It is no secret that the Tillamook library has a (mostly complete) collection of local high school yearbooks. It is also no secret that old high school yearbooks can be a lot of fun. Here are a few ideas to help you get started:
Surprise a loved one with a photocopy from their high school yearbook. They will feel loved and old at the same time.
Research a popular teen hairdo and graph your results.
Invite a small group of friends to the library and quietly play the “Guess What Happened to Them” game.
Find out if your grandmother’s friends were as interesting as she remembers them.
Check and see if anyone who went to a Tillamook high school shares your name. If you find someone, justly decide which one of you is better looking.
Brochures, newsletters and booklets are great places to find local information. One resource we have created at the Tillamook library is the Tillamook County Information Binders. Every year we visit local parks, recreation areas, community service programs, tourist attractions and many other sites throughout Tillamook County, in order to collect the informative handouts they provide. We also collect the brochures and info-sheets produced by local businesses and agencies.
We have organized these bits of information into subject categories contained in the binders. They can be very helpful if you are new to the area, or just want to learn more about the places and activities in Tillamook County.
Would you like to learn more about computers but don’t like sitting in a big class full of people?
The Tillamook Library is now offering free one-on-one training in the following classes:
Basic Mouse Skills (Mousercise)
Basic Internet Skills
Basic Internet Search Skills
Setting-up and Sending E-mail (Yahoo)
Adding Attachments to E-mail
Introduction to Microsoft Word
Introduction to Microsoft Excel
Classes will be offered on Thursday afternoons between 2:30 and 5:30 p.m. Each lesson will last for approximately 45 minutes. Classes begin Thursday, November 6th and run through January 29th, 2009. Registration is limited. Please call 503-842-4792, ext. 1701 or stop by the reference desk to reserve your class.
Step 2: Enter search terms relevant to the item you are looking for.
Step 3: Find the item and select Place Hold
Step 4: Enter your library card number (no spaces). Your PIN number is usually the last four digits of your telephone number. Be sure to select a library that is convenient for you.
Your hold has been placed. The library will notify you, by phone or by email, when your hold becomes available.
Most people, at one time or another on the internet, find a site that doesn’t seem to work – and you wonder if it is just your computer or the website? (We all know websites can be done or not working for many reasons!) This is where this site will come in handy. Go to Down For Everyone or Just Me? and type in your URL to test that web site. You will find out right away the status of the website.
Most people know that indiscriminately eating the plants you find outside can be very dangerous. Unfortunately a large segment of our population, mostly the two and under crowd, seem to be oblivious to this fact. Not only is there the very real possibility of choking, many of the plants you see every day contain deadly, deadly poison.
In 1972 Oregon State University’s Department of Botany and Plant Pathology released Name Your Poison: A Guide to Cultivated and Native Oregon Plants Toxic to Humans. This book, written by La Rea J. Dennis, is awesome. The opening paragraph really sums up how touch and go studying poisons in the early Seventies must have been:
This publication provides a reasonably comprehensive list of cultivated and native plants in Oregon which are toxic to humans. This list is not to be considered infallible as there is still much to be learned about poisonous plants, and additional studies, or accidents, may reveal that some plants now considered harmless are actually toxic. Also, new species are continually being introduced into cultivation in Oregon and some of these may prove to be toxic. Numerous plants have never been tested for toxicity, so it is never wise to consume any plant material unless it is know to be safe.
Just glancing through this book made me a little more aware of how dangerous plants can be. Rhododendron, which grow all over Tillamook are very poisonous. As are green potatoes and the leaves of tomatoes. One thing I found particularly interesting is how toxic avocado plants are to livestock.
If you are at all interested in poisonous plants, or enjoy old government publications, I highly recommend taking a look at this book the next time you are in the Tillamook reference section. It is located at: Ref 581.69 Dennis
If you are looking for a quiet place to study, plan a project, or have a small meeting, the Tillamook library’s study rooms are ideal. They all have access to the library’s wi-fi signal and one has a dry erase board. Best of all they offer you access to the entire library collection, and space to use it.
The four study rooms are located on the second floor of the library, and are first come first serve. However, there is a three hour time limit per day, per group, to ensure that everyone has access to the rooms. The largest of the rooms can easily accommodate eight people.
The next time you need to conduct a small meeting or study group, consider having it at the library. If you have any questions call the library at 503-842-4792
Nothing is more fun than checking to see if your co-workers or neighbors have criminal records. In the past this would take some serious time and effort, that most likely would not be worth it. If only there was a way to find this information without the hassle of all that searching. Now there is a tool that allows you to do just that. Criminalsearches.com is a beta application that allows you to search an individual’s criminal record. This is not the same as running an FBI background check, but it is still a fairly powerful tool for ‘possible friend’ evaluation. This is a quote from their website:
The data on this site provides only public record information and is intended for your personal use only. Our data should not be relied upon to determine an individual’s actual criminal record since the offense listed is sometimes generic and could represent several different charges. Assumptions should NOT be made solely on the offense displayed on this web site. Our data includes more than criminal records, such as civil filings and traffic and other minor offenses, so people listed may not be actual criminals. Also, not all criminal records result in conviction, nor do they all provide dispositions of guilt or innocence. Expunged or sealed records will be removed from the site once we receive notice of the same from you. In order to provide you the most comprehensive search experience, from time to time we may buy data from private data providers. Charging decisions made by the State Attorney’s Office or from the outcome of criminal trials should be obtained from the source.
Unfortunately, or really fortunately, no one at the library turned up with a criminal record, but I was able to get the dirt on some sketchy guys I went to high school with. Very cool.
This is mostly just a rehash from our September newsletter, but it seems good investment information is more timely than ever.
The Tillamook County Library System now has an online subscription to Value Line. Value Line has one of the largest independent research staffs of investment analysts and statisticians in the world. It collects data and analyzes performance of approximately 8,000 stocks, 15,000 mutual funds, 80,000 options and other securities.
If you belong to an investment club or invest on your own, Value Line is the library resource for you. Value Line provides timely information for investors on stocks, mutual funds, special situations, options and convertibles. One of the most useful, and potentially lucrative, features is Value Line’s famous Timeliness Ranking System.
Every week, the Value Line Ranking System screens millions of data items and using a proprietary series of calculations, ranks each of the approximately 1,700 stocks for probable performance relative to each other during the next six to 12 months. For more than 43 years, Value Line’s Timeliness Ranking System has accurately anticipated stocks’ subsequent relative price performance.
Value Line also has a customizable search tool that allows you to easily find stocks that meet a variety of criteria, including company size and social responsibility factors.
Value Line provides the information you need to help make successful investment decisions. To access this powerful tool click the following link, http://www.beachbooks.org/uhtbin/db_switch.php?db=valueline, enter your library card number and reap the benefits of sound financial information. For more on accessing this valuable library resource, please contact the Tillamook County Library at 503-842-4792, or send our reference staff an email at askalibrarian@beachbooks.org.
You can also chat with us online at www.tillabook.info
