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Tents in a Haitian Neighborhood
Tents in a Haitian Neighborhood

As more information starts flooding in from Haiti, it is amazing how connected people have become.  Browse your Twitter, Facebook, and Flickr sites and you will see what I mean. 

Twitter has something called "hash tags."  They look like this: #haiti.  Almost immediately Tuesday night this tag was created and people have been coming together online.  Anyone posting information regarding the crisis in Haiti is including this tag in their Tweets.  Check out the CNN Breaking News Twitter page for more posts.

For a quick way to browse what is going on in Web 2.0 land, check out these articles on Haiti:

The Mashable.com site tracks social network trends and is an interesting study on slow news days, but really shows off what social media is capable of during times like these. 

Not only are people sharing pictures from the ground in real time, but others are sharing lists of what is needed for the relief efforts.  These sites are an invaluable way for people to connect when they may feel most alone.

Disclaimer: The links may show live real-time comments. Browse at your own risk. 

Pictures used with permission:

Haitian Neighborhood in Rubble
Haitian Neighborhood in Rubble
Presidential Palace in Port-au-Prince
Presidential Palace in Port-au-Prince
Pandemic H1N1 Virus
Pandemic H1N1 Virus

EBSCO is now offering free access to Swine Flu research. This free flu information is grouped by information for physicians, nurses and patients.  The patient information is available in 17 languages and includes information on symptoms, treatments, and prevention.

The Free Library offers a number of different health resources that be be accessed by going to our Advanced Search interface from any page on our website.

Tags: Hot Topics

As the United States is celebrating on this historic inauguration day, take some time to read about the lives of our new President and Vice President.  Free Library librarians have put together booklists of recommended titles:

2009 Inauguration - Books by our new leaders

Past U.S. Inaugurations - Books and resources about historical inaugurations

For Kids - Check out these titles about President Obama and about U.S. history

For those of you visiting Parkway Central today, we will be broadcasting the Inauguration on a TV in the lobby (no seating is available).

The Audacity of Hope
The Audacity of Hope

The Free Library is pleased to announce a new addition to our Downloadable Media options: MP3 formatted audiobooks are now available for checkout! 

This collection includes many classics as well as language learning and career building titles.  Listen to modern fantasy from Christine Feehan as well as old favorites from David Eddings. 

MP3 Audiobooks can be transferred to a wide range of devices, including the iPod®, iPhone™, and the iPod Touch! Enjoy spoken word audio, anytime, anywhere.

Not all titles are yet available as MP3s.  Publishers designate the formats allowed for their titles as they are released.  Please also note that this service is not yet compatible with Mac computers. 

Go to our main page and click on "Downloadable Media" in the green Explore box to browse these new titles. 

MP3s are iPod compatible!
MP3s are iPod compatible!
Listen to Pride and Prejudice on your iPod
Listen to Pride and Prejudice on your iPod

Have you ever wanted to learn a foreign language?  Whether you are travelling out of the country soon or just want  to communicate with your neighbors, our downloadable foreign language audiobooks include a wide selection of language learning programs.  Learn Hawaiian, Arabic, Italian, Spanish and many more languages at home, in your car, or on a plane.  Our foreign language study titles include beginner lessons through advanced as well as vocabulary builders. 

We also offer English language titles including Easy American Idioms, an audiobook designed to help familiarize non-English speakers with some of our more popular but extremely confusing phrases like "I'm counting on you" and "it slipped my mind."

Check them out on our "Media Downloads" page!  As always, if you can't find a title or a language that you are interested in, please send us a note!

To checkout our downloadable audiobooks, music and videos, click on “Media Downloads” from our main page.

Tags: Reviews, languages

Instant Immersion Arabic
Instant Immersion Arabic
Easy American Idioms
Easy American Idioms