How do you spend the month of December? Does your family celebrate Christmas? Hanukkah? Kwanzaa? Winter Solstice? Do you bake special cookies or cakes that have been passed down from one generation to the next?
Here at the Pottsville Free Public Library, we have resources to help you enjoy and make the most of this most festive of months. Whether it's movies on DVD to relax with the family, cookbooks for the celebratory meals, or novels to help you escape from the rush, visit us for some holiday helpers. The titles listed below are just to give you a start!
Great books:
Christmas with Paula Deen (641.5686 D36)
Mrs. Fields Cookie Book: 100 recipes from the kitchen of Mrs. Debbie Fields (641.8654 F46m)
It's a Gingerbread House: bake it, build it, eat it! (j 641.86 W)
Celebrating Holidays Scrapbook-Style (745.593 C392)
Christmas Crafts from Around the World (j 745.59 S)
How to Spell Chanukah: 18 writers celebrate 8 nights of lights (296.435 H83)
The Stone Lamp: 8 stories of Hanukkah through history (j 811.54 H)
Seven Spools of Thread: a Kwanzaa story (jE M)
The Complete Kwanzaa: celebrating our cultural harvest (394.261 R451)
CDs:
Songs of Joy and Peace (CD R MA SJP S42) -- Christmas songs plus music for Hanukkah and Kwanzaa
Wintertime: the United States Air Force Band (CD H United W U01) -- Seasonal samplings include English carols, Hanukkah songs, and Gregorian chants
DVDs:
The Night Before Christmas... and more Christmas stories (j DVD-118)
White Christmas (DVD-550)
The Little Drummer Boy... and 4 more holiday stories (j DVD-245)
Friday, December 4, 2009
Friday, November 13, 2009
Great New Encyclopedias
When you think of reference books, you probably think of things like a basic dictionary and the Encyclopaedia Britannica, right? But the Reference Department has thousands of titles, so we’d like to introduce you to some of them. Here are 10 of the newest or oddest encyclopedias in our collection!
The Anime Encyclopedia: A guide to Japanese animation since 1977 (2006), Ref 791.43 C591
The Atlantis Encyclopedia (2005), Ref 001.94 J774
The DC Comics Encyclopedia: The definitive guide to the characters of the DC universe (2008), Ref 741.5 D339
The Encyclopedia of Civil War Medicine (2008), Ref 973.7 Sc76
The Encyclopedia of Crime Scene Investigation (2008), Ref 363.25 En19
The Encyclopedia of Dead Rock Stars: Heroin, handguns, and ham sandwiches (2008), Ref 782.42 Si47
The Encyclopedia of Sixties Cool: A celebration of the grooviest people, events, and artifacts of the 1960’s (2007), Ref 920.02 St872
Encyclopedia of Stress (1999), Ref 155.9 M179
The New Encyclopedia of Flower Remedies: The definitive practical guide to all flower remedies, their making and uses (2007), Ref 615.321 H262
Science in the Ancient World: An encyclopedia (2004), Ref 509.303 L446
Come in to take a peek at these great titles, or check the library’s catalog to find out if we have any other encyclopedias you might be like.
The Anime Encyclopedia: A guide to Japanese animation since 1977 (2006), Ref 791.43 C591
The Atlantis Encyclopedia (2005), Ref 001.94 J774
The DC Comics Encyclopedia: The definitive guide to the characters of the DC universe (2008), Ref 741.5 D339
The Encyclopedia of Civil War Medicine (2008), Ref 973.7 Sc76
The Encyclopedia of Crime Scene Investigation (2008), Ref 363.25 En19
The Encyclopedia of Dead Rock Stars: Heroin, handguns, and ham sandwiches (2008), Ref 782.42 Si47
The Encyclopedia of Sixties Cool: A celebration of the grooviest people, events, and artifacts of the 1960’s (2007), Ref 920.02 St872
Encyclopedia of Stress (1999), Ref 155.9 M179
The New Encyclopedia of Flower Remedies: The definitive practical guide to all flower remedies, their making and uses (2007), Ref 615.321 H262
Science in the Ancient World: An encyclopedia (2004), Ref 509.303 L446
Come in to take a peek at these great titles, or check the library’s catalog to find out if we have any other encyclopedias you might be like.
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Updated Pottsville Republican Obituary Index!
For all you genealogy buffs out there, this one is for you! We have placed an updated obituary index on our genealogy page for the Pottsville Republican newspaper. How is it bigger and better than what we had before?
Go to the Pottsville Library website at www.pottsvillelibrary.org and click on the link for "Genealogy and Local History Materials". There you will see a link for the Newspapers section and can view this wondrous list for yourself.
We do accept entries from genealogy researchers, so if you'd like to add to our list just let us know. We prefer to have the entries reflect the dates and pages the obituaries appeared, rather than the date of death, and we can use information for the three newspapers in our collection (Pottsville Republican, Shenandoah Evening Herald, and the Ashland Daily News).
- Corrections to entries from previous index;
- More years covered;
- Over 100,000 names on the list!
Go to the Pottsville Library website at www.pottsvillelibrary.org and click on the link for "Genealogy and Local History Materials". There you will see a link for the Newspapers section and can view this wondrous list for yourself.
We do accept entries from genealogy researchers, so if you'd like to add to our list just let us know. We prefer to have the entries reflect the dates and pages the obituaries appeared, rather than the date of death, and we can use information for the three newspapers in our collection (Pottsville Republican, Shenandoah Evening Herald, and the Ashland Daily News).
Friday, October 2, 2009
Ways To Save At The Library!
Experts may say the recession is ending but we are all still feeling the pinch. Let the library help you! Take a look at these books and magazines for ideas to help you save your money in these difficult times.
Books:
The 21st Century Economy: A beginner’s guide, with 101 easy-to-learn tools for thriving in the new global marketplace – 330.9 Ep74
Home Energy Diet: How to save money by making your house energy-smart – 644 Sch21
Yankee Magazine’s Living Well On A Shoestring: 1,501 ingenious ways to spend less for what you need and have more for what you want – 640.41 Y169
Magazines:
Budget Travel – “Vacations for Real People” – How to find everything from great trips for less to where you can find the best food along the way.
Consumer Reports – Not just about car ratings, this old standby often has articles on topics like easy ways to cut your energy bills, which (cheaper) store brands are better than name brands, and other ways to save your hard-earned cash.
Mother Earth News – “The Original Guide to Living Wisely” – Offers tips from living simply to ways to make your home powered by alternative energy. This magazine is not just for farmers and hippies!
Workbench – Ever watch “Trading Spaces” or HGTV and wish you had someone to show you how to do those quick and easy projects? Start with this magazine, which includes lots of inexpensive craft and organization solutions, tool guides, and larger projects like furniture.
Books:
The 21st Century Economy: A beginner’s guide, with 101 easy-to-learn tools for thriving in the new global marketplace – 330.9 Ep74
Home Energy Diet: How to save money by making your house energy-smart – 644 Sch21
Yankee Magazine’s Living Well On A Shoestring: 1,501 ingenious ways to spend less for what you need and have more for what you want – 640.41 Y169
Magazines:
Budget Travel – “Vacations for Real People” – How to find everything from great trips for less to where you can find the best food along the way.
Consumer Reports – Not just about car ratings, this old standby often has articles on topics like easy ways to cut your energy bills, which (cheaper) store brands are better than name brands, and other ways to save your hard-earned cash.
Mother Earth News – “The Original Guide to Living Wisely” – Offers tips from living simply to ways to make your home powered by alternative energy. This magazine is not just for farmers and hippies!
Workbench – Ever watch “Trading Spaces” or HGTV and wish you had someone to show you how to do those quick and easy projects? Start with this magazine, which includes lots of inexpensive craft and organization solutions, tool guides, and larger projects like furniture.
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Approaching Flu Season
The H1N1 (swine) flu is in the news, and as we get closer to regular flu season things become a little more complicated. Where can you get the information you need from a source you can trust?
There are lots of web sites out there, and we’ve identified some of the best. Start with the web sites below to find out what you need to know.
Flu.gov – An official US government website, this resource gives you useful tips like how to keep your kids flu free, what vaccines are out there, and what to do if you get flu-like symptoms.
Influenza: Evidence-Based Information Portal -- This site from a respected online and reference publisher provides reliable facts for health professionals and patients. Resources are for both H1N1 flu and seasonal flu.
More local information and guidelines can be found at the Pennsylvania Dept. of Health and Schuylkill County Preparedness sites.
Popular health sites like WebMD and Mayo Clinic have excellent sections for hot topics, and flu is no exception.
Of course, there are some things that everyone should do to help prevent the spread of the flu: Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue or your sleeve when you cough or sneeze. Wash your hands often with soap and water, or use alcohol-based hand sanitizer. And get vaccinated for both seasonal flu and H1N1 flu.
There are lots of web sites out there, and we’ve identified some of the best. Start with the web sites below to find out what you need to know.
Flu.gov – An official US government website, this resource gives you useful tips like how to keep your kids flu free, what vaccines are out there, and what to do if you get flu-like symptoms.
Influenza: Evidence-Based Information Portal -- This site from a respected online and reference publisher provides reliable facts for health professionals and patients. Resources are for both H1N1 flu and seasonal flu.
More local information and guidelines can be found at the Pennsylvania Dept. of Health and Schuylkill County Preparedness sites.
Popular health sites like WebMD and Mayo Clinic have excellent sections for hot topics, and flu is no exception.
Of course, there are some things that everyone should do to help prevent the spread of the flu: Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue or your sleeve when you cough or sneeze. Wash your hands often with soap and water, or use alcohol-based hand sanitizer. And get vaccinated for both seasonal flu and H1N1 flu.
Monday, September 21, 2009
Writing A Blog About A Writing Blog
Yes, that title is correct: today our blog post is about a blog. Not just any blog, but a blog all about writing.
Jodi Webb brought our attention to The Muffin: Fresh News Daily from the bakers of Wow-WomenOnWriting.com. (Click here to visit the blog.) The blog has a number of contributors, and is one of the communication forums for the WOW! website.
The post for Sep. 21 features an interview with a woman who is launching her blog tour for her newest book, "The Sky Begins at Your Feet: A Memoir on Cancer, Community, and Coming Home to the Body". Author/poet Caryn Mirriam-Goldberg answers a variety of questions about her book and her writing.
Interviews aren't just with women writers, however, so men shouldn't be scared off! Comments about interviews are encouraged; in fact, they have contests for copies of the books just for those who submit a comment.
You can also find links for the WOW! eZine, contests, workshops, and classes.
So head on over to The Muffin for perspectives, news, and encouragement in the world of writing!
Jodi Webb brought our attention to The Muffin: Fresh News Daily from the bakers of Wow-WomenOnWriting.com. (Click here to visit the blog.) The blog has a number of contributors, and is one of the communication forums for the WOW! website.
The post for Sep. 21 features an interview with a woman who is launching her blog tour for her newest book, "The Sky Begins at Your Feet: A Memoir on Cancer, Community, and Coming Home to the Body". Author/poet Caryn Mirriam-Goldberg answers a variety of questions about her book and her writing.
Interviews aren't just with women writers, however, so men shouldn't be scared off! Comments about interviews are encouraged; in fact, they have contests for copies of the books just for those who submit a comment.
You can also find links for the WOW! eZine, contests, workshops, and classes.
So head on over to The Muffin for perspectives, news, and encouragement in the world of writing!
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
To Tweet or Not To Tweet, that is the question!
The Pottsville Free Public Library recently started a Twitter account. If you already tweet you can find us by searching for PottsvilleRef (capital letters are important).
Twitter (http://www.twitter.com/): It’s been called the most significant major innovation for rapid brief communications to ever come along, the newest killer app.
Here is how Twitter works: you compose your message in 140 characters or less, so it keeps you focused. You can direct this message to one specific individual or broadcast it more widely to target specific subject interest groups, but they must be already enlisted in Twitter. You can report on your breakfast, break news stories, promote your event, blow the whistle on social injustice, report your new discoveries, find your lost dog or a home for the dog that found you, respond and participate in radio and television talk shows …
Is Twitter the new anarchy that’s rapidly destroying the English language and all of civilization with it? Or do you think it’s a new kind of poetry?
If you use Twitter, please let us know: What do you tweet about? What do you want to hear from us?
Twitter (http://www.twitter.com/): It’s been called the most significant major innovation for rapid brief communications to ever come along, the newest killer app.
Here is how Twitter works: you compose your message in 140 characters or less, so it keeps you focused. You can direct this message to one specific individual or broadcast it more widely to target specific subject interest groups, but they must be already enlisted in Twitter. You can report on your breakfast, break news stories, promote your event, blow the whistle on social injustice, report your new discoveries, find your lost dog or a home for the dog that found you, respond and participate in radio and television talk shows …
Is Twitter the new anarchy that’s rapidly destroying the English language and all of civilization with it? Or do you think it’s a new kind of poetry?
If you use Twitter, please let us know: What do you tweet about? What do you want to hear from us?
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