Category: Library news

A Patent Truth

- Bill Leave a comment

You may have read the blurb in the newspaper that DPL is the first electronic patent depository in the country. Well, it’s true, but what does that mean to you, John Q. Inventor?

If you have an internet-connected computer, you can already easily search patents to see the originality of your idea the United States Patent and Trademark Office’s search page. However, advanced searchers will find a more streamlined experience using our PubWest searching station, which only Patent Depository libraries hold.
And, of course, we have a direct line of support to the USPTO to help you get your searching endeavors off the ground.

New resources for your book club!

- Ann Leave a comment

The library is in the process of adding 15 new kits to our Bookclub in a Box collection!  If you haven’t used them before, the kits are filled with multiple copies of a book (and even the audio version for some), a list of discussion questions, and other resources to build up your book discussion group.  We now have the kits at all three locations (Main Street, Fairmount Street, and Eastern Avenue), so stop by any of our locations to pick one up today!

Here are the newest titles that have been added to the Bookclub in a Box collection:

The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger

Escape by Carolyn Jessop

The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett

No! I Don’t Want To Join A Book Club! by Virginia Ironside

Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford

Still Alice by Lisa Genova

Save Your Own by Elisabeth Brink

We Need to Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

Last Night at the Lobster by Stewart O’Nan

And additional kits coming soon include:

American Wife by Curtis Sittenfeld

A Mercy by Toni Morrison

Lethal Legacy by Linda Fairstein

A Version of the Truth by Jennifer Kaufman

Deer Hunting with Jesus by Joe Bageant

National Library Week

- Ann Leave a comment

April 10-16 is National Library Week!  What a perfect time to check out some materials featuring libraries and/or librarians.

Here are a few of my favorites, and even though technically the main characters aren’t librarians, they definitely do spend a lot of time in libraries.  First off is The Rule of Four by Ian Caldwell and Dustin Thomason.  When they wrote this, they were fresh out of college, so their descriptions of academic life at Princeton really hit the nail on the head.  Also, the book’s plot reminded me of The Da Vinci Code, as the two main characters are close to solving the mysteries of an ancient Renaissance text that has confused scholars for centuries.  It’s fast-paced and there’s lots of code-breaking going on.

Another favorite is The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova.  This is a lengthy Draculian tome, so it’s catalogued in the Horror section.  The book begins with a young woman exploring her father’s library when she discovers an ancient book with letters all addressed to “My dear and unfortunate successor.”  Generations of researchers have risked their lives and their reputations trying to learn the truth about Vlad the Impaler, and to uncover this source of darkness and rid the world of it powers.  Now this young woman must decide whether to take up her father’s quest; her journey takes her from  Ivy League libraries to archives in Istanbul and Eastern Europe.  I don’t usually read Horror, but I couldn’t put it down.

Just think about it.  Celebrate National Library Week! And find the answers to your quest at your Davenport Public Library!

Library Closed for Staff In-Service

- Ann Leave a comment

All three locations of the Davenport Public Library will be closed today, Wednesday March 9 so that we can conduct a Staff In-service. We’ll be busy learning all the latest and greatest ways to serve you better and continue to be the best library possible.

We’ll be open again on Thursday as usual – the Main and Eastern Avenue libraries will open at 9:30am and Fairmount will open at noon.

Library Closed Due to Bad Weather

- Ann Leave a comment

It’s the Blizzard of the Century! OK, maybe it won’t be, but it is shaping up to be a major snowstorm with dangerous winds and lots of snow. The best thing to do is to stay home and leave the roads to snowplows and emergency vehicles.

Because of this major storm, the Davenport Public Library will be closed Wednesday, February 2 at all three locations. We will re-open on Thursday, February 3rd.

Stay safe and warm!

Did you receive an eBook reader this holiday season? The Davenport Library has eBooks!

- Michelle Leave a comment

With the popularity of eBook readers this season (just judging from the influx of commercials alone), I imagine many of our library patrons have received them as holiday gifts!  Davenport Public Library has two different resources that provide free eBooks and eAudiobooks for our patrons, NetLibrary and Wilbor. To get started, visit our homepage. On the left hand margin, click on “Download eAudiobooks, eBooks and Music,” which will link you to our resources.

To access Wilbor, you will need to have your library card number handy. After you install their software you can download your favorite books by your favorite authors and transfer your selection to your mobile device.

NetLibrary requires a visit to your nearest Davenport Public Library location to sign up for a free account. After you sign up, you are able to log on from home to download and transfer eBooks.

Each website lists compatible devices in an easy to read list.

Contact the Reference Department with any questions!