10 Reasons to Visit the Northfield Public Library in August

1. Find a great book to lounge with at the lake, beach or in your backyard!
2. You are about to take that grand road trip with the family and you need books or music to listen to.
3. It's too HOT to do anything else but watch movies!! We have LOTS of movies for kids and adults.
4. Use one of our 11 public computers to search the web (Don't forget your library card!)
5. Genealogy - do you finally have a few weeks to work on your genealogy? Use Ancestry.com in the library or HeritageQuest from home to research those family genes.
6. School is still a month away and the summer reading program is over but your kids still need books to read. Stock up!
7. Your gardens are full of produce - come in and take a look at our great cookbook collection to get ideas for meals or canning or freezing.
8. Planning a trip in August or this fall? We have lots of travel books from trusted publishers like Frommers, National Geographic and Fodors.
9. We have over 150 magazines and newspapers. Come spend an afternoon catching up!
10. Last but not least - it's a great place to hang out or meet friends... AND IT'S AIR CONDITIONED!
Hope to see you soon!

Going on a trip?

Check out these library resources and websites.

The library has all kinds of travel guides from trusted publishers like: Rick Steves, Fodors, Frommers, Moon, Lonely Planet, Time Out, DK Eyewitness, National Geographic, Rough Guides, etc. Check them out and take them anywhere in the world! For free!!! Check our catalog at http://www.northfieldmn.info/ to see if we have what you are looking for. If we don’t have what you want and it isn’t available in SELCO, LET US KNOW!

We also subscribe to two great travel magazines: National Geographic Traveler and Frommer’s Budget Travel – check for those in the magazine room upstairs at the library

Travel Blogs:

http://www.elliott.org/ – blog by travel writer Christopher Elliott – he writes for National Geographic Traveler and the Washington Post

http://intelligentravel.nationalgeographic.com/ – blog from National Geographic that “showcases the essence of place, what’s unique and original and what locals cherish most about where they live.”

http://paulinefrommerbriefing.blogspot.com/ – travel writer and published author of Pauline Frommer guidebooks

http://www.caroundtheworld.com/ – written by Chris Faust, former travel editor at USA Today – lots of reviews, tips and photos from around the world

These publishers also have good websites.

http://www.fodors.com/

http://www.timeout.com/

http://www.traveldk.com/

http://www.roughguides.com/

http://www.ricksteves.com/

Other Great Travel Websites:

http://www.tripadvisor.com/ – compilation of millions of reviews and opinions on hotels, vacations & more

http://www.kayak.com/ – a travel search engine that aggregates information from 100s of travel sites and helps users book flights, hotels, cruises and car rentals.

http://www.airfarewatchdog.com/- offers free online airfare alerts by email

www.tripit.com/ - create a master travel itinerary

www.seatguru.com/ - the ultimate source for airplane seating, in-flight amenities & airline information

http://www.hotels.com/ – leading provider of hotel accommodations worldwide

http://www.priceline.com/ – discount rates for airline tickets, hotel rooms, cruises and more

http://www.vrbo.com/ – vacation rentals by owner – search over 150,000 properties worldwide

http://www.youtube.com/user/TravelerVideos- travel videos on You Tube

http://virtourist.com/- take a tour of places worldwide before you travel!

www.literarytraveler.com/ - plan a literary travel tour using this site

www.hihostels.com/ - look for inexpensive hostel accommodations worldwide on this site

www.onebag.com/ - an interesting site on how to pack light

http://www.igougo.com/ – social networking is a big component of this travel site


Interested in good food when you travel?

http://www.chowhound.com/

http://www.zagat.com/

http://www.urbanspoon.com/

http://www.opentable.com/

New garden plants to consider this season

Last month, John Daniels, Northfielder and plant expert from Bachmans Cedar Acres, spoke at the library on plants that would be hardy for Northfield gardeners. He covered annuals, perennials, shrubs and trees. Here's a partial list of the plants he mentioned. The library has lots of new gardening books, thanks in part to the Northfield Garden Club. Scroll to the end of this post to see some of the titles.



Annuals
Phantom Petunia - black and yellow
Impatiens - Sangria Mix
Geranium Calliope - dark red, new

Perennials
Achillea - 'Saucy Seduction' - rose pink flower
Achillea - 'Strawberry Seduction ' - sturdy, compact plant with red velvet flowers
Echinacea - 'Pow Wow' - 2010 All-America Selection
Echinacea - 'Little Annie' - miniature coneflower - 6-9 in.
Gaillardia - 'Mesa Yellow' - upright habit, 16-18 in.
Sedum - 'Mr. Goodbud' - needs full sun, 17 in.
Hosta - 'Designer Genes' - yellow hosta with red petioles (very unusual looking!)
Hosta - 'Mighty Mouse' - 7-8 in, blue green leaves edged in a broad band of yellow
Hosta - ' Rainforest Sunrise' - leaves are a solid light green but turn to a dark green border with a gold center
Salvia 'Eveline' - 18-30 in, pink flower
Peony - Intersectional Peonies (also known as Itoh Peonies)- a cross between a herebaceous peony and a tree peony - available in colors that traditional peonies can't produce like yellow, peach and coral. Very new so can be very expensive right now.

Shrubs
Hydrangea - 'Bella Anna' - pink - part of the Endless Summer collection
Hydrangea - 'Limelight' - bright green blooms which turn deep pink in fall
Cabernet Barberry - 2 ft, deep burgandy, full sun
Red Twig Dogwood - 'Allemans compact'; 'Arctic Fire'
Gray Dogwood - 'Huron Gray'; 'Garden Glow' (developed at the U of M)
Technito Arborvitae - Dwarf Arborvitae - 6 ft - dense, compact
Acrocona Pusch Spruce - 2 ft dwarf spruce

Roses
Knockout roses - best selling in the U.S. - hardy shrub rose
Northern Accents - Ole, Lena, Sven and Sigrid
Easy Elegance - Pinktopia; All the Rage
Rugosa - one of the hardiest shrub roses

Trees
Japanese Tree Lilac - 'Snowdance'

Gardening Books at the Northfield Library

Continuous Container Gardens: Swap in the plants of the season to create fresh designs year-round

635.9 TO

Designing with Grasses      716 LU

Edible Front Yard: the mow-less, grow-more plan for a beautiful, bountiful garden     635 SO

Gardener's Color Palette: paint your garden with 100 extraordinary flower choices     635.9 FI

Homegrown Harvest: a season-by-season guide to a sustainable kitchen garden    635 HO

The Nonstop Garden: a step-by-step guide to smart plant choices and four-season designs     712 CO

Prairie Style Gardens: capturing the essence of the American prairie wherever you live 635.9 ST

Resilient Gardener: food production and self-reliance in uncertain times     635 DE

Small-plot, High-yield Gardening: grow like a pro, save money, and eat well by turning your back (or front or side) yard into an organic produce garden      635 GI

Starter Vegetables, Fruits and Herbs: 24 No-fail plans for organic gardens      OS 635 WI

Sugar Snaps and Strawberries: simple solutions for creating your own small-space edible garden    635 BE

Tips for Container Gardening: 300 great ideas for growing flowers, vegetables, and herbs    635.9 TI

Artful Garden: creative inspiration for landscape design     712 VA

Car Stuff

Are you looking for a new car? How about a used car? Or maybe you just need to repair the car you have. The  Northfield library can help. The following links give you information on buying a new or used car or repairing the car you have.

Consumer Reports - The library has two subscriptions to Consumer Reports - one you can check out and one at the reference desk.  The magazine reviews cars all year but the April issue is the big car buying issue. (The April 2011 issue is AVAILABLE!). Consumer Reports is also available online through EBSCO, one of the library databases.

http://tomcat.selco.info/o_resources/?profile=nor - scroll down to EBSCO - you'll need your library card to access.

NADA Guides- (National Automobile Dealer Association) - Used by banking and automotive professionals for used car prices. Available at the reference desk. Check out their website for more information:
http://www.nadaguides.com/

Old Cars Report Price Guide - published 6x per year- covers used and collectible cars from 1930-1980. Available near the reference desk.

Chilton Online- The library does subscribe to print repair guides for domestic and foreign cars (ask at the reference desk).  However, we also have an online subscription to Chilton. Just like EBSCO from above, you'll need your library card to access - http://tomcat.selco.info/o_resources/?profile=nor.  Scroll down to Chilton. Repair your car 24/7.

Websites:

http://www.ag.state.mn.us/Consumer/Cars/Default.asp - consumer tips on car buying from the Minnesota State Attorney General's office

http://www.kbb.com/ - new and used car prices, new car reviews

http://www.edmunds.com/ - new and used car prices, car comparisons and car buying advice

http://www.iihs.org/ - Insurance Institute for Highway Safety - crash data for cars as well as data on seat/head restraints

http://www.fueleconomy.gov/ - U.S. Dept. of
Energy provides gas mileage data on U.S. cars, trucks, vans, etc.

http://www.leaseguide.com/index2.htm - information on leasing vs buying a car

http://www.twincitiesgasprices.com/ - check out local gas prices - see who has the cheapest price in Northfield!

Finding Money for your Nonprofit organization through Grants

The Northfield Public Library has a collection of print and electronic resources that can be of assistance to grant seekers. In Minnesota, grants are available to individuals, small business and nonprofit organizations.


For the novice, the grant seeking process can be daunting, but there are number of resources which explain the grantsmanship. Following are a couple of key resources:

Grant Writing 101: Everything You Need to Start Raising Funds Today by Victoria J. Johnson provides an overview of the grant seeking process. Part one covers defining various types of grants, writing the grant proposal, researching grantors and coping with the success or failure of your grant submission. Part two includes samples of successful grant proposals, cover letters, and sample budgets.

The Foundation Directory is another key source for grant seekers in the library. Arranged alphabetically by state, each entry includes a wealth of detailed information about the finances, governance and giving interests of the 10,000 largest grant making foundations within the United States.
A fantastic electronic resource available on the laptop computer in the Business and Employment Resources area is the Minnesota Grantmakers Online. This subscription database is maintained by the Minnesota Council of Foundations and is considered THE electronic resource for researching both grants and grant makers in Minnesota. More than 1400 foundations and corporate grant makers are included in the database, as well as over 100,000 possible grants of $2000 or more.

The library has compiled a list of print sources, online grant writing resources and print and electronic newsletters on grant seeking. This list is available in the library and on the website of the Northfield Public Library. Click “Other Resources” off the home page.

For further information about the grant writing resources available in the Northfield Public Library call the Reference desk at 507-645-1802.

A few things from Upstairs

Catalog Questions?

Are you having questions about how to use our new catalog?  Selco has some online tutorials on how to search the catalog, make a request or review your account.

http://www.selco.info/display/catalog/online%20catalog

New DVDs @ the Library!!

Checkout Booknews to see a list of some of the new DVDs at the library.   

http://www.supportlibrary.com/nl/users/northfield/web/nl_22.html

We've added this list to the Booknews page.(go to our homepage at http://www.northfieldmn.info/ and click on "Reader's Resources".  Look for DVDs.  There's a summary of the movie and a trailer. You can link right to our catalog to request it! Check it out! Now that the Oscars have been awarded check our catalog and see which ones we have now.

Hot Reads for Cold Nights 2011

Hot Reads has begun! Have you joined? It isn't too late. The program goes through Feb. 28. Participants fill out a comment slip for each book they read during the duration of the program. Your name and phone number will also be added to a weekly drawing for $5 Northfield Chamber of Commerce Dollars (3 prizes will be awarded weekly).

We will also be hosting 3 special programs during Hot Reads:

Saturday, Feb. 12 @ 11:00 a.m. - A Civil War program for all ages, presented by Michael Eckers

Thursday, Feb. 17 @ 7 pm - Minnesota Book Award winning author, David Housewright will talk about his mystery books

Thursday, Feb. 24 @ 7 pm - Patrick Coleman, curator of books at the Minnesota Historical Society will speak

You can join Hot Reads at the reference desk, upstairs at the Northfield Library. For more information please call 507-645-6606.