Read Across America Day!

Today is Read Across America Day and, to celebrate, the cast of the upcoming film, The Lorax (which is out TODAY!), wants to share their love for reading:



National Education Association's Read Across America Day is an annual reading motivation program that brings thousands of kids and teens in schools, libraries, and community centers together with books. Each year, it's celebrated on Dr. Seuss's birthday, and today Dr. Seuss would have been 108!

So, what are you reading today to celebrate?

This year's Read Across America theme is "Read for the Trees." NEA's campaign will showcase The Lorax book as well as the upcoming movie, The Lorax.

To download a printable The Lorax Reading Certificate, click here!

And for more Dr. Seuss fun, check out Seussville.com or TheLoraxMovie.com

Happy Leap Day!

It's Leap Day!... or, February 29th. I don't know about you, but I find having a bonus day kind of exciting!

Here are some fun facts about Leap Years:

2012, as well as all leap years, consists of 366 days, as opposed to 365. Leap Years are needed to keep our calendar in alignment with the Earth's revolutions around the sun. It takes the Earth 365 days, 5 hours, 48 minutes, and 46 seconds (a tropical year) to circle once around the Sun. However, the Gregorian calendar (ours) has only 365 days in a year, so if we didn't add a day on February 29 about every 4 years, we would lose almost six hours off our calendar every year. That means that after only 100 years, our calendar would be off by approximately 24 days!

Leap years can't just be decided at random though! In the Gregorian calendar, there are 3 criteria that must be met to be a leap year:

1. The year must be evenly divisible by 4.
2. If the year can be evenly divided by 100, it is NOT a leap year, unless...
3. The year is also evenly divisible by 400. Then it is a leap year.

Don't worry if this doesn't make sense. Someone's already done all the work for us, but did you have any idea there was so much behind it? I sure didn't!

Julius Caesar introduced Leap Years in the Roman empire over 2000 years ago, but the Julian calendar had only one rule: any year evenly divisible by 4 would be a leap year. This lead to way too many leap years, however this issue didn't get corrected until the introduction of the Gregorian Calendar more than 1500 years later.

So, that leaves one more question...where does the word "leap" come in to play? This is another complicated explanation but in a normal sequence of years, a calendar date (say February 28th) falls on Monday one year, Tuesday the next year, then Wednesday the year after that and so on. But every fourth year, thanks to the extra day in February, we "leap" over the expected day of the week. So February 28th was a Monday last year, a Tuesday this year, and will be a Thursday in 2013. We "leaped over" Wednesday! Get it?

Happy Leap Day! Enjoy the extra 24-hours!

Teen Tech Week 2012

March 4th starts Teen Tech Week! And this year's theme is Geek Out @ your library.

The purpose of this week is to make sure that teens are competent and ethical users of technologies...especially the ones that are offered through libraries, like DVDs, databases, audiobooks, and video games, etc.

Remember that the library is a good resource for accessing information. Librarians (like me!) are the experts who can help teens (like you!) develop the skills necessary to use electronic resources effectively and efficiently. This, in turn, can help you get more out of the technology that you use.

So stop by the library during Teen Tech Week and ask us a question about ebook readers, homework help, video games, or any other technology you might be curious about. We're here to help!

Merrylands Central Library

Ask me where I've disappeared to. Go head, ask.

I've been away in Australia!

While I was gone, I had the pleasure of visiting a few area libraries, including the Merrylands Central Library, which is a regular, not-too-fancy library slapped in the middle of suburbia, about a half-hour outside of Sydney.

Here I am at the library's MASSIVE entrance, looking super excited to get inside and see what a library on the other side of the world looks like!

I learned that the Merrylands Central Library is part of a library system called the Holroyd Council, which operates the Merrylands Central as well as two other branch libraries.

Inside, the library resembles a combination of a big city library and a small town library, with lots of open space and natural light, but book collections that are substantially smaller than an American library's counterpart.

Here I am in the children's nonfiction section, taking a look at the collection.

If you find libraries on the other side of the world (literally) as interesting as I do, take a look at BootsNAll's list, "10 of the Most Beautiful Libraries and Bookshops to Visit on Your Travels" and make an effort of visit one of THOSE libraries.

Or why not visit the Holroyd City Library website and marvel at the similarities and differences between American libraries and Australian libraries right from home?

Dancing Books

How about some dancing books? Watch this video and see it happen!



The video (on Yahoo) was made by Sean Ohlenkamp and his wife, who spent many sleepless nights moving, stacking, and animating. I love it!

10 of the Most Beautiful Libraries and Bookshops to Visit on Your Travels

You may or may not be a seasoned traveller, but world-wide, "libraries are often distinguished architectural landmarks and can provide deeper insights not only into a country's literature, but also its culture and history as a whole," (according to Bootsnall.com). Plus, libraries are almost always free and open to the public. So why not take a visit in your travels?

BootsNAll has compiled "10 of the Most Beautiful Libraries and Bookshops to Visit on Your Travels" to keep an eye out for as you go.

Have you been to any of these? You can start by taking a look at them online.

Vancouver Public Library (Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada)

Royal Danish Library (Copenhagen, Denmark)

Austrian National Library (Vienna, Austria)

National Library Singapore (Singapore, Singapore)

Law Library of the University of Zurich (Zurich, Switzerland)

Great Court and Reading Room, British Museum (London, United Kingdom)

Philological Library of the Free University (Berlin, Germany)

Lello Bookshop (Porto, Portugal)

Bibliothèque Nacionale de France (Paris, France)

Biblioteca Nacional de España (Madrid, Spain)

I've been to so many of the cities listed above, but only one of the libraries! I wish I could go back in time; these look so beautiful.

Happy travels!

Happy New Year!

It's 2012! If you're like a lot of people out there, it's time for you to make a resolution to work on something you've always wanted to improve. No matter what your new year's resolution is, we've got the books to help you get started!

Get more exercise:
Yoga For Teens : How To Improve Your Fitness, Confidence, Appearance, and Health-- And Have Fun Doing It by Thia Luby

Yoga Step-By-Step by Michael Spilling and Liz Lark

Toning For Teens : The 20-Minute Workout That Makes You Look Good and Feel Great! by Joyce L. Vedral

Beyond The Blues : A Workbook to Help Teens Overcome Depression by Lisa M. Schab

Fitness Information for Teens : Health Tips About Exercise, Physical Well-Being, and Health Maintenance Including Facts About Conditioning, Stretching, Strength Training, Body Shape and Body Image, Sports Nutrition, and Specific Activities For Athletes and Non-Athletes by Lisa Bakewell

Recycle more:
The Big Green Book of Recycled Crafts

Recycle This Book : 100 Top Children's Book Authors Tell You How To Go Green edited by Dan Gutman

Recycle : Green Science Projects For A Sustainable Planet by Robert Gardner

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle : An Easy Household Guide by Nicky Scott

Recycle! : Make Your Own Eco-Friendly And Creative Designs : Over 60 Projects For Your Home and Garden by Moira and Nicholas Hankinson

Study harder:
How To Remember Everything : Memory Shortcuts To Help You Study Smarter. Grades 9-12 by Russell Kahn, with Tom Meltzer

The Complete Idiot's Guide To Study Skills by Randall S. Hansen and Katharine Hansen

Super Study Skills : The Ultimate Guide To Tests and Studying by Laurie Rozakis

The Secrets of Taking Any Test by Judith N. Meyers

Study Smart : Hands-On, Nuts-And-Bolts Techniques for Earning Higher Grades by Theodore Silver

Learn a new skill:
Crochet Basics : All You Need To Know To Get Hooked on Crochet by Jan Eaton

The Only Basic Guitar Instruction Book You'll Ever Need : Learn To Play, From Tuning Up To Strumming Your First Chords by Jack Wilkins and Peter Rubie

The Piano : An Illustrated Step-By-Step Guide by Frank Cappelli

Basic Cooking : All You Need To Cook Well Quickly by Jennifer Newens

Pathways In Juggling : Learn How To Juggle With Balls, Clubs, Devil Sticks, Diablos, and Beyond by Robert Irving and Mike Martins

Read more (Here are a few of my favorites that you might not be familiar with):
Every Little Thing In the World by Nina de Gramont

Paper Towns by John Green

The Eternal Smile : Three Stories by Gene Luen Yang

Life As We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer

The First Part Last by Angela Johnson

Or come in to the library to find a book to help you with whatever you want to do or improve!

Have a fantastic year!