Come Together

OPAL (Online Programming for All Libraries) is a fascinating experiment combining chat, audio and video, all streaming together to create an online environment where you partipate in book discussions, interviews, special events, workshops, and virtual tours of special digital library collections.  You come into the “auditorium” and join others who are listening and watching along with you, and in the side bar you can chat with them and ask questions of the presenter.   It’s free and a lot of fun!  Take a look at their upcoming events or the archive of presentations past.

As 2006 comes to an end

Let me take this opportunity to wish everyone a happy (and healthy) new year from the Library staff and the Board of Trustees. If you will be making resolutions, be sure to include plenty of visits to the Library, whether in person or virtually, through our website at http://hhhl.suffolk.lib.ny.us. If you would like an indepth tour of our website, any of our librarians will be glad to show you. Just email edruda@suffolk.lib.ny.us or call her at 421-4530, ext. 324 to set up a Computer Tutor appointment.Even when the building is closed you still have access to a lot of information such as electronic books or reference information for that project you left until the last minute or a question you just thought of. Check it out.

As we end 2006, a new roof is being put on the Melville building. Thank you for your patience while the building has been closed this past week. We will open at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, January 2nd. And we are already working on plans to spruce up the inside. This will take a few months but, rest assured, work is going on behind the scenes.

Thanks for being part of the Half Hollow Hills library community. See you in 2007.

Michele Lauer-Bader, Library Director

Check out our new library cards and while you are at it, check out something to read!

Stop in at Dix Hills or Melville to pick up a new keychain library card. We want to make borrowing materials as easy as possible for you and having your library card on your keychain will do just that! It will only take a few minutes at the Circulation Desk for a clerk to swap your old card for a new one. Yes, we know you will have to memorize a new bar code number but that’s a small price to pay for convenience.  Remember — never leave home without it; your library card!!

Riding with Rita

Riding with Rita

Holiday traffic has been a nightmare. Lucky for me!!! I get to listen to even more CD books.

Here are a few I’ve enjoyed while creeping along in bumper to bumper traffic. No road rage for me.

Dean and Me(A Love Story) , by Jerry Lewis and James Kaplan

Martin and Lewis–if you remember this comedy team, you will enjoy listening to how their act came together and how it fell apart. It also explores the two men’s careers after their breakup. I found the reader’s affectation of Jerry’s New York accent annoying, since it was a poor imitation. However, I am a pushover for anything to do with entertainment, and I enjoyed the book in spite of that. Read by Stephen Hoye

Born to Kvetch: Yiddish Language and Culture in all of its Moods, by Michael Wex

This is not as light a book as the title would lead one to believe. It is a very academic study of the development of the Yiddish language. While it is not without humor, you will hear about vowel shifts, and other etymological phenomena. BUT—big but—If you remember your parents or grandparents speaking Yiddish and you miss the sound of it, this is priceless. Read by the author.

Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden State of Everything, by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner

If you were planning on reading this best seller (82 weeks on the NY Times list), and still want to, go ahead and listen. If the spirit has passed, keep driving. It has a gimmicky title and its interesting enough, but not one of my favorites. Read by Steven J. Dubner.

Search for AudioBook titles with the New Media link on our library website, where you can reserve or download titles to keep you listening.

This brings me up to date. I’ll be back with more (depending on the traffic) after the Holidays.

Wishing a Happy New Year to all!
Rita Gross
Reference Melville

Reader’s Select Book Club

My name is Chris Garland I am a librarian at the Half Hollow Hills Community Library in Melville. I lead a non-fiction book club that meets every third tuesday of the month at 7:30. This month 12/19 we are reading “American Sphinx” : The Character of Thomas Jefferson by Joseph J. Ellis. The book explores how the myth of Jefferson has broken away from the link with the historical Jefferson. The result being we have lost sight of Jefferson the man.
The feedback for this book club has been very positive. Most people feel that they would have never thought of reading these books and are usually very happy they did. The subject matter of the books we choose is all over the map. If you are interested you can pick up a copy of our current title at the Melville branch. 421-4535 ext. 326. Hope to see you there

The Return of MyLibraryTV – we hope

We’ve been promised service in January, so watch this space and the webpage for news. You can take a look at what it’s supposed to look like here, and if you’re even more curious you can see the parent company at permissiontv.com.

MyLibraryTV will let you download to your computer classic films, some cooking programs like Julia Child and the DISH Network’s Foodwise, and some medical shows, like PBS’s Health Choice. More content will be coming and we’ll continue the service if the response is good. They even say we’ll be able to upload our own programs! That should be interesting….

What’s really exciting is the possibility of having movies available for download at the same time they are released on DVD.  With a fast Internet connection you’ll be watching the latest titles on your computer screen without having to place holds or wait for a copy from Netflix.

Get ready for the latest version of content delivery from the new Library 2007!