Bartlesville Public Library Blog

Sell your art, stories, and songs!

2009-11-09T14:13:00.000-06:00

These 2010 market books are now available, some in Non-fiction, all in Reference:
Artist's & Graphic Designer's Market
Writer's Market
Children's Writer's & Illustrator's Market
Songwriter's Market

Book Club Kits Available at Library

2009-10-15T10:51:00.000-05:00

Thanks to funding from ConocoPhillips, we are able to offer five "Book Club Kits." Each kit contains ten copies of the book, the large print version (if available), the audio version (if available), and a group leader's notebook filled with information on the author, discussion questions, and interesting news articles. Titles include Three Cups of Tea, The Art of Racing in the Rain, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, Pharmakon, and Those Who Save Us.

The kits can be borrowed by any adult borrower, are checked out for 8 weeks, and can be reserved for a specific month. Request the kits at the circulation desk.

Free Online Computer Tutorials

2009-08-24T12:54:00.001-05:00

A great link on the library web site for free online computer tutorials is http://www.gcflearnfree.org
Goodwill Community Foundation sponsors it through donations.

Patrons need to have an email address to register, but I’ve found these tutorials to be very good with interactive exercises, videos, etc., and they are self-paced. There are some courses with instructors (also free, I believe).
Some of the courses offered are:

Computer Basics
Windows (98, XP)
Internet Basics
Email Basics
Internet Safety
Mozilla Firefox
Facebook 101

Word (2000, 2002-XP, 2003, 2007)
Excel (2000, 2002-XP, 2003, 2007)
PowerPoint (2000, 2002-XP, 2003, 2007)
Access (2000, 2002-XP, 2003, 2007)
Office (2000, 2002-XP, 2003)
OpenOffice.org (Writer, Calc, Impress)
Outlook 2003
Publisher 2003

Work and Career
Resume Writing
Cover Letters
Career Development
The Workplace
Money Basics
Tax Credits

"PreOverdue" Notices

2008-11-10T14:39:00.002-06:00

If you give us your email address, we will send you an email reminder three days before your items are due. Available by email only. Please check to see if we have your email address, and verify that it is correct in our database. All information you give us is confidential and will not be shared, sold, or divulged to anyone other than library staff.

What's the Library Worth?

2008-03-10T13:58:00.001-06:00

Thanks to the Maine State Library and the Chelmsford Public Library, we are able to offer you the "Library Use Calculator. " Simply input how often you use specific services each month, and you'll be able to see in dollars exactly how valuable the library is to you.

Fill Your Ipod with Great Audiobooks!

2006-08-10T13:26:00.002-05:00

We have a small collection of iPod-compatible audiobooks. Bring your iPod to the Circulation desk at the Library, and we'll fill it up with your choice of audiobooks! Great for exercizing, relaxing, or traveling!

Yes! We have Materials in Spanish!

2006-08-10T13:25:00.000-05:00

Did you know the Bartlesville Public Library has a large collection of Spanish-language materials? Shelved in front of the Adult Fiction, the collection includes books for children and adults, videos, dvds, and audiotapes. All can be borrowed for free!

Library Bookstore Online!

2005-12-19T14:13:00.000-06:00

The Bartlesville Public Library has begun offering valuable books for sale online via ABEbooks. The Library sells donated books that cannot be used in the regular collection. Money from the booksales goes back to the library to replace books that are damaged, missing, or "lost." To browse (or to buy) Bartlesville Public Library books online, visit the inventory at ABEbooks.

Friends of the Library Booksale

2005-08-23T10:41:00.000-05:00

Bartlesville's Urban Legend

2005-06-20T16:50:00.000-05:00

Did you know that Bartlesville is involved in an Urban Legend? According to the story, "COMMUNIST RULES FOR REVOLUTION" were published in the Bartlesville Examiner-Enterprise in 1919. This is not at all true, but it makes for a good story. Read all about it at Snopes Urban Legends Reference Pages.

Woolaroc Plane and the Dole Derby

2005-04-19T09:36:00.000-05:00

I learned some interesting things as a result of a reference question the other day. The Woolaroc Airplane, that is on display at the Woolaroc Museum, won the "Dole Derby," a glorious race from Oakland to Hawaii in 1927.

More than a dozen airplanes entered the contest, but only two made it to Hawaii. Ten lives were lost during the race.

Phillips Petroleum sponsored the Woolaroc in the race, and hired stuntman Arthur Goebel to pilot the plane. It was a very interesting race, and some of the websites we found are:

A comprehensive story of the race, in several chapters, from the Honolulu Star-Bulletin

A shorter version, from the San Francisco Museum

And yet another version from the Argus Online

If you get a chance, you should go see the plane, and other really interesting things at Woolaroc

Consumer Search

2005-04-19T09:35:00.000-05:00

One of our most popular requests at the reference desk is for Consumer Reports, an excellent periodical which does not accept advertising, and tests a number of consumer products, everything from cameras, to cars, to refrigerators. It is an excellent publication, and I recommend it, but there is an online source that is very cool that you should check out if you can't make it to the library.

ConsumerSearch.com does accept advertising, but not from the product manufacturers. The advertising comes from the stores which sell the product, and the stores sell a number of different brands.Consumer Search brings together reviews from a variety of different sources. There is an overview of the field and what to look for when you are purchasing a product, and a "fast answers" section that ranks the products based on what various reviews in the field have said. It is an excellent site, and I recommend you check it out next time you are making a purchase.

Alternate History

2005-04-19T09:33:00.000-05:00

Alternate History, or Alternative History is an interesting sub-genre of Science Fiction. Basically alternate history consists of fictional realities in which historical events turned out differently from our reality.

Two of the best books I've ever read in this genre are FATHERLAND by Robert Harris (which is an exploration of what would have happened had Hitler prevailed in WWII), and RESURRECTION DAY by Brendan DuBois (which is an exploration of what might have happened if the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. launched nuclear missles at each other in 1962).

It is a fascinating genre, great for anyone who likes history, or who enjoys speculative fiction of any kind. You can read more about it at this excellent website: http://www.uchronia.net/.