The Wonderful World of Ebooks

If you're new to using our library or just starting to think about possibly diving into electronic books, this blog is for you.

At the Decatur Public Library, we are currently a part of Camellia Net. Which is supported by a company called "OverDrive".

 

 

In order to see our entire collection on Camellia Net, you can go to this website and sign in with your library card number in the top right hand corner. There you will be able to search our collection and see what's available to you to download right then. If an item is not available at the current moment, you can put a hold on the item. You will have to provide an e-mail address so they can e-mail you when the item is available.  At that point you will have around 2 days to download it.

If you have any questions about your electronic reader device, Overdrive Help probably has something for you. They have tons of videos that are all about setting up a specific device, downloading, and returning items. You may also e-mail the systems manager at the library to see if they can help you at decaturoverdrivehelp@gmail.com. 

HOT off the Press: “50 Shades of Grey” Read-A-Likes & Review

Opposites attract in FIFTY SHADES OF GREY when innocent college student Anastasia Steele meets wealthy and handsome entrepreneur Christian Grey.  Even though she is shocked by what she learns of Christian's troubled past and particular erotic tastes, Ana can’t resist him.

FIFTY SHADES OF GREY, the opening novel of the wildly popular trilogy by E. L. James, is (as the above blurb suggests) first and foremost a romance. However, the novel is also being media hyped, hot and heavy, as especially provocative and sex filled. For some readers, this may be all you need to know; other library patrons may be curious for more information or be looking for other similar books. 

Before listing some specific read-a-like titles, I would encourage readers to link to The Sensuality Rating Guide http://www.likesbooks.com/kissburn.html on the All About RomanceAAR website. This rating system ranks Romance authors as to the amount and type of sexual content and sensuality in their books via an escalating “Blush Factor” scale. This information is quite helpful in choosing appropriate romance novels within a reader’s individual comfort zone of interests and tastes. If 50 SHADES OF GREY is not for you, please consider some of the other authors and levels of romance fiction as reviewed on the AAR pages.

FYI: according to the AAR criteria, 50 SHADES OF GREY would be at the highest “Burning” level, and classified as “romantica”, a hybrid of romance and erotica. This level features writing which is extremely explicit as to sexual feelings and desire; the details and description can be graphic, and may include some of what is considered kinky.

Decatur Public Library offers our patrons a wide selection of Fiction, and there are other books in our collection similar to 50 SHADES OF GREY. While these Read-A-Like books are not “just like” 50 SHADES OF GREY, they all share elements in common with it. Following is a sample of related materials available for checkout.

CamilliaNet, our digital library, offers other titles of erotic fiction (available in various downloadable formats); these include:

Anne Rice’s (writing as A.N. Roquelaure) Beauty series; THE CLAIMING OF SLEEPING BEAUTY, BEAUTY’S PUNISHMENT, and BEAUTY’S RELEASE.  First published in the 1980’s, this fairytale based trilogy of sexual fantasy reads as far more explicit and kinkier than 50 SHADES OF GREY.

ECSTACY by Bella Andre. A contemporary romance about a writer of erotic fiction.

THE BEST OF BLACK LACE 2. An anthology of erotic fiction by various authors.

ANTHOLOGY OF FETISH FICTION edited and with an introduction by John Yau; may read online or as a downloadable PDF via Ebsco Host’s e-book collection.

On our Fiction shelves, look for these novels which incorporate aspects of Dominant/Submissive relationships as part of the storyline:

COURTSHIP by Catherine Coulter. Regency romance which includes a mild whip switch ofDiscipline.

TOPPING FROM BELOW by Laura Reese. Contemporary murder mystery which uses BDSM as part of the plot, conflict and character.

GORDON by Edith Templeton. A psychological novel of obsessive sexuality and submission; perhaps somewhat dry and dated now, but was widely banned when first published in the Sixties.

For yet more related reads, try these titles of classic literature (also often banned or challenged for their sexual content):

LADY CHATTERLEY'S LOVER by D.H. Lawrence. Banned, burned, and the subject of a landmark obscenity trial, a classic tale of adulterous love and discovery.

 LOLITA by Vladimir Nabokov. Tells the story of the aging Humbert Humbert's obsessive, devouring, and doomed passion for a young girl.

TROPIC OF CANCER by Henry Miller. A bawdy fictionalized memoir about life in Paris as a starving but liberated writer.

Additionally, many contemporary genre authors infuse their novels with frequent and fairly explicit sex scenes. Such authors in the Paranormal genre include Laurel K. Hamilton (Anita Blake series), J. R. Ward (Black Dagger series and others), and works by Lora Leigh andSherrilyn Kenyon. Or look for works by Urban Fiction authors like Zane, Alison Hobbs, Sister Souljah, and Nikki Turner.

Lastly, of course, we also have Stephanie Meyer’s TWILIGHT series, which was the tamerYoung Adult source material for the fan fiction that became 50 SHADES OF GREY.

Shady secrets and 50 SHADES OF GREY review:  

Secret #1: I was very reluctant to read 50 SHADES OF GREY. I’m not against sexual content inlibrary books or for my own recreational reading. However, I’m not interested in poorly written books of any kind, and had perused enough critical reviews of 50 SHADES to suspect that is what I’d find. However, since this trilogy has gained so much popularity (or maybe justmisplaced notoriety), I felt I couldn’t write a related library blog without actually having read the book.

Secret #2: I am a hypocrite. I’ll admit to having rolled my eyes when patrons requested 50 SHADES OF GREY and even (most unprofessionally) snickered when at least one added that the book request was being placed “for a friend”.  But “Hey, I read it for RESEARCH.” :/ 

Secrets #3: While I usually decline to include this information on my resume, disclosure here seems somewhat amusing and relevant. I once worked for over a year at an adult bookstore in San Francisco, and later was a member of an erotic fiction writers group, of amateur and professional authors, in Nashville TN.  So, I suppose I do know something about this particular genre.

Not So Secret #5: I didn’t like 50 SHADES OF GREY. While this may be romance fiction with quite a bit of sexual content, in my personal opinion, the novel is not nearly as edgy as all the hype would have one believe.  The kink aspects, supposedly a major part of the story and its impact, seemed to be used primarily for superficial shock value. Beneath a sprinkling of sex toys and spanking, this is a conventional formula romance. I read a lot in the genres of science fictionand horror; somehow, I find the idea of an impending zombie apocalypse much easier to acceptwith the required suspension of disbelief than I did this book. The author was not able to makeme believe in her clichéd characters or care about their relationship.  James’ writing is filled with repetition; she grossly overuses certain phrases in description and dialogue (and then goes in the opposite direction with a noticeable lack of proper nouns or even adequate euphemisms in her sex scenes).

At most, 50 SHADES OF GREY may appeal to some readers aspassable escapist romantic fantasy. However, the over the top unbelievable characterizations, poor writing, and sloppy editingreally cooled off any “Burn” for me.

--Heather Whiteside

Reference Dept. / Library Assistant

Keeping Up with our Social Media

I know it's hard to keep up with all the things going on today on facebook, twitter, and what is pinterest?! Well this blog is going to help you out. Our social media sites are a great way to keep up with things going on at the library or things we think are interesting. So sit back and take it all in. Click on the links below to go to our respective sites.

Our Website- Is NEW and IMPROVED! I'm very proud of what I've been able to create on our new website.  It may not be perfect, but I think it's much more functional than what we've had in the past.  There are way to many things on the website to list them all but I encourage you to check out the "Library Services" tab, the "Calendar" tab, and the "Community" tab which are all right under the picture of the library.

Facebook- Facebook is a way to connect with friends or just people you know. Could be people you went to high school with, work with, or people you just met.  Most people have a facebook these days.

Our facebook is a great way to find out what is happening at the library that day/week.  

• Facebook is where we post all the pictures we take from our various activities including Friends events and Children's events. 
• We have a picture album dedicated to our Employee's of the month, so every month (or as soon as the EOM is announced) we will post their picture along with a quote from their nomination.
• Some of you may have noticed but I have a little quote of the day thing going on every Thursday. I've been able to find inspiring library quotes to share with everyone.
• I create a facebook event for every Friend Event that we have happening at the library. As soon as I have a flyer for it, I'm making the event on facebook.

Twitter- This is a great way find out what is going on in your area by following people/companies.  It's good if you don't want a lot of stuff to weed through or pictures to be forced to look at but the only down side is sometimes it seems like everyone on Twitter has their own "twitter language".

Pinterest- Let's be frank here....Pinterest is a great way to waste A LOT of time. If you're like me, you can get on Pinterest and 5 hours later you're like "What? What time is it?" BUT it's AWESOME!! It's a virtual pinboard that you can explore all sorts of things that you're interested in and "pin them" to your boards and go back later and look at them or make/do them.

We use our pinterest to:

• show you things we're interested in on our "Staff Picks" board
• show you funny/cool libraryish pictures that we come across on our "Things We Love" board
• show you neat and nifty things to do with the children under the "Children's Craft's" board.
• But most of all, we use our Pinterest to convey to our patrons books that we are just getting in to the library. Check our lists to make sure you are up to date. =)

Google+- This is coming that is new to me so I'm still trying to figure it out. BUT we do have one. From what I can tell it's sort of a cross between Facebook and Twitter. Look for new things to be going on with this page.

YouTube- We have a YouTube channel where we'll post book trailers from books that we will be getting at the library and videos that we come across that we thing are interesting. Great thing to watch folks. Keep that on your favorites list for sure.

foursquare- This is an website or an app on a smart phone that will let you "check-in" to places and sometimes you can get special deals with it or show pictures from the place and the coolest things is you can leave tips for other people who are visiting this place after you. You can also collect points/badges like the bookworm badge for checking in at the library.  This is also new to me but I'm workin' on it. So far, I'm the mayor of the library. It's not hard to become the mayor when you check-in at the same place everyday because you work there! =)

Of course there is our blog which you're reading right now...that will continue to grow and improve. 

I hope this has helped you understand social media and stay in touch with us. We love to hear back from our patrons. So follow us/friend us/check-in/pin/subscribe/WHATEVER! =)

Julie Williams

This Thursday we will have Julie Williams at the library as a part of the Friends of the Libraries Scintillating Summer Series. 

Of the families that boarded the "unsinkable" Titanic in 1912, only a fourth stayed together during the sinking and arrived safely in New York. Albert and Sylvia Caldwell and their 10-month-old son, Alden, were one of those rare Titanic families. Author Julie Williams draws on first-person accounts from her great-Uncle Albert and extensive research to tell the fascinating story of the young family who were saved by a combination of luck, pluck, Albert's outgoing nature, Sylvia's illness, and Alden's helplessness. Their detailed story of the short life of the Titanic and their lucky rescue aboard the ill- starred Lifeboat 13 has never been fully told in Titanic literature.

This program is free and open to the public.

Library Renovation Updates...

We're in the middle of our re-carpeting project!!!

Some fun things have been happening around here.  Like this brand new carpet!->

The Alabama Room, general Fiction area, and Community Room have been carpeted at this point. 

The library will be CLOSED May 7-9 in order for us to put all the books back on the shelves and other maintence things we can't do while we're open. 

Due to the upstairs area being closed, we have some section re-locations.

This is where you'll find all the fiction books for the time being...

This is where the Insprirational section has been moved for now... 

 You'll find your Western Fiction here....

And your Graphic Novels are here next to the 6th Ave. entrance.



Library Renovations

Hello All,

I'm sure some of you may know about the upcoming re-carpeting to the upstairs area of the library.  This project will include the Alabama Room, Community Room, and Fiction section....

Preparations for this project have already begun and because of the large coverage area, the project is going to be happening in different stages.

Western novels and Graphic Novels have already been moved downstairs by the 6th Ave. entrance.  Inspirational is next up.

The Magazine Room, or the glass room by the newspapers, will be where we display many of the Fiction section during this time.

First up is the Alabama Room.  The Alabama Room is currently closed to patrons to allow library staff to start boxing up and moving materials. We anticipate the carpet to be taken up and laid back down in the middle of April.  No word yet on when the Alabama Room will re-open to patrons.

The Community Room will be closed from April 17 until the completion of the project to allow us to store things from The Alabama Room and Fiction section.

The Fiction Section will most likely be when we have to close the library due to the taking up of the carpet.

This brings up an interesting question.  What happens when you have a book out and is due back when we're closed? To ensure this doesn't happen, we have altered the due dates to checked-out items.  Please check the due date on an item you check out and if you're unsure of the due date, please get in touch with the Circulation Department.  Because of this, we will NOT be receiving books from Eva.

Please keep in mind that most of the re-arranging will only be temporary and will be moved back. 

We anticipate the project to be done by the beginning of June.  


We appreciate everyones cooperation while we tackle this big project.

Stay tuned here, on the website, and on our facebook for updates.

Peter Fletcher: Classical Guitarist

Hey everybody,

We're getting ready for our visit from Classical Guitarist Peter Fletcher. This event is going to take place this Thursday March 15, 2012 at 6:30pm. The friends of the library are sponsoring this visit.

Still need more information about our special guest?

Peter Fletcher began guitar study at the age of seven under classical guitar instructor, John Sutherland. In December, 1983, he made his formal debut at the age of fifteen under the auspices of The Brasstown Concert Association in North Carolina. In 1980 classical guitarist Jose Tomas, Andres Segovia’s teaching assistant in Spain, held a week long master class in Atlanta, GA. Peter Fletcher was the youngest student to perform in the class, playing music by Bach and Carcassi. Fletcher furthered his studies in Master Classes with David Leisner, David Russell, Oscar Ghiglia and Pepe Romero. As a performer in the Christopher Parkening Master Class he was chosen to play in the student recital two consecutive years and, in 1988, the class was broadcast on National Public Radio (NPR).

In 1990, the Music Teacher’s National Association (MTNA) awarded Fletcher a prize at its National Level Competition. In 1995, he received the Master of Music degree from the Eastman School of Music under Nicholas Goluses, and was twice the recipient of an Eastman Graduate Award.

The season of 2011-12 will undoubtedly be the most auspicious ever in an already distinguished career, appearing in over 100 cities at such prestigious venues as St. Xavier University in Chicago, IL, his fifth appearance at Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall in New York City, where Peter will be premiering a major work by Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco entitled “Divan of Moses- ibn-Ezra” with acclaimed tenor DavidMichael Schuster. In addition, Mr. Fletcher and Mr. Schuster will give the world premier of a work they have commissioned from New York based composer Clarice Assad. Mr. Fletcher's interests outside of music include reading and cross-country running. He lives in New York City.

Make sure to join us on Thursday evening to enjoy what is sure to be beautiful music.


Information for this post was retrieved from Peter Fletcher's website.