Ear to the Community http://cooklib.org/about-library/library-blogs/ear-to-the-community Thu, 05 Dec 2013 18:47:32 -0600 Joomla! - Open Source Content Management en-gb Annual Food and Book Drive http://cooklib.org/about-library/library-blogs/ear-to-the-community/1084-annual-food-and-book-drive http://cooklib.org/about-library/library-blogs/ear-to-the-community/1084-annual-food-and-book-drive

Happy Thanksgiving! To celebrate this season of thanks and giving, Cook Memorial Public Library District is once again collecting food and books for distribution to those in need. Donated items will be given to the Libertyville Township and Vernon Township Food Pantries. Nonperishable food items and new and “like new” books are being collected now through Wednesday, December 18. Deposit bins are positioned inside the main entries at both our Cook Park and Aspen Drive locations.

New and “like new” books for children, young adults and adults are being collected since they make good gifts for all ages. Needed food items include canned goods such as tuna, chicken, vegetables, fruits and soups; peanut butter and jelly; pasta, rice and Ramen noodles; spaghetti sauce and gravies; flour, sugar and baking mixes; cereals and oatmeal; and condiments. Paper goods, including toilet paper, tissues and diapers, as well as personal items such as bar soap, shampoos, deodorant, and toothpaste are also welcome.

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jtrump@cooklib.org (Jane Trump) Ear to the Community Wed, 27 Nov 2013 15:24:17 -0600
MyMediaMall Updates http://cooklib.org/about-library/library-blogs/ear-to-the-community/1061-mymediamall-updates http://cooklib.org/about-library/library-blogs/ear-to-the-community/1061-mymediamall-updates

If you borrow eBooks and eAudiobooks from Overdrive through the MyMediaMall consortium, you may welcome two recent changes. Here’s the scoop:

  • You can now opt for a three week check-out instead of two weeks.  If you wish to change your default lending period, login to your MyMediaMall account and then choose Settings. You will see a screen that allows you make the change.
  • You can now renew a digital item you have checked out, as long as there are no holds on it. How to renew digital titles

Of course, MyMediaMall is just one of the digital services available to Cook Memorial patrons. To learn more about all of them, take advantage of this upcoming event:

Always Open eLibrary: Drop-in Demo Fest
Tuesday, November 5    7-8:30pm Cook Park
Our eLibrary is always open, and your Cook Memorial Public Library District card gives you access to all sorts of great digital content, including eBooks, eAudiobooks, eMusic, eMagazines, and eVideo! These digital materials are compatible with a variety of computers, smartphones, tablets and other devices. Come to our drop-in demo fest and learn how you can enjoy our always open eLibrary. No registration required.

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jtrump@cooklib.org (Jane Trump) Ear to the Community Tue, 22 Oct 2013 15:09:12 -0500
And the award goes to... http://cooklib.org/about-library/library-blogs/ear-to-the-community/1057-and-the-award-goes-to http://cooklib.org/about-library/library-blogs/ear-to-the-community/1057-and-the-award-goes-to

Cook Memorial Public Library District is the proud recipient of this year's Demco Library Innovation Award. Children's Librarian and student services coordinator Jan Hastings accepted the award at this week's Illinois Library Association Conference at Navy Pier.


The prize was given in recognition of the student art shows the library district has hosted in recent years in partnership with Hawthorn School District 73 and Libertyville School District 70. The opening night receptions for the shows typically host over 1000 visitors at our Aspen Drive and Cook Park locations. In 2013 a third art show was held for the library district's homeschooled students.

The art shows, which will be held again in 2014, are exciting events for children and parents alike. They serve to strengthen the bonds between local schools and the library, as well as to introduce the library to district residents who may not previously have visited one of our locations.

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jtrump@cooklib.org (Jane Trump) Ear to the Community Thu, 17 Oct 2013 15:49:00 -0500
Libertyville's Past http://cooklib.org/about-library/library-blogs/ear-to-the-community/1046-libertyville-s-past http://cooklib.org/about-library/library-blogs/ear-to-the-community/1046-libertyville-s-past

If you are a Libertyville history buff, you may already be familiar with the Local History pages of our website. There you can find links to our obituary index, online essays and pictorial displays about Libertyville, digitized old phone books, and much more.

Our local history librarians have recently started a blog, called Libertyville’s Past is Present. The latest post is about the history of Milwaukee Avenue. You can subscribe to receive new posts via email if you’d like.

And that’s not all…we have also launched a Tumblr account called, A History of Libertyville in Photographs. You can sign up to follow it here.

Questions about local history? Call 847-362-2330 and ask to speak to one of our specialists: Sonia Schoenfield, Jenny Barry or Thomas Hillier.

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jtrump@cooklib.org (Jane Trump) Ear to the Community Tue, 08 Oct 2013 15:42:37 -0500
TryIt! Illinois 2013 http://cooklib.org/about-library/library-blogs/ear-to-the-community/1044-tryit-illinois-2013 http://cooklib.org/about-library/library-blogs/ear-to-the-community/1044-tryit-illinois-2013

During October and November the State Library of Illinois is providing access to a wide variety of databases. This is a wonderful opportunity to use electronic resources the library doesn't subscribe to, and it's free. Go to TryIt! Illinois to see the list of databases available.

We are not permitted to put the login and password information online, but you can ask for it by visiting or calling the Adult Reference Desk (847-362-2330).

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jtrump@cooklib.org (Jane Trump) Ear to the Community Tue, 01 Oct 2013 21:50:10 -0500
OverDrive Media Console 3.0 http://cooklib.org/about-library/library-blogs/ear-to-the-community/1008-overdrive-media-console-3-0 http://cooklib.org/about-library/library-blogs/ear-to-the-community/1008-overdrive-media-console-3-0

OverDrive, the company our MyMediaMall consortium uses to provide eBooks and eAudiobooks, launched a new and improved media console for tablets and smart phones this week. Depending on your device, you may be prompted to download the new console, or it may happen automatically.

You will see a new splash screen, prompting you to add a library or add some books to your bookshelf, complete with visuals to point you in the right direction. Once you have your libraries and/or books added, more tutorial screens will walk you through the new interface, showing up when you go to your bookshelf or open an eBook. Each tutorial screen shows up once, but is available again using the option in Settings to show tutorials next time the app is started.

Aside from the tutorials, OverDrive has simplified getting around in the app. The Home Menu is your one stop for navigating the improved OMC v3.0. From there, you can go to the My Libraries list, the Bookshelf, Settings, History, OverDrive One and more. In addition to the ease in navigation, the Home menu also provides a better in-app help experience, offering detailed solutions to common questions and issues within OMC.

History is a list of titles that have been deleted from the app upon expiration, or returned to the library. This feature will allow you to keep track of the titles you have read – options range from the last 10 deleted titles to the last 100 deleted titles – so you will run less of a risk of listening to/reading the same books over again, unless you want to.

The biggest new feature in the Home Menu, OverDrive One, allows you to sync your title bookmarks and furthest point read between devices. So, you can stop reading on your Android phone, pick up your iPad to continue, and you’re back in the same place – much like when using OverDrive Read in your browser.

When reading a book, you  can view another menu, called the Book menu, which allows for simpler navigation within the book, providing access to the table of contents, book details, and editable bookmarks.

If you use an iOS device, such as an iPad or iPhone, 3.0 also has a new feature for your MP3 audiobooks. You will be able to change the playback speed to suit your preference for a faster or slower delivery. OverDrive found this to be the most requested change from audiobook listeners.

OMC 3.0 is just one example of the way digital media keeps growing and changing. We will continue to do our best to keep you informed of developments as they happen.

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jtrump@cooklib.org (Jane Trump) Ear to the Community Sat, 24 Aug 2013 17:01:49 -0500
Teen Tech Tutor Service Will Continue http://cooklib.org/about-library/library-blogs/ear-to-the-community/1004-teen-tech-tutor-service-will-continue http://cooklib.org/about-library/library-blogs/ear-to-the-community/1004-teen-tech-tutor-service-will-continue

Teen Tech Tutors---a new one-on-one program at Cook Park Library, in which volunteer teen tutors help out patrons with questions about their computers, mobile devices, social media and downloading library books----has been a huge success this summer! The last summer session will be Thursday, August 15, from 9:30 to 11:30am. But don’t worry if you can’t make it that day. The popular service will be offered from 9:30 to 11:30 on Saturday mornings in the fall, starting September 7.

This summer the teen volunteers have helped library patrons set up email accounts, add pictures and sound to PowerPoint presentations, play Candy Crush, upload pictures to Facebook, talk on Skype and download library ebooks onto their ereaders.

Although the summer program has been focused primarily on helping senior citizens, Teen Tech Tutors welcome patrons of all ages with technology questions. Bring your question (and your device if that’s what’s bugging you) and a Tutor will sit down with you and walk you through the solution that’s eluding you. You’ll find that even when teens initially seem to be stumped by a tech problem, these members of “the digital generation” are generally able to figure out the answer.

  • What: Teen Tech Tutors Drop-In (no reservations necessary)
  • Where: Cook Park Library in Libertyville
  • When: Saturday mornings starting September 7, from 9:30 to 11:30am.
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jtrump@cooklib.org (Jane Trump) Ear to the Community Mon, 12 Aug 2013 22:09:16 -0500
New Mobile Version of Website http://cooklib.org/about-library/library-blogs/ear-to-the-community/998-new-mobile-version-of-website http://cooklib.org/about-library/library-blogs/ear-to-the-community/998-new-mobile-version-of-website

Perhaps you have noticed that now when you open our website on a mobile device, you see a new, slimmed down version of the site. Our regular website is difficult to navigate and read on a smartphone or any other device with a smaller screen. The new mobile site brings some of our most heavily used online functions to the forefront with an interface that is much better suited to small screens. This version loads automatically on mobile devices, but you can easily switch back to the regular website if you prefer.

Also, we now have a mobile-friendly version of our online catalog, which is specifically designed to be easily viewed and used on mobile devices. New features will be added to our mobile site as certain services, such as databases and the Events calendar, become more mobile friendly.  All of these changes are designed to help you enjoy library services while on the go!

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jtrump@cooklib.org (Jane Trump) Ear to the Community Wed, 31 Jul 2013 16:48:14 -0500
Digital Materials Survey Results http://cooklib.org/about-library/library-blogs/ear-to-the-community/990-digital-materials-survey-results http://cooklib.org/about-library/library-blogs/ear-to-the-community/990-digital-materials-survey-results

Our recent survey regarding digital materials yielded some useful patron feedback. Here are some highlights:

  • An overwhelming majority (73.1%) of respondents think we should balance digital services and collections with traditional print and media.
  • Most respondents feel that providing eReaders or other devices for check-out is not important, while increasing our eBook and eAudio content is very important. Our digital content offerings have recently expanded with the addition of the 3M Cloud Library and Freegal Music.
  • Of the software and new services suggested, the one survey participants were most interested in was a VHS-DVD conversion tool.
  • The survey revealed which video game platforms are used in most households, as well as the fact that many adults play video games. Additional games on the PS3, Wii and Xbox 360 platforms are being added.

Our thanks to everyone who completed the survey!

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jtrump@cooklib.org (Jane Trump) Ear to the Community Thu, 18 Jul 2013 20:15:37 -0500
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