Taking the Walking Tour

This Friday (May 3, 2013), North Madison Elementary School third graders will be taking the Library's walking tour of historic downtown Mooresville, Indiana.  However, if it rains as predicted, then they'll have to visit the Library instead and watch our "virtual" walking tour, like so:

 

North Madison 3rd Graders "Virtual" Walking Tour of Historic Downtown Mooresville, Indiana from Mooresville Public Library

(REVISED May 1, 2013)

 

Wonder what the walking tour is all about?  We've got a promo trailer for that.

MPL Program Trailer #6

Self-Guided Walking Tour of Historic Downtown Mooresville, Indiana

 

Take a walk on the wild side.  There's much interesting history to enjoy in our little town.

Your Roving Reporter On The Go,

Cauli Le Chat

P.S.  Thinking about history makes it fitting to include one of Woody Guthrie's "historical songs" as our musical closer.  "Oregon Trail" captured the spirit of the American settlers' westward migration during the mid-19th century.  The song was included on volume three of The Asch Recordings (2000).

Dots & Dashes, Right Back-Atcha

Dots and dashes, right back-atcha!  Today (April 27) is Morse Code Day, honoring the birth of Samuel F. B. Morse (1791-1872), an accomplished artist who developed the first commercially successful electromagnetic telegraph system.  He created Morse Code as a means of communicating letters of the alphabet in dots and dashes, which were sounds of varying lengths (assigned to each letter) that could be strung together as messages. The sounds were made by closing an electrical contact on a telegraph key, holding it down for different fractional lengths of time to make the sound shorter or longer.

The most famous Morse Code signal, known to most human children, is the distress call S.O.S. (save our ship), which, when written out, looks like this:  ... --- ... (three dots, three dashes, three dots).

International Morse Code Chart

(Click Image to Bigify)

To celebrate, we're reprising one of our book trailers featuring a history of the telegraph system.

MPL Book Trailer #79

The Victorian Internet, by Tom Standage

The book is available in our Evergreen Indiana online catalog.  Currently, the book is on display with a QR code attached, so you may scan it and watch the book trailer above.  Or your could just watch it here.  It's your call.

Your Roving Reporter On The Go,

Cauli Le Chat

P.S.  Telegraphs always remind moi of "Western Union" (1967), by the Five Americans, shown in this video clip performing their biggest hit tune on the Steve Allen Show.

Choosing a Good Read Just Got Easier

Choosing a good read just got easier.  Take a look at our book display featuring titles with QR codes affixed to the front covers.

Click Image to Bigify

If you use your smart phone or whatever gadget (with a QR app), you can scan the QR codes and watch our book trailers showcasing the books they're attached to!  How cool is that?

I'll include a few of the QR codes we used.  Scan them to see which book trailers play!

What'd you watch?  I don't have any fancy QR app'ed gizmos, so I haven't got a clue.  I'll have my minions post comments to reveal the answers, if any has smart phones or whatever.

Your Roving Reporter On The Go,

Cauli Le Chat

Penguins Rule Today

Today (April 25) is World Penguin Day.  To celebrate, let's reprise one of our book trailers featuring this classic children's book about penguins.

MPL Book Trailer #108

Mister Popper's Penguins, by Richard & Florence Atwater

Your Roving Reporter On The Go,

Cauli Le Chat

P.S.  "The Penguin Song" (2007), by Italian Indie-acoustic band A Boy With Glasses, is pretty cute.

An Irreplaceable Treasure

There has been much gnashing of teeth and wailing around my Library since Cataloger Queen announced on this past Tuesday that she will be departing our staff in the middle of May.

Cataloger Queen helps a patron find a book

(She's a wiz at Reference, too)

For 13 years or so, Cataloger Queen has been performing virtually every conceivable task for the MPL Youth Services Department.  She has been senior cataloger at the Library for many years; she has also simultaneously been a senior reference librarian.  (I use the word senior to denote her extensive, exhaustive knowledge of both cataloging and referencing, two polar opposites in librarianship.)  She has served on the cataloging committee for Evergreen Indiana, which sets cataloging policy for the entire consortium.  She has been an integral player in collection development and procurement, item processing, program scheduling and development, departmental planning and budgeting, grant administration, technology assistance, cross-departmental duties . . . .  Actually, I don't think I can list all of her skills here without unreasonably extending the length of this blog post.

Who knows how we will get along without her!  What is certain is that Cataloger Queen is an irreplaceable treasure.  The Library, of course, will soldier on, as needs must.  But the work will be heavier, and its flow more arduous, without the sure and steady hands (and mind) of Cataloger Queen to sort everything out.

Happy trails in your eastward travels, Cataloger Queen.  May the sun rise as brightly for you there as it has here.

Your Roving Reporter On The Go,

Cauli Le Chat

P.S.  "So Long, Farewell" was a sweet song performed in the stage and movie versions of the musical  The Sound of Music (1965).  Naturally, it was included on the movie soundtrack album (1965).  Here's a music clip from the soundtrack, with the youthful troupe (portraying the von Trapp family) singing.  Did you know the movie director, Robert Wise, grew up in Winchester, Indiana?  True statement, as Broadway Gal (or Sammy the Toucan) would say.

Our 2013 Volunteer Appreciation Luncheon

This being National Volunteer Appreciation Week, Programma Mama and Boss Lady, along with assembled staff (e.g., Bizmeister, Fancy Nancy [i.e., Hamburglar], CircMaster, Office Meister, Technigal), hosted our many talented volunteers at our annual volunteer appreciation luncheon.

Although I was mentioned in the slideshow, there was no place setting for moi.  I suppose, being an outdoor freedom feline (and official MPL roving reporter), I was expected to cover the event for my blog rather than be fed.  Well, I've got my special exterior hangout for my chow.

 My minions snapped a few photos.

It looked like a great meal.  Did anybody save moi a take-home bag?  Just asking.

Your Roving Reporter On The Go,

Cauli Le Chat

P.S.  Three library volunteers composed the folk tune "Old Settlers" (2010) as the unofficial theme song for Mooresville, Indiana.  The music was composed by the library's composer, whom I call the Music Man; the lyrics were written by the Lady With the Red Hair and Scowl-Face, who also works at the library (having survived "firement," as Tober the Library Cat would say, by forgetting MY appreciation day a couple of months ago).

2013 Tri Kappa Art Show

Here are some photos of the 2013 Tri Kappa art show, which is on display through the end of this week (Saturday, April 27) at my Library.  If you can stop by, be sure to take a look at some great artwork from our area schools.

Your Roving Reporter On The Go,

Cauli Le Chat

P.S. The Music Man composed an entire album based upon Salvador Dali surrealist paintings. The album's called The Persistence of Memory (2011). Here is one of the Library's book trailers that used a selection from this album as its soundtrack.

How Videos Promote Libraries

Hey, librarians out there!  Want to learn how videos can promote your libraries?  We have a slideshow for that.  You know where to click.

 

 

Your Roving Reporter On The Go,

Cauli Le Chat

P.S.  This is one of the best promo trailers I've seen for academic libraries: "Who Will Help Me?" by the University of Alberta Libraries (2010).  I wish my Library could make videos this good.

Flat Five Shows How It's Done

"Flat" Cauli V (Flat Five for short) shows patrons how to use our new self-checkout kiosks in this promo trailer.

How to Use Our New Self-Checkout Kiosks,

by "Flat" Cauli Le Chat V

 (MPL Promo Trailer)

Quite user-friendly, I'd venture.  Anybody will be able to use these self-check stations.  They're quick and convenient!  They're so simple; even Scowl-Face can use them.  If that's not an endorsement for their ease-of-use, then I'm not a black feline.

Great job in the video, Flat Five!  Sorry, you can't have a raise.  Just saying.

Your Roving Reporter On The Go,

Cauli Le Chat

P.S. Taylor Library at Western University created this funny promo trailer for the library's self-checkout stations. It's great! I love the zombies. Scowl-Face and Programma Mama wanted to do zombies for our promo trailer. Maybe someday.

Not My Moose

The Lady With the Red Hair has just completed a new book trailer for the beautiful children's picture book, This Moose Belongs to Me, by Oliver Jeffers.  It's not MY moose--I would have said moi in the title--but the book is a wonderful readaloud, so I'm not bummed out about not having a moose of my own.

This Moose Belongs to Me, by Oliver Jeffers

(Book Trailer by Janet E. Buckley, Head of Technical Services,

Greenwood [Ind.] Public Library), featuring the

music of Daniel E. Buckley, MPL Composer

Why can't WE make book trailers this good, Scowl-Face?  Just asking.

Kidding!  Actually, we have many nice book trailers.  See for yourself.

Your Roving Reporter On The Go,

Cauli Le Chat

P.S.  Here is a cute music parody video (2012) featuring the hit children's song, "Moose on the Loose" (2012), by Ozomotli, from the album Ozomotli Presents Ozokidz (2012).  You need to remember The Blair Witch Project (1999) to get the setup for the opening jokes.

Self-Check Has Arrived

Our new self-checkout stations have arrived and are being installed today. All this construction noise has sent moi fleeing out my special feline media door.  Thankfully, my minions snapped some photos (click images to bigify).

 Interior return drop slots are becoming automated

 Our new self-checkout stations are so easy,

even "Flat" Cauli V can do it

Flat Five at self-checkout station #3

Installation dudes make the necessary adjustments

 Self-checkout station #1 (at MPL Circulation Desk)

Self-checkout station #2 (at MPL Circulation Desk)

 CircMaster tests self-checkout #1

"How easy is that?  Just saying."

New RFID security gates

With self-checkout, patrons will be able to check-out items quickly and easily.  Although many of our patrons enjoy the social interaction between staff and visitors, others will prefer the convenience and speed self-checkout provides.

Your Roving Reporter On The Go,

Cauli Le Chat

P.S.  All this construction noise reminded moi of "Boom Bang-a-Bang" (1969), by Lulu.  The song was the United Kingdom's entry in the 1969 Eurovision Song Contest, and it captured a share of the four-way tie for first place.

Crafty Gal's Catchy Story Time Tune

Crafty Gal performs a singalong in Story Time that's a pretty catchy tune.  She has a new video series, Story Time Rocks!, which I know you'll want to watch on the MPL Early Literacy YouTube Channel.

Story Time Rocks!

Featuring Miss Michelle @ MPL

The "Open Shut Them" Song

Crafty Gal uses songs and motion to engage her early literacy patrons and their caregivers.  Preschool age children learn through repetition and coordinating activity with sound and visual cues.  The "Open Shut Them" song is quite popular with her young charges.

Go ahead and sing along!

Your Roving Reporter On The Go,

Cauli Le Chat

 

P.S.  No need for a musical closer today.