NOPL Blog

NOPL’s librarians, clerks, assistants, interns, and patrons, talk.

Dog Days At NOPL

Posted by pete on September 10, 2012

Sep 102012

(Originally appeared in the Eagle Star-Review)

Last week, our old friend Ace the Library Dog dropped in to visit NOPL at Cicero. This Monday a shelter dog from the CNYSPCA will visit. It’s the dog days of summer at NOPL.

Regular patrons should remember Ace. For two years, Ace was part of the NOPL family, as people of all ages were allowed to “check out” Ace and spend time with the dog, once a month at each library.

Ace was a stray mutt, malnourished and mangy, who spent time in a kennel before finding a family. “He was a disaster, but we loved him right away,” says his owner Meg Backus, former Adult Programming Librarian and PR Coordinator at NOPL. They cleaned up Ace and enrolled him in obedience and manners classes. “The dog was too good not to share,” Meg said about why she got him registered as a therapy dog. In December of 2009, Ace became NOPL’s official “Library Dog.”

On August 30th, Ace came to say “goodbye” to NOPL. Starting this week, Ace and his family have taken up residence in Tennessee. His owner Meg was recently hired as Systems Administrator at the Chattanooga Public Library. ”Ace had a ton of friends here,” Meg says, “but he has moved before and loves to meet new friends.”

Even though Ace has moved to Tennessee, a new dog will visit NOPL at Cicero. On September 10th at 3:30pm, our friends at the CNYSPCA will be stopping by with an adorable dog to meet, greet, and possibly even adopt. Patrons will also learn how to properly care and treat any animal, as well as learn about the vital service the SPCA provides on a daily basis.

“Many of our shelter dogs come from a bad situation,” says Terri Para, development director at the CNYSPCA. “By adopting a shelter dog you will not only be giving them a wonderful home with care and love but you will be gaining a devoted friend.”

Terri has always loved animals; she has owned turtles, rabbits, dogs, birds, and even a hedgehog. In the past, Terri has rescued three dogs. “It didn’t take long for them to become an integral part of our family. They gave us unconditional love and were devoted companions.”

Come by and meet a dog, consider adopting or volunteering, or just learn about the resources and services aimed to assist and shelter dogs in our area. We at NOPL wish Ace (and Meg) happy trails and, at the same time, we welcome a new animal friend into our community.

Herb Academy

Posted by pete on July 10, 2012

Jul 102012

(Originally appeared in the Eagle Star-Review)

After achieving at-capacity enrollment at OCPL’s Petit Branch Library, herb-lover Deborah Thorna is bringing her herb academy to NOPL at Cicero. Deborah was an apprentice under Tina Finneyfrock, the Master Herbalist of Mountain Spring Herbals. Her 4-part Herb Academy covers how to grow, harvest, store, and cook herbs – and not just the ways you expect. “People use parsley as a garnish, basil into pesto, dill on fish,” says Deborah, “we will look into other ways to use and cook with them.” Students in these classes will receive an assortment of recipes and samples for a hands-on experience with fresh ideas.

Deborah took to gardening at a young age. “I was always interested in gardening, all my family members are mad gardeners and cooks. We are ‘foodies’. I will never not grow herbs. I have them in pots, in the garden. I use them every day. I’ve always liked weeds and plants and gardening. I have a fascination with things that grow.”

Also a local artist, Deb sees similarities in her two talents. In art and herbs, “I pull a lot of disparate elements together and turn them into something more than they were before.”

As art is subjective, so is herb use. The herb academy will not supply a set of rules for all to follow. Deborah says she will “help you experiment and have fun, becoming aware of your individual preferences and what tastes good for you. I don’t tell how people to use herbs, I encourage them to discover things on their own.”

She will be teaching 4 classes over the course of 4 consecutive Mondays, starting July 23^rd at 6pm at the Cicero Library. Classes are free, but space is limited; registration is requested. Sign up for one of them, all four, or anything in between at www.nopl.org/calendar or by calling 699-2032.

Deborah can’t wait to “add herbs to your life.” She wants each participant to “have fun with them and develop relationships with them.”

2012 Schedule
July 23: Parsley & Basil
July 30: Dill & Mint
August 6: Sage & Lavender
August 13: Rosemary & Thyme

Why Summer Reading?

Posted by pete on June 12, 2012

Jun 122012

Summer vacation is a great time to be a kid. It is great to have time to relax and hang out, with friends and family, at home and in the sun. It is also important to keep your kid’s reading skills fresh over the next three months. According to the National Summer Learning Association, “at best, students show little or no academic growth over summer. At worst, students lose one to three months of learning.” Summer Reading can go a long way to minimize summer learning loss and can even improve a child’s reading skills.

Every summer, educational organizations like The New York State Educational Department and the American Library Association (ALA) encourage students of all ages to continue reading over summer break. This is no new concept, since, according to the ALA, the first summer reading programs began in the 1890s. The local NOPL Libraries of Cicero, Brewerton, and North Syracuse play their part in this movement.

NOPL Children’s librarians Suzanne Nelson, Nicole Hershberger, Wanda Nelson work hard to help children maintain the reading skills learned during a school year. The idea is to get them reading for fun, about things that interest them, from books and magazines that they choose. “Reading is a wonderful complement to the active fun of fair weather activities,” says Cynthia Bishop, former Children’s librarian at NOPL @ N. Syracuse, “children can be transported to imaginary worlds, realistic or fantastic, where they can escape or explore lives and worlds unlike their own.” Kids who read for fun become better readers over time, and do better in school than kids who don’t read for fun.

Through NOPL’s Summer Reading Program, children are given important opportunities to associate reading with positive experiences, increasing their likeliness to continue reading and learning on their own.

Patrons answer: How do I love my library, let me count the ways…

Posted by pete on February 14, 2012

Feb 142012

“I would never be able to listen to audiobooks w/o the library.”
“I would have to be slapped with so many commercials when watching movies.”
“My money (lack of it) doesn’t matter here. That’s pretty unique.”
“E-books for loan!”
“American libraries have at least put Andrew Carnegie’s ill-gotten wealth to an exceptionally good use!”
“They let me get wii games :-)”

- from the salmon-colored community talk board at NOPL at Cicero, Spring 2012

Iron Chef Winners and Winning Recipe!

Posted by NicoleH on July 18, 2011

Jul 182011

On July 6th at the Ciceo Library, 5 teams of tweens competed in an Iron Chef-style competition, combining various ingredients to create a delicious, original afterschool snack. All of the teams came up with tasty and creative inventions, but the dish that garnered the highest scores from the three judges was “Mickey Ears”, made by Team Bacon! (Jacob Ankeny, Ava Field, and Teryn Field).