One More Source for Good Recipes

If you love good recipes, from reputable magazines, here is a Database the Library offers: The Culinary Arts Collection.

With 370 different culinary magazines, such as

Better Nutrition for Today's Living, Candy Business, Catering Update, Cheese Market News and Restaurant Business, just to name a few, who could ask for more?

I appreciate the fact that one can search recipes for people with dietary restrictions as well. Coverage includes thousands of searchable recipes, restaurant reviews, and industry information.

One may even find a long lost recipe since the collection covers full text articles published between 1980 and 2011.

--Roz K., Jamestown Bluffs Branch

Need a phone number?

Where are those white pages when you need them? Did you recycle them? Did the puppy chew them up? Or did you just not receive one? Don’t stress about it, we can help! Reference has several phone number directories listed at http://www.slcl.org/research/subject/835. Once at this link, Anywho or Switchboard are a couple of the options. These are even better than the white pages, because you can look up phone numbers in other states, too. Sorry though, if a phone number is unlisted or is a cell phone number, then it won’t be available.

So go ahead, check for that friend who moved to Peoria, your uncle in Tennessee, or your old neighbor.

--Mari C., Reference

Learn a New Language @ SLCL

Learning a new language can be fun, exciting, and sometimes intimidating. St. Louis County Library is here to help with your leap into the world of language. Whether you are traveling to another country, new to the English language, or just want to keep your brain active, learning a new language can be stimulating. SLCL has a variety of languages and levels available to you in several formats:

• Books, including dictionaries and full-text copies of books in another language
• Emedia, otherwise known as Electronic Media, is accessible through our webpage and includes Vocabulearn, Traveltalk, In-Flight, and more.
• Database access to language learning at home-including our newest database called Mango (no we are not giving away fruit).

These are just a few ways to explore some of the endless possibilities at the library. Visit our website or give us a call at 314-994-3300 for more info.

--Cindy M., Thornhill Branch

Sleuthing my Swedish Cousin

I have a famous Swedish cousin whom I never met. Actually even our parents who were first cousins grew up in different countries and never met. I do not know a word of Swedish but I did not despair knowing I could try the Library's newspaper directory NewspaperDirect Press Display:

http://0-library.pressdisplay.com.iii.slcl.org/pressdisplay/fr/viewer.aspx

The information is current, unique and the international newspapers from around the world are in full-color and full-page format. Moreover, one can translate the information at a click and one can even chose to just listen to it. So I just entered my famous Swedish cousin’s name in the keyword search box and found articles in French. Then I clicked on "translate to English “and chose to listen to the articles in English.

--Roz K., Jamestown Bluffs Branch

How Good is Your Resume?

A friend of mine who works as an Human Resources consultant told me she spends 15 to 20 seconds to decide if a resume is worth reading. 15 to 20 seconds? In today's economic climate a company may receive thousands of resumes for every position they advertise.  Poorly formatted or sloppily written resumes won't make the cut.

With the St. Louis County Library's Optimal Resume database you can create professional-looking resumes and cover letters. Optimal Resume offers sample resumes for many kinds of jobs and you can type your own skills, experience and education into these samples. It's a word processor for creating resumes.

Want more information?  Check out Optimal Resume on SLCL's website. You'll need your library card number, a little time and a desire to have a great looking resume. We even have classes at many of our branches to help you learn Optimal Resume. Who knows, you may only have 15 to 20 seconds to make a first impression!

--Paul S., Headquarters

Lost for Words?

I often wonder how a single word may have multiple meanings and how words gain new meanings over time. Let us take the word “cool”: According to “Oxford English Dictionary” the word  has been used in at least 227 different ways.

Whether I need the definition of a word, want to play a daily crossword or must crack an anagram, I always keep my copy of  “Webster’s Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary,“ published in 1963, at an arm's length at home. I have to admit that though the  old dictionary has great sentimental value, I find myself relying a lot more on the St. Louis County Library’s online version of the Oxford English Dictionary (OED).

I know that I will not find the verb “Google” in my old dictionary, nor do I want to replace my dictionary every few years. So I chose the online version because it is accurate and easy to search, and it is at my fingertips rather that at my arms length.

We still have dictionaries at all of our branches, and customers can certainly check them out, yet if you have a chance, just try the St. Louis County Library online version of OED. Not only can one browse through the 227 meanings of the word “cool,” but one can also explore its origin, subject usage and more in its most updated version.

--Roz, Jamestown Bluffs Branch