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.

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.

The Library now offers calendar of events RSS feeds.  This means that you can subscribe to events by age group, event type, or branch just like you would subscribe to a blog’s RSS feed.  You will then get updates on new events in your areas of interest directly in your RSS reader.  If you are not familiar with RSS feeds, watch this video first:

What’s even cooler is that if you have very specific interests, you can now build your own RSS feed.  Simply fill out the form on that page.  For example, if you were interested in movies and also events for kids, then simply click the check box next to Movies and also check the boxes next to the age groups you are interested in.  Once you submit the form, a RSS feed will automatically be generated for you immediately.

This is a great way to keep up with library events, especially if you are already familiar with RSS readers and check your feeds daily.

Film Love is an on-going Atlanta film series at The Eyedrum Gallery and occasionally at other venues as well.  Its stated goal is to provide “access to great but rarely-screened films, and promotes awareness of the rich history of experimental and avant-garde filmmaking.”  Over the years I’ve been to many really great screenings of films that are not released anywhere on DVD or VHS.

This year Film Love is presenting a series of movies about African Americans’ struggle for civil rights.  The Civil Rights on Film series starts this Friday, February 20th and features four nights of rare films on African-American life, 1941-1967.  To learn more about the films, please visit their website.  Many of these films are not available anywhere else, so don’t miss this opportunity!  Note: the films will be screened at three different locations, so check the website for where each movie will be held.

A couple of Saturdays ago, the Teen Advisory Board (TAB) conducted a program for fellow teens. This was the first time that the TAB members created the idea for the program, organized it and ran it. For a first time attempt, it was very successful. There were close to twenty-five teens that participated.

What is the Teen Advisory Board, you may ask?  It is an opportunity for teens throughout DeKalb County to get together at the Library and give their opinions about books, movies, the teen portion of our website and programming at the Library for teens. The Board meets once a month on a Saturday. The teens that participate are eligible for volunteer hours.  If you are a teen and interested in joining, check out the information on the teen page.

So what was the program you may ask? It was a book swap.  The teens would bring in books that they no longer wanted to trade for new ones.  You would check in at the registration desk and get a ticket for each book that you were handing in. The books were then sorted by category.  You would then go around the room and select books that you wanted, up to the number that you brought. If you did not find enough books to swap, the teens gave credit for the next Book Swap. They hope to have one every three months or so.

I, personally, cannot wait to see what the next program TAB will be presenting. They have several in the works for the next six to nine months. Check the event calendar and your local branch for future programs. In the meanwhile, enjoy the pictures I took during the event.

Today marks a historic day for our nation.  And, it seems that everywhere I turn it’s what everyone is talking about.  As I channel surfed across the news stations on the television this weekend, one commentator mentioned a bit of interesting trivia. President-elect Obama has opted to include the phrase “so help me God” at the end of the oath of office, which every president has done since George Washington in 1789.  This made me wonder about other facts and tidbits about the inauguration. So, here’s a quiz on inaugural firsts:

• Whose inaugural ceremony was the first to be broadcast on the radio?  Television?  Internet?
• Who was the first president to take the oath of office in Washington, DC?
• Who delivered the longest address?  The shortest address?
• Who was the only unelected Vice President to become President?
• Who was the first president inaugurated on January 20th?

To find the answers, look here.

And, if you aren’t able to make the trek to Washington, D.C. or want more information on the inauguration, the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies’ website posts maps for the festivities, a program with the schedule of all the performers involved in the ceremonies, luncheon information that includes recipes from the menu, and pictures of the table settings, including the china and the flower arrangements.   If you can’t be there in person, this looks like the best site to make it seem like you really are there.  And, if you want to watch the inauguration with others in the DeKalb area, you can stop at the Chamblee, Clarkston, Redan-Trotti and Wesley Chapel – William C. Brown Libraries where the Inaugural Ceremonies will be shown on the big screen.

All DeKalb County Public Library branches will be closed on Monday, January 19 in observance of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr’s birthday.  A list of local events is available online from The King Center.

A great online resource for photos, letters, videos, and much, much more relating to Dr. King (as well as other civil rights leaders and events), is the Civil Rights Digital Library.  It’s an excellent and fascinating resource.  Click here to watch a WSB newsfilm clip from First Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama on May 21, 1961, where Dr. King encourages nonviolence while a riot goes on outside.

Unlimited Enthusiasm Expo ’08, aka Camp Jump and Yell for Boys and Girls and Wizards, is coming to Atlanta! On July 6, Harry and the Potters, Math the Band, Uncle Monsterface and Dumbledore D$ will be rocking at Eyedrum. The enthusiasm will be unleashed starting with an early show at 5pm and the regular show at 6pm.

According to the press release, one can “expect a show filled with kids and adults, parents and teenagers, all collectively losing their minds in a joyous outpouring of geeky summer fun. This will be the ultimate experience in participatory concerts with volunteers for each show on hand to mix Kool-aid and Tang and make peanut butter and jelly and grilled cheese sandwiches. There will be name-tags! Voter registrations! Awesome wizards! Giant monsters! Cool videos! Rock and roll aerobics! Inflatable monkeys! Dancing sock puppets! A rock and roll tour can be whatever we want, so long as we have one thing: Unlimited Enthusiasm. “

Advance tickets are available for $10 at Little Shop of Stories or at a local Ticket Alternative Outlet, which include Criminal Records, Decatur CD or Ella Guru. Advance tickets can also be purchased online from Ticket Alternative. Tickets on the day of the show or at the door will be $12.

I will see you jumping, yelling and dancing with sock puppets at the Expo!  I’m so excited and I just can’t hide it, I’m planning on losing control and letting the enthusiasm flow! *

* My apologies are given to the Pointer Sisters for mutilating their song with my silliness. I blame my unlimited enthusiasm.