Monthly Archives November 2021

Meet Author Scott Reintgen

Join us for virtual author visits with Scott Reintgen, author of The Nyxia Triad and the Talespinners series. Book Bunch Wednesday, December 1, 4:30-6 p.m. This event is for children and tweens in grades 4-8. Join librarians Ashley and Kat to discuss Saving Fable, the first book in Scott Reintgen’s Talespinners series. We’ll meet to chat about the book and make a list of questions for Scott, who will join us at 5 p.m. and stay for the rest of the program. The first 10 people to register here will receive a free copy of the book. Please list an
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Categories: Authors & Books, Kids, Library News, and Teens.

Tiny Art Show: Call for Submissions

Did you pick up one of our Tiny Art Show kits earlier this month? Have you taken some time to paint a tiny canvas or try your hand at weaving on the mini loom? We're hoping to see what you've made! Bring your work to the Hub desk during library hours and we'll install it in our tiny art gallery for all to enjoy during the month of December. You can label your piece and we will return it to you in January. Please email Kat at kcarroll@whiteplainslibrary.org with any questions.
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Categories: Library News and Teens.

Library Achieves Green Certification

The Library is pleased to announce it has achieved Green Business Certification through the Green Business Partnership (GBP), a public-private partnership managed in part by Westchester County. GBP offers support to businesses and organizations who are interested in reducing their carbon footprint and making their operations more sustainable. The Library’s Green Team–led by Librarian Kathlyn Carroll–worked to evaluate the Library's current performance in a variety of areas, including water and energy usage, purchasing decisions, and waste management. Many changes were made to Library practices, including use of LED lighting, green purchasing, waste audit tracking, and a greenhouse gas inventory. Recent
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Categories: Director's Corner, Featured, Homepage, and Library News.

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. While the monarchs in these three books each may have outlawed certain activities, by royal decree I do hereby declare “You should read these books!” The Hair Scare by Jeffrey Fisher Library Catalog Much like Al the gnome in Go Big or Go Gnome (featured in Peculiar Picks for NoShave November last year), Radbert is blessed with the ability
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Categories: Authors & Books, Featured, Homepage Kids, Kids, and Library News.

NaNoWriMo for Young Writers: Sharing Time

In September and October, we offered a NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) program for young writers in grades 4-12. We brainstormed ideas, learned about conflict and worked on character sketches and writing prompts. This month, we're hosting an hour of quiet writing time each week for young writers to work on their NaNoWriMo project, or to work from writing prompts. Next, in December we've set aside an hour for our young writers to get together to share and celebrate their work. All of the kids and teens who participated in our NaNoWriMo series from September through November are welcome to
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Categories: Events, Featured, Homepage Kids, Homepage Teens, Kids, Library News, and Teens.

An Exhibition of Artist books by Marc Shanker

The Library will host an exhibition of Artist Books by self-taught artist Marc Shanker. The show runs from Monday, December 6th, 2021 through Friday, February 4th, 2022. “My books are words extended by images, and images extended by words. The physicality of books focuses attention and adds to their significance. Whether large or small, books exert a power unlike any other object,” states Shanker. The exhibition includes over thirty prints and eleven Artist Books. Shanker’s books include collage and mixed media adaptations of Aeschylus’ The Orestian Trilogy, and Looking into the Eye of Doom, The Diary of a Greek Soldier
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Categories: Featured, Gallery, Homepage, and Library News.

Dive Into Diversity: Let’s Laugh

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. National Comedy Day is held on November 7th. To celebrate, here are some humorous diverse book selections that may make you laugh! Sal and Gabi Break the Universe by Carlos Hernandez For children in grades 4-8. Library Collection: Print Hoopla: eBook
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Categories: Authors & Books, Featured, Homepage Kids, Kids, and Library News.

Dive into Diversity: Happy Winter Birthdays!

There are so many talented and diverse children’s authors and illustrators to recommend! To highlight them, I have continued with my series of celebrating their birthdays on a seasonal basis. I started with summer, I covered Autumn birthdays, and here we are now at Winter birthdays! I hope you enjoy the great titles below. A great resource to find even more diverse notable titles for kids is the Colours of Us website, The Colours of Us: All About Multicultural Children's Books. Happy Winter birthdays! Author and Illustrator Jason Chin, Birthday: December 5th Redwoods (Preschool – 2nd Grade) OverDrive hoopla Library
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Categories: Authors & Books, Featured, Homepage Kids, Kids, and Library News.

Winter Holiday Grab & Go Kits

The Trove will be celebrating the Winter holidays this year by creating Grab & Go kits for children ages preschool-2nd grade filled with activity sheets and a craft for Hanukkah, Shabe Yalda, Christmas, Navidad/Día de Reyes, and Kwanzaa. Kits will be available in the Library’s lobby on a first-come, first-serve basis while supplies last. Hanukkah is a Jewish festival commemorating the recovery of Jerusalem by the Maccabees from King Antiochus Ephiphanes and the subsequent rededication of the Second Temple in the 2nd century BCE. It is also known as the Festival of Lights, and is celebrated with family and such
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Categories: Events, Featured, Homepage Kids, Kids, and Library News.

Dive into Diversity: YA Humor

In 2021, my Dive into Diversity posts about young adult books will focus on a different genre each month. I’ll highlight books with characters that represent a range of experiences and identities. I’ll also feature authors who share an aspect of their characters’ identity as much as possible. This month I've collected humorous YA books, from romantic comedy to dark humor. YA is not typically known for its comedies, so this was a bit of a challenge. While not all of the books below will be entirely positive or uplifting, all contain an aspect of humor. This month I read
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Categories: Authors & Books, Featured, Homepage Teens, Library News, and Teens.

Native American Stories

In November we honor the peoples who have lived here before European colonization. Their presence continues to be felt and seen everywhere. From teaching the pilgrims how to survive those first bitter Northeastern winters, to the underappreciated part they played on the Underground Railroad, to the Code Talkers who helped us win World War II, there is a lot about them we still do not know. As we continue to know their stories, to share their wisdom, and learn from each other, we can take a moment to enjoy the titles below. You can also visit the Smithsonian National Museum
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Categories: Authors & Books, Featured, Homepage Kids, Kids, and Library News.

Introducing Our New and Improved Parenting Collection

As parents, one of our most difficult responsibilities is talking to our children about certain challenging topics. Books are a fantastic way to stimulate these types of discussions and help teach our children valuable life lessons. We've recently reorganized and refreshed our parenting collection. Now, these books are even easier to find! Our parenting collection is now located near our non-fiction collection, behind our reference desk. It is divided into two sections: one with books meant for you to read as parents, and one with books for children and parents to read together. Books for parents are shelved as they
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Categories: Authors & Books, Featured, Homepage Kids, Kids, and Library News.

Diwali Virtual Exhibit

Diwali, or Dipawali, is India‘s biggest and most important holiday of the year. The festival gets its name from the row (avali) of clay lamps (deepa) that Indians light outside their homes to symbolize the inner light that protects us from spiritual darkness. This festival is as important to Hindus as the Christmas holiday is to Christians. Over the centuries, Diwali has become a national festival that's also enjoyed by non-Hindu communities. For instance, in Jainism, Diwali marks the nirvana, or spiritual awakening, of Lord Mahavira on October 15, 527 B.C.; in Sikhism, it honors the day that Guru Hargobind
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Categories: Featured, Homepage Kids, Kids, and Library News.

Forever Young Adult Book Club & Author Visit

Forever Young Adult is a fun new book club for YA fans who are a little less “Y” and a bit more “A.” Whether you're a regular YA reader or you need a break from your usual “To Read” list, all are welcome! Each month, we will “meet” online to discuss the latest FYA HQ-chosen read. Keep your eyes peeled for special announcements such as themed pickup kits with crafts and goodies, author visits, and prerecorded author messages! Next session: The Astonishing Color of After by Emily X.R. Pan Thursday, November 18 @ 7:00 PM Click here for the zoom
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Categories: Library News.

Day of the Dead/Día de los Muertos Virtual Exhibit

The Day of the Dead, or Día de los Muertos, is based on ancient Aztec traditions. Originally celebrated at the beginning of August, this tradition was later adopted by the Catholic Church and became el Día de los Muertos. The Day of the Dead is primarily celebrated in Mexico, Central America, and in the South West of the United States. Ever more frequently, it is celebrated in cities of the United States that have large Mexican and Central American populations. The Day of the Dead is celebrated on November 1st and 2nd. These days are also known as Día de
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Categories: Featured, Homepage Kids, Kids, and Library News.

Board Meeting Documents for November 10th, 2021

Approved Library Board Meeting Minutes – 11-10-21 Combined Agenda 11-10-21 11-10-21 Library Board Agenda Agenda Item #1 – 10-13-21 Regular Library Board Minutes Agenda Item #2 – Budget Report – October 2021 Agenda Item #3 – Claim List 3 Agenda Item #4 – Adult Services Report – October 2021 Agenda Item #4 – Assistant Directors Report – October 2021 Agenda Item #4 – Collection Management Report – October 2021 Agenda Item #4 – Community Outreach Report – October 2021 Agenda Item #4 – Digital Media Specialist Report – October 2021 Agenda Item #4 – Library Systems Report – October 2021
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Categories: Trustee Documents.

Tiny Tales: The Lion and the Mouse

Tiny Tales are short “bite-sized” song and story videos. Watch one for a short early literacy break, or a few for a whole storytime! You can find our entire collection of Tiny Tales videos right here! Today’s video features Trove librarian Ms. Tata presenting “The Lion and the Mouse” Tiny Tales are made possible with support from the White Plains Library Foundation.
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Categories: Featured, Homepage Kids, Kids, and Library News.