Do you speak a language other than English or want to practice the language you are learning in school?  Are you visiting the US and are homesick for entertainment in your native language?  Perhaps you are a film buff who loves foreign films?

We have films from many countries at the Appleton Public Library.  This month the film display highlights foreign films so it’s extra easy to find one.  The display is behind the Information Desk.

We also have an updatedForeign Films list which lists many of our newer foreign films plus some “classic” foreign films.  Films are arranged by language and/or country. 

If you wish to search for a certain film, or category of film, there are various ways to search in InfoSoup:

1.        Exact title. If you don’t see it in English, try looking for the name  in the original language.

2.       Director.  Use the author field and type in the director’s name.  If they have also written books, you can narrow the search by choosing DVD & VHS & Blu-ray as the format.

3.       Actor.  Use the author category. Narrow by format.

4.       Choose the subject search; then enter one of these subject headings:

1. a.       Feature Films—­­­­­­­­___________ (fill in the blank with the name of the language you’re looking for)
2. b.      Moving Pictures--_____________
3. c.       Foreign Films--­_____________

5.       Once you find a film in a language you like, you can link to others by clicking the subject headings at the bottom of the entry.

Enjoy watching films from all over the world!

Saturday, May 4, is Free Comic Book Day!  Every year on the first Saturday of May participating comic book shops give away comic books free to people who visit their stores.  Learn more at http://www.freecomicbookday.com .

This year, the Appleton Public Library will be partnering with Chimera Hobby to be a give-away site.*

Appleton Public Library lends graphic novels—stories told in words and pictures, like a traditional comic book—for children, teens and adults.   A display of teen and adult graphic novels from our collection will be available for check out, along with a guide to some interesting and important adult graphic novels. The library also has a large collection of manga.

We will also be promoting a program this summer for teens (grades 7-12) called Secret Identity Workshop.  Teens will create their own superhero identity cards!

Cover, Grid or List—these are new ways to browse for titles. 

For a quick look at the collection, try the cover view.  You will see more books at once.

The Grid view shows more information about each title, including full title and author name as well as the name of the series, if appropriate.

The List view shows fewer books but also more information about the book.  You can see the full description by clicking on the book cover.

Another way to narrow your search is to choose a collection.

“My library’s collection” means everything currently in the Wisconsin Digital Library collection for use, whether you need to put a hold on it or it is available for checkout right now.

 “Only titles with copies available” will take away the titles which are all checked out, and you will see just items which can currently be checked out.

 “Additional titles to recommend” searches through all titles which OverDrive currently has access to, whether already added or not.  This is similar to a request for purchase, where you suggest that the library buy a title to be added to the collection.

Your search may also be narrowed by

• Ebook vs. audio book
• Format (Epub, Kindle, OverDrive Read, etc)
• Subject
• Publisher
• Language
• Grade Level
• * rating which other readers have given to the title

• 
  

  ·         Device that may be used to read or listen to the book (brand of ereader, audio device, tablet, etc.)

   

  There is a new “basic” version of OverDrive Read that allows you to use OverDrive Read in Internet Explorer without installing a plugin.  If you are already using Internet Explorer with the Google Chrome Frame Plugin or using a different browser you will see no difference. However, Internet Explorer versions 7, 8, and 9 will give you the option to use the basic version instead.

  The basic version of OverDrive Read supports many of the features of OverDrive Read. However, because some of the features of OverDrive Read depend on the advanced features of HTML5 and CSS3 (which are not available in older browsers without the Google Chrome Frame Plugin), the basic version will provide you with a different experience. The most notable of these are the absence of pagination and customized font sizes.

Enjoy these new features which make it easier to find titles to your taste.