The gifts of books: our recommendations

Books are easy to wrap and many of us have a little more time to read over Summer, which makes them a fantastic gift this Christmas. Choosing the perfect book can be tricky so we asked our staff for some suggestions:

For older children

An excellent picture book came in this week for primary school aged kids and parents with a sense of humour.

The cat, the dog, little red, the exploding eggs, the wolf and Grandma's wardrobe by Diane and Christyan Fox

Cat is trying to read Red Riding Hood to Dog. But Dog keeps interrupting with questions and taking the story off on his own tangents. A great one to read to an older group.


 Another one for older kids is

The book with no pictures by BJ Novak

It's hard to describe but a book made to make everyone laugh with lots of words that most adults wouldn't say (clean ones!) but will make a group of kids or adults laugh out loud when you read them from a book.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cREyQJO9EPs

- Carolyn, Knox

For younger children

Stick Man by Julia Donaldson

We just brought two of our friends the picture book, Stick Man by Julia Donaldson, because Arch loves it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=swKDQR9fFs4

- Chantell, Belgrave

 

For the creative person in your life... or one who wants to be

The Creative License: Giving Yourself Permission to Be the Artist You Truly Are by Danny Gregory

When Danny Gregory's life was turned upside down by tragedy, he learned to cope by teaching himself to draw. The result was a complete transformation of his life, his priorities, his career, and the way he saw the world.

- Karla, Admin

For teenagers

Any titles by John Green - The Fault In Our Stars, An Abundance of Katherines, Will Grayson, Will Grayson

- Kristen, a teenage member


New Guinness Book of Records for an early teen or someone who just likes facts.

- Heidi, Lilydale

Fiction fans

The new Matthew Reilly (The Great Zoo of China) is awesome for anyone who like an adventure/thriller.

- Heidi, Lilydale

For the tricky to buy for male

Gallipoli by Peter Fitzsimons. His Ned Kelly is great as well.

- Linda, Montrose

Literacy for Life : Eastern Regional Libraries

The ERL Literacy For Life Forum was held on Tuesday 9 of September at Quest Wantirna. The event showcased work being done by community groups to address literacy, and provided a platform for the Eastern Regional Libraries to launch its Literacy Strategy.

Over 100 people attended the day to hear informative presentations, learn about the literacy challenges facing our communities, and to discuss innovative ways this challenge is being addressed.

If you were able to attend Literacy For Life, we'd like to thank you for helping make the event a fantastic success! The entire team hopes you were both engaged and informed by the event's speakers, and perhaps have taken some great literacy-promoting ideas home.

Presenters from the day included: Robin Black, Brendan Fitzgerald, Guy Masters, Ronni Kahn, Dean Groom, Michael Taylor, Liz Grigg, Judith MacPherson and special guest Ramona Koval. Literacy for Life was expertly facilitated by radio broadcaster and author Derek Guille.

Click to view more on Facebook

If you missed the day or perhaps would like to find out more, seven PDF presentations from the event are downloadable at the links below. Most include contact details if you'd like to get in touch with the presenter. As always, you can contact your nearest Eastern Regional Library branch on 1300 737 277.

1. Literacy for Life - Main Show
2. Robin Black - 26TEN Call to Action
3. Michael Taylor - Literacy for Life
4. Dean Groom - The Negotiations of Play
5. Guy Masters - Yarra Ranges Early Literacy Project
6. Brendan Fitzgerald - Go Digi & Infoxchange
7. Judith MacPherson - Outer Eastern Literacy Program

Brendan Fitzgerald discusses the valuable work Infoxchange is doing with Australia Post as part of the Go Digi program.

The attendees finding their seats.

Researcher Dean Groom, educates and entertains regarding the value of games in our society, especially as a learning tool.

Derek Guille introduces the event's next speaker.

Dusty checks tickets and distributes bags at the door!

Guy Masters discusses his experiences managing the Yarra Ranges Early Literacy Project.

The crowd gathers to hear ERL CEO Joseph Cullen.

Michael Taylor talks about literacy and numeracy in the workforce.

The libraries' dynamic Community Outreach trio present a special storytime to close the event.

From left to right: Felicity, Rusty Arnold and Ajne in action at the event!

Ronni Kahn discusses the amazing work Oz Harvest is doing to nourish our community.

The Eastern Regional Libraries would like to thank the speakers for their valuable contribution, as well as the wonderful audience for the enthusiastic engagement. It was a pleasure to present and we look forward to improving literacy in the future!

Exciting New eMagazines added to Library's Zinio account

We have just added the following eMagazines to our Zinio account - these are all available now and ready for you to download and read on your PC, laptop, tablet or mobile device.


Australian House & Garden
Australian Knitting
Australian Women's Weekly
Belle
Clean Eating Magazine – Australian Edition
Complete Wedding Melbourne
Cosmopolitan Australia
Craft from Woman's Weekly
Dumbo Feather - interview magazine
Earth Garden
Good Health
Gourmet Traveller
Instyle UK
KRASH
Money Australia
Prima UK
Real Living - Australia
recipes+
T3
Wallpaper
Wheels

You can download as many as you want and keep them for as long as you like!

Happy eReading!

Checkout history has arrived!

We are trialling the option to view a history of checkouts within the My Account section of Enterprise.

When you login to your account you can enable this feature through the Personal Information tab - Select Preferences. Make sure both Show My Checkout History and Record My Checkout History are ticked.


The history feature will not show up for previous checkouts only NEW checkouts that have been returned, from the date the history option was enabled.

Members may also view Digital Checkouts from Overdrive eLibrary by selecting Digital Checkouts from the Checkouts tab.

Catalogue searches now include variant titles

The catalogue was updated today to allow for easier searching for items with variant titles, for example House & Garden as well as House and Garden.

With this addition we won't be able to add ERL to the title search for magazines anymore. However you can easily search for the ERL titles by selecting Eastern Regional Libraries from the first drop-down menu. If you are searching from the website, type the title in the search box and once you reach the results make sure Eastern Regional Libraries is selected in the first drop down menu and click search again.

UPDATE 5th September: Changes have been made to allow members to add erl to searches for magazine titles to retrieve the records belonging to our libraries.

Overdrive adds maturity & cover image filters

Those members who wish to filter out junior or erotic titles when searching Overdrive eLibrary will love the new enhancement Overdrive have added.

Login to Overdrive and view Settings. Maturity levels include Juvenile, Young Adult, General Adult & Mature Adult.

Overdrive settings

You can also choose if you want mature adult covers displayed. If you select 'No', mature adult cover images will be replaced with a plain cover.

If you're a speedy reader you can adjust the default loan period to 7 or 14 days instead of the usual 21 days.

The maturity level and cover image settings will only apply when you are logged into the Overdrive eLibrary.

'Digital Literacy' - discover and use tools for the digital age

'Digital Literacy' is an online resource that has been created with the sole purpose of giving people, especially teenagers, the knowledge and skills to safely and effectively navigate the digital world. Learn how to protect yourself from cyberbullying and to avoid predators online; find out about digital ethics and what your digital footprint reveals about you; you can also find out about jobs in the digital age and where to go looking for them.

Just go to the link above and then click on "Library Card Login" - you'll need to type in the number beginning 20023 on your card to access this incredibly useful and relevant resource.

Busy Projects - latest 'Wonderful Thing' to be added to our list of Online Resources

The latest 'Wonderful Thing' to be added to the smorgasbord of Online Resources our members can access from home is "Busy Projects" which comes to you courtesy of the very creative folks at 'busythings'. With "Busy Projects" you are given a number of picture templates that you can colour in, write on and then print out at home. Make your own Father's Day card, design your own super hero, colour in your own Aboriginal dot painting.... the choice is yours. There are over 50 different projects you can complete so there is no reason for the kids to say they are bored these coming school holidays.

Enjoy!

Enterprise catalogue now has automated PIN reset 24/7

PINs are used in conjunction with the library card as a secure way of logging into your account on the library catalogue.

Previously if you've forgotten your PIN, you've had to fill out a form and wait until the next work day. With the recent Enterprise upgrade we can now offer automated PIN reset 24/7. Click the image below to enlarge.

To reset your PIN:

1. Visit the library catalogue.
2. Click the Log In link at the top right. A pop-up box will appear
3. Click the Forgot my PIN link on the pop-up box.
4. Enter your full library card number at the prompt (starts 20023).
5. IF you have an email address attached to your library record, an email will be sent to that address.
6. Click the Reset my PIN link in the reset PIN email you receive.
7. At the prompt, choose a new PIN. 

PINs need to:

• Be between 4 - 10 characters in the interest of your security.
• Have no spaces or use any special characters e.g. ~ ! @ # $ % ^ & * ( ) + _ .
• Be either alphabetical (all letters), numerical (all numbers) or alpha-numeric (a mix of letters and numbers).

They can be upper or lowercase. It is not case sensitive, you can type in either case regardless of what was set up at the library.

Tell Us What you Want! Collections Survey 2014

With the financial year coming to a close, it's that time again for us here at Eastern Regional Libraries to start looking at what we can do to improve our collection!

The Collections Survey 2014 is your chance to tell us what you would like to see more of in the library service.

Perhaps we're missing that novel that is preventing you from finishing the latest series? Or maybe you want more of eBooks in general? Could it be that you just want more DVDs or maybe to expand upon our new gaming collection?

The survey is short and sweet - taking about 10minutes (if that!) to complete.

Take the Collections Survey 2014.

All your input is greatly appreciated and we look forward to hearing your feedback. Any questions, don't hesitate to call us on 1300 737 277 or drop us a line on our Facebook Page.

SERVICE NOTICE - Power Outage at Rowville Library

SERVICE NOTICE: Due to an unexpected power outage, Rowville Library will be closed for the rest of the day.

Apologies for any inconvenience! Book chutes will be available for book returns.

In the meantime, if you have any questions - don't hesitate to call us on 1300 737 277 or leave us a message on our Facebook Page.

More than a Snapshot - Winners of the Photo Competition

Left to Right: Joseph, Nigel, Natalie & Tizia

What a tough competition to judge!!

Winners of the Eastern Regional Libraries "What's Your Story" competition gathered to celebrate and receive their well deserved prizes. The presentation was attended by Councillor Nathalie Thomas of Maroondah City Council, Joseph Cullen the CEO of Eastern Regional Libraries and the competition judges Nigel Roper and Tizia May from Croydon Camera House.

We have to say - the standard of work submitted to the competition was outstanding. It really blew us away. So from ERL, we'd like to extend a big thank you to everyone who participated and to encourage everyone who entered to keep going with their photography skills. We would also like to thank Nigel for judging the competition (not an easy task!!) and for printing the winning photos onto canvas - they looked amazing.

Here are the results for the competition:

Senior Prize
Alex, Belgrave South (Age 18) "Shadow Colour"
$200 cash prize and canvas print

Junior Prize
Jarrah, Belgrave (Age 16) "Fisheye Sunset"
$100 cash and canvas print

People's Choice Award
Aisling, Mooroolbark (Age 14) "First Steps with my new Camera"
$100 cash and canvas print

Highly Commended Senior
Katie, Wonga Park (Age 17) "Ollie & Hamish"
Nick, Boronia (Age 17) "The Basin by Night"
$50 Croydon Camera House Voucher

Highly Commended Junior
Aisling, Mooroolbark (Age 14) "First steps with my new Camera"
Harry, Lilydale (Age 13) "Beautiful Game"
$50 Croydon Camera House Voucher 

Congratulations to our Winners!!  If you haven't had the chance to view the stunning work we received, do yourself a favour and check out the entries over in our Facebook album. You won't be disappointed, there is so much talent in there.

Libraries closed on the Queen's Birthday

"I don't go by the rule book, I lead from the heart..." -- Queen Elizabeth II

Happy Birthday, Queen Elizabeth II!

All Eastern Regional Libraries branches will be closed for the Queen's Birthday on Monday 9 June.

Book chutes will be open for book returns.

If you have any questions or need to contact us, don't hesitate to call 1300 737 277 or contact us via our Facebook Page.

NOTICE: Montrose Open for 2hrs June 5th

Just a heads up, Montrose Library will only be open between 3:30pm-5:30pm today due to SP Ausnet maintenance.

The book chute will be available for returns. Sorry for the inconvenience!

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact us on 1300 737 277 or leave a message on our Facebook Page.

"I was only sixteen" - Generous Donation to Mooroolbark Library

The widow of author Roland Griffiths-Marsh has kindly donated two copies of his memoir, I was only sixteen, to Mooroolbark Library.

Roland was sixteen years old when he volunteered to fight in the Second World War. This is his honest, devastating account of his service in North Africa & the Mediterranean.  

I was only sixteen won the Victorian Premier’s Literary Award for Non-Fiction in 1990 & Best Australian Book of the Year from the Foundation of Australian Literary Studies.

The book is available on our catalogue, so check it out - I was only Sixteen by Roland Griffiths-Marsh.

Our warmest thanks to Mrs Griffiths-Marsh for contributing this important book to our collection.

Catalogue update - issues with the server maintenance

There were issues with the server update last night. Consequently while the catalogue is up and members may search, the availability display, place holds and login to My Account are not currently available.

All of our branches are working offline - both Self Check machines and staff at the desk.

SirsiDynix have been working all night and we hope to have a resolution soon. Apologies for the inconvenience. We'll keep you posted.

9:07am Update: System is not expected to be back until after 4pm.

3pm Update: System has been restored. Members may now login to their accounts, place holds and view item availability.

Thanks for your patience!

webgurl

New additions and some welcome returns to eMagazines

We have recently added a whole new swag of eMagazines to our account with Zinio. In the list below you can find such gems as Australian Home Beautiful, New Scientist and Country Life. All eMagazines can be downloaded and kept indefinitely on your iPad, tablet or PC for your viewing and reading pleasure. There are now over 250 titles in the collection all of which you can access for free from home.

You will need to register with Zinio to download the eMagazines - the following help pages explain how to do this. Zinio User Guide.

(inside) interior design review
Architecture Australia
Artichoke
Australian Home Beautiful
Australian Ironman Magazine
Australian Mountain Bike
Australian Natural Health Magazine
Australian Shape
Australian Sky & Telescope
Australian Yoga Journal
Better Homes and Gardens Australia
Blitz Martial Arts Magazine
Bride to Be Australia
Cosmopolitan
Country Homes & Interiors
Country Life
Cyclist Australia
Desktop - The Culture of Design
Fight Magazine - Australia
Girlfriend Australia
Good Housekeeping
Grand Designs Australia
Harper's Bazaar
HELLO! magazine UK
Houses
Inside Out Christmas
Inside Out Renovating & Decorating Guide
Macworld Australia
Marie Claire - UK
Marie Claire Australia
Men's Health Australia
Mollie Makes
Mollie Makes Handmade Wedding
Mollie Makes Home
New Scientist
Official PlayStation Magazine - UK Edition
OUT
Oxygen Magazine Australian Edition
PC & Tech Authority
Practical Parenting Australia
SBS Feast
Simply Knitting
Smith Journal
The Simple Things
The Week
Woman & Home
Woman's Weekly
Women's Health and Fitness Magazine
World Soccer
Your Family Tree
Your Family Tree Presents Discover your ancestor's occupation
Your Family Tree Presents: Get Started in Family History
Your Family Tree presents: Get started in Military family history
Your Garden

Happy eReading, Paul.

Help us build a better website!

Eastern Regional Libraries is embarking on a redesign of the website http://www.erl.vic.gov.au.

The redesign will:

• improve navigation for mobile device users
• integrate social media into the site and
• improve the efficiency of the library site with changes in navigation and weeding of content.

We'd like to hear about your experience navigating the current website. Please fill out this short (13 question) survey and help us build a better website.

Your assistance is appreciated. Begin survey!

Cheers, webgurl

Game on!! ERL's New Gaming Collection

Woohoo! Flex those fingers, crack those knuckles and refill your lounge room beanbags because Eastern Regional Libraries is launching a new Gaming Collection.

This is a collection that we have been aspiring to create for quite some time. Gaming is a well integrated segment of our culture, so naturally we are excited to include it as part of our service.

The Gaming Collection will be launched on Saturday 3 May at Belgrave, Croydon and Rowville libraries.


Here's how the new Gaming Collection will work:

• We will start the collection in three Branches - Belgrave, Croydon and Rowville.
•  We have bought games across three platforms - XBox 360, Playstation 3 and Nintendo Wii U.
•  Members will be able to borrow two Games on a card for two weeks.
• The Gaming Collection is made up of both Juvenile and Adult titles - something for everyone!
• There are age restrictions on particular games (just like the DVDs) - so our Junior members can only borrow G and PG titles, etc.
• ERL members will be able to place holds on the games.

What are some of the titles included so far, we hear you ask?

The Assassins Creed Series, Fall Out 3, Call of Duty, Minecraft, Grand Theft Auto Series, Harry Potter, Bioshock, Little Big Planet, Sonic the Hedgehog, LEGO, Batman Arkham Series and much much more. Awesome!!

To search our Gaming Collection on the catalogue, simply type the name of the game or the platform that you are looking for (for example, type in "XBox" for XBox games) to see what is available.

Feel free to contact us on our Facebook Page with any queries. In the meantime... GAME ON!

NOTICE: Ferntree Gully & Montrose Library Closed 30 April

Due to power interruptions and maintenance work by SPAusnet, Ferntree Gully Library and Montrose Library will be closed:

Wednesday April 30 from 8:30am to 5:30pm

After hours book chutes will be available for returns.

If you have any questions, feel free to contact us on 1300 737 277 or via our Facebook page. Sorry for any inconvenience!

Mt Evelyn Library re-opens May 1st 2014

Yarra Ranges Council has just posted a press release on their website announcing the following:

Eastern Regional Libraries has been asked by Yarra Ranges Council to manage library services from the Mt Evelyn Library Station House from Thursday 1 May 2014.

The Library will be open to the public and staffed by Eastern Regional Libraries. PCs and WiFi will be available and the after-hours chute will return.

Opening hours
Monday: 10.00am-1.00pm
Tuesday: 10.00am-1.00pm
Wednesday: 2.30pm-5.30pm
Thursday: 2.30pm-5.30pm
Friday: 2.30pm-5.30pm

The Reading Room will be closed from Monday 14th April - Thursday 1st May to prepare the library. 

Outstanding loans
Members with outstanding loans from Mt Evelyn may either return the items to another ERL branch (Lilydale and Montrose are the closest) or return the items to Mt Evelyn after 1st May and no overdue charges will be applied.

We apologise for the short notice and will update members as any further news comes to hand. If you have any queries you can contact the Yarra Ranges Council on their Facebook Page or via phone on 1300 368 333.

The Virtual Team

What's Your Story Photography Competition

Do you love photography? Do you have a story that can only be told with the most perfect picture? What's your story??

In celebration of Youth Week 2014, Eastern Regional Libraries will be launching the "What's your Story" Photography Competition. Tell a story with your images... Show us who or what rocks your world; what do you get up to or where you chill out. Tell us - what's your story!


Prizes
Junior Category 12-16 years: $100 cash prize + your entry printed on canvas
Senior Category 17-25 years: $200 cash prize +your entry printed on canvas
People's Choice: $100 cash prize + your entry printed on canvas
Highly Commended: $50 Croydon Camera House voucher

How to Enter
Entrants may submit two photos taken by a camera or mobile device and must write a short paragraph describing how each image tells "your story".

• Competition eligible for those aged 12 - 25 years old.
• Entrants must reside in Knox, Maroondah or Yarra Ranges Council areas and be a member of  Eastern Regional Libraries.
• Competition entry is Free.

What's Your Story Photography Competition Entry Form
Terms & Conditions

The What's Your Story Photography Competition will open midday Friday 4 April 2014. Competition closes 5:00pm Friday 2 May, 2014.

Competition will be judged by Croydon Camera House. Winners will be announced Friday, 9th May 2014.

Total Fire Ban - Knox & Ranges Outreach Update

Important Notices for Today - Tuesday March 11th:

The Ranges Outreach will not be going to Warburton due to Total Fire Ban.

The Knox Outreach will not be going to The Basin due to Total Fire Ban.

If you have any queries, don't hesitate to contact us here on Facebook or via phone on 1300 737 277.

ERL Branches Closed Labour Day

Eastern Regional Libraries branches will be closed on Monday 10th March for the Labour Day Public Holiday.

Book chutes will be accessible for book returns.

For any queries, please don't hesitate to call 1300 737 277 or drop us a line on our Facebook Page.

Enjoy your long weekend!

cheers,
The Virtual Team

Morrison's House Closure at Mt Evelyn

The Shire of Yarra Ranges has issued the following statement regarding the Morrison's House closure in Mt Evelyn.


MORRISONS CLOSURE SAD NEWS FOR THE YARRA RANGES

Yarra Ranges Council was saddened to learn that the Board of Morrisons has determined to cease operations as of 30 April 2014.

Yarra Ranges Director Social and Economic Development Ali Wastie said since Morrisons establishment in 1975, it had become a well respected community education provider.

“Morrisons has a proud history of offering quality learning and engagement opportunities for our community,” Ms Wastie said.

“Over the years Council has enjoyed a strong partnership with Morrisons to deliver a range of programs and activities that support life long learning and social inclusion,” she said.

Ms Wastie said Morrisons would be sadly missed by community members when it closed in April.

“We understand there will be a disruption to services currently offered by Morrisons.

“Council officers will continue to engage with Morrisons, the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development, the Department of Human Services and other community organisations to help minimise any impact on the community.”



At the moment the Community Reading Room at the Station House will continue to operate as normal.

If you have any queries you can contact the Yarra Ranges Council on their Facebook Page or via phone on 1300 368 333.



The Virtual Team