Goshen Public Library & Historical Society | 203 Main St Goshen, NY 10924 | Phone: 845.294.6606 | Fax: 845.294.7158 | RCLS MemberWe had our annual costumed character visit on April 13 and more than 50 children were able to say “hi” to Blue from Blue’s Clues.
Blue presented each child with a lollipop and a take home craft to put together.
We have recently completed a very successful “Read With Blue” reading program for preschoolers and Fairy Fun and Moms are Great craft for older kids. The teens participated in a delicious Yay Chocolate program and enjoyed a Mother’s Day Evening of Beauty. .
We have some great May activities coming up and because of the limited program space we encourage you to register early. See details below:
Blue’s Craft-a-Long Ages 2-Grade 2
Tues. May 17, drop in between 3-5pm Register May 10, by phone
Happy Birthday, Olivia Ages 31/2, 4 and 5
Thur.. May 26, 10:30-11:15 or 1:30-2:15 Register May 19, by phone
Donuts and Discussion–Frindle Grades 2-6
Mon. May 16, 4-5pm If you’ve read book, just show up
Family Knights Grades K-4 with an adult
Tues. May 24&31, 6:15-7:15pm Register May 17, by phone
Dear Old Dad–Fathers Day craft Ages 4-Grade 2
Tues. June 14, 4-5pm Register June 7, by phone
Sushi for the Masses Grades 7-12
Thursday, May 26, 6:30-7:30pm Register May 16 by phone
Remember to come into the library in June to pick up a flyer for this year’s summer reading club. We will be going on a magical music tour with “Tune in @ Your Library,” the 2005 New York State Summer Reading Program for kids entering grades K-12. Registration begins June 20.
Flyers will also be sent home through the schools in June, so keep an eye out. There will be more details in future articles. For information or registration call 294-8405.
Blue presented each child with a lollipop and a take home craft to put together.
We have recently completed a very successful “Read With Blue” reading program for preschoolers and Fairy Fun and Moms are Great craft for older kids. The teens participated in a delicious Yay Chocolate program and enjoyed a Mother’s Day Evening of Beauty. .
We have some great May activities coming up and because of the limited program space we encourage you to register early. See details below:
Blue’s Craft-a-Long Ages 2-Grade 2
Tues. May 17, drop in between 3-5pm Register May 10, by phone
Happy Birthday, Olivia Ages 31/2, 4 and 5
Thur.. May 26, 10:30-11:15 or 1:30-2:15 Register May 19, by phone
Donuts and Discussion–Frindle Grades 2-6
Mon. May 16, 4-5pm If you’ve read book, just show up
Family Knights Grades K-4 with an adult
Tues. May 24&31, 6:15-7:15pm Register May 17, by phone
Dear Old Dad–Fathers Day craft Ages 4-Grade 2
Tues. June 14, 4-5pm Register June 7, by phone
Sushi for the Masses Grades 7-12
Thursday, May 26, 6:30-7:30pm Register May 16 by phone
Remember to come into the library in June to pick up a flyer for this year’s summer reading club. We will be going on a magical music tour with “Tune in @ Your Library,” the 2005 New York State Summer Reading Program for kids entering grades K-12. Registration begins June 20.
Flyers will also be sent home through the schools in June, so keep an eye out. There will be more details in future articles. For information or registration call 294-8405.
According to Webster, a library is a place in which literary, musical, artistic, or reference materials (such as books, manuscripts, recordings or films) are kept for use, but not for sale; yet libraries are basically about service. Providing commendable service in a congenial manner is achieved by a willingness to listen to patrons. Adaptability and responsiveness to customer needs are at the foundation of The Goshen Public Library.
Communication is the key to positive customer service. With that in mind, please let us know if you have a request for a book you feel should be at the library; if there’s a service you feel the library should provide; if there’s an item you’re looking for and cannot find; or if there’s a program you feel should be offered.
Adaptability and responsiveness to customer needs inevitably means change; some examples of changes you will see at The Goshen Public Library include shifting or moving of library materials. New fiction or new non-fiction books might not be in the same place you last looked for them. Non-fiction, biographies and fiction books are being shifted to allow for the increasing number of audio and visual materials being added to the collection. These are just a few of the modifications happening at The Goshen Public Library, in an effort to provide you with the best possible service.
Communication is the key to positive customer service. With that in mind, please let us know if you have a request for a book you feel should be at the library; if there’s a service you feel the library should provide; if there’s an item you’re looking for and cannot find; or if there’s a program you feel should be offered.
Adaptability and responsiveness to customer needs inevitably means change; some examples of changes you will see at The Goshen Public Library include shifting or moving of library materials. New fiction or new non-fiction books might not be in the same place you last looked for them. Non-fiction, biographies and fiction books are being shifted to allow for the increasing number of audio and visual materials being added to the collection. These are just a few of the modifications happening at The Goshen Public Library, in an effort to provide you with the best possible service.
In spite of the fact that the so-called paperless office has become almost a byword for technological hubris, the digital revolution continues its mission of turning words and images into ones and zeroes—for better or worse. The aim is total digitization and the provision of universal access to the widest possible universe of materials. But without communication between computers, the sphere of accessibility to these digitized documents would remain frustratingly small.
While assisting researchers at the reference desk, librarians often come up against a misconception held firmly in the minds of even the savviest library users, the mistaken notion that the “Internet” is a bottomless well of information free for the taking. In fact, what we call the “Internet” might more accurately be described as a set of high-level protocols governing a vast infrastructure of wired and wireless relationships between smaller networks allowing for the transmission of data across a spectrum of platforms: in other words, the Internet is a road not a destination.
Although the above may strike the reader as pedantic or at best academic, this distinction can have real-world consequences for the researcher interested in quality resources. The sheer volume of information available via the web, and the seeming ease with which it can be accessed--I just typed “Arthur Rimbaud” into Google and received 238,000 hits in (literally) a fraction (.31) of a second—can bewitch the unwary into believing that they have hit the mother lode, when, in fact, they have merely scratched the surface.
Our next installment will discuss how the Internet can be your pipeline to quality information, and how you do indeed get what you pay for.
While assisting researchers at the reference desk, librarians often come up against a misconception held firmly in the minds of even the savviest library users, the mistaken notion that the “Internet” is a bottomless well of information free for the taking. In fact, what we call the “Internet” might more accurately be described as a set of high-level protocols governing a vast infrastructure of wired and wireless relationships between smaller networks allowing for the transmission of data across a spectrum of platforms: in other words, the Internet is a road not a destination.
Although the above may strike the reader as pedantic or at best academic, this distinction can have real-world consequences for the researcher interested in quality resources. The sheer volume of information available via the web, and the seeming ease with which it can be accessed--I just typed “Arthur Rimbaud” into Google and received 238,000 hits in (literally) a fraction (.31) of a second—can bewitch the unwary into believing that they have hit the mother lode, when, in fact, they have merely scratched the surface.
Our next installment will discuss how the Internet can be your pipeline to quality information, and how you do indeed get what you pay for.
Libraries are about books, right? Well…yes and no. Libraries are about information, and information assumes an endless variety of forms. The history of humankind is, in large part, the history of ever-evolving modes of information storage and retrieval: what was is, because we have evolved ever more reliable techniques of remembering—of lending substantiality to the otherwise fleeting flecks of human thought and communication. The ephemerality of speech—shaped sound—became supplemented by writing, the word inscribed. Understood this way, the trend toward universal digitization (think Google) is just the momentary culmination of a process begun at the fringes of human memory.
Historically, libraries, in their various forms, have assumed the role of civilization’s long-term memory by the collection and storage of information. Formats have changed and proliferated: among others, papyrus, animal skins, wood, paper, magnetic tape, and plastic have all been utilized—with varying degrees of success—as a means to safeguard human memory; and all these formats—with varying degrees of success—have been deposited in libraries for their use and safekeeping. With the advent of digitization and the Internet, new modes of information storage and retrieval have developed. Information is no longer a captive of the building in which it happens to reside.
The next few installments of “Across the Reference Desk” will examine the ways in which digitization has radically altered the information landscape, amplifying our access to resources by a magnitude of which—up until the last couple of decades—we could only dream.
Historically, libraries, in their various forms, have assumed the role of civilization’s long-term memory by the collection and storage of information. Formats have changed and proliferated: among others, papyrus, animal skins, wood, paper, magnetic tape, and plastic have all been utilized—with varying degrees of success—as a means to safeguard human memory; and all these formats—with varying degrees of success—have been deposited in libraries for their use and safekeeping. With the advent of digitization and the Internet, new modes of information storage and retrieval have developed. Information is no longer a captive of the building in which it happens to reside.
The next few installments of “Across the Reference Desk” will examine the ways in which digitization has radically altered the information landscape, amplifying our access to resources by a magnitude of which—up until the last couple of decades—we could only dream.
A valuable but often overlooked resource here at the Goshen Public Library is our collection of databases--accessible (with your library card number) from home through our webpage. These electronic resources include full-text access to the entire Encyclopedia Britannica; specialized databases for business research; information on health & medicine; biographical resources; geopolitical resources; and of course literary criticism and analysis.
Now, in addition to this trove of resources, we have added several more specialized databases: Learning Express Library; Classical.com; and Novelist K-8.
Test-Takers and Job-Seekers
Learning Express Library provides access to practice exams and tutorials for both students and job-hunters. Included among their offerings are academic tests and tutorials—placement tests and skill-sharpening tutorials for middle school, high school and college; a variety of civil service practice exams; nursing; real estate; citizenship practice tests and more. Under the heading “Job & Career Success Skills,” Learning Express offers tutorials to aid the job-hunter in finding employment. Included among these tools are tutorials on creating resumes and cover letters; a personality quiz to assist the seeker in determining job fit; and an interview skill-building tutorial. There are also general suggestions for on-the-job success.
Music Lovers
Although short on space in our building and consequently unable to comfortably house a CD collection, we have arrived at an ingenious workaround: Through Classical.com, Goshen is now able to provide access to an enormous classical music collection. Classical music lovers can now listen to their favorite recordings--helpfully organized by composer, conductor, ensemble, instrument, genre, label, and period--right from their own home!
Younger Readers
Lastly, we have added Novelist K-8*, the sister site to Novelist* (also available through our webpage). Novelist K-8 offers younger readers a way to expand their taste in fiction by allowing the user to search for new reading material by author, series, plot, topic or theme. Several “best fiction” lists are also made available for both children and young adults.
For further information, please feel free to contact the reference department by email (through our website, at www.goshenpubliclibrary.org) or by phone, at 294-6606 x16.
* Novelist and Novelist K-8 can be accessed on the main page under Dig Deeper>Reading>What to Read Next Dig Deeper>Reading>What to Read Next:Kids.
Now, in addition to this trove of resources, we have added several more specialized databases: Learning Express Library; Classical.com; and Novelist K-8.
Test-Takers and Job-Seekers
Learning Express Library provides access to practice exams and tutorials for both students and job-hunters. Included among their offerings are academic tests and tutorials—placement tests and skill-sharpening tutorials for middle school, high school and college; a variety of civil service practice exams; nursing; real estate; citizenship practice tests and more. Under the heading “Job & Career Success Skills,” Learning Express offers tutorials to aid the job-hunter in finding employment. Included among these tools are tutorials on creating resumes and cover letters; a personality quiz to assist the seeker in determining job fit; and an interview skill-building tutorial. There are also general suggestions for on-the-job success.
Music Lovers
Although short on space in our building and consequently unable to comfortably house a CD collection, we have arrived at an ingenious workaround: Through Classical.com, Goshen is now able to provide access to an enormous classical music collection. Classical music lovers can now listen to their favorite recordings--helpfully organized by composer, conductor, ensemble, instrument, genre, label, and period--right from their own home!
Younger Readers
Lastly, we have added Novelist K-8*, the sister site to Novelist* (also available through our webpage). Novelist K-8 offers younger readers a way to expand their taste in fiction by allowing the user to search for new reading material by author, series, plot, topic or theme. Several “best fiction” lists are also made available for both children and young adults.
For further information, please feel free to contact the reference department by email (through our website, at www.goshenpubliclibrary.org) or by phone, at 294-6606 x16.
* Novelist and Novelist K-8 can be accessed on the main page under Dig Deeper>Reading>What to Read Next Dig Deeper>Reading>What to Read Next:Kids.
The biggest news at the library is the unveiling of our new web site at www.goshenpubliclibrary.org. The library staff has been working on developing this re-designed site for months. Last year we surveyed library patrons to determine your satisfaction with our site. The new site incorporates your suggestions.
This is the place for those of you with Internet access to make use of library services from home. You can check the catalog and place holds on materials. You can check your account and renew items about to become overdue or determine what fines are owing. You can find information using a number of online databases - reference tools available at no cost to you, and links to other community sites.. You can check the progress of the library’s building program - reviewing documents prepared for the Library Board to assist in their decision making. You can find a calendar of upcoming events, check the minutes of the last Community Advisory Group or Board meeting. If you are new to the community (or to the library) you can find directions, our hours and ID necessary to apply for a library card. In coming months we will be highlighting features of our new website.
April 13 is the date of our annual trustee election and budget vote. The tax levy you are being asked to approve is the Library’s operating budget. This budget will enable us to continue the services currently offered, provide additional funding to purchase a greater number of high demand materials, provide wireless access for laptop users in the building, and continue developing plans for a new building. Blue (of Blue’s Clues) will be visiting in the afternoon, and registration will be held for Fairy Fun -a program for children K - 2.
The conclusion of the strategic planning process has been delayed by late winter weather and illness. We hope to have a completed preliminary plan to offer to the Community Advisory Group by later this month.
This is the place for those of you with Internet access to make use of library services from home. You can check the catalog and place holds on materials. You can check your account and renew items about to become overdue or determine what fines are owing. You can find information using a number of online databases - reference tools available at no cost to you, and links to other community sites.. You can check the progress of the library’s building program - reviewing documents prepared for the Library Board to assist in their decision making. You can find a calendar of upcoming events, check the minutes of the last Community Advisory Group or Board meeting. If you are new to the community (or to the library) you can find directions, our hours and ID necessary to apply for a library card. In coming months we will be highlighting features of our new website.
April 13 is the date of our annual trustee election and budget vote. The tax levy you are being asked to approve is the Library’s operating budget. This budget will enable us to continue the services currently offered, provide additional funding to purchase a greater number of high demand materials, provide wireless access for laptop users in the building, and continue developing plans for a new building. Blue (of Blue’s Clues) will be visiting in the afternoon, and registration will be held for Fairy Fun -a program for children K - 2.
The conclusion of the strategic planning process has been delayed by late winter weather and illness. We hope to have a completed preliminary plan to offer to the Community Advisory Group by later this month.
