Great news! The library now carries Recorded Books that can be downloaded directly to your mp3 player. The library subscribes to this new service through Net Library which offers hundreds of choices in popular audio books. I am currently listening to one of my favorite Jane Austin books, Emma, while I walk in the mornings. I find that audio books can be a great way to keep up on my reading when life gets busy and I don’t have much time to sit on the couch with my favorite book. To get started, you will need to register at the library, but once you are signed up, you don’t even have to be in the library to download your favorites. I’m sure you tech-savvy teens won’t have any problem figuring it out, but if you have questions (or your parents need help;) the library will be having an open house on February 11 from 3 pm to 7pm in the meeting room.
Winners Announced!
August 11, 2009
Interesting stuff, Teen Events Leave a comment
The winners of the Picturing America Essay Contest are:
1st Place: A Byrd’s Eye View by Megan Byrd
2nd Place: A Nation of Choice by Katie Bickley
3rd Place: My America by Jennifer Salomon
Congratulations to all our winners! You can read all three winning essays in this Sunday’s edition (August 16) of the Portales News Tribune.
Talk Like a Pirate Day
September 19, 2008
Interesting stuff, Teen Events board games, pirates, websites 3 Comments
Pirate Fun
Ahoy, mateys! We had pirates galore at the library this week–hunting for treasure, playing games, and eating Cap’n Crunch! Here are the websites I promised for more pirate fun.
http://www.talklikeapirate.com/piratehome.html The original site that started all the fun.
http://teenspace.cincinnatilibrary.org/features/2006-08/quiz.asp Test your knowledge of all things pirate with this quiz on the Teen Space of the Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County.
www.nationalgeographic.com/pirates/index.html The National Geographic’s website on pirates is full of fun facts and activities.
http://www.thepirateking.com/ This website is chock full of pirate lore–everything from historical documents to music to a list of every pirate film ever made.
In other library news, the new teen game table just arrived! It needs assembling, so it won’t be ready before next week, but once I’ve got it up you’ll be able to play chess, checkers, backgammon, or one of the games I’ve got stored in the closet!
New Teen Library Cards Coming Soon!
September 12, 2008
Interesting stuff, Teen Events library cards, talk like a pirate day 3 Comments
One of the requests many of you have made is to be able to have your own library cards. Well, I have been working on a compromise with the powers that be. Teens will still not be issued adult cards until they turn 16, and will be on their parents’ license/id until 18 (sorry–state guidelines set those ages), but at 12 you can now get your own “teen” library card. I came up with several card prototypes for you to vote on, but one enterprising teen came up with a better idea (way to go Vince!). You will soon be able to send me a picture of your choice to go on your own library card, similar to Capital One’s Image Card. Of course, the picture will have to pass my approval–no obscene, offensive, or copywrited pictures please!–but within those guidelines you can basically design your own card. It will take a few weeks for the laminating supplies to arrive, and for me to set things up, so don’t start sending your pictures just yet. Watch this space for more information on how you can get your personalized card soon.
And don’t forget to come to the Teen Activity next Tuesday at 4:00 pm. We’ll have fun doing pirate activities for Talk Like a Pirate Day, so don’t miss it!
Way to go!
April 17, 2008
Congratulations to Hannah for winning third place in a photo contest for Faces Magazine! Her winning photo of a water lily can be seen in the April issue of the magazine.
Greetings from Santa Fe!
February 27, 2008
Interesting stuff, Teen Events astronauts, Mars, NASA, Santa Fe, writing, writing contest Leave a comment
Hello Portales teens!
I’m currently in Santa Fe where I am attending a workshop at the state library led by NASA. The purpose of the workshop is to get training on after school programs on Mars exploration (and other space topics) that we can offer at the library. It has been lots of fun (we got to make a volcano with baking soda and vinegar 
) and I’ve learned a ton. One of the presenters–a NASA geologist who studies land formations on Mars said that he believes someone in school now (K-12) will have the opportunity to go to Mars in a manned space flight. Pretty cool to think about, don’t you think? He also made a statement that I thought was profound. He was talking about the importance of learning how to write well, no matter what career you want to follow. He said someone could be the greatest scientist in the world, but if he/she can’t write well enough to publish their ideas and findings, it doesn’t really matter. So … keep working on those submissions for our writing contest! Who knows, maybe one of you will be the the first astronaut to land on Mars … or one of the many, many scientists who make it possible to get there. Check out the book, 
Team Moon : how 400,000 people landed Apollo 11 on the moon., which is all about the thousands of scientists and people who made it possible for us to get to the the Moon.
