Yearly Archives: 2018

Chilton Library

Is your car under a recall?  Chilton Library is a great resource to see if a car has a recall.  Searching is particularly convenient because you do not need to know your VIN number.  You just select the make, model, and year of the car, and then click on the “select” button.

Chilton Library 1In a matter of seconds you will be able to see the list of recalls (if there are any) attributed to the car.  I knew my old 2007 Saturn Ion had at least two recalls as of 2014.  I was only mildly surprised- and definitely triggered- to see the number of recalls for that car has risen to 31.

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It may not be perfect, but my current car (a Honda) is a lot less problematic than the old Saturn.  And thanks to Chilton Library, I can see the only Honda recall involves the Takada airbags, and luckily those have already been replaced.

Kate Straccia, Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh – Main

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eMagazines – for Research or Reading?

Someone comes into the library asking if he can access Consumer Reports from the library online. Your easy answer could be “Why yes! There’s even an easy link on the eRec page!” But what if he wants to read it on his smartphone? Or what if he just wants to browse the most current issue at his leisure? Perhaps he’d be better served to view it through RBdigital. The main question here is, is this for RESEARCH or READING?

Certainly EBSCOhost allows for Boolean searching and finding specific topics, which would be much harder (or impossible) in RBdigital. If I mine down to the bedrock of why this person wants to access Consumer Reports to discover he wants a specific issue or article (i.e. the most recent writeup on washer/dryers before he buys one) I would then point him to EBSCO and show him how to search, find, read, and print.

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If, however, I find he just likes to read it every month, or wants something to browse while he’s waiting at the laundromat, then RBDigital it is! MUCH more readable, browsable, colorful, and mobile-friendly for the casual reader. (Although in this case, RBDigital unfortunately only has back issues of Consumer Reports…)

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So my rule of thumb when answering the question, “Can I access a magazine online?” (especially when I know it exists in multiple places) is to find out: Is this for RESEARCH or READING?

Heather Auman
Western Allegheny Community Library

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Mango Language fun

Did you know…among the 70+ languages Mango has to offer, they also have a Pirate language learning section! While Talk Like a Pirate Day isn’t until September, it’s never too early to learn the difference between “shiver me timbers” and “blow me down”

 

This is even a fun resource for programs and a fun introduction to Mango!

 

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Your Reading History in Libby

Have you recently been stumped by something really simple?

Take Libby — so straightforward compared to the Overdrive app.

Heck if I could find my reading history, though.

Maybe because I haven’t had to click around 500 times to find the book I just borrowed; maybe because it is so simple to just start reading;  maybe because Libby keeps it simple and ALL activity (current loans, returns, and holds) is in one place.  I think I was looking for the word ‘history’ and missed the word ‘activity’ altogether.

For your READING HISTORY in Libby,

  • Shelf (lower right)
  • Activity (top menu bar)
  • Ta-da — hiding in plain sight.
    • Choose the circle with three dots inside to stop or start recording your history or to clear your entire history.

 

— Christy Barowich, Carnegie Library of McKeesport

 

libby how to find reading activity

 

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