No. 06-48                                                                                                                  December 8, 2006

•  JAN AGUIRRE, Specialist & Training Coordinator

     Polaris “Tip of the Week” 

If you are prompted during Checkout to create an “On the Fly” record, answer No and try scanning the barcode again. We are finding instances of staff either hitting the space bar accidentally when the cursor is in the barcode field or typing the patron’s name in the barcode field, neither of which are valid barcodes so Polaris would prompt you to create an “On the Fly” record. Before you do that, make sure the barcode field is empty and then try scanning the barcode again. 

  

• ANNETTE BIRDSALL, Youth Services Coordinator

Youth Services

If you need help with answering the “I need a book title for my precocious 4^th grader for Kwanza, or Christmas, or any gift giving occasion; visit www.flls.org ; librarian resources/youth to find a link to ALA’s gift giving guide, “Children’s Librarians Recommend Books for the Holidays.”

The New York State CD, “New York Loves Safe Babies,” is available in Spanish.  If you would like to request a copy in Spanish or English please contact me.

  

• LINDA BEINS, ILL/Reference Coordinator

I will be on vacation on Friday through Monday, Dec. 8 – 11. If you have an immediate question about interlibrary loan, please call 273-4074, ext. 43. Otherwise I will get back to you soon after I return.

CBA (Central Library Book Aid) funding from NYS is being used by FLLS to purchase some databases and non-fiction material, housed at TCPL, but for the benefit of all system member library patrons. Please send me suggested titles or subject areas that you believe would be well used by member libraries and their patrons. This includes titles that are beyond what your budget permits. We welcome your suggestions all year round.

ILL

Please remember to return the canvas bags not being used for delivery to and from FLLS. This will ensure that we don’t run out of bags on heavy delivery days. Just let me know when you need additional bags for the delivery or if you need additional bags for your library for a short period of time.

Starting in May until just last week, we have had a complete turnover of the staff who unload your delivery bags and prepare your deposit collections. So think of Ben Booth, Jan DeRyke, and Teresa Corbin when you receive the materials delivered from and prepare the materials coming back to FLLS.

Databases

Based on the input we received, we have decided to upgrade from MasterFile Select to MasterFile Premier. According to EBSCO, MasterFile Premier provides access to 1,700+ full text periodicals, 500 reference books, 84,000+ biographies, and 100,000+ primary source documents. In order to provide this improved database we will discontinue our subscription to Infotrac General Reference Center at the end of the year.

 

NewsBank’s (http://www.flls.org/databases.htm) special topic, The Year in Review - 2006 looks back at the most important events and issues that occurred during the year. Stories include the most important issues and events in the arts, business, science, health, government, crime and other areas including people who made the news.  New topics will be added through the remainder of the year. To help understand the top news stories of 2006, also included are

• Pictures of the major events and people

• Background information

• Maps of areas that were in the news

• Suggested search terms to use in your NewsBank products

(SCRLC-L, 12/7/2006)

Last Week’s Question of the Week 1) Who invented the first electric tattoo machine? and 2) Among the Ainu people in ancient Japan, what part of a woman’s body was tattooed to denote her status as a married woman?

I used Gale Virtual Reference Library’s Fashion, Costume, and Culture: Clothing, Headwear, Body Decorations, and Footwear. Eds. Sara Pendergast and Tom Pendergast. Vol. 2:  Early Cultures Across the Globe, p. 244-246 and Vol. 5: Modern World Part II: 1946-2003, p.1012-1013 to learn that Samuel O’Reilly invented the first electric tattoo machine. The web site http://www.patentlessons.com/mini%20lesson.htm (scroll down to the discussion on “new use”) has pictures of this machine and the Thomas Alva Edison‘s electric pen, upon which the electric tattoo machine is based.

Ainu women would get a mouth tattoo; “over a period of years, a tattoo specialist would make cuts around a women’s mouth and dye them blue-black with powdered charcoal. At the end of the tattooing period the woman would have what looked like a large, black pair of lips that extended to a point on either cheek.” (p.244)

This Week’s Question of the Week December 10 marks the 155th anniversary of the birth 

of Melvil Dewey. In addition to his remarkable work in advancing librarianship, he sought 

efficiencies in many other endeavors, including spelling. 1) What was his given name? How 

did he change the legal spelling of his name in 1879? What were his suggested spellings 

of the words: coffee; teacher; weights; many; climate; efficiency; language, and possible?

• DIRECTORS’ ADVISORY COUNCIL (DAC) MEMBERS:

If you have any questions or concerns regarding FLLS library service, you are welcome to contact a DAC member from the list below. 

Janet Steiner, TCPL, Ithaca
Judy Barkee, Ulysses Philomathic Library, Trumansburg
Lois Maki, Newfield Public Library
Kay Zaharis, Cortland Free Library
Mary Frank, Peck Memorial Library, Marathon
Sally Otis, Hazard Library, Poplar Ridge
Stephen Erskine, Seymour Library, Auburn
Beverly Dann, Waverly Free Library.