• 2011 Year in Review — The biggest news stories of the year from Yahoo.com include the protests comprising the “Arab Spring,” the Death of Osama Bin Laden, the Royal Wedding, and Casey Anthony trial.
• 2011: The Year in Pictures — A photo essay from the New York Times captures the Arab Spring, the earthquake and tsunami in Japan, the Occupy Movement and other top news events
• Top 25 Local News Stories of 2011 — The capture of mobster Whitey Bulger was the biggest local news story in 2011, according to Boston.com. Other major stories included the devastation wrought by Hurricane Irene and the tornadoes that hit Western Massachusetts, the Boston Bruins’ Stanley Cup victory, and the Occupy Boston Movement
• 2011: Notable deaths from the past year — A slide show from the BBC, includes Steve Jobs, Amy Winehouse, Vaclav Havel, Kim Jung-il, and other well-known figures who died int 2011
• 2011 Notable Deaths — A more comprehensive list, in chronological order, from the Huffington Post

• A Look Back at 2011 — Read about some of the biggest news events of the past year in the selection of e-books from NOBLE’s OverDrive catalog

• Best Books 2011 — Publisher’s Weekly’s picks
• Books of the year 2011 — Best books as chosen by the editors of the Guardian
• Best Books of 2011 — NPR presents the top picks in different genres from a variety of critics
• Best Music 2011: Lists of Lists and Endings of Endings — Top music picks in different genres compiled by the New Yorker magazine’s culture desk
• 50 Best Albums of 2011 — The best of the best as selected by Rolling Stone magazine
• Memorable Sports Moments of 2011 — Recapture some of the greatest sporting moments of 2011 in these videos from SI.com
• 2011 Year in Review on Yahoo! Sports — The year’s biggest stories in all of the major sports
• Zeitgeist 2011: How the World Searched — “The year’s 10 fastest-rising global queries and the rest of the spirit of 2011″ as captured by Google

Getting ready to say goodbye to 2011? Check out our page of New Year’s Eve links for holiday traditions and suggestions for welcoming the new year. Happy New Year!

Looking for titles for the new ebook reader you received during the holidays?  The libraries of NOBLE have a growing collection of ebooks to checkout online at http://overdrive.noblenet.org.

Our collection has grown 35% in the last four months.  Children’s picture book titles have recently been added, joining popular fiction, non-fiction, teen titles, children’s books and classics in the library online collection.  All can be borrowed free of charge to residents of communities served by NOBLE, and cardholders of our participating college libraries, just by entering your library card number.

The NOBLE OverDrive collection is compatible will all the major devices, including the Kindle, Nook, Sony Reader, and the iPad and other tablets.  In addition to ebooks, audiobooks are also available for the iPod and MP3 players.

A user can have up to four downloadable items checked out at the same time, any combination of e-books or audiobooks.  Unlike audio downloads, ebooks can be “returned” early to access additional titles.  There are no fines or overdues with the ebooks or audiobooks because the titles expire at the end of the loan period automatically.

The service is funded by the 28 member libraries of NOBLE.  If you don’t have a library card, visit your NOBLE library.

Hanukkah — This year the Jewish Festival of Lights is celebrated from sunset on December 20 to nightfall on December 28

Christmas — Nativity scenes, wreaths, candles, Santa Claus and Christmas trees are all symbols of Christmas, celebrated on December 25

Kwanzaa — December 26 to January 1 is Kwanzaa, a harvest and community festival that was founded in 1966 by Dr. Maulana Karenga, as a way of reaffirming African-American identity, instilling knowledge and pride in African roots, and reinforcing bonds among members of the community.

For many people, enjoying A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens is an annual tradition. This year you have more options than ever for enjoying this classic tale:

• A Christmas Carol — Our library catalog includes many different editions and version of the book for adults and children.
• A Christmas Carol on video — There are also many different videorecordings available in the library system, featuring Alistair Sim, George C. Scott, Patrick Stewart, Mickey Mouse, the Muppets and many others.
• A Christmas Carol [OverDrive] — You can use your library card to check out and download the audiobook read by Simon Prebble from the NOBLE library collection.

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On December 7th, we will observe the 70th anniversary of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, near Honolulu, Hawaii. This devastating event killed more than two-thousand U.S. soldiers and sailors and wounded one-thousand more. The bombing destroyed eight battleships and numerous smaller vessels as well as 200 airplanes. The next day, the United States declared war on Japan, finally entering World War II.

To learn more about this historic event visit our page of links for Pearl Harbor Day.