Embedr is a free service that lets you create a playlist of videos from across the web.   The site works with YouTube, MySpace, Vimeo, DailyMotion and more.  This makes it more flexible than the similar YouTube feature that only works with their videos.

You can share your playlist on your blog or website with a handy widget.  This lets you embed multiple videos on a blog post without having them listed in one after the other, taking up tons of room.

Just featured this link on our library website:

Newsweek has a fascinating list of books that speak to what is great reading for our times.  There are surprising books in the list, but that just makes it all the more enjoyable to browse through.  The list was designed for people with limited time to read who want to get either perspective on our times or see themselves in new ways.  The list is a tantalizing mix of nonfiction and fiction, old and new.

I love a list that mixes and mashes genres, topics, interests into something new and better than a themed list.  This list expects readers to be bright, informed and interested in learning more.  What a great thing to offer our patrons!

The 2009 James Beard Award Nominees for Best Book have been announced.  The great thing about the Beard nominations is that there are so many categories and so many nominees.  I love lists of nominees because it allows for more browsing and enjoyment of top books. 

You can find the lengthy book award nominee list here.  It’s a great way to promote your library’s collection of cookbooks.  Yum!

Malice Domestic has announced the nominees for the 2009 Agatha Awards.  The awards are given to mystery and crime writers who write in the traditional method. 

The nominees for Best Novel are below.  Awards are also given for Best First Novel, Best Nonfiction, Best Short Story, and Best Children/ Young Adult.

Best Novel:

Six Geese A-Slaying by Donna Andrews (Minotaur Books)
A Royal Pain by Rhys Bowen (Penguin Group)
The Cruelest Month by Louise Penny (Minotaur Books)
Buckingham Palace Gardens by Anne Perry (Random House)
I Shall Not Want by Julia Spencer-Fleming (Minotaur Books)

Putting up a poll of your website about the nominees might be fun.

Get Rich Slowly has a nice selection of true-life stories that revolve around frugality.  It would make an interesting library display or a nice featured article on your library blog. 

You could tie it into the President’s new Recovery.gov web site if you are looking for more political discussion on your site.

Seeing the just-released shortlist for Romantic Novel of the Year in the UK got me thinking about how fun it would be to poll patrons about their favorite novels of the year.  A library could poll in specific genres and offer the ability to do write-in votes via comments.  Perhaps a final vote-off for the winners in each genre…

Patrons would love it plus it would help drive traffic and comments on your web site.

Mashable has created another one of their fabulous collections of links.  This time their focus was job or employment sites.  They list over 100 great sites and what better thing to share with our patrons, many of whom are looking for exactly that sort of information.

Looking for some good items to highlight on your library’s blog?  NPR has some great ones:

Listen to the 2008 National Book Award Winners: Winners for fiction, nonfiction, youth and poetry read aloud from their work.

The Year’s Best Gift Books is filled with art books that will have you reaching for the books through your screen.

NPR is doing a remarkable series called Crime in the City that follows mystery writers through the cities that inspire them.  The latest author is Jason Goodwin who takes us through Istanbul.  What a great series to point your mystery lovers to!

A great item to link to on your library website or in your library’s collection of links!  Consumer Reports has created a guide called Smart Moves for Tight Times which walks people through how to approach their finances, their home, energy, health, and automobiles. You can also watch videos on how to save money on a variety of items like car rentals and home insurance.