Get plugged in!

It's here! Check out our new catalog plugin! It will sit in your browser and be available for you to easily search the CML catalog, no matter what site you are on. It works with both Firefox and Internet Explorer and installation is as easy as a couple of clicks. Try it out and let us know what you think!

Feeling Lively?

Take your chats to a whole new level with Lively, the latest product from Google. According to their blog, Lively allows you to create your own room, personalize an avatar, and chat with up to 20 people at once. You can design your room however you want it to look, and even fill it with furniture or post YouTube videos on the walls! Lively makes your chat three-dimensional, and reminds me a lot of Second Life, except that it is web-based. What do you think of it?

What widgets do you want?

Here at the library, we will soon begin work on creating resources that allow customers to embed widgets into their personal space. We want you to be able to take valuable libraries tools along with you. We want you to be able to embed useful products (and advertising for us!), on your blogs, Facebook and Myspace pages, etc. You love the library, so why not let it show! Some things we're considering:

• Catalog & Premium Resources search box
• "I love the library" badges
• A ticker of items you have checked out
• A My Account box to keep you updated on due dates, etc.

What else would you like to see? Widgets are so cool... they save time and they look fab. What's not to love?

A Highlighter Worth Highlighting

We hope you are enjoying the new library toolbar. If you haven't had a chance to download it yet, you're missing out! One of the coolest things about the library toolbar, imho, is the highlight feature. Using the toolbar in conjunction with a site such as Amazon.com makes for fantastic results. Let's say you're browsing through Amazon and come across a book or CD that strikes your fancy. Highlight the title and voila! The text you highlighted automatically appears in the toolbar search box ready and waiting to be searched in the library's catalog. What will we think of next!? Now, get out there and start using the library toolbar!

The Library Toolbar

We hope you've had a chance to try out the new Library Toolbar by now. I want to take a few minutes to explain the functionality and the different parts of it, so that you can use it to its full advantage. So, starting from left to right, let me break it down for you:

• The first button has the library logo on it. Just clicking once on this logo button will take you to the Columbus Metropolitan Library's homepage.

• This logo button is also a drop-down menu. If you click on the small arrow to the right of the logo, you'll see the full menu: CML Homepage, Contact Us, Help, Privacy, About, Tell a Friend, Refresh Toolbar, Clear Search History, Upgrade, and Toolbar Options.

• Next is the Search Box. The default search is a Google search, but you can use the drop-down menu just to the right of the arrow to access other search features. Catalog Search will search the library's catalog, and Premium Resources will search our online subscription databases. There are other search functions here that will allow you to do basic Dictionary, Encyclopedia, Image and Weather searches.

• The next part of the toolbar is the drop-down menu for the search box. This allows you to go through and see your previous toolbar searches. You can clear this by clicking on Clear Search History in the logo drop-down menu.

• The Go button will execute the search commands you have specified.

• The My Account link opens the My Account window so you can check your library card.

• The next button is a drop-down menu for all the available eMedia resources the library offers. These resources are from the Mid-Ohio Library Digital Initiative, where you can download eBooks, Audio Books, eFlicks and music!

• The Events link will take you to the online library events calendar.

• Then we come to the New Items button. These are RSS feeds for the latest items added to our catalog. Please note that this functionality is still a work-in-progress, so enhancements will continue.

• The next two links, Kids and Teens, offer direct access to the library's Kids and Teens web sites.

I encourage you to play around with the new features of the toolbar! Remember that, no matter where you are online, you have one-click access to many helpful library features. In the coming weeks, we will highlight more toolbar features and talk about some of the links on the Power Tools page. Feel free to let us know what you think. We will use your suggestions to develop more tools and discover more cool sites!