Scanning the Radio Airwaves

The digital TV transition is here to stay, but long before we received our daily dose of news stories by browsing Google News, watching CNN on TV, subscribing to blogs and news sites via RSS feeds, listening to breaking news from podcasts, or pulling up instant information from PDAs (personal digital assistants), we kept up with the news through the radio airwaves.

Radio news continues to fill the airwaves and you can now tap into Radio-Locator, labeled as "the most comprehensive radio station search engine on the internet." This online resource boasts links to over 10,000 radio stations and 2500 audio streams worldwide. You can look up radio stations by entering a city, radio call numbers, Internet streaming audio by music genre, and country. An advanced search offers even more intricate ways of locating a radio station such as by frequency signal.

And for radio aficionados, the Magazines & Newspapers Center offers some periodicals including Monitoring Times and Popular Communications to whet your appetite.

Monitoring Times - Geared for radio listeners, this magazine features news on radio communications, scanner monitoring with loggings, international radio, broadcast schedules. Also highlights new technologies such as "HD Radio."

Popular Communications - Devoted to users and enthusiasts of VHF scanners, short wave receivers, radar detectors, satellite TV, and cellular phones.

So instead of surfing through hundreds of channels on your TV the next time you want to get your daily news fix, try tuning into a radio station with the Radio-Locator.

ABCs of Digital Scanning

On Monday, June 22, from noon to 1 p.m., the Magazines & Newspapers Center will present a workshop on digital scanning. This one-hour, hands-on demonstration workshop is designed to introduce patrons to high resolution microform and flatbed digital scanning.


The Magazines & Newspapers Center staff will assist and provide training with editing, e-mailing, and printing digital images. Come scan with us!

- Address: 100 Larkin St. (at Grove)
- Location: Main Library, Fifth Floor, Magazines & Newspapers Center, Microfilm Room
- Event Date and Time: Monday, June 22, 2009 (noon - 1 p.m.)

When Wikipedia Meets the Library

The Magazines and Newspapers Center will present a program on Wednesday, June 17, from 6 to 7:30 p.m.—When Wikipedia Meets the Library: A Case Study from the University of San Francisco:

In Spring 2009, twelve students enrolled in Professor David Silver’s Digital Media Production class were assigned the task of overhauling the Wikipedia page for the University of San Francisco (USF). Required to work individually and collaboratively, and with resources from the Web and from USF’s Gleeson Library, the students’ goal was three-fold: to learn how Wikipedia works, to learn more about the university they attend, and to share their research with the rest of the world. In this talk, Professor Silver shares what happened.



David Silver is an assistant professor of Media Studies and the director of the Resource Center for Cyberculture Studies at the University of San Francisco. Together with Sarah Washburn, he is the co-director of The September Project.



- Address: 100 Larkin St. (at Grove)
- Location: Main Library, Latino/Hispanic Community Meeting Room B
- Event Date and Time: Wednesday, June 17, 2009 (6 to 7:30 p.m.)

Tune in to the Digital Airwaves

It's coming to a TV station near you very soon, and there's no escaping it. You've probably heard people talking about it, seen it on the news, heard it on the radio, and read it in the newspaper. Millions of Americans have already prepared for this upcoming event. The groundbreaking Digital TV Transition will hit American television airwaves on June 12, 2009.

This new technology will unlock many channels on your TV sets, so to help you keep up with the programs, the Magazines & Newspapers Center would like to highlight one of its longstanding magazines--TV Guide.

You might have remembered going to your favorite supermarket, lining up in the grocery lines, and flipping through pages of the small squarebound magazine to pass the time. Well, times have changed, and the magazine has expanded its size and content. You're probably already familiar with getting weekly listings of your favorite cooking shows, soap operas, movies, documentaries, and TV series. Now, you can read up on previews of upcoming TV series, get the latest scoops from in-depth interviews with your favorite TV and movie stars, explore highlights from shows you may never even heard of, and more.

If you have a home satellite dish, and TV Guide just doesn't cut it, then reach over for Satellite Orbit, one of the most comprehensive if not definitive television guides for over a hundred different digital channels! This magazine covers a month's worth of TV listings and delineates them according to their respective time zones. Other special features include an alphabetical listing of movies with synopses and ratings, categorized sports listings, show listings organized by genre, and highlights of noteworthy shows

With only a few days remaining till this monumental digital transition, feel free to drop by the Magazines & Newspapers Center so you can use these magazines to help plan out your future television viewing schedule.

Job Hunting and Career Exploration

With the current economic crisis looming overhead, manifested in part by job layoffs and hiring freezes, it might be discouraging looking for employment during these bleak times. However, a San Francisco Chronicle article highlighted how libraries can assist you during this recession.

The Magazines & Newspaper Center, for instance, carries selected job-related periodicals that might help you locate employment opportunities, enhance your job-seeking skills, or give you ideas for new career opportunities:

California Job Journal - A weekly publication covering career and employment information for over 25 years, this newspaper contains job listings in northern California, a career calendar, brief articles on selected job markets, and more.

Career Opportunities News - Published six times a year, this newsletter features career trends in the workplace, minority issues and resources, career news of special interest to women, reviews of new books on career guidance, reports on the latest salary information, and more.

Federal Jobs Digest - A bi-weekly newspaper featuring job recruitment opportunities. Each issue contains over 5000 current opening with the federal government in the United States and overseas in all occupations and career levels.

Jobs Available - A bi-weekly listing of public sector employment opportunities in California. Sample department include building inspection, city administration, finance and accounting, parks and recreation, and more.

For additional resources, try the Occupational Outlook Handbook to explore new careers and trends. Last but not least, you can also check the Jobs and Careers Center for additional tips on using the Internet for searching jobs and obtaining a list of periodic classes offered at the library.

As an added bonus, the San Francisco Public Library now offers an open computer lab for job seekers on Mondays, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and Tuesdays, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on the 5th Floor in the Main Library Training Center. So come let the library help you find your next job or career.

Go Eco with the Ecocard

Are you going green yet? It wasn't too long ago in our April posting when we highlighted titles from our Magazines & Newspapers Center collection in honor of Earth Day. In that same month, we also launched our Green Stacks program. Since then, the library has been showcasing a series of programs and exhibits ranging from community gardens and photographs of the urban wilderness to green cleaning products and organic foods, many of which were planned in part by staff in our Wallace Stegner Environmental Center. Check our Green Stacks Events page for an ongoing list of programs and special events.

Next, prepare for the launching of a pilot project in producing our very first San Francisco Public Library ecocard. For a limited time, you can exchange your current plastic library card for a more eco-friendly one manufactured from a renewable and biodegradable resource. This card is just one of many elements in the Library's new Green Stacks program, dedicated to helping San Francisco go green with the assistance of SF Environment and Friends of the San Francisco Public Library.