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Finally, you can now save lists of books, DVDs, orandnbsp;any library materials to your library account!andnbsp; We have been waiting a long time for this feature, and we are very pleased to be able to offer it to you.

While searching the catalog, click on the Add to Book Bagandnbsp;button associated with all items you are interested in, and you will be saving a list only for the duration of the time you search the catalog.andnbsp; To keep the list permanently, you will need to save it to your account.andnbsp; When you are ready view this list, click the yellow and whiteandnbsp;View Book Bagandnbsp;button near the top of the page.

While looking at the list of items in your Book Bag, click on the Save To My List icon.
andnbsp;

After clicking on Save To My List, you will need to log in to your account if you are not already logged in.andnbsp; If you do not want all of the items on the list saved to your list, place aandnbsp;andnbsp;checkmark in the Select box for the items you want.andnbsp; Select a list or choose Create a new list. For a new list, you can give the list a name and there is space for a small description of the list.andnbsp; Finally, clickandnbsp;Submit.

When you are logged into My Account, you will be able to see your lists when you click theandnbsp;My Lists icon.andnbsp; From there, you can add to your list, delete items, and place holds from your list.

Friday was the first day of Spring, and what better way to celebrate than by going to one of Seattle's excellent public gardens, arboreta, or conservatories!

Seattle Parks and Recreation manage many beautiful gardens including the Washington Park Arboretum, Volunteer Park Conservatory,andnbsp;and the Woodland Park Zoo's gardens.andnbsp;

Read up on these gardens in KCLS Libraries!
andnbsp;andnbsp;andnbsp;andnbsp; Washington Arboretum
andnbsp;andnbsp;andnbsp;andnbsp; Woodland Park Zoo gardens
andnbsp;andnbsp;andnbsp;andnbsp; Washington garden guidebooks

If you are a gardener yourself, you may want to visit the Center for Urban Horticultureandnbsp;(don't miss their library!), the UW Medicinal Herb Garden, or a local nursery.

Libraries are traditionally brick and mortar places filled with books, but KCLS also has almost 20,000 books, audio books, movies, music and podcasts available online!andnbsp; Most of these can be downloaded to your computer or mobile device.andnbsp; You can find out more about these on our Downloads page.

Finding these items in our catalog is a breeze!andnbsp; The KCLS catalog will now allow you to limit your search to Download, Player, Ebook, Online, or Podcast.

Sometimes you're in the mood for any good novel.  Or maybe you like to browse the CDs to try out some music you've never heard before.  Sometimes, though, you really want to listen to a particular song or find an obscure short story.  Our catalog can help you find these!

Song titles, table of contents, chapter headings, and a summary describing what the book/movie/CD etc. is about are all in the Contents, Notes, and Summary sections of each item's description.  When you do a keyword search in our catalog you are not searching this information, so to search for this information you need to select the Content/Note/Summary option from the catalog search page. 

 To see some examples of searching, keep reading!

Our country is getting ready for some serious belt tightening in the coming months.  To help you and your household keep fiscally sound, KCLS is offering a series of Fiscal Fitne$$ classes designed to help you find ways to save money and handle your finances. 

We're offering workshops for selling on eBay, frugal fashion and art, money management for kids and adults, credit and credit reports, identity theft, and career tips.

Combine your need to be frugal with the conviction and momentum of your New Year's resolutions and join us!  After checking the class listings, please contact your library to register for these free classes.  You can also search our events listings and register online.

Would you like to see the sales history of a home, or a history of its appraised value?
Maybe you're wondering just who owns a property you're interested in?  Check out the King County Parcel Viewer!

You can search by address, nearby intersections, by zooming in on a map, or by parcel number.

After you locate a piece of property (or parcel), you can look at the Property Report to see the name and address of the owner, the property's appraised value, its sales history, and more.

Are you wondering if your neighbor can really add on that second story to her home?  Check out the DDES permit applications listed.

The District Report will tell you the property's latitude and longitude, watershed, electoral districts (who is your King County Council representative?), zoning, and flood and landslide and seismic risk.

The eReal Property Report will list the property's tax roll history.

There are many more details available; check out your property on the Parcel Viewer and see what you can find out!

Do you find yourself frequently searching the catalog for new books by your favorite author or on your favorite subject?  Save yourself a little bit of time by saving these searches in your library catalog account, and then you can do the search with just a click of a link.

From the KCLS homepage or from the online catalog, log into your account.  You will see a button for My Favorite Searches; if you have not yet saved any searches, your list will be blank.  Now do a search for something in the catalog; you may do a simple or a complex search.  Notice that at the top of your results page and underneath your search terms, there are now some options that you do not see if you are not logged in.

Are you reading a great review of a book but it sounds slightly familiar?  You think to yourself, "Hmmm, have I already read that book?"  For your privacy, KCLS does not automatically keep a list of what you have checked out in the past, but you can choose to do this, if you like.

Simply log into your account via the online catalog, click on My Account History, and then click Opt In.  From this point forward, whenever you return an item and it is checked in, that title will appear on your Checkout History.  You can always delete individual titles, or delete them all and Opt Out at any time.

As a bonus, when doing future searches from My Account, you will be able to exclude items you have already read, seen or listened to from appearing on your results list.

For detailed instructions, continue reading!

Portland based investigative journalist David Oliver Relin, co-author of the award winning Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace...One School at a Time, will be at the Highline Performing Arts Center in Burien on Tuesday, October 28th at 7pm.  Three cups of tea is this year's choice for King County Reads @ KCLS.

Relin is an investigative journalist who is committed to increasing awareness about critical human rights issues.  For two decades he has focused on social issues and their effects on children.  In Three cups of tea Relin tells the stirring tale of Greg Mortenson, an American mountain climber and nurse who becomes an unlikely champion of education in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

You do not need to buy a ticket for the event as seating is plentiful.
Directions to the Highline Performing Arts center.

ReferenceUSA is an amazing database for complex business and marketing searches.  But did you know you can also use it as a nation-wide phone book and reverse directory?  ReferenceUSA does not contain cell phone numbers or unlisted numbers, but everyone else should be there! 

When you access ReferenceUSA, click the Search text to the right of the RESIDENTIAL DATABASES listing.  You can then search for any or all of the following: first name, last name, city, and state.  You will need to select either one state or all states, but then you don't need to fill in all of the rest of the information.  If you wanted to, you could search for all the Marys in California, or all of the Smiths in the US!

Have fun trying to locate classmates for your reunion or long lost friends!

You also have the option to search by just the phone number.  This can be useful if you're wondering about a phone number listed on your caller ID at home.

The BUSINESS DATABASES part of ReferenceUSA can also be used to recreate a yellow-pages like search across the US.  For example, this could be helpful if you are trying to locate a florist or a hotel in another city.