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Flash Drives at the Reference Desk

To keep up with changing computer technology, the Library started offering flash drives at the Reference Desk last year. Flash drives (also called USB drives, jump drives, thumb drives and memory sticks) let people store much more of their work in a smaller package, and they are more reliable than the old style 3-1/2" square floppy disks.

The flash drives now available at the Reference Desk are DataTravelers from Kingston, and cost $8.00. They can hold 1 gigabyte of information - which is the equivalent of almost 900 3-1/2" floppy disks!

Using your flash drive on a computer (whether in the Library or somewhere else) is as easy as saving to a floppy disk or the hard drive. Just plug it in (all Library computers have USB ports on the front), browse to your drive, and click save.

If you have any questions about flash drives in general, or need help using one on a computer in the Library, please contact the Reference Desk.

New Database: Literary Reference Center

Chelmsford Library patrons now have a new way to research books and authors: Literary Reference Center.

Searchable from either your home or the library, this database has full-text information on thousands of authors and their works. Content is broken down into a number of categories (plot summaries, synopses and work overviews, author biographies, literary journals, poems, short stories, classic texts, author interview and more). All search results are gathered into convenient tabs for easy organization.

Information can best be found in one of two ways:

1. For broad searches on topics or subjects, use the Find: search box near the top of the screen
2. To find specific authors or works, use the Browse Authors/Browse Works links near the middle of the screen

Other features include a Literary Glossary (for definitions of literature-related words), a timeline of works and their historical context, a research guide, help with citing sources, and frequently-updated books and author highlights.

Access to Literary Reference Center is funding by NMRLS. For help accessing or using the database, please contact the Reference Desk.

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New Library RSS Feeds Available!

Library patrons can now receive feeds from the book lists in our Reading Room via RSS!

Over 40 feeds are available, offering the New York Times best sellers lists, Staff Picks, Award Winners, and much more, all in your RSS reader. All of the feeds are listed on our Available CPL RSS Feeds page, with shortcut links to add them to popular feed readers.

Don't know what RSS is?
RSS (Really Simple Syndication) is a technology that allows updates to web pages, such as news, events, or book lists, to be sent to you, automatically, instead of you having to visit all those web pages to get the latest information. Kind of like reading new email in your inbox, RSS feeds are collected and read in an RSS reader, such as Bloglines, Yahoo! or Google Reader (or any number of other readers). Also, some of the new internet browsers (Firefox, IE7, Safari) can read RSS feeds, too.

This blog also has a feed, as do the other CPL blogs (all feed links are on the Available CPL RSS Feeds page). When you're on a webpage, look for an RSS () or XML () icon to grab the feed.

If you have questions about these new RSS feeds from the library, or need help setting up a reader or accessing these library feeds, please contact the Reference Desk.
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Digital Audio Book Downloads

Here's some great news for folks who like to listen to their books. You can now download mp3 audio books from the comfort of your own home through an exciting new Digital Download service available at the Chelmsford Public Library's website. Once you've downloaded the book you may then listen to it on your personal computer or on an MP3 player. Most books can even be burned to CDs. All that's needed is a valid Chelmsford (or MVLC) library card and access to the internet; you will be prompted to install Overdrive's free media console.

For more information on using Overdrive through the Library, come to our Downloadable Audio Book Workshop on Oct. 18!

Or, stop into the library for a demonstration - the Reference Department now has a download station set up in the library, where you can download right to your mp3 player. This is great for people with no computer at home, or those with slow connections or Macs.