Monday, September 29, 2014

New Staff Recommends!
This month's review was written by our Supervisor of Children’s Services! Read all about Brent Weeks' Lightbringer series, the latest book in Laini Taylor’s YA fantasy trilogy, and Brian Staveley's The Emperor’s Blades.
For more staff recommendations: http://framinghamlibrary.org/staffrec/staffrec.htm

Book Talk: We Recommend
Recommended by Lucy Loveridge, Supervisor of Children’s Services

Three years and counting since the last Game of Thrones volume; it’s time to start looking for some new sprawling, world-ranging, multi-character fantasies.

I just enjoyed Brent Weeks’ Lightbringer series, books 1-3: The Black Prism, The Blinding Knife, and The Broken Eye. Color magic gives you power but also binds you to work for the good of the people and to an early death. The Prism, the empire’s religious leader, has the most powerBP and magic but usually burns out very early after 7 or 14 years of rule. Gavin Guile, the current Prism, having survived 16 years of rule, is looking forward to 5 more years to accomplish certain goals he’s had. So far, he’s managed to navigate the politics of the Color Council and heal some of the wounds in the Seven Satrapies that were created by the False Prism’s War. That was led by his younger brother and ended with Dazen’s death 14 years ago. He’s also managed to contain the machinations of his power-mad father and to keep a very deep, life-threatening secret from him and the rest of the country. Alas, all his hopes for the next five years begin to fall apart in a very short time with the advent of a religious movement intent on bringing back the old gods and destroying the Prism’s rule through war; the discovery of a fat, inept, uneducated bastard son, Kip, conceived during the False Prism’s War who upsets many of the Prism’s relationships in the capital when Kip’s sent there for education and safety; and the rumored resurrection of a secret society of assassins who may or may not be behind some attempts on Kip’s life (Kip suspects it’s his grandfather wanting him dead). Throw in a prophecy, a spy network or two, some conflicted oath holders and old lovers, an army of insane color mages or color wights, and another bastard—this one educated, powerful and a complete psychopath—and the stage is set for an absorbing read. Unfortunately, this is not a trilogy--there’ll be a two year wait for book 4, and who knows how many more books will be necessary to finish the story.

This year finally brought the last book in Laini Taylor’s YA fantasy trilogy about Karou: Daughter of Smoke and Bone, Days of Blood and Starlight, and Dreams of Gods and Monsters. We meet the mysterious Karou living in Prague and attending art school. She has startling blue hair achieved by wishes rather than hair dye and was brought up by four teeth-collecting monsters—half snake/half woman, half ram/half dragon, etc—who have a magical portal that can open in many cities around the worldDSB and another possibly magic door that is forbidden to Karou; if anyone even knocks at it, she’s kicked out till they’re gone. One day while collecting teeth in Morocco for her monster family, Karou runs into and is almost killed by a beautiful angel with flaming wings. While recovering from her wounds, she sneaks through the forbidden door and finds another world with two moons and a plethora of monstrous types, and is attacked there by a human/wolf hybrid. Her family, incensed by her transgression, exiles her to Prague, and then, bad timing, the angels burn all the magic portals on Earth. Karou is determined to make it to the other world to try and find her family again while the angel, Akiva, is drawn back to Earth to watch Karou who reminds him of another woman in his world who was horribly executed. It turns out the angels and monsters are locked in a millennium-long war on that other world and that Karou is part of a Romeo and Juliet love story that could change the fate of that world (and ours, too, which may become a new battleground in the war when the angels discover our advanced weaponry) if revenge and retribution don’t get in the way. Of course, although this story ends in book three, there are hints of another trilogy to come involving an even greater conflict between worlds and involving Karou, Akiva and their peoples, so more waiting for the true end of the story is necessary.

A promising new series just started this year with Brian Staveley’s The Emperor’s Blades, book 1 of the Chronicle of the Unhewn Throne. The emperor of Annur has set three different paths for his children: the eldest, Adare, a female who can never be emperor, has been educated to be a minister in the empire’s government and has spent her life at courEBt learning the ins and outs of courtly politics; his heir, Kaden, has been sent to a remote monastery to learn the strange disciplines of the monks of the Blank God; and his youngest son, Valyn, has been sent to a remote island to train to become a Kettral, an elite soldier who works with giant hawks as transport. All of them have their trials and tribulations with their upbringing but all love their father and want to serve the empire. However, their father is suddenly dead, betrayed by someone close to him. Adare, Kaden and Valyn must now try to figure out who can be trusted while trying to identify their father’s murderer, protect the new emperor, and grow into their new duties as their paths through the lives their father set for them continue to unwind. The characters, and the different environments and situations they find themselves in, make it worth waiting for the rest of the series.

Tuesday, September 16, 2014

Massachusetts State Election

The State Election is coming up on Tuesday, November 4!

Are you ready? If not, never fear. You have plenty of time to prepare.

Register to Vote

First things first, make sure you are registered to vote.

You can register if you are:
  • a US citizen
  • a resident of Massachusetts, and
  • 18 years old on or before election day 

You have until October 15 to register to vote by mail. For a form, please visit www.sec.state.ma.us/ele, or call the Elections Division at 617-727-2828 or 1-800-462-VOTE.

You can also register in person at the Framingham Town Clerk's Office, but you must do so by the registration deadline (October 15). Please see the Clerk's Office website for more information, including hours: Framingham Town Clerk.

Think maybe you have registered already? (For instance, maybe you have done so a long time ago at the RMV?) Check here to be sure: Registration Status.

Research 

Now that you've got your voter registration sorted, it is time to prepare for the election!

For a complete Information Guide, please see the official Massachusetts Information for Voters Booklet.
This red booklet is available at the library and looks like this - - - - - >


The full guide is also available online: 2014 Information For Voters.

Want to see what you'll be voting for? Please see the image of the Voter Checklist below. You can print the Checklist and bring it with you to the polls after you have filled it out.

http://www.sec.state.ma.us/ele/ele14/ballot_questions_14/checklist.pdf

As you can see, there are two sections on the ballot: Ballot Questions and Ballot Offices.

Paper Version of the 2014 Information Guide

Ballot Questions

The 4 questions that will appear on the 2014 ballot are:

1. Eliminating Gas Tax Indexing
2. Expanding the Beverage Container Deposit Law
3. Expanding Prohibitions on Gaming
4. Earned Sick Time for Employees

If you click on the links above, you will be able to read the details of each question, including pros and cons of a Yes or No vote.

You can read all the information ahead of time so that you will be well informed by the time you go to the polls!

Ballot Offices

In 2014, the following offices will appear on the ballot:
  • Senator in Congress
  • Governor and Lieutenant Governor
  • Attorney General
  • Secretary of State
  • Treasurer
  • Auditor
  • Representative in Congress
  • Councillor
  • Senator in General Court
  • Representative in General Court
  • District Attorney
  • Register of Probate
  • County Treasurer
    (Bristol, Dukes, Norfolk, Plymouth Counties only)
  • County Commissioner
    (Barnstable, Bristol, Dukes, Norfolk, Plymouth Counties), or Franklin Council of Governments
  • Sheriff
    (Suffolk County only)

Want to know who the candidates are? You can check the Elections Division website to see a sample ballot: www.wheredoivotema.com.


Where do I Vote on November 4?

You have researched and you are ready! Now what do you do? You need to check where your voting location is. In Framingham, there are 18 Precincts. Your voting location on November 4's Election Day depends on where you live. To check where you should vote, please see the Framingham Town Clerk's Website: Voter Registration. Here you can look up your Precinct and your voting location. Polls will be open from 7:00am until 8:00pm. Depending on how you registered to vote, when you get to the polls you may be required to show ID, so please don't forget to bring it with you.

Can't vote in person at your polling location? Are you going to be overseas or away at college? Click here for Absentee Ballot Information.

 

Massachusetts Voters’ Bill of Rights

Don't forget about the Massachusetts Voters' Bill of Rights!

Your voting rights are protected. These rights are guaranteed to qualified registered voters.
  • You have the right to vote if you are a qualified registered voter.
  • You have the right to cast your ballot in a manner that ensures privacy. You have the right to vote without any person trying to influence your vote and to vote in a booth that prevents others from watching you mark your ballot.
  • You have the right to remain in the voting booth for five (5) minutes if there are other voters waiting and for ten (10) minutes if there are no other voters waiting.
  • You have the right to receive up to two (2) replacement ballots if you make a mistake and spoil your ballot.
  • You have the right to request assistance when voting from anyone of your choice. If you do not bring someone with you, you have the right to have two (2) poll workers assist you.
  • You have the right to vote if you are disabled. The polling place must be accessible, and there must be an accessible voting booth.
  • You have the right to vote if you cannot read or write or cannot read or write English.
  • You have the right to vote but must show identification if: you are a first-time voter who registered to vote by mail and did not submit identification with the voter registration form; or your name is on the inactive voter list; or your vote is being challenged; or if requested by a poll worker. Acceptable forms of identification are: Massachusetts driver’s license, other printed documentation containing your name and address such as a recent utility bill, rent receipt on landlord’s letterhead, lease, or a copy of a voter registration acknowledgment or receipt.
  • You have the right to vote by absentee ballot if: you will be absent from your city or town on Election Day; or if you have a physical disability that prevents your voting at the polling place; or if you cannot vote at the polls due to religious belief.
  • You have the right to cast a provisional ballot if you believe you are a qualified registered voter but a poll worker tells you that you are ineligible to vote.
  • You have the right to follow up any challenge to your right to vote through the complaint process.
  • You have the right to vote if you are not currently incarcerated for a felony conviction and have registered as a voter after your release.
  • You have the right to take this Voters’ Bill of Rights or any other papers, including a sample ballot, voter guide or campaign material into the voting booth with you. Please remember to remove all papers when you leave the booth.
  • You have the right to vote at your polling place any time between 7am and 8pm for state and federal elections—hours may vary for local elections. If you are in line at your polling place when the polls close at 8 pm, you have the right to vote.
  • You have the right to bring your children into the voting booth with you.
If you feel that your right to vote has been violated in any way, call the Secretary of the Commonwealth’s Elections Division at 1-800-462-VOTE (8683). This call is free within Massachusetts.

Wednesday, September 10, 2014

Download Magazines from the Library with Zinio

New! Download magazines from the library with Zinio! Enjoy either on your PC/Mac, or on your mobile device with the Zinio App.

There are no holds, no checkout periods, and no limit to the number of magazines you can download.

Before you Begin
Please note: You will create a total of two accounts; a Library Collection account to check out magazines; and a Zinio.com Reader account to read checked out magazines via streaming online with computers and/or downloaded offline via mobile apps. (-Patron User Guide)

What You Will Need
You will need a Framingham library card to check-out and download Zinio Magazines. If you do not have a library card, you can sign-up online for immediate access! You may use the temporary card for 30 days before you must visit a library in person to continue using your card. When you pick up your card you must present a photo ID and proof of address.

Getting Started
Using Zinio

Available Magazines: Better Homes and Gardens, Bloomberg Businessweek, Car and Driver, Cloth Paper Scissors, Cook’s Illustrated, Cosmopolitan, Discover, Dwell, EatingWell, Elle Décor, Esquire, Every Day with Rachael Ray, Family Handyman, Food Network Magazine, Good Housekeeping, HGTV Magazine, House Beautiful, Interweave Knits, Kiplinger’s Personal Finance, Macworld, Marie Claire, Martha Stewart Living, Men’s Fitness, Men’s Health, National Geographic Interactive, National Geographic Traveler Interactive, Natural Health, New York Review of Books, Newsweek, O- The Oprah Magazine, Organic Gardening, Outside, PC World, Popular Mechanics, Popular Photography, Popular Science, Prevention, Redbook, Rolling Stone, Runner’s World, Saveur, Seventeen, Shape, Smithsonian Magazine, The Atlantic, The Writer, US Weekly, Vegetarian Times, Weight Watchers, Women’s Health, Working Mother, Yoga Journal

Features:
Use Zinio on your tablet/computer!

....then print pages with ease!


Save your bookmarks!

 Switch from full-color display...

....to text-only, for easier reading!
















Click on hyperlinks on the table of contents...



 ...and go straight to the page!















 Zoom-in to make the text bigger!


...and more!

If you need any help, call Reference at 508-532-5570, ext. 4361. You can also e-mail us at fplmail6@minlib.net.

If you would like in-person help, feel free to stop by during our weekly eBook/Zinio Help drop-in sessions, running every Monday and Wednesday night from 6pm-9pm.

Remember that with Zinio there are never any holds, and you get all the magazines you want instantly. Plus, there is no limit to the number of magazines you can download, and you can keep them for as long as you like.

To see what else you can get online from the library, check out our new Digital Downloads page!



Wednesday, September 3, 2014

NEW Online Resources for Framingham Patrons this year at FPL


Reference USA*
Great for business and consumer research. A directory of nearly 14 million U.S. businesses, searchable by name, yellow page heading, SIC code, zip code, estimate sales volume, and more.


Learning Express*
Educational and career test preparation materials; also includes a computer skills training component. Practice taking tests: ASVAB, GED, GMAT, GRE, SAT, Citizenship, and many more. Create your own account using your library card number.

Ancestry.com* (in library use only)
Thousands of family history databases, including vital records, census records, ship passenger lists, military records and lots more!


Credo
Credo is a user-friendly search engine designed to help with research on thousands of topics. Just enter your search query (as you would in Google), and Credo instantly scans millions of entries from over 70 publishers. Consider it your own private online reference library. Search results are drawn from the entire research collection, including images and sound files, enabling you to get relevant answers from a number of sources at once. Each reference title
can also be accessed individually. New editions and new book titles are added regularly.
 

*Coming Soon!


To Access these Resources:
Click “Databases & Articles” on our homepage,
Or, go directly to: http://www.mln.lib.ma.us/electronic/fpl1.htm

If you do not have a library card, sign-up online and get immediate access! You can use the databases for 30 days before you have to visit a library in person to continue using your card.



More! Visit our homepage or click below for these online extras (no library card required): 

Driving-Tests.org
Get ready for your Permit Test with free online practice exams!

Glassdoor
An inside look at jobs and companies. Anonymous reviews and salary data from employees and interview candidates.