Christmas on a smaller budget

In these days of shrinking budgets and more care with our money, it is a good time to turn to your library for information on a simpler holiday season.

System wide there are over 1500 items with the subject Christmas. Items range from music, video, fiction for adults and children, and non fiction such as crafts you and your children can make.

Look for displays in the library on Christmas books or ask a staff member to help you locate what you are looking for.

Thanksgiving

Do you know Plimoth Plantation? And why is it spelled Plimoth and not Plymouth as we are familiar with?

Plimoth Plantation's web page is filled with interesting information, pictures and video on Plimoth Plantation in Massachusetts. You can travel and visit this restored village to see what life was like for our early settlers, or go online for another rich web page filled with information.

And of course the libraries have many books on Thanksgiving, this unique American holiday. From cooking and baking, to crafts, history, and children's stories...there are over 250 books system wide on this topic. Look for a display in your library or ask any staff member for assistance.

Are you a numismatist?

Are you? A coin (or paper money) collector? We all collect money to save or spend, but numismatists collect coins and paper money as a hobby; for the beauty or rarity of the item.

An interesting web site that I came across is the American Numismatic Association. The actual money museum is in Colorado but their web site includes a virtual tour, a great deal of information on collecting, and information about the state quarters.

Libraries also have books on coin collecting. Look in the 737.4 nonfiction section for books to help you get started.

Card catalogs

Do you remember the card catalog in your school library? Many drawers full of 3 x 5 cards, alphabetized, provided a way to find a book.

Each book had a card alphabetized by the author's name and by the title of the book. Some books had cards alphabetized by the subject of the book too. Libraries and workers spent a great deal of time keeping this up to date.

Most libraries now have online catalogs...all that manual typing and filing have gone electronic and, to say the least, alphabetizing is much easier. We still spend time,of course, making sure the information is up-to-date and accurate.

I ran across this interesting webpage from Harvard University on the history of catalog cards. Libraries used to keep lists of books received in a ledger type book.

Catalog cards started out on the back of playing cards during the French Revolution. Harvard Library moved to slips of paper in the 1800s. Early in the 1900s, catalog cards came about. Late in the twentieth century many libraries moved to an online catalog and the rest, as they say, is history.

Now, not only the way to find library books is online, but other information is available online through your library too. A way to fix your car through ChiltonOnline or accurate medical information through Infotrac is available to our library users.

Veterans Day

World War I – known at the time as “The Great War” - officially ended when the Treaty of Versailles was signed on June 28, 1919, in the Palace of Versailles in France. . However, fighting ceased seven months earlier when an armistice, or temporary cessation of hostilities, between the Allied nations and Germany went into effect on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month. For that reason, November 11, 1918, is generally regarded as the end of “the war to end all wars.”

In November 1919, President Wilson proclaimed November 11 as the first commemoration of Armistice. The original concept for the celebration was for a day observed with parades and public meetings and a brief suspension of business beginning at 11 a.m.

Veterans Day continues to be observed on November 11, regardless of what day of the week on which it falls.

The observance of Veterans Day on November 11 preserves the historical significance of the date, but helps focus attention on the important purpose of Veterans Day: A celebration to honor America's veterans for their patriotism, love of country, and willingness to serve and sacrifice for the common good.
(Source: History of Veterans Day, www.va.gov