And other monsters.
On MONDAY MAY 3RD at 7PM the Library will host a quick Dungeons & Dragons adventure/workshop to introduce parents, teachers, and interested kids to this fantasy storytelling game. It's a great way to encourage interest in reading, creative writing, cooperative play...
If you know a kid who likes wizards and elves & the like; or if you've heard the name and never played-- come check out the game.
Call to register, bring a friend. Parent & kid teams are welcome!
(301) 891.7259
May 15th, library lawn, sponsored and organized by the Friends of the Takoma Park Maryland Library, 10 - 3.
April 22nd update: We have no storage space left and so cannot accept any more book donations until after the sale.
According to the promotional material from the American Library Association there are more public libraries in the United States than McDonald's. Public library cardholders outnumber Amazon customers 5 to 1. Yet we spend more than three times as much on salty snacks as we do on public libraries and seven times as much money on home video games as on school library materials for children.
And Tuesday the 20th is National Library Workers Day. The message is "Libraries Work Because We Do"
Thompson-Gale, a major print and online reference publisher, is offering free access to some 24 of their normally very expensive databases for this one week. This includes LegalTracTM. So bubble up all the arcane reference questions that you have been storing and start searching.
Earth Day will be celebrated at the Takoma Junction TPSS Co-op on Saturday April 24th and will include food and live music. Library staff will participate by reading stories at various times during the day.
As with Arbor Day, various communities celebrate Earth Day on different days.
Earth Day Resources: Envirolink has a national list of Earth Day activities for this year and a history of Earth Day. The federal government has put up an Earth Day page and is also compiling a nation-wide list of activities. The North American Association for Environmental Education maintains a huge list of links to sites concerned with the environment.
Did you know that the US Army celebrates Earth Day?
The definitive list of holidays, festivals, and celebrations is Chase's Calendar of Events. We subscribe and so always have the current copy, which you can find in the reference room at R 394.26.
What does Chase's Calendar contain? For today, Friday April 16th, information about 30 events (with associated web links). About 24,000 people will be attending the Mennonite Relief Sale in in Hutchinson Kansas.
For May 1st, Chase's lists 117 events including our own Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival at the the Howard County Fairgrounds. It is an easy trip up 97 (which starts as Georgia Avenue) and includes sheep dog trials, very good food, breed parades and competitions, shearing, weaving, shepherding, vendors selling everything from spinning wheels and raw fleeces to lamb sausage.
Come in and browse through Chase's. It is one of many reference books that are reading pleasures, not just information sources.
We still have a couple of boxes of state booklets and large stacks of 1040 long, A and EZ instructions. We are running out of forms but you can photocopy them here and those copies are acceptable.
The instruction publications are next to the large window in the reference room. The forms we have left are on top of the low bookcase. Ask for the photocopy masters at the circulation desk.
You can also use forms printed from the Internet: federal and state And you can pay online.
The stormwater tax is also due soon and we have a stack of FAQ sheets, though you probably received one with your bill. They are located on the top of the bookcase with the other tax materials.
The Literacy Council of Montgomery County needs volunteers to tutor adults to read and write English. The next orientation is May 17th at the Wheaton Library. We have informative bookmarks and flyers at the library or you can contact the council directly: 301.942.9292 how to volunteer.
The Maryland State Arts Council offers Arts in Communities grants. The April 7th deadline just passed, but the next deadlines are July 14th 2004, September 15th 2004 and January 19th 2005. We have a few copies of the grant application booklets available at the library. They are in the red box at reference carrel 0. You can also go directly to the Arts Council site which is worth a visit even if you are not interested in applying. Tour their gallery online. Maryland State Arts Council
Have you seen the Spirit of Trees site? If not, be sure to visit. It is an outgrowth of the DC Memorial Tree Groves Project and has become a beautiful and useful site for people who care about trees.
The Department of Public Works will again distribute tree seedlings on the library lawn, April 17 2004. A list of trees can be found on the arborist's page. A few larger trees will be raffled off.
For those of you who want to find out additional information about the trees that will be given away - here are the taxonomic names. You will probably need these to effectively use print and online resources. The common name Indigobush, for example, is used for more than one plant. (Choose "continue reading" for the Latin names and for our resource recommendations)
Flowering dogwood (Cornus florida)
Redbud (Cercis canadensis)
Sycamore (Platanus occidentalis)
Northern red oak (Quercus rubra)
Willow oak (Quercus phellos)
Pin oak (Quercus palustris)
White oak (Quercus alba)
Indigobush (Amorpha fruiticosa)
Service Berry (Amelanchier canadensis)
Winterberry (Ilex verticillata)
Print sources in the library:
We have a large circulating group of tree and botany books, as well as a substantial reference collection including works such as the Illustrated Encyclopedia of Trees. Go to both Dewey numbers 582.16 (botany/trees) and 635.9 (horticulture/trees) in the reference room and well as in the adult non-fiction area.
Good web sources:
What tree is it?
The Tree of Life
The history of Arbor Day and the National Arbor Day Foundation
PLANTS National Database
Tree Guide
6th Annual Favorite Poem Evening
Please come and bring your friends and neighbors.
Thursday Evening, April 22nd, at 7:30 p.m.
Sponsored by the English Department of Columbia Union College and the Takoma Park Maryland Library. Refreshments will be provided and the event will be videotaped by Takoma TV.
The deadline for submissions was originally April 9th but it has been extended. Send a copy of the poem you have chosen, and your name, phone number and occupation (in generic terms) to wripley AT cuc.udu or you may mail it to:
English Department
attn: Wendy Ripley
Columbia Union College
7600 Flower Avenue
Takoma Park, MD 20912
Join in inviting members of the community, from the many diverse cultures represented in this fair city, to share a poem that they have loved with a few words telling why.
This evening is modeled on the Favorite Poem Project undertaken by Robert Pinsky, former Poet Laureate of the United States.
If you are interested in reading a poem at this year's event, choose a poem you have read and admired by a published poet (rather than poems written by you or your friends.) Please include an English translation for any poems written in a language other than English. Poems from the wide diversity of cultures represented in Takoma Park are particularly sought.
Questions may be directed to Wendy Ripley at 301.891.4068 or Ellen Arnold-Robbins at 301.891.7259
Juegos, canciones y cuentos en español en la biblioteca de Takoma Park
La biblioteca de Takoma Park los invita a un programa interactivo de actividades en españo; para niños de edad pre-escolar. ¿dónde? La biblioteca, 101 Philadelphia Avenue, 301.891.7269 ¿Cuándo? Todos los jueves durante el mes de abril (abril 1, 8, 15, 22 y 29) de 11 a 11:30 a.m. Traigan mucha alegrÃa y ganas de divertirse.
Esta es una actividad gratuita y abierta a todos
THE LIBRARY IS A DEPARTMENT OF THE CITY OF TAKOMA PARK
