NYPL Blogs: Posts by Lauren Lampasone

Conquer Clutter in 2013

Lauren Lampasone, Reference and Research Services — Mon, 31 Dec 2012 08:14:09 -0500

Happy New Year's Eve! This year remember that the New York Public Library can help you in achieving any of your self-improvement or lifelong learning goals.

One of my favorite things about being a library user is that I don't have to go bankrupt with my info obsession. I can simply borrow anything that interests me, even a little bit! If it turns out to be a reference book or a beautiful work of fiction I can't do without, I can try before I buy. For someone who lives in a tiny New York City apartment with bookshelves already taking over most of the walls, this is a big deal.

Not only that, but I can borrow books digitally! Even less bookshelf clutter. But sometimes I still feel like other kinds of clutter can come into my life faster than it can be removed: junk Whac-A-Mole. Here are some tips on reducing physical and digital clutter:

Physical Clutter File Management

Get your paperwork in order. Consider investing in a handheld scanner to digitize important receipts and paperwork. Consult USA.gov's guide on how long to keep household records.
There are numerous scanner apps for iOS and Android that can adjust text and convert images from your camera to PDF.
Search for manuals for your appliances and electronic equipment online and recycle the paper version. Use Google Advanced Search to enter the name of the product and any model number, then limit the file type to "Adobe Acrobat PDF (.pdf)." Keep in mind that if you think you might end up reselling the item, it might be better to have supporting documentation intact.
More on what to documents to digitize and what to keep in paper at PCMag.
Another resolution idea: finish your taxes early this year!

Junk Mail

I get so little real mail nowadays, that I set a little time one day of the week to go through it — the night before my recycling day. At that point I shred things that have personal information on them, and log in to my account on Catalog Choice to get off whatever new mailing lists I am on. Catalog Choice uses your address and account number with the company to reach out to them on your behalf, so in a few days you might receive an email message from the company stating that you have been removed from their list. In the case of a company that doesn't let you do this by email, Catalog Choice will give you a phone number to call and tell you what to say. New York City is just as sick of junk mail as you are, and GreeNYC wants New Yorkers to take part in their effort to reduce waste and conserve resources. They have partnered with Catalog Choice to make it easy to get off mailing lists, so you can sign up with them right on nyc.gov. Catalog Choice also has an iPhone app.
You can also register with the Direct Marketing Association's (DMA) Mail Preference Service.
Enough credit cards already? Remove your name from lists used for credit offers with OptOutPrescreen.
Most of us probably Google search to find contact information these days... so you might want to opt out of delivery of the Yellow Pages (but we'll always keep our memories.)
My building has a sign, but that doesn't seem to stop the restaurant menus and circulars from ending up on the stoop. Learn how to file a complaint (this is in violation of the New York State Lawn Litter Law) and stop junk from piling up outside.

Stuff

How To Get Rid of Things might help, whether you're talking about possessions or a pesky cold.
NYCWasteLess has a guide to Get Rid of Stuff. Search by the name of the item you are trying to get rid of to find places to donate or special city rules for disposal.
NYC Stuff Exchange - Where to Donate
Take it Back NYC
E-Waste Program at Lower East Side Ecology Center

Digital Clutter Notifications

One of the complaints that I hear about tablets (iPads in particular) versus dedicated e-readers is that the iPad is full of distractions. How can you read a book when your friend just pinged you about playing your turn in a game, or you need to check the number of likes on your Facebook status the weather, or some other alert pops up that you MUST attend to immediately? It's simple: turn off notifications. Turn them off! They can't distract you if you never see them.

Consider turning off email notifications for services like Facebook and unsubscribe to e-newsletters you're not really reading (except we know you'll want to keep ours.)

File Management

Consider using a cloud-based service to keep your files accessible and safe at the same time. Depending on the type of file (whether it's media, text, or images) there are many different services that you can try for free with limited features and storage space. Not endorsing any of these services in particular, but some of the more popular ones include: Evernote, Dropbox, Amazon Cloud Drive, Amazon Cloud Player, Apple iCloud, Microsoft SkyDrive, Google Drive, Google Picasa. You can have your digital content synced between multiple machines, including handheld devices, to access wherever you go.

For a much more thorough look at personal digital archiving, please see this extensive resource guide from the Library of Congress.

Here is a list of print books and ebooks in BiblioCommons about conquering clutter.

Any decluttering tips or tricks you'd like to share? What else will you try to do in 2013? Some ideas from past blog posts:

Learn a new language
Learn English
Apply to graduate school
Get your GED
Take online courses (at home or at the library)
Learn to cook or make your own food
Start a creative project
Start a new hobby
Get your finances in order
Learn a computer language
Practice yoga
Read more books

Have a happy and healthy 2013!

The Art and Science of Cooking

Lauren Lampasone, Reference and Research Services — Mon, 17 Dec 2012 07:43:49 -0500

I like to cook, but I am not much of a baker. There is one yearly exception... the transition to autumn and then the holiday season usually puts me in a baking mood. For the past few Christmases I've made biscotti — Italian cookies flavored with nuts, spices, or dried fruits. They are something of a tradition in my family. This year when I got out my mixing bowl I grabbed a dry measure for the flour and sugar, but then I put it away. I decided not to use it.

Now, I know baking is all about scientific precision! Leavening agents have to be in just the right proportion, temperatures must be consistent, or your soufflé or biscuits fail to rise, and your dinner plans fall flat. The reason I put my measuring cup away is because last year I got the best Christmas present... a small digital scale. No more scooping flour for me! 3 cups of flour is equivalent to 14 ounces. I poured right into my mixing bowl, and then added the sugar on top (7.1 ounces of it.)

Why don't we cook and bake like this all the time? The answer: Fannie Farmer. According to Bee Wilson in Consider the Fork: A History of How We Cook and Eat, the U.S. is the only country that measures food in cups, and Fannie Farmer's publications, while popularizing the modern cookbook, might be to blame. Wilson goes on to explain the history of recipes as a way to ensure reproducable results in the kitchen. But when our ovens are not the exact temperature, our frying pan has a hot spot, we measure too much flour, or forget the salt entirely, dinner can be ruined.

Cook's Illustrated, Christopher Kimball's idiosyncratic periodical, has a mission to: "[present] a handful of recipes that have been made 'bulletproof,' ... worried into technical infallibility after weeks of testing so exacting as to bring an average home cook to the brink of neurasthenia. The bargain further holds that [the recipe] will turn out not only in C.I.’s professional kitchen, with its All-Clad pans and DCS ranges, but also on a lowly electric four-top, using a dull knife and a $20 nonstick skillet." I am a big fan of CI's scientific approach to cooking. It has helped to build my confidence in the kitchen, and sometimes when presented with 3.5 million ways of making French onion soup... I just want someone to tell me the best one. Maybe I won't end up using it, but I like hearing their reasoning, and the results of taste tests of different ingredients and techniques.

Content on the Cook's Illustrated website is behind a paywall, but don't you know, the library has dozens of Cook's Illustrated, Cook's Country, and America's Test Kitchen books, DVDs, and magazines.

Somewhere on the opposite end of the how-to spectrum is Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything series of cookbooks. While the sheer volume and types of recipes you can find within these titles probably comes close to matching what CI has to offer, Bittman has a much more relaxed approach and encourages substitutions based on what you enjoy and happen to have on hand.

Once you have enough confidence in the kitchen, with a few techniques and strategies committed to memory, that's when things get interesting. Michael Ruhlman's Ratio: The Simple Codes Behind the Craft of Everyday Cooking gives you a few secret keys to making bread, pasta, mayonnaise, biscuits... common staples that depend on the balance of a few key ingredients to work. Ratio is also available as an app... plug in the amount of ingredients you want to use or the yield you need, and it gives you the amounts in whatever unit you prefer.

Remember when earlier I told you that 3 cups of flour is equivalent to 14 ounces? Do you want to know how I knew that? Wolfram|Alpha has a "culinary mathematics" app that makes it easy to convert volume measurements to weight. You can probably do this in their regular app or on their website, but having cooking tools all together in one place is certainly convenient. Another place to do these types of calculations is onlineconversion.com.

Kitchen confidence means having that intuition that lemon and parsley taste good together, and that chili spices can deepen with a hit of bitter chocolate. The Flavor Thesaurus: A Compendium of Pairings, Recipes and Ideas for the Creative Cook can take your "gut instincts" to the next level. Niki Segnit has arranged flavors into a wheel where each distinct flavor is related to the ones around it: roasted, meaty, briney, fresh fruity, citrus, woody, spicy, grassy (the kinds of descriptors you see for perfumes — they are very much based in smell.) She picks out the best examples of foods for each flavor. Then she goes through each food and describes the pairings that you can do across flavors and what each pairing will achieve. There are some surprising combinations, but you can tell that she has done her research and actually eaten these things — she provides more than adequate support and reasoning for you to get a little experimental with your cooking.

For more on this theme, see this list of books and ebooks in BiblioCommons. Are you a kitchen scientist? Any books, tools, or recipes you can recommend?

Books

Consider the Fork: A History of How We Cook and Eat By Bee Wilson (2012)
Cooking for Geeks: Real Science, Great Hacks, and Good Food By Jeff Potter (2010)
The Flavor Thesaurus: A Compendium of Pairings, Recipes and Ideas for the Creative Cook By Niki Segnit (2010)
How to Read A French Fry And Other Stories of Intriguing Kitchen Science By Russ Parsons (2003)
The Hungry Scientist Handbook: Electric Birthday Cakes, Edible Origami, and Other DIY Projects for Techies, Tinkerers, and Foodies By Patrick Buckley (2008)
Keys to Good Cooking: A Guide to Making the Best of Foods and Recipes By Harold McGee (2010)
Kitchen Mysteries: Revealing the Science of Cooking By Hervé This (2007)
Kitchen Science: A Guide to Knowing the Hows and Whys for Fun and Success in the Kitchen By Howard Hillman (1989)
Modernist Cuisine: The Art and Science of Cooking By Nathan Myhrvold (2011)
Movable Feasts: The History, Science, and Lore of Food By Gregory McNamee (2007)
On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen By Harold McGee (2004)
The Physiology of Taste: Or, Transcendental Gastronomy By Brillat-Savarin
Ratio: The Simple Codes Behind the Craft of Everyday Cooking By Michael Ruhlman (2009)
The Science of Good Cooking: Master 50 Simple Concepts to Enjoy A Lifetime of Success in the Kitchen (2012)
The Science of the Oven By Hervé This (2009)
Taste Buds and Molecules: The Art and Science of Food, Wine, and Flavor Francois Chartier (2012)
Taste What You're Missing: The Passionate Eater's Guide to Why Good Food Tastes Good By Barb Stuckey (2012)
The Way Kitchens Work: The Science behind the Microwave, Teflon Pan, Garbage Disposal, and More By Edwin J. C. Sobey (2010)
What Einstein Told His Cook: Kitchen Science Explained By Robert L. Wolke (2002)
What Einstein Told His Cook 2: The Sequel: Further Adventures in Kitchen Science By Robert L. Wolke (2005)

eBooks

Culinary Reactions: The Everyday Chemistry of Cooking By Simon Field (2012)
The Hungry Scientist Handbook: Electric Birthday Cakes, Edible Origami, and Other DIY Projects for Techies, Tinkerers, and Foodies By Patrick Buckley (2008)
Kitchen as Laboratory: Reflections on the Science of Food and Cooking (eBook - 2012)
The Physiology of Taste: Or, Transcendental Gastronomy By Brillat-Savarin

A List of Lists: November 2012

Lauren Lampasone, Reference and Research Services — Tue, 20 Nov 2012 07:40:39 -0500

Visit NYPL's BiblioCommons for these lists and many more. See below for some interesting staff picks from the past couple months, on topics both timely and timeless:

Mid-Manhattan Library celebrated Martin Scorsese's 70th birthday by putting together lists of his films and his survey of postwar Italian cinema. They also organized the National Book Award Winners of 2012 into lists — see the Finalists in Young People's Literature, Poetry, Nonfiction, and Fiction.

Seward Park Library have compiled a list of Online Chinese Language News Sources; the Science, Industry and Business Library put together a list of Historical New York City Business Directories. Reference them!

The Children's Center at 42nd Street knows that autumn is in the air, and can help you get cozy with some Autumn Non-Fiction and Picture Books. Or get cozy with some pirates.

South Beach Library has Brave Books for Girls.

New Dorp Library knows some of you have plans this week involving not just turkey, but your favorite football team. After the last touchdown is scored you might want to queue up one of their Top 10 Sports Movies.

Will you snap into the holiday spirit at exactly midnight on Thursday? Here are some films that are Christmas Classics courtesy of Roosevelt Island Library.

And whatever your plans for Friday (shop it up or not) make a BiblioCommons list, check it twice, and then leave it for us in the comments!

Factcheck Your Friends: Misinformation on Social Media

Lauren Lampasone, Reference and Research Services — Sat, 17 Nov 2012 04:52:18 -0500

New Yorkers experienced two major life events in the past few weeks: a superstorm and a hotly contested presidential election. Those two events have more in common than you might think. They both stressed us out. They both left us blurry with some of the details... what happened and what didn't, what was said and what was only hearsay. What was underreported and what was blown way out of proportion.

With social media being so much a part of our lives, unlike previous elections or natural disasters, misinformation had a chance to spread like wildfire and be reinforced within these echo chambers. Even trusted news authorities repeated false information in the heat of the moment. You might not always have access to a reference librarian, so here are some tips and tricks to identify and avoid perpetuating falsehoods within your circle of friends and followers.

Images

The image of the rollercoaster in the surf seems terrifying and incredible; so does the one of the shark swimming down the flooded street. Which is real and which is fake? Or rather, which one is from the actual event it purports to be from? Images were passed around on Twitter, Facebook and Tumblr during and immediately after the storm. A few looked familiar to me, and it's probably because I saw them during previous scary storms (or perhaps just movies about them.)

Remember that Photoshop exists and can be used for more than just airbrushing fashion models in magazines. It can be used by a talented prankster to create a composite image that isn't real. Look at the light sources and background clues to judge the veracity of an image.

When in doubt... reverse image search! Two tools to know and have in your back pocket at all times are TinEye and Google Reverse Image Search. Paste in an image URL or upload a file to either of these services. You will be able to see all the different versions of an image and determine when it was first posted, who has posted it, if the sources seem reputable, and if there are any telling differences in the images available.

If you want to be a super sleuth, you can also look at the metadata encoded in the image, or the exif data.

"Sorting the Real Sandy Photos From the Fakes," The Atlantic, Oct 29 2012.
"Hurricane Sandy: Five ways to spot a fake photograph," BBC Future, Oct 31, 2012.
"A journalist's guide to verifying images," IJNet, Sept 30, 2011.

Facts

As Sandy approached and the night wore on, unbelievable but true reports appeared alongside unsubstantiated rumors. During the storm itself it was difficult to have reporters on the ground, so it wasn't until the next day that we began to take stock of what happened.

One Twitter user in particular went on a tall-tale telling spree, his "BREAKING" news retweeted and repeated by many; around the same time, police scanners tipped off listeners to a potential hospital fire that turned out not to be as serious as initially thought.

"Hurricane Sandy, @ComfortablySmug, and The Flood of Social Media Misinformation," Forbes, Oct 30, 2012.
"Even a superstorm is no excuse for journalists not to check Twitter trolling," The Guardian Comment is Free, Oct 31, 2012.
"On Twitter, Sifting Through Falsehoods in Critical Times," The New York Times, Oct 31, 2012.
"Whose fault is it that ‘Comfortably Smug’ lies about Hurricane Sandy spread?" Poynter, Nov 1, 2012.

While some shrugged off rumormongering as a natural effect of the network, others saw great potential for the truth to out in the end.

A side project of journalist Tom Phillips, the Is Twitter Wrong? Tumblr examines tweets that have gone viral with facts or images that may be untrue.

Likewise on Facebook during the election, you might have found your feed brimming with political vitriol from family or friends on either side of the red-blue color spectrum. Snopes has long been known as a place to check the accuracy of those once-ubiquitous email forwards, now more likely status updates — search or check their 25 hottest urban legends to see what's spreading right now, along with TRUE/FALSE/HOAX/MIXTURE judgment and supporting research. Factcheck.org also has a section devoted to social media rumors.

The radio show On the Media produced an episode on November 2 called "Misinformation Around Sandy, Calling the Election, and More" with several segments on the topic.

Quotations

And now for a fluffier take on accuracy in social media; those inspirational quotes we pass around sure are stirring, but are they even real or attributed to the right person? How can we know for sure?

When Osama Bin Laden was killed in May 2011, certain rousing quotations captured the social media sentiment and were repeated and spread widely. The problem with two of them, attributed to Mark Twain and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., was that while they fit our understanding of their personalities, neither man ever said the words.

"Notable Quotables: Is there anything that is not a quotation?" The New Yorker, Feb 19, 2007 — Review of The Quote Verifier: Who Said What, Where, and When, a reference work of quotations misapplied, misattributed, or miswritten (Read an excerpt on JSTOR from The Antioch Review).

Garson O’Toole is the Quote Investigator, and he blogs about popular quotations and their origins.

How to identify a misquote? Be skeptical, and take President Abraham Lincoln's wise words to heart: "The trouble with quotes on the Internet is that it's difficult to determine whether or not they are genuine." That said, Wikiquote is a good way to check the veracity of quotations, because they should all have a source supplied that you can follow through and check for yourself.

Historical Hoaxes

Before social media, we had other means of being incited to panic. The War of the Worlds broadcast is a famous example, but did you know it was performed multiple times in ensuing years and locales and still caused terror and confusion? The "War of the Worlds" episode of the radio show Radiolab provides an annotated guide, asks if it could happen again (and again), and tries to figure out what they were thinking?!

For more hoaxes from before 1700 all the way to the 21st century, visit the Museum of Hoaxes. And please, think before you RT.

Hurricane Sandy Recovery Information

Lauren Lampasone, Reference and Research Services — Wed, 14 Nov 2012 10:25:03 -0500

This post had a temporary home while nypl.org was offline during the storm. Many on the east coast are still without power or in the process of cleaning up their homes; some public services and transit routes are still affected. There are also still opportunities to volunteer and to help those in need. We'll try to keep this page updated to reflect the latest information.

Information | Assistance | Volunteer | Donate | Comfort

I need information

If you need to find out what is up and running and what is not.

Public Schools
schools.nyc.gov
Text NYCSCHOOLS to 877-877 to check status.
Map of closed schools and libraries for displaced students to find internet access.

Transit
alert.mta.info
WNYC Transit Tracker
Live Traffic Map from WNYC

Maps
Superstorm Sandy: NYC
Con Ed Outage Map

Updates
Area Service Updates - New York Times
NYC OEM Severe Weather
Ask NYPL's NYC Community Information Twitter list
NYT State-by-State guide

I need assistance

If you have experienced property damage or need immediate food or shelter.

Food and Shelter
Warming Centers
Food and Water Distribution Locations
Lower Manhattan Food and Water Distribution from office of State Senator Squadron
Food Bank for New York City Food Program Locator
List of NYC Shelters
Housing Assistance for New Yorkers Impacted by Hurricane Sandy (PDF) from the Public Advocate

Disaster SNAP (D‐SNAP) Can Provide You With Temporary Food Assistance: Apply in person December 12-18, 2012 (PDF) also in Spanish Russian Chinese

New York State Assistance
1-855-NYS-SANDY

Legal
Disaster Recovery and Relief / Alivio y Recuperación de Desastres from LawHelp NY
Learn about Disaster Unemployment Assistance (DUA) (PDF), also in Spanish Russian Chinese from Volunteers of Legal Service

Taxes
Find out about tax relief and assistance or taking hardship loans out of retirement funds from the IRS.

FEMA
disasterassistance.gov 800-621-3362 (FEMA)
Have the following information ready: Address, insurance info, SSN
Mobile site: m.fema.gov
FEMA application assistance at the library

NYC
Report property damage to your home or business
Report downed trees online or call 311 / text 311692
Report Price Gouging Surrounding Hurricane Sandy to Public Advocate’s office
Report power outages on ConEd's website or by calling 1-800-752-6633
After the Storm: A Guide for New Yorkers at pubadvocate.nyc.gov/storm
Path to Recovery - Guide for Community Residents (PDF) and Getting Help with Lost Income Due to Hurricane Sandy (PDF) from the Public Advocate

Businesses
Temporary work space: nycedc.com/donations or nyc.gov/sbs
Business Physical Disaster Loan/Economic Injury Disaster Loan disasterloan.sba.gov/ela 1-800-659-2955
Emergency Loans - NYC.gov Business Recovery Information
Path to Recovery - Guide for Small Businesses (PDF) from the Public Advocate

Red Cross
Returning Home After a Hurricane or Flood PDF (Spanish)
Repairing Your Flooded Home PDF (Spanish)
More information about disaster recovery, including how to check your home for safety issues and get finances in order for repairs.
Mobile site: redcross.org/mobile

I want to help

If you want to lend a hand to those in need.

nycservice.org
recovers.org/communities has resource pages for several NYC neighborhoods.
volunteer.foodbanknyc.org
newyorkcares.org
pubadvocate.nyc.gov/storm
Corporation for National and Community Service - serve.gov/sandy
Occupy Sandy Relief
Follow Twitter hashtag #sandyvolunteer for suggestions

Online initiatives
New York Tech Meetup calling for volunteers
Sandy CrisisCamp
Help classify building damage for FEMA at sandy.locative.us

I want to donate

If you want to know what to send and where to send it.

According to FEMA, “the best way to support survivors of Hurricane Sandy is to make a financial contribution to the voluntary organization of your choice.”

Visit Aidmatrix to donate cash, goods and services to specific organizations to assist New Yorkers who suffered damage from Hurricane Sandy.

Hurricane Sandy left more New Yorkers in need of warm clothes than ever before. NYPL is participating in the annual New York Cares Coat Drive, drop off your gently used coats at any of our open locations.

I need comfort

CARE for Sandy's mission is to offer free digital restoration services for those whose salvaged keepsake photos have been damaged by the hurricane.
Librarians at Brooklyn Public Library put together a list of books, websites and videos (PDF) for parents to help answer children's questions and soothe fears.
Tips for Talking to Children and Youth After Traumatic Events (PDF) from samhsa.gov
Recursos de Recuperación del Huracán Sandy y Servicios de Asistencia

Information designed by Orn Smari Gislason
House designed by Olyn LeRoy
Volunteer designed by Dima Yagnyuk
Donate
Friend designed by Megan Sheehan
all from The Noun Project

Age of Power and Wonder

Lauren Lampasone, Reference and Research Services — Thu, 25 Oct 2012 12:55:39 -0400

Browsing the Digital Gallery today, I came across this interesting set of cigarette cards. And since I don't think there is anyone who doesn't love space, science, retrofuturism, invisibility and dogs, I thought I'd share a few of them here.

Apparently I wasn't the first to "discover" them though! Interesting to see the images each blogger chose to highlight.

Age of Power and Wonder: Vintage Science Infographics from 1930s Cigarette Cards - Brainpickings
This Age of Power and Wonder (1930s) - Paleofuture
This Age of Power and Wonder: predictive cigarette cards, 1935-9 - Boing Boing
Age of Power and Wonder - weetstraw

eBook Update: OverDrive for Nook, and New Titles in 3M Cloud Library

Lauren Lampasone, Reference and Research Services — Wed, 17 Oct 2012 14:46:33 -0400

Great news for Nook tablet owners and readers looking for more new titles in ebook format.

OverDrive Media Console is now available for

NOOK HD
NOOK HD+
NOOK Tablet™
NOOK Color™

You can get it right from the Barnes & Noble NOOK Apps storefront on your device.

This means you no longer have to "side-load" ebooks using your computer. You can download library ebooks direct from our catalog to the device. As long as you have a wi-fi connection you will have something new to read!

How to install OverDrive's mobile app on your NOOK
Getting started with Android (NOOK's version is the same as other Android tablets)

If you're on an older or e-ink NOOK, you can find instructions on syncing with Adobe Digital Editions.

Here is a quick overview video from our friends at King County Library System.

The other exciting news? New York Public Library cardholders now have access to even more books than before, with a pilot offering through 3M Cloud Library. Download the app for Windows PC, Android, iPad, or iPhone, and enter your barcode to start getting books!

If you have a Windows computer and an ereader (other than Kindle) you can transfer your ebooks to the device.

Connect your device to your Windows computer with a USB cable. In the 3M Cloud Library App, a notification will appear below the navigation tabs: connected to device: [device name]. Click on My Books and you will see a green download to device button on your ebooks. Click it to transfer your ebooks. A dialog box will tell you when your ebook has been successfully transferred to your device.

If you already use Adobe Digital Editions to download eBooks from OverDrive or another service, 3M Cloud Library should automatically detect and use the same Adobe ID you used to authenticate that program.

If Adobe Digital Editions is not already installed and registered, or 3M Cloud Library does not detect your Adobe ID, it will give you two options: Use a 3M Cloud ID or enter an Adobe ID and Password. If you intend to transfer both 3M Cloud Library eBooks and OverDrive ebooks to your ereader you should authenticate your 3M Cloud Library app using your Adobe ID and password. Otherwise your ereader will only work with one service at a time.

Here is a short video demonstration for iPad.

If you're planning to use one of these new apps, what's the first book you want to read? Tell us what you think in the comments!

September 2012 NYPL Blog Highlights

Lauren Lampasone, Reference and Research Services — Sun, 30 Sep 2012 11:48:09 -0400

September was back to school month. (And back to homeschooling month too.) In that spirit, here is a short quiz.

Cheating is ok.

Which of the following were commemorated this month?

a) World Alzheimer's Month
b) Hispanic Heritage Month / El mes de la Herencia Hispana
c) Labor Day
d) International Mermaid Literacy Day
e) A, B, and C

What are these Great Albums You May Have Missed?

Job Training Anagrams

Library Mad Libs

Fill in the Blank

Again, you're not being graded here. There is so much more where these came from, so please take a look.

NYPL has been actively blogging since 2007. There are currently over 3,042 posts that serve as a knowledge base of the collections, services, and expertise of 100 librarians and staff from more than 65 departments, libraries and research divisions. About NYPL Blogs.

A List of Lists: September 2012

Lauren Lampasone, Reference and Research Services — Tue, 25 Sep 2012 09:24:48 -0400

Visit NYPL's BiblioCommons for these lists and many more. You can also create your own and share them with us in the comments! See below for some interesting staff picks from the past month, on topics both timely and timeless:

Election 2012: Register, Research, and Vote

Lauren Lampasone, Reference and Research Services — Mon, 10 Sep 2012 18:43:45 -0400

The Republican and Democratic National Conventions are over, and the presidential nominations from the two major U.S. political parties are official: incumbent President Barack Obama and former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney. With the general election less than two months away, here are resources to help you get ready to vote.

November 6, 2012 General Election Deadlines
Voter Qualifications
Register to Vote
Find Your Polling Place
Find Your Districts  and Current Representatives
Research the Issues
Research the Candidates
Research Campaign Finance and Government Information
Find Election Results

November 6, 2012 General Election Deadlines

MAIL REGISTRATION (N.Y. Election Law Section 5-210(3))
Applications must be postmarked no later than October 12th and received by a board of elections no later than October 17th to be eligible to vote in the General Election.

IN PERSON REGISTRATION (N.Y. Election Law Sections 5-210, 5-211, 5-212)
You may register at your local board of elections or any state agency participating in the National Voter Registration Act, on any business day throughout the year but, to be eligible to vote in the November General Election, your application must be received no later than October 12th except, if you have been honorably discharged from the military or have become a naturalized citizen since October 12th, you may register in person at the board of elections up until October 26th.

CHANGE OF ADDRESS (N.Y. Election Law Section 5-208(3))
Notices of change of address from registered voters received by October 17th by a county board of elections must be processed and entered in the records in time for the General Election.

For more information and New York absentee ballot information, visit elections.ny.gov.

If you're not from New York, check qualifications, ID requirements, and polling locations at Can I Vote? If you're a citizen living outside the U.S., see the Federal Voting Assistance Program. If you're temporarily away from your home state, check Long Distance Voter for information about absentee ballots.

Voter Qualifications

To register to vote in the City of New York, you must:

Be a citizen of the United States (Includes those persons born in Puerto Rico, Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands).
Be a New York City resident for at least 30 days.
Be 18 years of age before the next election.
Not be serving a jail sentence or be on parole for a felony conviction.
Not be adjudged mentally incompetent by a court.
Not claim the right to vote elsewhere (outside the City of New York).

Not sure if you're registered? Check voter status at NYSVoter Public Information - Voter Registration Search.
Register to vote in New York for the first time, or update name, address, or party affiliation.
In Person • By Mail • Online

See the New York Voters' Bill of Rights at nycvoting.com.

Find Your Polling Place

Primary for Local State Offices - September 13, 2012 (this Thursday)
General Election - November 6, 2012
Polls open 6:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.
Poll Site Locator & Sample Ballot Display
Voter Phone Bank: 1-866-VOTE-NYC

Find Your Districts  and Current Representatives

They Represent You from the League of Women Voters of the City of New York: enter your address to find your local, state and federal representatives.

Federal The White House • U.S. Senate • U.S. House of Representatives

State NY State Governor • NY State Attorney General • New York State Comptroller • New York State Senate • New York State Assembly

City-Wide New York City Mayor • New York City Public Advocate • New York City Comptroller • New York City Council

Boroughs Bronx Borough President • Bronx District Attorney • Manhattan Borough President • Manhattan District Attorney • Staten Island Borough President • Staten Island District Attorney

Research the Issues

Project Vote Smart bills itself as "the voter's self-defense system." It contains voting records, biographies, issue positions, interest group ratings, speeches, and campaign finances for all politicians. It also features "VoteEasy," a tool that lets you compare your personal views to those of candidates running for office.

Factcheck.org, a project of the Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania, is a nonpartisan, nonprofit consumer advocate for voters that aims "to reduce the level of deception and confusion in U.S. politics." The site monitors the factual accuracy of what is said by major U.S. political players in the form of TV ads, debates, speeches, interviews and news releases.

Public Agenda aims to help communities and the nation solve tough problems through research, engagement and communications.

Scout is a project from Sunlight Foundation (more on them below) that lets you search for keywords for issues that matter to you in state and federal legislation (here's Libraries, for example.) Create an alert to notify you of new additions matching your search query.

The Opposing Viewpoints series (available in print and online with your library card) contains information on nearly 5,000 current social topics in the forms of primary source documents, statistics, websites and multimedia.

New Yorkers for Better Libraries PAC has published a voter's guide that shows the records of state legislators on issues affecting libraries.

Research the Candidates

New York City Campaign Finance Board
The Campaign Finance Board is a "nonpartisan, independent city agency that enhances the role of New York City residents in elections. The CFB’s mission is to increase voter participation and awareness, provide campaign finance information to the public, enable more citizens to run for office, strengthen the role of small contributors, and reduce the potential for actual or perceived corruption."

Vote411 - the online voters' guide from the League of Women Voters allows you to type in your address to see the races on your ballot. Candidates' positions can be compared side-by-side, and you may print out your preferences as a reminder and take it with you to the polls on Election Day.

YouTube.com Politics is a channel featuring clips from various news sources of candidates on the campaign trail.

The Internet Archive recently launched TV News Search and Borrow "to help engaged citizens better understand the issues and candidates in the 2012 U.S. elections by allowing them to search closed captioning transcripts to borrow relevant television news programs." It contains 350,000 news programs recorded over the past three years.

Research Campaign Finance and Government Information

Federal Election Commission "administers and enforces the Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA) - the statute that governs the financing of federal elections. The duties of the FEC, which is an independent regulatory agency, are to disclose campaign finance information, to enforce the provisions of the law such as the limits and prohibitions on contributions, and to oversee the public funding of Presidential elections."

OpenSecrets.org: Center for Responsive Politics is "a nonpartisan guide to money's influence on U.S. elections and public policy." Also has information available through an iPhone app called Dollarocracy.

NYOpenGovernment.com is an effort by the state Attorney General’s office to "promote citizens' right to know and to monitor governmental decision-making. It allows you to easily access statewide government information, which until now has been scattered or difficult to retrieve."

Sunlight Foundation has numerous project websites and apps to help you Track Influence, discover The Inner Workings of Congress, and Track Legislation and Public Policy.

SuperPACApp (iOS) and Ad Hawk (iOS and Android) are both apps that detect what political ad is playing on your TV (similar to Shazam or SoundHound) and then give you information about the group funding the ad.

Follow the Money: The National Institute on Money in State Politics - "nonpartisan, nonprofit organization revealing the influence of campaign money on state-level elections and public policy in all 50 states. Provides a campaign-finance database and issue analyses." Encourages "transparency and promotes independent investigation of state-level campaign contributions by journalists, academic researchers, public-interest groups, government agencies, policymakers, students and the public at large."

Congressional Universe Database provides comprehensive access to U.S. legislative information from Congressional Information Service, Inc. and is available on-site at the research libraries. Contains Congressional Publications, Legislative Histories, Bills & Laws, Members & Committees, Regulations, and Daily Congressional Record & Rules.

Find Election Results

Federal • New York State • New York City

A List of Lists: August 2012

Lauren Lampasone, Reference and Research Services — Fri, 24 Aug 2012 08:46:55 -0400

It's the end of August, which means soon we'll be trading in our fluffy beach reads for heartier winter tomes. NYPL librarians have plenty of suggestions for you.

Back to School!

Good Eats

All About Art

Beauty in Reading Pathfinder and MAPnificent Pathfinder (read more at The Library As Incubator Project)
Yayoi Kusama

Mysteries

Mid-Manhattan Library's Mystery Summer is winding down, but you can still consult these handy lists for your next suspenseful selection!

Thanks to New Dorp, Seward Park, Mulberry Street, and Mid-Manhattan. Have any lists you'd like to share? Leave us a link in the comments!

Catalog Power Users: Save Your Searches

Lauren Lampasone, Reference and Research Services — Fri, 10 Aug 2012 11:21:11 -0400

You know who you are. Your hold requests are always maxed out. You have "nypl.bibliocommons.com" saved in your browser. You read a book review in the paper or hear an author interviewed on the radio and immediately think, "I should see if NYPL has that yet." You are a mystery nut, a nonfiction devotee, or a knitting enthusiast, always tracking down the latest titles by your favorite writers or on the subjects that matter to you most.

You are a library catalog power user, and we salute you!

A brand new feature now allows you to save search terms to use again later. This will help you save keystrokes as well as your memory of particularly fruitful search strings! Reasons you might want to save a search? To see what's new and get at the top of the holds list, or if your search turns up too many useful items than will fit in a list (lists max out at 32).

Step 1: Visit nypl.bibliocommons.com. Enter your subject keywords or an author's name and click Search.

Step 2: Sort by either date acquired or published date.

Step 3: Narrow by format, if you have a preference (if you're looking just for new ebooks, for example).

Step 4: Click Save Search.

Step 5: Give your search query a name.

If you're not already logged in to BiblioCommons, you'll be prompted to do so.

Now you can see all of your saved searches by going to http://nypl.bibliocommons.com/user/saved_searches

Click on the Search Name to perform the search again at a later point in time, and click edit to adjust the parameters of the search query.

Special bonus helpful hint: If you use a feed reader and want your search results delivered to you as an update, scroll to the very bottom of any search results page. You will see an orange RSS symbol. Grab that feed to get your favorite search terms regularly updated in your reader of choice. More library RSS feeds here.

We hope you find what you are searching for!

July 2012 NYPL Blog Highlights

Lauren Lampasone, Reference and Research Services — Thu, 02 Aug 2012 14:41:58 -0400

July blogs were as bright as fireworks and as cool as ice pops on a hot summer day.

Oh say did you see...

how to rescue your files from ancient floppy disks.
how to find word meanings.
how to crochet without tears.
how to get inspired and use your imagination.
how to get your GED.
how to find New York State government information.
how to find global suppliers.
how to get the most out of our ebook collection.
how to find a lot of useless information.
how to make your own 3D glasses.
how to get a job as a community health worker, a cable technician, or a production assistant, and how to get help if you're a veteran.
how to search for a mystery from the past.
how to get your lunch to work.
how to make 100 calorie brownies.
how to get help putting food on the table.
how to occupy your time before and after the Olympics broadcast.
how to complain effectively.

We also shared lots of stuff for teens, exciting short term research projects, curtain call time on the Great American Revue, a WWII book drive, a San Franciscan who was emperor, Swinging London, Broadway belles, Greenwich Village ghosts, and of course lots of summer reads, music, movies and more.

Looking for a more... visual way to browse or keep up to date on our blogs? Take a look at the Art and Picture Collections' board on Pinterest.

NYPL has been actively blogging since 2007 (August 8 is our 5th birthday!) There are currently over 2,932 posts that serve as a knowledge base of the collections, services, and expertise of 100 librarians and staff from more than 65 departments, libraries and research divisions. About NYPL Blogs.

How to Return eBooks Early

Lauren Lampasone, Reference and Research Services — Tue, 31 Jul 2012 09:05:35 -0400

When you check out an ebook from the library, you get to keep it for the full loan period (7, 14 or 21 days) before the file is no longer accessible to you.

Which means you will never get an overdue fee!

But there may be times when you want to return a book early once you finish it, decide you don't like it, or want to make room to check out more books — and that way the next person in line for it will have access that much sooner. Think of it as being a good digital neighbor.

What you need to do to return depends on the device you are using and sometimes the type of file.

Kindle
Nook
Kobo
Sony Reader Wi-Fi
iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch
iPod audio
Android
BlackBerry
Windows 7 Phone
Adobe Digital Editions for Mac or PC
OverDrive Media Console

Note: If you have completed the check out process for an ebook or MP3 audiobook but have not successfully downloaded to a device, you will not be able to return it immediately. Contact eNYPL Support to remove the item from your account.

How to Return Kindle Books

Go to amazon.com/manageyourkindle and on the Actions... button next to the title select Return this book. See step by step instructions from the County of Los Angeles Public Library.

You'll receive an email from Amazon reminding that you returned the library eBook, and it will be removed from your device(s).

To manually remove the title from your Kindle, click on the Home button. Underline the title you want to remove with your 5-way controller. Move the controller to the left and select remove from device. For Kindle Fire, tap and hold down on the book cover to get the option to remove from device. For Kindle apps, tap and hold down on the book cover to get the option to remove from device.

How to Return Nook and Kobo Books

Open Adobe Digital Editions on the computer where you downloaded the eBook. Click on the Library View. Titles you have downloaded appear on the right. Click on the triangle in the upper left corner of the book cover. Select Return Borrowed Item on the list of options. A dialogue box will pop up. Click Return. The ebook will disappear from your bookshelf in Adobe Digital Editions.

To delete the items from your Nook or Kobo reader, connect it to your computer with the USB cable. Click on its icon in the left sidebar. Click on the triangle in the upper left corner of the book cover and choose Delete. You also may want to delete any expired books in your library the same way so that the interface is less cluttered.

How to Return Sony Reader Wi-Fi (PRS-T1) Books

From your home screen, tap Books. Go to Menu > Return Books. (The menu button has four horizontal lines.) Tap the eBook(s) you'd like to return, then tap Done. If you'd like to delete an eBook without returning it (so you can download it later), you can do so by tapping Delete Books instead of Return Books.

How to Return iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch Books and MP3 Audio

From the bookshelf, tap the (+) button next to the title that you want to return or delete. Tap Delete to display the return options. Tap Return then Delete to return the title back to the library. Selecting Delete only will delete the title from your device, but you will still have it checked out.

How to remove files from iTunes (audio you've transferred to your iPod).

How to Return Android Phone and Tablet Books

Open the OverDrive Media Console app. Go to the bookshelf. Tap (+) next to the book you want to return. Tap Return/Delete. Tap Return then Delete.

How to Return BlackBerry Books

With the title selected that you want to return, select Menu > Return / Delete to display the return options. Tap Return then Delete to return the title back to the library. Selecting Delete only will delete the title from your device, but you will still have it checked out.

How to Return Windows 7 Phone Books

On the library screen, tap and hold the title you want to return. Tap return / delete to display the return options. Tap return then delete to return the title back to the library. Selecting delete only will delete the title from your device, but you will still have it checked out.

How to Return Adobe Digital Editions Books

Click on the Library View. Titles you have downloaded appear on the right. Click on the triangle in the upper left corner of the book cover. Select Return Borrowed Item on the list of options. A dialogue box will pop up. Click Return. The ebook will disappear from your bookshelf in Adobe Digital Editions.

How to Return OverDrive Media Console MP3 Audio (Windows only)

Only MP3 audiobooks downloaded after you install the OverDrive Media Console for Windows v3.2.2.0 update will have the return option.

Select the title you would like to return in OMC. You can select more than one audiobook by holding down Ctrl and clicking on each title. Click the Delete button to display the return and delete options. Click Return/Delete to both return the MP3 audiobook and delete it from your computer. If you click Delete instead, the title will be removed from your computer, but not returned to the library.

WMA audio, music and videos cannot be returned early. You can delete the files from your computer at any time, but they will still be considered "checked out" to you for the entire check out period.

More information is available at help.overdrive.com.

On the Trivial Pursuit of Useless Information

Lauren Lampasone, Reference and Research Services — Mon, 30 Jul 2012 04:47:43 -0400

I don't have a very good memory of the fiction books I read and enjoyed as a child. What I do remember is an obsession with encyclopedias, almanacs, atlases, the Guinness book, trivia, and general miscellanea. Which probably doesn't make it too much of a surprise that I ended up here, a reference librarian at one of the most fact-filled libraries in the world.

As a kid, I was also highly talented at games like Trivial Pursuit and You Don't Know Jack, usually beating any adult I played against. I assumed this was a credit to my lifelong love of reference books. After moving to New York City, I discovered the "pub quiz" and found that, well... turns out I'm not exactly Ken Jennings and these people are entirely out of my league.

That's ok. I've moved on. It seems that nowadays, the Internet and its endless rabbit holes do enough to satisfy our desires to accumulate bits of information flotsam and jetsam. How many articles in Wikipedia do you end up clicking through in a single sitting? I know I have had some marathons. Still, if you ever feel like physically flipping through some factoids (we also have ebooks and databases for you to read online), here are some suggestions.

Vade mecum is the subject term you'll see for a lot of these compendiums; it is a Latin term meaning "to go with me." According to the OED it is "a book or manual suitable for carrying about with one for ready reference; a handbook or guidebook." Now, the reference tool you keep in your pocket is likely a shiny bit of glass and plastic, with Google a tap away. But handbooks in the library are still cataloged as such. How quaint!

Access old-timey handbooks electronically:

Schott's Original Miscellany (2003) and Schott's Food & Drink Miscellany (2004) by Ben Schott are both small, elegantly typeset books of tables, diagrams, lists and definitions. Sections include "Birthstones," "Sushi," "Knights of the Round Table," "Colors of the Empire State Building," "Eponymous Foods," and "Cattle Branding."

The Uncyclopedia is another British import, full of random collections of facts. It is also available as an ebook. It includes "Fortune-Telling Techniques," "Sails on a Standard Three-Masted Ship," "Newspaper Slogans," "Diseases Named for Their Discoverers," and "Noteworthy Cats and Their Owners."

Noel Botham has produced a series of books of amazingly useless information; The Amazing Book of Useless Information is available as an ebook in which you can learn about American advertising that has had unfortunate translations in other countries, such as Coca-Cola's "bite the wax tadpole," common superstitions, and where to find the largest scale model of the solar system.

Mental Floss is a periodical I find uniquely suited to long car trips. They have also published several books, here are the ones available in ebook form:

Mental Floss The Book: Only the Greatest Lists in the History of Listory (2011)
The Mental Floss History of the World (2008)
Mental Floss Presents: Instant Knowledge (2005)
Mental Floss Presents: Forbidden Knowledge (2005)
Mental Floss Presents: Condensed Knowledge (2004)

Studies have shown that toast usually does fall butter side down and that cats react negatively to men with beards; did you know William Faulkner was briefly a postal worker? "Knowledge junkies" can also get their fix on mentalfloss.com or their Twitter.

Kenneth C. Davis's Don't Know Much About... series started with history and now covers an array of topics for adults as well as younger readers to fill in missing gaps in their knowledge.

David Feldman's Imponderables series includes a few I remember reading as a kid. He asks the kinds of questions that may keep you up late at night, but provides answers you can then use to impress your friends. Here are the ones available in ebook form:

Are Lobsters Ambidextrous? (reprint of When Did Wild Poodles Roam the Earth?, 2006)
Imponderables: The Solution to the Mysteries of Everyday Life (2004)
How Does Aspirin Find a Headache? An Imponderables Book (1993)
When Do Fish Sleep? and Other Imponderables of Everyday Life (1989)
Why Do Clocks Run Clockwise? and Other Imponderables (1987)

The People's Almanac and The Book of Lists are an ongoing series, first published in the 1970s, by David Wallechinsky and his father Irving Wallace and sister Amy Wallace. Some selections from the Almanac have been republished online with permission. A few examples from the 2005 New Book of Lists are "11 Famous People Who Were Dentists," "27 Things That Fell from the Sky," and "15 Notable Events That Happened Under the Influence of Alcohol."

Listomania: A World of Fascinating Facts in Graphic Detail puts a visual spin on some informative lists, such as "13 Colors Crayola Has Retired" and "21 Micronations."

Of course as almanacs go, there is always The World Almanac and Book of Facts and the Old Farmer's Almanac (now also available as an ebook). Or if you are training for JEOPARDY!, take a few lessons from the master himself.

Time keeps on slippin' slippin'... so find out about some of the most important Firsts and Lasts.

John Hodgman's The Areas of My Expertise: An Almanac of Complete World Knowledge Compiled with Instructive Annotation and Arranged in Useful Order by Me looks a lot like an information source along these lines except that it is all completely absurd and made up. It is also pretty funny, if you have a sense of humor when it comes to your love of trivia.

For Kids and Teens

New York City Factoids

I would be remiss not to include The Book of Answers: The New York Public Library Telephone Reference Service's Most Unusual and Entertaining Questions from the team now better known as Ask NYPL! You can still call them (or email) and ask them anything.

Databases

Sign into Credo Reference with your library card to browse a virtual shelf of books including atlases, chronologies, encyclopedias, factbooks, handbooks, quotations and statistics.

Sign in with your library card, and then sign up for the fact of the day from Oxford Reference Online or the word of the day from Oxford English Dictionary.

Find books from this post (and more) in this list in BiblioCommons.

Finally, that little piece of plastic at the end of your shoelace? It's called an aglet. Don't ask me why I know that.

A List of Lists: July 2012

Lauren Lampasone, Reference and Research Services — Fri, 27 Jul 2012 08:36:36 -0400

Nonfiction

Summer Fun

❤ Romance ❤

For Teens

For Kids

Movies and TV

Comics

Local Favorites

Italian Authors at Belmont
Roosevelt Island Staff Picks
MAPnificent Book List
This book list compliments the exhibition, MAPnificent: Artists Use Maps curated by Yulia Tikhonova. Explore the mystique of maps, enjoy the exhibition (through August 31) and these related titles!
Beauty in Reading
A reading companion to the exhibit Beauty in Reading, which was on view at the Mulberry Street Library through June 30, 2012.
Food and Foodways of the African Diaspora from Jessica B. Harris
Audio libros: clásicos de la literatura

Thanks to Belmont, Parkchester, Kingsbridge, Bloomingdale, Mid-Manhattan, Seward Park, Westchester Square, Ottendorfer, Dongan Hills, Fort Washington, Children's Center at 42nd Street, Roosevelt Island, and Mulberry Street!

eBooks, New and Improved: Place Holds, Download, and Manage Your Account in BiblioCommons

Lauren Lampasone, Reference and Research Services — Thu, 26 Jul 2012 10:11:17 -0400

It's now easier to download and request holds on EPUB, PDF, Kindle and e-audio, music and video (a.k.a. OverDrive) while in the library catalog, BiblioCommons. You no longer have to sign in to a separate site with your barcode.

Your electronic holds and checked out items will appear alongside physical books and materials you have out, so you can better prioritize your must-read list!

Here's an overview of the changes.

Here you can see an ebook and a print book appearing together in search results. Choose "Check availability," "Request this download," or just click on the title to see if the ebook can be downloaded now or if there is a waiting list.

When an ebook is available to check out (no waiting list) you'll be able to choose your format and lending period and download immediately.

If the item you want is not available, you'll select your format and request to be notified as soon as it is.

Here is how your Holds page will look, with outstanding physical holds and the location where they will be sent, digital holds, and your place in the queue for both. Holds can be canceled, but they cannot be suspended. When you are notified by email that a title is ready to be downloaded, you will see a READY FOR CHECKOUT link appear. You'll then find the item on your Checked Out page...

Here is how your Checked Out page will look, with both physical print materials and digital items together in order of date due. You will see a Download Now button next to digital materials, whether or not the file has already been downloaded.

Please note that as promising as it looks, you still cannot renew digital items. Of course you are welcome to check an item out again once your time is up, as long as there is not a waiting list. If you'd like to return an item early, you can usually do that from your computer or the device you are reading on.

Start downloading ebooks now!

If you don't already have an account in BiblioCommons, get one now. You can create an easier-to-remember username. You can rate, review, and tag items and create lists. You can also install the NYPL app to help you search the catalog and manage your account on the go. Note that while you can see all of your current holds and check outs in the app, you still have to log into ebooks.nypl.org to place holds and download to your mobile device.

Don't have a library card? Get one now.

Grow, Preserve, Pickle, Cure, Brew, Do It Yourself: Homesteading in the City

Lauren Lampasone, Reference and Research Services — Thu, 21 Jun 2012 08:42:03 -0400

The first time I made my own cheese, it was a revelation. It was so simple and easy, it was ridiculous to me that I had spent years buying it at the store like everyone else.

I wasn't making brie or cheddar or anything fancy or aged at all, just the standard fresh ricotta that usually comes in a tub in the dairy case. Making your own ricotta is only slightly more involved than brewing tea. You slowly warm up whole milk in a pot. When it gets to a certain temperature (around 185°F), take it off the heat and add acid in the form of lemon juice or vinegar. Separate curds from whey, drain in a cheesecloth, and voila, your lasagna just got that much more homemade.

More and more, Americans are thinking hard about where their food comes from and whether improvements can be made from a nutritional or supply chain perspective to improve our health and the health of our environment. When you control the ingredients, you know what is going into the food you eat. Author Michael Pollan says we should "eat food," as in food our great-great-grandmothers would recognize and not products filled with unknown preservatives and shelf-stabilizers.

I have been experimenting with quick pickles, mayonnaise, sauces, granola, candies and other basic recipes for a while now. You don't necessarily have to invest in equipment or hard-to-find ingredients in order to get some satisfaction from DIYing your fruit, veggies, dairy, condiments, drinks, or sweets. The extra effort can pay off in many ways.

Browse this list, or the library shelves in the 630s and 640s. Just look for an easy project that catches your interest; whether or not you decide to raise chickens in your backyard, it might surprise you how easy it can be to make homemade fruit roll ups...

Urban Farming

Small-space Container Gardens: Transform your Balcony, Porch, or Patio with Fruits, Flowers, Foliage & Herbs Fern Richardson, 2012
The Urban Farm Handbook: City-slicker Resources for Growing, Raising, Sourcing, Trading, and Preparing What You Eat Annette Cottrell, 2011
Mini Farming: Self Sufficiency on 1/4 Acre Brett L. Markham, 2010
Fresh Food from Small Spaces: The Square Inch Gardener's Guide to Year-round Growing, Fermenting, and Sprouting R.J. Ruppenthal, 2008
The Edible Container Garden: Growing Fresh Food in Small Spaces Michael Guerra, 2000

Foraging

Check with the proper authorities before you start foraging in your local park! "Enjoy Park Greenery, City Says, but Not as Salad" The New York Times, July 29, 2011.

Foraged Flavor: Finding Fabulous Ingredients in your Backyard or Farmer's Market, with 84 Recipes Tama Matsuoka Wong, 2012
Hunt, Gather, Cook: Finding the Forgotten Feast Hank Shaw, 2011
The Wild Table: Seasonal Foraged Food and Recipes Connie Green, 2010
The Wild Vegetarian Cookbook: A Forager's Culinary Guide (in the Field or in the Supermarket) to Preparing and Savoring Wild (and Not So Wild) Natural Foods, with More than 500 Recipes Steve Brill, 2002
The Foraging Gourmet Katie Letcher Lyle, 1997

Pickles and Preserves

The Preservation Kitchen: The Craft of Making and Cooking with Pickles, Preserves, and Aigre-doux Paul Virant, 2012
Preserving: The Canning and Freezing Guide for All Seasons Pat Crocker, 2011
Food in Jars: Preserving in Small Batches Year-Round Marisa McClellan, 2011
Preserving with Friends (DVD) 2011
Can It, Bottle It, Smoke It: And Other Kitchen Projects Karen Solomon, 2011
The Complete Guide to Food Preservation: Step-by-step Instructions on How to Freeze, Dry, Can, and Preserve Food
Angela Williams Duea, 2011
Put 'em Up!: A Comprehensive Home Preserving Guide for the Creative Cook, from Drying and Freezing to Canning and Pickling Sherri Brooks Vinton, 2010 (also available as ebook)
Canning for A New Generation Liana Krissoff, 2010
The Art of Preserving Lisa Atwood, 2010
Pickles & Relishes: 150 Recipes from Apples to Zucchini Andrea Chesman, 2010 (also available as ebook)
Homemade Living: Canning & Preserving with Ashley English: All You Need to Know to Make Jams, Jellies, Pickles, Chutneys & More Ashley English, 2010
Tart & Sweet: 101 Canning Recipes for the Modern Kitchen Kelly Geary, 2010
Preserving: Self-sufficiency Carol Wilson, 2009
Well-preserved: Recipes and Techniques for Putting up Small Batches of Seasonal Foods Eugenia Bone, 2009

Fermentation

The Art of Fermentation: An In-depth Exploration of Essential Concepts and Processes from around the World Sandor Ellix Katz, 2012
Cured, Fermented and Smoked Foods: Proceedings of the Oxford Symposium on Food and Cookery 2010
Wild Fermentation: The Flavor, Nutrition, and Craft of Live-culture Foods Sandor Ellix Katz, 2003

Cheese, Butter, and Yogurt

Mastering Artisan Cheesemaking: The Ultimate Guide for Home-Scale and Market Producers Gianaclis Caldwell, 2012
Home Dairy with Ashley English: All You Need to Know to Make Cheese, Yogurt, Butter & More Ashley English, 2011
The Joy of Cheesemaking: The Ultimate Guide to Understanding, Making, and Eating Fine Cheese Jody Farnham, 2011
Artisan Cheese Making at Home: Techniques and Recipes for Mastering World-class Cheeses Mary Karlin, 2011
The Complete Guide to Making Cheese, Butter, and Yogurt at Home: Everything You Need to Know Explained Simply Richard Helweg, 2010
Cheesemaking Rita Ash, 2010

Drying

The Complete Guide to Drying Foods at Home: Everything You Need to Know about Preparing, Storing, and Consuming Dried Foods Terri Paajanen, 2012
How to Dry Foods Deanna DeLong, 2006

Homebrewing

If you need more beer inspiration, try George Washington's recipe... or not.

Beer Craft: A Simple Guide to Making Great Beer William Bostwick, 2011
Home Winemaking for Dummies Tim Patterson, 2011
Strong Waters: A Simple Guide to Making Beer, Wine, Cider and Other Spirited Beverages at Home Scott Mansfield, 2010 (ebook)
The Way to Make Wine: How to Craft Superb Table Wines at Home Sheridan F. Warrick, 2006
Beer: Tap into the Art and Science of Brewing Charles W. Bamforth, 2003 (also available as ebook)
The Homebrewer's Garden: How to Easily Grow, Prepare, and Use your Own Hops, Brewing Herbs, Malts Joe Fisher, 1998 (ebook)
Making Wild Wines & Meads: 125 Unusual Recipes Using Herbs, Fruits, Flowers & More Pattie Vargas, 1999
The Encyclopedia of Home Winemaking Pierre Drapeau, 1999

Livestock

Before you question the inclusion of bees and chickens here... I live in Brooklyn and I know for a fact both are being raised in my neighborhood!

The Beekeeper's Bible: Bees, Honey, Recipes & Other Home Uses Richard Jones, 2011
Beekeeping: A Seasonal Guide Ron Brown, 2011
Chicken & Egg: A Memoir of Suburban Homesteading with 125 Recipes Janice Cole, 2011
Living with Chickens: Everything You Need to Know to Raise your Own Backyard Flock Jay Rossier, 2004

General DIY/Homesteading Resources

The America's Test Kitchen Do-It-Yourself Cookbook: 100+ Foolproof Kitchen Projects for the Adventurous Home Cook 2012
Eat the City: A Tale of the Fishers, Foragers, Butchers, Farmers, Poultry Minders, Sugar Refiners, Cane Cutters, Beekeepers, Winemakers, and Brewers Who Built New York Robin Shulman, 2012
The Homesteading Handbook: A Back to Basics Guide to Growing your Own Food, Canning, Keeping Chickens, Generating your Own Energy, Crafting, Herbal Medicine, and More Abigail R. Gehring, 2011
The Complete Idiot's Guide to Urban Homesteading Sundari Elizabeth Kraft, 2011
The Locavore's Kitchen: A Cook's Guide to Seasonal Eating and Preserving Marilou K. Suszko, 2011
Urban Pantry: Tips & Recipes for A Thrifty, Sustainable & Seasonal Kitchen Amy Pennington, 2010
The Complete Idiot's Guide to Self-sufficient Living Jerome D. Belanger, 2009
The Self-sufficient Life and How to Live It: The Complete Back-to-basics Guide John Seymour, 2009
Made from Scratch: Discovering the Pleasures of A Handmade Life Jenna Woginrich, 2009
The Urban Homestead: Your Guide to Self-sufficient Living in the Heart of the City Kelly Coyne, 2008
Extreme Simplicity: Homesteading in the City Christopher Nyerges, 2002

Check out this list in BiblioCommons: Grow, Preserve, Pickle, Cure, Brew, Do It Yourself. Have you grown or preserved anything interesting lately? I don't have much in the way of websites listed here, but there are many. Which informational websites do you read and recommend?

A List of Lists: May 2012

Lauren Lampasone, Reference and Research Services — Thu, 31 May 2012 13:10:42 -0400

Genre Fiction

Music

Nonfiction

Kids

La literatura en español

Movies

Performing Arts

Food

Thanks to the listmakers!

Ask NYPL, Terence Cardinal Cooke-Cathedral, Children's Center at 42nd Street, Dance Division, Dongan Hills, Fort Washington, Great Kills, Hamilton Fish Park, High Bridge, Huguenot Park, Kingsbridge, Kips Bay, Mid-Manhattan, Mulberry Street, New Dorp, Public Programs, Roosevelt Island, Seward Park, South Beach, St. Agnes, Todt Hill-Westerleigh, and Van Cortlandt.

April 2012 NYPL Blog Highlights

Lauren Lampasone, Reference and Research Services — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 19:11:07 -0400

A is for April (the month that just took place. The one with all the wonderful blog posts?) and American Museum of Natural History.

B is for Business Books, Bernstein Book Award, Billy Parrott, and Billy Parrott.

C is for 1940 Census, Color, and Corn.

D is for DVDs and Samuel R. Delany.

E is for Effective Employment Strategies and Earthworms.

F is for Loïe Fuller, Financial Advisors, and Frank McHugh.

G is for Gilded Love, Games, and Guilty Pleasure Playlists.

H is for Haiti's Patent Law, Henry James, LES Heritage, and Hunger Games Chicken Salad.

I is for Iceland Moss, Immigration, and Pico Iyer.

J is for Joe Brainard and Jobs for People Over 50.

K is for Kingsbridge Teens' Recommendations.

L is for Lists, List Poems, Laughs, Low Cost Legal Services, and Little House on the Prairie of Horrors.

M is for Música, Memoirs, May Sarton, Menus, Middle School and Meatloaf.

N is for Novedades and Noël Coward.

O is for Dance Oral History.

P is for Poetry, Patron Requests, Pulitzer Prize, The Pink Lady, and Programming.

R is for Red Knit Cap Girl.

S is for Survival Tips, S.S. President Johnson, Shakespeare Week, and Sculpture.

T is for Titanic (books, music and the movie), Tornados, Tax Tips, and Transmissions from the Timothy Leary Papers.

W is for Edmund White, Watercolors, West Indian Roots, and Wikipedia.

X is for X-Men.

Y is for You Know Nothing of My Work!

Z is for "How to Save a Life" by Sara Zarr.

NYPL has been actively blogging since 2007. There are currently over 2,705 posts that serve as a knowledge base of the collections, services, and expertise of 100 librarians and staff from more than 65 departments, libraries and research divisions. About NYPL Blogs.