Remember to Fall Back

Just as a reminder, this is the weekend when we all need to set our clocks back one hour for the start of Daylight Savings Time. That means an extra hour of sleep for all of us!

The history behind Daylight Savings Time is an interesting one, and can be looked at by going to:

http://www.timeanddate.com/time/aboutdst.html

More on Teen Mystery Night

Anyone wanting to register for the Teen Mystery Night should call 239-2124 to register. Please use this phone number at any time to reach the Youth Services Department.

Teen Mystery Night!!!

The Young Adult Department and Teen Advisory Board invite you to be a detective in the interactive mystery "The Disappearance of Angela Day." Join us on November 3rd at 6:30 for pizza and your chance to solve the mystery! Prizes will be awarded to the best detectives! Register by calling 285-3231.

Earthquake Information

This weekend's earthquake in Hawaii brings up again the variety of places that these natural occurances have happened, and the impact that they have. For those seeking information on earthquakes in history, we've found this well organized informational site:

http://www.cdli.ca/CITE/earthquakes_famous.htm#Notable

Trash or Treasure?

On Saturday morning, the library will be hosting a program on "Trashformations," a program providing instruction on how we can recycle a lot of our standard trash into a piece of artwork. You're welcome to call us at 239-2124 to register if you haven't already, and check this space on Monday for pictures of these unique creations.

Literature Prize Announced

This morning in Stockholm, Sweden, the Nobel Prize in Literature for 2006 was awarded. The honor this year goes to a Turkish author. Details on him and his works are available in this article:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061012/ap_on_en_ot/nobel_literature

Seeking Series Suggestions

For anyone who is a fan of Lemony Snicket (where the final book in the series comes out on Friday!) or Harry Potter (due out sometime in 2007) we are often asked about suggestions for other book series by those who like to follow characters between books and become more invested in what happens to them.

Recently, the Dallas/Fort Worth Star Telegram offered up some suggestions

http://www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/living/people/family/15722062.htm?source=rss&channel=dfw_family

Voting & Election Info

For anyone seeking information about the upcoming general election, including information on the types of voting machines that you may encounter when you get to the polls, check out this new site from the PA Department of State.

http://votespa.com/

Another method to offer condolences...

Monday's tragedy continues to impact the area. The newspaper's online website, www.lancasteronline.com continues it's coverage, and has now provided a link to an online condolence book for the victims at http://local.lancasteronline.com/4/26440.

For more information about the Amish, their beliefs, and their culture, there is a great basic summary available through the county visitor's bureau at http://www.padutchcountry.com/our_world/the_amish.asp

Thanks to our county Youth Services Coordinator, Renee Christansen, we've found a link to a bibliography from the American Library Association that offers suggestions on books related to death and tragedies (that was first compiled after the 2001 attacks.)

http://www.ala.org/ala/alsc/alscresources/dealingwithtrag/dealing_with_tragedy_books.pdf

Supporting our Amish Friends

As the area continues to deal with the tragedy at the Amish schoolhouse in Nickel Mines, there are several different ways that we can help the families suffering through this tragedy, either financially or via cards and letters. We provide that information here:

Nickel Mines Children’s Funds
Coatesville Savings Bank
1082 Georgetown Road
Paradise, PA 17562

Roberts Family Fund
Coatesville Savings Bank
1082 Georgetown Road
Paradise, PA 17562

Web Site: address for both above to bank: http://www.coatesvillesavings.com/

Nickel Mines School Victims Fund
Hometown Heritage Bank
100 Historic Drive
P.O. Box 337
Strasburg, PA 17579

For cards and letters:

Bart Township Fire Co.
P.O. Box 72
11 Furnace Road
Bart, PA 17503

Thoughts and Prayers

The thoughts and prayers of everyone at Lancaster Public Library go out to the Amish families in our community who have suffered as a result of yesterday's school shooting.

First Day Results from Book Sale

Thank you to everyone who shopped the first day of our Fall Book Sale yesterday. The total sales from Day 1 were $30,782!

More details from the sale as the week goes on!

Harvest Book Sale Begins Monday!

The library's main fall book sale, the Harvest Sale, begins on Monday morning, September 25th, at 9:00 a.m. at the Overlook Activity Center, 2042 Lititz Pike!

Hours for the sale are 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. on Monday and Tuesday, and 9:00 to 6:00 p.m. on Wednesday, the 27th.

Hundreds of great bargains are available, all waiting to be discovered by you!

Important Toy Recall for Parents

Parents who are readers of this blog, this link is for your information, about a recall of a Playskool product:

http://money.cnn.com/2006/09/22/news/companies/toy_recall/index.htm?cnn=yes

New tool from Yahoo!

Yahoo has been a leader for a while in resources to help kids with their homework after school (great to use in tandem with the Homework Help database sponsored by the Library System).

Recently, Yahoo partnered with American Heritage to make available online a comprehensive Spanish/English dictionary.

Give it a try out at http://education.yahoo.com/reference/dict_en_es/;_ylt=AgW74bsUVmvBAJiB3twv0uXak7MF

International Award with Lancaster Connection!

In one of our first posts at the beginning of this blog, we talked about the American Library Association's annual special prizes for children's books, the Caldecott and Newbery Awards.

Today's Lancaster Online has an amazing story of how an author of children's books and a local doctor in Lancaster have a connection through a very special award given worldwide. We invite you to take a look at the story.

http://local.lancasteronline.com/4/25921

Word of the Week Defined

Onomastics, our word of the week, is the actual study of names, name history, and naming things.

If you can find an interesting or unique word that you think we should define for others, or have one you need defined, let us know, and it may just become part of the blog.

Our 50th Post: The World Gets Warmer

It's our 50th post in this blog. And, it is another cool and damp day outside our window here at the library, but according to this article we found today, the world is getting warmer, and it's having an impact on wildlife and animals:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060915/sc_nm/enviroment_arctic_dc

Word of the Week

Another new feature on this blog, a word of the week. Definition for this one comes on Monday, but before that, can you figure out what it is?

Word of the Week: Onomastics

Poll of the Week: Newest Service?

Starting today, once a week, we will try to ask a poll question here, and we'll welcome your responses either by clicking on the "comment" option at the bottom of the post, or by emailing us.

Today's question: What one service, not presently being offered at the library, would you like to see us add in the immediate future?