Bookmark November 2011

The Bookmark November 2011

Take half a dozen kids, aged 12 to 15. Ask them to volunteer at an event at the Town of Pelham Public Library and what’s the one word each and every one of them used afterward to describe the experience?

Fun!

As in “it was so much fun to help the little kids get library cards on K-Day (Kindergarten Day),” said 13-year-old Chloe Jones. “I remember my own K-D. I loved it!”

And this: “I told the kids about the scavenger hunt in April (during a Library Week event). “They had fun with it and so did I.” (12-year-old Dylan Petrello).

Or this: “Telling people about the library at the Street Fair taught me about confidence – and it was fun.” (15-year-old Erica Teddone).

Who would have guessed that tweens and teens would enjoy spending their free time doing something that seems to have a cool factor of minus ten? But those who’ve done it apparently had a blast – and learned something at the same time.

Take, for example, the table hosted by the Friends of the Pelham Public Library Board at the annual Street Fair last June. The Friends had two goals: to raffle off gift certificates at some neat spots in town and, at the same time, collect email addresses for a planned newsletter. Both goals were accomplished. But that may not have happened without the enthusiastic support of a group of young volunteers.

“You learn how to approach people,” said Erica about her stint as a volunteer, asking people to fill out raffle tickets. “If someone ignores you, you know you have to try a different approach.”

And you learn about the library too.

“I learned about all the different programs the library offered,” said 15-year-old Sara Romanello in an email. “It was great to see how much people cared about the library.”

And then there’s the always-valuable lesson about teamwork. Lujaiyne Vermes, 13, and Melissa Munoz, 14, were doing face-painting on K-Day in September, when the crop of new kids at Pelham’s elementary schools came in to get their first library cards. “We were painting spiders and butterflies and we worked together, swapping kids when so we could each paint what we were best at,” said Melissa.

“And oh my gosh,” added Lujaiyne, “they’re so young. One little kid fell asleep when I was painting a spider on his face”.

Erica’s sister, Nicole, 14, came up with a very practical suggestion to put those volunteer hours to good use.

“I love to help out and I thought it would be cool if our hours could count toward our community service,” she said. “So I asked my Mom.”

“Mom” is Lisa Teddone, a Friend (supporter), who made the calls and got approval from Pelham Middle School and Pelham Memorial High School to have the kids’ volunteer time count toward the now mandatory 40 hours of community service needed for high school graduation.

“It’s a really fun way to get those hours,” said Nicole. “You do it every once in a while and it adds up.”

There’s that word again. Fun. But even better than fun is the feeling at least one volunteer had when her event was over.

“I felt pretty proud of myself,” laughed Melissa. “My Mom was proud of me too and I even told my Grandma and she was proud too.”

Note: Volunteer applications are available at the Pelham Public Library but there are limited events that require volunteers.

Coming up at the Library:

- Monday Nov. 7 @ 10 – 11a.m. Computer Class. Downloadable Audio Books and other media downloading will be demonstrated). Wait list only.

- Thursday Nov. 10 @ 6 – 9p.m. An Evening with eBooks. IT staff from the Westchester Library System will assist with downloading titles from the library’s collection to personal e-readers, MP3 players and other devices.

- Monday Nov. 14 @ 10 – 11 a.m. Computer Class. Library Databases. Wait list only.

- Thursday Dec. 1 @ 3:30 – 4:00 p.m. Bi-Lingual Story Time for children in Kindergarten to 2nd Grade.

- Thursday Dec. 1 @ 7:30p.m. Book Club discusses A Gesture Life, by Chang-Rae Lee.

Free eBooks
Did you know that you can download eBooks for free that are usable on the following devices: Windows computer, Mac computer, Blackberry, Android, Windows Phone 7, Amazon Kindle, B&N Nook, and Sony Reader? There are many free eBooks available. For one, Project Gutenberg offers over 36,000 free eBooks to download to your PC, Kindle, Nook, Android, iOS or other portable device. Secondly, you can use Search for "0.00." Go to the B&N Bookstore (www.barnesandnoble.com/ebooks/index.asp) or the Kindle Bookstore (www.amazon.com/b/?&node=1286228011) and search for "0.00." Your results will yield many free books available for direct download to your device.

Now Use Your Kindle with Library eBooks!
Special Notice for Amazon Kindle owners: Your devices are now compatible with Overdrive, your Library’s free downloadable audiobook and eBook service offered through the Westchester Library System. To access it, visit westchester.lib.overdrive.com and click on “MyHelp!” Overdrive is compatible with many devices, including Blackberry, iPhone/iPad/iPod touch, B&N Nook, and Sony Reader. Downloads are available to your personal PC, laptop, or PDA. The first time you check out materials on this site, instructions will be provided for you to download the software you need.

Should you need instruction in downloading eBooks, please attend An Evening with eBooks at the Town of Pelham Library on Thursday, November 10, from 6 to 9 p.m. IT staff from the Westchester Library System, and librarians from the Town of Pelham Public Library, will be available to provide patrons with training in downloading titles from the library’s collection to their personal eReaders, MP3 players and other handheld devices. You are encouraged to bring your laptop to the library to learn how to download the software. Please bring your eBook reader or device with you too. Please call the Library for further information.

Reprinted from The Pelham Weekly, Nov. 4, 2011, p. 11. Used by permission.