Special Librarian

By Michelle F. 

When my daughter, Sami, was about 4 years old (she’s now 18), I registered her for a weekly story time / arts and crafts program at our local library (The Prospect Library in Prospect, CT). Sami has special needs and I had been in search of an appropriate program for her. The story time program seemed perfect. On the first day of the program, the children entered a quiet room in the back of the library and were instructed to take a seat on the floor in front of Mrs. Peterson, the librarian. As Mrs. Peterson began to read the story, Sami got up from her seat, walked over to Mrs. Peterson and stood by her side. I was worried that Sami would be asked to leave the program if she couldn’t stay seated; however, Mrs. Peterson could see that Sami was interested, so she continued to read with Sami by her side. When story time ended, Mrs. Peterson began a conversation with my husband and expressed interest in learning more about Sami. He explained Sami’s special needs and mentioned how much she enjoys books and reading. He told Mrs. Peterson that he reads to Sami every night before bed. Mrs. Peterson responded by telling my husband that her father had read to her when she was a young girl, and she remembers how much she enjoyed that time together. 

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“Like working for AP and having access to the morgue”

Recently, we sat down with K Lee Lerner–a senior commissioning editor and advisor/contributor to news services and academic resources. Lerner’s portfolio covering science and global issues includes two RUSA Book and Media Awards, and two Outstanding Academic Titles. A former classroom teacher,  Lerner holds multiple degrees in science, science education, and also a  Master’s in Journalism from Harvard.  We asked him to critically review our new Associated Press Collections Online archives. We hope his insights will help you to see the real value in these collections for active journalists and students alike.

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Partner Interview: Anne Marie Houppert of the National Geographic Society

What makes working for National Geographic a fulfilling experience and why should you be excited to add National Geographic Virtual Library to your collection? Find out straight from the source. In a continuation of our interview with the Geographic, we had the pleasure of interviewing Anne Marie Houppert.

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Did You Know: Time to hit the slopes!

Did you know?

Did you know…the earliest known snow skiers were from 8000 B.C. in the Altay region of China? However there is some dispute on this as others have said skiing started in Scandinavia. Read all about the history of skiing in National Geographic Virtual Library’s “The World’s First Skiers.” Check it out or call your rep for more information.

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Every Stage of My Life

By Laura M. 

Public libraries have played an important role in every stage of my life and some of my happiest memories. No matter where I live, the library is part of my life. I’m sure I’d be a different person without school and public libraries. And now with the digital reference/databases researching is a breeze.

The local library was also a place to recharge my batteries when I was the caregiver for my mother-in-law. Even now some of the things on my bucket list are there because I read about them as a child, teen, or adult at a library. Some of them I’ve been lucky enough to cross of the list. It was thrilling to visit places I read about at the library. Like the Paint Pots in Yellowstone National Park. Or the La Brea Tar Pit.

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“Library” is Love

By Tegan M.  Some of my very first memories involve the library. I grew up in a rural town on a small farm. My mother was/is an avid reader and we visited the library nearly once a week. There were small carved figurines, statues, paintings and so many books my little brain couldn’t comprehend where … Read more

Rich Genealogy History in Carolina Origins

By Joe Garonzik

In 1663, England’s King Charles II ceded the Carolinas to Anthony Ashley Cooper and seven other proprietors who had supported the Stuarts in ending the Cromwellian Revolution and returning Charles II to the throne. Notwithstanding the 16th-century exploits of Sir Walter Raleigh and legendary Virginia Dare, it was a group of Virginians who established North Carolina’s oldest settlement along the Albemarle Sound in 1653–a full decade before the installation of the Lord Proprietors.

The Crown divided the Carolinas in 1691, although North Carolina would not receive its own governor for another 20 years. British, Huguenot, German and Swiss populated the North Carolina tidewater during the first half of the 18th-century. New Bern, established primarily by Germanic immigrants under the impetus of Christopher de Graffenried, would become the largest city in the colony. Large numbers of Scots Highlanders and Scots-Irish, many by way of the Great Wagon Road through Pennsylvania and into the Shenandoah Valley, populated the western part of the colony. Eighteenth-century North Carolina was also noteworthy for its large Quaker population and for Wachovia, a Moravian settlement in Forsyth County.

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Libraries Are Such Peaceful Places

As a reader and author, libraries are both a treasure trove and a retreat for me. Their peace and quiet are calming and the endless shelves of books are wonderful to see – let alone read! Librarians are helpful and knowledgeable, and they’re usually great characters.

I love bookstores, but libraries have something so intriguing about them. While the internet provides an instant, practical research tool, sometimes doing a little digging through real pages informs research for a book in a new way.

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Libraries Forever!

By Kathleen K.  My favorite trip as a young child was going to the library. There were always new books to look at, read and discuss. In every community I have ever lived in – and there have been quite a few – I have ALWAYS gone to the local library to get a library … Read more