Help us Fold 1,000 Cranes

The Broome County Public Library invites area youth to be part of a project to make 1,000 paper cranes. According to Japanese legend, if you fold a thousand origami cranes, a wish will be granted, and there are many people in our area who wish for peace, safety, and prosperity. Help us fold cranes to display in the library as a sign of hope for our community!

We’ll be folding cranes in the Young Adult Area of the library on these dates:
Saturday, November 14, 1:00-4:30pm
Monday, November 16, 3:00-5:00pm
Wednesday, November 18, 3:00-5:00pm
Monday, November 23, 5:00-7:30pm

This program is intended for youth ages 13-18, but others are welcome to join in folding cranes. For more information, or if you would like to make origami cranes at home and bring them to the library to be part of the display, please contact Sarah at 607-778-3564 or teen@bclibrary.info.

America's National Parks

Did you get a chance to watch any of Ken Burns' documentary The National Parks: America's Best Idea on PBS last week? I was able to watch a few of the episodes, and I was so interested by the history of the parks. It was amazing to me to learn about the passion and hard work of those who wanted to save beautiful places that were important to them.

When I did a search in our catalog for National Parks, I was surprised and delighted to see that a number of libraries in the Four County Library System own the companion book to the film. (Of course, I put it on hold right away, and I'm enjoying reading it!)

I've had a couple of patrons ask me for books about people they learned about through the series, and although we don't have information about all of them, we do have materials by and/or about the following notable people mentioned in the film:
- John Muir
- Theodore Roosevelt
- Horace Albright
- Shelton Johnson

If the film inspired you to do some exploring of the parks themselves, we've got a few series that might be of interest to you:
- Frommer's National Parks guides
- Fodor's National Parks guides
- Adventures in America's Western Parks (DVD series)
- The World's Greatest Parks (VHS series)
- National Park Guide series

There are many more books about the National Parks and their history! You can search our catalog to find others that are in our system, or you can stop by the library, and we'd be glad to help you find what you're looking for.

Upcoming Special Events for Children

We have a couple of special children's programs coming up next week, and we're pretty excited about them! Take a look:

Monday, October 12, 2:00-4:30pm

Join us for some "Smooth Sailing" and Columbus Day-themed art activities! This event has been generously funded by Senator Tom Libous's BOOKS Program. This event is for children ages 7 and older. Pre-registration required.

Saturday, October 17, 10:00am

American Red Cross-Scrubby Bear visits the Youth Services Department! Scrubby Bear® reminds children and adults that infection can be fought through frequent hand washing. Scrubby is an immediate reminder to scrub your hands, reinforced by his message, “Don’t get sick, and Wash up quick!” The program is most appropriate for children ages 4 through 7. Pre-registration is required.

For more information, or to register for either of these events, you can call 607-778-6456 or email youth@bclibrary.info.

Teen Read Week at the Broome County Public Library

The Broome County Public Library will be celebrating teens and reading during Teen Read Week, October 19-24. We're joining thousands of other libraries and schools across the country who are encouraging teens to read just for the fun of it!



We have two ways for you to join in our celebration:


Teen Read Week Café
Monday, October 19, 6:00pm—Exhibit Room (Second Floor)
Help us to kick off Teen Read Week by enjoying some sweet snacks and hot chocolate! There will be crafts and games available, as well as a chance to share a reading of a favorite poem or short story. For more info, or to sign up, you can contact Sarah at 607-778-3564 or teen@bclibrary.info. (Signing up is not required, but it sure would be helpful!)


Raffle: Read, Review, WIN!
Here’s how it works:
1. Read a book.
2. Fill out a book review form with your name, email, phone number, and at least three sentences with your thoughts on the book. (Review forms will be available between October 12 and October 24.)
3. Put your completed review form in the box on the teen materials shelf by October 24.
4. If you’d like, you may repeat steps 1-3 (up to a maximum of 10 entries).
5. Wait for a call to see if you’re one of the winners. (Winners will be drawn at random on October 26.)

Prizes will include gift certificates for River Read Books in downtown Binghamton.