MLA, APA, Chicago, and AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

Do citations and bibliography rules make you want to cry? Or perhaps you secretly love creating in text citations and want to make sure they are perfect every time. Whatever your opinion is on creating citations and bibliographies, they get easier when you use the library. You can copy and paste already created citations or utilize software that will build the citations from scratch for you. Let’s discuss your options.

Copy and Pasting Already Created Citations

EBSCOhost offers premade citations for all of its scholarly articles. You can check out EBSCOhosts different databases through our subscription database page. Once you login start searching for your articles. Once you select an article, on the right hand side of the page there will be a button that says “Cite”. Click on this button a pop up window will show you all of the different citations styles. From this point you can copy and paste to your heart’s content. A little warning from my experience, the citations offered by EBSCOhosts are not always perfect, so double check.

Building Your Citations From Scratch..(with a little help).

There are several free citations builders available on the web and today I will introduce you to EasyBib and NoodleBib.

EasyBib.com is a simple bibliographic management tool that creates citations in MLA, APA, and Chicago styles. You choose what type of citation you are building and then fill in the blanks, from there EasyBib will create your citation for you. I especially liked this feature because you could create a list and then download it to a Microsoft Word or Google document file. This download feature minimizes a lot of the time and clumsiness involved in editing if you were simply to copy and paste citations. I recommend this citation builder for younger students who are just learning citations.

Though free and easy to use this program still comes with areas for improvement. The simplicity sometimes misses the finer details necessary for Chicago or Turabian citations. Also make sure you pay close attention to font size and margin spacing when you download citations to a Microsoft Word document. If a professor or teacher specifies a certain style of paper, EasyBib may not automatically create the style you are required to make.

NoodleBib.com is more complex free bibliographic management tool that also creates MLA, APA, and Chicago styles. This software also is a fill in the blank type citation builder, though you should expect a lot more blanks than EasyBib. This citation builder is a little more time consuming, but you can expect accurate and correct citations. Though you do not get the handy downloadable feature, you can expect better results for professional style citations. This citation builder is appropriate for high school age students and above.

If you are using the two citation builders for simple print journal articles you are likely to get similar results. There are minor differences if you are using it to build a bibliography of references used from an electronic database. Be careful about what information you add into the blanks and pay attention to any side notes or pop up information. Your citations are only as accurate at the information you put into it.

If you still want more information please check the library catalog for the writing style manuals. These are always the authoritative source of creating proper citations. Happy writing!

Extra Extra! We Are Temporarily Moving During Expansion!

We’ll be open thru March 18th, re-opening yet to be determined, but estimated on March 23rd.

Saturday, March 19th we’ll begin the process of moving everything out of our existing building. If you feel like volunteering to help with the move please sign up at the Circulation Desk at the library. Out new temporary home will be located at:

Goodden’s Sporting Goods location,
1012 S. Main St. (ES)
(Across from Amato Ford) see map below for directions.

When we reopen at the temporary location you can expect:
• Reopening with entire collection available
• All library services available
• Most programs will be held at the new location. Some larger programs, particularly

Summer Reading programming, may be held at the Village Hall
• Check the library’s website or the Mukwonago Chief for information on
re-opening dates.

Help us feel at home in our new temporary location and come and visit often!

The Value of Giving

The holidays are a great reminder to give back to your community. The possibility of giving can continue all year long through donating to local nonprofit agencies. There was a request to list some of the local nonprofits in our area as a sort of “giving guide”. This list is in no way comprehensive, so if you feel an organization has been overlooked or should be added, please leave a comment below and I will make sure they get included.

There are many ways to donate but the two most common are time and money. If you are looking to donate time I suggest checking out the United Way of Waukesha County. They have a volunteer database where you can lookup different volunteer opportunities available in the area. Otherwise the contact information for each of the nonprofit organizations available by checking out this list, please contact them for more information.

Of course, We would love to have you come down and volunteer at the library. Some of the bigger events we could use help for are our temporary relocation or the Summer Reading Program. Stop in for a teen or adult volunteer application today!

Project Gutenberg --> more eBooks than you can handle!

If you’re craving e-books and want to be able to download until the memory on your reading device is full, checkout Project Gutenberg.

Project Gutenberg as a nonprofit business entity was officially created in 2000, but the premise behind it has been developing since the creation of the first e-document in 1971. Michael Hart the founder and creator of that first document wanted to make eBooks accessible to as many people as possible. The project aims at providing free access of eBooks to over 33,000 titles of books whose copyright date has expired. These items can be downloaded to your Nook, Kindle, Android, or other mobile devices.

Three portions of the Project Gutenberg Library, basically can be described as: (from Project Gutenberg's website)

Light Literature; such as Alice in Wonderland, Through the Looking-Glass, Peter Pan, Aesop's Fables, etc.
Heavy Literature; such as the Bible or other religious documents, Shakespeare, Moby Dick, Paradise Lost, etc.
References; such as Roget's Thesaurus, almanacs, and a set of encyclopedia, dictionaries, etc.” (Project Gutenberg website).

Your first time downloading items directly from Project Gutenberg can be a little difficult, especially if you new to eBook devices. The best way to access a selection of these titles is through Overdrive. Recently they have added 15,000 titles selected from the Project Gutenberg Collection. When you checkout or download these items from Overdrive they won’t count towards the number of items you are allowed to checkout! To access Overdrive go to our subscription database page and log in. To find the Project Gutenberg eBooks search under the “Browse” page and look under the heading “Browse Public Domain eBook”. Here is a little sample from a neat cooking magazine I found from 1921!

I suggest checking out this neat neat collection, especially through Overdrive. If you have any questions please don't hestitate to contact us!

We're Moving!

But only temporarily. With construction ready to begin in late March or early April, the library will be vacating its current site in mid-March and moving to a temporary home for the 8-9 months it should take to build the new facility. Our new home will be 1012 S. Main St.-- the old Gooddens Sporting Goods store across the street from Amato Ford. If all goes well, we'll be moving back to our expanded, renovated home on Washington Avenue in late November or early December.

Some of you no doubt wonder why we're moving-- couldn't we just stay where we are during construction and wouldn't that be easier and also cost less? Good questions. The option to remain at the current site was available to us, but after discussions with our architect and construction manager it became apparent that moving out was preferable to staying, for a number of reasons.

Moving out during construction will be both safer and more pleasant for everyone-- library users and library staff alike. While our construction manager has an exemplary safety record, having large equipment and other construction activity close to an occupied building is always problematic. Especially when, as we typically do at the library, there are lots of small children around. And no matter how tightly and carefully you seal things, dust, dirt and noise are inevitable byproducts of construction. Staying would have been less fun and more dangerous than moving.

So, what about cost? We have determined, with the help of our architect and construction manager, where the approximate “break even” point is on the cost of moving out versus the cost of staying. We are moving because we can do so and stay below that "break even" point-- moving out temporarily should actually save us money on the project.

That might not make sense at first, but think about these "hidden" costs to remaining onsite during the construction process:

• Internal moves: Our construction manager estimates it will take at least four, maybe five or six, internal moves to allow the construction workers the necessary access to various parts of the building. These will be small moves, but each will be disruptive. With relocations, there are only two moves, albeit larger ones. The overall cost for the 4-6 internal moves would be at least as much as the two big moves.
• Extended construction time. If we remain onsite, the construction workers will have to work around us, and scheduling contractors will be much more difficult and constrained. This extends the length of time to complete the project. Current estimates are that remaining in the building will extend the length of construction by 1.5 to 3 months. Each extra month of construction costs approximately $50,000 in additional administrative costs.
• Contractor “repeat” work. With the library moving internally, there will be a need for contractors—electrical, drywallers, carpet layers, etc.—to do part of their job, then return later to finish the areas that were occupied earlier. This is much less efficient and leads to significantly higher costs.

Ultimately, moving out should be the same cost as, or somewhat less than, staying at the present site during construction.

So those are the reasons we're moving out. The space we're moving into is a good one, and we will maintain the level of service our patrons have come to expect. It will be an adventure-- so I hope you'll join us!

Student Loan Information

The estimated cost of tuition for the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee for one year is $8,284. Throw in the cost of supplies like textbooks and you are easily at $9,000, and that doesn’t include you're living expenses. It is quite possible that an undergraduate degree would cost at least $40,000 at a state college. What happens when you have to pay back those student loans?

Because of a slow economy the student loan repayment market has changed vastly in the last five years. When I graduated with a bachelor’s degree in 2007 you could still consolidate your loans through a private bank or financer for a low locked in rate of about 6%. Lenders like Sallie Mae, US Bank, and other large companies would consolidate your loan for you and set you up on a payment plan that you would pay until you had a zero balance. I know some people that have been making minimum payments and paying off their student loans for 30+ years.

Let’s fast forward to 2011. Student loans have become an unprofitable market for private lenders because of the lower interest rates and a large amount of people whose loans go into default. There are still some possibilities for private lenders, but in most situations it would be overly expensive and not worth your time. There are basically two options: simply pay them off or consolidate them through a federal government program.

Most students accrue multiple Stafford loans or “plus” loans for each semester they attend school. If you do not consolidate you will have to make minimum payments on each of these individual loans. After I graduated with a master’s degree I had eight individual loans totaling…$88,000 (deep breath). Great Lakes is the company in our area who handles tracking those student loans and receiving payments for them. They will send you statements the entire time you’re in college to let you know the total you owe. There are different payment options such as 10 year or 25 years repayment plans.

The other option is to consolidate loans through the federal government's Direct Consolidation Loans. Be forewarned that only certain types of loans like Stafford loans can be consolidated through this program. The benefits of this consolidation are the ability to make income contingent payments and sign up for other loan forgiveness options and only making one minimum payment. For example if you are a teacher in a designated high risk school, every year you teach there a certain percentage of loans is forgiven. If you work full time in a hospital, registered nonprofit, as a public service employee, or a part-time community college professor you can enroll in the Public Service Forgiveness Program. If you make 120 (10 years) worth of payments while employed full time at one of these positions after the 120^th payment they will forgive the remainder of your loans. This legislation was enacted in 2007, so I am not certain if this can be applied retroactively. The other helpful legislation is no matter what payment plan you have through consolidation after 25 years of payments the rest of your loans are forgiven.

For example if a full-time single public service employee whose income is estimated at $25,000 with $88,000 in debt could sign up for an income contingent payment options. This would be an estimated monthly payment of $247 for the next 10 years, which translates into a total repayment of about $30,000. If the person was not a public service employee they could still enroll in income contingent payments for the next 25 years which would be a total repayment of about $75,000. No matter what be aware of your options. When you do entrance and exit loan counseling for school pay attention to the small print, because it could cost you if you don’t.

Tips:

-Never borrow more then you need.

-Consult your financial aid department every year.

-Read the fine print involved in entrance and exit counseling for student loans, twice!

-Know your options and prepare yourself, imagine how you will pay off your loans before you graduate. Do not procrastinate.

-Look at every statement Great Lakes sends you.

-Make small payments while you are in school, even $30 per month will save you money in the long run. With an annual interest of 8.7%, that $30 worth of your loan compounds an additional $2.61 in just one year.

Pondering Pandora

With over 48 million users you might have heard of Pandora, the online music listening and selection website that caters to your individual music tastes. It is a part of the Music Genome project and it is centered on the user experience and tries to match music to your interests. For example if you type “Elvis Christmas Music”, Pandora will create a special music stations for you that steams music that is all similar to Elvis Christmas music. If you hear a song you don’t like press a thumbs down button and you will never hear it again. Neato burrito!

You can create a music station to fit all of your moods because Pandora lets you make up to 100 individual stations. It also lets you create a user profile and share all of your unique music stations and finds with your friends. The service is also compatible with up to 200 different internet accessible devices, so you can stream music from your Iphone, Nook, home computer, Playstation 3, Wii, X-Box 360, or any other device you can think of. In the car I stream Pandora through my cellphone and then hook it up to my car stereo (sort of like an Ipod).

Why do I love this service? As a librarian I want to give patrons access to the largest amount of information and experience possible for free. Pandora lets you sample new music, learn about the musicians, and even search for concert tickets in your area, and it has a FREE option. You can sign up for an account and listen to 40 free hours of music a month. (Don’t worry no tricks here, there is no credit card required for sign up, they don’t even ask for your address or telephone number.) If you want unlimited streaming music there are subscription services available.

I have over 35 stations and have never used my 40 hours of streaming music in a month. Now I have music to listen to when I clean the house, have a dinner party, or have people over for the holidays. I have discovered some neat new artists that I adore like Iron and Wine, Thievery Corporation, and a few other titles. Though those bands might not be your cup of tea, I bet you can find your own flavor!

Getting your taxes done with the Library!

It has been said that only two things are certain…death and taxes. It is that time of year when we find ourselves leveling up with Uncle Sam and facing that April 18th deadline for filing our taxes. Let the library help you deal with some of the stress from tax season.

Step 1: Stop by the library to get your tax forms.
We have print forms for the state of Wisconsin and federal taxes. (As of the January 11th we have the state of Wisconsin tax forms, but are still waiting on the federal tax forms.) If we don’t have the specific form you need we can help you find them on the internet, or you check these links for your state or federal forms.

Step 2: Use library resources to help get your taxes done.
For anyone over 55 years of age AARP will be having tax preparation help seminars at the library. They will be from 9:00 am until 12:00 pm, on February 7th, 14th, 21st, 28th, March 7th, 14th, 21st, 28th, and April 4th, and 11th. This is a first come first serve seminar so please arrive early, and it is not guaranteed that everyone who shows up will receive help.

You can check titles like these to help you with your tax preparation:

Or you can look to the community for resources in helping you by dialing 211 or checking out Volunteer Assistance Programs.

La Casa de Esperanza´s VITA Program offers free tax help for low to moderate-income taxpayers who cannot prepare their own tax returns. It is a volunteer-based program. Volunteers are certified by IRS and receive free training (sponsored by various organizations) to prepare basic tax returns in communities across the country.

Call 262-547-0887 to make an appointment for tax preparation. One of their locations is Waukesha Technical College in Pewaukee.

Step 3: Know your options for filing your taxes.

Whether you are hiring a professional to file your taxes, or filing yourself, be educated on your filing options.

Filing yourself: You can always mail in your completed forms yourself, or if you want to file online, check out this IRS link to see if you qualify for these free filing options.

Hiring a professional: Hopefully by now you have a great accountant or reliable person to file your return. But if you don't you can check your reference by using our online subscription database, Reference USA. Login with your library card number and you can look up the business in the Yellowpages portion. If they are a listed business you can see information like any legal filings against them, large news stories, and competitors. Some businesses even have statics about size, amount of annual income, and credit standing.

Step 4: Celebrate you finished your taxes!

Good luck!

Gizmo, Gadgets, and Downloading…Oh My!

Did you find a Nook, Kindle, Ipod, Sony e-Reader, or other digital device under your tree this year? Are you wondering what type of free downloads the library can offer for your gadget? Welcome to the quick Q & A session that will hopefully leave you as technologically savvy as your new gizmo!

What services are available?

The library offers audio books, e-books, music, and videos. These resources are available through two different subscription databases: Overdrive and NetLibrary. Many titles in the Netlibrary collection are now available to be downloaded to an ebook device. There is a feature in advanced search where you can look for downloadable titles only.


Overdrive is a subscription database that can include Adobe PDF eBooks, audiobooks, MP3 audiobooks, Music, and Video. Unlike NetLibrary these resources can be downloaded so there are different file types and compatibility depending on devices. Check out time is usually 7 or 14 days.

NetLibrary is subscription database, which can include eBooks, eJournals, audiobooks, and reference resources. Patrons can search for and read full-text eContent (eBooks or eJournals) or listen to audiobooks. Now there are many titles that can be downloaded, there is a feature in advanced search where you can look just for those downloadable titles.

Do these services work with my device?

Each subscription database has different compatibility needs. In a nutshell the Barnes and Noble Nook works with both databases and at this time the Kindle does not work with either database. The details of other devices can be found on the NetLibrary and Overdrive wesbites. There is also a cheatsheet provided by Waukesha County Library System for Overdrive.

But Kindle users fear not, if you know other people with Kindles, you can borrow their e-books from them for up to two weeks through Amazon.

How can I get my device to work with these services?

OVERDRIVE

Because Overdrive has more devices that are compatible with it and options for downloading, learning how to use your device can be a little bit more difficult. The first thing you should do is check the link of devices that has some information on what you may need to download before using your device.

1. Have your current library card handy.


2. From a computer go to the library website, click on subscription databases, and select Overdrive.


3. Sign in, your library system is Waukesha County Federated Library. Then enter your library card. From there you have access to the entire system.


4. Remember some of your devices need specific software that you can download for free from their website. Check out their getting started guide.


5. Fill your cart with items you want, and check out. Check out days are either 7 or 14 days depending on the item. There will pictures that indicate what type of item you are checking out (e-book, audio book, etc).


6. After checking out you will be able to download these items to your computer. After downloading them, plug in your device to the computer.


7. Once your computer recognizes your device, you should be able to move files from the computer to the device. It will take awhile the first time you try, so don't get discouraged. I have to be honest the first time I tried out these items it took me 45 minutes to get everything going. Your device should have an informational website where people have posted answers to problems you might be having. A trick I use is typing the question in Google. For example "How do I make my Nook work with Overdrive.

NETLIBRARY
To access NetLibrary your device has to be able to access the internet and surf websites. Like the Nook. Here are the steps on how to use your device:

1. Sign up for an account in a Waukesha County Federated Library System library. You must be in the library to sign up for the account for the first time. Ask for library staff help at the reference desk. Once you have an account you can use your account from anywhere with internet access.


2. Go to NetLibrary.com from your device and sign in. Most devices have the option of adding webpages to your favorites list, and saving your sign in information. This is really handy, especially for devices that are a little difficult to navigate on the web. It saved me at least 4 minutes every time I logged in using the Nook.


3. Read away! There are two different types ways to access resources. The first is resources that cannot be checked out or downloaded, but viewed 15 minutes at a time. The second are resources that can be downloaded. There is a feature in the advanced search where you can look only for downloadble titles. Remember if you have any questions ask at the library! You can call us at (262) 363-6411 or stop in.
   

Update as of 01/13/2011 - For detailed download instructions for your Nook to your PC check this link.

Update as of 01/17/2011 - There are downloadable titles available for your device from Netlibrary. The blog was updated to explain.

Blogs Made to Order!

Do you have a topic that stumps or confuses you? Wish you had a professional who could write a brief topical summary or highlights on a topic of your choice for free? Or do you have a suggestion of a tidbit of information you think would benefit the rest of the library? Aren't you in luck-- the Mukwonago Community Library Blog is taking topic requests!

A few topics you might suggest: Retirement Resources, Why the Sky is Blue, How does the Stock Market Work, Family Orientated Video Game Suggestions, How to Start (or join-- there are already several going at the Library) a Book Group. Any suggestions are welcome, and if we don't use your topic we will let you know. Don't worry...we won't use your name unless you would like us to!

Suggest requests in person to Tristan Kelly, or via e-mail to tkelly@mukcom.lib.wi.us. Thank you!

Need a tax deduction? Donate to the library!

If you have an excess of gently used items that are 3 years old or less including books, videogames, DVDs, audiobooks, or other resources, consider donating them to the library. (No VHS, beta, or cassette items please). Those items will get put to good use by either being added to the collection or being sold at the Friends of Mukwonago Community Library book sale. Those donations are also tax deductible.

We also have drives for certain items at different times of the year. Currently the library is looking for gently used children's books to use as Reading Challenge prizes. Some of the prizes can already be seen on display in the library. A big thank you to all of you that have donated!

How does the donation process work?

Anytime the library is open bring in your donation items to the circulation desk. Upon request a receipt of the donated value of the goods will be distributed to the donor. If it is a larger donation the creation of an itemized list will be considered for special occasions.

It is the responsibility of the donor to assess value of items being donated. For more information on item assessment value please reference the IRS's Publication 561 (4/2007) that gives an explanation on how to assess the value of donated items. If you have more questions about itemized deductions please speak with your tax preparer.

An, of course, donations of cash or checks are always most welcome, especially now when we are getting very close to meeting our fundraising goal for the capital campaign. We will send you a thank you letter with the amount of your donation included. For those donations please stop in while the library is open or send them to Attn: Director Nick Weber, 300 Washington Ave, Mukwonago, WI 53149. Or if you have any questions please call Nick Weber at 262-363-6411.

Thank you and good luck with Uncle Sam!

HELP! Avoiding E-mail Scams and Phishing

In 2008 the state of Wisconsin reported over 13,000 complaints of fraud and over 3,000 cases of identity theft. These numbers are predicted to have risen by almost 11% in the last two years. With identity theft on the rise it is a good idea to be informed on how to avoid it. One way to improve your safety is to be mindful of how you share your personal information on the web.

E-mail scams and phishing websites try to steal your personal information for their benefit. This could mean trying to use your credit card numbers for fraudulent purchases or selling your personal information to companies. Some scams are easy to spot, like the Prince of Nigeria personally e-mailing you to let you know you have inherited 21 million USD, and this money is all yours for a processing fee of 15,000 USD). Others like a realistic looking e-mail from the IRS inviting you to take a customer satisfaction survey are a little harder to catch. So what can you do to protect your identity and personal information?

The US Department of Homeland Security offers these security tips:

• Be suspicious of unsolicited phone calls, visits, or email messages from individuals asking about employees or other internal information. If an unknown individual claims to be from a legitimate organization, try to verify his or her identity directly with the company.


• Do not provide personal information or information about your organization, including its structure or networks, unless you are certain of a person's authority to have the information.


• Pay attention to the URL of a website. Malicious websites may look identical to a legitimate site, but the URL may use a variation in spelling or a different domain (e.g., .com vs. .net). (For example irs.gov is the correct website, irs.com is not.)


• If you are unsure whether an email request is legitimate, try to verify it by contacting the company directly. Do not use contact information provided on a website connected to the request; instead, check previous statements for contact information. Information about known phishing attacks is also available online from groups such as the Anti-Phishing Working Group (http://www.antiphishing.org/).


• Install and maintain anti-virus software, firewalls, and email filters to reduce some of this traffic.


• Take advantage of any anti-phishing features offered by your email client and web browser.
  

These are some tips that I have used:

• Have at least two e-mail accounts, one is your normal daily use e-mail; the other is your “junk e-mail” account. When you need to provide your e-mail address for something and you are uncertain of the source you can provide your junk e-mail address. This will reduce spam in your mailbox and help protect private information.


• Use a VISA or MasterCard gift card to make purchases online when you are leery of online vendors. The gift cards are available for a small fee and usually can be purchased through local vendors and are usually refillable. This way if your account information is stolen it isn’t an actual credit card, and the only amount that can be lost is what you currently have on the gift card.


• Another more advanced tip is to use a web browsing program with built in security features. For instance Google Chrome is a free downloadable web browsing software that has more built in security then most competitors. It also boasts an “incognito” browsing feature, which means it will not save any internet history and less of your personal information, and it erases automatically when you close the window.


• If get an e-mail from an unknown address and it isn’t something important, don’t open it or mark it as spam. If you do open the e-mail don’t click on any attachments or links located in the e-mail.


• Be careful when you play online games. Though the game may be fun and free, sometimes when you download the game to you computer it installs spyware that collects information from your computer. It is easiest to play “flash games” that you don’t have to download from the internet.
• Be wary of Facebook scams. These scams can be sent directly to your Facebook account making promising of free gadgets, gift cards, or cash (don't believe it!). Or in the case of Associated Content's article some scammers are going on Facebook and getting teens personal information. They are using this information to try to scam family members out of money, by pretending to be the teen and asking for money. Make sure to double check with other family members or call the number you have for that teen to double check. The safest bet is to have your child or teen set their Facebook account to private (which means people that aren't their friends cannot see their information).

The best tip of all you probably got from your parents: “IF IT IS TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE, IT IS!”

What Celebrities Read

I found a neat little website that the Gardiner Public Library in Maine put together. Several years ago they contacted several celebrities to see what books the would recommend people read and if they had any memories of the library. Though the database is a little dated because they stopped collecting information in 2006 it is still great to checkout. See what Lucille Ball thought of libraries and what she would suggest to read!

Spotlight on Subscription Database: Mango Languages

I have been in numerous situations when knowing a second language would have been useful. For instance trying to help patrons at the library, directions for the new gadget I got for Christmas, going on vacation and when I accidentally turned my cell phone to Spanish (it was like that for at least a week). There have also been more serious situations, like when I got in a car accident on a Chicago freeway and other person involved didn’t speak English. Even without being fluent, knowing at least a few hundred words would have been really handy in those situations. In this blog I am going to talk introduce you to a cool subscription database that the library offers for language learning.

Mango Languages is a subscription database available from the library that you can use in the library on your home computer. You can participate in video courses to learn a plethora of languages: Arabic, Chinese (Mandarin), Croatian, Czech, Dari, Dutch, Farsi (Persian), French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hindi, Indonesdian, Irish, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Pashto, Portugese (Brazil), Russian, Slovak, Spanish (Latin America), Tagalog, Tamil, Thai, Turkish, Ukrainian, Urdo, and Vietnamese. (Whew!). What I loved about Mango Languages was the simplicity and pace of the lessons. In the past I have found a lot of learning software like Rosetta Stone to have a fast pace that can be discouraging. Mango Languages has a slower pace and prompts the user for a lot of interaction and practice. Most of the lessons operate in showing you slides with study material on it, sometimes the slides seem to take too long, but there is a forward button.

Mango Languages offers three types of courses, from Basic (which is a few hours), and two other more in depth lessons. I completed the Basic course for Latin American Spanish and was quite pleased with the results. In an evening I recalled basic greetings, simple conversation, and how to ask some important questions. My account even keeps statistics and lets me know how much time I have spent on lessons a practicing (four hours and counting). If I continue on to the other two courses there is about 100 individual lessons in all. There isn’t a lot of entertainment, so don’t expect pictures or graphics, but the coloring of the software is slick and bright.

I highly recommend that in the past if you have tried Rosetta Stone or a learn in your car type of resource and you got fed up or discouraged, check out Mango Languages! It is almost fun to learn… Adios!

Read Local Archived Papers

Are you looking for an article where you son or daughter was mentioned in the Mukwonago Chief or did you read a great article in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel? You can find archived copies of those newspapers and 233 other Wisconsin newspapers ranging from issues dating back to 2005 through 60 days ago.

A selection of local newspapers that you might be interested in are:

Kettle Moraine Index
Lake Country Reporter
Sussex Sun
Oconomowoc Focus
Milwaukee Journal
Mukwonago Chief
Brookfield News
Elm Grove Elm Leaves
Menomonee Falls News
Muskego Sun
New Berlin Citizen
Oconomowoc Enterprise
Palmyra Enterprise
Waukesha Freeman



To access this database click on the link. You can search according to keywords, date, or newspaper title. If you have any questions call the Mukwonago Community Library reference desk. Have a great week!

Pizza Superhero Drawing and Writing Contest

Want a chance to win a slice of pan pizza? Then draw your best pizza superhero and write a description of their name and superpowers! Entry forms are available at the Mukwonago Community Library or you can print them out from the link listed below! The contest runs from December 20th to February 12th.

Good luck and happy drawing!

Pizza Superhero Drawing and Writing Contest Entry Form

Learning About Your Health: Anxiety

More and more people are looking to the internet and other resources to educate themselves about their health and treatment options. Your physician should always be your primary source of information but the library can be a great supplementary tool in becoming educated on your health.

The National Institute of Mental Health estimates that over 18% of Americans suffer from an anxiety disorder. I will show you some resources on the internet and in the library to help you educate yourself about these illnesses. In much the same way you should be able to look up many different diseases, illnesses, and other health related material using the library.

Consumer Health Complete is a subscription database accessible through the library website with your library card. This database contains evidence-based reports reference books, fact sheets, pamphlets, news, drug and herb information, alternative sources, images, diagrams, and videos. If I perform a search in this database with the keyword “anxiety” I get a list of nine relevant articles that talk about different types of anxiety. One of those articles provides general information, treatment options, and supplementary information. For example I learned that some lifestyle changes including quitting smoking, exercising regularly, and reducing caffeinated beverages can help reduce anxiety. I also learned some of the many symptoms include diarrhea, difficulty sleeping, muscle tension, and nail biting. If I was going to talk to my doctor about the issue of anxiety I felt a little more comfortable because the article listed different treatment options, possible medications, and other organizations that could provide me with information. I also learned I could check out websites like Anxiety Disorders Association of America and Mental Health America.

MedlinePlus and PubMed are another two databases that are available for free through the National U.S. Library of Medicine. MedlinePlus is the easier of the two to use and provides a a thorough overview of what information is available. I was impressed that they provided resources for different ages and genders. Often your age and gender can greatly influence different types of treatment. It also includes a lot of information at a glance including directories, current clinical trials, statistics, organizations, and other research.

PubMed is a lot more complex to use then the other two databases. PubMed is is meant to support medical professionals . When you perform a search the results will be greater (in the thousands) that is because there are more citations for information and less full text articles. Be careful the articles will be full of technical jargon and may be difficult to follow. If you are looking for general information I highly suggest sticking with Consumer Health Complete as your first resource. Once you are ready to delve into something a little more complex like PubMed they do offer tutorials.

If you are looking for a lighter read then medical articles the library has a plethora of great books and magazines available for you to check out. If you go to the library catalog and do a search for the subject “anxiety” there are many different types of resources you can put on reserve. Some are available immediately like e-books and downloadable audio books. Other items you can put on reserve like books, DVDs, and magazines. Near the end of the blog post there is a list of items I found in our catalog.
*TIP* Remember if you would like to make your search results in the catalog more accurate, limit it by the type of resource you are looking for.

Beyond what resources the library directly provides there are also some websites that are more authoritative and trust worthy then others. Here are a few that I suggest for when you are looking up information on your health.

WebMD is a website that is most famous for helping people self diagnosis illnesses by identifying their symptoms. They also have a great interactive website where you can create your own account, read a current and accurate information, and find things written in plain English. They have an entire area of their website devoted to anxiety disorders where you can find all of the information linked to anxiety on one page. Some extras that you can find on WebMD versus other sites are a “community” or an area to talk about anxiety disorders, a physician directory to find specialists in your area, and recent news stories on anxiety. WebMD offers most of its services for free.

Family Service of Waukesha is a local nonprofit organization that received funding through the United Way to provide services including mental health. Though the website may not provide you with information you are looking for, it gives you the contact information for a local organization that may be able to guide you to resources.

I hope the resources we have provided for you will help your search for information about anxiety disorders. Other health information can also be looked up using the three databases mentioned, and you can use our catalog to look up materials looked at the library. If you have any questions please contact the Mukwonago Community Library reference staff at (262) 363-6456.

E-BOOKS:

-The anxiety cure [electronic resource] : an eight-step program for getting well ( 2003) completely revised and updated 2nd ed. DuPont, Robert L., 1936-

-Anxiety disorders [electronic resource] : a medical dictionary, bibliography and annotated research guide to Internet references (2003)

-School phobia, panic attacks, and anxiety in children [electronic resource] (2003)
Csóti, Márianna.

DOWNLOADABLE BOOK:

-Don't panic [electronic resource] : taking control of anxiety attacks (2009)
Wilson, Robert R.

BOOKS:

-My anxious mind : a teen's guide to managing anxiety and panic (2009)
Tompkins, Michael A.
-Overcoming anxiety for dummies 2nd ed. (2010)
Elliott, Charles H., 1948-
-Rae : [my true story of fear, anxiety, and social phobia] (2010)
Swiggett, Chelsea Rae.
-The mindful path through worry and rumination : letting go of anxious and depressive thoughts Kumar, Sameet M. (2009)
-Worried sick : defeat your fears and live a happier life (2004)
Burns, David D.
-Yoga for anxiety : meditations and practices for calming the body and mind (2010)
NurrieStearns, Mary.

DVD:

-High school survival kit [nonfiction videorecording] / CWK Network (2008)

MAGAZINE:

-Psychology today [magazine] : 2006 thru the current year

Library Holiday Hours

Just a reminder that the library will be closed:

Thursday, December 23rd, 2010

Friday, December 24th, 2010

Saturday, December 25th, 2010

and

Friday, December 31st 2010

Saturday, January 1st, 2010

Monday, January 3rd, 2010

Enjoy your holidays!

Thank you for your Support During Midnight Magic

The Friends of the Library had an amazing turnout this year for the Midnight Magic auction, raffle and bake sale. The auction grossed about $3,010, the bake sale about $400, and the raffle about $400. For a total of about $3,800!

Thank you to the Friends of the Library, all of the volunteers, and everyone that bid on or purchased items. It is this kind of support that makes the library an ever better place.

Also, a huge thank you to all of the businesses and individuals in Mukwonago that contributed the wonderful prizes. We are fortunate to live in such a generous and supportive community.

Read to Win this Winter

In the last blog I showed you where to find ideas for some great reads, in this post I am going to tell you how to win some great prizes by reading those books! Registration for all programs begins December 20th and contests end on February 12th, 2011. (Make sure you register, otherwise you won’t be entered in the contest!).

Carry Out a Good Book

For our K-12 patrons there is a chance to win a pizza a month for a year! That’s right; you could win hot, cheesy, delicious pizza, once a month for a year. All you have to do is read 500 minutes of your favorite books by February 12th, 2011. Once you complete those minutes you will be entered in for a chance to win the pizza! (Only one entry per patron.)

Books that Have Been Made Into Movies

For our adult patrons there is a chance to win a gift basket with movie goodies or ten other prizes. All you have to do is read a book that has been made into a movie, and then check out and watch the movie. (That sounds tough!). Every time you read the book and watch the movie you will be entered to win the prizes. (Unlimited entries for this program, the more you read and watch, the more you could win).

Drawing for all prizes will be done at the end of the program. Good luck!