If you find your head aching and your insides trembling every time you turn on the news and listen to another account of the unnatural terror that is H1N1 flu, take a breath from the infected air and try looking some place that isn't trying to keep you tuned in with sensationalism. The Ford-Iroquois Public Health Department has news to keep you updated on health issues related to the community. The Illinois Department of Public Health website addresses the same health concerns on a state-wide scale. Moving to the national stage, the federal government's website, flu.gov, consolidates information about the sickness from several government agencies, including the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).

This was originally posted on the old web site but is worth revisiting.

Disclaimer: As with any internet site that allows public posting, there are no controls for the words that may appear on the website. Although only four gallery images are visible on the home page, the content is not censored or filtered. To avoid these postings, bypass the home page and go straight to the create page; also avoid the gallery images. Wordle’s author has received numerous letters from teachers encouraging him to build a version of Wordle that will censor content, but the current version does not do so.

Wordle (www.wordle.net/create) is a Java-based tool that takes text input and turns it into graphical “word clouds.” Word clouds are not linear like traditional text; instead they spread the words around and adjust the text size based on the number of times a word appears within the text input. To make the example word cloud at left, I made a list of words and phrases that I associate with the library. To vary the size I copied some words and pasted them to appear in the list more often than other words..

After clicking Go, the Java tool loads. The newly created word cloud appears with random layout, color scheme, and font. Learning how to modify is best done through experimentation. Variations in font, layout, and color reveal a rich assortment of possible word clouds. To virtually throw the words in the air and see how they land, simply click Layout →Re-layout with current settings. This will take the currently defined settings and revise the arrangement of the words. It’s not unusual to re-layout your word cloud multiple times to see if you can find a better arrangement.

Keeping Wordle Creations

Wordle, as a Java-coded application, cannot write changes to local media, according to Wordle’s author, Jonathan Feinberg. Although any word clouds designed by Wordle are free to use (“You may get rich off it. Just tell people how you made the image, or, if you're using one from the gallery, where you got it,” he explains), getting the word cloud can be tricky. Lots of screen capture utilities exist, but the most basic method is to use the Print Screen button on your keyboard and paste the image into another program. After pasting the screen print, you will need to cut the excess screen content from around your word cloud. In Micrsoft Word, for example, this means using the Picture Toolbar and the Crop tool. In Paint this means using the select tool and cutting the selection.

Wordle Tip: Use the tilde symbol, “~”, to force Wordle to keep multiple word phrases together as a single text string (“The~Lord~of~the~Rings” would appear as “The Lord of the Rings” on a word cloud).

With a constantly growing DVD collection, there’s a definite need to maintain discs in playable condition. Nothing is more frustrating than a scuffed disc that skips. To combat this problem the Clifton Public Library has purchased a disc cleaning machine. Rather than keep this to ourselves, we’re opening up this service to our patrons on a trial basis. Patrons can bring in up to five discs (either CDs or DVDs) per week to have cleaned at a cost of $1.00 per disc. The machine can sand and polish discs to return them to pristine, playable condition. While there is no guarantee that a given disc can be repaired, our experience with the cleaning machine has shown that many scratches can be removed and polished away. Stop at the library for more details.

Interlibrary loan deliveries will be changing this February. We will receive deliveries on Tuesdays and Fridays.

Clifton Public Library has temporarily replaced computer 4 with a workstation formatted with Linux. Linux is an operating system like Microsoft Windows but with one large difference: it is absolutely 100% free. Patrons can now find out what Linux is like and how it differs from Windows or the Mac OS.
There are many different distributions of Linux; the library workstation uses Ubuntu Linux, which is updated regularly with patches and fixes, and has an excellent online community of resources. It includes Open Office, a free office suite which is compatible with Microsoft Office. It also includes GIMP, a graphic editing program comparable to Adobe's Photoshop suite. Many additional programs are available, and easily downloadable through the Ubuntu Linux interface.
Feel free to ask me questions when you stop by.

MyMediaMall delivers audio content over the internet. To date, it's been my favorite vehicle for listening to audio books. But until now there was no program to play the Overdrive books on a Mac. To use a Mac I was limited to the MP3 format audio titles MyMediaMall introduced earlier this year. Although the numbers have consistently increased (MyMediaMall now has 568 MP3 format titles available), there are fewer MP3 titles than the standard or always available titles. Plus I would have to download the titles on a Windows machine, then transfer the MP3s to my Mac through a network connection or on a thumb drive.
Now Mac users can skip the middle man and go straight into Overdrive Media Console for the Mac. This utility manages and plays checked out audio books (and videos and ebooks; just because I only use it for audio books doesn't mean you have to!) from MyMediaMall. To use OMC for Mac, follow the instructions at MyMediaMall to download and install the utility. Afterwards, browse the holdings and check out a title. When downloading the title, OMC will automatically handle process, organize the titles, and allow you to listen to your audio book. I haven't experimented with transfering titles to an Ipod, mostly because I don't have one. . . if you do, let me know how it works!

Library staff can help patrons print or fax in color. The new Brother color copier/fax was purchased with funds from the Donovan Trust grant program.
For the time being we are asking patrons to ask for assistance as we learn our way around the new machine. Color copies are .50 each. Fax costs remain unchanged: $2.00 for the first page and $1.00 for each additional page (no cost for sent cover sheets).
For black and white copies the Kyocera machine is still available for self service .10 per page.

Looks like email is working. I've tested the mail messages a couple of times and have received all.
All you spammers can rev your zombies and let us know what illicit or irreverent products you have available at unpronounceable websites. We'll keep letting Google block 'em.

I've just finished installing the newest version of OpenOffice.org on computer #4. You know the one: it's the computer without the Microsoft Office software. Now patrons can still edit documents, just with an open source software package capable of saving in common office formats like .doc, .xls, and .ppt. If you've ever wondered how a free alternative to standard office suites compares, try logging in on computer #4 and see how the programs work. I guarantee you will be surprised. And impressed.

Currently emails sent to the library staff are being returned as undeliverable. I am aware of the problem and are working on fixing the settings that are causing the problem. I apologize for any inconvenience, and will post an update as soon as I've solved the problem.