Archives for eNewsletter

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: covid-19.

Daddy-Daughter Storytime: Bark, George

Daddy-Daughter Storytime: Bark, George

By Josh Carlson, Manager of Youth Services. You’ll frequently read about my daughter in my blog posts and newsletter, so in the spirit of #WFH, I decided to start making videos with her. Throughout, we will engage with the text and each other, in a process known as Dialogic Reading, which is a super-fancy way of saying we have a conversation about the book we are reading as we read it. Dialogic Reading is an important and effective way of increasing your child’s pre-reading skills and early literacy. And, it’s fun. While you read, don’t just read to your child.
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March 31, 2020 10:16 am | by | No Comments
Categories: Authors & Books, eNewsletter, Evergreen, Featured, Homepage, Homepage Kids, Kids, and Library News.
Tags: Daddy Daughter Storytime, DDST, Kid Lit Quarantine, Operation Storytime, and storytime.

April 2020 Virtual Calendar

April 2020 Virtual 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 3:04 pm | by | No Comments
Categories: eNewsletter, Events, Featured, Homepage, and Library News.
Tags: April 2020 and calendar of events.

ABCmouse

ABCmouse

By Lauren Lichtenthal, Trove Librarian. Chances are, if you are a parent, particularly of a child who cannot yet read independently, you are probably driving yourself insane trying to keep your child occupied. There are plenty of great resources on our Library’s website. Please use them. But one of the great resources that we do have is difficult to find through our Library’s website—ABCmouse. There have been tons of posts on every imaginable social media about ABCmouse being free using certain passwords due to the pandemic, then even more posts about parents who find that those free passwords have not
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March 30, 2020 2:43 pm | by | No Comments
Categories: eNewsletter, Featured, Homepage Family CV, Homepage Kids, Kids, and Library News.
Tags: ABCmouse.

Daddy-Daughter Storytime

Daddy-Daughter Storytime

By Josh Carlson, Manager of Youth Services. You’ll frequently read about my daughter in my blog posts and newsletter, so in the spirit of #WFH, I decided to start making videos with her. Throughout, we will engage with the text and each other, in a process known as Dialogic Reading, which is a super-fancy way of saying we have a conversation about the book we are reading as we read it. Dialogic Reading is an important and effective way of increasing your child’s pre-reading skills and early literacy. And, it’s fun. While you read, don’t just read to your child.
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March 26, 2020 1:41 pm | by | No Comments
Categories: Authors & Books, eNewsletter, Evergreen, Featured, Homepage, Homepage Kids, Kids, and Library News.
Tags: Daddy Daughter Storytime, DDST, Kid Lit Quarantine, Operation Storytime, Scholastic, storytime, and youtube.

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. Great Ideas for Activities and Experiences Family Maker Camp – free projects and ideas Smithsonian’s Fun Stuff for Kids Cincinnati Zoo Home Safaris each day on Facebook Daily Creature Coloring Sheets Activities and Online Resources for Homebound Kids from LiveScience Smithsonian National Zoo Online Animal Cams BreakoutEDU @ home – escape room fun at home Childrens’ Museum of Manhattan – Magical Mondays – a fun activity to do at home each
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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 and staff recommendations.

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, 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 | No Comments
Categories: Authors & Books, eNewsletter, Featured, Homepage, Homepage Family CV, Homepage Kids, and Kids.
Tags: #WPPLreads and reading program.

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, 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. ELA Class Writing Under a Deadline While this video also applies to journalists and other professionals, Starshine Roshell’s
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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, Homepage Learning CV, 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

By Edge Librarians Erik Carlson (ecarlson@whiteplainslibrary.org) and Kathlyn Carroll (kcarroll@whiteplainslibrary.org) and Digital Media Specialist Austin Olney (aolney@whiteplainslibrary.org). 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 ebooks. Compatible with all popular devices except the non-tablet Kindles. Download three titles per week. Hoopla: Access lots of YA audiobooks. Online Learning Resources from the Library These resources require a
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March 20, 2020 5:02 pm | by | No Comments
Categories: eNewsletter, Evergreen, Featured, Homepage, Homepage Family CV, Homepage Teens, and Teens.
Tags: online learning, resources, 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, Evergreen, Featured, Homepage Kids, 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, Featured, Homepage Kids, Kids, and Library News.
Tags: Dive into Diversity, juvenile fiction, and Women's History.

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. Online Reading, Storytimes and Read Alouds from the Library These resources require a library card to access. Libby: Access an abundance of digital materials, including eBooks for kids from the Library’s catalog. Kanopy Kids: Available for unlimited use with your library card for the next 30 days, in addition to great kids movies and TV shows, Kanopy Kids offers a wide-variety of picturebook read-aloud videos. Tumble Book Library: Story book videos,
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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, 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 Libby: Access an abundance of e-materials, including e-books for kids, from the Library’s catalog through Libby. Kanopy Kids: Available for unlimited use with your library card for the next 30 days, in addition to
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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.