Brown Bag Book Club - April Selection

On April 25th, from 12-1, the Brown Bag Book Club will meet to discuss Ken Kesey's 1964 novel, Sometimes a Great Notion. The club meets on the fourth Wednesday of every month, at the Civic Center Library. New members are always welcome! For more information, call Livia at 499-6058 or e-mail llewin@co.marin.ca.us.

Discuss Daughter of Fortune at the Corte Madera Library

Monday, April 9, 7 p.m.
Join a book discussion group led by Dara Hellman, Instructor at Dominican University: share your thoughts and ideas and enrich your understanding of Daughter of Fortune, by local best-selling author Isabel Allende. Please call 924-6444 to sign up. A One Book One Marin event.

Grupo de discussion, La Hija de la Fortuna, Corte Madera Library

miércoles, el 4 de abril, 7 p.m.
Si le gustaría participar en una charla en español sobre la novela "La hija de la fortuna." En esta novela muy vendida, Isabel Allende, residente de Marín, cuenta la historia conmovedora y llena de aventuras de Eliza Sommers, una chilena joven. En Valparaíso, Chile, Eliza aborda a escondidas un barco que va a la California de la fiebre de oro para reunirse con su prometido. John Petrovsky, nieto de un inmigrante chileno y profesor de español en Marin Academy y College of Marin, conducirá la charla de un modo informal y amistoso.

Changes Coming to the Library Catalog

On April 2nd a new version of the library catalog will be available on the web. It will have a new look and a new way to display results from keyword searches.

What does this mean?

• Well, one thing that will be different is that results from keyword searches will be grouped by relevancy. Items will be grouped into 5 ranks: Most relevant title, Highly relevant, Very relevant titles, Relevant titles, and Other relevant titles. The idea behind this is to get the results you really want to show up first.
• Another change will be a ratings feature. Anyone who uses the catalog and logs in will be able to rate titles with one to five stars, with one being the lowest and five the highest. If more than one person rates a title, the rating that displays will be an average of all the ratings.
• A Spell Check feature will also be available. This feature works a bit like Google's "did you mean..." response when words are misspelled.
• You will also be able to sort keyword search results by date or title. Though the new relevancy rankings will be the default, it will be easy to change the results to display in order by date, or title, by clicking on those options at the top of the page.
• The number of titles that display at one time on the page will be changing. Now our catalog limits the results displayed on the brief citation page to 12. With the new catalog, the page will be able to display up to 50 results, making it faster to look through lists of titles.

The upgrades should make searching the catalog easier, more efficient, and even more interactive. You can let us know what you think by filling out an online comment form. Check it out next week!

Gold Rush program at Fairfax Library

Hangings, street justice, prostitution, the clash of cultures--Gold Rush California had it all! Come to the Fairfax Library on Wednesday, March 28th at 7 pm to hear former San Francisco Police officer Kevin Mullen discuss some of the original events from the Gold Rush days that form the background to our first One Book, One Marin selection, Isabel Allende's Daughter of Fortune. Mr. Mullen, author of three books on the history of crime and violence in San Francisco, is an informative and entertaining speaker. For additional information about this free event, contact the Fairfax Library Reference Desk at 457-5629.

Join us at the Novato Library!

To find out about plans for future short-term and long-term improvements to the Novato Library, please attend our next community meeting to discuss the Library Facilities Master Plan at the Novato Library on Tuesday, March 27^th at 7 pm. For additional information about this event, please visit our Facilities Master Plan website or contact the Library Administration at 499-3220.

Computer Classes at the Civic Center Library

The Civic Center Library is offering the following free computer classes in April! To register for a class, please ask at the Civic Center Library Reference Desk, or call 499-6058.

Beginning Internet
A professional librarian will instruct the Beginning Internet class and you will be provided with an orientation on how to navigate and search the Internet in this hour-long hands-on class.
Wednesday, April 11, 9-10 a.m.

How to Find a Book: Catalog Basics
This class is designed to help you use the computer to find books in the library whether you have a lot of information or a little. We'll use this hands-on class to teach you hints and tips about finding materials with the library catalog and databases (as time allows).
Thursday, April 19, 4-5 p.m.

Email Basics
This class is designed for people who do not have an email account. It will cover how to set up a free email account, and read and send email. In this class we will be using Yahoo! mail.
Monday, April 23, 9-10 a.m.

Opening and Sending Email Attachments
Access to an email account (Yahoo! mail is preferable but not required) and experience in receiving/sending email messages required.
Monday, April 30, 2007, 9-10 a.m.

Homework Help

Working on an assignment for school? Get a new start on your homework with help from the library-- free online tutors who can provide the assistance you need.

1. Go to http://www.co.marin.ca.us/library

2. Look for this icon:





3. Enter your subject (English, math, social studies or science).

4. Enter your grade (4th through 12th).

5. And soon you will be chatting with a tutor!

The service is available from 1pm to 10 pm daily. To use the service, you must log on from a PC running Internet Explorer. PCs are available at our libraries, too.

Disponible en español en Matemáticas y Ciencia, Domingo a Jueves de 1:00 pm a 7:00 pm

Join the club!

Please join us at the Novato Library for the Tuesday Afternoon Book Club on the third Tuesday of each month from 1-2 pm. Discussion questions are provided and participation by avid readers is encouraged! The selection for March is Cold Mountain, by Charles Frazier. For additional information about this event, contact the Novato Reference Desk at 897-1143.

Seventh Annual Book Super Sale!

The Friends of the Marin County Free Library annual super sale will take place on March 24th & 25th, from 10 - 5 pm, in the National Guard Armory (across from the Civic Center in San Rafael). Choose from 30,000 books sorted into 35 subject areas! All profits support library porgrams, needs, and materials.

For more information, visit the Friends of the Marin County Free Library website, or call (415) 388-0839.

Celebrate Women's History Month!

The Civic Center Library has compiled an annotated guide to the resources available at the library that concern the history of women. The guide also features a list of recommended websites.

For more resource guides, as well as lists of recommended reading, visit our Reader's Corner!

Homegrown Program: Myth in Our Lives

Jane Mickelson, of Bolinas, a cultural anthropologist, will talk about myth in our lives at the Stinson Beach Library on Monday, March 12th from 7:30- 9pm. For additional information about this free program, contact the Stinson Beach Reference Desk at 868-0252.

How Are We Doing?

The most important goal of the Marin County Free Library is satisfying our customers. If you are not satisfied with Library services, please let us know. We’d also like to hear about what we are doing well! Request a customer comment form next time you visit the Library, or submit your comments online.