Archive for March, 2022

Friday, March 25th, 2022

TinyCat’s March Library of the Month: New England Antiquities Research Association

Humans have been using stones for millions of years, leaving behind such a lengthy history of artifacts that it only makes sense that not all stone structures still standing are known, or their purpose understood, by those alive today. The New England Antiquities Research Association (NEARA) is working to close that knowledge gap in their part of the world. 

One of NEARA’s volunteers Walter kindly answered my questions for this month’s feature:

Who are you, and what is your mission—your “raison d’être”?

We are the New England Antiquities Research Association (NEARA), a non-profit organization dedicated to trying to discover, understand, and preserve many stone structures that can be found in the northeastern US and Canada.

Tell us some interesting things about how your library supports the community.

The library is really a research library. It has thousands of books about history, archaeology, anthropology, and geology, mostly focused on stone artifacts such as chambers, rock piles, walls, propped boulders, rock art, and mounds. Most of the books circulate to our members.

The library is also an archive. Naturally we house many of the documents accumulated from nearly 60 years of existence, including all of the journals and newsletters and a few books that we have published.

But we also hold files documenting many of the sites that have been found, and we preserve the notes and files and maps of NEARA researchers. Together they occupy many boxes and filing cabinets. These files have been valuable to today’s researchers who are out looking for sites and seeing if their condition has changed or whether they have been destroyed by modern development.

What are some of your favorite items in your collection?

I’m not sure I have a favorite item. It often feels like the next thing I pick up is the most fascinating book. Reading old site reports is exciting, giving one the vicarious pleasure of discovering new sites.

What’s a particular challenge your library experiences?

We have been in the process of digitizing our archives and providing online access to it. We have finished digitizing the site files, but there’s still a lot to be done. That work has been essential in continuing the value of the archives, because now people can use it from their home or smartphone.

Most of our membership is scattered about the New England and Middle Atlantic states, so coming to visit the library isn’t as easy as visiting your local library. Before COVID there were more visitors and our in-person conferences twice a year meant much more interaction at our book tables. The browsing experience is so important. Now everything has to be mailed, which has decreased our usage and increased our per-item work and cost. Having an online catalog and circulation system has helped. But I really would like to give our members free digital access to the volumes that we own.

What is your favorite thing about TinyCat, and what’s something you’d love to see implemented/developed?

TinyCat is great for the user. It looks nice and is easy to use. Acting as a librarian, though, I find some of the circulation and patron controls hard to use on a tablet. Also, with LibraryThing I wish it were easier to handle barcodes and perform queries and mass operations.

Great feedback! I’ll touch base with you for specifics about your tablet use, and I’ll make sure you have access to everything you need regarding barcodes, searches, and power functions.

Want to learn more about NEARA? Visit their website at https://neara.org, and explore their full TinyCat collection here.


To read up on TinyCat’s previous Libraries of the Month, visit the TinyCat Post archive here.

Want to be considered for TinyCat’s Library of the Month? Send us a Tweet @TinyCat_lib or email Kristi at kristi@librarything.com.

Labels: libraries, Library of the Month, TinyCat

Monday, March 7th, 2022

March 2022 Early Reviewers Batch Is Live!

Win free books from the March 2022 batch of Early Reviewer titles! We’ve got 170 books this month, and a grand total of 4,077 copies to give out. Which books are you hoping to snag this month? Come tell us on Talk.

If you haven’t already, sign up for Early Reviewers. If you’ve already signed up, please check your mailing/email address and make sure they’re correct.

» Request books here!

The deadline to request a copy is Monday, March 28th at 6PM EDT.

Eligibility: Publishers do things country-by-country. This month we have publishers who can send books to the US, the UK, Canada, Australia, France, Spain, Sweden, Germany, Ireland, New Zealand and more. Make sure to check the message on each book to see if it can be sent to your country.

The VisitorsBrisbane: A NovelPestThe Last PrincessDenver NoirThe Hanmoji Handbook: Your Guide to the Chinese Language Through EmojiRouge Street: Three NovellasElysium TideSunburstAmong the InnocentWhere the Road BendsThe Pennymores & the Curse of the Invisible QuillKeep Strong Together: 7 Habits of Great CouplesThe Price of ForgivenessOmitted PiecesThe Village Maid: A Fairy Tale with BenefitsShadow: Run, But You Can't HideThe King's DruidWisdom: A Very Valuable Virtue That Cannot Be BoughtShe's the One Who Can't Keep QuietThe Anthropocene Epoch: When Humans Changed the WorldInnocent LivesLike Birds in a Cage: Christian Zionism's Collusion in Israel's Oppression of the Palestinian PeopleAll About Romantic Love: A Three Sixty Degree View of RelationshipsBenefitMothers of Enchantment: New Tales of Fairy GodmothersThe End of SleepAshes of the FirebirdGermans of Waterloo RegionThe Ones Who Adore Your Veins: A Dark Poetry CollectionJonas Mekas, Shiver of MemoryQueen of CloudsMoon MayorMy Dad, My RockWhere We Call Home: Lands, Seas, and Skies of the Pacific NorthwestHawai'i CallsOrdinary Equality: The Fearless Women and Queer People Who Shaped the U. S. Constitution and the Equal Rights AmendmentHumanized: The Journey Back to You Without LabelsSadistic Pleasures: Silent Crimes of AzerbaijanCourt of VenomOperation George: A Gripping True Crime Story of an Audacious Undercover StingThe Second Death of E.A. Poe and Other StoriesMaking It HomeCannibal ClubThe Candy CapersMilk Cow KitchenSilver or LeadThe Devil to PayThe UnreliablesAutumn Gold: A Rendezvous with Cancer, Knowing Death Is Not FinalThe KeepersNever Been in the Sand, Part IIMummy's MiraclesDiscovering PuracordisTo AliceThe Haunting of Kinnawe HouseWicked MiseryGhost of a BeginningThe Blissful EndI, BionicA Night of Wings and StarlightPush Pin Art Projects: Worksheets Promoting Fine Motor Skills: SpringThe Seren StoneThe CordFlight of the FallenRelativityTrust, Treachery and RetributionAlmost Like PrayingA Veteran SpeaksTime Traveling to 1962: Reliving a Very Special YearMissing Vivienne: A Novel of Wych ElmMissing JoanTill a Better World: A NovelThe Journey of a Brave GirlThe Road to MeMendelI Buried PaulSunwiseMy Mother Murdered the MoonTrue Crime Storytime Volume 3: 12 Disturbing True Crime Stories to Keep You Up All NightVisions of RuinNanny Knows BestA Guide to the Climate Apocalypse: Our Journey from the Age of Prosperity to the Era of Environmental GriefThe Drummer Of MindenThe Art of CommunicationThe PresenceCrown Court KillerShort, Vigorous Roots: A Contemporary Flash Fiction Collection of Migrant VoicesFrom Knowledge to Power: The Comprehensive Handbook for Climate Science and AdvocacyLove, Dance and Egg RollsIn a Dark, Dark WoodWinning Strategies for ACT Essay Writing: With 15 Sample PromptsGMAT Analytical Writing: Solutions to the Real Argument TopicsGRE Reading Comprehension: Detailed Solutions to 325 QuestionsGRE Analytical Writing: Solutions to the Real Essay Topics - Book 1GRE Analytical Writing: Solutions to the Real Essay Topics - Book 2GRE Analytical Writing Supreme: Solutions to the Real Essay TopicsGRE Verbal Reasoning Supreme: Study Guide with Practice QuestionsGRE Master Wordlist: 1535 Words for Verbal MasteryGRE Words in Context: The Complete ListGRE Text Completion and Sentence Equivalence Practice QuestionsProject Management Essentials You Always Wanted to KnowSales Management Essentials You Always Wanted to KnowFinancial Accounting Essentials You Always Wanted to Know: 5th EditionVox Astra: The Black BoxWhen the Corn Is Waist HighDistorted PerceptionHow to Spot a PsychopathWe Turn to Face the SunThe Best Sermons You've Never Heard: For All People: Volume 1Today, Tomorrow & NeverCalico Rae - The Twisted TowersShadow: Run, But You Can't HideThe Clean Green DragonManual de ensamblajeen madera para principiantesPacific Northwest Foraging Starter Handbook: A Beginner's Guide with 6 Step-by-Step Methods to Identify, Harvest, Prepare, Preserve and Cook Wild FoodsLiving With ChickensPoetic Potential: Sparking Change & Empowerment Through PoetrySomething Shady at Sunshine HavenWhispers of the DeadArthur and the ArgonautsThe Ballad of Billy McFee: A Sea Shanty to Read or SingFlutes Jam: A Guide to ImprovisationThe Boscombe BoysStill BlackDeath in ParisManual de Torneado de Madera para Principiantes: Guía paso a paso con herramientas, técnicas, consejos y proyectos inicialesDon't Overthink ThisDear Bette: Advice From the Screen QueenDead Man Dancing: A Handbook Of Stroke Survival & RecoveryThe Magus and the FoolDarkwitchRefined: A MemoirShowmances and Stage KissesGood Night (Not Really): Let's Count Forward AND BackwardThe Addiction Healing PathwayIntelligence CheckRise: Poetry for Lovers and ThinkersInterracialove StoriesSword and Sorcery: FrostfireWanderlost: Falling from Grace and Finding Mercy in All the Wrong PlacesWanderlost: Falling from Grace and Finding Mercy in All the Wrong PlacesLouder Than Words: Searching for Heart in a Heartless WorldLouder Than Words: Searching for Heart in a Heartless WorldLike Birds in a Cage: Christian Zionism's Collusion in Israel's Oppression of the Palestinian PeopleOf the EarthOf the EarthThe Village Maid: A Fairy Tale with BenefitsA Kinder CityUnsolicited MailRunecursedThe Heroic and Exceptional Minority: A Guide to Mythological Self-Awareness and GrowthThe Memory of SydneyRuthlessHIVEWrath of Eve: Evil Has Met Its MatchWaterman's ForeignerThe Seven Hungers: Rise of the Crimson King30 Days With the Father: A Devotional to Discover How Heaven Can Follow You EverywhereA Revolution of the MindFive Things About DragonfliesHooker AvenueInnocent LivesCharity's GunmanBiblical Bedtime Stories For Kids: Old Testament Amazing Moments; Pointing Your Children To God, Ages 4-8Biblical Questions and Answers for Smart Kids Vol. 1: Quizzes Focused on the Book of Genesis to Help Your Children Grow and Learn about God - Who He Is, His Love, and His Relationship with HumanityBiblical Bedtime Stories For Kids Coloring Book: 113 Old Testament Amazing Moments; Pointing Your Children To God, Ages 4-8Half on the Other Side: How Ancient Spiritual Techniques Helped Me Deal with Substance Abuse, Depression, Sexuality, Gender, and LoveTitle: Storybook

Thanks to all the publishers participating this month!

33 Greyhound Press Akashic Books And Other Stories
Before Someday Publishing Bellevue Literary Press BHC Press
Black Rose Writing City Owl Press Consortium Book Sales and Distribution
Entrada Publishing eSpec Books Funlighter Hub
Gibbs Smith Publishing Hendry Publishing Henry Holt and Company
Hot Tree Publishing Hybrid Sequence Media Identity Publications
Linguacious MITeen Press Nephilim Publishing
NewCon Press North Beach Books Ooligan Press
Personville Press Petra Books Pioneer Publishing
Plough Publishing House PublishNation RaVenGhost Press
Revell Rootstock Publishing The Story Plant
TouchPoint Press True Crime Seven Turner Publishing
Vibrant Publishers World Weaver Press

Labels: early reviewers, LTER