Monthly Archives October 2020

Stream Jester Jim’s Library Performance

Stream Jester Jim’s Library Performance

The talented and extremely funny Jester Jim performed live for the Library on Saturday, October 10, juggling knives!, fire!, toilet plungers?! while leaving attendees laughing and amazed. In order to extend the experience so that more White Plains community members could see the show, Jim graciously allowed us to share the recording of the show. Check it out right here, anytime you want! This program was supported by the White Plains Library Foundation.
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October 15, 2020 12:30 pm | by | No Comments
Categories: Events, Evergreen, Featured, Homepage Kids, Kids, and Library News.
Tags: Jester Jim, The Trove, trove events, and White Plains Library Foundation.

Peculiar Picks

Peculiar Picks

Peculiar Picks are a selection of odd, funny, interesting, curious, moving, irreverent, and otherwise wonderfully awesome, but perhaps not well known, reads. Peculiar Picks are books for younger readers and their grown-ups, handpicked by the Library's Youth Services Manager, Joshua Carlson. National Dictionary Day is celebrated on October 16. Today’s two Peculiar Picks celebrate words and vocabulary. I may have mentioned a couple times, here or there, that my daughter has an impressive vocabulary. It may seem like bragging (I’ll be honest, I like to brag about it. Just a little.), but I know exactly why her vocabulary is so
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October 15, 2020 10:00 am | by | No Comments
Categories: Authors & Books, Featured, Homepage Kids, Kids, and Library News.
Tags: children's books, children's literature, Peculiar Picks, staff picks, and staff recommendations.

Virtual Youth Meet-Up

Virtual Youth Meet-Up

Would you like to connect with Library friends virtually? Using our Zoom and Roblox platforms, teens are able to participate in a variety of fun activities on Library-hosted servers. Many devices are able to interact simultaneously, from smartphones to laptop computers. There are many fun virtual worlds to have shared fun, such as “Epic Mini Games” and “Hide and Seek Extreme.” Please sign up here to join in on the fun: Thursday 10/15/2020 4:30 p.m. – 5:15 p.m. Register Here Thursday 11/5/2020 5:00 p.m. – 5:45 p.m. Register Here Thursday 11/19/2020 5:00 p.m. – 5:45 p.m. Register Here Thursday 12/17/2020
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October 15, 2020 10:00 am | by | No Comments
Categories: Library News.
Tags: edge events, roblox, and virtual youth meetup.

Race Consciousness: Recommended Reading, Part 4

Race Consciousness: Recommended Reading, Part 4

On Wednesday October 21st, Sachi Feris of the blog Raising Race Conscious Children will lead a workshop to help parents and caregivers learn how to talk about race with young children. Each week until the workshop, I’ll share an article or resource to help you begin thinking about some related topics. Recommended Reading, Part 1 Recommended Reading, Part 2 Recommended Reading, Part 3 For our final recommended reading piece, let’s check out a post from Sachi’s own blog: “100 Race-Conscious Things You Can Say to Your Child to Advance Racial Justice.” As you may infer from the title, this post
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October 14, 2020 10:00 am | by | No Comments
Categories: Featured and Library News.
Tags: Antiracism, caregiver, children, parenting, parents, raising race conscious children, The Trove, and White Plains Library Foundation.

Fall Virtual Table Top Gaming Events

Fall Virtual Table Top Gaming Events

Need something awesome to do after school? Then join librarians Ashley and Erik from the Trove and the Edge to play fun virtual table top games! We use the platform boardgamearena.com to play the games while we have a conversation on Zoom. Kids and teens that haven’t attended the program before will need to create a free account on boardgamearena.com. Note: Boardgamearena.com does have a for-pay premium service. Please take care when creating your account to not incur any unwanted charges. To increase security in youth-focused programs, we are now requiring attendees to have a Zoom account to login to
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October 14, 2020 10:00 am | by | No Comments
Categories: Library News.
Tags: children's events, edge events, taple top games, teen events, trove events, and Virtual Table Top Gaming.

Youth Poetry Workshops

Youth Poetry Workshops

Westchester’s first Youth Poet Laureate, Danielle Kohn, is leading two poetry workshops for young people in October. Danielle was named Youth Poet Laureate in January 2020, and has since been busy sharing her love of poetry with libraries and communities around Westchester. Danielle believes that poetry is for everyone. She uses approachable activities to encourage participants to give it a try. In these workshops, participants will learn about different forms of poetry, engage in fun writing games, follow stimulating prompts, and create their own masterpieces. The virtual workshop on Tuesday, October 6th at 4:30 p.m. is for children in grades
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October 13, 2020 10:00 am | by | No Comments
Categories: Library News.
Tags: Danielle Kohn, edge events, poetry, poetry workshop, trove events, and writing workshop.

Reads Revisited

Reads Revisited

When children or their caregivers come to the Library asking for recommendations, I often find myself suggesting some of my favorite books from when I was a kid. There’s something really comforting about rereading an old favorite! I came up with this idea for a blog post series so that our Trove and Edge librarians could recommend some of their favorite childhood stories. I hope that you’ll enjoy reading them as much as I’ve enjoyed rereading! I was the kid that was always reading – in class (when I definitely shouldn’t have been!), in the lunchroom, and I even brought
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October 12, 2020 10:00 am | by | No Comments
Categories: Authors & Books, Featured, Homepage Kids, Kids, and Library News.
Tags: Cornelia Funke, Reads Revisited, staff picks, staff recommendations, and The Thief Lord.

STEAM at Home: Flying Dragon

STEAM at Home: Flying Dragon

This week we are going to make a dragon fly and learn about how levers work. Materials: Toilet Paper Roll Construction Paper Marker Pencil Ruler Glue Tape Yarn Getting Started: We are going to start by making our dragon. Cut a piece of construction paper so that it covers your toilet paper roll. Use tape or glue to attach it. Next design the head, wings, and tail of your dragon. Cut them out and attach them using glue or tape. You can use a marker to decorate your dragon and draw eyes and a mouth on it. Prepare For Flight:
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October 12, 2020 10:00 am | by | No Comments
Categories: Featured, Homepage Kids, Homepage Teens, Kids, Library News, and Teens.
Tags: STEAM, STEAM activities, STEAM at home, STEAM learning, STEM, and videos.

Red Door Readers

Red Door Readers

In conjunction with Gilda’s Club Westchester, the Library will offer a book discussion group for cancer survivors, their families, and caretakers. The focus will be on literary fiction and all meetings will be held over Zoom. We meet the third Thursday of each month, from 1:00-3:00 p.m. Registration is required and limited. Upcoming selections include: Thursday, November 19: How It All Began, by Penelope Lively. Click here to register. Physical Catalog: Book OverDrive and Libby: eBook Set in London, this novel examines the role of chance in people’s lives, exploring how our lives can be altered irrevocably by someone we
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October 10, 2020 2:35 pm | by | No Comments
Categories: Library News.
Tags: book discussion, book group, event, Gilda's Club of Westchester, Red Door Readers, and virtual event.

Board Meeting Documents for October 14th, 2020

Board Meeting Documents for October 14th, 2020

Approved Library Board Meeting Minutes – 10-14-20 Combined-Agenda-10-14-20 10-14-20 Library Board Agenda Agenda Item #1 – 09-09-20 Regular Library Board Minutes Agenda Item #2 – Budget Report – September 2020 Agenda Item #3 – Claim List 2 Agenda Item #4 – Adult Services Report – September 2020 Agenda Item #4 – Assistant Directors Report- September 2020 Agenda Item #4 – Collection Management Report – September 2020 Agenda Item #4 – Community Outreach Report – September 2020 Agenda Item #4 – Digital Media Specialist Report – September 2020 Agenda Item #4 – Library Systems Report – September 2020 Agenda Item #4
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October 9, 2020 4:38 pm | by | Comments Off on Board Meeting Documents for October 14th, 2020
Categories: Trustee Documents.

Virtual Teen Volunteering

Virtual Teen Volunteering

Almost everything about the 2020-21 school year is different, and that includes earning community service hours. Usually around this time the fall sessions of the Do Gooders, the Library’s teen community service group, would be well underway. With library services restricted by safety concerns, we’re offering a different opportunity for teens to earn volunteer hours directly through us. We’re collecting book reviews written by teens, to be featured on our website. Teens can submit a book review by filling out this online form; each review is worth one hour, with a cap of 8 hours per person per month. I’d
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October 9, 2020 4:35 pm | by | 2 Comments
Categories: Featured, Homepage Teens, Library News, and Teens.
Tags: Do Gooders, teen book review, teen volunteers, and The Edge.

Horror Stories: Books & Movies

Horror Stories: Books & Movies

To celebrate Halloween and a favorite genre to read and watch in October, we've put together a list of recommended reading and watching available through our catalog and digital resources. Find our curated list of frightfully creepy reads for Halloween and beyond on OverDrive here. For something a little less scary, find our list for “Halloween Treats for a Spooky Night In” list here. Books The Year of Witching by Alexis Henderson Library Catalog OverDrive and Libby: eBook “Immanuelle’s mother dies in childbirth, proclaiming, with her dying breath, that her baby is ‘a curse.' Now a teenager, Immanuelle can’t find
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October 9, 2020 3:51 pm | by | No Comments
Categories: Authors & Books and Library News.
Tags: book recommendations, books, film, halloween, Halloween Books, Halloween Movies, horror, horror films, Observances and Celebrations, October, Spooktober, staff picks, and staff recommendations.

Halloween STEAM Project: Zombie Dance!

Halloween STEAM Project: Zombie Dance!

Join us on Zoom for Zombie fun! On October 27th, we will be conducting a fun STEAM activity that raises a zombie using pure magic! It’s really a scientific method that uses static electricity but you can amaze your friends and family with this trick. First, we will read Fright Club by Ethan Long, and then we will work together to try to raise our zombies. If interested, please register for the event because supplies are limited to twenty activity kits. The activity kit includes a balloon, tissue paper, a marker, and a cut out zombie (to trace on the
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October 8, 2020 10:00 am | by | No Comments
Categories: Featured, Homepage Kids, Kids, and Library News.
Tags: children's events, halloween, halloween crafts, Observances and Celebrations, STEAM activities, STEAM learning, STEAM program, STEM, The Trove, and Trove event.

Ibram X. Kendi Visit

Ibram X. Kendi Visit

Registration is now closed for this event. The White Plains Library Foundation, in partnership with the Thomas H. Slater Center and with the support of other sponsors, is presenting a special virtual event with the award-winning author, historian, and thought-leader, Ibram X. Kendi on October 28, 2020 at 7:00 p.m. This program will be the highlight of the Library’s city-wide reading initiative, One Book, One White Plains. In the meantime, mark your fall calendars and look into our digital and physical copies of the two books we'll be reading: How to Be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi (available in
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October 7, 2020 10:01 am | by | 6 Comments
Categories: Library News.
Tags: Antiracism, author talk, author visit, book groups, How to Be an Antiracist, Ibram X. Kendi, Jason Reynolds, and One Book One White Plains.

Race Consciousness: Recommended Reading, Part 3

Race Consciousness: Recommended Reading, Part 3

On Wednesday October 21st, Sachi Feris of the blog Raising Race Conscious Children will lead a workshop to help parents and caregivers learn how to talk about race with young children. Each week until the workshop, I’ll share an article or resource to help you begin thinking about some related topics. Recommended Reading, Part 1 Recommended Reading, Part 2 Recommended Reading, Part 4 This week, I’d like to share a few different resources that I’ve encountered as a librarian, but have found useful as a parent as well. These resources can help parents think through the way they use children’s
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October 7, 2020 10:00 am | by | No Comments
Categories: Library News.
Tags: Antiracism, caregiver, children, parenting, parents, raising race conscious children, The Trove, and White Plains Library Foundation.

STEAM at Home: Puking Pumpkins!

STEAM at Home: Puking Pumpkins!

Halloween is a time to celebrate creepy crawlies, eat your favorite candies, dance like zany zombies and carve plump pumpkins! Halloween is also the perfect time to show off your creativity! Why not wear black nail polish to bring out the goth in you? Use purple Manic Panic to dye your hair! Wear your ghost or goblin costume and feel free to be a bit ghoulish! Have you ever been to Sleepy Hollow? If not, I highly encourage you to visit Sleepy Hollow with your family this year; it’s a great Halloween destination. You could take pictures of the Old
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October 7, 2020 10:00 am | by | No Comments
Categories: Featured, Homepage Kids, Kids, and Library News.
Tags: halloween, halloween crafts, Observances and Celebrations, October, Spooktober, STEAM, STEAM activities, STEAM at home, STEAM learning, and STEM.

Halloween Reads

Halloween Reads

Are you looking forward to Halloween as much as I am? This year we might be limited in our normal Halloween activities due to COVID, but there are still some fun things to do. You can dress up and take photos with your family! In the past two years, I have had fun dressing up as Wednesday Addams and Punk Eleven from Stranger Things Season 2, Chapter 7: “The Lost Sister.” You can also treat yourself to a movie marathon. Some of my favorites include Beetlejuice, Practical Magic, Shaun of the Dead, The Nightmare Before Christmas, and It’s the Great
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October 7, 2020 10:00 am | by | No Comments
Categories: Authors & Books, Featured, Homepage Kids, Homepage Teens, Kids, Library News, and Teens.
Tags: book recommendations, eBooks, fun, graphic novels, halloween, Halloween Books, juvenile fiction, Observances and Celebrations, October, picture books, Spooktober, staff picks, staff recommendations, and YA Fiction.

Jester Jim LIVE!: October 10

Jester Jim LIVE!: October 10

Juggling fire and spinning iPads is just the start. With a background in film making and over 3 million views on social media The Jester Jim Virtual Comedy Show is just what you need! This 40 minute live broadcast packed with tricks, balancing, and laughs, will leave you wanting more. Come join us for all the fun and interact with Jim and his amazing show, LIVE! To attend the show at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, October 10, click here to get the Zoom link! This program is supported by the White Plains Library Foundation.
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October 7, 2020 10:00 am | by | 2 Comments
Categories: Library News.
Tags: events, Jester Jim, and trove events.

National Cookbook Month

National Cookbook Month

With the weather getting cooler, now is a good time to warm our homes with the smells of home cooking. It doesn’t matter if you are a beginner or an experienced cook, if you have all day or only an hour, if you have a sweet tooth or prefer something savory, here is a list of cookbooks containing recipes for everyone to enjoy. Celebrate National Cookbook Month with us and let us know what you're cooking! Jubilee: Recipes from Two Centuries of African American Cooking by Toni Tipton-Martin Library Collection OverDrive and Libby It illustrates the diversity, sophistication and influence
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October 6, 2020 11:24 am | by | No Comments
Categories: Authors & Books, Featured, Homepage, and Library News.
Tags: cookbooks, cooking, National cookbook month, and recipes.

She Writes: Science

She Writes: Science

This month's collection of titles for our “She Writes” series focuses on the topic of science. We're featuring nonfiction science all written by women. Below you'll find available formats, but we also have a curated list with additional titles in OverDrive that you can checkout here. Find last month's post on graphic novels here. The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History by Elizabeth Kolbert Library Collection: Print OverDrive and Libby: eBook and audiobook “The charm of this book (inasmuch as a book about extinction can have charm) lies in Kolbert's hands-on approach to her subject–searching for Panamanian frogs in the dark,
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October 5, 2020 10:00 am | by | No Comments
Categories: Authors & Books, Featured, Homepage, and Library News.
Tags: science, She Writes, staff picks, staff recommendations, and virtual book display.