WCCLS Library Blogs

Some of the WCCLS libraries are blogging! Follow their posts to get everything from book picks, to news about teen events, to useful websites for research.

Here they are in alphabetical order by library.

Beaverton City Library

Beaverton City Library Kid's Blog (rss)
"Good things for kids to check-out, fun things for kids to do."

Beaverton City Library Staff Suggestions (rss)
"Staff suggestions for reading, viewing and listening."

Did You Know? (rss)
"Beaverton City Library reference staff suggestions and tips for research, resources, search strategies and other helpful tips for finding the information you need."

Teendom, Tweendom: A Teacher's Guide to BCL (rss)
"Teaching 6th-12th grade students in (or near) Beaverton, Oregon? Discover events, resources, facilities, and more available to you and your students through the Beaverton City Library!"

Cedar Mill Community Library

Quick Picks from CML (rss)
"The Adult Services staff at CMCL offers advice, reviews, and suggestions on what to read, see, or listen to next."

Words of Wiser (rss)
"A Cedar Mill Community Library book blog for teens"

Tigard Public Library

Family Book Bag (rss)
"What's fresh for families @ Tigard Public Library"

Tigard Teen (rss)
"You Are Here for Tigard Public Library's news, fun events, great books and more!"

Washington County Cooperative Library Services

News & Events (rss | subscribe via email)
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Bee the Change... Join the Hive... Spread the Buzz at the Cedar Mill Library!

On Sunday, June 26, participate in these great bee-related events at the Cedar Mill Community Library.

Honey Tasting 2:00-3:30 PM
Beekeepers from near and far will answer questions about beekeeping and offer samples. View an observation hive!

Film & Discussion 4:00-6:00 PM
Free screening of the award-winning documentary: Vanishing of the Bees. Explore the reasons behind Colony Collapse Disorder among honey bees worldwide. Film & discussion take place in the upstairs Community Room at the Cedar Mill Library.

If you have question about these Bee the Change events, please contact the Cedar Mill Community Library.

Bestselling author Jean Auel visits the Tigard Public Library July 15th

Bestselling author Jean Auel will visit the Tigard Public Library on Friday, July 15, at 7 p.m. to discuss the sixth and final book in her celebrated Earth's Children series, The Land of Painted Caves. Throughout the series, Auel chronicled the life and adventures of Cro-Magnon Ayla, a story that was 30 years in the making.

In the series, Auel's meticulous research in anthropology and archaeology brought the Ice Age to life and earned praise from both archaeologists and fans. In The Land of Painted Caves, Ayla, her mate Jondalar and their daughter Jonayla continue their trek to further Ayla's spiritual training to become a shaman. Destinations include sacred sites such as the painted caves.

Auel's visit will be a homecoming of sorts. The Tigard Public Library hosted the author in 1979, when The Clan of the Cave Bear was first published. Now she will return to the library on one of the final stops of her book tour. After her presentation, Ms. Auel will answer questions and sign books.

The program will be held in the Library's Community Room. For information, visit the Library's website or call the Adult Reference Desk at 503-718-2517.

Univisión reporter Roxy de la Torre presents storytime en Español

Summer's here, and that means summer reading! WCCLS libraries also offer summer reading en Español - Lectura de Verano Divertida - for kids, teens, and adults.

On Monday, June 20th, from 6:00 - 7:30, Univisión reporter Roxy de la Torre will be presenting a storytime in Spanish for children at the Tualatin Public Library. Roxy will share stories, rhymes and music from across the world to celebrate our Summer Reading theme, "One World, Many Stories." There will be crafts and snacks too!

Delia Hernández from Univisión presented a storytime to an enthusiastic group of kids at the Cornelius Public Library a few weeks ago (photo at left).

Elizabeth Lopez, WCCLS' Latino Services Librarian, talks about Lectura de Verano Divertida on Univisión's Pulso H segment. You can watch the video here.

Tigard Public Library patrons love their library!

Tigard Library patrons have a lot to say. The Library received more than 3,000 responses in its annual survey. Of that, 1,462 people provided specific comments.

The words "great library," "staff," "books" and "love," appeared most often. Other frequently used phrases were "good job," "great job" and "great place."

You can read all of the comments online and also view a summary of the results. We appreciate all the feedback!

(The image in this post is a Wordle composed of the survey results. The larger the word, the more frequently it appeared in the survey comments.)

Library2Go app now available for Windows Phone

Today OverDrive (the company that provides Oregon's Library2Go service) released the OverDrive Media Console app for smartphones running the Windows Phone 7 operating system, such as the LG Quantum, Samsung Focus, and HTC Trophy phones.

With this latest release, OverDrive now supports every major mobile and desktop operating system, including Windows, Mac, iPad/iPhone (iOS), Android, and BlackBerry.

For more information on using Library2Go on your computer or mobile device, visit our Library2Go information page. You can also watch a demo of the Windows Phone 7 app on YouTube.

WorldCat access outside the library has been restored

Thank you for your patience while we worked to restore access to WorldCat outside of WCCLS libraries. It is now working again and ready for your searches and requests. If you do encounter any further problems, please let us know.

Forest Grove City Library Closed June 8

The Library will be closed today, Wednesday, June 8, 2011. Regular hours resume Thursday, June 9.

WorldCat database temporarily unavailable outside of the library

We are currently experiencing difficulties with remote (not in the library) access to WorldCat and FirstSearch. These databases may not be available to you if you are connecting outside of a WCCLS library. We are investigating the problem and will let you know as soon as it is resolved. We do not yet have an estimated time for when the issue will be resolved.

In the meantime, both WorldCat and FirstSearch are available if you visit a WCCLS library. Alternately, if you want to search WorldCat, but don't need to request interlibrary loans using it, you can search Open WorldCat which is freely available on the web.

We apologize for the inconvenience and thank you for your patience!

Summer Reading starts today!

Librarians all over Washington County have been hard at work preparing for Summer Reading programs, and it all finally starts today!

When it comes to summer reading, we often think of children first. And maybe we should - research shows that reading over the summer is really beneficial for kids. Did you know that the number of books read during the summer is consistently related to academic gains? Or that use of the public library is more predictive of vocabulary gains than attending summer school? But Summer Reading is also fun! We've got great prizes, programs, and lots of book lists to help kids find good reads.

Teens and adults don't get left out of the fun though. Check out our Teen Summer Reading page to find events, learn about the cool prizes, and find great book suggestions.

Adults can also participate in Summer Reading! Take advantage of great book lists to find some new authors, or meet other book lovers at library programs this summer. There are also some great prizes, such as e-readers, hotel stays, theater tickets, and more!

Many thanks to all of the sponsors who have contributed to the WCCLS Summer Reading programs. We're looking forward to seeing all of you readers in the library and online!