Public Libraries, 3D Printing, FabLabs and Hackerspaces

Giving Thanks

Thanksgiving is just around the corner. Many of us start to prepare for the Thanksgiving dinner, family visits, and the beginning of the shopping chaos. What is Thanksgiving really about?

Simply, it is about "giving thanks" and being grateful for what you have. There are a number of ways you can show your thanks in the community by volunteering at the library, food bank, or shelter. Writing a letter a member or our Military is another way to give thanks. A Million Thanks organization shows year round appreciation to our U. S. Military Men and Women, past and present serving here at home, abroad, or injured in hospitals.

A thank you to show your support goes a long way.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Giving Thanks

Giving Thanks For the hay and the corn and the wheat that is reaped,
For the labor well done, and the barns that are heaped,
For the sun and the dew and the sweet honeycomb,
For the rose and the song and the harvest brought home -

Thanksgiving! Thanksgiving!

For the trade and the skill and the wealth in our land,
For the cunning and strength of the workingman's hand,
For the good that our artists and poets have taught,
For the friendship that hope and affection have brought -

Thanksgiving! Thanksgiving!

For the homes that with purest affection are blest,
For the season of plenty and well-deserved rest,
For our country extending from sea unto sea;
The land that is known as the "Land of the Free" -
Thanksgiving! Thanksgiving!

by Author Unknown

Pumpkins

Fall is the time of year when the air outside gets cooler, and the leaves change colors. It is also the season for harvesting pumpkins. Pumpkins are used for cooking, baking, animal feed, and decoration. But here are a few fun facts you might not know about this fall favorite.

Pumpkin Fun Facts from the book Farmstand Favorites Pumpkins from Hatherleigh Press 2010.

Ohio is one of America's top pumpkin-producing states. Pumpkins are a fruit that consists of 90% water. They can come in almost any color, including blue and red. Do not store your pumpkin near apples. Apples produce ethylene gas while they ripen. The ethylene gas will cause the pumpkins ripening process to speed up, giving the pumpkins a shorter storage life.

The Ohio Valley of Giant Pumpkin Growers lists Christy Harp as the time record holder (2009) for Ohio's largest giant pumpkin which weighed 1725 lbs.

Want to learn more about pumpkins the University of Illinois Extension Pumpkins and More web site all about pumpkins, facts, growing, and festivals.

To find your perfect pumpkin try the Pumpkin Patches and More web site directory of local, state, and regional pumpkin patches and farms near you.

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.