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AARP Foundation Tax-Aide

AARP Foundation Tax-Aide

The White Plains AARP Tax-Aide program will not be able to offer the kind of in-person service taxpayers have become used to for so many years. The primary concerns remain the health and safety of taxpayers and preparers, and the protection of confidential taxpayer information. White Plains will operate a no-contact, electronic service, which involves the transmittal of instructions, forms, permissions, and scans of tax documents using email. After the initial contact, taxpayers will receive an email with instructions and documents to print, fill out and return for tax preparation. Documents will need to be scanned and attached to the
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February 23, 2021 11:52 am | by | 5 Comments
Categories: Events, Homepage, and Library News.
Tags: AARP Foundation Tax Aide, tax assistance, tax filing, and taxes.

Bridgerton Forever!

Bridgerton Forever!

Did you bingewatch Netflix's Bridgerton in one weekend and are now impatiently awaiting season two? If so, why not cozy up with a readalike or watch another sizzling period drama? Below we've collected a few recommendations for similar books, shows, and films to tide you over until the spring. Should you wish to get a sneak peak at what Lady Whistledown will get up to next, you can read or listen to the Bridgerton novels here on OverDrive. Books Bringing Down the Duke and A Rogue of One's Own by Evie Dunmore Library Collection OverDrive & Libby “A bright, penniless
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January 26, 2021 10:00 am | by | No Comments
Categories: Authors & Books, Homepage, and Library News.
Tags: Bridgerton, fiction, film, historical fiction, period dramas, period piece, regency era, romance novels, staff picks, staff recommendations, and television.

Who is Amanda Gorman?

Who is Amanda Gorman?

Perhaps, like me, you were awestruck during the inauguration on January 20. Not just by the glass-ceiling shattering of Kamala Harris, the transfer of power and workings of democracy, the pomp and circumstance, the (mostly) excellent fashion, but primarily by the words of the young poet, Amanda Gorman.  Or, perhaps, you saw her during the opening of Super Bowl LV on February 7, a strikingly different, yet powerful, opening to the sporting event.  However you've come across her, perhaps you want to know more about who she is – her amazing story and her brilliant artistry. A self-proclaimed “Wordsmith. Change-maker,”
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January 21, 2021 11:53 am | by | No Comments
Categories: Authors & Books, Homepage, Homepage Kids, Homepage Teens, Kids, Library News, and Teens.
Tags: Amanda Gorman, inauguration, national poetry month, national youth poet laureate, poet, poet laureate, poetry, Poetry Month, poets, and writers.

Winter/Spring Short-Story Discussion Series

Winter/Spring Short-Story Discussion Series

Join White Plains Librarian Barbara Wenglin via Zoom to explore compelling stories from the exciting, rich and bold anthology used last fall: 100 Years of the Best American Short Stories Edited by Lorrie Moore and Heidi Pitlor (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2015) Marking the centennial of the Best American Short Stories annual series, this collection celebrates the diversity of the genre and the American experience from 1915-2015. Available in print collection through our Catalog and as an eBook in Hoopla, as well as OverDrive and Libby. Thursdays from 2:00 – 4:15 p.m. on Zoom Selected stories deal with dramatic, often unsettling
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January 19, 2021 1:00 pm | by | 2 Comments
Categories: Authors & Books, Homepage, and Library News.
Tags: book discussion, book groups, Short stories, short story, and Short Story Book Discussion.

Top Ten Checkouts

Top Ten Checkouts

Below is a list of the 2020 top 10 most popular fiction, nonfiction, CD audiobooks, films, and TV shows based on the number of times they've been checked out from our collection. We told you what our staff loved this year, well, here's what was most popular among your fellow Library patrons. Top 10 Fiction Books: Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens The Dutch House by Ann Patchett Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng The Guardians by John Grisham The Night Fire by Michael Connelly Olive, Again by Elizabeth Strout Moral Compass by Danielle Steel A Minute to Midnight
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January 5, 2021 10:00 am | by | 2 Comments
Categories: Authors & Books, Homepage, and Library News.
Tags: book recommendations, books, cd audiobooks, end of year lists, film, patron favorites, top checkouts, and tv.

Browsing Suspended, Grab & Go Continues

Browsing Suspended, Grab & Go Continues

In response to the rising number of COVID-19 cases in Westchester County, the Library is suspending browsing in the building. This means there will be no access to our first floor collections or the Trove beginning Friday, November 27. We will continue to offer reference services via phone, text, and email. Our Grab & Go services have changed. To utilize Grab & Go pickup services, place items on hold through our catalog and you will be notified when they are available. Give us a call at 422-1490 when you are heading to the Library and we will place your items
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December 28, 2020 10:00 am | by | 4 Comments
Categories: COVID-19, Director's Corner, Homepage, Homepage Kids, Homepage Teens, Kids, Library News, and Teens.
Tags: building update, closures, coronavirus, covid-19, COVID19, library services, and library update.

COVID-19 Vaccine Scams

COVID-19 Vaccine Scams

The following information is taken from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). Reports on the release of COVID-19 vaccines by the end of the year are promising, but plans for distribution are still being worked out. Here’s what we know currently: The vaccine from Pfizer/BioNTech has been authorized for Emergency Use while the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is moving towards finalizing the Emergency Use Authorization of Moderna’s vaccine. Additional vaccine manufacturers are expected to apply for FDA authorization in 2021. The distribution of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine to federal- and state-approved locations has begun. For most people living in the U.S.,
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December 18, 2020 10:08 am | by | No Comments
Categories: COVID-19, Evergreen, Homepage, and Library News.
Tags: covid scams, covid vaccine, covid-19, COVID19, scam, scams, vaccine, and vaccines.

2020 Best Book Lists

2020 Best Book Lists

In case you're as curious as we are about what different publications deem the “Best Books of 2020,” we've compiled a list below. What were your favorite reads this year? Leave us a comment letting us know. Some of the titles named the Best of 2020 are listed below; you'll find a much wider selection at Overdrive, here. Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid Library Collection: Print, Large Print, and CD audiobook OverDrive and Libby: eBook and audiobook The Splendid and the Vile by Erik Larson Library Collection: Print, Large Print, and CD audiobook OverDrive and Libby: eBook and
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December 16, 2020 4:56 pm | by | No Comments
Categories: Authors & Books, Homepage, Homepage Kids, Homepage Teens, Kids, Library News, and Teens.
Tags: best books, best of 2020, book recommendations, books, and year end lists.

She Writes: Short Stories

She Writes: Short Stories

This month's collection of titles for our “She Writes” series focuses on short story collections. Too distracted by current events to focus on long reads? Try short stories. Join librarian Barbara Wenglin's Short Story Discussion Series via Zoom, featuring 100 Years of the Best American Short Stories, on Thursday 12/17, 1/7/21, and 1/14/21. Click here for details. Below you'll find short story collections all written or edited by women and their 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 historical novels here. 100 Years
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December 16, 2020 10:19 am | by | No Comments
Categories: Authors & Books, Homepage, and Library News.
Tags: books, She Writes, Short stories, staff picks, staff recommendations, and women authors.

2020 Staff Favorites

2020 Staff Favorites

The White Plains Library Staff have assembled their picks for the year, featuring cookbooks, DVDs, music, audiobooks, and plenty of plain old books. It's a wonderfully wide-ranging list, full of lots of surprises, and should help with your holiday shopping or just some entertainment for yourself. Enjoy! Below you'll find a list with links to the catalog or resource where they're available as well as a blurb on why staff enjoyed it. Books: Peace Talks by Jim Butcher Library Catalog OverDrive and Libby: eBook and audiobook Harry Dresden is a wizard living in modern day Chicago. Think of this book
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December 16, 2020 9:32 am | by | 2 Comments
Categories: Authors & Books, Director's Corner, Evergreen, Homepage, Homepage Kids, Homepage Teens, Kids, Library News, and Teens.
Tags: best of 2020, book recommendations, books, music, staff picks, staff recommendations, and television.

December Daily Poetry

December Daily Poetry

Every 1st Wednesday for 16 years we Slam at the Library with an Open Mic, Open Slam, and World Famous Slam Poet Feature. We started this all on January 26, 2004. During the 2020 virus outbreak we are posting 1 poem a day from our archives until we can share our poetry in public and proximity again. December 11th: Isabella December 10th: Gustavo December 9th: Francesca December 8th: Esiyem December 7th: Cye December 6th: Brando December 5th: Anya December 4th: Adrianna December 3rd: Mikey December 2nd: Taye Vaughn December 1st: Beth
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December 2, 2020 4:57 pm | by | No Comments
Categories: COVID-19, Homepage, and Library News.
Tags: daily poem, poem a day, poetry, poetry slam, slam poetry, videos, and Zork.

It’s Cookie Time! Staff Recipes & Cookbooks

It’s Cookie Time! Staff Recipes & Cookbooks

With holidays coming up, it’s the perfect time to think about cookies. While you might not be able to hold your usual cookie swaps this year, we thought we would take the time to share some well-loved family recipes from our staff in the hopes that it would inspire you to try out new recipes. Whether you're baking for yourself, your family, or sending goodies to loved ones, let us know what recipes you're making this year. Comment below, or tag us on Instagram at @whiteplainslibrary, or use the hashtag #WPPLcooks on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter. Below you'll find a
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November 18, 2020 10:54 am | by | No Comments
Categories: Authors & Books, COVID-19, Homepage, Homepage Kids, Homepage Teens, Kids, Library News, and Teens.
Tags: cookbooks, cookies, cooking, holidays, recipes, staff picks, staff recommendations, and virtual cookie swap.

She Writes: Historical Novels

She Writes: Historical Novels

This month's collection of titles for our “She Writes” series focuses on historical novels. Had it with 2020? Transport yourself to a different time and place with historical fiction 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 nonfiction science here. Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie Library Collection: Print OverDrive and Libby: eBook and audiobook “When the Igbo people of eastern Nigeria seceded in 1967 to form the independent nation of Biafra, a bloody,
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November 16, 2020 1:28 pm | by | No Comments
Categories: Authors & Books, Homepage, and Library News.
Tags: book recommendations, books by women, She Writes, staff picks, staff recommendations, women authors, and women writers.

Antiracism: Next Steps

Antiracism: Next Steps

October has been a very eventful month for antiracism at the library, with the Race Consciousness workshop for parents and caregivers on October 21st, and the conversation with Dr. Ibram X. Kendi on October 28th. While these events were enlightening and motivational, the mission of antiracism work has not been accomplished. If you attended either of these events, I hope you are now energized and ready to learn-and do-more. Don’t let your antiracism work end there. With that goal in mind, I’ve gathered a collection of further resources you can use to keep the momentum of your personal antiracism work
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October 30, 2020 10:59 am | by | No Comments
Categories: Homepage and Library News.
Tags: Antiracism, books, Ibram X. Kendi, podcast, staff picks, and staff recommendations.

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, 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, Homepage, and Library News.
Tags: science, She Writes, staff picks, staff recommendations, and virtual book display.

She Writes: Graphic Novels

She Writes: Graphic Novels

This week we launch the first collection of titles for our “She Writes” series. First up, we're featuring graphic novels for a variety of ages, all written and illustrated 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. For Children (and up) Phoebe and her Unicorn series by Dana Simpson Grade 4+ Library Collection OverDrive and Libby “A pink, bubble-gum bonbon of a tale spun of a likable, albeit self-centered, fourth-grader and her magical, self-obsessed, although sometimes-kind, unicorn.”–Kirkus Click series by Kayla Miller Grade 3-7
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August 27, 2020 6:35 pm | by | No Comments
Categories: Authors & Books, Homepage, Kids, Library News, and Teens.
Tags: books by women, comics, female authors, graphic novels, She Writes, staff picks, and staff recommendations.

medici.tv for Classical Lovers

medici.tv for Classical Lovers

If you love classical music, then you probably feel that the Library has been giving you short shrift. And you're right. As the circulation of our Classical CDs has continued to decline, we've invested less and less in that area. With the result that even fewer Classical CDs circulate. It's a vicious cycle. Fortunately, medici.tv–a streaming website–should go a long way to remedying this situation. Described as “the closest thing to a classical Netflix” by The New York Times, medici.tv offers a dazzling collection for classical music fans. Warning: it's hard not to get lost–for hours!–sampling medici.tv's holdings. There are
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August 27, 2020 4:05 pm | by | No Comments
Categories: Director's Corner, Homepage, and Library News.
Tags: classical music, medici.tv, and resources.

Staff Picks: IndieFlix

Staff Picks: IndieFlix

White Plains Cardholders just gained access to another video streaming resource with the addition of IndieFlix. IndieFlix brings engaging stories to movie lovers around the world. It provides access to over 7,000 high-quality shorts, features, documentaries, classic TV shows and Web series from 85 countries. You can watch movies on any Internet-enabled computer, smartphone, or tablet with a Web browser! Also available on Roku, Xbox, and Apple TV. If you're unsure where to start, check out these recommendations from Adult Services Librarians Tim Baird, Kristy Bauman, and Sharon Rothman. Valdez Goes Extreme If you love extreme skiing movies a la
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August 18, 2020 3:10 pm | by | No Comments
Categories: eNewsletter, Homepage, and Library News.
Tags: IndieFlix, movies, rbdigital, short films, staff picks, staff recommendations, streaming, and video.

100 Years of Suffrage: Slide Show

100 Years of Suffrage: Slide Show

On August 18, 1920, a twenty-three year old representative in the Tennessee state legislature cast the deciding vote to ratify the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which states “The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex.” Tennessee became the 25th state to ratify the amendment, giving it the three-fourths of the states needed to become the law of the land. This was the culmination of over 70 years of work by thousands of women in the U.S. to win
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August 18, 2020 1:55 pm | by | No Comments
Categories: Homepage, Library News, and Local History.
Tags: local-history, slide show, video, and Women's Suffrage.