Real Time News and Analysis

June 24, 2009

Turn to any news media outlet these days, and you are bound to hear words such as Twitter, Facebook, feeds, streams, and real time news.

What does it all mean?

Twitter is a website where friends, family, and co-workers can update others on what they are doing at the moment.

Each message in Twitter (called a "Tweet") can contain up to 140 characters (letters or numbers).

Twitter was born out of the world of social networking, allowing friends and family to keep track of each other. (for more on social networking, please click here)

Facebook is a comparable social networking website.

Due to the popularity and expediency of both websites, Twitter and Facebook are now also used by news agencies, corporations, and even the U.S. Government (more details at this link).

Anyone can establish a "feed" (sometimes called a "news stream"), and post messages which can be informal comments (often abbreviated) or more formal updates with links to full news pages at other websites.

All of this tends to happen in "real time," which usually suggests information is posted the moment it becomes available or known. The variable quality of such information is worth noting.

The prospect of "real time news" is fascinating, but it should also inspire questions of quality, authority, and accuracy.

As the speed and amount of information increases, potential for human error at all levels can heighten. Mistakes, misperceptions, and misinformation can multiply as the desire to provide "breaking news" or consume up-to-the-minute information escalates.

Under such circumstances, even sources deemed reputable or "official" could potentially find themselves in the midst of inaccurate, incomplete, or questionable information.

At any speed, firm facts and objective information can be difficult to determine or locate!

Such situations, of course, predate the Internet, but the sheer speed of online data transactions and increased informality of information exchanges can lead to more mishaps, especially as people might react to unconfirmed reports or make decisions based on erroneous statements.

To act upon any information, "real time" or other, without any consideration can be problematic, if not regrettable or simply dangerous.

Our Current Interests Center exists to help you explore the world of news by topic and to give you not one but several key sources to consider.

We recently established a Twitter Feeds section there.

We encourage you to visit our new Media Watchdogs section as well. There you can enjoy a deeper analysis of current events, not only in terms of actual headlines but also their sources.

At the end of that section you will find links to the "General Research Considerations and Evaluating Information" and "Online Research" areas of our Ready Reference Center where topics such as critical thinking are explored.

Critical thinking involves actively considering key aspects of information as you encounter it. Critical thinking, on or off the Internet, is essential.

We will expand upon this theme later this year in an information literacy project called LIGHT (Learning Information Gathering and Handling Techniques).

For now, you can read some related publications we provide freely at our website:

• Critical Thinking Skills
• Web Checklist

New Literature Database

May 12, 2009

We have a new addition to our Literature databases:

Something about the Author

This database, which specializes in information on children's and young adult authors and illustrators, provides access to Volume 187 of Something about the Author and forward.

Thrall has the earlier volumes of this ongoing series in print at the library.

This database is available at Middletown Thrall Library and freely accessible at home for members of Thrall.

Please click here to learn more about Something about the Author and to begin using this database.

Reference Updates for Spring 2009

April 24, 2009

Happy Spring 2009! Here are some recent updates we would like to share with you:


New York State NOVEL Databases




New & Improved: Thrall Web Guides and Web Resource Search Engine




Coming Soon: Library Catalog Update

Genocide Awareness and Prevention

March 27, 2009

April 2009 has been designated "Genocide Prevention Month." You can read more about the designation in this press release from GenocidePreventionMonth.org:

"Survivors of Six Genocides Declare April 2009 Genocide Prevention Month"

To honor this month and to promote public awareness of past and contemporary genocidal atrocities, we have established a display at Thrall (outside of the Reference Supervisor's office for the month of April) as well as a web guide.

The Special Coverage: Genocide web guide contains links to definitions and histories of genocide as well as articles, books within our library system, and more.

You can click here to access the Genocide awareness guide.

Reference Telephone Numbers

February 9, 2009

Thrall's telephone system was recently upgraded, and some numbers were converted to extensions.

To reach any Reference persons below, please dial (845) 341-5454 (or just 341-5454 if you live locally), wait until the welcome message begins, then dial one of the following extensions:

• 5467 - Head of Reference Services
• 5465 - Government Information
• 5483 - Local History
• 5479 - Adult Programs Coordinator

Please note: Our main Reference Desk telephone remains unchanged at 341-5461. This is the number you can call whenever you have a reference question.

While our 341-5462 number is no longer in service, we still have two telephones at Reference to ensure you can still get through to one of our librarians.

As a reminder, you can always ask questions through our free electronic reference service.

Introducing the "Feed of Feeds!"

February 2, 2009

You now have the option to subscribe to ALL of Middletown Thrall Library's blogs at once in one convenient RSS feed!

Topics will include Library Announcements, Library Programs, quarterly "Beyond the Box Office" reports, Booklovers, Consumer Information, Environment, Government, Health and Nutrition, Reference Service News, Science and Technology, and Youth Services News.

If you are new to RSS feeds, you can click here to learn more about RSS.

To subscribe to the "Feed of Feeds," please visit our main blogs page and scroll down to the "Subscription Options" section. You will see a link to "Subscribe to all of our blogs" in that area. Quick instructions are included there.

Historical New York Times

December 9, 2008

Middletown Thrall Library now subscribes to Historical Newspapers: The New York Times.

The subscription gives library users access to cover to cover full page images of The New York Times from 1857 through the current year minus three, i.e. currently it covers through 2005.

The database can be searched by keyword or browsed by topic or decade. Searches can be limited by date, author, and article type.

This database should delight historians and students as well as those looking for historical stock quotes and classifieds.

The database is only available for use within the library. The library's subscription to The New York Times on microfilm will be discontinued as of December 31, 2008.

Salem History Encyclopedias

November 5, 2008

The Reference Department at Middletown Thrall Library recently purchased a number of encyclopedic sets from Salem Press in addition to others we acquired over the past couple of years.

Titles in the "Great Lives from History" and "Great Events from History" series include:

• The Ancient World and The Middle Ages
• The Renaissance and Early Modern Era
• The 17th , 18th , 19th and 20th Century sets
• The Fifties, Sixties, Seventies, & Eighties in America
• Notorious Lives

These and many other related encyclopedic sets can be found throughout the 900s section (History) in the Reference Department at Thrall.

Members of our library can access most of these titles freely on the web until December 31, 2011 as part of an offer from the publisher.

To get started, go to the History section of our databases and click on "Salem History."

Enjoy them while they last!

For even more history information on the web, check out our American History web guide and the History section of our Ready Reference web guide.

Members of Thrall can also log in with their library cards to access numerous history reference works in the History section of our Virtual Reference Library.

New Economy Information Guide

September 29, 2008

Middletown Thrall Library has created a new Economy information guide.

Our guide contains three sections:

• National & International Economic Information
  • Learning about the Economy
  • Economic Indicators
  • Global Economic Crisis Coverage
  • Economic News (U.S. & Global)
  • Government Information
  • International / Global Economies
• Personal Finances / Consumer Interest Topics
  • Banking
  • Credit & Debt
  • Energy
  • Food
  • Housing Crisis / Mortgages / Subprime Mortgages
  • Investments
  • Labor & Unemployment
• Economy Information and Related Topics in the Library Catalog

The Government Information of our guide section indexes extensive information per U.S. Government agency concerning the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008.

The Housing section contains information concerning mortgages, foreclosures, foreclosure avoidance, as well as information concerning the new "Hope for Homeowners" program.

Please click here to access the Economy information guide.

You can also find links to the guide from our home page and Special Coverage Center

It is our hope you will find this guide helpful and time-saving.

If you need any more information, on the economy or any topic, please contact Reference or use our Ask a Librarian service on the web.

New 24/7 Reference Service

September 19, 2008

The reference staff at Middletown Thrall Library has been providing reference services via e-mail through our Ask a Librarian service for several years.

If the library is not open or you do not need an immediate answer, this method offers you the ability to submit a question through a web form and receive an e-mailed response usually within 24 hours Monday through Friday.

Thanks to a Library Services Technology Act (LSTA) grant, our patrons now have another choice when they need immediate reference services.

"Ask Us 24/7" is a cooperative virtual reference service that provides the ability to chat with a librarian online and receive one-on-one reference assistance.

The librarian you chat with will most likely not be local, but will have access to information about Middletown Thrall Library's holdings and policies.

Your best choice for reference services is to call us at 341-5461 or visit us at the library.

If that is not possible, using the Ask A Librarian! e-mail service ensures that you will receive reference assistance from our librarians.

If you need to communicate with someone immediately, however, and the library is not open, or the telephone is not an option, we are proud to provide you with access to "Ask Us 24/7."

The link to "Ask Us 24/7" may be found at the bottom of the Ask a Librarian web page.

Thrall Databases Revised and Expanded

September 17, 2008

We have completely redesigned and expanded the Thrall Databases section of our website with the following major goals in mind:

• We want our patrons to have clear and easy access to every databases provided by or through the library.
• We want our patrons to learn more about and have instant access to other related electronic resources available on any given research topic.
• Each database would have its own dedicated web page.
• Each database page would offer a detailed description of its main contents and bring to your attention any notable secondary features.
• Each database page would contain tips and other noteworthy information that could help you learn and get more out of each database.
• Each database page would clearly state who could access it and from where (e.g. only at Thrall, or only available to Thrall users).
• Each database page would draw attention to any special technical considerations (such as the need for additional software/plugins) as well as information concerning printing at the library or e-mailing articles.
• Each database page would have a "See Also" section allowing you to quickly access other related databases as well as specific web resources indexed in our web guides.
• All databases should be instantly and easily reachable from any other database page.
• Databases would be listed by both topic and alphabetically everywhere through simple "drop-down" menus.
• Each of our Virtual Reference Library titles would be individually and instantly accessible, so you can log into specific reference works whenever you need them.

We really want our patrons to make use of these excellent research tools and reference works! They contain very high quality articles and information you will not find elsewhere on the Internet.

The next time you want to look up some information, rather than go to a general web search engine, try these databases, encyclopedias, and reference works instead!

You can reach our databases simply by clicking the "Databases" link on our home page.

We invested in these resources for your benefit, your informational empowerment, so please take advantage of these services.

If you have any questions, feel free to stop by our Reference Department at the library or to call our librarians at 341-5461 for further assistance.

New Thrall RSS Feeds and Subscriptions

July 11, 2008

All of our blogs now offer you the option of being able to subscribe to them through their individual RSS feeds.

This means you can receive automatic updates about any topic you like, including library programs and announcements, government information, health, science, or updates concerning new books and authors.

What is an RSS feed? RSS stands for "Really Simple Syndication." An "RSS feed" provides software such as a web browser (for example, Firefox or Internet Explorer 7) a list of headlines, which are automatically updated as the feed is updated by its publisher.

After you subscribe to such an RSS feed, you will be able to review the headlines and click on those that interest you. Clicking on a headline takes you to the website (in our case, Thrall's website), where you can then read the complete story attached to the headline.

"Unsubscribing" yourself from an RSS feed in Firefox is as easy as deleting the bookmark created by a subscription.

In Internet Explorer 7, clicking the star ("Favorites Center" icon) and then clicking Feeds allows you to manage or delete your feed subscriptions.

Opera and Safari users can subscribe by going to the actual blog pages and clicking the RSS icon button that appears in the location bar (where you type web addresses). Unsubscription is easy as well: click on "Feeds" on the Opera menu, then click on "Manage Feeds." In Safari, just delete your RSS bookmark in the Bookmarks organizer.

Some 3rd party RSS/news agent software might instead require you to directly enter the URL (location or "link") of the RSS feed you'd like to join. In those cases, simply right-click (clicking with the right mouse button) on one of the subscription links above and then click on "Copy Link" (or "Location" if your browser says that).

Once back in your other RSS software, click in the box where you need to paste the link, and then either right-click and then click on "Paste" or press these keys together: CTRL V

Our feeds are updated along with our blogs, so this is one convenient way of keeping up with some of the many latest developments at Thrall!

If you have any questions, please click here to ask us a question or call us at (845) 341-5461.

New Reference Blog

July 7, 2008

To keep our patrons informed of recent and past updates to information services at Middletown Thrall Library, we have established this blog.

There are several benefits to this move, including the ability to archive prior announcements for your review and the possibility, in the future, for you to be able to subscribe to individual blog RSS feeds.

Below you will find recent and past archived Reference updates previously posted on our library news page.

Please check back periodically, as we intend to keep you posted on new research services and notable news from our Reference Department!

If at any time you have a question about any of our services, please call us at 341-5461 or contact us through our free Ask a Librarian service.

Podcasts

July 7, 2008

On our Current Interests page there is a new category for Podcasts.

Podcasts are audio and/or video broadcasts published on the web. They can be several seconds to several minutes long and can be on nearly any topic imaginable.

Some broadcasts are daily, while others might be weekly or published at irregular intervals.

Podcasts can be viewed or heard on computers or portable media players, such as an MP3 player.

Podcasts can be published by individuals, major media sources, educational institutions, news and government agencies -- essentially anyone!

Some podcasts are for fun or can be rather subjective, while others might attempt to be more informative, objective, or formal in their presentations.

Podcast publishers listed in our Current Interest directory include such sources as NPR (National Public Radio), C-SPAN, NASA, National Geographic, the New York Times, and the U.S. Government.

Click here to check out the new Podcasts category!

Library Catalog Update

July 2, 2008

As some of you might have noticed by now, the library catalog has been updated. This update, performed by the Ramapo Catskill Library System (RCLS), was pursued in hopes of bringing greater stability to the online library catalog ("HIP"). So far, the upgrade appears to be a success!

As a result of the upgrade, all library catalogs, including Thrall's, changed slightly in appearance. Two new tabs at the top of the catalog give you easy access to our popular RAVES! and Booklover's Blog services.

To access your account in this version of the catalog, you must use your library card's barcode number as your user name. Your password (PIN) will be the last four digits of your telephone number, unless you changed it.

If you have any questions about the catalog, please contact Reference at 341-5461 or online through our free Ask a Librarian service.

Beyond the Bestsellers

July 2, 2008

Our latest quarterly issue of Beyond the Bestsellers has just been published! Discover books and authors not always found on "bestseller" lists. You can find printed copies of it at Reference or by our New Books section.

We also have an online edition you can check out.

The online edition features links you can follow into the catalog, where you can often find reviews, chapter excerpts, or book summaries.

If you like an item, you can request it and have it set aside for you when it becomes available. If you've never done this before, just come to Reference, and we'll be happy to assist you!

Thrall Blog Updates

(archived post)

As part of our ongoing effort to bring you interesting and important information as it becomes available, we continue to update our blogs with links to items on the web or in our library system.

We have blogs for categories such as Health & Nutrition, Science & Technology, Consumer Information, Government Information, Booklovers, and the Environment.

Our main blogs page can be reached at this link.

Global Food Prices/Crisis Guide

(archived post)

Information about global rising food costs and related issues is now available in our Special Coverage Center:

Click here to access our new "Special Coverage: Food" guide.

Special Coverage Center Update

(archived post)

Our recently updated Special Coverage Center now has an additional two information guides on the follwing topics:

• Bees / Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD)
• Oil / Peak Oil

The bees/CCD guide can help you learn about current questions scientists are investigating about bee populations and the phenomenon of "Colony Collapse Disorder."

The oil guide focuses on current issues of oil production, gas prices, and related ideas.

Myanmar / Burma Cyclone Web Guide

(archived post)

As we have done in the past, after Hurricane Katrina and the 2004 tsunami, the Reference Department at Middletown Thrall Library has created an information guide on the web. This guide covers the current situation in Myanmar/Burma in the aftermath of Cyclone Nargis that took place in early May 2008.

Included in the guide are links to news coverage from national and global media sources, blogs, information about the country and the topic of cyclones, and humanitarian relief agencies.

Please click here to access this special coverage guide.

New York State Web Guide

(archived post)

Our New York State and City information guide on the web has been revised and expanded.

Some of the many categories include Arts, Business and Finance, Consumer, Education, Emergencies and Natural Disasters, Environment, Government, Health, Labor, Law, News, Taxes, Travel and Tourism, Vital Records, and Weather.

You can reach it through our home page or by clicking on this link to the New York State guide.

New Music Services

(archived post)

Members of Middletown Thrall Library can now freely enjoy two new music services through our website: "American Song" and "Contemporary World Music."

The "American Song" music service is described as "music relating to almost every walk of American life, every ethnic group, and every time period."

"Contemporary World Music" features "contemporary reggae, worldbeat, neo-traditional, world fusion, jazz, flamenco, Bollywood," and many other genres.

To begin enjoying these services, go to the Music section of our Databases page and log in with your Thrall Library card number.

While there, be sure to check out other premium music services we subscribe to on your behalf, including Classical.com, African American Song, and Smithsonian Global Sound. You have free access to all of these!

We also invite you to browse our extensive and ever-growing audio CD music collections at the library.

New Language Learning Service

(archived post)

Members of Middletown Thrall Library can now enjoy free access to an online language learning service called Tell Me More. You can reach it right through our website by clicking on the Databases link on our home page.

If you ever wanted to easily and interactively learn languages such as Spanish, German, Dutch, Italian, American English, or French, now's your chance!

When you first log into the service with your Thrall Library card number and create your own user name and password, your computer will be evaluated to ensure it meets the "Tell Me More" requirements.

You will be prompted to download and install the "Auralog components."

Please pay attention to any web browser warnings and allow the installation process to continue uninterrupted. If you do not approve the installation of the required "Activex" components, you may not be able to use the service completely or at all.

The service does make use of "pop up" windows, and Internet Explorer users will be asked to permit "pop ups" for the Auralog.com/TellMeMoreCampus website.

After you select a language, you can choose from a variety of activities, including learning how to pronounce words, associating images with words and phrases, and forming complete sentences in another language.

Within just a few hours every few days you can be well on your way to learning another language!

This is not nearly all that Thrall offers to language learners.

If you...

• don't have a computer
• have a computer but don't have Internet access
• have a computer but it does not meet Tell Me More's system requirements
• prefer to learn through more traditional methods
• would like to know what else we offer

we invite you to check out Middletown Thrall Library's language learning collection.

Here are some examples of language materials we offer at Thrall:

• Introductory materials - Just the basics, fast and easy!
• Travel phrase books - Traveling abroad? Learn helpful words and phrases!
• Dictionaries - Translate words between major languages like Spanish, Italian, and English
• Comprehensive language courses - For serious and advanced language learners.
• Audio cassette and Compact Disc (CD) language learning materials - Listen and learn!
• LIT collection - Very easy reading materials for English language learners
• Spanish language materials - Books, newspapers, videos, a web guide, and more!
• Oxford English Dictionary - Entire etymological and usage histories of words
• Specialized Terminology Dictionaries - Technical, trade, and other terms to learn.
• Computer programming languages - Learn how to "talk to" computers! Really!

We also can connect you with an entire library system of language learning materials as well as informative web resources, such as government information in Spanish, and electronic translation services that attempt to translate words, phrases, and even entire web pages from one language into another!

If someone you know already speaks English but wants to learn how to read and write, we can refer you to literacy resources and literacy organizations that can help you.
Help is what we are all about! Ask a librarian today, and we will happily start you on your way to learning another language or anything else you ever wanted to know!

The Virtual NewsStand

(archived post)

We have created a new area at our website called the Virtual NewsStand.

The Virtual NewsStand offers a clickable list of many popular publications we currently subscribe to at Thrall.

These publications include popular magazines, journals, newspapers, and newsletters.

A major benefit of this list of publications is that you can, from one page, access our most popular periodicals in up to three locations: the publication's home page on the web, issues of publications listed in our library catalog, and, wherever available, articles from the publication indexed in our general article databases.

You can read more about our Virtual NewsStand by clicking here.

World Book Encyclopedia Update

(archived post)

When we renewed our online World Book encyclopedia subscription, we upgraded it to include a new suite of features called "World Book Advance."

You should notice the link to World Book Advance in the right hand corner of the World Book home page after you log in to World Book.

Once there, you will be able to access the new content, which includes e-books (classics), text of Supreme Court Cases, U.S. Presidential papers, primary source material, and some other research tools including pathfinders and timelines.

A "kid's version" and a Spanish Language encyclopedia are also available to you through this service.

Thrall Library members can click here for the link to log in to World Book Encyclopedia through our Databases page.

You can easily access this service from our home page as well by following either the "Databases" or "Encyclopedias - General" links.

If you are at the library, you may access World Book from any of our designated public research workstations or Internet terminals.

We maintain subscriptions such as these to help empower you as a researcher and so that, through us, you may freely enjoy access to excellent research tools and information of a substantially higher caliber and relevance than what you might typically encounter in general web searches.

With that in mind, we encourage you to visit our Databases page to discover even more services freely available to members of our library.

Future Title Watch

(archived post)

As part of our reader's advisory service for our patrons, we have created a new free monthly publication called "Future Title Watch," a series of featured fiction and nonfiction titles from noteworthy authors appearing throughout the year.

Free printed copies of "Future Title Watch" are available at the library. Electronic editions are also available for downloading and printing in the Thrall Documents portion of our website.

You can also browse our monthly title features in our Booklover's Blog and click on titles you like to review and, if you want, to reserve for pickup at the library. If you are unsure how to do this, you can call our Reference Department at 341-5461, and we will be happy to help!

Playaways & MP3 Players

(archived post)

As more readers express interest in electronic formats such as eBooks and eAudio, we continue to expand and modernize our collections and your ability to access those new items.

We are pleased to report that Playaway" and MP3 players are now available for borrowing.

"Playaways" are self-contained and simple-to-use electronic audio books. It's easy: Just plug in your headphones and press play!

While "Playaways" are perfect for those of you who are new to electronic audio books, computer users may be more interested in our circulating MP3 players, which can be used along with Overdrive's Media Console to transfer e-audio titles you have requested through our eBook service.

Playaways are located in the audiobooks section of the library. Checkout cards for MP3 players can be found at the end of the nonfiction section of our DVD browsers located near the Circulation desk. Our librarians will be happy to help you locate these items.

Notice to Rosetta Stone Users

(archived post)

The Rosetta Stone language learning service is no longer available due to the vendor's decision to no longer offer subscriptions to public libraries.

Thrall is exploring another service to ensure our online language learners can continue with their online education!

New Library Home Page!

(archived post)

Our home page has been expanded and refined in several ways. The home page now opens to the full horizontal width of your web browser and monitor, and you now have direct access to more of our online services, including our reader's advisory guides, and our blogs.

A new section called "Booklover's Lane" features links to bestseller and forthcoming title lists as well as recent "RAVES!" from readers finding certain books and authors enjoyable. You can submit your own recommendations through this free service as well. Discover fiction, nonfiction, biographies, and more through RAVES! today!

As more of our online users are using widescreen and higher resolution monitors, it is our intention that this expansion can enable you to see and do more at our site.

We truly want to be your first and best step for information in any form. We encourage you to make our home page your web browser's start up page. We can show you how to do that if you like, or you can click here for easy instructions.

New Special Coverage Guides

(archived post)

At our website we offer several new information guides to help you find news and articles on specific topics:

• U.S. Presidential Election 2008
• Human Rights
• Homelessness

You can access these guides by clicking their titles above or by clicking here.

Our Current Interests page has also been enhanced and expanded to give you improved and immediate access to important news (such as product recalls) along with enriching and entertaining information.

Newspaper Archive Online

(archived post)

Some great news for local history, genealogy, and all other researchers: Thrall has a new subscription to the Internet-based Newspaper Archive. This subscription enables you to search many old local area Middletown newspapers back to the 1800s up to the 1970s. You can also access articles in other newspapers from other states that have been indexed in Newspaper Archive.

To get started, simply click here to access our Databases page. Once there, select the "Newspapers" topic, and click on Newspaper Archive. Log into the service using the barcode from your library card.

While this service is only available at home to Thrall users, anyone can come to the library and access the service on our computers. Please inquire at the Reference Department, and we will direct you to a computer where you can begin your research.

Salem Health: Magill's Medical Guide

(archived post)

A new print subscription to Magill's Medical Guide has also entitled us to three years of access to Salem Health on the web. In addition to monthly highlighted health topics, this consumer-friendly resource enables you to find information about nearly every health topic imaginable.

This service is only available in the library, and you may access it on any of our research computers by clicking on our Article Databases link and then following the "Salem Health" link in the "Health" section of the page. At Reference we also have the complete print edition ready for you to read.

Spanish Information Web Guide Updated

(archived post)

Our Spanish (en Espanol) information guide on the web has been revised and expanded to enable our Spanish-speaking communities to find information in Spanish on the Internet. The web guide can be accessed through our home page or by clicking here.

Spirituality Information Guide

(archived post)

A new guide at Thrall.org highlights informative spirituality websites as well as information available at the library, including print materials, and article databases.