How Many Short Stories Did Edgar Allan Poe Write?

Among the questions asked at the Big Read kick-off last week end was "How many short stories did he write?" Seemed simple enough. "We'll look it up and get back to you." No problemo!  Ten books, fifteen websites and several long distance phone calls later - and we still do not know the answer with any certainty.
"Almost eighty" it says on page 373 of the official volume of the Big Read. The Edgar Allan Poe Society of Baltimore says the number is sixty-nine - counting "both short fiction and novels." This appears to be the most widely published number.
So how many short stories did Edgar Allan write? Only the Poe himself knows for sure.

Adult & Family Programming Suggestions

Have you attended a library program, or perhaps you've attended the book club, or brought your child to a YA/children's program? Are you a patron that would like to attend a library program?
We would like to hear from you.

The Massillon Public Library is looking for insight into what our adult and family patrons need and want for future programs. The library will use this survey to improve our adult and family services and develop a range of ideas for future programming.

Please reply to the survey in the reader comments. Thank you for your help.

Adult & Family Programming Survey

1. What type of adult or family programs would you be interested in attending at the library?

2. What was the last adult or family program you attended at the library?

3. When was the last library program you attended?

4. What did you like or dislike about the program?

5. How can we improve the library programs?

Back to School

It is August, and the kids are heading back to school. Let's get them off to a good start together. The Massillon Public Library has a number of online and print resources available to help with your child's education. Our print collection has books to help with math, language arts, science, social studies, and history. The library's general reference resources include encyclopedias, dictionaries, and biographies. The library also has online databases that patrons can access from home with their library card. Below is a few of the MPL databases.

Need to find a tutor? We have a list of local tutors (K-12th grade) posted in the Reference Department.

Tips To Help Keep Them Organized:

1. Be an active parent in your child's education. Keep in touch with your child's teachers. Know the homework policies.

2. Look at your child's graded papers weekly to help identify lessons that your child needs to review.

3. Check the instructor's web site weekly for notes, homework, and test dates.

4. Make a calendar of assignments and tests.

5. Make a copy of the teacher's handouts such as retake forms, notes, and study guides.

Massillon Public Library Databases: To access the MPL databases from home: Go to www.massillonlibrary.org and click on the Research tab, and then Databases. Select a database and enter in the barcode on your library card.

Academic search Premier: Access academic and professional journals for articles.

Biography Reference Bank: Biographies from reference books and magazines.

EBSCO Animals: Information on a variety of animals and animal related topics.

Learning Express Library: Online test prep, practice exams, and review for elementary, middle school, high school, and college prep. This database also has Microsoft software tutorials.

Mango Languages: Learn a foreign language such as Arabic, French, German, Spanish, Cantonese and Mandarin Chinese, Greek, Italian, Russian and more. Mango has English courses for Spanish speakers and other foreign languages speakers.

Student Resources Center: A student research tool for grades 6 to 12.

Oxford Reference Online: Subject dictionaries and reference works.

World Book: Encyclopedia and reference articles, photographs, and images.

Additional Web Resources:

The Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL): online writing resources, MLA (2009) and APA (2009) writing and citation guides. Articles for subjects specific writing and online OWL Exercises for grammar, punctuation, spelling, sentence structure, sentence style, and paraphrasing.

AAA Math: A math tutorial and online resource for math for K thru 8th grade.

Harcourt Math: The textbook company's online math resource for grades K thru 6th grade.

That Quiz: Math practice for arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, and trigonometry.

Harcourt Reading: A reading resource for grades K to 6th.

Ohio Kids: A site for Ohio history.

Social Studies for Kids: History, government, and culture.

Internet 4 Classrooms: Grade level help for Pre-K thru 8th and links for Pre-K thru 12th grade.

Farmers Markets

Summer is finally here! Summer is a great time to head out and visit the farmer's markets for fresh local produce and products. The United States Department of Agriculture (2011), Farms, Land in Farms, the and Livestock Operations 2010 Summary stated that Ohio has 74,700 farms. Being environmentally friendly is a big issue these days. Many Americans recycle, use public transportation, and shop local to go green. But shopping local can also mean shopping at farmer's markets.

According to Sustainable Table, "a typical carrot has to travel 1,838 miles to reach your dinner table." That is a lot of traveling for a carrot. Maybe convenience isn't so convenient after all... when you factor in the cost of fuel. There is nothing like fresh summer produce. Luckily, we have a number of good farmer's markets right on our area.

To find more information about local farms, farmer's markets, and Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) check out Local Harvest and America's Farmland Trust.

Local Farmer's Markets

Massillon Farmer's Market Saturdays, July 9 to October 8 (8:00 AM - 12:00 PM) located at the Massillon Parks & Recreation Department 505 Erie St North, Massillon, OH 44646

Canton Farmers' Market Saturdays, June 18 to October 15 (8:00 AM - 11:30 AM) located Cleveland Ave. N between 4th & 5th streets in NW Canton, OH 44702

Jackson Township Farmers' Market Thursdays, June 30 to September 29 (3:00 PM - 6:00 PM) located in North Park, 7660 Fulton Drive NW, Jackson, OH 44718

Canal Fulton Lion's Club Farmer's Market Thursdays July 7 to September 8 (4:00 PM - 7:00 PM) located St. Helena Heritage Park

Bumbleberry pie is a delicious way to use fresh berries from the farmer's market.

Bumbleberry Pie

Ingredients 2 c. Granny Smith Apples peeled, cored, and chopped
1 c. blackberries (fresh or frozen)
1 c. sliced strawberries
1 c. blueberries (fresh or frozen) 1 c. raspberries (fresh or frozen)
1 c. granulated sugar or Splenda Sugar Blend
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/3 c. all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon tapioca
1/2 beaten egg
1 tablespoon milk 1 sprinkle of sugar * for pie crust
1 package refrigerated pie crust * un-roll and bake

* If using frozen berries let them thaw out in the refrigerator before using.

Directions

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. In a large bowl, combine apples, strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, and lemon juice. Mix gently. Add sugar, flour, tapioca to the fruit and mix gently.
3. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and set aside the mixture for 20 minutes to help dissolve tapioca.
4. Press pie crust in a 9 inch pie plate. Then add the fruit mixture. Top fruit mixture with pie crust. Trim and crimp the edges of pie crust together. Cut a few slits into the top of the crust to allow the steam to vent. Brush the top of the pie with a little milk and sprinkle with sugar.
5. Bake pie in pre-heated oven for 50 - 60 minutes, or until pie is bubbly in center and golden brown.

Serves 8

Thank You! Issue 5 Passes

The Massillon Public Library extends its gratitude to the community for passing Issue 5. Did you know that last year the library system had 1,024,472 circulations and the Reference Department answered 10,266 reference questions. Our dedication to great service doesn't stop there; the library also provides programs, computer access, Genealogy, and much more. Impressive!

It is our pleasure to serve this community.

Thank you!