WoW! on the Streets!

Jeremy Boriack, Literacy Specialist, works at the Library booth, next to one of the WoW!mobiles

at the “Bringing Broken Neighborhoods Back to Life” street fair on August 8.

 

The Fresno County Public Library’s WithOut Walls Library team shows up at many community events, raising library awareness. Saturday, August 8, WoW! partnered with  FCPL Literacy Services for a table at a “Bringing Broken Neighborhoods Back to Life” event on E. Hamilton Avenue, between General Vang School and Sequoia Middle School in southeast Fresno.

Terrance works at making a new library card while his solar hat keeps him cool.

 

The block party was a collaboration between several local churches, ministries, and the Fresno Police Department. It featured a bounce house, a dunk tank, a bungee run, musical entertainment by the First Men of Promise, nail-painting, and treasure-hunting. There were nachos, burgers, Frisbees, bread giveaways, and a visit from the Police Chief of Fresno, Jerry Dyer.

Somebody just got dunked!

 

WoW’s Terrance Mc Arthur and Literacy’s Jeremy Boriack made library cards, talked to more than 100 people, gave out library bags and information, and met with faith-based and community-based organizations.

Fresno’s efforts to build trust between the police, churches, and the community have been recognized nationally, including an article by The Washington Post. The FCPL WoW! team and Literacy are happy to be a part of the program.

National Night Out was a WoW!

National Night Out, August 4, 2015!

What an event! Hundreds of people, entertainment, free food, crafts, information, and general happiness. Two WoW! teams of librarians were part of the fun.

Michelle and Jonathan talked to people at Quigley Park, near Dakota and Fruit Avenues.  A blood drive, bands, car show, and a talk by Fresno Police Chief Jerry Dyer were featured. The Fresno County Public Library table had flyers and library card applications, and Michelle and Jonathan pointed people across the street to the Gillis Library, less than a block away.

On National Night Out, Quigley Park was a happening place.

Shannon and Terrance made seven library cards at El Dorado Park and Wesley Methodist Church on Barstow Avenue, west of Bulldog Stadium. They demonstrated the library website, gave out flyers, and explained library services. Dancers, rappers, singers, and a movie entertained the crowd. Chief Dyer stopped by the library table for a photo opportunity.

Shannon and Terrance with Fresno Chief of Police Jerry Dyer.

 

National Night Out helps build police-community bonds, promotes an anti-crime attitude, and brings neighborhoods together. Over 16,000 communities in the USA, its territories, Canada, and military bases participate. It was fun for the WoW! librarians to be a part of the celebrations.

Some Days Are Special

Some people think that librarians are boring, that they don’t want people to have any fun, that they practice shushing exercises in their free time. Being a librarian can be a downer, but there are some days————

 

When I was at one of our Pop-Up Library events, a woman came to the library table and said, “Do you see that boy?”

She was pointing to a young man who was near high-school age, and she said, “I used to bring him to storytimes at your branch!”

I felt old, because it has been a long time since I read stories at that branch. She talked with me for a while, excited about the library’s new services like e-books and databases. It was a pleasant chat.

After she went away, I tried to tidy up our display. There were books to check out, information flyers about the library, and library giveaways: stickers, pens, and bags. I also had a stack of magnetic white-boards for note-writing on your refrigerator. One of them had some writing on it. I almost erased it until I read the message:

“Thank you Library”

 That was one of the special days.

What to Do? What to Do?

School's over, and you're...bored. Looking for something to do? Wander in the Internet to the Fresno County Public Library’s database page, down to the Hobbies and Crafts Reference Center, and you’ll find a world’s worth of things to do.

Articles, book chapters, and other sources on various pastimes are ready to read, look at, or spark creativity, and it’s all FREE with your library card! You can find information on hobbies as common as:

Scrapbooking

  
     or Chess

    


or as unusual as:


Bell Ringing

or Bungee Jumping.

You can learn about:

• Mosaics (tile and grout are extra),
• Woodburning (Be careful! It’s hot!),
• Sketching (landscapes, still lifes, and more),
• Coin Collecting (foreign or domestic),
• Basketry (coiling and weaving and twining, oh my!),
• PEZ Collecting (Did you know they have the Star Trek crew on dispensers?),
• Candlemaking (dipped or poured),
• Postcard Collecting (“Having a wonderful time. Wish you were here”),
• Board Games (from Monopoly to Snakes and Ladders),
• Batik (wax-dyed fabric),
• Crochet (Hook it!),
• Knitting (Knit one, purl two, OOPS!),
• Origami (It looks like…folded paper),
• Model Trains (All aboard!),
• Cross Stitch (decorate clothing and ornaments),
• Lego Models (You’ve seen the movie, now step on the blocks in the middle of the night),
• Macrame (Knot, knot! Who’s there?),
• Bird Watching (the original tweets),
• Hang Gliding (“Is this thing safe?”),
• Geocaching (Hide-and-Seek for the GPS generation),
• Scuba Diving (“Under the Sea”),
• Magic Tricks (“Now you see it….”),
• Puppetry (strings, hands, and shadows),
• Piano (tunes at your fingertips),
• Astronomy (Star light, Star bright....),
• Robotics (Domo arigato, Mr. Roboto),
• Papermaking (What’s a deckle?)

and a host of other pursuits, trivial or otherwise.

Look at all the things you can do, and you’ll go “WoW!”

Shaking the Family Tree

Do you have any famous ancestors, like:

Henry VIII?     

Marian Anderson

Alexander Graham Bell











Billy the Kid

     

            

If you don’t know, and you want to find out, the Fresno County Public Library offers Ancestry Library Edition, a FREE version of Ancestry.com.

Let the Search Begin!

Start with the basic facts you know about an ancestor or relative:

• Name
• Birthdate (you can even find a lot of information with just a year or decade of birth)
• Where they lived (born, died, or any place an important event in their life happened)
• Other family members (parents, children, spouses, brothers/sisters)
• Something important about that person (military service, profession)

With just a few bits of information, you’re on your way to discovering your past!

My Family Story

I’ve always been fond of the stories about my great-grandfather, Alexander Baird. Using Ancestry Library Edition and his name, where he was born and the year (Scotland, 1830 or 1832), I found:

• His parents (Robert Baird and Agnes Bell)
• His wives (married 4 times: one divorced him, one died)
• His children (22 of them)
• His military service (3 tours in the U. S. Navy; he was with Commodore Perry’s expedition to open Japan to Western trade)
• His theatre company
• The name of the ship he took to bring his family to America (The Cynosure)
• A story about the hand-me-down gun he took on his trip West across the Great Plains (one shot could bring down 20 birds)
• 3 obituaries
• His prison record

(Some sources say he was the man on the far left. I think he was the bearded one on the right.)

You may not locate as much information as I did about Alexander when you search for your relatives, but—whatever you find—it will make you go “Wow!”

Resources for Car Lovers

Do you love cars, trucks, bikes and all things automotive? Do you call your garage your “second home?” Believe it or not, the Fresno County Library has a few free tools that may fuel your obsession. FCPL offers auto magazines you can download and keep as well as repair databases like Chiltons. A few things that may pique your interest:

• Magazines like Hot Rod, Lowrider, 4 Wheel and Off-Road, and Cycle World you can download and keep through Zinio;
• Repair info, bulletins, and wiring diagrams available through databases like Auto Repair Reference Center and Chiltons;
• Test prep materials for the ASE Certification exam, accessible through the Chiltons database.

Want more information? Call or email us today. WoW! staff are even available to drop by your next car club meeting or auto expo.

FCPL databases provide cardholders with a vast amount of accurate, free online information. This blog post is a part of a weekly series highlighting FCPL databases and is tagged with the blog tag “Resource of the Week.”

Library Databases for Parents

Parents worry.

• Are my children healthy?
• Are they learning what they need to know?
• How do I keep them busy and happy?

The Fresno County Public Library has databases that will help you take care of your children and meet their needs…for FREE.

Keep Them Healthy 

• Medline Plus is a website that has easy-to-understand articles and features on health issues from information on common childhood illnesses to health quizzes.

• Consumer Health Complete has information that is generally on a medical-journal level, but it is available in 17 languages.

Keep Them Learning

• Student Research Center is for middle-school and high school students, with encyclopedias, magazines, maps, and flags.

• These Reference Center databases focus on important school subjects and issues, and the people who made a difference.
• Science Reference Center
• Point of View Reference Center
• History Reference Center
• Biography Reference Center

• Kids Search is designed for elementary-school students
• Funk & Wagnall’s New Encyclopedia is a go-to resource for all members of the family.

Keep Them Happy

• Hobbies & Crafts Resource Center has articles and videos that cover everything from camping safety to making pop-up greeting cards.
• Bookflix teams video picture books with read-along non-fiction books that cover similar subjects for preschoolers and grade-school students.

All of these resources to help your family are FREE. Explore the Fresno County Public Library. You’ll be surprised at what you will find.

Curious About College?

College Prep Workshops

The Library is excited to announce that Lisa Vincent, College Relations Specialist for Fresno City College, will be speaking at several of the Library's new College Prep Centers. Whether you’re a high school student graduating soon or an adult thinking about going back to school, this program can help you prepare.

Become a College Prep Coach

If you're interested helping others attain their goal of a college education, consider becoming a College Prep Coach. Coaches help future college students enroll and get access to financial aid by spending two hours per week at one of the Library's College Prep Centers. College prep centers are located within  library branches in Mendota, Caruthers, Parlier, Orange Cove, San Joaquin, Riverdale, and Selma. Your time and experience could make a huge difference in a student's life! Call Elizabeth Finkle at (559) 600-9230 for more information.

Home Improvement--Fresno Edition

Is your toilet running when nobody’s there?

Do you need to replace a light switch?

Would a gazebo make your back yard a happier place?

The Fresno County Public Library has a database that has the answer for you—the Home Improvement Resource Center, as close as the library website, and it’s FREE!

What You’ll Find

·         Explanations of how things work

·         Lists of materials

·         The causes of everyday problems

Easy-to-understand articles on:

·         Outdoor projects

·         Plumbing

·         Decorating

·         Feng shui

·         Woodworking

·         Wiring

There’s a glossary of terms you might not know. It’s like a giant encyclopedia of how to fix what is wrong and add those improvements you always wanted to make.

Seeing is learning

Sometimes it's easier to learn by seeing how something is done instead of reading about it. Home Improvement Resource Center includes pictures, videos, and animations that demonstrate basic home projects and repairs.

You can even print out a Homeowner’s Journal, which can be used to record:

·         What work is done on your home

·         When it was done

·         Who did the work

·         How much it cost

It’s a way to keep a record of your maintenance and remind yourself of what needs to be done.

It Works! It Helps!

One of the Home Improvement Resource Center articles helped me figure out what was wrong with my toilet. Even if you aren’t a do-it-yourself handyman, the Home Improvement Resource Center will help you to know what needs to be done, save money, and understand what the professionals you hire are doing.

WoW! It's. . .Terrance V. Mc Arthur!

I’m Terrance V. Mc Arthur, and I’m a WoW! Community Librarian. “WoW!” stands for “Library WithOut Walls.” Instead of staying in the library and waiting for people to come to us, the WoW! team contacts businesses, not-for-profits, churches, and school districts to raise library awareness. Our goal is to help people use all the resources the library offers for free. All you need is a library card…and that’s free, too!

It’s @ the Library

When we talk to the public about library services and resources, we find that many people haven’t heard about all the ways the Fresno County Public Library can help them.

·         Books—We have them: Hardback, paperback, audiobooks on CD, and even EBOOKS.

·         Music—CDs from rock to classical to rap to comedy.

·         DVDs—Movies and documentaries, from popular hits to classics, to specialized topics.

·         Video Games—Entertainment for all ages and many platforms.

·         Online Services—The library has resources that you can use on your computer, phone, or portable device for free:

o   Genealogy—Grow your family tree with Ancestry Library Edition.

o   Car Care—Use Chilton’s Online, AllData, or Auto Repair.

o   Contact Lists for Sales—Reference USA.

o   More than 30 additional databases and online resources.

Why Do We Do This?

I became a librarian because I love to help people find answers, and the library has the resources to answer most questions. The WoW! librarians are here to teach people how to use the library’s tools. If you know how to look, you can find the next answer for yourself! WoW!

This post is part of a monthly series of staff blog posts focused on an individual WoW! librarian's biography, subject area specialty or long-term project. They will be tagged with the blog tag "WoW! It's . . ."