Tuesday, June 25, 2013

News You Can Use

There is a lot going on in the world and many places to find information about it. Your library is one of those places.
Wall Street Journal

The Virginia Public Library has hard copies of several local, state, and national newspapers.  These range from the Mesabi Daily News to the Wall Street Journal.  We keep back issues of some of our newspapers for up to a year.  If you are looking for an article you saw in the MDN four months ago, give us the date and we'll provide the copy! 

NewsBank Logo
If you are looking for news from a particular community in another state, we have America's News, part of the NewsBank databases the library subscribes to.   With your library card, you can use America's News to read newspapers from Bangor, Maine; Fremont, California; and many points in bet
ween! 
ACRES Magazine

Many people prefer to get their news and entertainment from magazines, rather than newspapers.  Your library has a lot of magazine titles to choose from!   Our print magazines include Bloomberg Business Week, Mayo Clinic Health Letter, The Nation, the UTNE Reader, ACRES, Men's Journal, Midwest Home, The Writer, and many others.

zinio Logo
We don't have the magazine you are looking for?  Maybe we do...  The Virginia Public Library and other members of the Arrowhead Library System have subscribed to Zinio--"the World's Largest Newsstand"--in order to provide you access to more than eighty titles!  There are magazines for children, teens, athletes, car repair enthusiasts, and people with other interests.  If Zinio doesn't have it, we can find it in one of many other resources. Zinio will be available beginning July 1st. 

Circulating books, magazines, and newspapers can all be checked out for three weeks.  All you need is your library card!

Library Card
Susan Hoppe -- Reference Services Librarian

Tuesday, June 18, 2013

Summer Reading

Summerland Cover
The Summer Reading Program here at the Virginia Public Library is well under way with children eagerly visiting the library to borrow more books, participate in Craft-TASTIC Tuesdays, and enjoy interesting programs.  Children aren't the only ones reading, though, and we have some suggestions and tips for finding library items for kids of all ages.

There are many summer-related books in the library.  One way to find them is to look for the word summer using a Subject Keyword search in the library's online catalog.   A few of the  titles from such a search include Beach House Memories, by Mary Alice Monroe;  The Accidental, by Ali Smith; and Summerland, by Elin Hilderbrand

Blueberry Summers Cover
If you prefer non-fiction, you can limit the search by choosing Adult non-fiction in the "Limit by" box.  Some titles from that search include  Blueberry Summers:  Growing Up at the Lake, by Curtiss Anderson; Mary Engelbreit's Summer Craft Book, by Mary Engelbreit; and Resorts of Minnesota:  Exploring the Heritage and History of Minnesota's Family Resorts, by Neil E. Johnson and Adam Swenson.

Country Living Cover
For those who like magazines more than books, many of them have seasonal issues.  Some to keep in mind are Lake Superior Magazine, Country Living, and Backwoods Home.  To find these and other magazine titles, you can do a Title Search on the basic search page of our online catalog. 

There are many other ways for you to find summer entertainment at your library.  Let us know how we can help you fill the long summer days ahead!

Susan Hoppe, Reference Services Librarian

Tuesday, June 4, 2013

Time to Work on That Garden!




Garden time has come and summer will be here in a couple of weeks. To help you along the garden path, some of the resources available in our library are listed below. There are many  more books, magazines, and databases available in our library, through our website, from other libraries within the Arrowhead Library System, and beyond.

http://www.syndetics.com/index.aspx?type=xw12&isbn=0761148566/LC.GIF&client=arrop&upc=&oclc= Books

Damrosch, Barbara. The Garden Primer. Workman Pub: New York, NY. 2008. (635 DAM)

Dunn Chace, Teri. The Anxious Gardener's Book of Answers. Timber Press: Portland, OR. 2012. (635 DUN)

Ruppenthal, R.J. Fresh Food From Small Spaces: The Square Inch Gardener's Guide to Year-Round Growing, Fermenting, and Sprouting. Chelsea Green: White River Junction, VT. 2008. (635 RUP)


These and other books related to gardening can be found in the 630 to 635 range on the Library's shelves. You can also search for gardening books through the library's online catalog.

Periodicals

Better Homes and Gardens

Organic Gardening

Northern Gardener, published by the Minesota State Historical Society

More magazines related to gardening can be found in the databases provided by the Arrowhead Library System and Virginia Public Library.

Internet Links

University of Minnesota Extension--Gardening and Horticulture. The University of Minnesota Extension office has much information available for Minnesotans and others in our gardening zone.

Though they may not be specific to our region, links to many gardening-related websites can be found through the Internet Public Library.

 Happy Gardening! 

 

Susan Hoppe -- Adult Services Librarian