Changes will be made to OverDrive that will alter the look, feel, and experience of checking out ebooks.

This website should be easier to browse, give you the ability to read books through your browser without checking them out, and streamline the ebook checkout process.

Don’t worry, you will lose none of the content you have on hold or currently checked out. Only the look and user interface of the website will change. You will still have access to all the library’s great content.

See a preview video of the website and its new features here: http://youtu.be/ncRTkQkgZcU.

Some of the key features include:

• One-Step Checkout™: Once you’ve logged in with your library card number, it just takes one click to borrow a title.
• OverDrive Read™: Browser-based technology enables instant access to ebooks, online or offline, with no software or downloading required. All you’ll need is a computer or device with a modern web browser. If the title is available to borrow, you can download the title – as you’ve always been able to – or you can choose to start reading right away in your web browser. If you choose browser-based reading, your progression will sync across devices. For example, if you leave off at page 47 on your computer, you’ll start at page 47 on your iPad®!
• A new responsive design optimizes the website for mobile and desktop use. So regardless of what device you use, the experience will be the same and where to click will be clear.
• Powerful discovery tools enable you to find your next book fast with filtered search, personalized title recommendations and more. It’s like online shopping!

Staff are working to learn the ins and outs of the new website and will be able to help you move seamlessly to the new website design. We will have more information as we get closer to launching the new OverDrive website.

While there is no substitute for good legal advice, sometimes all you need is a simple legal document or two. However, finding online forms that are accurate and work in Kansas can be frustrating and intimidating. Fortunately, using LegalForms eliminates this uncertainty.

LegalForms is a searchable database of hundreds of the most commonly requested legal forms. All of the forms in LegalForms have been approved for use in Kansas by one of the leading database providers in the country.

From home or in the library, download real estate, divorce, wills, power of attorney, and many other forms. Each form is conveniently accessible and downloadable in either Microsoft Word or Adobe Acrobat, allowing you to fill out the form right on you computer before printing. In addition, for more complex or technical legal forms, the online resource provides completed samples.

While the library cannot provide legal advice, you can use these forms with the confidence that they are being provided by a respected company and a trusted community partner, instead of some random internet site.

Additional legal forms can be also found through Kansas Legal Services.

If you have more complex legal issues we also recommend contacting Washburn Law Library which has a wider range of legal reference materials.

For legal assistance, try these good local resources, Kansas Legal Services and the Washburn Law Clinic.

Find that next great book using Novelist Plus, a professional reader’s advisory tool available from your library!

After finishing The Twelve by Justin Cronin, a great book by the way, I wanted to keep the thrills going by finding something similar to read next. I turned to Novelist Plus, my favorite online resource for finding new books and authors.

Novelist Plus’ purpose is to provide you with recommendations for books and authors that are similar to those you have already read. Librarians have used it for years to provide recommendations, but anyone is welcome to use this great resource. With thousand’s of recommendations by reader’s advisory experts, it’s a great place to start when looking for a new book.

Using Novelist Plus is easy. Simply search for a book or author and Novelist Plus provides a list of similar authors or titles and other suggested readings. It’s that easy!

Novelist Plus is also great at recommending new series or figuring out what books comes next in a series. It also contains book discussion guides, thematic book lists, and reading and book-oriented articles. In addition, Novelist Plus is not just for adults. You will also find recommendations for children, tween, and teen books!

To use Novelist Plus, go to the Digital Branch and click on Research. If you are not at the library, you will be asked for your library card number and your PIN, which is usually the last four digits of your telephone number.

While there are many ways to find read-a-likes, Novelist Plus is a powerful online resources that gives you access to thousands of professional reviews, book and author suggestions, and much more. Give it a try and I know you will be hooked.

For even more help finding great books, check out our Goodreads page. It has staff recommendations, book discussions, surveys, trivia questions, and more!

What books have you discovered using Novelist Plus?

For the past two weeks we have had polls on our Facebook page allowing you to vote on the best fiction and non-fiction books published this year.

We started out with a list of the 100 most checked out fiction and non-fiction works we had this year. Then our crack team of reading specialist whittled that list down to the five most deserving works in each category based on critical and popular reviews and overall literary quality. After two weeks of fierce voting, we have our winners.

Here are TSCPL’s Best Books of 2012!

Best Fiction

Gone Girl By Gillian Flynn

Nick Dunne’s wife Amy goes missing on their fifth anniversary. Although he maintains his innocence, Nick’s lies and actions speak otherwise as the police close in on their prime suspect. Told from multiple points of view, the plot takes many dark, twisted and creepy turns and the only truth the reader knows is that there is no one truth, all the way up to the surprise ending.

Non-Fiction

Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World that Can’t Stop Talking by Susan Cain

Cain explores the lives and dynamics of the one-third of the population who would rather go about their professional and personal lives quietly, not seeking attention or adulation. Drawing from psychology and neuroscience, she argues that introverts are often undervalued and underused professionally, which is a shame for they often have significant and innovative ideas to contribute; it’s just that the extroverts get all the attention.

Here is your chance to decide the best fiction and non-fiction books published in 2012.

We have combed through Topeka’s most popular books this year, based on their number of check outs, to find the top five based on critical and popular reviews. Now it is your turn to decide the best book of 2012!

Go to our Facebook page and cast your vote for the best books of 2012!

How it works?

We started out with a list of the 100 most checked out fiction and non-fiction works we had this year.  Then our crack team of reading specialist whittled that list down to the five most deserving works in each category based on critical and popular reviews and overall literary quality. Now it is your turn.

Over the next two weeks we will put polls up on Facebook for both fiction and non-fiction voting. Simply visit our Facebook page to cast your vote for the best books of 2012.

Voting for fiction will take place on Facebook between Monday, December 03, through Friday, December 07.

Voting for non-fiction will take place on Facebook between Monday, December 10 through Friday, December 14.

What to do?

Vote! Go to our Facebook page and vote on the fiction and non-fiction work you think is best.

Vote early, vote often!

The Nominees

Fiction

The Sins of the Father by Jeffrey Archer
The second book in the Clifton Chronicles, Archer delivers a page turner where Harry Clifton, hoping to escape a family scandal, assumes the identity of a deceased American, Tom Bradshaw. But is this really the chance to reinvent himself that Harry had hoped for?

Gone Girl By Gillian Flynn
Nick Dunne’s wife Amy goes missing on their fifth anniversary. Although he maintains his innocence, Nick’s lies and actions speak otherwise as the police close in on their prime suspect. Told from multiple points of view, the plot takes many dark, twisted and creepy turns and the only truth the reader knows is that there is no one truth, all the way up to the surprise ending.

Home Front by Kristin Hannah
The Zarkades are the seemingly idyllic family facing the pressures of everyday life. When Jolene Zarkades is deployed to Iraq by the National Guard, the family’s life is thrown into turmoil as Michael Zarkades suddenly becomes a single dad to two daughters he barely knows. Jolene’s letters from the front mask the horrors of war and when she returns home the family has many obstacles to overcome. Hannah presents the reader with a fresh take on war veterans and the VA without becoming overtly political.

The Wind Through the Keyhole by Stephen King
Returning to the territory of his Dark Tower series, King, in this standalone novel, revisits Roland Deschain who takes up shelter from a wretched storm with his “ka-tet.” While they wait out the storm Roland tells a story of his teenage years, hunting a murderous shape-shifter and protecting the scared teen who is the sole surviving witness to the beast’s latest slaughter.

The Next Best Thing by Jennifer Wiener
Set against the backdrop of Hollywood backstage romance and politics, Ruthie Saunders and her grandmother head for the left coast where our heroine sells her script, becomes privy to all the workings, good and bad, of a sitcom set, and copes with her 70-year old grandmother’s impending nuptials.

Non-Fiction

Behind the Beautiful Forevers: Life, Death, and Hope in a Mumbai Undercity by Katherine Boo
Near the Mumbai airport, in the shadow of luxury hotels, lies Annawadi – a makeshift settlement/slum. Boo spends three heart-wrenching years getting to know the settlement, its inhabitants, and a political and economic climate hostile to a slum full of dreamers and hard workers who want to make better lives for themselves and their children.

Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World that Can’t Stop Talking by Susan Cain
Cain explores the lives and dynamics of the one-third of the population who would rather go about their professional and personal lives quietly, not seeking attention or adulation. Drawing from psychology and neuroscience, she argues that introverts are often undervalued and underused professionally, which is a shame for they often have significant and innovative ideas to contribute; it’s just that the extroverts get all the attention.

Bringing up Bébé: One American Mother Discovers the Wisdom of French Parenting by Pamela Druckerman
While becoming a new mother in Paris, American Druckerman wonders why French infants sleep through the night by two months, why French children eat well-balanced meals full of veggies rather than chicken nuggets, and why French mothers are so much more relaxed in general. Armed with a notebook and great observational skills, the author deftly explores the cultural differences between these mothers and how they view their children.

The Power of Habit: Why We do What We do in Life and Business by Charles Duhigg
Who knew that the study of humans’ habits is on the cutting edge of neuroscience? By studying the habits of successful people and companies, especially those who changed their “habits” for the better, Duhigg tells several compelling stories of both personal and successful transformation.

Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail by Cheryl Strayed
Reeling from several personal setbacks, Strayed decides, on a whim, to hike the Pacific Crest Trail from the Mojave Desert to Washington State, all 1100 miles of it. Having no long distance hiking experience, Strayed comes face to face with bears, rattlesnakes and horrid weather and lives to tell about this transformative experience.

Just in time for holiday shopping, save money this year by checking consumer reviews, product rankings, and money-saving information found in Consumer Reports for the best and most reliable products.

The library provides free access to ConsumerReports.org, the subscription website of the Consumer Reports magazine. The website provides searchable, full text copies of the monthly Consumer Reports magazine. In addition, it also access to exclusive online only reviews, videos, and other information for thousands of products.

You can access ConsumerReports.org from the “Research” tab on the Digital Branch. If you are accessing the resource from home, you will need to enter your library card number.

Unfortunately, you can not get access to the Consumer Reports app through the library.  The app is only available to individual subscribers.

The library also subscribes to the physical edition of Consumer Reports magazine if you prefer your product reviews in print.

Best of luck with your thrifty spending and be sure to share any success stories you have using ConsumerReports.org with us!

You can access those same manuals online on your home computer! These online resources have full text, searchable repair manuals to help you with a current project or to help you decide whether that squeaky belt is something you will be able to fix.

The Auto Repair Reference Center and Small Engine Repair Reference Center are the best online resources for automotive and engine repair. These two great online resources have access to the complete collection of Chilton and Mitchell automotive repair manuals and a wide selection of other repair manuals for small engines for motorcycles, lawn mowers, marine craft, snowmobiles, and much more.

With these online resources, get access to:

For Automobiles:

• Repair and maintenance Information for transmissions, brakes, ignition systems, exhaust systems, heating/cooling, electrical systems, wheels/tires, bodywork, diesel engines, and more.
• Coverage of more than 37,000 vehicles from 1945 to present
• Millions of drawings and step-by-step photographs
• Over 100,000 technical service bulletins & recalls issued by the original equipment vehicle manufacturer
• Over 180,000 enhanced wiring diagrams for easy viewing and printing

For Small Engines:

•  Repair Information for motorcycles, air-Cooled engines, ATVs, chain saws, commercial mowers, diesel engines, farm tractors, generators, marine (boats), outdoor power equipment, personal watercraft/jet ski, riding lawn mowers, snowmobiles, and more!
• Over 440 full-text reference books with original photos and illustrations that guide the user through every job
• Information on more than 25 years of many engine models
• More than 80,000 repairs are covered
• Routine maintenance information on topics such as tune-ups, brake service, and even extensive repairs involving engine and transmission disassembly
• Original photos and illustrations guide the user through every job step-by-step

Access Auto Repair Reference Center and the Small Engine Reference Center under the Research tab. Log in using your Library card number and your PIN, which is usually the last four digits of your telephone number.

The app is streamlined and allows for simpler browsing and wireless borrowing. That’s right, no more transferring from a PC using a USB cord! Find the book, download the book, then read it, all on your NOOK.

To get the OverDrive Media Concole app, visit the NOOK Apps storefront on your device and search for “OverDrive Media Console.” Install the app and activate it with your Adobe Digital Editions username and password if prompted.

Users can then select the Topeka & Shawnee County Public Library, browse or search for ebooks and MP3 audiobooks, and, after entering a valid library card number, check out and download the title for a lending period of up to three weeks. At the end of the lending period, the title simply expires.

Full instructions can be found here.

Some older NOOKs and the NOOK Simple Touch do not have access to the NOOK Apps storefront and you will need to continue getting your ebooks and MP3 audiobooks from a PC using the USB transfer method. Instructions for getting ebooks from the Library for older NOOK or NOOK Simple Touch can be found here.

While the app is free, users will need a valid NOOK account in order to download the app.

The product is called Mango for Libraries, and it is one of the leading online language learning services available. It is a product that library customers have been asking about for a few years, and we are excited to be able to bring you access through the Digital Branch.

Mango for Libraries is really easy to use. It uses native speakers, repetition, and voice comparison to help you quickly and easily learn. Choose from over 30 languages, from Latin American Spanish to Mandarin to Biblical Hebrew or even Pirate. It also includes 16 English as a second language options.

The service provides two levels of learning courses, Mango Basics, for travel or casual conversation, or go in-depth with Mango’s Complete level courses with up to 100 lessons for language mastery.

Mango for Libraries is completely online with no software to download. Just access it using your Library card number and start learning! You can access Mango for Libraries from the Digital Branch under the Research tab.

Mango for Libraries also has a great app for Apple and Android devices. To use the app you will first need to create a Mango profile online through the Library, then use that profile to activate the App.  Get the Mango for Libraries app from iTunes or Google Play.

Use this link to find brief instructions on how to start using Mango!

For younger children we also have Muzzy!, a great online language learning program for preschool or younger.

What language will you use Mango to learn? Spanish? French? Pirate? Share your successes with us!

Start finding your next craft project online through the Library!

Hobbies and Crafts Reference Center provides information about many of the most popular hobbies, including:

• Collecting
• Games and electronics
• Model building
• Needlework
• Outdoors and nature
• Photography
• Scrapbooking and papercraft

This online resource includes full text articles for more than 1,200 craft magazines and books and more than 700 videos. It also offers detailed “how-to” instructions and creative ideas to meet the interests of most every hobby-enthusiast.

To access Hobbies and Crafts Resource Center online, click on the Resources tab above. The database is listed alphabetically under Databases–Complete List. You will need to enter your library card number to gain access.

What was the last craft or hobby project you completed using something from the library?