Geocaching is fun!

       Geocaching is a high-tech treasure hunting game played throughout the world by adventure seekers equipped with GPS devices or mobile recievers (smartphones). The basic idea is to locate hidden containers, called geocaches, outdoors and then share your experiences online.



A typical cache is a waterproof container, ranging in size from nano, about the size of a shelled peanut, to large, which can be as big as a 5 gallon bucket. Most caches contain at minimum a log for finders to sign, and larger caches might contain items for trading.

We have several books in our system to help you get started geocaching. In fact, the Beaverton Main Library and the Hillsboro Shute Park Library both have actual geocaches on site!



The Groundspeak Geocaching Logo is a registered trademark of Groundspeak, Inc. Used with permission.

AccessScience

AccessScience was voted one of the best Reference Databases for 2012. And it is FREE with your library card.

Visit, http://www.wccls.org/ and then go to ONLINE RESOURCES, then Science and Technology and AccessScience is at the top of the list!

I think one of the best features is the ability to download images and illustrations for use in PowerPoint presentations! These images may be found in the Study Center or in the Multimedia Image Gallery. A time saving feature for those pesky last minute science reports.

The database also has study guides, animation and videos to help grasp concepts.

Check it out today!

Free Kindle App on your Android-You can download Library2go titles

Yes, the OverDrive process for sending a Kindle book to a Kindle device or a Kindle app is the same. Whether you are sending the Kindle book to a Kindle reader or a Kindle app on a different gadget, it all happens on a desktop computer, using the Library2Go website and the Amazon website. At the end of the process, you choose which Kindle app or reader you want to send the book to, then sync the app with your Amazon account. The instructions here (http://www.wccls.org/library2gohelp/kindle) work the same, no matter if you're using a Kindle reader or a Kindle app on another device.


You can even try it yourself by downloading the Kindle app for PC (http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html/ref=kcp_pc_mkt_lnd?docId=1000426311) onto your computer if you don't have a mobile device to test with. That's what I did when the Kindle lending for Library2Go first launched.

New York Times Guide to Essential Knowledge

This is an ideal gift for anyone wanting a desk reference of their own.  The latest edition of this guide features updated and expanded entries in nearly 50 categories.  The annotation from our library catalog states, "Whether you are researching the history of Western art, investigating an obscure medical test, following current environmental trends, studying Shakespeare, brushing up on your crossword and Sudoku skills, or simply looking for a deeper understanding of the world, this book is for you.  An indispensable resource for every home, office, dorm room and library, this new edition of the New York Times Guide to Essential Knowledge offers in-depth explorations of art, astronomy, biology, business, economics, the environment, film, geography, history, the Internet, literature, mathematics, music, mythology, philosophy, sports, theater, film, and many other subjects."  Definitely a worthwhile purchase for anyone with a curious mind.

Scholarly Articles

Patrons doing scholarly research here at the Beaverton City Library will often run into the problem that the library doesn't subscribe to the print version of the periodical that they need.  The next step to take is to search the A to Z Serials Access database which will tell the patron if the journal is available full-text online.  If that fails, the Internet is your next step.  Typing in the title of the article in quotations will sometimes lead you to the full-text version, but often it will guide you to one of the subscription services like JSTOR or just be referenced in the bibliography of an article.  But don't give up yet!  Authors submitting articles to scholarly journals are often associated with educational institutions and frequently have their own websites.  Searching the author's name with keywords from the article title will yield surprising results.  I'm not promising that it will work every time, but it is more than worth the effort to give this method a try.  If successful, I am guaranteeing that you will have a very happy patron.

Holiday Reading

For our patrons who celebrate things other than Christmas this time of year, here are a few titles that might be of interest to you:

Eight Tales for Eight Nights: stories for Chanukah by Peninnah Schram offers eight traditional tales from around the world that introduce the customs and meanings of Chanukah.


Andrea Carneiro's Jewish Cooking Boot Camp: the modern girl's guide to cooking like a Jewish grandmother, includes over 50 easy-to-follow recipes for such classic dishes as Honey Cake, Rugelach, and Matzo Balls, background on Jewish holidays putting food and tradition into context, interviews with rabbis about creating modern traditions, and tips from Jewish bartenders and party planners.


Inviting God: celebrating the soul meaning of the Jewish holidays, by David Aaron, provides insight into the reasons why we celebrate.

Kwanzaa from holiday to everyday: a complete guide for making Kwanzaa a part of your life, by Maitefa Angaza is a guide to how Kwanzaa, a winter celebration of family, friends, and the African American community, can be part of life all year round. It provides information on the seven principles and offers ideas for planning Kwanzaa gatherings.

Eric Copage's, Kwanzaa: An African-American Celebration of Culture and Cooking, is a complete guide to the history and foods of Kwanzaa. In addition to 125 recipes, it also includes folktales that illustrate each of the seven principles of the celebration.

Happy holidays, and happy reading!

Are you a Cartophiliac?

Do you love everything having to do with maps or atlases? Then this is the book for you!

Maphead, by Ken Jennings
From Jeopardy! legend and trivia master Ken Jennings comes a fun, informative and entertaining book that covers just about everything you ever wanted to know about maps, and then some. How much do you know about geocaching, highpointing, road atlas rallying, or "unreal estate"? Ken will fill in the blanks on these and many other related topics. Even if you're not a map lover, you will likely enjoy this book, as it's written in a very humorous and casual style. Chosen as an Amazon Best Book of the Month for September 2011.