The Bookletter
Ann Cullen Honored for Volunteer Service
Library of Congress's American Memory Project
Literacy and Lifelong Learning Program Notes
Award Winnning Additions to the Mary H. Weir Public Library Children's Collection
Recently, Melinda became the fifth participant in the CWEP program to be hired to a job while participating in the program. There are currently four participants in the program – Nancy, Patricia, Avery, and Cynthia.
Some of the Page Writers’ annotations are now appearing on the Mary H. Weir Public Library Web Page at http://weirton.lib.wv.us under Library News. The CWEPs write the annotations by hand, then they are entered into the computer using a computer program written by Greg Slaby, one of the college computer science interns working at the library. This program allows staff members to read and edit what has been entered before it is placed on the web page. Many of the annotations that have been written are in the process of being entered or edited. The program created for the project allows efficient management of time and resources for the Page-Writer Project.
Ann Cullen Honored for Volunteer Service During National Library Week
The library celebrated National Library Week in April with several activities.Library patrons were treated to Fine Free Week. All fines on overdue books returned during National Library week were forgiven. This resulted in a savings of $ 662.25. Over one hundred patrons had fines forgiven, and there were some very fortunate patrons benefiting from this program. The used book sale raised $62.00. During National Library Week, 1,727 books were checked out. All students attending library programs during the week were given a book bag and a bookmark.
A reception was held on Thursday, April 15, to honor Ann Cullen for her many years of volunteer service to the library. She was a volunteer for Children’s Story Hour and worked with three library directors, three children’s librarians, and many children during that time. Mrs. Cullen was given a plaque and a flower arrangement to commemorate the occasion. During the reception, John Koval of Tri State Electronics was thanked for his recent donation of a VCR to the library.
Mr. Rik Rekowski, Library Director, thanks Ann Cullen and John Koval for their contributions to the library.
Children’s Services Graduation was held for Spring Story Time on May 4 and 5. The children celebrated with a party. Several schools are making final visits to the library as the school year winds down. As the school year concludes, we look forward to events scheduled for the summer.
Coming in June –
Registration for the Summer Reading Program will begin on June 7th. This year’s theme will be Rock ‘N’ Read. The program will run for six weeks. Sessions for 7 through 12 year olds will be held on Mondays at 1:00. Due to West Virginia Day, the first session for this group will be held on June 22nd. The 3 to 6 year olds will meet on Wednesdays at 12:00 starting June 23rd.
Library of Congress’s American Memory Project
If the Smithsonian is America’s attic, the Library of Congress’s American Memory Project, which can be found on the Internet at http://memory.loc.gov/, must be our nation’s scrapbook and photo album. This collection of words and images has something for everyone. From Baseball Cards which date from 1887 to 1914 to collections which focus on such varied topics as Vaudeville, Women’s Suffrage, Abraham Lincoln, Early Movies, the Dust Bowl, and Cowboys, there is so much to see that it is easy to get lost for hours. The American Memory collection even has a local connection. If "Wheeling" is entered as a search term in the section on Panoramic Photographs 1851-1991, several photos of local interest will be listed. There are pictures of Wheeling which date to 1909 and pictures of Wheeling businesses and their employees. This section of the collection also includes panoramic photographs of Bethany College and West Liberty College taken in 1914.Literacy and Lifelong Learning Program Notes May is "Volunteer Month for Literacy & Lifelong Learning." The Weirton Area Literacy Council will hold their monthly meeting on Tuesday, May 11 beginning at 6:30 PM in honor of the volunteers, new readers and volunteer tutors actively involved in the Library’s program.
The West Virginia Laubach Literacy Biennial Conference, "Building a Better Tomorrow-Laubach Literacy Educates," will be held on June 17-19 at Jackson’s Mill in Weston, WV. New Readers, volunteers, Program Managers, and Adult Basic Education Instructors are invited to attend.
The WVLL Biennial Conference continues the 20th anniversary of Laubach Literacy in West Virginia and the 10th anniversary of the WVLL state office. Some of the workshops available include: Apprentice Tutor Trainer, Putting the FUN into FUNdraising, Multiple Intelligences, Student Involvement, Treasure Mapping, Nancy Payne Workshop on Learning Differences, Literacy & Libraries, Assessment, Welfare to Work, Program Management, Writing, and Treasure Mapping,
Mr. Rik Rekowski, Mary H. Weir Public Library Director, has been asked by WVLL to participate in the Welfare to Work Workshop. He will be discussing the Library’s Page-Writer Project.
The special events scheduled for Friday evening include the Banquet and Annual Awards Ceremony, the Annual WVLL General Meeting, and The West Virginia Humanities Council’s presentation, "Louisa May Alcott."
Students in our Literacy & Lifelong Learning Program can attend the Biennial at no cost. Their lodging, meals, transportation and workshops will be provided. Contact the Literacy Office for registration details (304) 797-8513.
Award Winning Additions to the Mary H. Weir Public Library Children’s Collection
1998 Newbery Award and Honor Books
Holes – Louis Sachar
Long Way from Chicago: A Novel IN Stories – Richard Peck
1998 Caldecott Award
And Honor Books
Snowflake Bentley - Jacqueline Briggs Martin
Duke Ellington: The Piano Prince and His orchestra – Andrea Davis Pinkney
No David! – David Shannon
Snow – Uri Shulevitz
Tibet Through the Red Box - Peter Sis
1998 Coretta Scott King Award
Heaven – Angela Johnson
1998 Illustrator Award
I See the Rhythm – Toyomi Igus
Computer Classes Beginning in May Several Beginning Computer Classes will be held during the month of May at the library. Leanne Moorman, Hancock County Extension Agent, will offer three sessions:
Friday, May 14, 1999 1:00-3:00
Monday, May 17, 1999 5:30-7:30
Wednesday, May 26, 1999 1:00-3:00
Before each class, there will be a 30 minute session which will allow new computer users to sharpen their mouse skills. These classes in mouse skills will be taught by some of the graduates of the Master Browser class
In addition to these classes, beginning in May, Delores Antigo, former Head Librarian at the Brooke County Library, will be teaching a class in computer skills on the first Thursday of every month from 10:00 to 11:30.
Anyone interested in registering for any of the class sessions should register by calling the library at 797-8510. The only requirement is a current Mary H. Weir Public Library card.
The library has computers with Internet capabilities and word processing available to the public. In April, the library experienced 600 sessions of Internet use by library patrons.
Leanne Moorman and some of the graduates of her recent Master Browsers Class.
The Mary H. Weir Public Library will host a signing of the book History of Weirton, West Virginia by David T. Javersak on May 20, 1999 at 6:30 PM.
Recent additions to the CD collection at the library include:
Eliane Elias On The Classical Side
Ramsey: Choral Music Magnificat
Hooked on Classics 4 : Baroque
The Instrument of Kings
Virtuoso Lute Music
National Public Radio Milestones
of the Millennium Series -
Beethoven: Symphony No. 9
The library will be closed Monday, June 21, 1999 for the West Virginia Day Holiday.
The Mary H. Weir Public Library is open Monday through Thursday from 10 A.M. to 8 P.M., Friday and Saturday from 10 A.M. to 5 P.M., and Sunday from 1 P.M. to 5 P.M.
Summer hours will begin Sunday, June 13, 1999. During the summer, the library will be open Monday through Thursday from 10 A.M. to 6 P.M. and Friday and Saturday from 10 A.M. to 5 P.M. Summer hours will end September 12, 1999.
That our reference librarian, Lois Fundis, recently had several her submissions to the Stumpers-L list printed in a book called Stumpers. Stumpers-L is a list for reference librarians. Librarians belonging to the list can write in about particularly difficult reference questions that they have encountered and other reference librarians will take up the challenge and attempt to answer those questions.