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Book ‘Em Fall 2019-Spring 2020

Book ‘Em Fall 2019-Spring 2020

Book ‘Em, our Mystery Book Group returns select Wednesdays at 2:30 p.m. beginning September 11th. This year we’re reading contemporary women authors—both first time novelists as well as the most acclaimed crime writers—with books that take us from Canada to Ireland to Japan. See the full list of dates below: September 11 (USA) Celeste Ng: Everything I Never Told You A huge mystery eats away at the center of the Lee family. October 16 (Ireland) Jo Spain: With Our Blessing Could a recent murder be linked to the notorious Magdalene Laundries? November 13 (Australia) Jane Harper: The Lost Man A
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August 28, 2019 5:16 pm | by | No Comments
Categories: Authors & Books, Director's Corner, eNewsletter, Events, Featured, Homepage, and Library News.
Tags: Book 'Em, book discussion, and mystery.

New Playaway Launchpads

New Playaway Launchpads

We just added over 30 new Playaway Launchpads to the Trove's collection. The new ones are in two types – video content (blue Launchpads) and apps (orange Launchpads) on various themes. We added several that are language-learning focused (ESL, learning Spanish, and learning Chinese), STEM concepts, and early literacy. Every Playaway Launchpad is pre-loaded with high-quality, ad-free learning apps and games, providing hours of interactive learning and play. Apps are grouped onto Launchpads by subject area, theme, grade level, and age. Featuring popular characters and brands, apps content spans subject areas from math and science to critical thinking and creativity,
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July 30, 2019 5:51 pm | by | No Comments
Categories: eNewsletter, Featured, Homepage, Homepage Kids, Kids, and Library News.
Tags: launchpads.

Donations for Children & Teen Events

Donations for Children & Teen Events

The Trove and Edge are asking for donations of items to be used in their upcoming programs. All items need to be in good condition. Donations can be brought to the Trove any time during our hours of operation. Items needed: Barbies, Kens, and similar sized dolls, as well as doll clothes that fit those dolls Matchbox or Hot Wheels type cars Action Figures – any kind Board Games and RPG manuals Construx, Mega Blox, KNEX, always accepting LEGOs
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July 15, 2019 4:32 pm | by | No Comments
Categories: eNewsletter, Events, Evergreen, Featured, Homepage, Homepage Kids, Homepage Teens, Kids, Library News, and Teens.
Tags: donations.

Ransomware? Not Us.

Ransomware? Not Us.

You may have read in the media that the Westchester Library System has been attacked by a ransomware virus. Unfortunately, this is true. However, the White Plains Public Library is on a separate network from the Westchester Library System and our data has not been affected in any way. Access to the catalog and all other resources is unchanged.
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July 10, 2019 3:50 pm | by | 2 Comments
Categories: Director's Corner, Featured, Homepage, and Library News.

June 2019 LibraryReads

June 2019 LibraryReads

Here are the top ten books published in June that librarians across the country love. Just click on a title or book cover to place it on hold. Evvie Drake Starts Over: A Novel by Linda Holmes Published: 6/25/2019 by Ballantine Books “Relationships are hard, whether with a spouse, a best friend, a new love interest, or ourselves. Evvie navigates all of these after a life-changing series of events. An engaging novel that explores relationship nuances without being too dark or too cutesy. For fans of Jenny Colgan, Cecilia Ahern, and Sophie Kinsella.”—Maribeth Fisher, Scotch Plains Public Library, Scotch Plains,
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July 3, 2019 2:42 pm | by | No Comments
Categories: Authors & Books, eNewsletter, Featured, and Library News.
Tags: book recommendations and Library Reads.

Citywide School Art Show

Citywide School Art Show

Join student artists and their families for a reception celebrating the art of White Plains City School children, grades K-12, on the second floor of the Library on Thursday, May 30th, from 5:00-7:00 p.m. This event is free and open to the public. The exhibit will be on display through June 6th. (Images below are from last year's art show.)  
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May 24, 2019 9:30 am | by | No Comments
Categories: eNewsletter, Events, Featured, Gallery, Kids, Library News, and Teens.
Tags: art exhibit, art reception, citywide school art show, and student art.

AR Sandbox

AR Sandbox

We have a very cool temporary addition to the Edge, an augmented reality sandbox that one of our patrons built and is making available to us for a week or two. We will hold a drop-in session where you can explore the sandbox features on Wednesday, May 29th, from 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. White Plains resident Aaron Couts has generously made his Augmented Reality sandbox available to the Library. The AR sandbox, an open source project developed at the University of California, Davis (https://arsandbox.ucdavis.edu/) is made up of a video projector, a Microsoft K'nect 3D sensor, and of course
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May 22, 2019 2:23 pm | by | No Comments
Categories: Events, Featured, Library News, and Teens.
Tags: AR Sandbox, Augmented Reality, Augmented Reality Sandbox, and teens.

Free Comic Book Day Photos

Free Comic Book Day Photos

On Saturday, May 4 the Library celebrated Free Comic Book Day, an annual event promoting reading through comic books. During the event, Library staff and volunteers distributed 256 free comics to kids and teens. As part of the event, the Library showed the Academy Award winning animated feature, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-verse, which one attendee remarked, “was a great movie!” We also had a presentation about the life and career of Marvel Comics creator, Stan Lee. In addition, there were superhero mask crafts, fun comic book coloring, and a photo booth. Summing up the general feeling of the event, one
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May 9, 2019 4:31 pm | by | No Comments
Categories: Events, Featured, Homepage Kids, Kids, and Library News.
Tags: Free Comic Book Day.

New Books Perfect for Book Groups

New Books Perfect for Book Groups

If you’re in a book group, you are always looking for a great book that can stand up to the scrutiny of your friends. Not too long, not too short. Richly detailed but not too slow. Challenging but not Joyce’s Finnegan’s Wake. Well here are five books—all published in the past few months—that are perfect for a book discussion: complex, nuanced and full of issues that reverberate with the present. Oh, and none are over 350 pages! The Only Woman in the Room: A Novel by Marie Benedict In her rousing historical novel, Benedict imagines lesser known aspects of Hedy
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March 27, 2019 9:34 am | by | No Comments
Categories: Authors & Books, Director's Corner, eNewsletter, Featured, and Library News.
Tags: book recommendations.

April 2019 LibraryReads

April 2019 LibraryReads

Here are the top ten books published this month that librarians across the country love. Just click on a title or book cover to place it on hold. Lost Roses: A Novel by Martha Hall Kelly Published: 4/9/2019 by Ballantine Books “The Ferriday family (The Lilac Girls) returns in this story of love, loss, and triumph. The voices of four compelling female characters tell of the devastating effects of the Russian Revolution and World War I. Highly recommended for book clubs and fans of Anthony Doerr, Susan Meissner, and Lauren Belfer.”—Mamie Ney, Auburn Public Library, Auburn, ME The Girl He
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March 25, 2019 4:33 pm | by | No Comments
Categories: Authors & Books, eNewsletter, Featured, and Library News.
Tags: book recommendations and Library Reads.

Catalog Update: Tips

Catalog Update: Tips

The Westchester libraries have completed migrating to new software, but there are still plenty of kinks to work out. Here are two pieces of advice. One, don't get frustrated, call us (914-422-1480). If something isn't working, or you are unsure of how to do something, let us help you. And two, give it a little time; this migration involved millions of books, patrons, and data, and it will take a bit longer to sort out everything. If you are having difficulties getting your PIN to work, first trying using all capitals if it is an alphabetical PIN. That should work.
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March 20, 2019 3:00 pm | by | 12 Comments
Categories: Director's Corner, Featured, Homepage Kids, Kids, Library News, and Teens.
Tags: catalog.

A New Catalog

A New Catalog

In March, the public libraries in Westchester County will be moving to a new catalog system. For you, this means an improved interface with better—and easier—search capabilities, greater control over your notifications, and better access to what’s available through the library. Library staff members are getting an open source system, which means the libraries have more control over how the system works. Going forward, we’ll be able to customize the catalog for what works best for Westchester. But migrating to a new catalog won’t happen overnight. To facilitate the process, the catalog will be offline from March 11 to March
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February 27, 2019 3:00 pm | by | No Comments
Categories: Director's Corner, eNewsletter, Featured, Homepage Kids, Kids, Library News, and Teens.
Tags: catalog.

March 2019 LibraryReads

March 2019 LibraryReads

Here are the top ten books published this month that librarians across the country love. Just click on a title or book cover to place it on hold. My Lovely Wife by Samantha Downing Published: 3/26/2019 by Berkley “An incredible, dark, twisty psychological thriller with two of the most seemingly normal but disturbingly depraved people you will read about in fiction. This brilliant debut needs to be at the top of your must-read list. For readers who like taut suspense and works by Gillian Flynn, B.A. Paris, and Mary Kubica.”—Rachel Reeves, Weatherford Public Library, Weatherford, TX Beautiful Bad by Annie
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February 25, 2019 4:55 pm | by | No Comments
Categories: Authors & Books, eNewsletter, Featured, and Library News.
Tags: book recommendations and Library Reads.

Best Audiobooks of 2018

Best Audiobooks of 2018

Every year, through the Listen List Council of the American Library Association, librarians create the Listen List, selected for both avid listeners of audiobooks and those new to the pleasures of the fastest-growing format in publishing. This juried list of twelve newly-released titles features extraordinary narrators and listening experiences. This past year jury members listened to 2,574 hours as they narrowed the field to 58 nominated audiobooks and selected winners that include fiction, nonfiction, memoir, and poetry, each an outstanding performance in terms of voice, accents, pitch, tone, inflection, rhythm and pace. Here’s the 12 that made the final cut:
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February 20, 2019 12:50 pm | by | No Comments
Categories: Authors & Books, eNewsletter, Featured, and Library News.
Tags: audiobooks.

Reserve Best Picture Nominees

Reserve Best Picture Nominees

Interested in watching some of the films nominated for a Best Picture Academy Award this year? Just click on the DVD covers or titles below to easily request Bohemian Rhapsody, BlacKkKlansman, Green Book, and more. And don't forget to tune in to the 91st Academy Awards this Sunday, February 24th.   Bohemian Rhapsody (2018) A chronicle of Freddie Mercury and the band Queen during the years leading up to their appearance at the 1985 Live Aid concert. The Favourite (2018) Early 18th century England is at war with the French. A frail Queen Anne (Olivia Colman) occupies the throne and
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February 19, 2019 2:23 pm | by | No Comments
Categories: eNewsletter, Featured, and Library News.
Tags: Academy Awards and dvds.

Museum Passes: Family Edition

Museum Passes: Family Edition

We’ve having a break in the weather, so why not head off to a museum? Highlighted here are some of the Library’s museum passes that families will enjoy. The Children’s Museum of Manhattan, located on West 83 Street, has way too much going on to describe here (Dynamic H2O; Art, Artists & You; Let’s Dance). Best of all, the museum provides plenty of opportunities for hands-on learning and activities. Visit their website for the full lineup. Trains, buses and ferries are universally fascinating, and the New York City Transit Museum has plenty on display. Check out the exhibit Ticket to
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February 13, 2019 3:00 pm | by | No Comments
Categories: Director's Corner, eNewsletter, Featured, Homepage Kids, Kids, and Library News.
Tags: Children's Museum of Manhattan, museum passes, New York City Transit Museum, Stamford Museum & Nature Center, and Stepping Stones Museum for Children.

Essential Cookbooks

Essential Cookbooks

This is the time of the year when librarians create lists of the best or recommended books of the year—from best picture book for children to best audiobook books for adults. And we’ll be highlighting many of these over the next few weeks. But here’s something completely new: a list of the essential cookbooks, suitable for both avid chefs as well as those just learning the rewards of making a meal. This was the first time the American Library Association ever created a list of recommended cookbooks, and I was happy to serve on the committee. And while it sounds
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January 31, 2019 9:36 am | by | No Comments
Categories: Authors & Books, eNewsletter, Evergreen, Featured, and Library News.
Tags: cookbooks.

2019 Children’s Book Awards

2019 Children’s Book Awards

Every January the American Library Association grants awards to a variety of talented authors and illustrators that highlight the year’s many excellent works created for children and youth with their Coretta Scott King Awards, (John) Newbery, and (Randolph) Caldecott Medals. Last week we highlighted past winners, this week we share this year's winners below. If you'd like to place a hold on one of the titles, simply click on the title or book cover. 2019 Caldecott Medal Winner Hello Lighthouse, illustrated and written by Sophie Blackall, published by Little, Brown and Company, a division of Hachette Book Group, Inc. Masterful
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January 28, 2019 3:57 pm | by | No Comments
Categories: Authors & Books, eNewsletter, Featured, Homepage Kids, and Kids.
Tags: caldecott medal and Newbery medal.

Award-Winning Children’s Books

Award-Winning Children’s Books

Every January the American Library Association grants awards to a variety of talented authors and illustrators that highlight the year’s many excellent works created for children and youth with their Coretta Scott King Awards, and their (Pura) Belpre, (John) Newbery, and (Randolph) Caldecott Medals. This year announcements of the winners will take place on Monday, January 28th, 2019. In celebration of these honored books, the Trove has four displays showcasing a sampling of the superlative works created for children that have won these prestigious awards and medals in past years. 2019 marks the 50th anniversary of the Coretta Scott King
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January 23, 2019 10:40 am | by | 2 Comments
Categories: Authors & Books, eNewsletter, Featured, Homepage Kids, Kids, and Library News.
Tags: Belpre medal, caldecott medal, Coretta Scott King award, and Newbery medal.

Technology Sessions for Teens

Technology Sessions for Teens

Every Thursday at 4:00 p.m. in the Edge, teens can learn a variety of skills relating to digital technology, from music creation to 3D printing and design. Known as “T(h)ech Thursdays,” the goal is to learn computer science concepts, promote creative thinking, and allow teenagers to use technologically-advanced equipment. For computer science learning in T(h)ech Thursdays, a variety of tools and applications are available to the teens. To learn coding, for example, block-based educational apps such as Scratch and Alice 2 are used, as well as more advanced, design-based applications using professional programming techniques, such as Processing. There are a
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January 9, 2019 1:34 pm | by | 2 Comments
Categories: eNewsletter, Events, Featured, Homepage Teens, Library News, and Teens.
Tags: 3d printing, coding, digital technology, lan, and technology training.