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Archive for the ‘Reference’ Category


Which eReader or Tablet Should I Buy?

by Kara on November 28th, 2011
Which eReader or Tablet Should I Buy? Cover Image

We are heading into a gadget holiday season and the big question is, “Which eReader or Tablet should I buy to read Library eBooks?”

Because there are so many options, it is important to identify WHAT you want to do with your device. WHAT you want and HOW you will use it will determine WHICH device is best for you (or the lucky recipient of your gift!)

Will you only read eBooks? Or, do you want a device to also surf the Web, keep up on news, and check eMail, Facebook, and other social networking sites?  Will you use the device where you have WiFi access, or do you need 3G access for on-the-go? Once you answer these questions, you are ready to begin exploring which device is best for you.

Regardless of which direction you go, if you want a device compatible with Library eBooks, make sure you check out the OverDrive Device Resource Center. The Library contracts with a company called OverDrive to provide our eBooks and eAudiobooks. OverDrive keeps an eye on the market and tests each device to assure compatibility. If you purchase something, make sure it is on OverDrive’s list of compatible devices!

If reading eBooks only is your goal, a dedicated eReader is for you. Dedicated eReaders are optimized to cater to the reader’s enjoyment of the book.  There are many eReaders but the most popular are the Amazon Kindle, Barnes & Noble NOOK, Sony eReader, Pandigital, and Kobo eReader. Text size is easily changed and other viewing options are built in to customize the experience to the reader. Things to think about when considering an eReader include screen size, battery life, WiFi vs. 3G, and storage capacity.

If you want more than eReading, a Tablet is for you. Tablet computers are built on either an Android or Apple platform and offer an “App” (Application) store where the user may find apps for many different programs.  The primary App stores are the Android Marketplace and the Apple App Store (note-there are different App Stores for the iPhone vs. iPad).

The Tablet market is exploding and it is hard for consumers to know which products are good. The September 2011 Consumer Reports has a nice review of Tablets and eReaders (and a recommended list of “12 Apps That Make the Most of a Tablet”) while the  December 2011 Consumer Reports reviews Tablet computers and gives recommendations by screen size.  Patrons living in our service area, or in the service area of a Library that offers access to the Ebsco Host Magazine Database, can log-in from home to view these articles and find other reviews for eReaders and Tablets. Other good places to read reviews include CNET and Engadget.  Things to think about when considering a tablet are screen size, battery life, WiFi vs. 3G, capacity, and compatibility of apps for larger screens.

There are some “Hybrid eReaders” on the market now, including the Kindle Fire and NOOK Color, but because they offer more than eReading, I put those into the Tablet category.  The hybrid eReaders have their own application stores including the Amazon App Store for the Kindle Fire and the Nook App Store from Barnes & Noble for the NOOK Color.  Although there are not as many apps for the hybrids, each app has been tested to assure it is optimized for the device.

At the Library, we can’t promote one product over another, but we can help you navigate through your questions.  We also have a limited number of devices you can look at while at the Library.  Please feel free to give us a call or stop in. Happy eReading!

 

Published in Reference
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72 Hours to Kickoff!

by Kara on August 31st, 2011
72 Hours to Kickoff! Cover Image

The Iowa Hawkeyes football season kicks off this Saturday September 3 at 11:00 AM at Kinnick Stadium.  The Hawkeyes face Tennessee Tech and the game is televised on the Big Ten Network.

There’s always a preseason buzz in the air.  Personally I don’t go to the football games (you’ll find me at the Library on kickoff day!) but I do enjoy the anticipation leading up to the football games.  I also have an appreciation of the Hawkeye legacy and enjoy the food at the tailgaters I attend.

The Library has many wonderful resources to help you prepare for the football season.  If you are interested in exciting moments in Hawkeye sports, search the Library’s catalog (click on the Word/Phrase Tab) for “Iowa Sports History.”  Or check out the “Go Hawkeyes” sound recording to listen to the Iowa Fightsong and other great moments in Hawkeye History.

If you want to watch an interview with the legendary Hayden Fry, navigate to the Library’s streaming video collection and select the entry for Hayden Fry.  Or if you need some ideas to plan for an awesome tailgate food spread, search Catalog Pro for “Tailgate Parties.”

If your idea of a perfect Hawkeye Football Saturday is to escape from the chaos with a great book or a trip out of town, we can help you with that too ;)

Count on the Iowa City Public Library to help you prepare for football season.  Go Hawkeyes!

Published in Biography & Memoir, Health & Nutrition, History, Politics and Current Events, Movies & Documentaries, Nonfiction, Reference, Sports & Fitness, Travel
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Weber Days and Historic Preservation Month

by Kara on May 7th, 2007
Weber Days and Historic Preservation Month Cover Image

May is National Historic Preservation Month and in Johnson County we also celebrate Irving B. Weber Days as a tribute to Iowa City’s official historian.  ICPL has wonderful local history resources as well as an exemplary collection of books about Iowa.  A recent quick trip to the nonfiction collection netted many gems.

On Tuesday May 15, 2007 at Noon in Room A, Rodney Lehnertz will present the 2007 Weber Days Lecture.  His program features the 2006 book he co-wrote with John Beldon Scott, The University of Iowa:  Guide to Campus Architecture.  The program will be interesting and there will be ice cream (Irving Weber’s favorite food) ~~ Interesting program and ice cream ~~ what could be better?

And speaking of Irving Weber, if you haven’t picked up Lolly Egger’s 2006 Iowa City’s Irving Weber: A Biography, it’s worth a look.  Lolly chronicles Irving’s life along with Iowa City’s early history and 20th century growth.  Marybeth Slonneger has written a number of wonderful books about Iowa City.  Her newest book, Wetherby’s Gallery: Paintings, Daguerrotypes, and Ambrotypes of an Artist, features works of Iowa City’s first photographer.  Two other fun Iowa City books are Bob Hibb’s Iowa City: A Sense of Place Volumes I and II.   

Other recent gems include Ron Playle’s 2006 book, The Iowa State Fair in Vintage Postcards, Lois Widerrecht-Finke’s 2003 book The Blue Top Motel, and Jerome Pohlen’s 2005 Oddball Iowa: A Guide to Some Really Strange Places. 

Happy Weber Days (www.icpl.org/weber) AND Happy National Historic Preservation Month ~~ hope you find a great local history book to help you celebrate.  ~~ Enjoy ~~

Published in Biography & Memoir, History, Politics and Current Events, Nonfiction, Outdoors & Nature, Reference, Travel
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Homekeeping for the Rest of Us

by Heidi on March 9th, 2007
Homekeeping for the Rest of Us Cover Image

Whether you love Martha Stewart or tend to roll your eyes at the mere mention of her name, you have to like the new Martha Stewart’s Homekeeping Handbook:  The Essential Guide to Caring for Everything in Your Home.  It is short on glitz—photographs are in black and white and the author herself appears only once, at the beginning of the book—but long (very long: 700+ pages) on practicality.  The index is thorough with ample cross references.  Stewart and her team of researchers want you to know every detail of how to take care of your home, and I find it legitimizing to read such serious prose about doing all of those routine chores we take for granted.   And it is serious.  You will learn that marble “is a calcareous stone” and what that implies for a kitchen countertop, to identify the differences among sixteen kinds of spoons and fourteen forks, and the recommended "inocula sources" to get your compost started.   I found only one problem with the book:  it is much too tempting to just sit and read about “homekeeping” instead of doing the real house cleaning.

Published in Do-It-Yourself, Home & Gardening, Reference
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The New York Times Practical Guide to Practically Everything Edited by Amy D. Bernstein and Peter W. Bernstein

by Maeve on February 28th, 2007
The New York Times Practical Guide to Practically Everything Edited by Amy D. Bernstein and Peter W. Bernstein Cover Image

The New York Times Practical Guide to Practically Everything: The Essential Companion for Everyday Life, does just what its title states. The book is comprised of 12 sections; the first is Health and Fitness and the last Laws and Mores with House and Garden, Travel, Everyday Science several of the sections in between.  This is a great source to have if you don’t have access to Google or you just want to use a good old fashioned reference book to answer a question, (you know, like you used to in the days before the Internet).

Each of the sections is divided into subcategories and topics. Entries are well written and not too technical.   Each entry is signed and there is often link to a website or address if the reader wants to find out more information. The answers are authoritative -  the book’s editors called upon the staff at the New York Times – editors, reporters and critics who in turn had their own sources of experts.  It also has a handy index.
 
The New York Times Practical Guide to Practically Everything is one of
those works you might want to have at ready at a dinner party when two
people think they both know the correct answer but only one of them is
really right.
 

 

Published in Nonfiction, Reference
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