On an unusually snowy March night I ventured out to take Laurie Foley’s free workshop called “Blogging- Who, What, Where & How?” at the brand new Toco Hill-Avis G. Williams library. The audience was small due to the weather and mostly women. (Two-thirds of bloggers are men.) We all wanted to know the same thing — how do I start a blog and more importantly how do I get readers?

Laurie Foley is an award-winning blogger and business coach.  She presented us with the history of blogging. Did you know that 133,000,000 blogs have been indexed since 2002 but ninety-five percent are abandoned within four months? 72% are hobbyists, 15% are part-times, 9% are self employed and 4% are professionals.  A great professional blog is Huffington Post and a good local one to check out (besides DCPLive) is Decatur Metro.

Then she recommended some good books: The New Rules of Marketing and PR by David Meerman Scott; Wordpress for Dummies, 2nd Edition by Lisa Sabin-Wilson and Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die by Chip Heath and Dan Heath (you can find all of these titles at DCPL).  Then she wowed us with the fact that 900,000 blog entries are posted every twenty-four hours. I must say I feel a little daunted but determined.

If you missed this class, don’t worry.  Every month the Library has many other computer classes which you can check out in our events calendar.

This month the Library added a new online tool for our patrons – Optimal Resume (available through our Reference Databases page). As the name suggests, Optimal Resume assists you in creating a resume and cover letter but it has many other features that make it a comprehensive aid to job seekers. Every day, library staff help people using our computers make resumes and search for work. We’ve been looking for something that would make it easier for job seekers and Optimal Resume is the best product we’ve seen. It’s used in many college and university career centers and we’re happy to be able to offer it to DeKalb County residents.

To use Optimal Resume, you will need to first set up your account through the library’s website. If you’re accessing the website at home, you will need your library card number and PIN. You only have to go through the Library’s website the first time. Once you’ve set up your account, you can login directly to our Optimal Resume website.

Once you login, you’re taken to the Document Center. The resume and letter sections have lots of professionally written sample resumes and lots of online help (like a link that suggests appropriate “action verbs”). Optimal Resume takes you section by section through the resume process and formats the document for you. You can work with their examples, start your resume from scratch or upload an existing resume. You can customize your resume for different job openings and store all the versions online in your Optimal Resume account. No more keeping your resume as an email attachment or on your flash drive (we have a lot of flash drives in our lost-and-found drawers.)

Beyond creating resumes and letters, Optimal Resume will help you create your own website. You can post your resume, create an online portfolio and more. Your website can be public or password protected. I used several of the sample documents to create a resume and application letter for the imaginary Jane X. Sample. You can see her personal website at http://dekalblibrary.confidentialresume.com/Jane_X_Sample/.

If you have access to a webcam, you can use Optimal Resume to record yourself during a practice interview. A video “coach” offers advice on good ways to answer some of the usual interview questions. It’s a great way to rehearse for a real world interview.

The Libray is offering classes to help you get started with Optimal Resume and staff will be also be available to assist you with the site during any of our “Open Labs for Job Seekers”. Come in and try it out at any of our libraries or at any time from your home computer.

The library isn’t just for checking out books.  If you haven’t checked out a class at your library, I urge you to do so soon. Not only are they interesting — they’re free! I recently took a class on the art of memoir writing presented by Wayne South Smith. (www.thewritersprocess.com).

First, he explained the difference between an autobiography (usually written by someone famous and covers the person’s entire life span) vs. a memoir which covers a certain finite period or event in a person’s life.

Then, he gave the packed class exercises in writing, a list of memory prompts and a reading list of books available for checkout at DCPL. For example, there’s On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft by Stephen King (813.54 KIN), Old Friend from Far Away, the Practice of Writing Memoir by Natalie Goldberg (808.66 GOL) or Living to Tell the Tale: a Guide to Writing Memoir by Jane Taylor McDonnell (808.0669 McD).

I walked away from the two and a half hour class having learned a little about myself and the other participants and ready to crank up the computer (also free for using at the library). I figured if I lived through it, I could tell the tale.

Old Tucker library

I have had the honor over the last few weeks to help move the Tucker library from the old location to its new location. I say honor for several reasons. I grew up in the Tucker area and used the library since I was around four years old. I also worked at the branch from 1996-2001.

I worked the last day at the old location and it was truly a mix of emotions for many community members who came in and for myself. Did you know that the old location was built in 1965 and the entire library was contained in what we currently know as the Children’s area? The office in the Children’s area was the staff workroom and circulation area. The library opened with air conditioning which was uncommon for the time period. ( I remember on a hot summer day jumping for joy at a visit to the library to stand in front of the unit to cool off.)  The meeting room in the old location was the recreation center. Many of us that grew up in the 1970’s took ballet and other classes in that space. The space was renovated in the mid-1980’s.

Removing the materials from the building was physical work for the entire staff. We had movers to get the materials from the old location to the new. The staff however had to physically remove the material from the shelves and either box or place them in rolling containers. I can say now with experience that you don’t need a gym if you are moving a library.

The dedication of the new library will be on Saturday, January 23 at 11:00 a.m. The library will be reopen for business on Monday, January 25, 2010.  It has been exciting to see all the new areas the Tucker library will hold. A few of my favorites are the fireplace, the teen area, the study carrels with their built-in electrical plugs and the wireless network.  The Library has posted many pictures of the new location on our Flickr page.  If you come by the new location, let me know what you like best about the new library. Post your best here, we would love to know what you think.

So here’s how it happened:  I was cruising around on Amazon and I found  a magazine article for sale on a topic in which I have a great interest.   I wanted to read this article but suspected it wasn’t something I was going to want to keep and it was an absolute that I didn’t want to pay $10.00 for the privilege of downloading it.  I know–you think I just went to the magazine’s web page and read the article there, right?  You may be forgiven for thinking that because frequently that is exactly what I do.  In this case though, the magazine didn’t even have a website.  I was not to be denied in my quest and I did the next best thing.  I went to www.dekalblibrary.org, logged on with my library card number and PIN and then chose the Research header on the home page.  I then chose Magazines and Newspapers and clicked on Research Library at ProQuest.  I plugged in the title of the article and there it was.  Guess what–I appreciated the article but  I was awfully glad I didn’t have to cough up a tenner to read it.

But wait!  There’s more!  Hypothetically speaking, you are sitting in your kitchen at 1:30 in the morning, worrying about the smashed bumper on your car, which is your own fault because you were doing something stupid in the driveway.  You can’t sleep for the worry and your brother, who just wants to go to bed says, “If we had a  Chilton’s right now I could tell you if I can fix it with a part from the junkyard.”  You shout, “Hey! We have something that looks exactly like Chilton’s and we can look at it now.”  Then you fire up the computer, go to www.dekalblibrary.org and log in.  After that you choose Reference Databases and then AutoRepair Reference Center and you now know that you can sleep because your brother looks over the pages he needs and says, “Yeah, we can fix it easy, we’ll just call the junkyard in the morning.  Now go to bed.”

See, DeKalb County Public Library is there for me, 24/7, saving me money and sleep.  Take some time to play on our site and get to know what’s there that can save you the same.

We are less than a week away from Thanksgiving Day so I thought I would count down 10 things I am thankful for about my library.

10. The Twitter feed that gives me interesting quotes, facts and heads up on library events.

9. The variety of programs that I can attend. (I personally like the musical programs, the new movie series and that the teens are developing some of their own programs.)

8. The DCPL Facebook page (I feel more connected to my community and love seeing some of the dialogue.)

7. The downloadable eAudiobooks some of which can be found in MP3 format. (Check out NetLibrary using GALILEO).  eAudiobooks are only available from outside the library buildings.

6. The number of electronic resources that are available to me for free as a member of the Library. (Check out the Reference Database page.)

5. The e-mail pre-notification that I get when my material is almost due.

4. The variety of movies that are available on DVD.

3. The hold request system. It is great to think of a book, go to the computer, place a request and have the item sent to my current branch. (It usually takes very little time if the item is in. My home library-not this county- takes usually several weeks even with the book on the shelf.)

2.  The wi-fi that is becoming available to more branches. (It works perfectly with my iPod touch and I can surf on my lunch hour.)

1. The variety of books available for my reading pleasure. If the library does not have it, I can suggest that they consider buying a copy for the system or I can use the Interlibrary Loan service to borrow the book from another library system.

What are you thankful about your library? Would you rank my top ten list differently?

The thought of it sounds delightful but the cost brings me down–quickly. The library has the perfect solution for a night of family fun: dinner and a movie.  Several libraries offer recent blockbuster films.  All you have to bring is the family and a blanket and/or lawn chairs to sit on and of course, dinner.  You can even wear your pajamas . The kids will eat it up. And you won’t have to shell out for tickets and popcorn. (Although you can bring your own if you like!)

Upcoming movies include Bedtime Stories at the Chamblee Library on Tuesday, October 13 from 5-7PM.   Covington offers Teen Movie Day on Monday, October 12 from 1PM-3PM and Family Movie Night on Monday October 19 from 6PM-7:30PM.  Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa will be playing at the Wesley Chapel-WCB Library also on Monday, October 19 from 6PM-8PM.  The Gresham Library will show the holiday classic, A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving on Tuesday November 24 from 6PM-6:30PM.  Check the online calendar for additional film screenings and more details.

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.

We usually recommend a book to someone because we like the story or the setting or because it’s funny, etc. The other night a patron recommended an audiobook to me because the reader was really good.  Ed Sala’s reading of James Lee Burke’s White Doves at Morning was so compelling that this gentleman had come to the library to find more. The Library includes the name of audiobook readers in the catalog, making it easy to search for a favorite performer:

From the catalog page, select Sound/Video. From the first search box, select Audiobook Word(s) from the menu. In the second search box, enter the performer’s name.

AudioFile, a magazine devoted to audiobooks, has a Golden Voices list if you’re interested in finding more recommended readers or you might like one of Stephen King’s 10 favorite audiobooks.  I personally recommend Flo Gibson’s reading of Persuasion by Jane Austen.  On the page, Austen is amusing to me; but read aloud she is truly funny, with a wicked sense of humor and great timing.  Have you got a favorite audiobook reader?