Penguin Group eBooks

If you remember, back in November of 2011, Penguin Publishing stopped licensing their eBooks to libraries via OverDrive. Well...

GOOD NEWS!  Penguin Publishing has rejoined the list of leading publishers allowing library lending of eBooks via OverDrive, our Digital Library vendor.  More than 17,000 Penguin eBooks are available for libraries such as East Central Regional Library to license for our Digital Library.

 

Penguin Group Publishing titles will follow the one copy/one user lending model, and libraries will be able to circulate each copy they license for 12 months (1 year).  Popular new releases will be priced at $18.99 per copy.  Backlist favorites will range from $5.99 -$9.99 per copy.   After 12 months, ECRL will have to purchase an additional license in order to retain the title in our eBook collection. 

eBooks published by Penguin Group include many favorite authors such as:

• Nora Roberts
• Tom Clancy
• Patricia Cornwell
• Charlaine Harris
• Lee Child
• Iris Johansen
• Christine Feehan
• Kathy Reichs
• Clive Cussler
• W. E. B. Griffin
• Harlan Coben
• AND MANY MORE!

Also, remember that you can always suggest titles you wish to see added to ECRL's Digital Library via the Recommend to Library feature.

Library lending of eBooks is an ever-changing world, and the tide is turning in our favor.  When ECRL launched eBooks in November 2011, 5 of the 7 biggest publishers did NOT allow library lending of eBooks.  Today, 5 of the 7 biggest publishers DO allow library lending of eBooks in some manner.  Keep track of which major publishers allow library lending of eBooks at the blog post “Why can’t I get this eBook from ECRL?” 

Sarah Hawkins, Branch Librarian, Chisago Lakes Area Library

ECRL Kids Create Glass Art Contest Winners

 

Example of  Kids Create Glass contest
courtesy of glassblower, Anthony
Michaud-Scorza

This past summer ECRL ran a Kids Design Art contest.  Children ages 4-10 were invited to enter a special contest to have their drawing turned into a glass sculpture by local glassblower, Anthony Michaud-Scorza.  Over 150 entries from our 14 branch libraries were turned in.  One drawing from each branch was chosen and will have their drawing turned into a glass sculpture this fall.  The following children were chosen as winners:  Aitkin – Savannah Watson; Cambridge – Emily Ruyman; Chisago Lakes – Sydney Barnick; Hinckley – Madelyn Churchill; McGregor – Emma Arnold; Milaca – Tucker Anderson; Mille Lacs Lake – Priscilla Elizabeth Bonilla; Mora – Mattea Van Hale; North Branch – Caleb Thyng; Pine City – Billy Brown – Princeton – Griffin Sager; Rush City- Hunter Fuller; Sandstone – Nevaeh Sedillo; and Wyoming – Kirsten Swanson.  The winners ranged from ages 5-10. 

The winners will get their picture taken with their individual glass sculpture and be invited to the glassblower’s studio to observe the art of glassblowing.  A brochure including all of the drawings and the glass designs will also be produced.  The 14 sculptures will also travel to each of the 14 ECRL branches for a display and Mr. Michaud-Scorza will give a presentation on glassblowing.  The event is planned for February 2014.  The event is funded with Minnesota’s Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund. 

Vickie Sorn, ECRL Youth & Community Services Librarian

Read a Banned Book

Every September the American Library Association focuses on the books that have been challenged and banned in either a school or public library.  Since 1990, the American Library’s Association’s Office for Intellectual Freedom (OIF) has recorded more than 10,000 book challenges.  A challenge is a formal, written complaint requesting a book be removed from the shelf.  The OIF estimates that less than ¼ of challenges are even reported and recorded.

It is thanks to the commitment of librarians, teachers, parents and students that most challenges are unsuccessful and reading materials such as I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, the Harry Potter series, the Captain Underpants series, To Kill a Mockingbird, the Great Gatsby and more remain available on the shelf at your local public library.  A challenge is not simply an expression of a point of view, but an attempt to remove the materials from public use by anyone.  Censorship denies our freedom as individuals to choose and think for ourselves. 

Since its inception in 1982, we stop each September to focus on Banned Books as a reminder to us that while not every book is intended for every reader, each of us has the right to decide for ourselves or our children what to read, listen to or view. 

Each branch of East Central Regional Library has put up a display of many of the banned books from the 21^st century.  The displays will be in the libraries thru October 4.  Celebrate the freedom to read what you so choose at your local East Central Regional Library branch by stopping by and checking out just how many of those “banned” books you’ve probably read. 

Vickie Sorn, ECRL Youth & Community Services Librarian

 

 

2nd Big Library Read

East Central Regional Library is participating in the second Big Library Read and you are invited to join us!  Join the global movement of passionate readers and library patrons who support the access of eBooks and eAudiobooks through your local library. 

With the success of the first Big Library Read, OverDrive, HarperCollins Publishers, and author Jane O’Connor, have partnered up to present the next Big Library Read, this time with a juvenile title.  More than 6,500 libraries worldwide are participating!   Kids and fans who grew up with Jane O’Connor’s Fancy Nancy picture books will be especially thrilled.  They can spend some more quality time with their BFF: Nancy Clancy is now starring in her own chapter books!

The Big Library Read title, Nancy Clancy, Super Sleuth, is the first in the Fancy Nancy: Nancy Clancy juvenile chapter book series and is available in both eBook and eAudiobook!

"Nancy Clancy, Super Sleuth brings us back to the glamorous world of our favorite fancy girl. Nancy may be a bit older and more sophisticated, but she hasn’t lost her love for fancy words, outrageous fashion and dramatic flair. She and her best friend Bree have everything they need to solve a mystery, from their totally professional trench coats to their top-secret code. But when crime strikes in their classroom, will these super sleuths be able to crack the case?"

Jane O’Connor’s Nancy Clancy titles are great for young readers who are learning how to read and developing a love of literature.  Her use of advanced vocabulary, while explaining what the words mean, helps children grow as readers.  Checking out the eBook and eAudiobook together will enable children and parents to listen to the title as they follow along with the text.

Remember, the especially unique aspect about Big Library Read is that, for the duration of the program, September 16th-September 30th, 2013, the eBook and eAudiobook will not follow the traditional one copy/one user model but will simultaneously be available to all ECRL eBook & eAudio users to borrow via our Digital Library.  No wait lists!  The eBook is available in the OverDrive Read, Kindle, and Adobe EPUB formats.  The eAudiobook is available in MP3 and WMA formats.  Being available in all major formats also guarantees Nancy Clancy: Super Sleuth will be accessible for every Digital Library user on all major devices.

Big Library Read creates a "global book club" which allows parents and children to read together and join thousands of other users in reading the same book at the same time!  To borrow Nancy Clancy, Super Sleuth, simply log in to ECRL’s Digital Library. You’ll see the title on the home page ready to checkout.

In addition to creating a global “library book club,” Big Library Read demonstrates the positive exposure and sales influence library eBooks provide to authors and publishers.   The proof is in the numbers!  For less than 3 weeks in May 2013, during the first Big Library Read, 63 East Central Regional Library patrons checked out and downloaded The Four Corners of the Sky by Michael Malone via our Digital Library.  Globally, users checked out Four Corners of the Sky more than 44,000 times during that same time.  Additionally, Malone’s other titles experienced a sales increase, and checkout rate growth of more than 100%. 

If you’d like to be an even more active Big Library Read participant, join a Facebook chat with Jane O’Connor on Tuesday, Sept 24th at 8 pm (CT).  You’ll be able to ask Jane anything burning questions about her writing process, Nancy Clancy, or what she has in store next.  You can also join the conversation on Twitter during this event by following @ecrlib and/or using the hashtag  #BigLibraryRead.

Sarah Hawkins, Branch Librarian, Chisago Lakes Area Library

Forthcoming titles - September 2013

Forthcoming titles - click here to search for and place your hold on the ECRL catalog.

ADULT FICTION

Title	Author
ALL THINGS HIDDEN	Peterson, Tracie
BLACKBERRY PIE MURDER	Fluke, Joanne
COMMAND AUTHORITY	Clancy, Tom
CONCEALED IN DEATH	Robb, J. D.
DARK WOLF	Feehan, Christine
DO OR DIE: RELUCTANT HEROES	Brockmann, Suzanne
EYES WIDE OPEN	Dekker, Ted
FORGET ME NOT	Michaels, Fern
HOME TO SEAVIEW KEY	Woods, Sherryl
MIDNIGHT SUN	Jackson, Lisa
MOVING TARGET	Jance, Judith A.
NYPD RED 2	Patterson, James
POWER PLAY: A NOVEL	Steel, Danielle
STEEPED IN EVIL	Childs, Laura
STONE COLD	Box, C. J.
THE FOREVER GIRL	McCall Smith, Alexander
TIME TO LAUGH ROMANCE COLLECTION	Brunstetter, Wanda E.
TROUBLE IN MIND	Deaver, Jeffery

LARGE PRINT

Title	Author
ACCUSED	Scottoline, Lisa
BRANDON'S BRIDE	Scott, Alicia
CANDLELIGHT CHRISTMAS	Wiggs, Susan
DUST	Cornwell, Patricia Daniels
FIFTEEN MINUTES	Kingsbury, Karen
MINOR ADJUSTMENT BEAUTY SALON	McCall Smith, Alexander
MIRAGE	Cussler, Clive
NYPD RED 2	Patterson, James
POWER PLAY: A NOVEL	Steel, Danielle
READY TO DIE	Jackson, Lisa
SECRET SANTA	Michaels, Fern
STORM FRONT	Sandford, John
TAMARACK COUNTY	Krueger, William Kent
TROUBLE IN MIND	Deaver, Jeffery
VOW FOR ALWAYS	Brunstetter, Wanda E.

BOOKS ON CD

Title	Author
ANOTHER DAWN	Brown, Sandra
BONES IN HER POCKET	Reichs, Kathy
BOOTLEGGER	Cussler, Clive
BRANDON'S BRIDE	Scott, Alicia
CLASSIFIED	Michaels, Fern
DRIFTER	Wiggs, Susan
FEAR NOTHING	Gardner, Lisa
GRACE UNPLUGGED: A NOVEL	Carlson, Melody
HIDDEN FIRES	Brown, Sandra
HOME TO SEAVIEW KEY	Woods, Sherryl
HUNTED	Robards, Karen
INNOCENCE: A NOVEL	Koontz, Dean R.
LAKESIDE COTTAGE	Wiggs, Susan
LIGHTKEEPER	Wiggs, Susan
NIGHTSTAR	Michaels, Fern
NYPD RED 2	Patterson, James
ROGUE'S LADY	Carr, Robyn
SEAVIEW INN	Woods, Sherryl
SILKEN WEB	Brown, Sandra
SUNSET EMBRACE	Brown, Sandra
TEMPTED	Carr, Robyn
TROUBLE IN MIND	Deaver, Jeffery
TWILIGHT	Woods, Sherryl

Marcia Ledin, Technical Services Coordinator

FALL and WINTER FILMS -- READ THE BOOKS FIRST!

Famous actors, renowned directors, best-selling authors, and popular books...

Studios and production companies are gearing up for their big fall releases.  Grab the books before seeing the movies!  Look for these films in your local movie theatres and ask for the books at your local branch library!


THE FAMILY
(Based on The Family by Tonino Benacquista)
Starring Robert De Niro and Michelle Pfeiffer
A "dark comedy" about the Manzoni clan and the mob -- 
a powerhouse cast in this one!

 

GREAT EXPECTATIONS 
(Based on Great Expectations by Charles Dickens)
Starring Helen Bonham Carter and Ralph Fiennes
Bonham Carter, known for her eccentric characters, plays
Miss Havisham


HORNS
(Based on Horns by Joe Hill )
Starring Daniel Radcliffe
Young Radcliffe (Harry Potter) grows a pair - of horns!  Hill is the son of Stephen King


CARRIE
(Based on Carrie by Stephen King )
Starring Chloe Moretz and Julianne Moore
A faithful adaptation of King's novel -- and Moore will be a
chilling Margaret White

AS I LAY DYING
(Based on As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner)
Starring James Franco
Franco, last seen in "Oz the Great and Powerful", also
directs this adaptation of Faulkner's classic


PHILOMENA
(Based on The Lost Child of Philomena Lee)
Starring Judi Dench
The true story of an Irish woman's 50-year quest to find the
son she put up for adoption - Dench was made for this role


ENDER'S GAME
(Based on Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card)
Starring Asa Butterfield and Harrison Ford
A huge sci-fi release that has come under scrutiny because of
Card's personal views on gays and same-sex marriage


BIG SUR
(Based on Big Sur by Jack Kerouac)
Starring Kate Bosworth and Josh Lucas
This adaptation of Kerouac's 1962 novel received
excellent reviews at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival



THE WOLF OF WALL STREET
(Based on The Wolf of Wall Street by Jordan Belfort)
Starring Leonardo Di Caprio and Matthew McConaughey
Di Caprio, riding high after "The Great Gatsby", teams with director Martin Scorsese yet again


THE HUNGER GAMES: CATCHING FIRE
(Based on The Hunger Games: Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins)
Starring Jennifer Lawrence
Could be the biggest film of 2013 -- and Lawrence recently won the
Academy Award for "Silver Linings Playbook"



PARKLAND
(Based on Four Days in November by Vincent Bugliosi)
Starring Zac Efron and Paul Giamatti
Parkland Hospital in Dallas on November 22, 1963 -
enough said


THERESE
(Based on Therese Raquin by Emile Zola) 
Starring Elizabeth Olsen and Jessica Lange
Lange, one of our greatest living actresses, excels
in roles like this


THE HOBBIT: DESOLATION OF SMAUG
(Based on The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien)
Starring Martin Freeman and Ian McKellan
The second installment of Tolkien's classic -- sure to be an enormous
box office success


12 YEARS A SLAVE
(Based on Twelve Years a Slave by Solomon Northup)
Starring Brad Pitt and Michael Fassbender
Producers are expecting this film to grab every major award; it's being released
just in time for 2013 nominations


Bob Gray
Reference and Interlibrary Loan Librarian

Minnesota Memoirs

Fiction is more popular than nonfiction at most public libraries, but many nonfiction memoirs on a topic that interests you also read like a novel.  A few memoirs I would recommend center around Minnesota in the 1800’s.  They include:

I Go to America: Swedish American Women and the Life of Mina Anderson  by Joy K. Lintelman (Minnesota Historical Society Press, 2009) This has local interest because Mina ended up living in rural Mille Lacs County—Bogus Brook township.  The author has done extensive research about single Swedish women who immigrated to America and this is added to Mina’s own story.  Born in 1867, Mina’s childhood is spent in Dalsland, Sweden, where her family lives in a large house with several other families.   Her father works at the foundry 10 to 12 hours a day.   Mina goes out on her own to work as a servant at the age of 15.  With financial assistance from an uncle, she immigrates to America in 1890, working as a domestic.  Mina soon marries and moves with her husband to farm acreage near Milaca.  Mina’s story helps to explain why so many Scandinavians moved to Minnesota and the experiences they had upon arrival.

Harvest Journal: Memoir of a Minnesota Farmer, Part I: 1846 – 1903 by Sandra K. Wilcoxon & Frederick A. Cummings (Hats Off Books, 2000) Here is another story by an early Minnesotan.  Mr. Cummings came to Minnesota from Vermont as a youth after he lost his mother.  He arrived with an uncle in 1855 to the township of Waukokee near Rochester.  Mr. Cummings started his life as a school teacher and this is reflected in his highly literate writings.  He is also a poet, using his powers of rhyme as a way to reflect on certain life feelings and events.  Mr. Cummings also follows the news of the day and reports on news events ranging from Indian wars to presidential politics.  As most farmers, he also reports the weather and economic conditions.  A touching part is the description of a child who dies in infanthood. 

No More Gallant A Deed: A Civil War Memoir of the First Minnesota Volunteers by James a Wright and edited by Steven J. Keillor (Minnesota Historical Society Press, 2001) This is a must read for Minnesota Civil War buffs.  Wright was a student at Hamline University when it was located in Red Wing. He and many of his classmates signed up for service or as he says “responded to President Lincoln’s call for assistance.”  He details the adventures of the 87 men as they learn to become soldiers.  His pride shows through in how the First Minnesotans and their leaders were well regarded in behavior and battle.  He also is realistic in his assessments of the difficulties of fighting with little food, battered clothing and little protection from the elements for months at a time.  Originally 800 pages long, Keillor does an excellent job of editing Wright’s manuscript to tell the complete story of the First Minnesota Volunteers.

If you are a fiction reader and want to venture into nonfiction, try memoirs.  Just put in the keyword “memoir” in the ECRL card catalog and a list of memoirs will appear for you to put on hold, from celebrity exposes to plain old Minnesota farmers.

Katherine Morrow, Branch Librarian

Mille Lacs Lake Community Library