More cool stuff on the internet: listen to nearly 9,000 bird calls and see where they were recorded on Google Maps!

Even if you are not into birds (I’d say I’m ambivalent), this website I stumbled upon today is really cool! The Cornell Lab of Ornithology has recorded and archived nearly 9,000 bird calls and they are available for your listening pleasure here:  http://macaulaylibrary.org/. The library also features video and audio from many other species in the animal kingdom.

Happy virtual birding!

Books into Movies in 2013

When a movie is based on a book, many interesting conversations are sparked. Was the book or the movie better? Should you always read the book before seeing the movie? Were scenes deleted from the movie essential to the story?  You may think a librarian would always say the book is better than the movie and while that may be true for me the majority of the time, it is definitely not always my opinion. For example, I LOVED the movie Big Fish which was a beautiful film directed by Tim Burton, but I hated the original book written by Daniel Wallace. I am grateful to him, however, for providing the inspiration for the film  :). I loved BOTH the book and the film adaptation of The Invention of Hugo Cabret. In fact, I have read the book and watched the film numerous times. Mostly, I enjoy a good story.  Every year, many books are adapted for the big screen and this year has already seen several blockbuster hits including Les Miserables, The Hobbit, and the Life of Pi (I have a hunch this will be a film I enjoy much more than the book). Check out the list below for some other book adaptations that are slated to hit theaters in 2013! You still have time to read the books first . 

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Release date: May 10th, 2013

Safe Haven by Nicholas Sparks
Release date: February 8th, 2013

The Host by Stephanie Meyer
Release date: March 29th, 2013

World War Z by Max Brooks
Release date: June 20th, 2013

The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones by Cassandra Clare
Release date: August 23rd, 2013

Books Versus eBooks: Can we all be friends?

This was taken from The Daily Beast website. The poster gives pros and cons of the book/ebook trade.

“Back Story: Books vs. E-Books .” The Daily Beast: Read This Skip That. The Newsweek / Daily Beast Company, 3 Aug. 2010. Web.30 Nov. 2012<http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2010/08/03/back-story-books-vs-e-books.html&gt;.

What is an Electoral College?

What is an Electoral College?

Office of the Federal Register and the National Archives and Records
Administration (NARA)

Who is Telling the Truth??

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With the presidential elections fast approaching, voters have been flooded with information from both of the major political party candidates.  We have seen President Barak Obama and Governor Mitt Romney debate one another.  America has seen press conference after press conference and advertisement after advertisement explaining the candidates’ point of view on a variety of topics, including their view of each other. But are those views accurate? How would you know?  Well, there are several news websites whose mission is to show the truth and the lies that the candidates voice. One is called, PolitiFact from the Tampa Bay Times. Politifact has won a Pulitzer Prize.  Another website is FactCheck.Org and it is sponsored by the Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania.

The DHS Library is on Pinterest!

Are you the kind of person who goes straight to the displays in the library when looking for a good book to read? Do you love to look at the covers of the books on the tables at your local book store? If so, you should definitely check out the new DHS Library Pinterest Page!  On our page you will find various “boards” with different titles from “New books” to “Vampire Are NOT Dead!” When you click each board you will then see images of the covers of the books we included on that board that fit the title or theme. Click a cover and you will be taken to the Goodreads page for that book where you can read the professional and individual reviews, view title-related multimedia, find trivia, quizzes and more.  Click back often to see the new boards we have created! Have an idea for a board? Want to create your own Pinterest Page? E-mail us or stop by any time! We’d love to help you set up your own Pinterest page or create a book-related board for you.

Click below to visit the DHS Library Pinterest Page now!

Why Can’t I Stop Playing PopWords!!!

*Picture from iTunes App page.

For all of you Words With Friends, Scrabble and Boggle players – have you tried PopWords! by Megafauna Software?  It’s one of the fun apps you can download to your cell phone.  But it’s extra fun if you use one of the DHS Library’s iPads. Yes, we have iPads!  Of course we have some great education apps you can try but if you just want to tryout an iPad to see if you like them, PopWords! is a game that is extremely entertaining.

How to play: when you see a word within the tiles, you trace the word with your finger.  The direction can be up or down, diagonal or a straight line.  If the computer recognizes your word then, POP it’s gone.  The tiles move to replace the old letters, Tetris style.  You’ve got to select as many words as you can before time runs out.  Got free time?  Just come up with your student ID and ask any library staff person for an iPad.  We can show you how to fine PopWords! and a lot of other apps, too!