Library Closed For Holiday

All branches of the Atlanta-Fulton Public Library System will be closed Sunday, January 1, and Monday, January 2, 2012 for the New Year's Day holiday. Branches will reopen at their regularly scheduled times on Tuesday, January 3, 2012.

This gives you a few more days to visit your local branch and stock up on some holiday entertainment to ring in the new year. Books, DVDs, CDs, and more! Search the catalog ahead of your visit so you know what's available at your branch. Did you get an eReader for Christmas? Check out the library's collection of downloadable books and audiobooks from Overdrive! You can also check the library's events calendar to see what kinds of programs will be taking place through the end of the month.

We wish all of our patrons a Happy New Year!

Library Closed For Holiday

All branches of the Atlanta-Fulton Public Library System will be closed Friday, December 23 - Monday, December 26. Branches will reopen at their regularly scheduled times on Tuesday, December 27, 2011.

Feel free to check our Calendar of Events for any holiday themed activities that might be going on during the next few weeks.

We wish all of our patrons a very safe and happy holiday season!

Genealogy @ Your Library!

If you're interested in learning about your ancestors, or simply must know if you are related to anyone famous (or infamous!), then the upcoming holiday season can provide a great chance to start doing a little research into your family tree. Asking grandparents and great-grandparents about other family and events they remember can be a great place to start. With that information in hand and a little bit of research using some of the resources from the Atlanta-Fulton Public Library System, you can work your way back through time, finding ancestors along the way!

HeritageQuest Online and Ancestry Library Edition are both available through the library's A-Z Database list. HeritageQuest can be used from home to search census records and family histories. To access this database, you will need the current GALILEO password, which you can find by logging into your library account with your card number and PIN, and following these directions. You will need to go to your local library branch to search Ancestry Library Edition for birth, death, and marriage records, census, military and immigration records, and much more. And of course you can check the library catalog for any print materials available that may help you with your search.

The Special Collections Department of the Central Library houses the Library System's Genealogy Collection. This collection of sources has an emphasis on Georgia, but information from other Southern states may also be found here. GALILEO has also compiled an extensive list of online databases and websites geared towards Georgia family histories, including the Digital Library of Georgia.

Good luck, and happy researching!

Best Books Of 2011

It's that time of year again when lists of the year's best books start coming out, just in time to find titles to fill in your holiday shopping! The New York Times recently put out its list of The 10 Best Books of 2011, listed below.

FICTION

The Art of Fielding, by Chad Harbach
11/22/63, by Stephen King
Swamplandia!, by Karen Russell
Ten Thousand Saints, by Eleanor Henderson
The Tiger's Wife, by Tea Obreht

NONFICTION

Arguably, by Christopher Hitchens
The Boy in the Moon, by Ian Brown
Malcolm X, by Manning Marable
Thinking, Fast and Slow, Daniel Kahneman
A World on Fire, by Amanda Foreman

For more information about these titles, or to place them "On Hold," visit the library catalog here.

And for even more great book suggestions, browse a few of the following lists:

Best Sellers and Award Winners for all ages: Atlanta-Fulton Public Library System

100 Most Notable Books of 2011: The New York Times

Amazon's Top 100: Amazon.com (This list is even conveniently separated by various genres, age groups, and includes lists for both print and Kindle versions of titles!)

Top 100 Best Sellers of 2011 for all ages: Barnes and Nobel

We hope you enjoy hunting for the perfect books to give to all your friends and family this holiday season!

New eBook And eAudiobook Newsletter!

If you are one of the many patrons who are now enjoying the Atlanta-Fulton Public Library System's collection of downloadable eBooks and eAudiobooks and would like to keep up with new titles being added to these collections, then our new eMedia Newsletter may be just the thing for you! This electronic newsletter will feature new electronic media that may be downloaded to mobile and e-reader devices like the Kindle, Nook, MP3 players, iPods, iPads, and smart phones, and will be delivered straight to the inbox of your choosing. Visit the sign-up page and enter your email address to subscribe.

If you'd like more information about how to get started with our downloadable materials, (especially if you're thinking of getting or giving an eReader this holiday season!) visit our Overdrive Downloadable collection and check out the Getting Started pages, the video guided tour, or the My Help section. And as always you can contact your local branch to speak with a librarian for more information about these resources. Happy downloading!

Thanksgiving Holiday Hours

All branches of the Atlanta-Fulton Public Library System will close at 6:00 p.m. on Wednesday, November 23, 2011. The library system will remain closed on Thursday and Friday for the Thanksgiving Holiday. All branches will reopen at their regularly scheduled times on Saturday, November 26, 2011.

Please check our events calendar for holiday activities that may be taking place at your local branch during the week!

We hope everyone has a very safe and happy Thanksgiving Holiday!

Spotlight on NoveList!

Have you ever had trouble figuring out what the next title in your favorite series is? Or been searching for a book just like the last one you read? Or maybe you've been searching for authors like the one that finally got your child to sit down and read happily for hours? Well, one of the best resources to answer all these questions (besides your local librarian, of course!) is a database called NoveList. All Atlanta-Fulton Public Library System card holders have free access to this database through the library's website, twenty-four hours a day. NoveList makes it easy to find series, title or author recommendations based on books you've previously read, or genres you particularly enjoy. Here's how you get started:

1. Go to the library's homepage at www.afpls.org.
2. Under Books, Research and Databases, click on A-Z Databases.
3. Scroll down the list and click on NoveList. Note, if you are outside of the
library you will be asked for your library card number!
4. In the search box type in your description of a book you'd like to read, or
search for specific authors, titles, and series.
5. Each result from your search will also give you 9 author read-alikes and 9 title
read-alikes.
6. Print or save your lists and use them to search the library catalog for your next great read!