Economic Stimulus Information

The good folks at the Maine State Library Reference Department have created a timely & detailed quick list of links to information about the economic stimulus package, more formally known as The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

To access this information, go to http://www.maine.gov/tools/whatsnew/index.php?topic=LibStaffPicks&id=68480&v=Article.
Or, you can individually view each of the links Maine State Library features in its review. Each is listed below with a brief explanation of each.

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009

The official American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 page can be found at http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/arra_public_review/. From this page, you can click a link to a PDF of the final text of the legislation as reviewed by Congress. You can also leave any comments you may have about the legislation on this page. The U.S. Economic Stimulus Plan

A much more common language version of the plan, created by the Council on Foreign Relations, can be found here -- http://www.cfr.org/publication/18348.

Keep Track of How Economic Stimulus Money is Being Spent

Recovery.gov is, according to its website, a site "that lets you, the taxpayer, figure out where the money from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act is going. There are going to be a few different ways to search for information. The money is being distributed by Federal agencies, and soon you'll be able to see where it's going -- to which states, to which congressional districts, even to which Federal contractors. As soon as we are able to, we'll display that information visually in maps, charts, and graphics." You can view the site at http://www.recovery.gov/.

State of Maine / American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009

Governor John Baldacci has released a statement about the stimulus plan on the Office of the Governor website at http://www.maine.gov/governor/baldacci/policy/Recovery2009.shtml. This page also features links to the latest updates, press releases, and other information about Maine government's involvement with the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

Want to Balance Maine's Budget?

Also on Governor Baldacci's website, you will find an amusing & informative tool which will "allow you to view the most current budget projections, adjust expenses and revenues to see the results, and send me your own balanced budget proposal." In other words, you'll get to try your hand at balancing the budget. I made a slight increase in the education expenditure, quickly putting the state at a $100 million deficit (shown below). This tool, along with other Maine budgetary concerns, can be found at http://www.maine.gov/governor/baldacci/policy/budget/index07-07.html.

I would like to thank the Maine State Library Reference Department for making me aware of all this information.

playne@bpl.lib.me.us

New Search Engine

LeapFish

LeapFish is a new alternative to the Google, Yahoo!, & other search engines that has been getting quite a bit of press coverage & rightfully so. LeapFish has two quickly apparent advantages over current search engine models. One, LeapFish will automatically update the page as you type your search term. In other words, you will not need to press enter or click search for results to be displayed. Sure, pressing enter or clicking search are not terribly time-consuming, but LeapFish has simplified this process in a way that I think most people can appreciate, especially after seeing it for oneself.

The second advantage of LeapFish is that search results are in varied formats. With Google & Yahoo!, a single search can currently only be done for text or images or video, not with all at once. LeapFish will simultaneously find text, video, & images. My search for guitar lessons found, for example, links to websites on the left-hand side of the page, links to videos on the right, links to images on the right, as well as other specialty links.

playne@bpl.lib.me.us

Time Magazine Best 50 Websites of 2008

Time, a noted magazine of our time, has produced an entertaining and useful listing of its views of the best of the online world. These websites fall into categories Time describes as Advice & Facts, Info & Gossip, Handy Tools, Fun & Games, and Hobbies & Interests.

Below are a few of the sites I've checked out & recommend.
http://www.iliketotallyloveit.com/: According to the site's publisher, this site " allows users to publish and share products with the broader public which they find cool, innovative, exceptionally beautiful, or just weird. Included with every item is a link to an online shop where it can be purchased." According to me, this site is a good stop for ideas for gifts for the upcoming gift season. I found a few good ideas rather quickly here by clicking on the Toys link.

http://www.omiru.com/: Omiru is "a style and shopping guide dedicated to real style for real people. We cover figure flattery, fashion trends, and an assortment of articles aimed at making style accessible to all." The site has an exhaustive Archives section dating back to March 2005 as well as links to dozens of online sites for buying items or researching fashion trends.
http://psychcentral.com/: Psych Central is an incredibly useful website for gaining more information about diagnosis, treatment, and helpful resources for a host of mental health issues for adults & children.http://www.geni.com/: Geni is an interactive online site where a person can create a family tree. The site allows for other members of the family to join a tree for discussion, adding photos & videos, and reminders of birthdays & other anniversaries. Best of all, the site restricts viewing & editing of a tree to those authorized by a tree's creator.
http://www.searchme.com/: This site offers an intriguing alternative to the Yahoo! & Google search engines. Searchme "lets you see what you’re searching for. As you start typing, categories appear that relate to your query. Choose a category, and you’ll see pictures of web pages that answer your search." Pun intended, this one has to be seen to be believed.http://cylinders.library.ucsb.edu/index.php: The Cylinder Preservation and Digitization Project created by the University of California, Santa Barbara, Department of Special Collections is a collection of "cylinder recordings, the first commercially produced sound recordings" which provide "a snapshot of musical and popular culture in the decades around the turn of the 20th century." Browse the collection to hear recordings from as early as 1893 about the first cars & airplanes, about World War I or the Civil War, or songs highlighting individual instruments like a zither or a cimbalom (which evidently is complex zither played especially in Hungary). The recordings of speeches found here may be of particular interest to history buffs or history teachers as they feature historical figures such as Teddy Roosevelt & William H. Taft.
http://www.lookybook.com/index.php: LookyBook, according to its site, "allows you to look at picture books in their entirety—from cover to cover, at your own pace. We know that nothing will replace the magic of reading a book with your child at bedtime, but we aim to replace the overwhelming and frustrating process of finding the right books for parents and their kids." The site is a useful tool for libraries, book sellers or individual readers hoping to preview books before purchase. This site allows searching by specific author or illustrator, by subject or genre, or by keyword. If searching by keyword, though, I would suggest trying, for example, both rabbit and rabbits if you are looking for a book about this animal in the family Leporidae. Using "rabbit" finds six books, but using "rabbits" finds only three.
http://digitalvaults.org/: A creation of the National Archives, this site contains digitized views of 1,200 documents in the National Archives collection. The content of this site is impressive on its own, but the interactivity of the site is what makes it special. I feel silly trying to explain this, actually -- give the site a look to see what I'm talking about.

The entire list can be found here: http://www.time.com/time/specials/2007/0,28757,1809858,00.html. The list is particularly enlightening & useful in that it often offers other suggestions of websites similar in scope to those selected as the best.

Let me know if you have any other suggestions or questions.

playne@bpl.lib.me.us

The Value of Libraries

A recent Bangor Daily News articles highlights the economic, cultural, & educational value of libraries. The article can be linked to here: http://bangordailynews.com/detail/90917.html.

The most telling part of the article to me is the dollar value of the services at the library used by the author, Rosemary Herbert, during a recent visit to her library in Rockport. In that one visit to her library, Ms. Herbert determined the services provided & materials borrowed to have a value of $233. Without putting too much thought into whether this a tremendous bargain or not, I'm just going to assume that this is a tremendous bargain.

But ... I think I'll also put much thought into this as well.

The most recent annual report for the Bangor Public Library lists the average amount of tax revenue per Bangor resident toward the operating cost of the library at $48.42 per taxpayer.

Here are some figures & observations to mull over:

* A fair estimate for the cost of a home Internet connection through Time Warner, a leading Internet service provider in the area, is around $40 per month. $48.42 is roughly the cost of five to six weeks of a home Internet connection.

*An estimate of the average price for a new hardcover book is between $18 and $30, an average price for a new paperback is between $6 and $15. If you only read books you could buy, $48.42 would limit you only to two or three (new) books per year.

*Most magazine subscriptions for individuals run between $15 to $30 per year, with some specialized magazines costing much more. $48.42 would most likely limit a person to only two subscriptions per year, meaning you'd have to choose between Time or Newsweek (or The Economist or The New York Review of Books) if you also already subscribe to Down East Magazine.

*Most books on CD & cassette cost $30 or more each, while the Playaways offered at the library cost $40 to $60 each. $48.42 might not even be enough to buy one of these, depending on what & where you're buying.

*The databases available on Marvel!, Maine's Virtual Library, utilized by college students, business professionals, health care professionals, and the regular citizen cost the state about seven million dollars per year. This averages out to between four & five dollars per taxpayer, a fair sum considering that many scientific, technical, and medical journals could charge an individual upwards of $40 for a single journal article download. Believe me, I've seen it -- though, fortunately, there are legal ways around being charged that amount whenever the situation has arisen.

*All libraries are heated in the winter & cooled in the summer, an expense not to be sneezed at with the current cost of energy resources. Plus, you know, libraries now have electricity for things like computers & lights & stuff. $48.42 is probably a good estimate for the dollar total of all the electricity currently being pumped into the room for the 29 computers in use right now in the room I'm sitting in.

*Bangor Public Library employs around forty full-time employees who work 37.5 hours per week, totaling around 1500 hours worked per week & around 78,000 hours worked per year. Your $48.42 provides perhaps a dollar a day for one day to each of the employees here. Another way to look at this is that $48.42 is less than minimum wage for one employee working 7.5 hours in one day.

*The library is open 60 hours a week from September to May, 48 hours per week June to August, with the library being open about 300 days &, bear with me, over 2900 hours per year. $48.42 equals about 15 cents per day the library is open for each taxpayer. If you a huge math fanatic, try dividing $48.42 into 2900 hours & you'll get 1.6 cents per hour.

In the spirit of full disclosure, I have "ball park" figured some of the math here (including, occasionally for comic -- at least, intended on my part -- effect). And, in truth, local tax dollars do not account for all the revenue sources for the library. State tax dollars provide 5-10% of Bangor Public Library's revenue stream. Also, the library is very fortunate to have well-funded endowments & regular financial donations from many folks with generous spirits which almost exclusively fund our book collection.

For my money (ha + ha!), I'd say $48.42 per year is an incredible bargain. I worked part-time in the Albany, New York, public library system prior to coming to Bangor. In Albany, I believe the average tax burden for the library was just over $100 per taxpayer. And, that total has increased since voters agreed last year to fund renovation & new construction projects.

Of course, not every citizen of Bangor uses the library on a regular or irregular basis. Ten years after the construction of the new addition to the building, I occasionally help someone who notes with neither malice nor presumption that he/she "hasn't been in since the new part was added." At least ten years between visits to the library may beg that $48.42 is too much to pay.

But, I'll argue, the point is that we are here when anyone does need us. Last week, the library held a public forum to meet & hear the candidates for city council & the school committee speak. For many, this was the first & best & possibly only chance they had to better inform themselves about the upcoming local election. This very well attended forum may well have been the only time many folks visited us this year, but it highlights that at any given time our citizenry may call upon us to provide a valuable service or opportunity for them.

We are here & the graciousness of taxpayers & donors makes what we do possible. Your contributions, financial or otherwise, are a trust we hope to continue to honor whether you visit the library hundreds of times a year or not once. $48.42 is just a dollar figure; the real value of libraries isn't in what you pay but in what you & others can get from experiences & resources at the library.

Back in April, I visited the aquarium in Boston. I can't remember how much I paid for tickets for my wife, son & I. But I do remember how cool my son thought the penguins were & how scary he thought the octopus was. Okay, I'll be honest, it was me that found the octopus a little creepy.

My point is, that while, of course, there is certainly a dollar & cents reality to the library's operation, any true determination of a library's value can only exist in the minds of those who visit us. I would like to hope that more often than not that what we provide at Bangor Public Library is invaluable.

Let me know what you think.

playne@bpl.lib.me.us

Political & Social Cartoons

A few years back, I discovered a book called Attitude: The New Subversive Political Cartoonists, edited by Ted Rall. Rall is himself a rather noted political & social cartoonist, whose cartoons regularly appear in over 150 U.S. newspapers. He also is the author or editor of about a dozen books available on the URSUS & MaineCat catalogs, including two updated editions of Attitude.

Attitude features works by cartoon artists not commonly found in the majority of American newspapers. These cartoons are found predominantly in the alternative weeklies of the U.S.'s largest cities. The reason these artists are not regularly featured in most newspapers is that their perspectives typically go well beyond the Peanuts, Cathy, Family Circus, & Ziggy brand of drawing & social commentary. With all respect to the comics featured in most local papers, the typical Family Circus or Ziggy strip seems like it could have been (or was!) written back in 1971, with only an occasional reference to modern culture like American Idol or George Bush to let you know they weren't written in 1971.

Admittedly, the world views of the artists featured in Attitude & its follow-ups are left-leaning on the political & social-consciousness spectrum. Without blatantly giving away or advocating my own political beliefs, let's just say that I don't always agree or disagree with everything I hear on the O'Reilly Factor or on The Daily Show.

Because we live in a seemingly strongly politically & culturally divided country, I think that often fear of offending keeps many people from saying anything (other than discussing American Idol or other trivialities, though we all know Simon Cowell is more Republican than Paula Abdul; note: this is an unsubstantiated generalization -- & probably a pretty bad & way too complicated "joke"). Well, I say, say something at least. Even disagreement with someone is progress -- silence stagnates & insulates democracy.

With that in mind, I'd like to recommend a few links to the online works of a few of the cartoonists featured in Attitude & Attitude 2. [I have not looked at Attitude 3 yet because Bangor Public Library's copy has been checked out since it came in new].

I do advise, though, that some of these may feature words, opinions, or images you may find objectionable. I offer the same warning if you plan to watch an episode of Two & a Half Men, Law & Order, Hannity & Colmes, &/or The Colbert Report. Or, if you read an editorial from the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, or Bangor Daily News. Or, if you give a look to any of the dozen or so "how the Bush Administration got it right" or "how the Bush Administration got it wrong" books available for checkout at your local library.

Ted Rall: http://www.rall.com/index.html

Andy Singer: http://www.andysinger.com/

Tom Tomorrow: http://www.thismodernworld.com/

Jen Sorensen: http://www.slowpokecomics.com

Ruben Bolling: http://gocomics.typepad.com/tomthedancingbugblog/. Here's a link to a typical Bolling perspective, this one about public libraries: http://archive.salon.com/comics/boll/2000/08/24/boll/index.html.

Keith Knight: http://www.kchronicles.com/

Mikhaela B. Reid: http://www.mikhaela.net/. Reid provides a quote in Attitude 2 which explains the clarity & directness political & social cartoons can have. She says, "As much as I love to read long editorials & articles ... they really never had the same effect on me [as cartoons] ... I appreciated the articles & editorials on an intellectual level ... but they didn't make me care on the same level [as with political or social cartoons]." I agree. Very often, for me, a one panel comic provides more depth to a perspective than a thousand word George Will or David Brooks editorial.

The above are just seven of the 42 artists profiled in the first two books. Contact me if you'd like to know who the others in these books are or if you'd like links to their web sites. And, once again, each of these books are available for checkout either the URSUS or MaineCat.

Because ultimately what I'm getting at here is that a picture can be worth a thousand words, it might seem odd that I haven't included any of the comics of any of the Attitude artists. I have not included any so as to avoid any potential copyright infringement & just to be fair to artist's whose work I respect.

The cartoon below is by an unpublished artist, my son. He made this on Microsoft Paint when he was four years old. To date, he hasn't published this, so I suppose I'm pretty safe in sharing it with you. I'm not sure what his political or social stance here is. Maybe it's a commentary on multiculturalism, about how people of all colors should just accept our differences & stand together through dark times. But, I may be reading more into than need be. I still think it's pretty neat though. Better than I could do.


playne@bpl.lib.me.us

The Lengths Librarians Will Go To...

In an effort to get children to sign up for his library's summer reading program, Mill Creek, Washington librarian Mickey Gallagher ate 18 worms (like the ones pictured here). I commend him on his devotion to his work but I have to wonder what he'll have to eat next year to get them to sign up? Many thanks to LISNews for seeing this one.

Jim Riordan jriordan@bpl.lib.me.us

Literary Map of Maine Published August 31

The Portland Press Herald published over last weekend the Literary Map of Maine. The map can be linked to by clicking here: http://pressherald.mainetoday.com/news/literarymap/map.html#map. A printed version of the map is/was available in last Sunday's edition of the paper.

The map offers an engaging look at dozens of authors in Maine's past as well as presents prominent books featuring Maine locations. The lists is a good source for brushing up on some of your favorites of the past or of becoming aware of lesser known works or authors.

Possibly the best feature of the online version of the map is its ability to be added to by reader suggestions, so the usefulness of the map is & will continue to be a work in progress of the reading community.

A Few Useful Web Tools & Sites

Zamzar

Zamzar is an online file conversion site. I have turned to this very useful site several times over the past year in aiding patrons of the library. The site hasn't failed a file conversion yet that I've tried. And, it's free.

One of the common reasons I've used Zamzar is for library patrons who bring in a disc with a WPS file on it. WPS files are documents created using Microsoft Works Word Processor which occasionally cannot be open or are opened in hieroglyphic-like text using updated versions of Microsoft Word or Office. Another common problem with opening patrons' files at the library is a docx document; these are documents produced on a newer version of Word than what is on our computers. So, the conversion problem exists for systems above & below the level of Word we own.

To convert a file, in the first step on the site, you'll need to have a document saved on the computer or available through a disc & upload the file to the site. The next step is to select the file type you wish to convert to. Next, enter an email address at which you will receive a url link to an updated version of the document. Last, click the "convert" button. The time needed to convert the file & send an email to you is usually under two hours. For faster service, you can register & may need to pay a small subscribing fee for a subscription. So, if you are in urgent or at-no-charge need of a file conversion, Zamzar may not be for you. There are other file-conversion sites (such as Free File Converter), but I am not familiar with their success rate or what costs may be associated.

In addition to text files, Zamzar can also convert audio, image, & video files. I haven't yet used Zamzar for either of these types of conversions, but I would imagine their success rate is as good as the text conversion rate of success I've had.

Another option for converting files is to download Microsoft Works 6-9 Converter.

FastStone Capture

One of my favorite web tools is another free download called FastStone Capture. This tool is, according to FastStone's website, "a powerful, lightweight, yet full-featured screen capture tool that allows you to easily capture and annotate anything on the screen including windows, objects, menus, full screen, rectangular/freehand regions and even scrolling windows/web pages." [Note: I'm not exactly sure where FS gets their concept of the capture tool being "lightweight" as it is not an actual object. Perhaps they mean it's light on the amount of memory needed to store it? Or maybe they're just being funny].

FS Capture allows you to create image documents of portions of a computer screen. These images can be stored as jpegs or as other image types.

FS Capture is a particularly useful tool. I have used it for almost all blog posts I've done. Here is a link to a past blog entry I made that relied heavily on FS Capture: http://bangorpubliclibrary.blogspot.com/2007/11/identity-theft-what-it-is-how-to-avoid.html.

Another cool way to use FS Capture is to freeze an online video such as one on YouTube to create your own pictures. Here's one I did from a very popular music video from the 1980s: To download FS Capture, click this link: http://www.faststone.org/download.htm.

Any Other Useful Tools?

If you know of any useful tools or websites, feel welcome to share them here on this blog.

Let me know if you have any questions. Patrick Layne: playne@bpl.lib.me.us

BPL on MPBN

For those of you who aren't total NPR geeks like me, last week there was a peace on the Maine Public Broadcasting Network on libraries in Maine. It included our very own Barbara McDade as well as Linda Lord the deputy state librarian. The gist of the piece is that while the declining economy is shrinking funding sources for libraries that same decline is increasing the public's need for libraries. Have a listen.

Jim Riordan

jriordan@bpl.lib.me.us

Dailylit.com & Two Video Sites

Dailylit.com

Dailylit.com is a website which originates from the idea than many people today face greater demands in their time & quite often the most regular reading people do is on a computer screen.

Dailylit.com's creators, thought, "A-ha! Why not allow people to sign-up for a service to receive small portions of books to their email addresses & have them incorporate the reading of books into the same type routine as checking their email."

The site allows a user to choose a book -- there are over 750 books currently available -- or books to receive on a regular basis (each user can set up a personalized installment schedule) to an email account. The site claims most installments can be read by an average reader in about 2 to 3 minutes, with 5 minutes being the maximum.

Most of the books offered by Dailylit.com are free, having entered into public domain or simply offered for free by the copyright holder. There also are a number of books available for a small fee, which is usually under $5. These title range from books such as The Prince & the Pauper by Mark Twain for free & Fieldwork by Mischa Berlinski for $6.75.

Dailylit.com admittedly is dominated by romance novels among its newer titles. So, the site may be exactly what you're looking for or exactly not what you're into. I think that the newness of this idea has made it relatively limited in its initial scope, but, I believe that this idea will catch on & that the consumer will ultimately help shape it into a greater, more varied version of what it currently is.

I do think, though, the site is quite successful in that it presents a few hundred or so of the classics. The site actually seems perfectly suited for book discussion groups, allowing all participants to get the same installments emailed to them at the same pace-- and all without having to find at the library or at a bookstore enough copies for everyone in the discussion group.
Hulu.com

For TV & movies junkies, just about the best site around is hulu.com. This site, launched just a few months ago, is a more sophisticated version of what youtube.com is. Whereas youtube.com has hundreds of thousands amatuer videos (which run the spectrum to the truly inspired & genius to the utterly depressing & unnecessary), hulu.com has hundreds of professional quality clips, episodes, & even entire movies available. And, it's all for FREE.

Better, the video available for free is top-quality stuff. A sampling of the movies available are: Master and Commander (starring Russell Crowe), Sideways (starring Paul Giamatti), Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (starring the never-better Jim Carrey), & the cult favorite, The Big Lebowski (starring Jeff Bridges).

The best part about hulu.com, though, is the amount & diversity of older TV shows available. Got a hankering to see every episode of the first two seasons of The A-Team? hulu.com's got it. Want to see the entire series of the critically-acclaimed, but cancelled-anyway Arrested Development? hulu.com has that too. If you are a Steve Carrell or Stephen Colbert fan, you can check each out on The Office or The Colbert Report on hulu.com, or, for their earlier work, take a look at them on The Dana Carvey Show, which aired a total of seven episodes back in 1996.

The only drawback to hulu.com? Ads will pop-up on the screen & you have to "x" them to make them go away. This was particularly annoying recently when I was watching a report on George Carlin's death & had a Chili's ad appear at the bottom of the screen.

Otherwise, hulu.com has quite a bit to offer & I think you'll find something worthwhile if you give it a try.

Freedocumentaries.org

Another high-quality video website is freedocumentaries.org. The site offers hundreds of videos on a wide array of categories such as environmentalism, animal activism, human rights, health issues & American history.

The titles on this site range from the high-profile movies of Michael Moore & the 2004 Academy Award winning The Fog of War by Errol Morris to the much lower profile, but still expertly done, movies such as The Yes Men & The Invisible Children. The site features many videos produced by & previously aired on PBS, HBO & CBC.

So, if you're more a 60 Minutes type than a sitcom watcher, I'd recommend freedocumentaries.org over hulu.com. With either one, though, you've have plenty of variety & quality to choose from.

Patrick Layne

playne@bpl.lib.me.us