The newsletter of the Sarasota County Library System

 ~ November 2009 ~ Volume 4, Issue 7

Atyourlibrary.org Hosts Two Contests for the Public

CHICAGO — atyourlibrary.org, the public Web site for the American Library Association’s Campaign for America’s Libraries, is offering cash prizes and Apple iPod Nanos for the winners of two contests for the public.

The At My Library Creative Essay Contest seeks original, creative essays about users’ unique experiences at libraries and why American libraries are important. The grand prize winner will receive $350, and a People’s Choice Award winner will receive $100. In addition, the top 10 finalists will have their essay published on the homepage of atyourlibrary.org.

The essays must be about library users’ experience(s) at libraries and include the name of the library or libraries (or their Web sites) where the experience(s) took place. The contest is not limited to written essays. Library users can make a video or photo slideshow.

All entries must be mailed to atyourlibrary@yahoo.com before Dec. 7, 2009.

Voting for the People’s Choice Award ends Dec. 14, 2009, and is open to everyone.  All members of atyourlibrary.org can use the ranking function to vote for a favorite essay. To become a member, click on “Become a New Member” in the upper right corner of the screen.

The grand prize winner will be selected by an internal @ your library team. Both the grand prize winner and People’s Choice Award winner will be announced Dec. 21, 2009.

For more information, go to atyourlibrary.org/essay-contest or send an e-mail to atyourlibrary@yahoo.com. 

The site is also raffling off two Apple iPod Nanos over the next two months for anyone who signs up for the atyourlibrary.org newsletter.  To sign up, members of the public can enter a valid e-mail address in the “Sign Up for e-newsletter” form: atyourlibrary.org/newsletter

Websites to Help You Make the Holidays Happy and Safe

How to Take Great Photos of Holiday Lights
This article offers ideas for taking photos of tree lights, candles, holiday lights on buildings, and other indoor and outdoor lit subjects. Includes tips for both film and digital photography, and examples of photographs of holiday lights. From a photography school.
www.nyip.com/ezine/holidays/
holidaylights.html

A Season for Sharing in Fire Safety
Fire safety tips for the holiday season, including tips for preventing holiday tree fires, using holiday lights and candles, and choosing nonflammable decorations. Includes links to video clips on holiday tree fire hazards. From the U.S. Fire Administration.
www.usfa.dhs.gov/citizens/
all_citizens/home_fire_prev/
holiday-seasonal/holiday.shtm

Coping with Holiday Stress
Questions and answers about coping with stress and family problems during the holiday season (Halloween through Christmas). By psychologist Dorothy Cantor, a former president of the American Psychological Association (APA).
apahelpcenter.org/articles/
article.php?id=8

Holiday Giving Guide
Find a charity you can trust. Provides tips for making decisions about donations, statistics, information about workplace donation campaigns, and a list of the highest and lowest rated charities in various subject areas. From Charity Navigator, an organization that "works to advance a more efficient and responsive philanthropic marketplace by evaluating the financial health of America's largest charities."
www.charitynavigator.org/
index.cfm/bay/holiday.main.htm

All descriptions included here are copyright Librarians' Internet Index.

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1800s Christmas at North Port Library

North Port Public Library opens the holiday season with a sensational free family night out. Your family can step back into a time when Christmas as we think of it was born – a simpler, more homemade time, Saturday, December 5th, from 4 to 8 p.m.

There is music, from chimes to carolers and choral groups, guitars, barbershop, even a dulcimer band. You will make homemade ornaments and gifts including sachets, Victorian angels, and homemade cards and wraps and Christmas spiders. Local organizations will show their 1800s skills and products.

In the “Concert Hall,” Hank Mattson (www.crackercowboypoet.com) a working Florida cracker cowboy poet will perform. The Ukrainian American Club will bring Christmas folktales, Ukrainian eggs and authentic tree, and the history of their celebration. A Civil War encampment camped out front of the library will come in for a reception with pecan pie. Young Savannah Brady will play her violin with music from her own 1800s research. 

Staff, volunteers, and even some patrons dress in authentic clothing.  If you wish to come in costume, (Edwardian, Victorian, Native American, Western, etc.) there will be a contest this year. As the prize, North Port Magazine will publish a picture of the winner(s).

For more information on North Port's 1800s Christmas, please contact Janet Hansen by phone (941-861-1312 or 941-861-1307) or email (jhansen@scgov.net).

Pathways to Engagement

Gulf Gate Library is proud to bring a new partnership to its customers: “Pathways to Engagement: Boomers Supporting a Caregiver Nation," one of the newest programs administered through Senior Friendship Centers, is a response to Sarasota County’s pressing need to serve an aging population.

“Caregiving and receiving goes hand-in-hand in this ‘epicenter of longevity,’ where 38% of the population is over the age of 60. Ten percent of our population is in the vulnerable group over age 80,” said Project Manager Nancy Hobson.

“Caregiving systems of support are present, but many caregivers who would be helped by education, information and various self-help tools don't know where to access them,” Hobson added. “We also have an older adult volunteer population which desires more meaningful opportunities for civic engagement. Our approach is to mobilize these volunteers to provide education about resources and self help strategies to caregivers."

Pathways to Engagement is made possible through the generous support of The Community Foundation of Sarasota County, Atlantic Philanthropies, The National Council on Aging and The Gulf Coast Foundation of Venice. It will create a model for a volunteer-driven approach to address the challenge of caregiving for communities throughout the country.

Currently; “Pathways to Engagement” will be providing Caregiver Resource Center Consultations at Gulf Gate Library every Monday from 10:30am to 12:30pm. For more information, please call 941-955-2122.

Paula Falk (Director, Caregiver Resource Center/Adult Day Service, Senior Friendship Center) and Nancy L. Hobson (Senior Program Director, Pathways to Engagement) at Gulf Gate Library

Three Ways to Search OverDrive, Our Catalog of Downloadable Audiobooks

Go to our library system's website (www.sclibs.net) and click on the icon "Download audiobooks OverDrive." 

Then, at the top right of the screen, you can do a basic search by typing in a search term in the blank field in the blue navigation bar near the top of the screen and clicking on "Search."

If you want to do a more refined search, click on "Advanced Search", which is located just left of that same blank field. By doing an advanced search, you can search for terms in multiple blank fields: title, subject, author, format and other criteria.

A third way to search is to simply browse by clicking on any of the links listed under the three main categories of Fiction, Nonfiction and Collections. For your convenience, these categorical links are located on the lefthand side of each webpage within our catalog of downloadable audiobooks.

If you have any questions about downloadable audiobooks, please contact the library by email at libraryinfo@scgov.net or by phone at 941-861-1110.

Ann Rennie

Ann Rennie is Gulf Gate Library's volunteer of the month. Ann has worked tirelessly on the weeding projects at Gulf Gate Library. Jim Mitchell, library manager, says, "I really don't know what we would have done without her. A great big Gulf Gate thank you to Ann!"

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