PDF Creator

In an effort to minimize printing and cut down on fileable materials, I've recently taken to using PDFCreator which can be downloaded from sourceforge.net for free.  An open source software,  the user is able to select PDFCreator from the valid printer list on your computer once installed.   Once selected from the drop-down list, a grey box opens up with saving options.  Name your document and hit save, specifying a destination.  A neat function of PDFCreator is that you can combine saving a document and emailing a document in one step using the Email button.   I particularly like this tool for documents that I want to store, but don't necessarily want to print. Give it a try!

New Playaways Make the Library

Going on vacation? Never have a chance to read? Prefer audiobooks? Check out the Ritz library's collection of Playaways, portable audio devices that are simple and easy to use. They are self-contained units (headphones included or use your own) that fit in a pocket or can be plugged into a car audio cable, speakers or a tape deck adapter.
Stop on by and check out the new titles that have been added to the Playaway collection:

• Olive Kittridge by Elizabeth Strout
• 25 Things to Say to the Interviewer to Get the Job You Want by Dexter Hawk
• Leadership is an Art by Max DePree
• Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference by Malcolm Gladwell
• The Art of War by Sunzi
• Worst Case by James Patterson
• Living Oprah: My One Year Experiment to Walk the Walk of the Queen of Talk by Robyn Okrant
• 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere and Join the New Rich by Timothy Ferriss
• Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life by Barbara Kingsolver
• Five Love Languages: How to Express Heartfelt Committment to Your Mate by Gary D. CHapman
• Last Song by Nicholas Spark

Other titles that the Ritz holds are in the Thursday, October 19th blog entry.
The Ritz Library does have audio cables for loan.

Archival Newsreels added to Film on Demand

Films on Demand, the Ritz's video streaming service has just added some 250 newsreels produced by United News during the 1940s. These newsreels are broken down into more than 1,200 segments that focus upon events during World War War II and how the war affected American life.

There are several ways to access the newsreels from the Films on Demand search screen. From the "View By Subject" bar, click on the link: "Archival Films & Newsreels" to browse through a list of titles. Use the Advanced Search function for keyword searches. Be sure to select "Archival Films & Newsreels" in the "Subject" drop-down menu when doing a keyword search.

How is the readability on that page?

Have you ever found yourself wishing that the web page that you are on was a little less busy? Sometimes it's difficult to follow an article through the haze of advertisements, links to additional articles, searches and quizzes. There's a nifty tool called Readability which was created by the Arc90 Lab experiment group. Readability cleans up the screen so that you are looking at a 14 pt. text file with a white background and are able to focus on reading the article with no distractions. It is an easy tool to install; simply drag the button onto the browser that you are using. Installation is slightly different for IE users, but I was able to activate it in Google Chrome, Flock and IE in a matter of seconds. According to the documentation, it also works in Firefox and Safari without any problems. There are certain limitations: it does not translate a home page well, and should not be used for that purpose. It also eliminates any images and multi-media unless they are embedded in a particular fashion, and I am unsure as to what that fashion may be so you may or may not get images relating to your page in the Readability format. Each time you go to a web page, your original web page is displayed, so it does not automatically default to "readability" mode, so you must click the tool bar button again. There is also a print and email function. The email sends a link linking you to the original web page but the print option prints out in the "clean" format.

Need help writing a paper or doing research?

For the next two weeks you can do both at the same time and at the same place. Starting on Monday, April 19 the Library’s computer lab will be open each weekday for research. What’s more Writing Center tutors will be there to assist you with your papers and assignments!

The Library’s computer lab is located on the 2nd floor of Hudson Hall in room H224. The open lab hours are:

April 19 - 30
Monday 10:00 – 3:00
Tuesday 10:00 – 4:00
Wednesday 9:00 -- 1:00
Thursday 10:00 – 2:00
Friday 10:00 – 1:00

Do you love books?

If you love books and enjoy all things literate, you might want to check out this weekend's Empire State Book Festival being held in Albany, NY. Saturday's event is free and is open to the public and will feature a variety of activities and exhibits.

Historical Newspapers on HRVH

Extra! Extra! Read All About It! or so the headline goes on the brochure to check out HRVH Historical Newspapers online. Ok, to be more specific, what is available is a 10 year span of The Kingston Daily Freeman from the years 1903 - 1913 (and 1895 also) - 2974 complete issues available for your perusal. The intention is to spearhead an effort in the Hudson Valley to digitize local historical newspapers with the Daily Freeman being the test sample. Full pages as well as individual articles are searchable and viewable. Take note, The Kingston Daily Freeman is an excellent place to look for primary sources when doing reseach about the Hudson Valley.

HRVH is a collaborative initiative sponsored by Southeastern NY Library Resources Council and local libraries, historical societies, archives, museums across 7 counties in NYS: Greene, Columbia, Dutchess, Ulster, Sullivan, Rockland, Orange and Putnam.

While you are at it, another project which may be of interest to scholars/researchers or casual lookers is the Sound and Story Project of the Hudson Valley. Sound and Story has digitized pieces of oral history collections and posted them online for your listening pleasure. According to their web pages, "Our stories come from many places. Some are in library and museum oral history collections. Some come from recordings we have made. Some have been found by people like you in shoe boxes in the backs of closets. And some have yet to be told."

Some of the information found in this entry comes from promotional material distributed by SENYLRC.