New Beginnings for the New Year

As we kick off the new year,we all find ourselves looking forward to new beginnings and new opportunities. Some of that hope takes the form of resolutions that we promise to live up to. We hope that you will find some of the library's resources and services to be helpful in making the most of the new year. The staff would like to wish you a very happy and healthy new year in 2012.

Mobile Apps

If you're looking for some help with sticking to your resolutions, check out some of the following mobile apps:

DailyBurn Tracker is an application that allows you to keep a log of everything you eat each day. It includes a calorie counter for all sorts of items. You can even use the barcode reader on your device to get an automated entry for your log.

Weight Tracker allows you to log your weight as often as you like in a log while measuring your waistline and also estimating how much further you have until you reach your goal.

Budget helps you track your spending and keep to a budget. You can easily see your total income and your total expenses for a period, plus which expenses you are spending the most on and which expenses you are going over budget on.

Spend Free is a free version of the app Spend, which allows you to build a budget of personal expenses. This allows you to break down the budget into daily, weekly, and monthly logs.

Quitter is a simple, free application that tells you how many days you’ve gone without putting a cigarette to your lips and also how much money you’ve saved. Once those dollars begin to add up, it’s a great motivator to stay smoke-free.

NOTE: All applications are available through the Apple Store and the Android Market.

Tech Tales from the Cumberland Public Library

We are offering three series of weekly computer workshops for adults. Each series will offer opportunities to learn basic computer skills relating to Microsoft Office software or the use of various free tools available online. The schedule of sessions is as follows:

Tech Mondays at 6:00 pm

January 9 – Microsoft Word
January 23 – Microsoft PowerPoint
January 30 – Microsoft Publisher
February 6 – Microsoft Access
February 13 – Microsoft Excel

Tech Tuesdays at 10:00 am

January 10 – Microsoft Word
January 17 – Microsoft Excel
January 24 – Microsoft PowerPoint
January 31 – Microsoft Publisher
February 7 – Microsoft Access
February 14 – Facebook

Web Weekends on Saturdays at 10:00 am

January 7 – Introduction to the Internet
January 21 – Introduction to Email
February 4 – Free Downloadable Books
February 18 – Free Online Library Stuff
March 3 – Facebook

Sessions will include an interactive presentation as well as hands-on experience with the highlighted application. Participants are welcome to use the library’s computers or they can bring their own laptop from home as long as their machine has the highlighted Microsoft Office programs and are WiFi capable. Those interested in registering for the workshops or to ask questions about the series can call the library at 333-2552 x128 or can email Aaron at acoutu@cumberlandlibrary.org . You can also contact Aaron to arrange for one-on-one sessions.

If you are looking to broaden your horizons as one of your resolutions, feel free to check out our Universal Class courses . You will find over 500 online video courses that you can take at your own pace. Topics range from accounting and Microsoft Office applications to knitting and ancient history. All you need is your Cumberland Public Library card to create a profile for your courses.

If you received an ebook reader as one of your Christmas gifts and are looking to get some free library books for your it, check out the Rhode Island eZone , where you find hundreds of books for various ereaders from your favorite authors. Books can be checked out from 1-3 weeks. Just contact the Reference Desk for assistance with downloading the books if you need help.

Check Out Some Great Getaway Reads

With winter's chill upon us, you might be thinking about getting away to the tropics. Sometimes a trip like that can go horribly wrong. Check out some of these from our collection:

Beauty queens - Libba Bray

Publisher: Scholastic Press
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 05/24/2011
ISBN-13: 9780439895972
ISBN-10: 0439895979

When a plane full of teenage beauty queens crashes on a desert island, stranding them away from tiaras and technology, their inherently competitive natures combine with the wild challenges they encounter in survival-testing and hilarious ways. By the author of the Gemma Doyle trilogy.

Are you going to kiss me now? - Sloane Tanen

Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 05/01/2011
ISBN-13: 9781402254611
ISBN-10: 140225461X

After winning an essay contest, high school junior Francesca Manning finds herself stranded on an island with five celebrities when their plane crashes on the way to a charity event.

The Swiss family Robinson - Richard Blandford, Amit Tayal and Johann David Wyss

Publisher: Kalyani Navyug Media
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 02/15/2011
ISBN-13: 9789380028477
ISBN-10: 9380028474

Retells in graphic novel format the story of a family shipwrecked on a tropical island as they struggle to survive until they can be rescued.

Robinson Crusoe - Daniel Defoe and W. J. (William James) Linton

Publisher: Knopf
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 10/01/1993
ISBN-13: 9780679428190
ISBN-10: 0679428194

As the sole survivor of a shipwreck, an Englishman lives for nearly thirty years on a deserted island.

First Chapter

Dr. Franklin's island - Ann Halam

Publisher: Wendy Lamb Books
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 05/01/2002
ISBN-13: 9780385730082
ISBN-10: 038573008X

As the three survivors of a plane crash on their way to the rain forests of Ecuador, Semi, Miranda, and Arnie believe they are the only people on the island, yet they soon discover they are not as Dr. Franklin, a genetic engineer, reveals himself and his twisted plans.

First Chapter

Lord of the Flies - William Golding

Publisher: Berkley
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 11/01/2003
ISBN-13: 9780399529207
ISBN-10: 0399529209

A fiftieth anniversary edition of the classic novel of primitive savagery and survival depicts the degeneration of a group of schoolboys marooned on a desert island and is accompanied by an introduction by E. M. Forster, biographical and critical notes on the Nobel Prize-winning author and his work, and original drawings.

First Chapter

In This Issue

Mobile Apps
Tech Tales from the Cumberland Public Library
Check Out Some Great Getaway Reads

Websites

One of the big resolutions for the new year is getting orgnized. Here are some great sites for doing just that!

Are you looking to get some local skiing time in this winter? Check out some of these great websites for planning a ski tip in New England:

Are you looking for ways to keep up with what is going on a the library? Don't forget to subscribe to us at the following sites and get direct feeds about all of our important events and news: