Southeast Steuben County Library 300 Nasser Civic Center Plaza Corning, NY 14830 (607) 936-3713
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Still, when we think of paper, we think flexibility. Don't bother to catch your breath. Last summer Fujitsu announced it had developed the world's first bendable electronic paper with color image reproduction capability. You won't be reading your newspaper on this e-paper anytime in the next year or two, but the future of the new technologies seems assured. Currently, e-paper products are in use by certain department stores as dynamic display signs. Press a button and the sign changes. How does it work? The Associated Press described it succinctly: "Tiny globules of black ink are inserted between small plastic sheets. Inside each globule are even tinier chips of electrically charged white paint. The globules are “spun,” by another electrical charge, which determines whether the black ink or the white chips are face-up. The balls flip black or white to form images and letters, depending on the charge." Color versions of e-paper use more advanced technology. Click here to read more about the technology, from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Does all this mean that books will eventually disappear from the marketplace, and worse, from library stacks? We don't think so. Electronic ink, e-paper and e-books will soon give readers more options, and that is what libraries are all about. "Our challenge is to integrate the new technologies," reflected Matt, our Adult Services librarian. Comments & Questions email: turnerb@stls.org IHS site rich in local info. The Institute for Human Services (IHS) recently overhauled its website at www.IHSNet.org to make it an invaluable tool for anyone in the Southern Tier. IHS, a non-profit management support organization based in Bath, NY works with dozens of human service agencies throughout Steuben, Allegany and Chemung counties. While it is probably known best for its HELPLINE (1-800-346-2211), which handles crisis referral 24/7, IHS is also one of the most useful local information resources online. At www.IHSNet.org you can find everything from county demographics to public transportation services for those in need to health services for new or expectant parents to a thick Human Services Directory that anyone can download for free. There is one directory for each of the three main counties served by IHS. In each you'll find a county map and profile, contact information for elected officials and schools, where to find local libraries and food pantries, plus extensive information about non-profit agencies and the services they provide. If you work for a non-profit agency or are a funds provider or human service planner, the IHS website offers technological links and management-support tools, as well as many other resources. If you are interested in volunteering, this is where to find the agencies that need your help. IHS administers the federal government's AmeriCorps Kids First Initiative regionally and its website is the place to visit if you want information about this national service program. One of the Institute's top goals is to "Provide comprehensive information and referral to the general public and the human service and public sectors." Clearly, the IHS website is a great new resource for us all. Comments & Questions email: turnerb@stls.org World AIDS Day observed The Interfaith AIDS Committee of the Corning Vicinity Council of Churches will host a "Celebration of Remembrance and Light" here on Thursday, December 1 at 7 p.m. All are welcome. Marking this seventh annual event, the library is currently displaying two 12-foot by 12-foot sections from The AIDS Memorial Quilt. According to the Names Project Foundation, which runs the project, The AIDS Memorial Quilt is "the largest ongoing community arts project in the world." The organization uses quilt events and activities to raise public awareness about AIDS and AIDS prevention. Each section of the quilt memorializes the lives of persons lost to AIDS. The 83,440-plus names on the quilt represent about 17.5 percent of all AIDS deaths in the US, according to the Names Project Foundation. More than 15 million persons have visited the aids quilt. If fully assembled, the 54-ton quilt would cover 1,285,200 square feet. If laid end-to-end, the 12-foot sections would extend for nearly 52 miles. For further information about the Celebration of Remembrance and Light this Thursday, email fbcpaintedpostny@infoblvd.net. Comments & Questions email: turnerb@stls.org Time list makes good reading Officially, winter doesn't begin for several weeks, but it sure looks and feels like winter here in Steuben County, NY. With snow falling and temperatures this morning below 20 degrees F, what could be better than curling up with a cup of hot chocolate and a good book? Time magazine recently came out with a list of what its critics Lev Grossman and Richard Lacayo selected as the best novels written in English from 1923 to the present. The complete list is available online at www.time.com. Check it out. Whether you agree with most of the choices or not, it does serve as a great guide for winter reading. Comments & Questions email: turnerb@stls.org We've syndicated The Circulator, Southeast Steuben County Library's online journal, now offers an RSS feed, and it is the fastest and easiest way to read the latest library news. What is RSS? RSS, or Really Simple Syndication, is non-intrusive technology that allows us to deliver news and information to our community of readers. It provides a fast way for Web surfers to scan the latest headlines. If something interests you, click on the headline and you are transported automatically to the full story on our website. If your web browser doesn't facilitate RSS, then download a free RSS reader. You can find one at NewsGator.com, or select (carefully) from the large list at http://www.ourpla.net/cgi-bin/pikie.cgi?RssReaders. Better yet, just double-click on the orange RSS hyperlink at the top right-hand corner of this page. When you arrive at our headlines page, visit the link to the RSSReader.com download page. (The library has no affiliation with RSSReader.com or any other RSS aggregator.) If your web browser does support RSS or if you have an aggregator (reader) already, follow the instructions provided. (See the "Help" section.) Certain web browsers, including Internet Explorer 6, do not automatically check for RSS feed updates, so often it is better to use an RSS aggregator. The new web browser, Opera, has an elegant RSS reader that is easy to use. RSS readers check regularly for the latest updates from whatever news sources you select. The headlines are there when you want them, all in one place. Happy Thanksgiving! Comments & Questions email: turnerb@stls.org NY Times list is ours, too Some people think libraries are filled with musty old books and heavy reference tombs of interest only to bookworms. Well, we do have our share of classics, thank you. Technical Services keeps these in great shape for readers. We have new books, too. In fact, the hottest books on the market are in circulation here at the Southeast Steuben County Library. Glancing down this week's New York Times Bestseller List of fiction, we own all of the top 10 books: Predator, by Patricia Cornwell; At First Sight, by Nicholas Sparks; The Camel Club, by David Baldacci; Christ the Lord: Out of Egypt, by Anne Rice; Toxic Bachelors, by Danielle Steel; Knife of Dreams, by Robert Jordan; Ordinary Heroes, by Scott Turow; The Lincoln Lawyer, by Michael Connelly; Consent to Kill, by Vince Flynn; and The Da Vinci Code, by Dan Brown. It is true; you will not see many of these books on our shelves. So why not visit the library home page at ssclibrary.org and click the link to StarCat, the Library's online catalog? Place a "hold" on the book of your choice - you'll need your library card - and we will telephone you when your book is available. If non-fiction is your preference, these NY Times top-10 bestsellers are circulating here: The Year of Magical Thinking, by Joan Didion - National Book Club Award winner; The Truth (With Jokes), by Al Franken; The World is Flat, by Thomas L. Friedman; Freakonomics, by Steven D. Levitt; and The City of Falling Angels, by John Berendt. From the NY Times children's chapter books bestseller list, we currently own: Eldest, by Christopher Paolini, Character is Destiny, by John McCain with Mark Salter; Inkspell, by Cornelia Funke; Flush, by Carl Hiaasen; Dragon Rider, by Cornelia Funke; Mercy Watson to the Rescue, by Kate DiCamillo; and Tale of Despereaux, by Kate DiCamillo. Comments & Questions email: turnerb@stls.org November 21, 2005 The National Book Foundation, a publishers group consortium which established the National Book Awards in 1950, announced its four 2005 prize recipients last week. Joan Didion won in the non-fiction category for her memoir, The Year of Magical Thinking. This year's fiction prizewinner is William T. Vollmann, for Europe Central. W. S. Merwin took the prize in poetry for his volume, Migration: New and Selected Poems. Jeanne Birdsall won in the Young People's Literature category for The Penderwicks: A Summer Tale of Four Sisters, Two Rabbits, and a Very Interesting Boy. The winners, selected by five-member, independent judging panels for each genre, receive a $10,000 cash award and a crystal sculpture, according to the Book Foundation. The Southeast Steuben County Library owns copies of The Year of Magical Thinking and The Penderwicks. Europe Central was backordered as of today, and Migration has been ordered. Several other volumes of W.S. Merwin poems and essays are available through the library and the Southern Tier Library System. Comments & Questions email: turnerb@stls.org In circulation: New acquisitions Librarians at the Southeast Steuben County Library do all they can to ensure that the books you want to read are on our shelves or in circulation. Here are just a few highlights from our recent acquisitions lists: Veronica, by Mary Gaitskill (Pantheon Books), is a new novel from the acclaimed author of Bad Behavior, Two Girls and Fat and Thin. Out of Eden: An Odyssey of Ecological Invasion, by Alan Burdick (Farrar Straus and Giroux), is the award-winning author's personal exploration of the dangers of global "homogenization." Burdick is concerned about what happens when zebra muscles hitch rides in the hulls of ships or when remote species, such as the Kudzu vine begin to dominate western habitats. Have you had your avian flu shot yet? The English Teacher, by Lily King (Atlantic Monthly Press), is a thriller by the author of The Pleasing Hour. Master of Dragons, by Margaret Weis (TOR), is a fantasy about a divided race of dragons and a mystical order of warrior priestesses. Recent Young Adult acquisitions include: Under the Wolf, Under the Dog, by Adam Rapp (Candlewick Press). Sixteen-year-old Steve struggles to make sense of his mother's terminal breast cancer and his brother's suicide. Autobiography of My Dead Brother, by Walter Dean Myers (HarperCollins). The Printz Award winning author delivers an unforgettable novel about life's hardest lessons, illustrated by Caldecott Honor artist Christopher Myers. ---------------- We also add regularly to our collection of DVDs. Recent acquisitions include: The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (2005). Starring Amber Tamblyn, America Ferrera, others. A story about a special summer in the lives of four lifelong friends who are separated for the first time. Campfire (2005). In Hebrew with English subtitles. Starring Michaela Eshet, Hani Furstenberg, Moshe Ivgy & Maya Maron. A 42 year-old widowed mother of two teenage daughters wants to join a new settlement in the West bank. Millions (2004). Starring Alex Etel, Lewis McGibbon, James Nesbitt & Daisy Donovan. A young boy finds a bag filled with money and learns a lesson in ethics. Super Troopers (2001). Starring Jay Chandrasekhar, Kevin Heffernan, Steve Lemme, Paul Soter, others. A police captain has difficulty controlling his incompetent troops, but when called upon to solve a real crime, they become highway heroes. Comments & Questions email: turnerb@stls.org Mad Hatters wow Severn K-1st
As the goofy character Amelia Bedelia, Miss Bobbie of the Children's Section drew laughter when she confused a bookmark with a book entitled, Mark. Later on, veteran Mad Hatter Miss Rosemary, done up in orange as a library card, enchanted the audience with her reading of I Took My Frog to the Library, by Eric A. Kimmel.
Inspired by the enthusiasm of library volunteers who participated in a storytelling workshop several years ago, the library formed the Mad Hatters troupe. "We used to wear hats everywhere," said Miss Rosemary of the early days. Nowadays, Mad Hatters take off their funny hats when the show is over, but colorful costumes and wild stage props are still the troupe's trademark. "Our goal is to bring books to life," Miss Pauline said. Judging by the rapt attention and exuberant laughter of the children who watch them, the Mad Hatters do just that. The Children's Department will visit Lindley-Presho School on Thursday, Nov. 17. Comments & Questions email: turnerb@stls.org Crowd packs gas forum Library staff could not fail to notice a large, dissatisfied crowd milling about the lobby today. Hundreds of local residents, including city officials, local media and Corning Mayor-Elect Frank Coccho, turned out for the first in a series of Public Informational Forums regarding the failure of Corning Natural Gas Corp. to secure adequate heating fuel supply for the coming winter. An overflow crowd, too large for the library's Laura Beer Community Room to hold, forced NYS Department of Public Service (DPS), to hold a second session, which was also packed. The DPS is investigating the management of Corning Natural Gas Corp. and has ordered the company to "show cause why a temporary operator should not be appointed." The DPS has scheduled additional meetings on the same topic. On Wednesday, Nov. 16 the DPS will hold one session at 1 p.m. at Addison Community Center. A second session tomorrow will be held at 7 p.m. at West High School. On Thursday, Nov. 17, 1 p.m. and 7 p.m. sessions will be held in Bath at the Steuben County Civil Defense Training Center. Comments & Questions email: turnerb@stls.org Young writers welcome here On Thursday, Nov. 17 at 7 p.m., the library's young writers group will hold an informational meeting in the Southeast Steuben County Library Conference Room. If you are a teenager who likes to write, we hope you will show up… and sign up. For the past year, participants in The Torn Page Teen Writers Group have shared short stories, poems and essays in a relaxed café-style setting. The group has provided an opportunity for feedback and encouragement from fellow writers. Moreover, writers group meetings are a chance to have fun with people who love the written word and its inexhaustible potential. We hope to see you Thursday evening. Snacks and soft drinks are free. ----------------- Groups like The Torn Page are invaluable for writers, and there are many other sorts of resources for young writers on the Web, including tips from fellow writers, writing contests and suggestions on how to get published. For instance, the University of Michigan's Internet Public Library website has tips on writing essays, papers and much more. Poets & Writers, Inc. has several dozen literary links and resources for young writers including online workshops, writing camps & conferences and publications by and for teens. Check out the Poets and Writers, Inc. website. Comments & Questions email:turnerb@stls.org Gaia Girls introduced Saturday
Welles, a Corning resident and health & fitness columnist for the Star Gazette newspaper, grew up on an area farm where she developed a strong identity with the land. In keeping with that, our planet is portrayed as a living being in her book, which cultivates environmental awareness and ethical decision-making. Welles was joined by her sister, artist Ann Hameister, who illustrated the book. Gaia Girls - Enter the Earth is envisioned as the first in a series of books. Comments & Questions email: turnerb@stls.org Children's Book Week to begin
The premier puppet troupe will present "Bug Town Follies," a Vaudeville-style pageant featuring acrobatic ants, tap-dancing spiders and an extraordinary talking grasshopper named Bugsby Berkeley as master-of-ceremonies. But more than giving children and their families the opportunity to experience the library as a fun and exciting place, Children's Book Week is about the books themselves. "The thing I like about Children's Book Week is that the focus is completely about children's literature itself. It allows for the celebration of wonderment about books," said Miss Pauline, our Children's Librarian. During Children's Book Week, which runs from Nov. 14 to 20, the library will visit Frederick Carder Elementary School, William Severn Elementary School and Lindley-Presho Elementary School with a program promoting library card sign-up and reading for kindergarteners and first graders, Miss Pauline said.
This year, The Children's Book Council, sponsor of the national celebration, has set "Imagination" as the theme for Children's Book Week. To help cultivate imagination, Miss Pauline recommends these fine titles: Book! Book! Book!, by Deborah Bruss Beatrice Doesn't Want To, by Laura Numeroff Wolf!, by Becky Bloom I Took My Frog to the Library, by Eric A. Kimmel The Library Dragon, by Carmen Agra Deedy Comments & Questions email: turnerb@stls.org The alphabet started here Well, not here in the library. According to The New York Times today, archaeologists have unearthed the earliest known example of a written alphabet. The discovery at Tel Zayit, a nearly eight-acre dig situated approximately 29 kilometers west of Hebron in Israel, has been credited to Ron E. Tappy, the archaeologist who led the team that made the discovery. "Last summer, The Zeitah Excavations at Tel Zayit, Israel, made a dramatic discovery: an inscription that bears the oldest known securely datable example of an abecedary, that is, the letters of the alphabet written out from beginning to end in their traditional sequence," Tappy writes in his website. Tappy is an archaeologist at the Pittsburgh Theological Seminary. He is expected to report his findings in detail next week to the American Schools of Oriental Research and the Society of Biblical Literature at meetings in Philadelphia. The find, labeled as "proto-Hebrew" in origin, has been independently dated at 10th century BC, according to the Times. If Tappy's findings hold up, then most of the books in the library owe something to the person who inscribed this early alphabet on an ancient stone wall. Comments & Questions email: turnerb@stls.org A vital task: Book preservation
“There is always repair work to be done,” said Grace as she looked over a sadly worn copy of Raemaeker’s Cartoons. The decayed binding on the hard-to-replace coffee-table classic was impossible to miss, and many interior pages were in poor shape. "There is terrible wear," Grace remarked. But using scissors, a special liquid plastic adhesive and with a variety of special tapes at hand, Grace began the long job of bringing the book back into shape.
Grace, who grew up on a Connecticut farm and learned book repair as a Southeast Steuben County Library volunteer, was taught by an expert, said Marcia, the library's Technical Services Supervisor. Former staffer Emily Brown interned at the Scottish National Library, Marcia explained. "I attempt to repair books," Grace said, with modesty. "This is a difficult job," she said of a damaged interior page. "I'm going to put some glue in it and put it in the press." Before doing that, Grace inserted a sheet of wax paper between pages to keep them from sticking together. "I have so much to learn. I take it slowly," Grace said. "She is great at this," remarked Volunteer Coordinator Kathleen Richardson. Grace, who also volunteers at several human service agencies locally, has donated considerable time and energy to the library since January 2003. Today, she was joined by fellow volunteer Juanita Olyer who used a special soap emulsion to clean book covers. "I enjoy working in technical services," Olyer affirmed. Olyer, 25, has volunteered at the library since August 2004. Comments & Questions email: turnerb@stls.org Consumer information is free
For more than 30 years, the Federal Citizen Information Center (FCIC) has produced and distributed information on consumer problems and government services. Whether you are interested in buying a car or computer, choosing a school for your child or want to learn how to run a small business, the FCIC has useful information to share. These days, the agency has expanded to produce interactive CDs and online workshops. Due to belt-tightening measures, there is now a fee for certain CDs and printed matter, but most everything is available free-of-charge online. Visit www.pueblo.gsa.gov for the complete catalog and links to all the articles, interactive workshops and information. You may also pick up a copy of the catalog here at the library Reference Desk (while supplies last) or call 1 (800) FED-INFO to have one sent to you. Comments & Questions email: turnerb@stls.org November 4, 2005 Students explore research tools Middle-school students from the Chemung Valley Montessori School learned how to use some of the library's many research tools this morning. Shannon, our Youth Librarian, conducted a library tour and followed that with a talk explaining the Dewey Decimal System, how to use the online catalog (STARCAT) and how to use other computer-based research resources. Then it was time for some practical, hands-on experience. Students hunkered over computer consoles at our public work-stations, looking up books, periodicals and other publications to help them with classroom research topics. They learned how to use New York state's NOVEL collection of online research databases including its electronic collection of newspapers, and EBSCOhost which offers full-text versions of articles on nearly any topic imaginable. "You can't always rely on what you read when you visit websites found with a Google search," Shannon cautioned. Nearly anyone can put something up on the web, but Library research services deliver articles from reputable sources, she said. The students were accompanied by Montessori School Teacher Robert Gwinn and Enrichment Coordinator Cynthia Klingensmith. Comments & Questions email:turnerb@stls.org Virtual access, with your card
For example, your library card gives you access to the NOVEL set of searchable databases, including a Business Resource Center, Custom Newspapers, a General Science Collection, a Health & Wellness Resource Center and much more. The EBSCOhost Masterfile database lets you read archived and current articles from popular magazines and journals (from AARP, The Magazine to Scientific American to Yankee). EBSCOhost also has a searchable image archive. If you want to know more about your favorite authors, the Twayne Author Series and the Literature Resource Center have plenty of biographical information and critical articles. Visit the library home page today, and don't forget to bring your library card. Comments & Questions email: turnerb@stls.org Grandparent forums on tap Are you a grandparent with questions about child custody, guardianship, visitation, child support, grandparent rights or related issues? If so, you are not alone. Legal issues of concern to grandparent caregivers will be the focus of talks November 9 & 10 at nearby libraries in the Southern Tier. Gerard Wallace, J.D., a consultant to NYS AARP and former director of the Grandparent Caregiver Law Center at Hunter College's Brookdale Center on Aging, will lead a forum at David A. Howe Library in Wellsville, NY from 6:30 p.m. to 9 on Wednesday, Nov. 9; and again on Thursday, Nov. 10 from 9 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. at the Dormann Library in Bath. Other topics to be covered include Social Security benefits, school enrollment and medical consent issues. Call the Southern Tier Library System for further information at 1-800-909-7857 or email burnsk@stls.org. Comments & Questions email: turnerb@stls.org November 1, 2005 Oz theme was Halloween pick This year, the library chose "The Wizard of Oz" as its costume theme for Halloween. Daring staff members, decked out yesterday in unusual garb, checked out books, answered reference questions, serviced computers, handled administrative tasks and generally kept things running smoothly even with all the merriment. Pictured from left are Marcia, as the Scarecrow; Miss Pauline, our children's librarian, as a Flying Monkey; Linda, as a Munchkin; Missy as a Lollipop Guild Munchkin; Miss Bobbie, as Dorothy; Chad, as the Cowardly Lion; and Shannon as the Wicked Witch of the West. Everyone agreed it was an exciting day at the library, but when it was all over, there was "no place like home." Comments & Questions email: turnerb@stls.org Visit the Library Home Page Read the latest Library news in The Circulator |
Actually,
it's here already. But you won't find electronic paper on your bookshelf;
that is, unless you've purchased a Sony LIBRI’e 
In
celebration of National Children's Book Week and as part of Southeast
Steuben County Library's outreach programs, the Mad Hatters storytelling
troupe entertained kindergarteners and 1st graders at the Severn Elementary
School yesterday. The program encouraged young students to sign up for
library cards and read books. 
Children's
Librarian Miss Pauline, who narrated the program, led the audience participation
segments, communicating her enthusiasm about the fun of reading to everyone.
Speaking about the library's outreach efforts before the show, she said,
"It is important to be more than a library within four walls. We
want to be seen as a community resource."
More
than 120 children and adults gathered in Southeast Steuben County Library's
Laura Beer Community Room Saturday morning to celebrate the introduction
of 
Ever
since 1919, during the week before Thanksgiving, libraries, educators,
booksellers and children have celebrated Children's Book Week, a festival
of imagination and wonder. This year, the Southeast Steuben County Library
plans a week of elementary school visits, special Children's Story Hours
and other events. The festivities will be capped by a free performance
by the Robert Rogers Puppet Company here at the library's Laura Beer
Community Room on Saturday, November 19 at 11 a.m.
In
addition, Mother Goose Story Time will be held here in the Laura Beer
Community Room on Tuesday and Thursday mornings, Nov. 15 & 17 at 10:30
a.m. Music Rhyme and Story Time is scheduled for Wednesday, Nov. 16
at 10:30 a.m. and again at 1 p.m. Blankets, Books and Slippers PJ Story
Time is on tap for Thursday, Nov. 17 at 7 p.m. Miss Bobbie will read
aloud and songwriter/singer/guitarist Mary Lu Walker will perform at
some of these events.
"It
will take several days," she assessed.
You can take the library home with you, virtually,
if you have a personal computer, Mac or laptop with an internet connection and a valid
library card. Just visit the Southeast Steuben County Library home page.
(Click the link in "The Reference Desk" section on this page.)
There, you will find a large collection of information resources and
electronic databases that you can't access with typical search engines
like "Google."