IMPAC Dublin Literary Award Nominations - Help us decide!

Eastern Regional Libraries has been asked by the State Library to participate in the IMPAC Dublin Literary Awards.

Each year, public libraries throughout the world are invited to submit titles of "high literary merit" for consideration of the IMPAC Dublin Literary Award 2015. With 152 international fiction books nominated by public libraries in 39 countries, this prestigious award is valued at approximately $154,000 AUD.

As the shortlist for the nominations by the State Library has been announced - we here at ERL thought we would ask people for their thoughts to help shape our voting decision. The State Library will then send the top 3 nominated titles by Victorian libraries to the IMPAC Dublin Literary Awards for consideration.

Have you read any of these titles? Who would you vote for?

A World of Other People by Steven Carroll

Barracuda by Christos Tsiolkas

Blood Witness by Alex Hammond

Cairo by Chris Womersley

Coal Creek by Alex Miller

Dark Horse by Honey Brown

Gotland by Fiona Capp

Holy Bible by Vanessa Russell

The Memory Trap by Andrea Goldsmith

The Swan Book by Alexis Wright

Send your thoughts to us on our Facebook Page or email us at facebook@erl.vic.gov.au.

Cheers, The Virtual Team

Book Reservation Limit introduced as of Monday 3rd Feb

From Monday 3 February 2014, patrons will be limited to 20 holds on their library record at any one time.

The reason for limiting holds is to allow fair and equitable access to the entire collection for all library patrons.

The limit will be an overall limit regardless of the type of item on hold.  Once the limit is reached patrons will not be able to place holds via the web catalogue.  They will only be able to place another hold once their total number of holds is reduced to below the 20 limit.  This may be done by either collecting a hold awaiting pick up, or cancelling one or more holds.

For more information, don't hesitate to call us on 1300 737 277 or post on our Facebook Page.

Tips for searching the eLibrary

We have just added the 27,000th title to the eLibrary which means that it's collection is now as large as those of our medium-sized branches such as Belgrave, Boronia and Ferntree Gully. It is sometimes a bit hard to find what you want to read when presented with such a large number of items to choose from so I thought it would be useful to give you a couple of strategies that may help.

1. If you want to see what has been recently added to the collection you can click on Advanced Search select the period you want to view from the drop down menu next to 'Added to site' and then click the blue 'Search' box.

2. If you are looking for books by a particular author or title you will get more accurate results by putting your search term in quotation marks.

3. If you find that you enjoy books on a certain topic or genre it is sometimes easier to find similar books by searching the eLibrary for books released by a particular publisher. Again you do this by going to  Advanced Search and then choosing the publisher from the drop down menu in the 'All publishers' box.

For instance if you are looking for Gay and Lesbian romances the publisher called Dreamspinner Press specialises in this genre.

For history books try a search on the publishers The History Press or Pen and Sword.

Happy eReading, Paul.

Catalogue upgrade Tuesday 14th January & alert for IE8 users

The library catalogue will be unavailable from 2am Tuesday 14th January for approximately 2-4 hours while a catalogue upgrade is undertaken.

Internet Explorer 8 users - There are issues searching this upgraded version of the catalogue with IE8, a system error appears. SirsiDynix are working on a fix but in the meantime I would recommend upgrading your browser via Windows Update or at Microsoft.

Chrome, Firefox and more recent versions of Internet Explorer do not give this system error.


Cheers, webgurl

New 'Kid Zone' website provides a kid-friendly eLibrary experience

We have just added a new version of the eLibrary to our webpage which is directed just at kids. The main eLibrary collection, http://erl.lib.overdrive.com, now has a separate site that will provide a safe and easy browsing experience for kids. You can access the new site at the following address, http://erl.lib.overdrive.com/Kids or by clicking on the main site and then clicking on the 'for Kids eReading Room' button.

Just as the kid's section of the physical library is separate from the adult collection, the same experience is now available in the eLibrary collection. There are over 2,000 age-appropriate eBooks and eAudiobooks available in the 'Kid Zone'. Browsing can be done by subject, reading level or interest level. 

The 'Kid Zone' site filters the overall eLibrary collection to just show content for children which means that they get to the titles that they want faster. As ever this service if free to any member with a current library card. eLibrary titles are available anytime, anywhere and expire automatically after three weeks so there is no need to worry about late fees.

Happy eReading!

 

New Carpet - coming to you at Rowville Library

Just letting everyone know that the Rowville Library will be closed for re-carpeting from:

Monday 6 January til Monday 13 January.

The after hours book chute will still be available for returns.

In the meantime, if you need to get in contact with us with any help or questions about your account feel free to contact us on phone 1300 737 277 or you can contact us via our Facebook Page.

Competition - Fashionista's Guide to Shopping in Melbourne

It's end of year competition time!

Be in the running to win one of our limited copies of the Fashionista's Guide to Shopping in Melbourne 2013. 

This popular handbook features over 250 fashion boutiques, catering to all styles, ages and price ranges. Filled with beautiful photos, fashion ideas and packed with shop details, this guide is a must-have for finding the best fashion hubs in Melbourne.


How to Enter

It's easy! Simply email a photo of yourself with an article of clothing you could not live without or your favourite, never to throw away accessory.

Be creative, be humorous - you can display whatever you like (A few of us here are quite attached to their moccasins and fluffy dressing gowns, if that helps!)

We can't wait to see what people can't live without.

All entries to be emailed to facebook@erl.vic.gov.au
Entries close Monday December 31st
 
Winners will be notified via email and announced in early January on our Facebook Page.

Food for Fines Amnesty - One Week Only

Eastern Regional Libraries is once again running the popular Food for Fines Amnesty to help local charities and library members during the up and coming holiday period.

How does it work?
Patrons with overdue charges on their cards (no matter how big) donate non-perishable, non-expired food items and in return all overdue charges on their cards will be cleared.

All food donations will go to local charities to help them supply food packages for families in need. Charities will accept food no earlier than six months prior to the use-by date.

Food for Fines - Hooray! Everyone wins!

So, if yourself or someone you know has a fine that has been sitting there for ages, bring down some goodies and we will take care of the rest. The amnesty is for one week only so all donations can get to the charities and out to needy families in time for Christmas.

A special thank you to our blog, Facebook  and Twitter followers who suggested we re-run this program - Christmas is always a tough time of year financially and these amnesty drives are always very bountiful (to say the least! The generosity is just incredible - talk about spreading the love).

We look forward to  receiving people's donations, clearing up those fines and some all round Christmas cheer.

When:  Saturday December 14 to Saturday 21 December
Where: All branches will be participating in the Food for Fines Amnesty (except the community reading rooms at Monbulk, Mt Evelyn and Yarra Glen)
Accepted items: Non-perishable items no older than 6 months before expiration dates.

**Please note the amnesty only applies to Overdue Charges, all other charges will not be cleared.

Cheers, The Virtual Team