Today, October 7th, is Ada Lovelace Day. Ada Lovelace, daughter of poet Lord Byron, is regarded to be the first computer programmer. In honor of her, this day is designated for the recognition of the achievements of women in the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering and Math. It would be a great day to check out a book on women inventors, astronaunts, or mathematicians. Or stimulate your own daughter's interest in one or more of these subjects with one of our many science films from here in the library. My favorite is the Disney Imagineering Series. Another good option is The Way Things Work, based of the David Macauley book by the same name.

At today's Let's talk iPhone event, Apple VP Phil Shiller announced Siri, an advanced voice-activated control system included with the new iPhone 4S. Even though this is an exciting step forward, computers have had speech recognition for years, and movies and television have simulated it for even longer. Here are some examples of fictional computers in movies that could hold a conversation:

2001 [videodisc]: a space odyssey by Metro-Goldwyn- Mayer

As the Canton Public Library continues to deal with a declining budget, patrons are reminded the "magazine express" program has been discontinued.

Thursday, October 6, 4:00-5:30pm
Lecture at Harlan Hatcher Graduate Library, Gallery (use Diag entrance)
913 S. University Ave., Ann Arbor, MI

According to Dan Okrent, "The digital revolution has upended the roles of bookstores, libraries, publishers, and, of course, readers. It’s the biggest change in the world of words since Gutenberg, and may turn out to be just as beneficial—or even more so." Daniel Okrent is best known as the first public editor at the New York Times, but he first spent more than 25 years in magazine and book publishing. He has written several books, including Great Fortune: The Epic of Rockefeller Center, which was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in history. He also attended the University of Michigan and worked on the Michigan Daily.

Public parking is available in the structure at 650 S. Forest, just south of S. University. Free and open to the public

Theft is a problem endemic to human nature. But what if theft were a victimless crime? In the computer age, copying a file from a friend or from the web has become easy and widespread; and it is often criminal in nature. The following books give insight into whether this is a problem of enforcement, of intellectual property laws, or of both:

The pirate's dilemma : how youth culture is reinventing capitalism by Matt Mason

Downloading copyrighted stuff from the Internet : stealing or fair use? by Sherri Mabry Gordon

Canton Senior Center, in partnership with Cellular Recyclers, is collecting old cell phones, laptops, game systems, digital cameras, and iPods. Recycleble items should be dropped off at the Canton Senior Center at the Summit. Call the Canton Senior Center at 734-394-5485 for more information.

By now, you have probably noticed these funny looking boxes on everything from cereal to restaurant menus. You have also probably wondered what the heck they are and if they matter to you. Well, these black and white squares are actually called QR codes, a type of 2D barcode meant to be read by smartphones. Originally created by a Toyota subsidiary in Japan to track automotive parts, these black and white boxes are now being used to pass along text, web addresses and all sorts of information to smartphones. Companies are using these codes to direct customers to everything from sweepstakes entry forms to job applications. Get scanning today with one of the many smartphone apps that enable you to scan and read QR codes — like NeoReader & BeeTagg Reader (just to name a few).

Canton Seniors Book Discussion group will meet on Wednesday, October 26 from 2:00-3:00p.m. in Canton Public Library's Group Study Room A. This month's reading selection is:
 

Dear Photograph, a newly launched website, invites people to take a picture from the past and photograph it, merging it into the present. Some of the submissions are funny, some are sad, and some are just strange. The website reminds me a lot of a favorite book, PostSecret, where anonymous postcards revealing secrets were collected for all to read. Both are worth a look.

Some recent viewpoints regarding society's business customer service ratings make for some interesting reading in the July 2011 issue of Consumer Reports. The article on the Consumer Reports website contains these comments. CR is part of the CPL adult magazine collection and is also available for patron in-library use located at Adult Reference.

Nintendo announced the next generation home console, Wii U, this week. It includes a touch screen controller, motion control, and HD graphics. You can check out demo video, and find more information on the E3 website. So far, there isn't a specific release date for the Wii U, but I suspect we will be waiting a while.

Are you concerned about the potential ramifications of your employees and social media? Aaron Graves, a labor and employment attorney, will discuss the ins and outs of your rights and your employee's rights when it comes to social networking. This Strategies of Success (SOS) seminar takes place on Tuesday, May 17th from 7:30-9:30AM in the Summit on the Park Banquet Center. Space is limited so please reserve your spot by calling the Canton Chamber of Commerce at (734) 453-4040.

Since 1963, May has been declared Older Americans Month by the Agency on Aging. The theme of this year's celebration — Older Americans: Connecting the Community — pays homage to the many ways in which older adults bring inspiration and continuity to the fabric of our communities. It also highlights the many ways technology is helping older Americans live longer, healthier and more engaged lives.

If you missed the fun at the eReader program, don't worry! There's now a Google Group where we can keep the discussion of eBooks going:

Email Address:

or view.

We will post the presentation from Monday's program to the group on Wednesday, April 27, at 1:00PM, so join by then to check out awesome slides like this:

If you haven't before, now is a great time subscribe to feeds and the various bundles we offer. We recently added Canton Patch to the Local News Bundle, and are always adding other new feeds to keep things current:

• Canton Public Library Bundle
• Local News Bundle
• Canton Blog Bundle
• Biography
• Chick Lit
• Comedy
• Fantasy
• Graphic Novel
• Historical Fiction
• Horror
• Inspirational Fiction
• Manga
• Mystery
• Picture Book
• Romance
• Science Fiction
• Short Stories
• Urban Fiction
• Western

Don't have an eBook reader but want to learn more about them? Did you get a reader during the holidays and want to learn to put library books on it? Join Brad and Ophelia on Monday, April 25^th from 7:00-8:30PM for the first open, no-registration-required eReader Users Meeting.

During this program we'll:

• Look at library-compatible devices on the market
• Show how to load library eBooks on your device
• Check out public domain and other free books online
• Explore some tips & tricks for your iPad or iPhone
• Try out some devices at our open demo table
• Have a Q&A and discussion of all things eBook
• Keep the discussion going with an email group

If you're interested in eBooks and the future of reading, we hope to see you there!

On Saturday, June 25^th from 1:00-5:00PM, CPL will host some of the most creative hobbyists and hackers in the Metro Detroit Area for our second CPL Hack Day. Our Community Room will be full of demonstrations and presentations of hacks ranging from robotics to web apps to modded IKEA furniture to scrapbooking.

If you or someone you know is a 'hacker' in a special field; if you have ingenious and/or unconventional workarounds and solutions, then consider doing a presentation or having a demo table at Hack Day. Time slots and planning discussion can be found at the Hack Day CantonWiki page. For any questions, please contact Brad Czerniak at czerniakb@cantonpl.org.

Sarah's choice [Large print] by Wanda E.

Thursday, March 17, 4:00-7:00PM: Open House
This month at the Hatcher Graduate Library, the theme is “Mapping Science” in conjunction with the current Library Gallery exhibit Places & Spaces: Mapping Science, a traveling exhibit created by Dr. Katy Börner of Indiana University. The exhibit was created to demonstrate the power of maps to navigate and manage physical places but also abstract topic spaces. It introduces knowledge mapping techniques to the general public. It is meant to inspire cross-disciplinary discussion on how to best track and communicate human activity and scientific progress on a global scale. Allow time to view maps from the Map Library as well as the exhibit.