Author Archive

« Older Entries

New Year’s and Self-Improvement

Comments: OffDecember 20th, 2012 by

Once again, it’s almost time for one of my least favorite holidays: New Year’s. I can’t tell you exactly how I became the New Year’s Grinch, but there it is. I tend to see it as a rather arbitrary reason for a party, oddly accompanied by a lot of promises for self-improvement.

On the bright side, parties! The instinct for advancement! Hope for a positive change! These are Good Things. It’s as good a time as any, I suppose, to look toward the future and try to make things better in your life. If you’re looking to make a change in your career, we have a couple of interesting tools to help. One is JobNow!, a service where tutors will chat with you live online and help you with your resume and cover letter. You can share your resume with the tutor and go through it real-time between 4 and 11 every day, or you can sign in to JobNow! with your library card, create a login for yourself, and send your resume to a tutor. Within 24 hours, a tutor will review it and return it to you with comments. The tutors can also help with interviewing skills.

Another option is our Testing and Education Reference Center. This is a collection of practice tests and exam prep books that can help you get ready for career-related tests such as the ASVAB, PRAXIS, real estate, and other jobs, in addition to college entrance tests like the SAT and ACT. Everything from GED to LSAT to TOEFL tests are available. There’s even a section for basic computer tutorials.

Stop by the reference desk or give us a call at 589-4611 if you have any questions. You can also email us at reference@nashualibrary.org.

And… Happy New Year!

Tags: , , , , , , ,
Posted in Uncategorized

NPL’s Summer Reading Program for Adults

Comments: OffAugust 21st, 2012 by

Thanks to everyone who joined us this year for NPL’s new summer reading program for adults. We hope you all enjoyed the reading, eventBetween the Covers program logos, and prizes as much as we enjoyed planning the program!

There were 124 participants in the adult summer reading program this year. They logged a grand total of 836 books between June 15 and August 10. That’s an average of 6.7 books per person.

The book most read was: When Madeline Was Young, by Jane Hamilton, read by 14 people. Tied for second place were E.L. James’s 50 Shades of Grey and Suzanne Collins’s The Hunger Games.

Participants earned raffle entries for each book read and each event attended. Many thanks to the Friends of the Nashua Public Library for providing funding for raffle prizes! The raffle prizes were drawn on August 15. Congratulations to this year’s raffle winners:

Sony Reader Melissa Howley
$25 Barnes & Noble gift card H White
$25 Barnes & Noble gift card Sarah Shor
$50 MT’s Local gift card Liz Ullrich
$25 Portland Pie Co. gift card Carol Tyler
$25 Portland Pie Co. gift card Danielle Zimmerman
$10 Hayward’s Ice Cream gift card Kristy Donaghy
$10 Hayward’s Ice Cream gift card Renee Gardiner
$10 Hayward’s Ice Cream gift card BettyJo Johanson
$10 Hayward’s Ice Cream gift card Marie Morgan
$10 Hayward’s Ice Cream gift card Christopher Yanni
$10 Dunkin’ Donuts gift card John Bedinger
$10 Dunkin’ Donuts gift card Geraldine Connel
$10 Dunkin’ Donuts gift card Katie Saad
$10 Dunkin’ Donuts gift card Sue Lavalla
$10 Dunkin’ Donuts gift card Julie Gingras
Pair of tickets to Nashua Reads presentation with Jane Hamilton Karla Tolomeo
$5 coupon to the Friends of Nashua Public Library book sale Virginia Tenney
$5 coupon to the Friends of Nashua Public Library book sale Petra Ellis
$5 coupon to the Friends of Nashua Public Library book sale Rebecca Luibakka

Please join us again for Adult Summer Reading next year. The 2013 theme will be “Groundbreaking Reads.” We’ll see you next summer!

Tags: ,
Posted in Events, Friends of the Nashua Public Library

New Computer Login and Printing System

Comments: OffApril 4th, 2012 by

Starting Thursday, 4/5, you’ll notice that we have a new login and printing system on our public computers.

The new login system, called CASSIE, should be significantly more stable than the previous system, CybraryN. When you log in to the computers through CASSIE, you will type in the full 14-digit barcode number from the back of your library or computer card. You’ll also need to type in your PIN. As with the current system, you will be able to log on or off as much as you want until you have spent an hour on the computer. Once you reach an hour, the system will extend your time in 15-minute increments as long as there are computers available in the area for others to use. If the computers fill up, the person who has been on the longest (over an hour) will have to log off when their extension runs out.

If the computers fill up, you can sign up for the next available computer at the nearest queue station. There is a queue station next to the reference desk on the top floor, and another queue station in the Winer Room  in the Music, Art, and Media Department.

Teens will now be able to walk right up to a computer in the teen room and sign in directly, without stopping at the queue station first. If the teen computers are full , teens can sign up for the next available computer at the queue station by the reference desk.

The other big change is in the printing system. We are moving to a coin-operated printing system, much like the current coin-operated photocopiers. It works like this:

When you print something, you need to type in your username (whatever you choose). When you go to the print station, you’ll type in your username on the computer next to the printer. A list of your print jobs will come up on the screen. Click on the one that you want to print; pay for the print job using the coin box, and your printout will come out.

Black and white printouts now cost $.15 per page. Color printouts still cost $.25 per page.

If you have a balance on your old print account, stop by the reference desk with your library card or photo ID and we will refund the balance.

If you have any questions about the new system, please ask a staff member at the reference desk or the Music, Art, and Media service desk. We will be happy to help!

Posted in Computers, Library Services

Interview Coaching and Resume Review

Comments: OffNovember 8th, 2011 by

Are you looking for work? Need some help with your resume, or some practice with your interviewing skills? We have a new library service that can help. JobNow, part of our subscription to the Brainfuse online tutoring service, offers interview coaching as well as resume review.

If you are looking for someone to proofread your resume or cover letter and give you constructive feedback, give JobNow a try. You can upload your resume/cover letter to the service, and one of the tutors will read it and get it back to you with suggestions within 24 hours. You can also chat live with a tutor if you have questions, 4:00 PM – 11:00 PM every day.JobNow

JobNow also offers help for those who want to practice their interviewing skills. Live coaching via internet chat is available seven days a week, 4:00 PM – 11:00 PM. They also have articles on how to prepare for the interview—key questions to consider, what to bring with you, do’s and don’ts, and so on.

In addition, there is a skills building section, for help with academics, practice tests, live assistance with Microsoft Office software, and more.

You’ll find JobNow on our website at http://www.nashualibrary.org/homework.htm. Use the barcode from the back of your library card to log in to the service. If you have any questions about how to use JobNow, stop by the reference desk or give us a call at 589-4611.

Tags: , , , , , ,
Posted in Databases, Library Services

« Older Entries