Southeast Steuben County Library

300 Nasser Civic Center Plaza

Corning, NY 14830

(607) 936-3713

 

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  Corning, NY, from Higman Hill

 The Hornby Museum & Hornby Historical Society

Campbell Central School

Lindley Community Church

The Conhocton River in Coopers Plains

The Depot Museum, Village of Painted Post, Town of Erwin

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April 28, 2006

Now circulating: New fiction

Most of our "New Fiction" is newly published. Some of the books in our "New Fiction" collection are previously published and recently acquired. It hardly matters, because good fiction endures.

Our New Fiction books don't sit on our shelves for long, so now is the time to check out one of these books, or place a "Hold" on your favorites from any internet-enabled computer, with your library card. Visit the Southeast Steuben County Library home page and click on the "Catalog" link to start the process.

Here is some of what we have to offer:

The House in Amalfi, by Elizabeth Adler; St. Martin's Press

The Third Secret, by Steve Barry, from Ballantine Books.

Leaving Home, by Anita Brookner; Random House.

The Carpet Makers, science fiction by Andreas Eschbach; TOR.

The Widow's War, by Sally Gunning, from William Morrow.

Jubilee, by B.J. Hoff, large print; Thorndike Press.

The World to Come, by Dara Horn, from W.W. Norton & Company.

Dinner with Anna Karenina, by Gloria Goldreich, large print, from Thornndike Press.

Thinner Than Thou, a satirical fantasy by Kit Reed; Tom Doherty & Associates.

My Sister Life, by F.D. Reeve, from Other Press.

The Mercury Visions of Louis Daguerre, by Dominic Smith, from Atria Books.

{What I Did Wrong}, by John Weir; Viking.

"New Fiction" also includes audio books. Nero Wolfe lovers will welcome our two newly acquired Rex Stout mysteries on tape: Too Many Cooks, and A Right to Die. Agatha Christie fans may appreciate the BBC's audio dramatization of The Sittaford Mystery.

Comments & Questions email: turnerb@stls.org


Mystery-thriller writer Charles Benoit, author of Relative Danger, spoke
about his new book, Out of Order in the Laura Beer Community Room on April 27.

Comments & Questions email: turnerb@stls.org


April 26, 2006

Digital libraries bulk up

Digital libraries are expanding in every way imaginable. They are growing in number, in content and in importance to students, researchers and the general public. If you have used the Web for research, you have probably visited a digital library, perhaps without knowing it.

Although some digital libraries are private, including University libraries that have digitized their books and resources, many are free for public use. Topics range from A to Z; from Children's Stories to Science; from "Adams, Ansel" to Zoology.

If American history is your interest, the Library of Congress (LOC) has created an excellent portal to more than 120 collections of text, audio, images and films. Click here to visit LOC's American Memories website. LOC's Global Gateway to world culture and resources is a great portal to the LOC's resources on international culture.

The Internet Archive is a vast repository of free-for-public-use content including downloadable versions of classic feature films now in the public domain.

Project Gutenberg is a library of free digitized books... 18,000 of them.

Typical of many digital libraries, ibiblio is a collection of digital collections of poetry, literature and other resources. One if its "collections" is Project Gutenberg!

The list goes on. If you want to understand more about the nature of digital libraries, how they started, how they interrelate and where they are headed, read Digital Libraries, by William Y. Arms of Cornell University. Like much of what you find in digital libraries, it's a free download.

Comments & Questions email: turnerb@stls.org


April 25, 2006

Erwin, Painted Post:

New local histories introduced

Two new works of local history were introduced yesterday at the Library. Erwin Town Historian Ellen M. Regan presented her project, An Oral History: Town of Erwin, Village of Painted Post, Early to Mid-20th Century to a fascinated audience in the Laura Beer Community Room. At that meeting, David W. Anderson of the Painted Post-Erwin Museum at the Depot announced publication of The Indian Speaks Again, a compilation of all 18 issues of The Indian Speaks, a newspaper featuring home-town news that was mailed to those in military service during World War II.

Copies of both works are now in the Library's collection.

Oral history of Erwin: 1900 - 1950

"The source for my oral history is the stories people told to me," said Regan, who explained that an oral history is "history as related by the people who lived it, including letters and diaries. It is history that relates to daily life."

Regan compiled the oral history based on taped interviews with nine Erwin residents ranging in age from 60 to 90, plus additional documents, photos and other materials. Those interviewed were Fuller Allen, Charles "Buster" Barrett, Roland Bentley, David "Deak" Johnson, John "Jack" Kelly, Audrey Cloos Phelps, Elsie Manning Randall, Thomas Regan and Mary Clark Sardinia.

Regan's oral history, printed in report format with photos, is now available as part of the Southeast Steuben County Library's local history collection.

Hometown news for local heroes

During World War II, "While some 475 sons and daughters of Painted Post were on active military duty, a small committee of citizens decided to publish a monthly newsletter with hometown news and mail it to those who were serving their country. Its title was The Indian Speaks," writes Audrey Phelps in the forward to The Indian Speaks Again, a new book that compiles the historic newsletter into a single volume.

The Indian Speaks was a remarkable publication, produced entirely through volunteer effort and financed by the unsolicited donations of local residents and businesses. The Indian Speaks Again,  compiled and edited by David W. Anderson, reveals the Village of Painted Post as a community that cares deeply about its fellow citizens placed in harm's way.

Pharmacist Ed Tillman, was "one of the dedicated group that wrote and published The Indian Speaks." Others included Harry Childs, Dave Wenban, Ray Stevens, Charles "Coddy" Johnson, Ken Breen and Dortha Morse.

Charles Barrett and others helped Anderson compile The Indian Speaks Again. The 180-page trade paperback is dedicated to Ed Tillman's son, Myron E. Tillman (1932 - 2003), the former New York State Supreme Court judge.

Copies of The Indian Speaks Again are available for sale ($25) at the Benjamin Patterson Inn (Corning-Painted Post Historical Society) and at Painted Post Village Hall. Copies will also be available for sale at the Depot Museum when it opens for the summer season.

Anderson said the Southeast Steuben County Library purchased the first two copies of The Indian Speaks Again. Library Director Lise Gilliland said one copy was for our Local History Room and the other will be placed in circulation.

Comments & Questions email: turnerb@stls.org


April 24, 2006

For children:

Book 'em! & Cinco de Mayo fest

Cinco de Mayo commemorates the 1862 victory of the Mexican Army over the French at the Battle of Puebla. It has since become a festive holiday in Mexico and an ethnic celebration in the United States. The Southeast Steuben County Library celebrates Cinco de Mayo, with two children's programs:

- Spanish Story Time, a bilingual reading with Hipolito Cortes, will be held from 10:30 am to 11 on Thursday, May 4 in the Laura Beer Community Room.

- Celebrate Mexico, a festive cultural experience, will be held here on Thursday, May 4 from 4 pm to 5.

Both Cinco de Mayo programs are open to children of all ages.

Smart dogs collaborate in reading program fun

On the following Thursday, May 11, the Children's Department will host a reading incentive program presented by Chemung County Sheriff's Deputy Juli Lathrop and her cadre of clever canines.

"Book 'em!" is recommended for children 5 and older. It will be held from 6 pm to 6:45.

Programs at the Southeast Steuben County Library are free of charge.

Comments & Questions email: turnerb@stls.org


April 21, 2006

Computer recycling, Saturday

Saturday, April 22, 2006 is Computer & Electronics Recycling Day in Steuben County. Drop off your old computers, televisions and unwanted electrical equipment at the transfer Station in Gang Mills from 9 am to 2 pm. It's free. Click here for full details including a list of acceptable items.

Friends of the Library Book Sale

Don't miss the Friends of the Library, SSC Spring 2006 Book Sale at the East Corning Fire Hall. The sale opens to the general public on Monday, April 24 and runs through Saturday, April 29. The sale is open to members of the Friends of the Library, SSC only on Saturday, April 22, from 9 am to 4 pm. (You can become a member at the door.)

See our "Coming Events" calendar for daily sale hours and the progressive discount schedule. The East Corning Fire Hall is located on Route 352 (East Corning Road) between I-86 exits 47 and 48, near Corning Animal Hospital.

Oral History of Erwin, Monday

Erwin Town Historian Ellen Reagan will present "An Oral History of the Town of Erwin - Telling the Story" on Monday, April 24 at 7 pm in the Laura Beer Community Room at the Southeast Steuben County Library.

Nine residents of Erwin have shared their stories in taped interviews, which taken together provide glimpses of what it was like to live and grow up in Erwin and Painted Post during the World War I and World War II eras, including the Great Depression.

Click here for full details.

Comments & Questions email: turnerb@stls.org


April 20, 2006

Online academic searching:

Microsoft chases Google Scholar

Microsoft Corp. this week introduced an academic search service the company hopes will rival Google Scholar.

Windows Academic Live Search is now accessible in beta form, and so far covers three fields: Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, and Physics. Microsoft plans to expand the database, which currently has more than 6 million records from 4,300 journals and 2,000 conferences.

Both Google Scholar and Windows Academic are free internet-based services. Google Scholar, which covers a broad range of academic fields, builds its text database in part by formula. It crawls the Web, capturing academic content. Windows Academic works exclusively with publishers to provide content, ensuring, the company says, that every article in the database has been peer-reviewed.

Windows Academic delivers short summaries of articles and abstracts.  Search results are presented in a split-screen view, with a preview pane on the right that displays an abstract from an article. When linked to an academic institution's digital collection, the service becomes a fast vehicle for delivery of full-text articles to students and faculty.

For a review of Windows Academic Live Search by SearchEngineWatch.com, click here.

For a more complete description of Google Scholar, click here.

Comments & Questions email: turnerb@stls.org


April 19. 2006

Nvu Web editor is friendly & free

If you've wanted to create your own website but have been dissuaded by the cost of Web-editing software, Nvu, a free, open-source Web editor, can help. Nvu lacks many of the features of popular Web editors such as Macromedia's Dreamweaver and Microsoft's FrontPage. If your goal is to create a personal website or a simple small-business website, Nvu may have all the features you need.

Like FrontPage and Dreamweaver, Nvu is a what-you-see-is-what-you-get Web Editor. The Web page design process is visually oriented. That means users can create web pages without having to learn HTML code or JavaScript.

Nvu doesn't have all of the bells and whistles of the commercial Web editors. For instance, it lacks the capability to handle frames, which allow content to scroll within a fixed frame and the same frame to appear on multiple Web pages. In the main, Nvu also offers fewer formatting options for Web page elements. Nvu also lacks a split-screen mode that permits users to see how changes they make to pages visually play out in code.

But Nvu is remarkable for the features it has rather than for what it lacks. Click on this link to see a mock-up page of The Circulator that was put together in a few hours with Nvu. (Remember to click the "back" button to return to the real Circulator.)

To download Nvu, click on this link. Read the download instructions carefully. Nvu is available for Windows, Mac and Linux. (Note: The Windows icon is hard to find on the download page, but it is there.) Be sure to download the tutorial extension. It helps.

(The Southeast Steuben County Library is not responsible for problems associated with this software. Use it at your own risk.)

Comments & Questions email: turnerb@stls.org


April 18, 2006

First search = FirstGov.gov

You may not have noticed. In January 2006, the Federal Government introduced new search capabilities into its omnibus web portal, FirstGov.gov. The improvements do not jump out at you. They may help you find the government information you seek, faster.

FirstGov.gov now uses the Web-search platform, Velocity, to crawl government documents and Web pages and cluster the results into thematic categories. This clustering capability by Vivísimo, combined with an MSN search index more than five times larger than the old FirstGov.gov search index, deliver a more comprehensive and feature-rich search. As a result, you may find you spend less time navigating links to government information and more time exploring relevant topics in depth.

Selected state government files are included in the expanded search, so you may find even the local information you need by using the search bar on the FirstGov.gov home page. It is a quick and easy way to begin your hunt for government information. Velocity's clustering capability - based on the Clusty meta-search engine - makes the search process even simpler.

For an article posted on LLRX.com that reviews in detail the new FirstGov.gov search capabilities, click here.

Comments & Questions email: turnerb@stls.org


April 17, 2006

Spring Break events for kids

Celebrate Spring Break with your children this week at the Southeast Steuben County Library. Two special events are planned.

On Tuesday, April 18 from 2 pm – 5 pm, the Children’s Department will host a  showing of the hit movie, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. The movie is free, with free snacks. An adult must accompany children younger than age 8. Click on this link for movie details from IMDB.

On Wednesday, April 19 from 2 pm to 3, children of all ages are invited to “Tales from the Hen House,” a rollicking hour of fun with the Mad Hatters Storytelling Troupe. The event features readings of The Most Wonderful Egg in the World, by Helme Heine and Eggday by Jane Cabrera. The reading will be followed by a post-holiday Egg Hunt.

Comments & Questions email: turnerb@stls.org


April 13, 2006

At the Library:

Talk is Out of Order, April 27

Award-winning mystery-thriller writer Charles Benoit will talk about his new book, Out of Order, on Thursday, April 27, 2006 from 7 pm to 9 at the Southeast Steuben County Library. The book's protagonist, Jason Talley, hails from Corning, NY.

In 2005, Benoit received the prestigious Ben Franklin Award and the Glyph Award for his first novel, Relative Danger, as well as nominations for the Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best First Mystery, and the Best First Mystery Barry Award given by Deadly Pleasures magazine.

Copies of Out of Order, as well as Relative Danger, will be available for sale at the book signing and author discussion.

Out of Order depicts Jason Talley, driven into a whirlwind of unexpected events and strange circumstances while abroad, in India.

"India is the last great adventure in the world," said Benoit. "I wanted to portray an everyday person finally being able to be the hero, not like the stories we always see on television and in the movies. It's the everyday individual on an adventure of a lifetime that is so inspiring. In this case the individual happens to be from Corning and I hope that is part of what will make this novel so fascinating to my readers."

Benoit, shown at left, lives in the Rochester, NY area. He has served in the US Army as part of the 3rd Infantry's Old Guard, taught high school social studies with the Rochester City School District, was an instructor for four years at the American International School in Kuwait, and is currently a copywriter at Dixon Schwabl Advertising in Victor, NY. He is also the host of the award-winning "Smart Set," Jazz 90.1's weekly swing show.

Comments & Questions email: turnerb@stls.org


April 12, 2006

Harvard - UC Berkeley study:

Phishing fools savvy surfers, too

According to a Harvard-UC Berkeley study on phishing - the practice of directing users to fraudulent web sites - existing security cues and pop-ups on web browsers are "ineffective" in preventing Internet fraud. Cleverly designed phishing web sites fooled 90% of participants in the study, "Why Phishing Works," by Rachna Dhamija of Harvard and J.D. Tygar & Marti Hearst of UC Berkeley.

The researchers compiled data from other sources, such as the Anti-Phishing Working Group (APWG), which reported that 2 million users gave information to spoofed websites in 2003, and that "U.S. banks and card issuers incurred $1.2 billion in losses." The APWG says there were more than 17,800 phishing reports in January 2006 alone.

The Harvard-UC Berkeley group says we see this high level of Internet fraud because phishing has become sophisticated and because computer users overlook the warning signs. Phishing sites fooled study participants, on average, 40% of the time. 23% of the study group did not look at the address bar, status bar or other security indicators when evaluating suspect websites. Even popup warnings were ignored by 15 out of the 22 study participants.

Although the study group was small, it spanned demographic categories. There was no significant difference in ability to spot fraudulent websites between the sexes, age groups, people with different education levels or even between frequent and infrequent computer users.

The people who did best in the study:

-Carefully evaluated website content,

-Compared the domain name in the address bar with the domain name of the website they intended to land on,

-Looked for the presence of "HTTPS" in the address bar, rather than HTTP (HTTPS indicates transmission through a secure Internet protocol.),

-Looked for the presence of a padlock icon (in the Mozilla-Firefox browser) in the browser frame,

-Checked to see whether the site had a valid certificate.

Confused? Concerned? The Southeast Steuben County Library has a free class on Computer Security. If you want to learn how to protect your computer and guard sensitive information, consider attending the class on Monday, May 8, 2006 from 3 pm to 5. You may sign up at the Reference Desk or by calling (607) 936-3713 ext 502.

Comments & Questions email: turnerb@stls.org


April 11, 2006

Now, fax it here

The Southeast Steuben County Library now offers a fee-based fax service. You may send or receive faxes for $1 per page. Just pick up a Send-a-Fax or Receive-a-Fax form at the Circulation Desk or at the Reference Desk, fill it out and we'll do the rest for you.

All outgoing faxes must have a cover sheet. The minimum price for outgoing faxes is $2 (for a one-page fax with cover sheet). Incoming faxes also cost $1 per page, including the cover sheet. Long distance charges may apply for faxes sent outside of the USA.

Please note: There is a 20-minute turnaround time on all fax service jobs.

Our fax service is just one of the new Library services introduced in 2006. You may now connect to the Internet with your WiFi-equipped laptop at the library. Our fast WiFi service is free. Click on the underlined link for details.

The Library's free portal to New York's online research database of full-text articles from newspapers, journals and other sources has expanded. For details on how to access NOVEL resources, click here.

A comprehensive list of Library services is available at this link.

Comments & Questions email: turnerb@stls.org


Native American Assembly & Library Tour

Girl Scouts and others participated in a Native American Assembly at the Southeast Steuben County Library on Friday, April 7. Joseph and Sandra Windwalker of Medicine Owl Studios led the group. The event included a traveling museum with Native American cultural items displayed. Girl Scouts also visited Technical Services, to see how books are repaired (middle photo row, left).


April 10, 2006

Our Own Authors, sample online

Last week Jessica Teeter and Carolina Downie were named top prize winners of the Friends of the Library 2006 Short Story Contest. Jessica won in the Grades 7 & 8 division with her story, "Sunny's Adventures." Carolina won in the Grades 5 & 6 division with, "Perfectly Miserable."

Both stories, along with 14 other winners and honorable mentions, will be published in the Friends' "Our Own Authors, 2006."

You don't have to wait to read the two top prizewinning stories. Just click on the links below.

"Sunny's Adventures" by Jessica Teeter.

"Perfectly Miserable" by Carolina Downie.

Comments & Questions email: turnerb@stls.org


April 7, 2006

Local history photo feature:

Fire! and firefighters in our past

Thanks to donations from local residents and organizations, the Southeast Steuben County Library has a significant collection of old photographs dating as far back as the late 1800s. These photos reveal slices of life from our past. They tell us what our communities once looked like - the people, the buildings & vehicles, the layout of the land.

The photos in the collection - mostly snapshots and negatives - have been indexed for use by researchers. Some of these images appear in print in regional histories and elsewhere; most do not. They are among the many treasures in our Local History Room.

Other resources in our Local History Room include Steuben County Legislative Proceedings, back to 1985; Corning & Painted Post City Directories dating back to 1893 (some years missing); histories of Steuben and other counties in the Southern Tier; Volumes containing copies of New York state historical documents dating back to the Colonial Period; histories of our local municipalities, and much more.

Please take note: We are always interested in donations of photographs, postcards, local ephemera and books!

If you would like to do research in our local history room, our Reference staff will be pleased to assist you. To protect our documents, photos and other materials, unauthorized entry to the Local History Room is not permitted.

Today in The Circulator, we are pleased to share five images of fire and firefighters of Corning, NY. Please click on this link to see the presentation.

Comments & Questions email: turnerb@stls.org


April 6, 2006

BEFORE                                  AFTER

April 6, 2006

Back by popular demand:

Digital Photofinishing I & II

Our two-part Digital Photofinishing class in March was filled, with several on the waiting list, so we're giving it again this month.

The two ninety-minute sessions are targeted for PC users who know how to use a digital camera but want to learn how to make better images and prints after the snapshots are taken. The classes should be of interest to anyone who wants an overview of how digital photo-processing is done. General computer literacy is the only class prerequisite. Apple (Mac) systems will not be covered, but Mac users may benefit.

“Digital Photofinishing, Part I” will be held in the Southeast Steuben County Library conference room on Monday, April 17 at 6 pm, with Part II to follow two weeks later, on May 1 at 6 pm. Like all of the computer classes at the Southeast Steuben County Library, the new “Digital Photofinishing” series is free of charge and open to the general public.

The first session will cover topics including “Getting images off cameras and onto PCs with flash memory cards and USB cables,” “Camera manufactures’ software vs. the Windows XP Wizard” and “Competing file formats: JPEGs, GIFs, TIFFs and PSDs.” The session will also include a photo-imaging software overview.

Part II will cover basic digital photo-processing techniques including cropping, rotating, flipping; manual and automatic adjustments for brightness, contrast, color balance & color saturation; sharpening, and sizing your final image for printing, the Web or email.

Class size is limited to 15. You may sign up in person at the Reference Desk or by calling (607) 936-3713 ext 502. You may also register by email. Write to turnerb@stls.org or click on the “Comments & Questions” link below.

Native American Assembly

Don't forget our Native American Assembly on Friday, April 7 at 5 pm! The children's program includes interactive drumming, storytelling, games and a traveling museum display, all highlighting Native American culture. It features Joseph Windwalker and Sandra Walks-in-Rain Woman of Medicine Owl Studios.

Comments & Questions email: turnerb@stls.org


Sam Bickham (right) watches origami-adept Ben Seiderman make basic folds in preparation for the creation of a paper eagle.

April 5, 2006

Origami: It's all in the fold

Middle school student and origami enthusiast Ben Seiderman yesterday showed an enthusiastic group how to make artistic masks, eagles and more by folding squares of rice-paper. Our hands-on workshop in origami, held in the Laura Beer Community Room, was one of the events in our celebration of National Library Week.

If you missed Ben's class and want to learn about origami, or kirigami, the form of the art that includes cutting the paper, there are many Web resources that can help get you started.

Visit Origami.com for images, paper-folding diagrams and a database of origami art and resources.

Paperfolding.com features a page on the history of origami, links and diagrams, plus images of the work of Eric M. Andersen, the site creator.

Joseph Wu's Origami features printable folding diagrams in PDF format, basic instructional resources and images of Wu's wonderful paper creations.

If you want to learn how to make a paper crane, courtesy of Aidan Dysart, click here.

Visit the Origami Interest Group website, in The Netherlands. You'll find plenty of useful resources on this site.

For a model of the "waterbomb base" - the basic fold demonstrated by Ben Seiderman, above, used to make more elaborate creations - plus other basic folds and explanations of drawing symbols for origami, click here.

If you just can't put down those scissors, click here for educational resources on kirigami from Education-World.com.

Comments & Questions email: turnerb@stls.org


Short Story Contest organizer Karen Alpha congratulated one of the writers yesterday in the Laura Beer Community Room.

April 4, 2006

Young writers win awards

Jessica Teeter and Carolina Downie were named top prize winners of the Friends of the Library 2006 Short Story Contest. Speaking before a full house at a Writers' Tea and Award Ceremony yesterday in the Laura Beer Community Room, contest organizer Karen Alpha noted the occasion marked the 25th anniversary of the Friends' Short Story Contest.

This year, there were so many well-written stories that six Honorable Mentions were given in each of two contest divisions, said Alpha. There were 165 entries in all.

Jessica Teeter's upper division (grades 7 & 8) 1st-place story, "Sunny's Adventures," was read aloud by poet, parent and science educator Jerry Fong. The grades 5 & 6 1st-place story, "Perfectly Miserable," by Carolina Downie, was read aloud by Alpha, a noted poet, writer and writing-workshop facilitator.

Stories were judged by a panel of writers, educators and librarians. Winners took home gift certificates for books redeemable at the Friends of the Library Book Sale (see "Coming Events" in right column, starting April 22). All winning stories and honorable mentions will be published in Our Own Authors, 2006. Look for selected works from the contest, coming soon in The Circulator.

Congratulations to all participants!

Contest Winners

Grades 5 & 6

1st - Carolina Downie - "Perfectly Miserable"

2nd - Ryan Burt - "Mad Science"

3rd - Steven Hemenway - "Vengence"

Honorable Mentions: Ellen Liu, for "Going By" - Stephanie Creeley, for "Donga to the Rescue" - Mary Katherine Wildeman for “The Miracle” - Elodie Eid, for “Downtown Chicago” - Liza Gerwig, for “Why Horses Stay in Herds” - Patricia Gomes, for “The Forbidden Friends.”

Grades 7 & 8

1st - Jessica Teeter - “Sunny’s Adventures”

2nd - Ariel Miller - “What Could Be Worse Than Another Bad Hair Day?”

3rd - Roland Laboulaye - “Diabolus Cruor”

Honorable Mentions: Russel Anthony, for “Pan-Dimensional Kids, A.I. & Legos” - Kris Beykirch, for “The Lantern Was A’Swaying” - Marina Adams, for “What Should I Do?” - Patrick Cleland, for “Cory Cups” - Abigail Odinak, for “Thursday, August 23, 2005" - Emily Tanner, for “My Dog Max...or Buddy.”

Comments & Questions email: turnerb@stls.org


April 3, 2006

Hot Spot!

You can connect with WiFi

The Southeast Steuben County Library is pleased to announce a new service. If you have a WiFi-equipped laptop, you may now access the Internet at the Library, for free!

Wireless Internet access (commonly known as WiFi) uses radio frequency signals to exchange information between your computer and the Internet. No cables are required.

If you do not own a WiFi-equipped laptop computer, use one of our 27 public access computers to surf the Web or to do Internet-based research. If you do have a laptop with WiFi, here's what you need to know:

1. Pick up a copy of our new "WiFi @ the Library" brochure at the Reference Desk (or click on this link). It's your handy guide to WiFi use at the Southeast Steuben County Library. The guide includes the proper settings for your computer, other technical requirements and complete terms of use.

2. Turn off the sound or bring headphones.

3. Charge your laptop battery in advance. A few power outlets are available, but we suggest you have a fully-charged battery.

4. Turn off encryption. The library’s wireless network is an open public access network. To make life simpler for everyone, the library has chosen not to encrypt the wireless network; therefore, users should be aware that information sent wirelessly could be intercepted purposely. Protect your personal data when using any public wireless network - avoid transmitting credit card numbers and other sensitive information.

5. Be aware that you cannot connect your laptop computer to the library printer. Our wireless network is separate from our wired computer network.

6. All users of the library’s Internet connection are subject to our Computer & Internet Usage Policy.

The Library's WiFi is a 24/7 service. Our hot spot extends beyond the building perimeter.

Comments & Questions email: turnerb@stls.org


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