Paul Newman, 1925-2008

Paul Newman died yesterday (Friday, September 26, 2008).  My wife and I just recently watched a couple of his movies recently, notably The Sting, which is still really good.  But he was more than just a great actor, as this article explains.

You want to be careful, as a blogger, not to overuse certain phrases, but I think Newman’s death might really be the end of an era for a lot of people.

Zune users–enjoy audiobooks for free, finally

Microsoft has recently provided a software upgrade that will now make the library’s downloadable audiobook service compatible with your Zune.  You may need the upgrade to 3.0.

Go to http://www.zune.net/en-us/products/zunesoftware/download.htm for the 3.0 upgrade.

Then go to http://acpl.lib.overdrive.com/ for our free downloadable audiobooks service.

Nancy

Fort-4-Fitness Health Festival is Friday night

From the Fort-4-Fitness website:

The Fort-4-Fitness Health Fair takes place on Friday, September 26, 2008 from 4 to 8 pm in the Allen County Public Library.  It is open to the general public and will feature many health and fitness organizations, both local and national.  Attendees can see the latest in health equipment and sportswear.  Race organizations and fitness centers will provide information on the best ways to train for marathons and other activities. Health organizations will be on hand to help people understand more about their current state of health and learn what can be done to improve their well being.

Many organzations are exhibiting at the Health Fair:

Inside Allen County Public Library

Parkview Health

FW Phys. Medicine

Thin and Healthy

Summit City Fitness

MD Imaging

CANI

Foot Solutions

City Walk

Aboite New Trails

Greenway Consortium

Village of Heritage

FW Cardiology

Purdue Coop Extension

Decatur Vein Clinic

Catalyst Fitness

Koehlinger Cycling and Fitness
Fit Zone for Women

Healthy Eating

Darci Cook

Kachmann Mind Body Inst.

Culligan

YMCA

Dupont Family Dentistry

Ft. Wayne Urology

Dr. Pintar

Overeaters Anonymous

Heather Christlieb, PT

Auburn Chiropractic

Seattle Sutton’s Health Eating

Full Circle Wellness Advanced Therapeutic Massage

Edgewood Chiropractic

Chiropractic Rehab & Wellness

Lutheran Nursing Leadership

Lutheran Weight Management Center

Lutheran Osteoporosis Clinic

Lutheran Tobacco Intervention Allen County Public Library
North East Indiana Kidney Foundation

In Front of Allen County Public Library
(Outside Under Tent)

3 Rivers Running Company
Brooks Asics
Adidas
Nike
Mizuno
Polar
CWX
Wigwam
Saucony
Centennial Wireless
Ft Wayne Track Club
Convention & Visitors Bureau

Library Camp 2

We’re putting on a little unconference today called “Library Camp“.  About a hundred people are signed up to attend, and I think we’re definitely up to 70 or 80 at the first talk.  We’re listening to David Lee King, Digital Branch & Services Manager at the Topeka & Shawnee County Public Library, talk about what a Digital Branch is all about.  It goes beyond just having a web site; it means having staff and a collection and community and actual things to do.

It’s making me think about what our web site accomplishes.  We do pretty well – there’s the online catalog, and we have downloadable audiobooks, and we provide links to research databases (“E-resources”), and it’s possible to apply for a library card online, we take pictures and make videos, and we have a few blogs where we try to communicate what’s going on at the library and accept comments from you, the public, about what we write about or what you’re thinking about.  But there are other things we don’t do yet, or don’t do well, and those are the things I’m trying to concentrate on today.

Many of these communication tools are for promoting the business of and events at the library, but we also do things just for fun.  I’ll finish with a video we made recently in Young Adults’ Services (the librarian is me):

Ian
Youtubeing Librarian

Library Camp

Today is Library Camp at ACPL: we have librarians from throughout the region here to talk about all kinds of library technology topics. It’s what’s known as an “un-conference.” Instead of coming up with a list of sessions and presenters ahead of time, we’ve invited a bunch of people who are interested in technology and asked them just to bring ideas. After we hear from our keynote speaker, David Lee King, who is talking about the Digital Branch Library, we’ll put together a list of topics and then decide which ones we’re most interested in. It should be a really interesting day.

Fall hours are back!

Starting this weekend, 9/6 & 9/7, we will be resuming our non-summer hours.  This means that all branches will again be open on Saturdays (most 10 AM – 6 PM, with Monroevill and Woodburn 10 AM – 2 PM), and the Main Library will be open on Sundays from 12 noon – 5 PM.

We’ll see you then!