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September 6, 2006
Library’s “Kool Reader’s Club” Discussion September 14
September 8, 2006
Library’s “Ask
Us Now!” Answers Questions 24/7
September 11, 2006
“One Book, One Allegany County” Returns for 4th Annual,
County-wide Reading Incentive
September 14, 2006
Frostburg Library
Hosts Genealogical Talk
September 14, 2006
LaVale
Library Hosts Discussion of Botany of Desire
September 16, 2006
Library’s “Kool Reader’s Club” Selects October Read
September 18, 2006
Library Has
24/7 Online Library for Students
September 19, 2006
“One Book, One Allegany County 2006” Picks The Kite Runner
September 21, 2006
Cake
Decorating Program at Washington Street Library
September 21, 2006
Genealogist Talk at Library about County’s 300 Cemeteries
September 22, 2006
“Toddler Times” and “Story Times” at All Library Branches
September 25, 2006
Maryland
Zoo in Baltimore Visiting Local Libraries
September 30, 2006
BIG KIDS CLUB at
Library on Saturday
September 6, 2006
PRESS RELEASE - Allegany County Library System
Contact:
Linda Burkey
South Cumberland Library
100 Seymour Street
Cumberland, MD 21502
South Cumberland Library’s “Kool Reader’s Club” will discuss Shiloh
by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor on Thursday, September 14 starting at 7 PM at
the library. This Newbury Medal book tells the story of 11 year-old
Marty Preston and the quandary he finds himself in when he discovers a
young beagle dog that he suspects is being abused. See if you would have
dared to handle the situation the same way.
All young readers are invited to come join in the club’s half-hour
discussions, the 2nd Thursday of each month, following
Evening Story Time.
September 8, 2006
PRESS RELEASE - Allegany County Library System
Contact:
Linda Burkey
South Cumberland Library
100 Seymour Street
Cumberland, MD 21502
Have a question? Need some information? Try AskUsNow! It’s now available
to local residents and students! This 24/7, interactive online service
of the Allegany County Library System allows residents and students of
all ages to contact experienced, specially trained librarians for
answers to questions, research guidance, and help in navigating the
Internet. Remember it is available anytime night or day, 7 days a week!
To access this service, simply visit a library or the library’s web site
at
www.alleganycountylibrary.info from your home PC or office; and
click on the AskUsNow logo.
The librarian should be able to take you to useful websites and will
communicate with you using Internet chat. A normal session lasts between
5 and 20 minutes. Complex questions may not be able to be answered
within this time frame. During the chat, the librarian may suggest that
your question be forwarded to an expert or your local library for an
answer via e-mail. Follow-up replies by
e-mail can be expected within 72 hours.
“This service is exceedingly easy to use,” commented librarian Linda
Burkey. “You should glance over the helpful hints found on the left-hand
side of the screen. Then you just fill in a few blank boxes to be
chatting with a librarian. Your online librarian will guide or answers
any questions.”
Maryland AskUsNow! is funded by the Institute of Museum and Library
Services, LSTA grant funds, through the Division of Library Development
& Services, Maryland State Department of Education.
September 11, 2006
PRESS RELEASE - Allegany County Library System
Contact:
Linda Burkey
South Cumberland Library
100 Seymour Street
Cumberland, MD 21502
“One Book, One Allegany County” partners will use the September 15,
Friday after Five on the Downtown Cumberland Mall to proudly announce
the adult book selected for the 2006, county-wide, reading campaign. The
announcement will be made between 6:30-7.
As in other years, “One Book” events will take place during October with
a full schedule of programs and activities revolving around the book
planned. Local residents are encouraged to attend these opportunities to
meet with one another for some meaningful dialog, leading to a greater
sense of community.
Programs will include book discussions, a chance to be immersed in a
foreign culture, with food tasting, and the premier performance of a
play in early November. Brochures with the schedule of events will be
available at the beginning of October. Watch your local media for more
details.
A portion of this year’s incentive has been designed to send out a
special message to our children—that reading together can lead to some
priceless sharing of ideas with their parents.
Partnering for the 2006 campaign are the Allegany County Library System,
Frostburg State University’s Center for Creative Writing and the
Baseball Forever Conference, Allegany County Cooperative Extension
Service F-NET Program, Allegany County Board of Education, Allegany Arts
Council, Main Street Books in Frostburg, Project Yes, Allegany College
of Maryland Library, Book Center in Downtown Cumberland, and Waldenbooks
in Country Club Mall.
If you have a group or business that would like to be a partner with the
2006 One Book campaign, please call Linda at 301-724-1607.
September 14, 2006
PRESS RELEASE - Allegany County Library System
Contact: Pat Merrbach
Frostburg Library
65 E. Main Street
Frostburg, MD 21532
The Frostburg Community Library will host speaker Dick Koch,
Genealogical Society President, on Wednesday, September 20 at 7PM for a
talk on Genealogical Research Resources in Allegany County.
After reviewing the resources, Koch will answer questions from the
audience on researching family histories. Come learn what’s new; it
might just provide that needed link to your missing ancestors. The
program, open to the public, will last about one hour.
PRESS RELEASE - Allegany County Library System
Contact:
Pam Neder
LaVale Library
815 National Highway
LaVale, MD 21502
The LaVale Library Book Discussion Group invites all interested adults
to their discussion of Botany of Desire: A Plant’s-Eye View of the
World by Michael Pollan. The event will take place on Wednesday,
September 27, starting at 7:00 PM at the library, 815 National Highway.
For more information please call 301-729-0855.
Pollan’s Masters may be in English, but he clearly has a passion for
science. He combines the two to deliver some of the most noteworthy
environmental journalism available. Botany of Desire was chosen
as the best book of the year by American Booksellers Association and
Amazon.com, the Borders Original Voices Award for the best non-fiction
work of 2001, as well as being a New York Times bestseller. After
reading it, you will probably never be able to look at plants the same
way again.
September 16, 2006
PRESS RELEASE - Allegany County Library System
Contact:
Linda Burkey
South Cumberland Library
100 Seymour Street
Cumberland, MD 21502
The South Cumberland Library’s “Kool Reader’s Club” has selected the
Newbery Medal winning Crispin: The Cross of Lead by Avi to
discuss at their October 12 meeting starting at 7PM. All children are
invited to come share their thoughts on this book and other reading they
have done. Copies of the book are available at the library.
Set in the 14th century this medieval story is full of fast
paced action and suspense. Following his mother’s death, the book’s main
character, 13-year old Crispin, is declared a “wolf’s head” to be hunted
and taken.
The Kool Reader’s Club is held the second Thursday of each month at 7PM,
following Evening Story Time. Meetings consist of a half hour of
discussion and reading activities for young readers.
September 18, 2006
PRESS RELEASE - Allegany County Library System
Contact:
Linda Burkey
South Cumberland Library
100 Seymour Street
Cumberland, MD 21502
Student patrons of the Allegany County Library System now have an Online
Database Library they can access from their home PC any time night or
day, seven days a week at
http://home.alleganycountylibrary.info/databases.htm or from the
library’s homepage.
Providing them with databases that should answer most of their homework
needs, included are encyclopedias, almanacs, magazines, journals and
newspapers plus many of the standard reference books now available in
electronic format. Add the address for this Online Library to your
“Favorites”, and you can be at the library in seconds!
Students of all ages can find resources suited to their grade level.
EBSCO’s Encyclopedia of Animals and Primary Search and Searchasaurus
give in-depth information on a variety of topics appropriate for
elementary school students, with over 50 children’s magazines included.
Students of all ages will find Geo-Data: The World Geographical
Encyclopedia helpful to describe the physical geography of every nation,
with physical features, climate, and vegetation noted. Each entry
features a physical relief map. A World Rankings Appendix and glossary
of geographical and geological terms are also included.
Middle school students will probably want to check out the Middle Search
Plus, African American Almanac, the American Men & Women of Science, and
UXL American Decades to get their homework done in a flash!
“Facts on File” with its World News Digest, Issues & Controversies On
File, and Today’s Science On File, will keep all students up to date on
current hot topics and the news, covering all sides of an issue, to
encourage critical thinking. The newly added “Science Resource Center”
focuses on new strides being made in science and technology.
High school students will also find the depth of resources they’ll need
for their longer research papers. Find databases such as the History
Resource Center, Encyclopedia of World Cultures, and the Literature
Resource Center. Also find the Scholarships, Fellowships, & Loans
database, providing more than 4,200 sources of education-related
financial aid and awards useful. An “APA Style and MLA Style Citing
Sources” flyer is also included to help you site these new formats for
resources, especially the websites with a print publication reference,
websites with electronic publication only, and articles from online
databases.
With over 1,900 magazines and journals available the EBSCO’s Masterfile
Premier will be the place to visit for school and relaxing reading.
Fashion, Costume, and Culture, Auto Repair Reference Center, and the
e-book “Encyclopedia of Drugs, Alcohol, and Addictive Behavior” are also
included along with many other resources of interest to teenagers.
For all ages of student, Learn-A-Test will certainly prove helpful. It
includes the “Basic Skills and Success module”, the “Skills Improvement
Courses”, and practice tests for those studying for the SAT, ACT, GED,
any Civil Service test, and so much more. It provides a completely
interactive online learning platform of practice tests and a tutorial
course series designed to help you succeed on academic or licensing
tests. You’ll get immediate scoring, complete answer explanations, and
an individualized analysis of your results. You can go in and out of the
tests as often as necessary.
“The resources offered on this Online Library won’t be provided to you
in a search engine search such as Googling,” offered librarian Linda
Burkey. “Unless you go directly to the Online Library, you can be
missing out on valuable resource put together by librarians and state
educators, geared to helping students successfully complete their
homework and research papers.”
“DLDS and the Western Maryland Public Libraries have spent their money
wisely providing these databases locally. They have helped local
students have the same resources available as those living in
metropolitan areas.”
September 19, 2006
PRESS RELEASE - Allegany County Library System
Contact:
Linda Burkey
South Cumberland Library
100 Seymour Street
Cumberland, MD 21502
The 4th annual county-wide reading incentive “One Book, One
Allegany County has picked The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini as
the adult book selection for 2006. The “One Book” campaign asks everyone
in Allegany County to read the exact same book at the same time, from
now thru the month of October.
People are then invited to come together for book discussions, some
immersion into the setting and culture of the book, and for some fun and
entertainment. A full calendar of events will be released October 1.
The goals this year are: meeting with one another for some meaningful
dialog leading to a greater sense of community and sending out a message
to our children that reading together can lead to some priceless sharing
of ideas.
Published in 2003, the book is one of the most talked about books in
recent years. It’s a beautifully written book about family relationships
and friendships set in Afghanistan. It is a debut novel for Hosseini,
who was born in Afghanistan and moved to the U.S. as a child. He is now
a medical doctor, living in California.
For 2006, a children’s book selection has been added to give a family
flavor to our program: Abner & Me by Dan Gutman, a book
recommended for children ages 8-12. This Baseball Card Adventure Book’s
main character takes a time travel back with his mom to meet Abner
Doubleday, a Civil War General who was said to have invented the game of
baseball.
Both book selections demonstrate the uniqueness of father and son
relationships and have many other shared themes, such as the use of
non-fictional elements in fiction writing, bullying & revenge, and the
enhancing of one’s life with sports. Adding Abner & Me to
the 2006 program has also allowed the committee to help promote a
wonderful opportunity for families in the area, to attend the Baseball
Forever: Mirror of American Life, a 3 day baseball conference taking
place at Frostburg State University in early November. The premier
performance of the play “The Lone Star League” by Jim Ralston part of
this conference, allowed “One Book” to keep its multi-media nature.
To become part of the 2006 campaign, get a copy of the book and read.
The Kite Runner comes in many formats: large print, book on
cassette, and book on CD. Copies of the books are available at local
libraries and book stores. We encourage you to discuss the book(s) with
your family, co-workers, or friends and also to join one of the
community book discussions. Any agency, business, or group that would
like to partner with our group is asked to call Linda at the South
Cumberland Library, 301-724-1607.
Partnering for the 2006 campaign are the Allegany County Library System,
Frostburg State University’s Center for Creative Writing and Baseball
Forever Conference, Allegany County Cooperative Extension Service F-NET
Program, Allegany County Board of Education, Allegany Arts Council, Main
Street Books in Frostburg, Project Yes, Allegany College of Maryland
Library, Book Center in Downtown Cumberland, Waldenbooks in County Club
Mall, the Cumberland Times-News, and the Volunteer Center of Allegany
County.
September 21, 2006
PRESS RELEASE - Allegany County Library System
Contact: Maryland Appel
Washington Street Library
31 Washington Street
Cumberland, MD 21502
Local cake decorator Heather Coates will be at the Washington Street
Library on Wednesday, September 27 from 7-8 to demonstrate her cake
decorating techniques. The program is free and open to the public.
“Coates is becoming well known for her tasty treats that are also
skillfully decorated,” commented a library staff member. “You will get a
chance to sample the treats she decorates that night.”
PRESS RELEASE - Allegany County Library System
Contact:
Debbie Hartman
George's Creek Library
76 Main Street
Lonaconing, MD 21539
Harriet Moore, from the Genealogical Society, will be at the George’s
Creek Regional Library, in downtown Lonaconing, talking on the nearly
300 cemeteries in Allegany County on September 28 at 7.
Moore, who works at the Society’s library, helps with the finding and
cleaning of the sites, and making sure the directions to each cemetery
is clear. She is also experienced at making gravestone rubs.
September 22, 2006
PRESS RELEASE - Allegany County Library System
Contact:
Linda Burkey
South Cumberland Library
100 Seymour Street
Cumberland, MD 21502
All branches of the Allegany County Library System have resumed their
“Toddler Times” and “Story Times” for the fall months.
Toddler Times are offered at each library for children 18 months
to 36 months accompanied by a parent or caregiver. Activities at these
programs are designed to stimulate and entertain the younger child.
Pre-registration is required for this program at some branches. Toddler
Time Schedule: Frostburg Branch-Wednesdays at 11:00AM thru Oct. 11 and
Nov. 1 thru Dec. 6; George’s Creek Branch-10:30 AM Tuesdays thru Dec.
12, except Nov. 21; LaVale Branch-11:30 AM, Wednesdays Sept. 27, Oct. 11
& 25, Nov. 8 & 22, Dec. 6 & 20; South Cumberland Branch-10:00 AM,
Wednesdays Oct. 4 & 18, Nov. 1, 15 & 29, and Dec. 13; Washington Street
Branch-11:30 AM Thursdays thru Dec. 21, except Nov. 23; and Westernport
Branch-11:00 AM Thursdays thru Dec. 21, except Nov. 23.
Story Hours encourage children aged 3-6 to socialize for an hour
of stories, films, and activities designed just for them. Story Hour
Schedule: Frostburg Branch-1:00 PM Tuesdays thru Dec. 19; George’s Creek
Branch-2:30 PM Wednesdays thru Dec. 13; LaVale Branch-10:00 AM
Wednesdays thru Dec. 20; South Cumberland Branch-10:00 AM Tuesdays thru
Dec. 19; Washington Street Branch-10:00 Thursdays thru Dec. 21; and
Westernport Branch-6:30 PM Tuesdays thru Dec. 19.
Evening Story Times are also held at each branch for children of
all ages. These half-hour programs are designed for the convenience of
families who are busy in the daytime hours but still want to foster good
reading habits for their families. Evening Story Time Schedule:
Frostburg Branch-6:00 PM Thursdays thru Dec. 21; George’s Creek
Branch-6:30 PM Wednesdays thru Dec. 13; LaVale Branch-6:30 PM Thursdays
Sept. 7, Oct. 5, Nov. 2, and Dec. 7; South Cumberland Branch-6:30 PM
Thursdays Sept. 14, Oct. 12, Nov. 9, and Dec. 14; Washington Street
Branch-6:30 PM Thursdays thru Dec. 21, except Nov. 23; and Westernport
Branch-6:30 PM Mondays thru Dec. 18.
Saturday Story Times is held once a month at the
Washington Street Branch at 11:00 AM on Saturdays Sept. 23, Oct. 21,
Nov. 18, Dec.16. This half-hour program is for children of all ages.
Activities include stories and crafts.
September 25, 2006
PRESS RELEASE - Allegany County Library System
Contact:
Linda Burkey
South Cumberland Library
100 Seymour Street
Cumberland, MD 21502
The Maryland Zoo in Baltimore will spend two days at local Allegany
County Library Branches with their outreach programs for all ages from
preschool to seniors. At each program the audience will have the chance
to meet unique zoo animals up close and personal. Programs are free and
open to the public thanks to funding from Columbia Gas.
Senior Citizens, including those from Day Care Centers and Senior
Centers around the county, are invited Oct. 5, 10:30-11:30 AM at the
South Cumberland Library and Oct. 12, 1:00-2:00 PM at the LaVale
Library.
Children ages 3-6 are invited to the Oct. 12, to the 10:00 AM Story Hour
at the Washington Street Library where the zoo will present the program
WADDLE AND WIGGLE, which lets kids slither like a
snake, hop like a rabbit, waddle like a penguin, to get in touch with
their wild side during a fun game exploring animal movement. This
program will be repeated at the George’s Creek Regional Library Oct. 12,
from 3-3:30 PM. Children should be chaperoned.
All ages are invited to see FUR, FEATHERS AND SCALES
the program that answers questions such as: What’s the
difference between a skink and a snake? Do parrots and ducks have
anything in common? What characteristics do humans share with other
mammals? The audience will then have a chance to meet representatives of
vertebrate families and explore what makes each unique and special. This
program is great for families.
FUR, FEATHERS AND SCALES will be presented on October 5,
4:30-5:30 PM at the Frostburg Community Library and 5:00-6:00 PM at the
South Cumberland Library and also on October 12, from 4:15-5:00 PM at
the Westernport Library and 4:30-5:30 PM at the LaVale Library.
Homeschoolers & Private Schools, and other students can
see FEAR: FRIEND OR FOE? on October 5 from 1:00 to 2:00 PM
at the South Cumberland Library. Are you afraid of creatures that
crawl, creep or slither? Should you be? Meet some animals that may turn
your fear to fascination. Learn why many feared animals are essential in
maintaining a balanced environment and healthy ecosystem.
A special presentation of FUR, FEATHERS AND SCALES will
be held for the developmentally challenged, mentally challenged, and
others with special needs Oct. 5 from 2:30-3:30 at the South Cumberland
Library. The smaller audience will allow individuals more room to move
about to meet the animals for a longer time.
“We never know what animals will be traveling with the
ZOOMobile,” explained Linda Burkey, Coordinator of Community Outreach
for the library system. “We can say that we’ve seen them bring animals
from all over the world, and we’ve seen them very, very close up!”
September 30, 2006
PRESS RELEASE - Allegany County Library System
Contact:
Barbara Riffey
Washington Street Library
31 Washington Street
Cumberland, MD 21502
Children in 4th-8th grades are invited to the
Washington Street Library on Saturday Oct. 7 at 2 PM for the BIG KIDS
CLUB. The group will be reading Growing Up in Coal Country by
Susan Campbell Bartoletti. Copies of the book can be picked up at the
library. For more details call 301-777-1200.
