Blind Date With A Book

Need a date for Valentine's Day? You can check one out at the library!

Snow Time to Read

We're just over a month into our adult winter reading program, Snow Time to Read. If you haven't already signed up you can do so here. Anyone 16 and up is welcome to participate. The program runs from January 1st to March 31st. You simply log your books online and once you've read 15 Young Adult or Adult books you get a prize--an attractive mug and a pen that also functions as a stylus for your mobile device or tablet! Your name will also be entered into a drawing for even more great prizes.

Have you ever heard of Amazon Smile?

Amazon gives %.05 of the total you spend on Amazon to the charity of your choice! If you're already an Amazon shopper, all you have to do is pick a charity and start you shopping at smile.amazon.com.

Learn more about Amazon Smile here

We'd love it if you picked the Friends of the Bemidji Public Library, but we know Bemidji is a giving bunch with many wonderful non-profits to choose from. We just wanted to let you know about this exciting (and free!) opportunity to help your community. Check it out today!

Go to Amazon Smile

2016 Reading Challenge

Bemidji Public Library is hosting a reading challenge in 2016.  Readers completing all 30 challenges will be invited to an end of the year party.  Those completing the bonus challenges as well will also be entered into a prize drawing.  Keep track of your books and either bring your completed list to the library or email it to us at bjprograms@krls.org.

If you need suggestions on any of the challenges, we'll be posting book lists here on the blog.  We'll also have book displays up year long at the library.  Do you have any good recommendations?  Leave it in a comment!

23 Things Accomplished, But Still Experimenting

Earlier this summer I finished the 23 Mobile Things program where I tried out mobile apps on my phone and Kindle Fire.  I had so much fun that I'm still trying out new things.  The exception is I'm trying out programs on the computer.  Just as fun and exciting.  And full of frustrations.

Since I do a lot of the posters around the library, I'm always on the lookout to jazz them up a bit.  Microsoft Publisher works pretty well, but there's only so much one can do with it.  So far I have found two internet sites that I've been playing around with,  Canva.com and infogr.am. Each have free options and pay options.  Right now I'm just using the free ones.  If they turn out to be super cool and I can't live with out them, maybe I'll upgrade.

Canva.com is a program where you can design posters, covers and pictures for your social media pages and posters to print.  It took me awhile to figure out how to print my poster.  It's a lot simpler to post it directly to Facebook or other site.  So far the free options are working just great for me.  There are a lot of text fonts to choose from, lots of colors, cool graphics and other options.  They also have awesome tutorials that walk you through many of their options and give great graphic design tips.  The one thing that I've found frustrating is that it doesn't work on Internet Explorer.  All our computers have IE.  I was able to download Firefox onto a couple computers.  Now I can usually use canva.  One time the computer freaked out and restarted itself while I was in the middle of trying to make a new picture.  Not quite sure what that was about, but everything still worked after.  Weird. But anyway, here's the poster.  Not too exciting, but I'm still getting a hang of the program.

I'll post about infogr.am next time.  I still haven't done much with that one, but so far it's super neat.

A Little Bragging

 

Completed all 23 Mobile Things! Yay!  It was a fun program, but I'm glad it's done.  On to something new!

 

 



Check out the 23 Things if want to check out all the apps we had to choose from.  I didn't try out even half of them.

Thing #23--Evaluate 23 Mobile Things

Doing this project was very fun and interesting.  Many of these apps I don't think I would have heard about, much less tried out, on my own.  I also came away knowing that there are more to apps than social media, games and buying things.

My favorite app has definitely been Wattpad.  My husband told me my motivation level has gone way down since I downloaded that one.  And of course the Facebook app I use a lot.  Both for checking my personal account and the library's account.  I have also found myself posting more and more photos on Instagram.  Never thought I'd be doing that. 

All in all, I'm glad I participated.  I learned a lot and I would definitely do something like this again.

Thing #21--Free-for-All

For this Thing I get to write about any app I want to.  Which is harder than it sounds since I just started using apps when I began the 23 Mobile Things. 

There are a couple that I use frequently (and I'm using the word frequently loosely).  One is the app for my bank.  It's super convenient when I just want to check how my accounts are doing (can I afford that new pair of shoes?).  Not a very exciting app, but very useful when on the go.

I've also been having fun with a QR/Barcode scanner app.  There are many of these out there.  I discovered I needed to try a few of them out to see which one worked the best on my phone.  I still can't scan every code I come across, but enough to make it worth while.  In fact, I thought QR codes were so neat, I decided to create and use them for the library.  I found a few websites where I could create them for free.  I made one and added a QR code to our Paws to Read bookmarks that lead to the website to register for the program.  Sweet.

And finally, being a weather junkie, I have the NOAA app.  Very handy when you need to know what kind of weather you'll meet on the trails. 

Thing #16--Audio

OK, so I finally tried out one of the audio apps.  I gave SoundCloud a try.  I'm not sure how long I'll keep this app.  It does have a lot of music and podcasts to explore, so I'll give it a little while.

So, SoundCloud is a social media audio platform.  You can listen to and share music, podcasts and other audio.  You can also record your own audio and share it.  Since I logged in using my Facebook account I automatically started "following" my Facebook friends who have SoundCloud accounts.  I could then see what they have recorded and shared and their playlists.  I also browsed what I could listen too.  Lots of music I've never heard of.  Under music genres I discovered such things as techno, tech house, minimal techno and hardcore techno.  Who knew there were so many versions of techno?  There are also the familiar genres such as country, classical, hard rock, and hip hop.  Under audio genres I found a podcast from Freakonomics that I saved to listen to later.  Looked (sounded?) really interesting.  Many news items about the world cup.  So many that I don't think I'll have time to browse through them all.

So far I haven't recorded anything yet.  It's not my favorite thing to do, record my own voice.  I also couldn't figure out how to do it.  It's probably super easy and I'm just over thinking the app.  I don't see ever doing podcasts.  They seem like they'd take a long time to set up.  And like I said, I'm not a huge fan recording myself talk.  Writing is so much easier!

 

 

Also, the badge for completing 20 Things! 

 

 



   

So Much To Do, So Little Time

At least that's how it seems here at the BPL.  Summer is finally here and with it comes the busy season.  The Library will be a hopping place during the month of June.  We'll be breaking up with the old stereotype that says the library is "a quiet place."

On Monday the summer reading program begins.  The theme this summer--Paws to Read.  Cute.  And since our online experiment worked so well last year, all registration and recording of minutes will be done online.  Our calendar of events for Paws to Read can also be found there.  Our first big event will be Thursday evening at 7:00.  We're hosting musician and storyteller, Jack Pearson, for a concert. 

The following week, June 16-21, is our annual Bemidji Library Book Festival.  We really out did ourselves this year with the number of events crammed into one week.  There are children's authors every morning, workshops in the afternoon, and at least one author presentation later in the day.  Whew!  Check out the link for the whole schedule of events.  Should be awesome.

New wall display in the children's area.  Looks a bit empty now, but I'm sure that won't last long!

 

Thing #22--Discovering Apps

So this Thing is one I should have tried nearer the beginning.  For this thing I had to try out an app (or website) to find new apps to try out.

I tried out Droid of the Day (DOTD).  This app sends you a notice once a day about a featured app from the Google Play Store.  So far, it's been a bust.  At least for me.  None of the apps it's recommended have appealed to me.  I did look at one of them briefly, just because I didn't know what it was.  Something about discovering what days in the future will be my bad luck days.  Or something like that.  I would rather be surprised, so I didn't install that app.  I'll keep DOTD installed for now.  It's rather interesting to see what kind of apps are out there.  Perhaps I'll get lucky one of these days and it'll tell me about one I can use.

I've had more luck discovering new apps by just browsing the Play Store and seeing what's available.  I've also found some by visiting websites or reading blogs.  And people always want to share things they like, so ask your friends!

I just had a sad realization.  I thought I only had 2 Things left.  It turns out I skipped Thing #16--Audio.  Oops!  I'll have to go back and do that one.

Thing #15--Infographics

This Thing didn't quite work like I expected it to, but it was still interesting.  I downloaded the free app for i Visual Touch.  With this app you can make your own infographic.  At least in theory.  It didn't work to well on my phone, but it could be because the screen isn't that big.  It maybe would work on a tablet better. 

I was able to download the app OK, and watched the how-to video so I would know what I was trying to do.  Of course the video made everything look super easy and had all the options for the version you pay money for.  But the free version has enough options to get you started.  You can make the background a different color, add in different shapes or pictures.  The part that I had trouble with was making the shapes a different size.  I should have just been able to drag the corners to enlarge, but I usually just moved the object around the screen.  Since I couldn't make the objects the size I wanted to, I just added more of them.  And changed their colors just because I could.  A little added text and the infographic was complete, if nonsensical. 

I looked around the Play Store for other infographic apps and found a few.  I tried out Infographic (not a very original title, but at least you know what you're getting).  This app won't help you create your own infographic, but you can look at others that are out there.  It also has one of the highest customer ratings.  You can do a search by genre and find an infographic for it.  I looked at the ones under lifestyle and found a neat one on shaving I shared with my husband.  Under Animals there are a lot about what to do with your pet in hot weather.  The graphics under Economy were interesting, but half of them are in languages other than English.  It's a neat app to look at if you need to kill some time, but I don't know how useful it is.

 

Thing #13--Presentations

So far, this has been the most frustrating Thing to work on.  For this I needed to download an app to help me make a slideshow presentation.  I've created powerpoint presentations before, so this should have been fairly simple.  I was wrong.

I tried the Deck Slideshow Presentations app for my phone.  It didn't work.  I was able to download it, but first it wouldn't let me open it.  So I uninstalled it, then re-installed it.  That worked.  I could open it.  But as soon as I tried to do anything, it froze on a black screen.  I was eventually able to view the sample slideshow on the app and do a little editing, but as soon as I'd back out and try to go back in it would freeze up again.  Very frustrating.

So I did a little searching in the Google Play store.  I found another presentation app--Presentation Maker.  Not the most user friendly app I've found, but at least I was able to do a slide show.  Just a quick 4 slide one on my spring adventures (I accidentally erased the title screen, so it was literally 4 slides long).  I was able to import pictures I took on my phone, add text and color the background.  Very basic, but it got the job done.

I don't see myself using this app or any presentation app any time soon.  There isn't much call for it in my life.  If I had to make one, I'd probably use Quickoffice. 

 

Thing #14--Videos

I was a little nervous about this thing.  I've never shot any video before, so not only was the app new, I had to try something totally new with the app.  But I worried for nothing.  I found it rather easy.

I tried out Vine for this thing.  Vine is a video app connected to Twitter where instead of sharing brief text, you share a 6 second video.  6 seconds doesn't sound like enough time to share anything, but you can show a surprising amount of information in 6 seconds.  Or totally waste it, as it appeared from some of the videos I watched.  However you want to use that time. 

Shooting the video for Vine is a little different from doing it directly from your phone.  Instead of just hitting the record button, you must hold your finger on the screen to film.  When you remove your finger you stop filming.  In this way you can make stop motion films or a single 6 second shot. 

So far I have only made one Vine.  I might do more.  Checking in on Vine I have found to be rather annoying.  When you're on the home screen or just searching through other Vines, the videos play automatically.  Which wouldn't be so bad if some of them didn't have sound.   I wish there was a way to disable that feature.

I'm not sure how often I'll use Vine, either in my personal life or for work.  I think I'd use it more for work since I don't think I know anyone else who has Vine.  On that note though, it's not easy to share Vine on other social media.  Twitter would work great, but I don't use that.  I can share the link on Facebook, but not everyone can view it.  On some computers it takes you right to the video, but on others the link takes you to the Vine sign on page.

Art Wall for April  Follow the link to see my first Vine.  Like I said above, I don't know if it will work.  But you can give it a try.

 

Thing #10--Sharing Photos

Back tracking on my list of Mobile Things, I tried Instagram for Thing 10.  I took awhile getting to this thing since it's not very compatible for tablets.  However, I splurged and bought myself a smart phone for my birthday and now it's easier to take and share photos.  I also learned that some of the apps I tried out on the Kindle Fire have different layouts on my phone.  Most likely because it's an android device and the apps are from the Play Store and not Amazon.  Interesting.

Anyway, I set up an Instagram account and started following a couple people I know.  Then I found a few organizations to follow.  Not too difficult.  Next I took a picture while in the app.  I snapped a picture of my new galoshes.  Before I posted the picture, I had to play with different options for lighting and having a frame.  After writing a brief description I posted my picture.  Nice.

I don't know if I'll use Instagram for work.  I'll have to keep playing with it first, before I try it out for work.  I can see how it would be fun to post pictures of life at the library or events that we have, but would we reach many people? I don't know.

 

 

Also, the badge for completing 15 Things.

 

 



 

 

Thing #20--Games

This time I got to try out a game.  I decided to download the (in)famous Candy Crush.  After hearing about how addictive and fun it was I was tempted to give it a try. 

My contrary nature wishes I could say that I hate it.  But that would be lying.  It can get rather addictive.  Mostly because it's a rather mindless game to play.  It doesn't take a lot of skill.  Luck yes, skill no.  It's fun to pick up and play when you have a few minutes to kill and don't really want to start something new. 

Two annoying aspects of the game are the sound (I turned it off after just a few minutes of playing) and the options to buy extra lives and boosters to win easier.  I'm not going to spend money playing a free game.  That's just silly.

So if you need a colorful way to while away your time, Candy Crush is a good way to do that. In all honesty, looking through a lot of the free games out there, most are pretty the much the same, just different themes.  Candy Crush is probably the most well known.  Have fun playing!

 

Thing #18--Education

Thing 18 is all about education.  Which could be a very boring subject, but being a librarian and married to a science teacher, I have discovered that not all things labeled "educational" are boring.  And there are a few apps under this heading that are quite entertaining as well as educational.

I'll start with my least favorite of the ones I tried and that is Duolingo.  This app is designed to help you learn a different language.  I didn't find it especially helpful.  I tried German language.  I took German in college and thought this would be a good refresher for me.  Instead I found myself grateful I already knew the vocabulary the program was going through.  It goes quickly between listening exercises, spelling exercises and fill in the blank.  If you already know some of the language you choose, this could be a good way to get up to speed with some of the basics, but if it's a totally new language, I'm not sure how helpful this app would be.

The next app I tried was TED.  If you're at all familiar with TED Talks this is the app for you.  If you have no idea what TED Talks are, try it out.  TED Talks feature presenters on any subject you can think of.  They're highly entertaining and, yes, educational.  Using the app I watched a video of Susan Cain do a presentation on introverts and their contributions to society.  I chose this talk because I read her book Quiet: the Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking.  Being rather introverted I found the book fascinating and her talk was as well. 

A third app to try out if you love maps and/or traveling is Google Earth.  You can easily lose yourself on a virtual trip around the world.  You can check out satellite images of anywhere on earth.  Or pictures of certain locations that people have uploaded.  Try looking down the Grand Canyon, see images of Chernobyl, or maybe your own home.  Super cool.

 

Thing #19--Hobbies

For Thing 19 I was to explore apps that go with hobbies.  The one I selected from the list provided is called Spotify.  Spotify is a free online music app similar to Pandora or Google Play radio.  With it you can search for various songs, artists or genres of music.  It was fun searching through some of the provided playlists.  Two lists I searched through were the "Decades" and "Kids" lists.  Having grown up through the 80's made this music playlist especially entertaining for me as it brought back memories of bad hair bands and the angry grind of electric guitars.  And there were so many 80's lists to choose from!  I also listened to some from the 90's.  We listened to some strange music when I was in high school.  In the kids list I chose a Disney song list.  Fun.  Except it mainly played songs from The Lion King and The Little Mermaid.  Good movies, but I can only listened to those songs so much.  The radio feature is nice.  It will give a "station" based on the music you've searched for and listened to.

Even so, I'm not quite sold on this app. I already use Pandora and I find it easier to use than Spotify. Still, it's worth checking out if you don't already use an online music player.

Another app that I've tried out that could fall under this category is the app for All Recipes.  I love to cook and I love to read recipes.  This app features enough recipes to keep me occupied for a long time.  I like their mix and match option.  You can pick and choose ingredients and it'll give you recipe options based on that.  How cool is that?

Now I just need to find an app that covers crochet patterns.  I'll never have to buy another magazine again!

Thing #17--Connecting to Community

As you can see, I'm jumping around and not doing the Things in order.  I've never been good at lists. 

Thing #17 is about using apps that have to do with the local community.  Not being very app savvy, I don't know of any that pertain to the Bemidji area.  I'm sure they exist, I just haven't found them yet.  I decided to try one called Going Out.  It's one the Star Tribune put out.  It will tell you about events and places to dine out in the Twin Cities area.  I'm not very familiar with the Cities so I thought this would be a good opportunity to see what's there. 

Many theater and show options.  I knew there were a lot of theaters in the Cities, but I didn't know there were that many.  I also looked at the educational options like the art museums and the Science Museum.  The Science Museum has the Ultimate Dinosaurs exhibit right now.  My husband and I might have to check that out.  We never did grow out of our love of dinosaurs.  For some reason, when I tried to look up movies, it didn't want to tell me about those.  Perhaps because it's a "locater app," so it gathers info based on your location and I was no where near those movie theaters.  I don't know.  I'll have to try it again to see if it works better at another time.

One app that I haven't tried out yet, but hope to is Highlights of the Superior Hiking Trail.  Looks too useful to pass up, especially with how much time we like to spend along Lake Superior.

 

 

 

Thing #9--Taking and Editing Photos

As you can tell from the title of this post, in this Thing I was to experiment with photos.  Rather fun.  I decided to try out Color Splurge.  This app allows you to play with the coloring of your photos.  If you're into photo editing this could be a fun app to have.  You can take and edit a photo using this app or upload one you have saved on your device or social media page.

I decided to upload a couple from my Facebook page.  This wasn't too hard.  The app took awhile to think about it, but it wasn't so long that it was inconvenient.  The photo is uploaded in black and white.  What you can do is select the rainbow color icon and use that to paint the original color back on the photo or you can select one color to paint on.  What is nice is you have many different shades to choose from, similar to many photo editing and drawing programs you may have on your desktop.  You also can change the size of your "paintbrush."  However, your paintbrush is your finger.  It's hard to do any minute detailing on your picture.  Also, the undo icon will undo all of your work, not just your most recent action.  I found that super annoying.  I had to start over several times.  I found it easier to select the B&W icon, paint over my mistake, and then try again with the color.

In the first photo I decided to just color my dress and leave the rest black and white.  This where I discovered that the undo button is over zealous and had to recolor many times. 

The second is a pitcher plant I photographed (along with a hapless ant) last summer at the Big Bog Rec Area.  I recolored the plant and left the background black and white. 

I don't think this will take the place of my usual photo editor, but if I wanted to play with my pictures on the go, this is an OK substitute.

Color Splurge