The Official Perri O’Shaughnessy Page has a fittingly haunting feel to it. The site offers information on the author, news, information on her work, a FAQ, and writing guide for beginning authors.

Mary Jane Clark.com is the official site of this author of suspense novels. She has a new one coming out in July, Dancing in the Dark. The site offers information on Clark, her books, news, and kudos.

Google Guide: Help with Searching is a very nice site that offers shortcuts, tips, tools, and more to make Google work better for you. One of their best sections is their Cheat Sheet for Advanced Users that offers a quick guide to the types of searches you can do on Google.

Google Earth is a free downloadable application that provides geographical images, including maps and satellite photographs. You can also add your own notations to the images and save your favorite searches.

I’m back from ALA. Internet access didn’t work out for me at all, but the conference was great! I especially enjoyed the PLA program on being a new rural library director. While I am certainly not new at this, I still learned some things, including the amazing services that some areas offer their small libraries.
I want my public library system to offer in-depth long range planning aid to me! Unfortunately, I want them to do it about 6 months ago! But I do know that many of the small libraries in our system are not doing long range planning and that even those of us who do it do not follow Planning for Results. This is a perfect place for our system to really help small libraries plan in effective ways. One of the people on the panel has helped 90 small libraries do long range planning! Amazing!
I also learned how to do more effective storytimes that will follow research-based methods that lead to better early literacy for children. The best part is that it improves literacy in ALL children, not just lower income or those learning English. All children! This is definitely something we as public librarians need to be focusing on! I see a possible grant opportunity here!
This is always the way I return from ALA, full of ideas and excitement. But it is nice to be back and start implementing all these ideas flying about my brain.

I am off to ALA early this morning. Check out the PLA Blog where I am one of the many volunteer bloggers. This is my first ALA in ten years, so I am very happy to be returning to the conference.
Please if you are attending ALA too feel free to stop me for a chat. I am happy to talk small libraries, blogging, technology, etc.

CommonTunes offers a directory of free music that is legal to download. You can search the collection, add music of your own, or browse through the top songs and recently added titles. To make it even more useful, the site allows tagging once you register and aan RSS Podcast Feed! Very nice!

CAPHIS: Consumer and Patient Health Information Section of the Medical Library Association offers recommended websites, information on running a consumer health facility, and an online newsletter that has reviews of consumer health books. This newsletter is useful for more than medical libraries, since the focus is consumer health. The reviews are short, to the point, and perfect for those of us in public libraries.

It Must Be Maine is the official web site of the Maine Office of Tourism. It offers information on upcoming events, travel packages, hotels, and things to do.

Church of the Customer is a blog that offers information on creating dedicated customers. The site offers not only the blog but also a newsletter and resources. This is a great blog to read for anyone who is interested in marketing and customer service, including libraries.