Friday, May 28, 2010

Teen Summer Library Program

This year the Teen Summer Library program theme is Make Waves @ Your Library. This summer we are doing more than making waves and reading books. During the month of June teens who sign up for the program will have an opportunity to particpate in the designing of the new Teen Zone space. We will be meeting every Wednesday from June 9-30 from 3:00 to 4:30 pm. We will discuss paint colors, furniture choices, wii games , board games, books, and magazines. If you're a local teen in grades 7-12, you're invited to sign up and participate, and if you bring a friend you get an extra chance for the raffle.
If you're not into room design, have no fear. We will still be doing crafts, playing games, discussing the latest books, and raffling off prizes. On June 16, we will have a special guest from the County Extension Service to talk about healthy eating through hands on activities and of course, there will be FOOD!

So if this sounds like fun and you haven't signed up yet, call the library for more information.

Monday, May 17, 2010

New Teen Room



It’s that time of year again – registration for the Summer Library Program is underway. The theme for this year’s program for children is Make a Splash – Read!

The Teen theme is Make Waves @ Your Library.




We are looking for a few good surfers to ride a really BIG wave – our new Teen Room! We have written a grant, which if funded, will furnish our room with all kinds of stuff: a Wii, games, a big-screen TV, comfy furniture, craft supplies, storage …. (the list goes on!). We hope to know by the end of this month if our grant (a Library Services and Technology Act grant administered through the Mississippi Library Commission) request is approved.

If our grant is funded, we'll need your help to design the new Teen room and to develop a new Teen program to go with it. We want this room to be a hangout for the teens of our community – for them to have a safe place to come, have fun, interact with other teens, study, and read – to find out that the Library is much more than a place to come when they have a school project to research or complete. We want this room to reflect the needs and wishes of our teens. What better way than to just ask? We have some ideas, but we want to know what the teens and the community think. Please email our Teen Librarian or call her at 601.445.8862 and let her know your ideas.

Check out the Teen section of our website for more information on the Teen Room and the Teen Summer Library Program.

Thursday, May 13, 2010

Make a Splash-READ!

Parents, are you looking for things for your children to do during the summer? Hurry on down to your Library and sign up for the FREE Summer Library Program. Our theme this year is  Make a Splash –READ! . The children will explore the world of water through presentations, stories, songs, and other activities about oceans, rivers, lakes, pools, and the creatures that live there.

At the Armstrong Library in Natchez, children in grades 1 through 6 have their program on Tuesdays, June 8 through 29. There are two programs each day - one is 10 - 11:30 am, and the other is from 2 - 3:30 pm. PreK and Kindergarten children have their program on Wednesdays from 10 - 10:30.

In Wilkinson County, the program is on Tuesdays at the Centerville Library and Wednesdays at the Woodville Library - both from 2 - 3:30 pm.

Children who participate will maintain or improve their reading skills and enjoy a fun filled series of programs, which will help them develop the library habit. The goals of our program are to encourage our children to keep reading during the summer and to introduce them to the public library as a place for lifelong learning.

We want the children to be summer readers. The ability to read and enjoy reading is an important factor in the success of our children.

You can go to our website for more details and to download a registration form and agenda.

Thursday, May 6, 2010

How Libraries Stack Up

In the United States, we go to libraries to find jobs, create new careers and help grow our small businesses. We borrow books, magazines, music, and movies. We learn to use the latest technology. We get tools and information needed to reenter the workforce. We get our questions answered, engage in civic activities, meet with friends and co-workers, and improve our skills at one of the 16,600 U.S. public libraries. Every day our public libraries deliver millions of dollars in resources and support that meet the critical needs of our communities.

Here are a few ways that our public libraries stack up:

Every day 300,000 Americans get job seeking help at their public library.

Most public libraries provide free wireless Internet access for their users. Nearly 12,000 now offer free Wi-Fi. That's more than Starbucks, Barnes & Noble, or Borders.

2.8 million times every month business owners and employees use resources at public libraries to support their small businesses.

Library cards are about as prevalent as credit cards. Two-thirds of American's have a library card. For many young people, the first card in their wallet is a library card.

More libraries - 5,400 - offer technology training classes than there are computer training businesses in the U.S. Every day, 14,700 people attend free library computer classes, a retail value of $2.2 million. That's $629 million worth of computer classes annually (based on 286 business days per year).

Every day, Americans borrow 2.1 million DVDs from libraries, and we spend over $22 million for DVD rentals at outlets like Netflix and RedBox vending machines.

Americans turn to libraries when searching for new jobs. Both public libraries and One Stop Career Centers provide career counseling resources, resume assistance, and help in filling out online applications.

More public libraries offer free meeting rooms than there are conference centers, convention facilities, and auditoriums combined.

Every year, Americans visit the library more often then we go to the movies and six times more often than we attend live sporting events (includes professional and NACA football, baseball, basketball, and hockey).

U.S. public libraries circulate as many materials every day as FedEx ships packages worldwide.

Libraries are at the heart of our communities, a resource for people of any age to find what we need to help improve our quality of life.

Save some money - visit your Library!