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Home > About the Library > Press Releases
August 1, 2002 Book Group Reading Road from Coorain for August August 5, 2002 "Money Smart Seminars" at Allegany County Libraries August 5, 2002 Library "Just for Teens" Winner Announced
August 6, 2002 Baltimore Orioles Tickets You Can Win at the Library
August 16, 2002 Library History Lecture on "Living in Cumberland During the 1930s"
August 16, 2002 Library Homework Help Offered Through Allegany County Library System
August 28, 2002 Baltimore Orioles Ticket Winners Announced By Library
August 28, 2002 Homeschooler's Book Discussion Group Meets September 9th
August 29, 2002 "Preserving Your Harvest" Display at Frostburg Library
August 29, 2002 Library Picks Book For October Discussion
August 1, 2002
Book Group Reading Road from Coorain for AugustPRESS RELEASE - Allegany County Library System Contact: Linda Burkey South Cumberland Library 100 Seymour Street Cumberland, MD 21502 South Cumberland Branch Library’s Book Discussion Group has picked Road From Coorain, an autobiography, by Jill Conway to discuss on Thursday, August 29, starting at 7 PM. Conway’s book captures her life growing up in New South Wales, Australia as only a trained historian can. Her writing reflects the British influence, but is also elegantly Australian. You’ll be acclimated to sheep ranching as well as the large city clamor of Sydney. Conway literally grows up in the book. At age 23, she leaves for the US where she attends Harvard and goes on to become the first woman president of Smith University. This is the first nonfiction title the discussion group has selected. The group usually meets on the 4th Thursday of each month, but will be meeting on the 5th Thursday in August.
August 5, 2002
"Money Smart Seminars" at Allegany County LibrariesPRESS RELEASE - Allegany County Library System Contact: Linda Burkey South Cumberland Library 100 Seymour Street Cumberland, MD 21502 Find
out how to protect yourself from identity theft, and how to obtain a free credit
report on yourself. Learn things to consider when budgeting or banking and how
to make your savings grow. These
are just a few of the subjects that will be covered in the “Money Smart
Seminars” that the Allegany County Library System will be offering at a
library near you. The first seminar
is scheduled for Wednesday, August 14 at 10 AM at the South Cumberland Branch
Library. Sandy MacMillen who works for the Human Resources Development Commission as Director of the Family Asset Development Program will present the 10 free, 1-hour sessions that were designed by the FDIC. MacMillen explained that he “personalizes each class for those present. I use a lot of real-life situations to demonstrate the material and encourage participants to share with one another for a better learning experience. “Pre-registration
is not required, but appreciated,” commented Linda Burkey, Coordinator of
Community Outreach for the library system.
“We’re hoping that there’s enough interest on the part of the
public to make it worthwhile to run all 10 sessions at three of our branches
around the county. This will make
it easier for patrons to attend without having to traveling a distance.”
Call 301-724-1607 for more information or to register. The
Money Smart Program is a prerequisite to acquire FADP matching funds for home
buying and education; you save a given amount, and they give you matching
funding.
August 5, 2002
Library "Just for Teens" Winner AnnouncedPRESS RELEASE - Allegany County Library System Contact: Linda Burkey South Cumberland Library 100 Seymour Street Cumberland, MD 21502 Rachel
Peterson is the second winner in the Allegany County Library System’s “Just
For Teens” summer reading incentive.
She won $25 in Gift Certificates given by the Downtown Cumberland
Business Association. Teens
ages 13 to 17 still have two more opportunities to be winners in the program.
A $25 Mall-Gift-Certificate winner will be drawn from entries submitted
in August, and all the entries submitted this summer will be put back in the box
for a $75 Grand-Finale Gift-Certificate drawing in early September.
So keep up the reading! It’s
simple to enter the drawing. You
get to choose the books you would like to read, and read at a pace that’s
comfortable for you. For each book
you read, obtain a ticket on which we are asking you to answer the following
questions: “Would you recommend
this book to a friend? Why or why
not?” Tickets to enter are
available at your local library. Our July winner is a big supporter of reading; in
fact, she teaches reading to children. Rachel,
who is the reigning Miss Teen Potomac Valley 2002, suggests that other would-be
pageant contestants should read the books Catching the Crown by Lu Parker “Miss USA 2002” and Watching
the Winners and Learning Their Style. Rachel added “I was watching, the movie ‘Jossie and the Pussycats’. That’s the movie where the entertainment industry attempts to turn the youth of America into an army of “mindless teenagers”. As dorky as the movie is, it makes a valid point. If we don’t exercise our freedom of choice on how we fill our minds, the entertainment industry will fill it for us. While reading a book from our public library, we have freedom of choice over what we want to read, know and learn. We also have the freedom to select a book about our own interest, and…we have freedom from the commercials that bombard us 24-7 on TV. Exercise your freedom of choice!” Try some of the books other teens have told us they would recommend: Nathan suggests Catch-22 by Joseph Heller, Stephenie liked Princess in the Spotlight by Meg Cabot, Jennifer enjoyed Ties That Bind, Ties That Break by Lensey Nanioka & After the Rain by Norma Fox Mazer, Rebekah thinks Chicken Soup For the Veterans Soul by Jack Canfield “is a great tribute to the men and women…” Lydia calls I’ll Be Seeing You by Lurlene McDaniel an “intense, realistic, emotional…love story” & Knocked Out by My Nunga-Nungas by Louise Rennison “realistic hilarious stories…British slang is cool”. Two adult authors to try are Robin Cook, Dave Pelzer.
August 6, 2002
Baltimore Orioles Tickets You Can Win at the LibraryPRESS RELEASE - Allegany County Library System Contact: Connie Wilson Frostburg Public Library 65 E. Main Street Frostburg, MD 21532 All branches of the Allegany County Library System are still accepting children’s reading contest forms for a chance to win 4 tickets to the Baltimore Oriole’s game on Saturday, September 7th. The ticket contest is part of the Baltimore Oriole’s summer reading incentive. All forms must be returned by Friday, August 16th. Children may pick up a contest form at their local library and upon completion of the reading activities, return it back to the library. Each branch library has 4 tickets to give to the winner in that branch. One lucky winner from the system will also get to participate in a pre-game ceremony in recognition of summer reading. What a thrill this could be; to walk out onto the field for this.
August 16, 2002 Library History Lecture on "Living in Cumberland During the 1930s"PRESS RELEASE - Allegany County Library System Contact: Linda Burkey South Cumberland Library 100 Seymour Street Cumberland, MD 21502 “Living in Cumberland During the 1930’s” is the topic of the Allegany County Library System’s History Lecture on September 3, 7 pm at the South Cumberland Branch Library at 100 Seymour Street. An overview of the impact of the Depression on Cumberland and how we dealt with it here will be given by Joe Weaver, Curator of the Allegany County Museum and History Professor at Allegany College of Maryland. Then, local author, Jim Rada will describe the 1936 flood and branch out a little into some of the stories he collected while researching his new book The Rainman. Time will also be given for members of the audience who remember the 1930’s to share their stories. “This program is designed so that all generations should be able to have a good time learning about this part of Cumberland’s history,” commented Linda Burkey program coordinator. The program is part of the Allegany County Library System’s History Lecture Series, which offers local residents programs on a variety of local history subjects. A program is offered the first Tuesday of each month at one of the library system’s branches. The talks usually last about a half hour or so with a question and answer period following. The programs offered are appropriate for older children as well as adults.
August 16, 2002 Live Homework Help Offered Through Allegany County Library SystemPRESS RELEASE - Allegany County Library System Contact: Linda Burkey South Cumberland Library 100 Seymour Street Cumberland, MD 21502 Allegany
County Library System’s will continue to offer live homework help with
extended hours of 2 PM to Midnight, seven days a week, starting Sept. 2.
The online homework help is offered in partnership with Tutor.com
and is designed for students from 4th through 12th grades,
and provides live one-on-one assistance. Tutors are available in most subject
areas including math, science,
social studies, and English. Students
have the option of using public computer workstations at any branch of the
Allegany County Library System or logging on from home or school by going to the
library’s web page at http://lib.allconet.org. “This
is a great way to extend help to students after regular school hours” says
Library Director John Taube. “The
live homework help enable students and tutors to interact in a variety of ways,
including chatting, using whiteboard technology, sharing documents, and browsing
the Web together. The interactive
whiteboard is really exciting and is especially useful for math and science
where shapes, concepts, and ideas can be drawn, annotated and shared.” Allegany County, was one of five counties from across Maryland to test a pilot of the live homework help in the spring. Based on the results of the pilot, the service is now being offered across the entire state of Maryland. Allegany County showed a steady increase in use each month and served over 400 students. The
average length of a tutoring session was 12.5 minutes on anything from learning
3 study strategies for learning to spell words, explanation of geographical
terms such as “isthmus” and “archipelago,” and a wide range of math
questions. The whiteboard makes
figuring out math questions with the students much easier.
“Students have great words of praise for the tutors that help them,”
commented Beth DiGiustino. “Wonderful!
Patient! Awesome, Knew what he was talking about,” are some descriptions the
students use. One said “It was
the best way for me to get help with my homework.”
“Often parents might even visit the site to refresh their memory on a
subject they’re trying to help their child learn.”
DiGiustino continued. “The
nice thing about this program is that live tutors and help are available when
you need them and you don’t need an appointment.
Anytime between 2 PM and Midnight you can be connect to experts in a
subject area. The program is useful
also to those who have a personal tutor and might need help in between
appointments or to those who are studying for the GED and other job related
tests.” The
on-line tutors are certified teachers, college professors, tutors, and graduate
students from across the country. Students
can get help reviewing specific homework questions, exploring social science
themes and concepts, and developing research projects and papers.
When a tutoring session is complete, students have the option of printing
copies of chat dialogs and whiteboards during the sessions.
August 28, 2002 Baltimore Orioles Ticket Winners Announced By LibraryPRESS RELEASE - Allegany County Library System Contact: Patricia Merrbach Frostburg Public Library 65 E. Main Street Frostburg, MD 21532
The winners of the Baltimore Orioles’ Ticket Contest hosted by the Allegany County Library System are Rachael Shockey, Seth Bradley, Ray Miller, Timothy Blair, Michael Tippen, Yung Schmidt, and Evan Deckers. Each child won 4 tickets to the September 7th Baltimore Orioles’ game.
Timothy
Blair was chosen from the winners to represent Allegany County on the field
during the pre-game show. “I
think it’s a good reading incentive for the summer, giving the children
another medium to explore besides books,” commented Connie Wilson,
Children’s Coordinator. “And
it’s a wonderful reward for the families who get to share the tickets with the
children.” Children
participating in this summer reading incentive had to answer 4 questions using
Sports pages from the Baltimore Sun. Winners
were drawn from those questionnaires that were returned.
August 28, 2002 Homeschooler's Book Discussion Group Meets September 9 at South Cumberland BranchPRESS RELEASE - Allegany County Library System Contact: Linda Burkey South Cumberland Library 100 Seymour Street Cumberland, MD 21502 The
Homeschooler’s Book Discussion Group of the Allegany County Library System
have chosen Lois Lowry’s Number the Stars to read for their first discussion of the new
school year. The discussion will be
held on Monday, September 9 from 2 to 3 PM at the South Cumberland Branch
Library. The group is open to all
children ages 8-15. Number the Stars is a fictionalized account, seen through the eyes of ten-year-old Annemarie, of the 1943 Danish Resistance’s smuggling of nearly 7,000 Jews from Denmark across the sea to Sweden. This Newbery Award book “reminds us that there is pride and human decency in the world even during a time of terror and war. The
Homeschooler’s Book Discussion Group that usually has an equal mix of boys and
girls has provided some interesting discussions in the past. Everyone present is encouraged to share, thus allowing them to
learn to express their feelings and opinions in a group setting.
Books
to be discussed are chosen by participants and are available to borrow at your
local public library. Titles read
last season included the adventure stories Island
of the Blue Dolphins and My Side of
the Mountain, historical accounts such as Otto
of the Silver Hand, and the family
story Where the Red Fern Grows.
August 29, 2002 "Preserving Your Harvest" Display at Frostburg LibraryPRESS RELEASE - Allegany County Library System Contact: Patricia Merrbach Frostburg Public Library 65 E. Main Street Frostburg, MD 21532
During the month of September, the Frostburg Branch of the Allegany County Library System will host “Preserving Your Harvest,” a display produced by the Cooperative Extension Service on identifying the best way to preserve the bounty of fruits and vegetables that many local residents have on hand at this time. The
display will focus on steam canning, pressure canning, and freezing, and which
method can be used for which vegetables and fruit.
There will be free brochures available from the display to take home.
August 29, 2002 Library Picks Book for October DiscussionPRESS RELEASE - Allegany County Library System Contact: Patricia Merrbach Frostburg Public Library 65 E. Main Street Frostburg, MD 21532
The
Frostburg Book Club of the Allegany County Library System has picked Daughter
of Fortune by Isable Allende to discuss at its October15th. meeting. The group will be discussing Snow Falling on Cedars by David Guterson at its meeting on September 17 at 7 P.M. Set during the 1950’s on an island above Puget Sound, Snow Falling on Cedars is a murder trial in which memories of nearby interment camps play an integral part. Pat Merrbach, Library Coordinator for the group called this Book Club “an interesting and lively group that always welcomes new members.” The group meets the 3rd Tuesday of each month starting at 7 P.M. at the Frostburg Community Library. No pre-registration is necessary to attend. Copies of the books read are available at your local library. |
