Monroe Library Blog

Monday, April 26, 2010

Download EBooks From Sno-Isle's Web Site

Very exciting news that eBooks are now available from the Sno-Isle Web site through OverDrive. EBooks are books that you can download to your pc or mac and then transfer to some brands of readers, phones, etc. Of course I had to try it out right away! I don't own a reader, but I tried it out on my laptop and I really liked it. I thought I wouldn't like reading from a screen, but it was OK, and I can see there are definitely times when I will use this service. For example: even though I work in a library sometimes I actually run out of books to read, or the books I have aren't what I am the mood to read at the time. Also traveling - planning how many books I will need to bring is always a hassle...I don't want to pack too many, but I don't want to run out. Then there are those appointments that I drive my Dad to every week with nearby free WIFI that I take advantage of, now I can check out an eBook, when I forget to bring a book along.



It's easy to use with just your library card, the Sno-Isle Web site, and a pc or mac, and in just a few clicks you can download and start reading!



I was able to check out Mitch Albom's "Have a Little Faith" as an eBook. I was planning to get in the hold queue after hearing good things about it and I was suprised to find it available for check out as an eBook.

Monday, April 5, 2010

FarmVille: Do You Play?


When I first got a facebook account, I was inundated with a barrage of invitations that I received from friends to play online-virtual-social games. Truth be told, these invitations puzzled and annoyed me. I didn't know a thing about those games.

A recent article at CNN.com estimates that approximately 75 million people play FarmVille each month. Is it just me, or does that seem like a LOT of people?

Well, the invitations from friends continued to pour in and guess what? I succumbed, and I am now a faithful FarmVille player.

Each day I plant my own crops, fertilize my neighbors' crops, feed the neighbors' chickens, and send my neighbors virtual gifts. Some of these activities result in almost daily, multiple posts to my profile and my friends' homepages. If you're not into FV, these posts may annoy you. I'm sorry, but my FV neighbors love them!

Because of the many postings generated by FV and other social games, a facebook group was created and entitled "I don't care about your farm, or your fish, or your park, or your mafia!!!" According the the CNN.com article, the group once boasted of over 5 million members. I recently tried to access the groups profile, but I couldn't find it. Perhaps, the group members all started playing FarmVille and subsequently disbanded.

A recent study was cited in the Seattle PI and related information regarding library computer use. "A third of Americans 14 and older - about 77 million people - use public library computers..." At Sno-Isle Libraries, customers can enjoy up to two hours of computer time each day.

Hmmmm. I wonder how many of them play FarmVille. Do you?