This Week at the Library

I knew it had to be too good to be true! More calls of snow and polar vortexes… which I don’t think I ever heard of before this winter! I don’t want to sound like a broken record, but for anyone just reading one of these posts for the first time, I’m posting the winter weather policy, both for library delays/closings but also what we do with programs. 

Is it spring yet?

Speaking of Spring (sort of), one big to-do we think of is taxes... and the friendly people from Tax Aide will once again be setting up on Thursdays from 1-5pm here at the library. More specific details to follow, but the big ones are that they will start February 6th and go through the last Thursday before Tax Day. They serve seniors and low income families, and on a first come, first serve basis. The accountants handle all their own scheduling, so if you call the library to schedule, they'll tell you this same information on the phone. Sorry, we don't know their schedule or have access to it. We simply provide the space for them to meet! If you come in any of the Thursdays (the sooner the better), they will meet with you if time is available that day, if not, they will schedule you for an appointment when they have availability.

This week at the library…

Tuesday: 4 year old storytimes, 10:30am and 12:30pm. Advanced registration is required for storytimes, as there’s a limit to how many kids I can fit into the program room, plus advanced registration helps me prepare for the right number of kids… not ending up “short” or wasting craft supplies when people don’t show, and there’s an age cutoff date of 9/12 based on the East Penn School District.

Social Networking; 5pm. This will covers the fundamentals of the most popular sites, explains how to create a new account, discusses the more commonly used functions, and makes sure you’re taking the  steps needed to protect you and your information.  Advanced registration and a $5 class fee are required.

Wednesday: 3 year old storytimes, 10:30am and 12:30pm. Advanced registration is required for same reasons as above

Ancestry Library Edition: Part 2: Fine Tuning Information Retrieval; 5pm. Learn genealogy basis while researching your tree history using these international databases and other online resources. (Part 1 is a prerequisite to take the Part 2 class. If you have taken the Genealogy Basics in the past you can take Part 2). Advanced registration and a $5 class fee are required.

Thursday: 2 year old storytimes, 10:30am and 12:30pm. Advanced registration is required for same reasons as above.

Intro to Power Point 2010; 5pm. We’ll cover how to create and present professional-looking slide presentations.  Students will be introduced to navigating basics that will enable them to insert text, themes, images, SmartArt graphics, sound, and video in a presentation. Advanced registration and a $5 class fee are required.

This past weekend, we had a Kickoff for our Muslim Journeys program, which had a great turnout. We already have 7-8 people signed up for each discussion, so if you’re interested in this free program, stop by the library or call for more details. In case this is the first you’re hearing of the program, the Muslim Journeys program is a focus on a particular culture group like we’ve done in the past (previously covering Pennsylvania German, India, and China). We will be offering the community an opportunity to learn more about the Muslim culture represented in our community. For this cultural event, we’ve actually received a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) and the American Library Association (ALA) to present a program called Muslim Jouneys. It’s a free five-part reading and discussion series this spring called Let’s Talk About It: Muslim Journeys. This unique series will allow patrons a chance to read a book and discuss some important themes in Muslim history and literature with the help of well-qualified scholars from the Religion Studies Department at Lehigh University. Please contact the library for more information.

Finally, the closing policy: We operate independent of the East Penn School District in our own delays and closings decisions, meaning even if EPSD is closed one day, we may still open or open late. However, as far as children’s programs go, we take a cue from East Penn: If EPSD has a two hour delay, morning programs are cancelled. If EPSD has an early dismissal, afternoon and evening programs are cancelled. If EPSD is closed for the day, all children’s programs are cancelled. You can find the library’s winter weather delay and closing information by checking our website (www.lowermaclib.org) which will have a gray banner across the top with any information, on our Facebook page (www.facebook.com/lowermacungielibrary), or on WFMZ.