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Showing posts from November, 2014

Thanksgiving Week

The library will be open from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. on Tues., Nov. 25. We will then be closed for the rest of the week. Happy Thanksgiving!

New Books on the Shelves

With Thanksgiving break just around the corner, and the bitter bite of winter settling in like a houseguest, now is a great time to drop by the library to browse our selection of new books. Whether you're looking for the latest in YA fiction or a hefty IT manual to curl up with over a cup of hot chocolate, we've got it. Looking for suggestions? We’ve got those too. If the upcoming holiday has you dreaming of home-grown kale and locally-produced, pasture-raised turkey, explore the future of good food in The Third Plate by Dan Barber. Cindy Burke guides readers through the often confusing world of organic, conventional, local and sustainable foods in To Buy or Not to Buy Organic . History and food intersect in The Taste of War: World War II and the Battle for Food by Lizzie Collingham, and Karen Le Billon discusses the benefits of "eating French" (including a cure for picky eaters!) in French Kids Eat Everything . If Le Billion’s book inspires you to delve furthe

Mathville Puzzles: The final exam

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  Graphic courtesy of Alberto G. Every year, Mrs. Blivet's 12th grade students at Bitwise Shift High School in Mathville take a final exam to see who the cleverest students are.  The exam consists of 8 questions, some requiring mathematical thinking, others requiring common sense or attention to detail (such as identifying irrelevant information). Can you find the correct answers to all 8 questions in this year's final exam? Mrs. Blivet's 12th Grade Final Exam 1.    Which USA state is surrounded by the most water? 2.    You have only one match. You enter a dark room in which there are an oil lamp, a wood burning stove, and a candle.  Which would you light first? 3.    There are 100 houses on Protractor Road. House numbers are 1 to 100. How many houses have the number 9 in their address? 4.    The Sun is about 100 million miles from the Earth. The speed of light is 186,000 miles per second, and light takes 8 minutes to reach the Earth. The sun rose at 6:11 am t

Thank you to those who volunteered!

Thank you to everyone who showed interest in participating in the library’s usability tests. Within a matter of hours, all of our volunteer slots were filled. We definitely felt loved. Have a great week!

Seeking volunteers!

The library is seeking 5 volunteers to participate in a usability study. The participants will receive a $10 gift card to the Mermaid Express as a ‘thank you’ for their time, of which no more than 45 minutes is required. What you will be doing: Completing simple tasks using the library's Web site and Research Guides. We will record your movements using Panopto (a screen capture program), and you will answer a simple questionnaire at the beginning and conclusion of the activity. When you will be doing this: We are flexible and can work with your schedule; however, please plan to complete the task before December 12, 2014. Where you will be doing this: We will use the computers in the CT3 located within the library. What will we do with this information? We will use this data to improve the usability and navigation of our Web site and Research Guides. Your opinions matter, so please consider volunteering. If you are interested, contact Crystal Newell at cnewell

Library showcase: Thanksgiving!

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Thanksgiving is a truly American holiday. It’s a time when we celebrate family, friends, and, naturally, food! What could be more American than that?  At the first Thanksgiving in 1621, the settlers of Plymouth Colony celebrated their first successful harvest in the New World with a feast that lasted for three days. Alongside their Native American neighbors, the Pilgrims ate roast goose, duck, venison, and crops from their recent harvest, including beans, squash, and corn. Annual Thanksgiving celebrations became popular in the United States during the early nineteenth century, and over the years we have added many of the Thanksgiving traditions that we know today, like eating turkey, football games, and the Macy’s Day Parade. In 1863 Thanksgiving gained an official date (the last Thursday in November) and was proclaimed a day of giving thanks by Abraham Lincoln. Almost eighty years later in 1941, Congress formally established Thanksgiving as a national holiday. You c