Vol. 10; No. 44 December 13, 2007

OFF THE SHELF
A WEEKLY LIBRARY NEWSLETTER
Vol. 10; No. 44 December 13, 2007

QUOTE OF THE WEEK
”To know where you can find anything, that in short is the largest part of learning.”
- Anonymous

DO YOU NEED HELP FINDING INFORMATION?
That’s what Reading Public Librarians do best! We will research and answer your burning questions or teach you what you need to know in order to locate your own information. Not only are we ready and waiting for your phone, email and in-person questions, we also provide access to great online resources. Whether you are looking for encyclopedia entries, newspapers and magazine articles, or health and business resources, you can find it all at

http://www.readingpl.org/onlineresources.html


These are quality information resources provided to Reading residents through local, state, and regional funds. Our most popular online resources are in the Homework Help section. This is where middle and high school students find primary source documents, current magazine and newspaper articles, and online reference books.

Here is a complete list of our Homework Help tools.

Encyclopedias
*Virtual Reference Library includes encyclopedias and specialized reference books such as Beacham's Guide to the Endangered Species of North America and The Encyclopedia of Multicultural America.
*Grolier Online is your access to the complete Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia and New Book of Knowledge.

Newspapers
*Proquest offers instant full-text access to individual newspaper titles including Boston Globe (1980-current).
*New York Times allows you to search the full text of The New York Times (starting in 1995)

Social Studies
*ABC CLIO World Geography provides everything you need for an in-depth understanding of world geography and cultures including maps, country profiles, pictures, and historical and cultural reports.
*ABC CLIO World History presents political, economic, and social history and offers you a dynamic view of the world over the last five centuries. You can search by topic or search the category section where you will find biographies, primary source documents and more.
*Greenwood Daily Life Online is really three sources in one - Daily Life Through History, World Cultures Today and World Folklore & Folklife.
*Biography Resource Center lets you search for contemporary or historic people by name, occupation, nationality, ethnicity, birth/death dates or gender.

Science
*Access Science offers easy access to fully illustrated articles from the latest edition of the McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Science & Technology as well the latest Science News headlines and biographies.

Literature
*Literary Reference Center (LRC) is a comprehensive literary reference database. LRC contains detailed information on the most studied authors and their works.
*Contemporary Literary Criticism Select provides an extensive collection of critical essays on contemporary authors. Each entry contains a biographical/critical introduction, a list of principal works, critical essays, and sources for further study.

General Resources
*Infotrac High School includes full-text magazine and newspaper articles, and reference books covering current events, the arts, science, popular culture, health, people, government, history, sports and more.
*Infotrac Middle School is just like Infotrac High School, but this source is designed for Middle School students.
*EBSCO Middlesearch Plus provides complete articles from popular magazines for middle school research, as well as primary source documents and an image collection of photos, maps and flags.
*Bigchalk eLibrary offers an easy-to-use search screen and provides links to magazine, newspapers, books, television/radio transcripts, maps, pictures, and audio/video clips.

Each of these sources is free to Reading residents from home, school or work. All you need is your library card!


LIBRARY HOLIDAY CLOSINGS
Mon, Dec 24
Tues, Dec 25
Normal hours will resume Wed, Dec 26

BOOKS, MOVIES, AND MORE
To see the list of library materials purchased this month, follow this link:

http://www.readingpl.org/lists.html



WHAT'S HAPPENING @ YOUR LIBRARY!
All events listed take place at the Reading Public Library, 64 Middlesex Avenue, Reading, unless otherwise noted.

Saturday, December 15: Teen Advisory Groups. Join and make a difference, not just at the library, but in your community! Fun, food and friends! For all grades (6-12) at 3:30 p.m.

Thursday, December 20: The Not-Too-Stuffy Book Group for Seniors. Discussing A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. Led by Deirdre Reilly, local columnist and radio show host. Copies of the book will be available at the Senior Center Book Nook or at the Library. 1:00 p.m. at the Senior Center.

Friday, December 21: Infant Toddler Sing-along. With Peter Sheridan. No registration necessary. Sponsored by the Friends of the Reading Library. 10:15 a.m. - 10:45 a.m.

Monday, December 24: Library Closed for Christmas Eve

Tuesday, December 25: Library Closed for Christmas

Thursday, December 27: Teen Movie Event. Looking for something to do during school vacation? The library will be showing a movie on the BIG SCREEN. The movie is TBD - what's your vote? Tell us what you would like to see at rdgteen@noblenet.org.
3:00 - 5:00 p.m.


That's all for now,

Lorraine Barry
Head of Information Services



LIBRARY HOURS
(See Holiday Hours above)
Mondays 9 a.m. - 9 p.m.
Tuesdays 9 a.m. - 9 p.m.
Wednesday 9 a.m. - 9 p.m.
Thursdays 1 p.m. - 9 p.m.
Fridays 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Saturdays 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.