word?).

I’ve been surviving carlessly here in A-Town for about 5 years now…and I’m strongly considering giving up the ghost and getting my own set of wheels.  But until I do, the aforementioned methods and sources are decent ways to get where you need to go without a car or at least getting close enough and hoofing it the rest of the way–thanks, MARTA.

Seriously…I am curious about Concept 3.  I should try and get to that meeting.  Could someone give me a lift?

If you are like me, you spend a lot of your time and money driving around Atlanta to get to work, shopping, etc. In fact, according to statistics I found using our database Demographics Now (listed under the Business section of our Reference Database page ), citizens in DeKalb spent on average per household $2,375.13 last year (2007) in gas. That is a lot of driving! Over seventy-six percent of the people living in DeKalb own one or two cars per household.

I am always looking for ways to minimize my driving time and cut my transportation costs. The Georgia Department of Transportation has several tools to help us stay out of the traffic blues. They have a website that you can check anytime to see traffic conditions around Atlanta and the state.

Interested in where the accidents and construction delays are on your side of town? You can sign up for a My Navigator Account. This account will let you create a Personal Traffic Page, set up e-mail Traffic Alerts, and more.

In fact, if you use iGoogle, you can have incidents and construction delays displayed right on your personal Google page.  Traveling around and hit a wall of traffic and want to know if there is an accident? You can dial 511 from any phone and get traffic updates. You can also get weather conditions, report an accident or request vehicle assistance. On the other hand, you can also talk to a live operator by dialing *dot.

Looking for away to pass your time away while you are traveling? The library has a variety of audio books. We offer them in cd, cassette and downloadable formats. We also have a variety of music cds that can help pass the time as you work your way through the streets of Atlanta.

Looking for a new or used vehicle that might get better gas mileage? The library subscribes to Consumer Reports that can help give you car ratings on new and used vehicles. Want to know whether to trade in your gas-guzzler for a new hybrid? Smart Money magazine has an interactive feature that can help you determine if it is economical for you to buy a new hybrid and sell your current car.

Why is that driver is in the next car is driving that way? You might want to check out the book Traffic: why we drive the way, we do by Tom Vanderbilt. The author researched and interviewed many driving experts and traffic officials about why we drive the way we do. The book looks at the psychological, physical and technical factors that explain why we drive, what causes traffic jams and what our driving says about us. We also have the book in audiobook format for those who want to listen why you drive. I hope that some of these sources can help you beat the traffic blues!

If you’re looking for more ways to save gas (and thus, money!), then here is something you’ve probably never thought about before, but can make a big difference.  Cars have an optimal speed for gas efficiency, and that speed is around 60mph or less.  “In a typical family sedan, every 10 miles per hour you drive over 60 is like the price of gasoline going up about 54 cents a gallon,” according to this CNN article.  The reason is simply air resistance!  The savings can really add up, especially if you do a lot of highway driving.

Interested in other ways to save gas?  Check out these older (but still relevant) blog posts:

• Make Money By Not Driving
• Got The Gas Pump Blues?
• Learn How to Fix Your Bicycle

Love the Library’s eAudiobook service but have an iPod?  Unfortunately, there are currently no vendors offering downloadable audiobooks to libraries using Apple’s digital rights management format, but there are a few free options available for you on the Internet.

LibriVox is a volunteer, open source, free content, public domain project.  LibriVox volunteers record chapters of books in the public domain, and then “release” the audio files back onto the net.

Classic Poetry Aloud provides podcasts of, well, classic poetry.  If it’s Shakespeare, Pope, Keats, and Shelley you’re looking for, this is the place.

Podiobooks Listeners to Podiobooks.com can choose to receive the episodes of their books via an RSS feed or by listening to episodes by directly downloading episodes from the site.  The site is free, but donations are accepted to compensate authors, who permit their works to be available on the site.

openculture is a site that collects podcasts, videos, and online courses that are freely available on the web, and claims to “sift through all the media, highlight the good and jettison the bad, and centralize it in one place.”  The link provided here takes you directly to their audiobook collection.

Even as a librarian and a firm believer in freedom of information, I have to admit I’m both fascinated and weirded out by Google’s newest addition to their mapping product. I was trying to verify a zip code last week and since I was in a hurry, I just typed it quickly into Google. If you haven’t used Google for maps or directions, it’s very simple–you just type the address into the Google search box. Alternately, you can click on “Maps” and go there directly. This time, something new popped up along with the address and map–something called “Street View,” complete with a thumbnail photo. Curious, I clicked on it and felt a little like I’d invaded someone’s privacy. I then typed in my own address, and lo and behold, there I was staring at a photo of my own house from the street. You can click on the screen and rotate the view 360 degrees, as well as travel up and down the street. We think our picture is from the fall, because you can see pumpkins on our porch.  Which means sometime last fall, the Google car went down our street. Our cars are in the driveway, and our garbage can is out by the street, so we figure it must have been a Sunday afternoon.  Here’s a link to the street view of the Decatur Library.

Read more about the how, why, and where here. You can see a picture of the Google camera car, and see what they have to say about privacy concerns. I think Google’s Street View could be really useful in some situations, like checking out a new neighborhood while house-hunting (especially in distant cities), visiting a new doctor’s office, or driving to any address you’ve never visited before.  Google has a short instructional video and more info HERE.

If you’ve been thinking about alternative/greener modes of transportation, then now is the time to get serious. Gas prices have never been so high and global warming has never been worse. As if that’s not incentive enough, a non-profit organization called the Clean Air Campaign is literally PAYING you to NOT drive your car.

Their Commuter Rewards program rewards commuters who currently drive alone to work when they agree to start using a clean commute alternative. Start carpooling, teleworking, using transit, walking or bicycling to work and earn $3 per day, up to $180 over an assigned 90-day period.

They also offer rewards for carpooling to work. Finding people who are willing to carpool with you is easy using the RideSmart website. The website matches you up with people who live and work in your vicinity, so you don’t have to do any of the work.

Lots of folks are staying close to home this summer, due to rising gas costs.  Although usually the Library is the place to go for free summer fun, please remember that all DeKalb County Public Library branches will be closed on Sunday, May 25 and Monday, May 26 in observance of Memorial Day. 

Even though the Library is closed, there’s still a lot going on around town this weekend.  There’s some great fun to be had nearby at the 20th Annual Decatur Arts Festival, including the Artists Market and Literary Arts Festival.  Another Memorial Day tradition in Atlanta, the Atlanta Jazz Festival, is moving to Woodruff Park this year.  For other local events this holiday weekend, check out the AJC’s Access Atlanta or Creative Loafing.

If you happen to be amongst the one million Georgians who have decided to hit the road this weekend, you might want to check out these links to find the best gas prices nationwide.  And if you’re not heading out of town, you can at least feel some satisfaction that Georgia’s prices aren’t as high as some–gas in Spring Valley, NY is up to $4.98/gallon!

Automotive.com – Search by zip.

GasBuddy – Search by state or zip.  Allows search by type of gas (regular unleaded, premium, deisel).

MapQuest Gas Prices – Shows prices in a map format.  Zoom in or out for area desired.

MotorTrend Gas Prices – Search by zip code or click on

MSN Autos – Find prices by zip code.  Prices displayed on map and in list format.

And if you’re looking for gas mileage tips, gas prices, or gas mileage comparisons for new cars, check out www.fueleconomy.gov.