Help the Cedar Rapids Public Library Move

Reblogged from Connect:

Two weeks from today the Cedar Rapids Public Library will begin the move to its new permanent west side branch, called the Ladd Library, at 3750 Williams Blvd SW. The move will mean closing the west branch February 18 through 22. The Grand Opening celebration and ribbon cutting will be on Saturday, February 23, at 10:00 am.

The Ladd Library will be a more efficient location with many features currently not available, such as public restrooms, natural light from large windows, and many opportunities for comfortable seating.

Read more… 145 more words

Zino Magazines

We have an exciting new service available at the CRPL eLibrary called Zinio Magazines.  You can read over one hundred magazines from your computer or mobile device.  All you need is your library card number and PIN, and a little patience for setting it up.  Like all of our free digital offerings, it takes a little time before you can enjoy reading magazines from your computer or smart phone for free.  Even writing this out feels difficult – mainly because to use Zinio, you have to go through the library collection, and the actual Zinio site opens up in a new tab (or window).

Before you begin, take a look at the instructions Zinio provides.  My instructions are not going to be as good or as detailed, so if you get stuck, head back to those original PDF instructions.

FIRST:  Create a Metro Library Network Zinio account online here.

NEXT:  Browse the magazines in the collection.  Once you’ve found one that suits your fancy, click it.

THEN:  You will be taken to the Zinio site – for me it opened in a new tab.  On my phone, it opened in a new window.  This is where things get a little confusing.  Make a separate Zinio account, using the SAME email and password.   Don’t let the double logging in stop you from enjoying free magazines.  You are so close!

NEXT:  Read your magazine on your computer in your Zinio account.  It’s fun!  You also notice the ads way more.  Some magazines are worse than others.

Smartphones & Tablets:  Download the Zinio app in the App store or on Google Play.  Once you log-in, the magazines you subscribed through on your computer (or mobile browser) should appear in your app.   I personally like using the app to view the magazines – it did take some time to download the individual magazines on the wifi at the library but it was easier for me to navigate than on a computer.

ENJOY:  Reading all kinds of great magazines for free from the convenience of your home, phone, or wherever you choose.

Happy Clicking

I’ve come across some fun links that I thought you would enjoy!

Find your favorite fictional characters (including Rory Gilmore, Lisa Simpson, and Matilda)  reading lists via Flavorwire.

Check out this amazing poster of all of the Harry Potter chapters illustrated here (I think I need to print this out for the library!)

I’m pretty excited about the Hobbit film, out December 14th, even though they are making it into THREE films!  Watch the trailer here.

News You Can Use…Maybe.

News Flash! We have some of our Teen Advisory Group members posting on the BLOG.  So thanks, TAG!  Can’t wait to hear all about what you’ve been reading/watching/listening to over the summer.

Also, the Teen Summer Reading Program is coming to an end.  We even ran out of our original prizes, so if you stop in between now and Sunday, be prepared to get some EXTRA coupons and goodies in your bags.  You still have time to turn in your prize sheet, get your free book and bag, and get entered to win a NOOK or a bunch of other cool prizes.  Good luck!

Upcoming August Events

August 11th from 4:00-6:00 pm in the Sendak Room – Wii Gaming Tournament with snacks, prizes…and MORE!

August 16th at 6:00 pm in the Seuss Room – End of the Summer Reading PARTY and Concert with Carpe Geekdom

August 18th from 5:30-7:30pm in the Sendak Room – Bonus Anime Club where we will make Candy Sushi and watch anime, duh.

August 30th from 4:30-6:00 in the Sendak Room – Teens Create:  Duct Tape Stuff  *NEW EVENT*  with details to come, register online here.

 

9 more days…

…until the Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 comes to the big screen and it all ends!  As part of our Teen Summer Reading Program, stop by between today and the 12th of July and get entered to win a pair of tickets to the midnight screening at the Wynnsong Cinemas on Edgewood Road.  There will be an entry box at the Summer Reading Table.  Can’t make it into the library?  Fill out the form below to be entered to win!  Contest is open to all 6th-12th graders in the Cedar Rapids area, and the winner will be notified on July 12th! CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED.  CONGRATS TO JESSE, OUR WINNER!

P.S. Have you heard about Pottermore yet? What do you think?

Add reviews this summer

Teen Review Box

The review contest is taking a break for the summer, and will start back up again in the fall, with new and exciting prizes.  Still love writing reviews on books you’ve read as part of the Teen Summer Reading Program?  Stop by the Young Adult area of the Cedar Rapids Public Library at Westdale to find review forms (on the wall) and the red review box to the left.  You can also fill out reviews online here.  Your reviews will be posted on the wall at the library, as well as online here and on our Good Reads account.

You are already reading, you might as well start reviewing…the monster is hungry for your thoughts.  Ok, sorry about that, I couldn’t resist

Teen Summer Reading Starts Today!

Cedar Rapids schools still have a day and a half left, but you can sign up for the Cedar Rapids Public Library’s 2011 Teen Summer Reading Program starting TODAY!  At the Westdale Mall, there is a table behind the new Young Adult books with sign up information and reading logs.  I highly suggest you join the Summer Reading Program, because:

Maddie during Summer Reading

1)  It is free!  And if you are reading this, you are probably already reading anyways!  Sometimes I feel like the crazy free money guy when I say this but…IT’S FREE!  What else can you say that about?!

All the books awaiting you this summer

2)  You get prizes, just for reading three books.   This includes a brand new paperback book from my magical cart full of paperbacks, some of which I keep taking home and reading because they are so good.  Plus, you are entered to win many, many more exciting prizes.

My Summer Reading Sweater

3)  The library is so well air conditioned, I am wearing a cardigan sweater.  It is only going to get hotter this summer, so stop by to relax and beat the Iowa heat.

There are many more reasons to join the Summer Reading Program, which lasts from June 1st-July 31st, but you will have to make your way to our Downtown branch (221 3rd St. SE) or the Westdale Mall location for the full Summer Reading experience.  You can also find more information and a list of all of our programs for teens HERE.

New April Reads

There is an influx of new YA titles at the library this week!  Need something new to read?  Check out these brand new books…who knows, you might even be the first one to check them out (which is the best feeling!).

Fantasy

If you are a fan of Cassandra Clare’s Mortal Instruments series, City of Fallen Angels, the fourth book in the series, was just released this week.  Clare’s good friend Holly Black just released the second book in her Curse Workers series, Red Glove which continues the story started in White Cat.  The Abused Werewolves Rescue Group continues author Catherine Jinks Reformed Vampires Support Group cast of random characters in a hilarious look at the paranormal craze.

Realistic Fiction

Fans of Sarah Dessen will want to check out Deb Caletti’s Stay, which follows Clara’s struggles with an abusive boyfriend.  Gayle Forman’s Where She Went is the sequel to her best selling sequel If I Stay explores Mia and Adam’s relationship over the course of one day.

Novel in Verse

Karma by Cathy Ostlere is a diary of 15 year old Maya, who has just lost her mother and must travel to India for her funeral and burial.  This emotional book combines history, family, and spirituality using poetry to tell Maya’s story.

YA E-books from the Library

 

Can’t make it to the library? Don’t want to have to buy books for your e-reader? Find new and old young adult favorites in our library e-book collection! Search the collection here and get the books right now by downloading them to your computer and transferring them to your e-reader.

Last of 2010

We’ve just gotten our final big shipment of new YA titles for 2010 with plenty of exciting stuff coming up in 2011. Full of series continuations, these are sure to be popular so get yourself on the hold list now! Sapphique by Catherine Fisher is the sequel to her critically acclaimed novel Incarceron, Bloody Valentine by Melissa De La Cruz is a collection of short stories from the popular Blue Bloods series, Lost Saint by Bree Despain is the sequel to The Dark Divine, and Once in a Full Moon by Ellen Schreiber is the continuation of her Vampire Kisses series.