Monthly Archives March 2020

3D Printers Donated to Hospital

3D Printers Donated to Hospital

Dr. Stephen Erosa from St. John’s Riverside Hospital in Yonkers reached out to Westchester libraries with a call to action. Dr. Erosa has started a 3D printer farm at the hospital and asked Westchester Libraries to contribute their machines. He will be printing out pieces for face guards for hospital staff and essential workers. The White Plains Public Library stepped up and donated its two 3D printers, the Ultimaker 2+ extended and the Flashforge Creator Pro, along with six rolls of filament to help out the cause. On Thursday, Librarian Erik Carlson picked up the equipment and met with Dr.
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March 31, 2020 4:07 pm | by | No Comments
Categories: Director's Corner, eNewsletter, Featured, Homepage, and Library News.
Tags: 3D Printers, 3d printing, Con Edison, covid-19, Edge, and The Edge.

April 2020 Children’s Calendar

April 2020 Children’s Calendar

Yes, our beautiful building at 100 Martine is temporarily closed, but it turns out there are plenty of other ways we can keep the Library open and still serve White Plains. Join us on Zoom with a variety of virtual events presented by Library staff and local experts. Find a full listing of events below with details on registering. And don't forget, you can reach us Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at our new number 914-448-4859, by texting WPPL to 66746, or by emailing us anytime. Ideas for programs or activities? Send them my way. Take care,
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March 30, 2020 3:36 pm | by | No Comments
Categories: Homepage Kids and Kids.
Tags: events calendar and trove events.

April 2020 Teen Calendar

April 2020 Teen Calendar

Yes, our beautiful building at 100 Martine is temporarily closed, but it turns out there are plenty of other ways we can keep the Library open and still serve White Plains. Join us on Zoom with a variety of virtual events presented by Library staff and local experts. Find a full listing of events below with details on registering. And don't forget, you can reach us Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at our new number 914-448-4859, by texting WPPL to 66746, or by emailing us anytime. Ideas for programs or activities? Send them my way. Take care,
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March 30, 2020 3:34 pm | by | No Comments
Categories: Homepage Teens and Teens.
Tags: edge events and events.

Stuck at Home: Staff Picks Part 2

Stuck at Home: Staff Picks Part 2

Stuck at home with kids and teens due to the virus? The White Plains Public Library has you covered with these suggestions from Josh Carlson, Manager of Youth Services. Some of the sites listed here may be offering some content free of charge or may be offering free access currently in response to the virus, but will move to a charge model again in the future. Please take care when using these sites to avoid unwanted charges. Great Ideas for Activities and Experiences Family Maker Camp – free projects and ideas Smithsonian’s Fun Stuff for Kids Cincinnati Zoo Home Safaris
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March 26, 2020 10:50 am | by | No Comments
Categories: eNewsletter, Featured, Homepage Family CV, Homepage Kids, Kids, and Library News.
Tags: at home learning, safe at home, staff recommendations, and stuck at home.

Sch-EDGE-uled Videos

Sch-EDGE-uled Videos

Do you miss the Edge as much as we do? Librarian Erik Carlson has been bringing a bit of the Edge to Instagram and Facebook every day, giving you a daily dose of the Edge while at home. Follow @theedgewppl on Instagram where you’ll find a daily schedule posted each morning around 11:00 a.m. The sch-Edge-ule always has a joke of the day, riddle of the day, and afternoon read aloud. And there is more! Librarian Carlson posts a Which Craft? Wednesday program, he’s working on online Uno games, and is working with Austin Olney, aka Schmiegel, on putting together
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March 25, 2020 4:42 pm | by | No Comments
Categories: eNewsletter, Evergreen, Featured, Homepage Teens, Library News, and Teens.
Tags: Edge and videos.

#WPPLreads: Kids Stuck at Home Reading Program

#WPPLreads: Kids Stuck at Home Reading Program

How many books do you think White Plains kids ages 0-12 can read before the pandemic crisis is all over? 1000? More?!?! Let’s find out. While this is mostly for fun and to put forth a challenge to the community to engage in reading while at home, participants will earn badges for their reading, and the Library is working on coming up with ideas for fun digital/virtual prizes. Stay tuned. Need a book? Check out White Plains Public Library's website for access to eBooks,  digital audiobooks, and more on Overdrive or Libby, Hoopla, TumbleBooks, and other digital resources! Need a
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March 25, 2020 2:53 pm | by | 2 Comments
Categories: Authors & Books, eNewsletter, Featured, Homepage Family CV, Homepage Kids, and Kids.
Tags: #WPPLreads, reading program, safe at home, and stuck at home.

RPGs at Home

RPGs at Home

By Joshua Carlson, Manager of Youth Services. Role Playing Games are a fantastic way to work on creative, shared storytelling. Allowing all players to build their characters, help to direct the story, and use their imaginations, RPGs are not only fun, but a wonderful way to engage each other while stuck at home. And, you don’t have to even be stuck at home together! Apps such as Discord provide an easy-to-use system with text and chat to allow the game to take place virtually, as if you players were in the room together. No dice? There are apps for that,
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March 25, 2020 2:38 pm | by | No Comments
Categories: eNewsletter, Featured, Homepage Kids, Kids, and Library News.
Tags: RPGs and tabletop games.

Lynda.com Writing Resources

Lynda.com Writing Resources

By Kathlyn Carroll, Edge Librarian. Like many others suddenly working from home, I’ve been focusing on professional development opportunities that would otherwise go on the back burner. While browsing a Library database, Lynda.com, I came across a surprising variety of writing tutorial videos that would also help teen writers. Whether you’re struggling through ELA essays assigned virtually by your teachers, or using the extra time to tackle a personal creative writing project, one of these videos may guide you on your quest. Once you login at the link above, you can search for the learning paths and videos below. ELA
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March 25, 2020 2:26 pm | by | No Comments
Categories: eNewsletter, Evergreen, Featured, Homepage Teens, Library News, and Teens.
Tags: creative writing, lynda.com, and writing tips.

April Funny Stories in TumbleBooks

April Funny Stories in TumbleBooks

By Tata Cañuelas, Trove Librarian. April brings us April’s Fool, meaning jokes and silliness for us all. Try these stories and a song in TumbleBooks and start laughing with us. Frank Was a Monster Who Wanted to Dance, by Keith Graves Frank the monster indulges his love of dancing by strutting his stuff on stage. That’s it, until his head unzips, his brains flop out and he continues to lose body parts on stage. Down by the Bay, Folk Song This traditional folk song gets the Tumblebooks treatment! Sing along and have some fun “Down by the Bay.” He Came
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March 24, 2020 11:24 am | by | No Comments
Categories: Authors & Books, eNewsletter, Evergreen, Featured, Homepage Kids, Kids, and Library News.
Tags: TumbleBooks. April Fool's.

Learn a New Skill with Lynda.com

Learn a New Skill with Lynda.com

By Kristen Thornton-De Stafeno, Marketing & Adult Services Librarian (kthornton@whiteplainslibrary.org) Want to become a photographer? Graphic Designer? Guitarist? Well, the possibilities are endless with Lynda.com. A White Plains library card is necessary to get started; login with your card number and pin in order to access the links below. Lynda.com is great for learning a new skillset, brushing up on the latest version of software you're already familiar with, or even taking steps to start a new career. Below I explore some of the different learning paths, stand alone tutorials, and tips to make the most of your free Lynda.com
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March 23, 2020 1:30 pm | by | No Comments
Categories: eNewsletter, Evergreen, Featured, Homepage, and Library News.
Tags: lynda.com, online learning, and tutorials.

Community Reads

Community Reads

What better time than now to share what you're reading? Everyone’s looking for book recommendations right now, and we have many to share in our newsletter, but we thought we could share as a community on social media. So snap a photo of what you’re reading, use the hashtag #WPPLreads and tag us on Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook and we'll share and discuss. Facebook: @WhitePlainsPublicLibrary or comment here. Instagram: @whiteplainslibrary Twitter: @whiteplainslib or reply to our thread here.
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March 23, 2020 10:07 am | by | No Comments
Categories: Authors & Books, eNewsletter, Evergreen, Featured, Homepage, and Library News.
Tags: book recommendations, community reads, and social media.

Stuck at Home: Teens Edition

Stuck at Home: Teens Edition

Some of the sites listed here may be offering some content free of charge or may be offering free access currently in response to the virus, but will move to a charge model again in the future. Please take care when using these sites to avoid unwanted charges. Online Reading from the Library These resources require a library card to access. Libby: Access an abundance of digital materials, including eBooks for teens from the Library’s catalog. Comics Plus: Do your teens like comics? A great selection of e-comics, including many popular titles, available online. Freading: Another resource for accessing YA
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March 20, 2020 5:02 pm | by | No Comments
Categories: eNewsletter, Evergreen, Featured, Homepage Family CV, Homepage Teens, and Teens.
Tags: online learning, resources, safe at home, stuck at home, and teens.

Music-Themed Picture Book Read-Alouds on Libby

Music-Themed Picture Book Read-Alouds on Libby

Some of you may ask what is Libby? Libby is an easy-to-use app that allows you to borrow eBooks and digital audiobooks with your library card for free. Libby has thousands of Adult, Teen, and Children’s titles that you can borrow using your iPad, tablet, or phone by downloading the app from your app store. One of my favorite types of content available on Libby are the Read-Alouds that with their narration and word highlighting make them perfect to share with pre-readers and beginning readers. For fun, I have highlighted 3 of my favorite Read-Alouds that share the subject of
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March 19, 2020 2:52 pm | by | No Comments
Categories: Authors & Books, eNewsletter, Evergreen, Featured, Homepage Kids, Kids, and Library News.
Tags: libby, music, picture books, and read-alouds.

Nowruz: Persian New Year

Nowruz: Persian New Year

For many Iranian-Americans, Nowruz is a time of celebration, spring and fertility. It is also a time of letting go of any negativity, and starting fresh, with a sense of hope and new life. Nowruz also has some ancient folkloric rituals, including creating a Haftseen–which literally means the Seven S’s in Farsi. All of the items have symbolic representation for the coming year; for example, Sabzeh (wheat or lentil sprout growing in a dish) symbolizes rebirth. The rest of the items include Samanu (sweet pudding from wheat germ representing affluence), Senjeh (dried silverberry for love), Sir (garlic for medicine), Sib
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March 19, 2020 2:51 pm | by | No Comments
Categories: eNewsletter, Kids, and Library News.
Tags: Nowruz, Persian new year, and spring.

Battle of the Books Inspired Reading List

Battle of the Books Inspired Reading List

As part of the book selection committee for Westchester’s Battle of the Books trivia competition, I spent January and February reading and considering books for the 2020 reading list. Librarians across Westchester nominated titles for the teen division and I tried to read as many as possible. While this year’s reading list hasn’t yet been finalized, I had so much fun with the nominated titles that I wanted to share a few of my favorites. These are all available in eBook format through Westchester Library System. Hot Dog Girl by Jennifer Dugan Libby: eBook only A very light summer romance
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March 19, 2020 11:53 am | by | No Comments
Categories: Authors & Books, eNewsletter, Evergreen, Featured, Homepage Teens, Library News, and Teens.
Tags: battle of the books, digital audiobooks, eBooks, hoopla, libby, and young adult fiction.

Dive Into Diversity: Girl Power for Grades 4-6

Dive Into Diversity: Girl Power for Grades 4-6

White Plains is a wonderfully diverse community! Parents, children and teens have expressed an interest in titles that reflect the diversity in the community, and Ashley, Kathlyn, and Raquel's “Dive Into Diversity” column will spotlight noteworthy children's and teen titles that are inclusive, diverse and multicultural to fulfill that interest. Ashley's portion is aimed at readers in grades 4-6. March is Women's History Month so I’ve put together a list of some books that feature diverse strong female characters that I’ve been wanting to read! Dragon Pearl by Yoon Ha Lee (Available in eBook format on Hoopla) For children in
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March 19, 2020 9:19 am | by | No Comments
Categories: Authors & Books, eNewsletter, Evergreen, Kids, and Library News.
Tags: children's books, Dive into Diversity, juvenile fiction, Observances and Celebrations, staff picks, staff recommendations, Women's History, and womens history month.

Stuck at Home: Staff Picks

Stuck at Home: Staff Picks

Stuck at home with kids and teens due to the virus? The White Plains Public Library has you covered with these suggestions from Josh Carlson, Manager of Youth Services. Some of the sites listed here may be offering some content free of charge or may be offering free access currently in response to the virus, but will move to a charge model again in the future. Please take care when using these sites to avoid unwanted charges. Online Reading, Storytimes and Read Alouds from the Library These resources require a library card to access. Libby: Access an abundance of digital
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March 17, 2020 3:32 pm | by | No Comments
Categories: eNewsletter, Homepage, Homepage Family CV, Homepage Kids, Homepage Teens, Kids, Library News, and Teens.
Tags: online learning, online resources, safe at home, and staff recommendations.

Storytimes at Home

Storytimes at Home

Just because you’re stuck at home (and can’t get physical books from the Library) doesn’t mean storytime can’t take place. While screen time has always been a concern, perhaps that concern could be let slide to get great books read-aloud to your child. Check out these resources for online storytimes. Some are from the Library’s resources and others are hand-selected by Trove librarians. From the Library Daddy-Daughter Storytime with White Plains Public Library’s Youth Services Manager, Josh Carlson. Morning and Evening Storytimes from Trove Librarians on Tuesdays and Thursdays starting April 7. Bedtime Stories for Teens and Adults with Edge
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March 17, 2020 2:21 pm | by | No Comments
Categories: eNewsletter, Featured, Homepage, Homepage Family CV, Homepage Kids, and Kids.
Tags: eBooks and storytime.

Talkin’ Tech: Modern Multilinguals

Talkin’ Tech: Modern Multilinguals

Let’s talk about technology. Since the invention of the wheel, tools have become more and more complex – and today it can be hard to keep up! In the “Talkin' Tech” column, we will discuss the ever-changing trends in the modern digital arena. From artificial intelligence to Zuckerberg, join Austin in examining all things tech from our vantage point in the 4th industrial revolution: the imagination age! Have you ever wanted to try your hand at coding? Coding, or computer programming, is the way we talk to computers and tell them what to do. It is like learning a second
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March 17, 2020 1:11 pm | by | No Comments
Categories: eNewsletter, Evergreen, Featured, Homepage Kids, Homepage Teens, Kids, Library News, and Teens.
Tags: coding, digital technology, STEAM, and STEM.