Many showed their support for our servicemembers Memorial Day by attending the ceremony that was held on the library lawn (at left). 

There's still time to express your thanks by participating in Operation Gratitude! You and your child can write a letter or draw a colorful picture to add to the box that's out by the fiction collection - on June 8, we'll mail the contents of the box to Operation Gratitude's headquarters, where they'll distribute the items among the care packages they send out to deployed troops and wounded warriors.

It's a great way to let our troops know they're in your thoughts! 

 When it comes to teaching our children to read, are all books created equal?

Apparently not, according to a study that compared print with digital books used during parent-child reading time.

The study, undertaken by the Joan Ganz Cooney Center, found that when it comes to literacy building, print books (and likewise basic eBooks) win out.

The features of the more enhanced eBooks were found to distract both the children and adults from the story, though the interactive appeal of these eBooks is at least an enticement for those more reluctant readers of the family.

Our thanks go out to our friends throughout the community for your help and kindness, specifically: 
 

To Jennifer Rydell, for her donation of beautiful wooden puzzles for our Children's Room. The kids love them!

To Rich Rossi of Multi Media Service Center, for all of your donated time producing our Books Alive! DVDs and for enduring the blazing sun to provide sound during the Memorial Day ceremony.

To Merle Bercow and Adrienne Perine, for representing our library at the recent Friends of the Library workshop at the gorgeous Albert Wisner Library in Warwick.

To Leslie Soto, Christine Adams, Paulette Snyder, Shelly Runowich, and Pat Countryman for all you did to help make the Memorial Day ceremony such a lovely and honorable event for our veterans.

And to Wallkill Reformed Church, for being such a good neighbor to us! We appreciate your willingness to provide space for our Books Alive! and Summer Reading programs.  

 In the mood for a creepy tale? Stop by the library this weekend and pick up the newly released DVD, The Woman in Black.

 Daniel Radcliffe stars as a young lawyer who travels to a remote village, where he discovers a malevolent ghost is terrorizing the locals.

The film, not the first to be based on Susan Hill's spooky 1983 novel of the same title, departs from the book in some cases, but stands alone as an eery English spine tingler despite its deviations. 

 Parenting (well) has never been easy, but with the inundation of social media in our kids' lives, it's more complicated than ever.

That's why sites like Commonsensemedia.org are important to know about - their mission being to help families navigate the sometimes dark waters of technology and media. Far from taking a censorial stand on these issues, Common Sense Media's staff are proponents of family-friendly Internet use, as well as advocates of all things technical and digital that promote education and well-being. Check the site out for reviews of new games and films, advice about media-related issues, educational ideas, and much more. 

John Cleese, of Monty Python fame, was giving a speech recently on how to become open to creativity, and he said you need five things:  1. Space 2. Time 3. Time 4. Confidence, and 5. Humor. 

Think about this for a moment.  When was the last time you permitted yourself space to be quiet, to just sit and think, without interruption or guilt?  We need to claim that time if we wish to be creative.  We need to ask our children and spouses not to interrupt when we are thinking (stop laughing!).  We need to take the time for ourselves to ponder.  After we ponder, we can create. 

This summer at the library, our theme is "Dream Big, Read!" and we have planned programs and activities to invite your children - and you! - to visit the library, sit down and relax, dream, imagine and create. 

Even the school district is getting in on this line of thinking.  They just introduced new common core standards that enable the kids to have more time to wonder, to allow time for thinking and figuring out things.  There is more of an emphasis on exploring nonfiction so kids are encouraged to be curious and learn about the natural world around them; about the great happenings in literature and science and history; and to learn the true stories of those creative, courageous, inquisitive, adventurous and pioneering folks who came before them.  The standards for achievement encourage helping your child learn at home and encourage parents to "create a quiet place for your child to study, and carve out time every day when your child can concentrate on reading, writing, and math uninterrupted by friends, brothers or sisters, or other distractions."  My word!  This kind of thinking could start a revolution!

When our children's coordinator returned from the school meeting that outlined the new core standards, she excitedly explained that she told the others in attendance this is what we do at the library - all day, everyday!  Last week, during her Magic Tree House book club, Carolyn encouraged the kids to research some of the topics in the book.  They had to find other resources on the stars and astronomy by searching the shelves and the online catalog, inquiring, discussing and taking time to think through the subject.  It's the time between the thoughts when ideas and creativity are born.

At the library, we offer opportunities to be free to think, to explore, to inquire and wonder....and this summer, perchance... to dream!  BIG!  We have a BIG kick-off event planned as we transform the front lawn into a country fair and we end the summer program with a bang as our finale offers up a HUGE puppet show - and I mean, tree-sized papier mache puppets that will transport you to another world of imagination.  So come DREAM BIG! with us this summer.  Make the space, take the time, open yourselves up to creativity.

Mary Lou Carolan

Director