Farmingdale Crash

In light of the accident that occurred on Saturday morning, I've generated a set of 6 links for readers to go to in addition to grief counseling.  Counselors will be at Farmingdale High School for grief counseling.


Helping Children Cope With Loss, Death and Grief: Tips for Teachers and Parents

Coping with the Sudden Death of a Student

School Crisis, Grief Counseling and Support Services - Scholastic

Five Tips For Supporting Grieving Students

Grief Resources - School Counseling - Pinterest Link

Five Stages of Grief

Regards,
Stu

One To Ten In the Library...Step by Step...

Hi All,

A few months ago I generated a post titled, 'A to Z in the Library'.  Today's post is similar, but different - this time I'm using numbers!  Kind of cool, eh?

1 - One library building - our address is 116 Merritts Road. Link goes to Google Maps.

2 - Before the new building was built (in 1994), there were two branches of the Farmingdale Public Library.  One on Main Street - where the Library Cafe now stands - and another branch where the CVS resides on Merritts Road.  Click links for more information.

3 -  Three great special collections in the library! Parents Collection material, Home Sweet Home Collection (all things related to home repair, painting, gardening, remodeling and more) of material and our Special Needs Collection of material (all things related to infant, toddler, and children's parenting). All of which circulates!

4 - Four great departments to help you with your various library queries: Children's Department, Young Adult Department, Adult Reference, Reader's Advisory.

5 - Five ways to contact us: phone (516-249-9090), internet, email, visit, snailmail (our mailing address is: 116 Merritts Road, Farmingdale, New York 11735)

6 - Six awesome services you possibly didn't know that we had: Book Club in a Bag, Book Fanatics of Farmingdale, Call Ahead Pick-Up, Career and Education Center, Community Directory, Free computers and free wifi connection anywhere on the first floor of the library.

7 -  Seven spectacular ways we connect you to the digital world! iTunes, Audio Books, Nassau Digital Doorway/Overdrive, Playaways, Zinio, Freegal, video games (seriously, we have them!)

8 - Eight exciting databases you might want to use in the near future: Auto Repair Reference Center, Hoover's Company Profiles, ReferenceUSA, Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia, HeritageQuest, Health Reference Center Academic,  Transparent Language Online, General Reference Center Gold

9 - Nine must have links from the library website: Books, Entertainment, Research, Services, Events, Calendar of Events, Newsletter, Library Policies and Contact the Library.

10 - Okay...this is a stretch...from Wayne State University comes this article titled, '10 Ways That Public Libraries Are Using Pinterest'.

So there you have it - 10 ways to use the library in-person or via the computer...and a multitude of other ways to use our varied, free and easy-to-use resources!

Enjoy the ride!!!
Regards,
Stu

The End of the World as We Know It Post - aka Science Fiction Takes Over

Hi All,

One of my favorite genres of books is science fiction. Specifically, I really, really like 'The End of the World as We Know It' (TEOTWAWKI...).

So...without further ado on this rainy, drizzly, grey day, let's discuss some websites that will help readers find the best of the TEOTWAWKI books.

First off, readers should visit Amazon.com. It is a vast repository of book reviews from readers who have read the various books they are writing about.  Review length can range from one sentence to as much as 4 or 5 pages (albeit these are the rare reviews).  Most reviews are a few paragraphs long.  Remember that you get what you pay for.  Since it is free, the Amazon.com reviews can be biased, offensive (to some people or all people...), and have an agenda.  Very few reviews, if any, have profanity in them. That said, it is a great place to get a quick summary of a book.

Click on this link for a list of Science Fiction bestsellers. Note that you can dive even deeper and choose whether you want bestsellers in paperback, hardcover, Kindle Edition or Audio CD format by choosing the tab at the top of the page.

Science Fiction at Amazon.com is broken out into different categories: Adventure, High Tech, Post-Apocalyptic, Dystopian, Alien Invasion, Alternate History, Genetic Engineering, Military, Space Opera, , Short Stories, Time Travel, Anthologies and Steampunk.

Click on this next link from BestScienceFictionBooks.com.  There are tabs for Top 25 Best Science Fiction, Best Science Fiction Series, Best Stand Alone SF, and Underrated Science Fiction.  There are other tabs on the site, but these are some of the highlights!!!

SFSite is another high quality review/evaluation science fiction website that scifi devotees spend time on. The Site Index link is extremely helpful on the site as it links to Back Issues, Blogs, Awards, links to Asimov's SF (and a whole slew of other scifi authors), SF Topical Lists, and much, much more.

There are review lists that are Sorted by Issue (actually there are three parts to this list!), Author Book Lists, SFSite Inteviews and much, much more...

This is one of the most extensive, comprehensive and current science fiction review sites available on the web!!! Be warned, you might find yourself wading through the sheer mass of the material for days on end! Not that that is a bad thing for the science fiction reader!

Finally, the Farmingdale Public Library has a wonderful free review and evaluation site called NOVELIST.  Users can search among hundreds of popular fiction and readable nonfiction titles, retrieve author read-a-likes, booklists, and more on the site.  Just enter your Farmingdale Library barcode and you'll have access to the database. It is definitely a top 3 science fiction spot to visit for Sci-Fic aficionados!

With Recommended Reads Lists, Audiobooks, Award Winners, Author Read-alikes, Book Discussion Guides and more, the site is an awesome way to appreciate even more the sci-fic books that you read.  You'll understand more, appreciate more, and relate more to what you are reading! How cool is that?

So...enjoy the links and hope for some cloudy and rainy weather - that way you'll have time to review these two sites and get more out of your science fiction reading!

Regards,
Stu

Toning, Shaping, Exercising! Spring is Here - and Summer Will Follow!!

Hi All,

Spring has sprung and you know exactly what that means!  Shorts and t-shirts, blouses and skorts!

Yes - the time has past for bundling up in sweatshirts, sweaters, wintercoats and scarves and earmuffs! Spring is here - and this is the best time for starting an exercise routine. 

So, without further ado...some really helpful exercise links to help get you started on your new routine.
Click on the following link from WEbMD entitled, 'Fitness 101: The Absolute Beginner's Guide'.  Article is authoritative, easy-to-read, and current.   Click on this next link for an article entitled, 'Top Exercises For Your Joints'.  For variety sake, you might want to visit this link from the Mayo Clinic entitled, 'Fitness Programs: 5 Steps to Get Started'.

Okay, so now that you've started an exercise routine, how do you keep going and not give up. AKA, how do you stick with the routine?  Fear not...click on this link from Sparklepeople.com to learn how to stay with an exercise program.

Click here for an exhaustive set of links of materials (books and DVD's) that we have at the library regarding exercising.  Note also that I did a subject search for the phrase 'Physical Fitness'.  I narrowed down the search to the Farmingdale Public Library and then did a Reverse Year sort so that the most current material appeared at the top of the page first. 

Finally, readers might want to signup for a program that the library is hosting on Mondays called Fit Happens: Muscle Moms.  Registration began on April 7th, but there are still 3 classes left.  Also, there are 7 spaces still available.

Enjoy the links - hope they spur you on to exercise more and make it a lifestyle change!

Regards,
Stu

Wedding Anniversary Information

Hi All,

I was just reading an article from Newsday about wedding anniversaries.  Click here for the link to the article that started me thinking about this topic for a blog entry.

Click on this link from Hallmark to find anniversary gifts year by year.
Do note that there are two columns - one for the traditional gift and one for the 'modern' gift.  Users should check out the 1st, 10th, 25th and 50th anniversaries.  Very cool.

1st - Paper/Clocks
10th - Tin or Aluminum/Diamond Jewelry
25th - Silver/Silver
50th - Diamond/Diamond

For more wedding anniversary background, readers might want to click on this entry from Wikipedia entitled 'Wedding Anniversary'.  The entry is quite comprehensive and even has a list of flower gifts and gemstone gifts for each wedding anniversary year.

Click on this next link to see an article from Hallmark titled 'Top Tips For the Perfect Wedding Anniversary Gift'.  Interesting stuff! 

Finally, there is an excellent list of references that readers might want to peruse to get even more information about wedding anniversary'!

Enjoy the links!
Regards,
Stu