Mad About Mags

Print is undergoing a major transformation. More and more we are hearing talk about how e-readers and mobile devices are shaping journalism, publishing, advertising, and libraries.

Last month Fortune magazine did a cover story on the Future of Reading, discussing how tablets will change books, magazines and newspapers. For a glimpse of what that may look like, check out the unveiling of Wired magazine's tablet app (it's pretty cool -- if you only click one link from this post, let it be this one!)

How can people expect to access digital magazine content? Companies like Maggwire.com and Zinino.com hope to be the iTunes of magazines -- serving as gateways and content managers for consumers, though Apple already has designs on that with the upcoming release of the iPad.

And what about libraries? Last week David Lee King sat in at the Public Library Association conference in Portland to discuss Top Tech Trends. At the top of the trends list...e-book readers. It is highly likely that libraries will begin adopting this newfangled format.

It is going to be interesting to witness how all this unfolds for the magazine industry and readers.

Word Woman

Welcome to another mind-bending installment of Word Woman's Weekly Work-Out! It's never too late to start working on retaining your mental faculties for the long run. Don't let the aging process get the jump on you -- keep your brain fit by doing crosswords, sudoku and learning new words! Here's the Word of the Week to get you started:

Philosophaster: (fi-los-uh-fas-tur) [noun] A pseudo-philosopher.
From Late Latin, philosopher + -aster, a pejorative suffix indicating something that is inferior or mimics another. -- "A Word A Day", Anu Garg, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New Jersey, 2003.

Example: When Professor Ordwell referred to his colleague in the Philosophy Department as a philosophaster in an interview for the college newspaper, it kicked off a battle of mudslinging the like of which was normally reserved for political campaigns and resulted in both parties losing their tenured positions.

Hold on!

If you're reading our online blog, you're most likely familiar with our online catalog. Some of you may know you can place a hold on any circulating title that Misssoula Public Library owns, or any of our partners, from any Internet connection. But, did you know you can get your hold notice sent to your email address?

By adding an email address to your library account, you'll not only get faster notification when your hold comes in (and save paper), but you'll also get a warning when something you have checked out is going to be due - so you can try to renew it or be sure to return it without accumulating any of those pesky overdue fines. And you don't have to worry about spam - your address will only be used for notifications related to your library record, we don't share any personal information with anyone.

And there's even better news for all those hold-placers out there: you can get your title sent directly to your house. Yup, we'll ship out any hold to your home for a $3 per package fee. So if you live out of town or have odd work hours, you won't risk missing out on a hold because you didn't get into the building soon enough to pick it up. You can put up to $50 on account with us, and we'll only use that money toward your home delivery charges. If you are a low-income or disabled resident, you may qualify for free delivery. Find details on our home delivery services here.

So the next time you want a title set aside for you, hold on!

Free Classical Music Download

Our featured download this month from Classical Music Library is Giacinto Scelsi's Ohoi for 16 strings , performed by the Orchestre Royal de Chambre de Wallonie; Jean-Paul Dessy, conductor. More information about this piece is available on the Music Online blog. All tracks downloaded through this promotion are owned by Alexander Street Press and are available to legally download, free of cost to the user. You can see what else is available by visiting our Online Resources page on the website and selecting the Alexander Street Press Online Music link. Have your library card handy to log in; and remember, think... more at Missoula Public Library.

Mad About Mags

MPL receives 200+ newspaper, journal, newsletter, and magazine titles. You can search for your favorites by selecting the “Periodical Title” search option in the library catalog, or browse our magazine stand next to the comfy reading area. You can checkout back issues for 4 weeks.

We’ve got the standards: Time, People, National Geographic, Readers Digest, Rolling Stone, Montana Magazine – and some specialized titles maybe you’ve never heard of: American Philatelist (stamp collecting), Archaeology, Family Chronicle (genealogy), Futurist (forecasts & trends), Linux Journal, Organic Gardening, Paste (music), ProRodeo Sports News, Shambhala Sun (buddhism), Threads (sewing), and Wood Carving Illustrated.

Over the next few weeks I’ll highlight some of the magazine titles in our collection. Until then, stop by and see for yourself what the library has to offer you!