Hopefully, we all recognize the vital function public libraries serve in our society. Libraries are priceless in the role they play in fostering community, promoting democracy, and equalizing access to information. It is contrary to the very nature of collectivity to itemize and price out library services this way. Nonetheless, there is one fun way to assign a monetary value to the library: total up the full retail cost of all the items and services you use through the library. While it is hardly a true and accurate measure of what the library provides, it is fun to see how much you would pay to get the same level of access without a library around to provide shared resources. The New York Library Association has a handy library value calculator. Try it for yourself and post your results to social media.
This month you can stop by the library and see artwork done by teens at the Pawling High School hanging on the wall in the Young Adult area. These teens have done an amazing job, and the Pawling High School was kind enough to lend us their work for a short period of time. Please come see these incredible works and admire the beauty and talent within our own community.
Project Do Something, is a group created and completely run by the teens of this community to help others. These amazing teens want to make an impact. Now, they are coming back together to keep the movement going on Friday, November 18th from 6:30-8:30 pm at the library annex. This week are making friendship bracelets to sell at our Holiday Book Sale. The money collected will go towards their blanket making project that benefits Project Linus. Friday’s project is open to all teens from 7th grade to 12th grade. Please consider purchasing one of their bracelets from the book sale or donating to the library, so we may be able to purchase the materials to make the blankets. Any extra money will also be given to Project Linus.
This special book group is sponsored by the Pawling Central School District and the Pawling Library, for parents and community members. We would like to inspire everyone to learn, and grow together by reading The End of Average by Todd Rose. Even though it’s known that we all develop and learn in different ways, our uniqueness is sometimes lost in schools and business where everyone is measured by a yardstick of “average”. Break free of that mindset and consider an alternative to the average. Please join us for our book discussions on specific chapters, where we will dive into questions, applications, and impact of this work. All book discussions take place on Thursday afternoons from 1-2 and discussions will be lead by Kim Fontana and Nicole Curcio. Below is the specific book discussion schedule. October 20th Chapters 1-2 October 27th Chapters 3-4 November 17th Chapters 5-6 December 1st Chapters 7-9 To see more information on the book, and to register for this program, please visit the End of Average website.
Pawling Library Reading Rally participants gathered on a very hot and sticky Saturday to eat ice cream sundaes and find out the final results of this summer’s reading competition. Everyone worked hard and as a community we read 342,204 minutes…that 5,703 hours of reading. That’s amazing! But with everyone gathered to hear the winner here is how our teams ranked: Teen Green Dragons Title Wave Adult Readers Red Hot Kid Readers 86,221 minutes 124,786 minutes 131,187 minutes 1,437 hours 2,080 hours 2,186 hours Congratulations to all of our Reading Rally participants who made this a fun and exciting race! You can click on our team name to see who helped log minutes for our team!
Senator Terrance Murphy visited the Pawling library on Wednesday, August 10th, at 11 am. The library received Bullet Aid funds from Senator Murphy last fall and he scheduled this visit to see first-hand how the funds were used. Karen De Gennaro, Children’s Services Coordinator, was on hand to share the Senator many of the family science materials that were purchased with the grant funds. Ms. Karen chatted briefly with him about the importance of the supplies purchased with the funds. “These materials are in constant use in our children’s programs and in our evening family science programs. They complement our literacy program, allow us to add STEM [Science, Technology, Engineering and Math] to our programs and give the children the opportunity to experience science inquiry first hand. The children love hearing about science concepts when we read about them in books, but nothing takes the place of experiencing science inquiry in action.” Along with Ms. De Gennaro, Pawling Library board members Verna Carey and Nick Robertshaw and interim Director Donald Partelow were there to greet...
We are down to the wire and those adults are proving hard to beat! The kids are on the move, but we’ll need all of those paper logs to get the final results. The Reading Rally results for week 10 are: The Title Wave Adult Readers continue in the lead with 1,954 hours. Moving up into second place are the The Red Hot Kid Readers with 1,550 hours of reading. Now in third place are Teen Green Dragons with 1,172 hours. This is our last update before the final winner is announced at our Reading Rally Celebration on Saturday, September 10th where we will all enjoy 2 flavors of ice cream and all 11 toppings! It’s going to be a great ice cream day! Remember there are just a few days of reading to go, so don’t stop now! Keep reading and logging your time for your team! All paper logs are due back at the library no later than Tues., Sept. 6th. For more information check out our web site or stop in at the library....
Oh no, it looks your local library has been Lego-ized! This is terrible – the Pawling Library is an essential part of this community that your neighbors rely on for more than just books! Just look at everything going on at the library. Can you find all the essential services listed below in this Lego version of the Pawling Library? 1.Families exploring scientific concepts together. 2. 3d Printer. 3. A dog helping a kid learn to read. 4. Someone finding a new job. 5. Access and Help with a computer. 6. Children learning to love literacy and learning. 7. Neighbors sharing their skills with each other. 8. Generous community members. 9. Access to 2.5 Million items. 10. Teens helping kids read. 11. Teens giving time and resources to people in need. 12. Big Savings for families. 13. Digital Magazines. 14. Telecommuters and students. Thanks to Joshua Pandolfo, Harper Befus, Ivan Vertiz, Jenifer Vertiz, and Jack Johannesen for helping bring our Lego Library to life!
Dear Neighbor, I wanted to share with you some important news regarding our continued efforts to win the ongoing war on addiction. The sad reality is that drug overdoses kill more people every year than traffic accidents. Even more frightening, this problem is affecting an increasing number of teenagers, with one in four American teens saying they have misused or abused a prescription drug. These unwanted drugs are poisoning our children and putting the safety of our families at risk. As your State Senator I am proud to report that I was able to secure the necessary funding to sponsor a prescription drop box that is being placed at the Sheriff’s substation in Pawling. Working in conjunction with County Executive Molinaro and the Dutchess County Sheriff’s Office, this drop box will provide a safe place for folks to discard unused or unwanted drugs. Here is what County Executive Molinaro said about this exciting news: Opioid abuse is a national epidemic and our greatest public health crisis, and the Dutchess County Prescription Medication Drop Box Program will...
Suzanne Berne, today’s guest, is best known as the Orange prize-winning author of A Crime in the Neighborhood. Her new novel, THE DOGS OF LITTLEFIELD, was first published in Great Britain to wide acclaim. It is a comedy of manners and a portrait of the unease hidden among the manicured lawns of suburban America published by Simon & Schuster. People Magazine called it “A clever canine whodunit…A humorous, suspenseful satire about suburbia’s manicured charm and what lies beneath.” Patricia O’Conner, in her review for The New York Times Book Review said, “In the world of fiction, as we all know, a charmed setting is a catastrophe waiting to happen. And with a novelist like Suzanne Berne in charge, we aren’t disappointed… Nothing sucks a reader in like psychological menace, and Berne is a master of the craft. But her latest novel has something extra — flashes of comedy amid the chaos.” Suzanne Berne is the author of three novels in addition to the Dogs of Littlefield as well as a memoir, Missing Lucile: Memories of...
