On our Donate page you can calculate the approximate value you've received from CPL in the last year. This calculator is similar to those used at other libraries, with a few important differences.

Calculating Books and DVDs

Most library use calculators have you put in the number of books (or DVDs) that you checked out in some period of time. The value per book tends to range from $15 to over $25. That cost reflects the average cost of buying a book, not the average value of checking out a book.

At CPL we host the full run of Canton Observer newspapers. You can browse the issues by date or search the full text.

In the past we hosted a few recent years as files, but the current incarnation of the collection is a lot more data — over 3800 issues totaling almost 180 gigabytes. Nearly every aspect of this project was a learning experience, so for other people looking to host tons of big files, here are some useful tips and tricks.

Digitizing

Thanks to our Friends, we were able to secure funding to get our paper and microfilm archive scanned to pdf with Optical character recognition, making each issue's text searchable.

Install CPL's Chrome theme for an stylish, unobtrusive way to show your support for CPL.

The Project

Like the Firefox Persona, the Chrome theme design centered on being unobtrusive and using the space effectively.

The Chrome theme guide explains the huge number of ways you can customize your theme. This gives a lot more flexibility compared to a Firefox persona, but also makes creating a theme somewhat more difficult and time-consuming.

Dress up your Firefox with Canton Public Library! Personas are "easy-to-install, easy-to-use themes that change the look of your Firefox web browser."

The Project

Get the project files — for Paint.NET

Creating a firefox persona is pretty straightforward:

The CPL catalog, databases, patron records, program calendar, and some other services will be unavailable on Tuesday, September 25th, from 8:30 AM to Noon while we upgrade our library software.

CPL will remain open and you will be able to check out books, use the computers, and otherwise enjoy the library. Please note:

• You will need to have your CPL card with you in order to check out anything
• If you return a book during that time, it'll be checked in after Noon
• We rely on our Catalog for a lot, so there may be lines and delays while it's down

Thank you for your patience as we work to serve you better.

If you you use popular personal book management site GoodReads, you can Add CPL as a book link for quick access to items in our catalog.

The CPL catalog, databases, program calendar, and some other services will be unavailable on Tuesday, August 21st, starting at 11:00 AM. At that time and for up to 24 hours afterward, we will be upgrading the catalog server, requiring downtime.

The library will remain open and you will be able to check out books, use the computers, and otherwise enjoy the library. Please note:

• You will need to have your CPL card with you in order to check out anything
• If you return a book on Tuesday, it won't be checked in until Wednesday. This won't cause fines, though
• We rely on our Catalog for a lot, so there may be lines and delays while it's down
• Your online Patron Record will also be unavailable during the outage

Thank you for your patience as we work to serve you better.

If you're like 10% of CPL website visitors, you came here in Google Chrome. Chrome is a fast, secure, easy-to-use web browser — and the improved CPL extension is just one more reason to use it.

Books at CPL

As you browse the web, the extension finds books mentioned on each site. For instance, if you're shopping for a book on Amazon, a subtle notification will appear with a direct link to the book in our catalog. This feature stays out of your way (it disappears automatically after 15 seconds) and respects your privacy.

Search Quickly

When you want to search the CPL Catalog, just type "cpl" into the omnibox. This temporarily switches the search engine to the Catalog, and provides title suggestions as you type. If one of the suggestions is the book you want, just arrow down to it and press Enter or click on the result.

Get the Extension

If you'd like to know when the books you find are available at your library, and if you'd like an easier way to search our Catalog, you can
install the free extension at Chrome Web Store
[web developers: cpl-chrome-ext is available on GitHub]

Look in the right-hand corner of this window. Do you see a search bar up there? Do you use it? If you do — and you use Internet Explorer 7+ or Firefox 2+ — you can Add the CPL Catalog to your search providers.

Here's why you should:

• It saves time — one-click search wherever you are
• It saves money — search CPL instead of Amazon
• It's cool — get suggestions as you type (with jacket images in IE8!)

Check out our other search tools for more time-saving widgets.