Earlier this week , Library Director Catherine Creedon presented “Needle in a Haystack,” an hour-long class on finding what you’re looking for on the Internet (which can be a daunting prospect even for experienced web surfers). This well attended class was a big hit and will be repeated in March. (Check the Library’s online calendar, or JJML newsletter for the exact date. Update: Catherine’s class will be repeated on Wednesday, April 9th, and a new Part II — about using online reference tools, such as JJML’s Virtual Reference Library will be presented on Wednesday, April 30th. Both classes run from 8:45 to 9:45 a.m.

Sometimes, though, you just find something wonderful on the Internet simply through serendipity…I went here, I clicked there, and boom, there it was. Just such a thing happened to me today, and I thought, I’ve just found a needle in a haystack! So in honor of Catherine’s class, and just because I thought you all should have a chance to see it, I’m posting the short film I found on YouTube here. It’s called Love in a Backwards World. Enjoy!

Did you know that you can subscribe to the John Jermain Memorial Library’s online calendar of events so that you’ll always have the most updated version of the calendar available to you without having to visit JJML’s website?

This is accomplished using RSS (Really Simple Syndication), but don’t worry if you don’t know what RSS is or how to use it, we’ll explain all. Once you’re subscribed to the “feed” You can add it to your browser, a stand-alone feed reader or one of the many popular websites that support RSS feeds including, Yahoo, MSN, Google, Bloglines and more. In the example below, we show you how to add the feed to Internet Explorer 7’s “Favorites Center.” Here’s how:

Open Internet Explorer (must be version 7.0 or higher) and navigate to http://sagharbor.suffolk.lib.ny.us/calendar/index.php You can also get there by visiting the Library’s home page (http://sagharbor.suffolk.lib.ny.us) and clicking on the Calendar link in the menu on the left. Once you’re there, look for the “RSS buttons” on the left side of the page. They’re circled in red in the illustration below.

In this example we will click on the top button, the one labeled RSS 2.0. That will open the calendar’s RSS Feed page, a section of which is pictured below.

Now click on the link that says “Subscribe to this feed,” which is circled in red above. A small box (see below) will open on the screen with all the relevant information already filled in. You can change the name of the feed to JJML Calendar or something similar if you wish, otherwise leave everything as is and click on “Subscribe”.

You will then see a confirmation message indicating that you have successfully subscribed the feed.

Now lets test the feed. In Internet Explorer click on the “Favorites Center” button (indicated by the upper red circle in the illustration below). Then click on the “Feeds” tab indicated by the lower red circle in the illustration. You should now see a list of feeds to which you have subscribed. If this is your first feed you will only see “All Events–This Month,” or whatever you changed the name of the feed to. Click on the name of the feed and all JJML events for the current month will be displayed in the browser. Click on any one you in which you are interested for more information. From now on, whenever the calendar is updated, your feed will also be automatically updated as well.

Remember, you can view this feed in Internet Explorer regardless of the page you are viewing in the main browser window. After you’re done reading the feed, just click on the browser’s “Back” button to return to the page you were viewing.

By the way, you can also subscribe to the RSS feed for this blog (It’s Germane) by clicking on the “Subscribe in a Reader” button above on the right. The process is the same.

2007 was Sag Harbor’s 300th Anniversary. To honor that milestone, the 300th Anniversary organizing committee and the John Jermain Memorial Library have teamed up to document Sag Harbor as it is in 2007 and create a publicly accessible archive of images, sketches, digital video, and words both spoken and written. We’re going to create the archive, but we’re relying on the Sag Harbor community to provide the data. That’s you!

Using the media of your choice, please document some aspect of Sag Harbor as it is today. You can take photos, draw sketches, shoot a video, make a recording of your thoughts, write an essay, or do a combination of any o f the above. Then bring your creations to the library for uploading into the digital archive. As soon as we have a significant amount of material, we will make the archive accessible to the public from our website. The public will also be invited to leave comments on the website.

We’re particularly interested in what you value about Sag Harbor today, so keep that in mind when you’re out shooting photos, sketching, or whatever you choose to do.

This is our first attempt at a project like this, so please bear with us as it evolves. And, if you’d like to get more involved with the creation of the archive, just ask! We’ll be happy to have your help. Direct all questions, comments and submissions to me, Eric Cohen, here at the library. My phone is 725-0049, ext. 37 and my e-mail is ericohen@suffolk.lib.ny.us (Please do not e-mail photos, videos or audio files - bring those to the library for uploading. Thanks.)

…and JJML wants to help document it. As one of the final events of the Village’s 300th anniversary celebration, the anniversary organizing committee has put together a wonderful program during which participants will document contemporary Sag Harbor, in photos, sketches and more; after which, they will assemble their efforts in one or more final projects, to be determined by the participants. One form the final results might take is a digital archive hosted by JJML and available to the public. To facilitate this, JJML has stepped up and offered the use of their computer equipment and website for this purpose. You can find out more details about this event at on the Sag Hampton blog. The program is open to the public. If you’re interested in participating, come to the Methodist Church on Madison Street, just south of the business district on Saturday, October 13, 2007. Don’t forget you digital camera and/or sketch pad.

And, please visit our website, http://sagharbor.suffolk.lib.ny.us in the coming weeks to see how the project turns out.