FSPL Receives Generous Grant

Last month, the Frank Sarris Public Library learned that it is has been awarded a generous, two-year grant from the Grable Foundation. The Grable Foundation is known for its support of children’s educational programs and this donation will provide funding for several aspects of library service.

The grant will fund the addition of approximately 500 picture books to the library’s holdings. These books will become a collection that is used to expand the library’s outreach programs; they will be taken by two library staff members to the local Headstart location, and other daycares and preschools, on a weekly basis.

The Grable Foundation’s grant will also enable the library to create 70 themed kits for children from infancy through elementary school age (up to the fourth grade level). These kits will contain books and educational materials that will be available for check-out to teachers, homeschool families and others in the community. The library will be holding an Open House in the Spring to introduce the kits to educators in the area.

‘N’ is for November … and for NaNoWriMo

The library has books for all ages…Celebrate Picture Book Month AND National Novel Writing Month with us!

While it’s true that November is Picture Book Month, that’s not the only literary-type event being celebrated at the Frank Sarris Public Library—there’s National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo), too.

In the Young Adult Department, there are resources for aspiring writers. Found there, among others, are “Writing for Comics and Graphic Novels” (David), “Write Your Own Mystery Story” (Farrell), “Blogging” (Hudson) and “The Young Writer’s Guide to Getting Published” (Henderson).

It shouldn’t come as a surprise that the Sarris Library‘s adult department has items of a similar nature. There, you may find “Dare to Be a Great Writer” (Bishop), “The Everything Gets Published Book” (Rubie) and “The Writer’s Idea Book” (Heffron) to name just a few of the great titles available.

If you prefer reading novels to writing them, well, of course your friendly local library can help with that as well! A visit to the new books area near the adult circulation desk reveals many selections from the latest from the New York Times best sellers list … Come on in and check them out!

June is Audiobook Month – Why Not Give a Playaway a Try?!?

Do you remember the days of cassettes, eight-tracks, or (gasp!) vinyl records? What about VHS tapes and Betamax? For many, it seems as though technology is changing every day and that it’s nearly impossible to keep current. It’s been said before but bears repeating…your library can help with that.

Books on tape are no longer on tape these days, at least, not exclusively so. Audio books can be downloaded from Overdrive through the Sarris Library website, recorded books may be found in both “traditional” CD and MP3 format, and audios have (for a few years now) come in the form of the Playaway. If you’re not familiar with the device, the playaway is both book and player, all in one small and convenient package—insert a battery, plug in your headphones and go!

The Frank Sarris Public Library has quite a collection of these handy little devices, and shipments of them are received and readied for circulation on a regular basis. Why not try one? To tempt you, here’s a partial list of the recent additions to the collection:

• The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd
• Cell by Robin Cook
• Mrs. Lincoln’s Rival by Jennifer Chiaverini
• Standup Guy by Stuart Woods
• River Road by Jayne Ann Krentz