Selections from the March 2003 Library Lookout

Library Director’s Corner

by Blynn Currier

I hope that we are beginning to see the signs of spring.
Ruth Blood and her geneology class are completing their first session. She has had a very enthusiastic group. They have been very appreciative of Ruth’s effort. Thanks, Ruth.
Jim Foster and his computer group are still stumbling through the bits and bytes of the computer world.
The Key Bank staff have begun volunteering their services once a week to help us in any way they can. What a great help!
Skowhegan Free Public Library will be hosting the March 4th SPARKS meeting from 9:30 to 11:30 for the Cental Maine Library District. The topic for this meeting will be “Summer Reading Programs”.
Tim Gould will be presenting “Hidden Treasure in the Attic” on April 24th from 7:00 to 9:00. Keep this date open since we always have a wonderful response for Tim.

News From the Children’s Librarian

by Katherine Connell

Thank you to all who participated in the Winter Activities Program during February school vacation. With an average of 20 children a day, it was a fun filled week for all. Activities included glitter globes, polar plunge, hovercrafts, hand prints, homemade slime, dinosaurs, treasure hunt and games. With all the buzz around the library this week there was no time to be bored!
On March 8th we will be celebrating Plant a Flower Day. With the help of the Bloomfield Garden Club we will be offering a flower to each of the children who attend.
March is National Craft Month, and we will be offering Adult Craft Classes on Thursday nights from 5:30 to 7. Sign up will be necessary, please call the library or even better stop in. The schedule is as follows:
March 6 Stamping with Lucille Currier
March 13 Knitting and Felt Hatting Workshop
March 20 Scrapbooking with Jan Downing
March 27 Tole Painting with Linda Longley
Some supplies may be necessary, upon sign up you will be notified of which supplies you will nedd to bring with you. I hope to see many of you there, and Happy Crafting!
I have had many of you asking for my wish list, and after careful consideration I have come up with a plan. I would love for the FOL members to save a variety of items from your home. I found that the programing in February required many household items that I am sure many of us take for granted and throw out. If you could save empty spools of thread, styrofoam meat trays, film canisters, glass jelly jars, baby food jars, scraps of material and wallpaper. These items will be very helpful when providing science based programming or collages with the children. Thank you in advance for your ongoing support.

LATEST NEWS

MARCH FRIENDS MEETING

Everyone has read in the papers about the Maine Learning Technology Initiative, a project sponsored by Governor Angus King to put a laptop computer into the hands of every seventh grade student in Maine.
At the Friends of the Library meeting on March 12th at 7:00 PM, you will have an opportunity to see the devices which have had a powerful impact on education for middle level students all across the state.
Our guest speaker will be Laura Richter, a technology integration teacher at Skowhegan Area Middle School. She and some of her students will demonstrate their Apple ibook computers and the ways that these exciting learning tools have opened up a whole new world to seventh graders.
A highlight of the presentation will be an overview of a local history project the students at Skowhegan Middle School are doing in conjunction with the Skowhegan History House. In this project students are scanning old photos and documents in the History House’s collection and uploading them onto a website called the Maine Memory Network to make them available for students and researchers on the Internet.
Don’t miss your chance to see how technology in the form of laptop computers has transformed education for children in Skowhegan and the state of Maine

LITERACY TUTOR TRAINING WORKSHOP

Did you know that 20% of the adults in Maine have trouble reading? They cannot read the instructions on a medicine bottle, fill out a job application, read to their children, or curl up with a good book.
Literacy Volunteers of Franklin and Somerset Counties is a non profit, United Way funded organization which trains people to tutor anyone who needs help with their reading skills. This is done on a one-to-one basis, is confidential, and free.
LVFSC is holding a Tutor Training Workshop at the Skowhegan High School on March 13, 20, 27, April 3, 10, & 17, from 5 to 8 pm.
There is a $15 fee for materials; however, we have scholarships available. There are many students in Somerset County waiting for tutors. If you are interested in turning someone’s life around, please call 474-7553, or 628-5451. Also call us if you know someone who needs reading help.

LIBRARY WEEK OPEN HOUSE

The Friends will be hosting a Library Week Open House from 11 to 2 on Saturday, April 12 at the Library. There will be a display of posters by SAD 54 elementary grade students. Plans are also underway for refreshments and entertainment, so volunteer help would be welcome. Please call Corrilla at 474-3949.

A THANK YOU

Thanks go to Richard Tessier who has constructed more of those wooden number signs for the Garden Tour. We do appreciate his help!

FUND RAISERS

Do you have favorite recipes that your families ask for frequently? Would you like to share them? Copy them out and deposit them in the box on the librarian’s desk for the first ever Skowhegan Free Public Library Lover’s Cookbook. It is planned to be ready by Thanksgiving.
The Library Brown Bag Lunch will be available to anyone who gets his or her order in by Thursday, April 17th, The lunch will be delivered on Friday, April 25th. Menus and order forms will be in the Library or at your workplace on April 14th. The fee of $6.00 is payable in advance.
The Library Lawn Sale will be held at the Hastings’ farm on Malbon Mills Road on Saturday, May 17th. We will have everything from books and clothing to dishes, old jewelry and electrical gadgetry, some old, some new. We also serve the best hotdogs in the whole six-miles of lawn sales that day. The Hastings’ barn is open for donations now.
The Skowhegan Area Garden Tour and Art Show is scheduled for Saturday, June 28th. The tour will start from the Tewksbury Building, located behind the Federated Church on the Island. A silent or Chinese auction will take place at the same time. The tour is $10.00 in advance or $12.00 at the door. Lunch, by reservation only, is $6.00.
Trouble at Serenity Pond , a mystery in three acts will be presented in October.

NEWBORNS IN NEED HOLDS BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION

Newborns In Need, Inc. Somerset County Chapter is celebrating their first birthday with an Open House in the Tewksbury Hall Building behind the Federated Church on the island, on Tuesday, March 18, 2003, from 7-9 p.m. Light refreshments will be served.
Their goal is to inform the public about who theyare, what they do and why. They will be serging, sewing, knitting, and cutting out patterns, etc. for the babies. They will also be collecting essential baby items to put into Easter Baskets to give to local babies.
Their goal is to provide at least 20 baskets for Easter. Anything you could do to help is greatly appreciated. For more information go to www.newbornsinneed.org/somerset.