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.

In the following excerpt from the blog What I Learned Today, written by Nicole C. Engard, she directs our attention to a very interesting article about the strengths and weaknesses of search engines (like Google).

That’s right, CNet, a technology news site is telling users to visit their local librarian instead of using Google for research. In an article titled Most Reliable Search Tool Could Be Your Librarian Elinor Mills tells readers:

“While the Web is good for offering quick results from a broad range of sources, which may or may not be trustworthy, librarians can help people get access to more authoritative information and go deeper with their research.”

As an example of an “untrustworthy” search result, CNet points out:

Using the keywords “Martin Luther King,” the first result on Google and AOL–whose search is powered by Google–and the second result on Microsoft Windows Live search is a Web site created by a white supremacists group that purports to provide “a true historical examination” of the civil rights leader.

Click the article title above or the link at right to read the whole story on CNet’s News.com.

Summer is the perfect time to try something different, and your library is just the place to do it.  How about a new recipe from one of our large selection of magazines, or from a cookbook that looks interesting but you’re not sure that you want to buy. Why not check out our gardening books — maybe you have a green thumb. We have wonderful language tapes, too. Is this the summer you learn a new language?
Looking forward to seeing you at your library!

We recently upgraded our the calendar of events feature on our website so that all events can be viewed at once, instead of having to switch back and forth between different calendars for adults, young adults and children. Now when you click on any calendar link on our website you will be taken to a cleanly designed, yet eye-pleasing page on which you can see everything that’s scheduled for the current month. You can also look ahead, to future months, or backward to see what you’ve missed. (Although, right now, you can only go back to mid-June, when we started to put this new calendar together.) It is also possible with two clicks to switch from the “All Events” view to a different view that only shows age-appropriate events. For example, you can just see events for kids, or just events for adults, etc. This calendar also has features for the staff, that will make our work-lives a little easier, or at least we’ll be a little better informed!

You can check it out right now by clicking here –> Calendar of Events

The Library is an information center. We have daily papers & weekly local papers. We have a wide selection of magazines. We have books on tape and CD. We have videos and dvds. We have computers and wireless computers space. We offer a wide range of programs. We are part of the Suffolk Library System so if we don't have what you are looking for we can probably get it. Come in and let us help you!

From June 18th through October 8th the library will not be open on Sundays. We will resume our regular Sunday hours (12:00 - 4:00 PM) on October 15, 2006. (We really need to get out of this basement and get some sun ;-))

Like our population, the library circulation certainly increases during the summer. Part of the reason is that we make it easy to get a summer library card. If you are visiting for at least a month you are entitled to a local use only card. This is a wonderful opportunity to read a new book, check on a magazine you wanted see, listen to a CD you might never try, or see a movie you have been wanting to get to. All you need is proof of your residency: a letter from you landlord or dockmaster, or a lease letting us know how long your here for. We also have l computers available for the public to use; both adults and kids. Our third floor is set up for wireless Internet access, so come explore!