 Back-to-School
Reading Tips
By Karen Stroly, North County Regional Library
The ability to read well is at the heart of all learning.
Good readers make good students. The U.S. Department
of Education* offers the following strategies for
creating strong readers:
- Invite a child to read with you every day.
- When reading a book where the print is large,
point word by word as you read. This helps the
child learn that reading goes from left to right and
that the word he or she is saying is the word he
or she is seeing.
- Read a child’s favorite book over and over again.
- Read many stories with rhyming words and lines
that repeat. Invite the child to join in on
these parts. Again, point, word by word,
as you read along.
- Discuss new words.
- Stop and ask about the pictures and
about what is happening in the story.
- Read from a variety of children’s books,
including fairy tales, song books, poems,
and information books.
Not only is the Library the place to find all
types of books for your children, it is also
the place to come for free children’s programs
that promote the fun of books and
reading.
* US Department of Education, “Reading Tips
for Parents”
Don’t Let’s Go to the
Dogs Tonight:
Travelling through
Literature
By Stacie M. Kiner, Hagen Ranch Road Branch
“I had a farm in Africa … ,” begins Baroness Karen Blixen,
using the nom de plume, Isak Dinesen in her masterpiece, Out of Africa. Whether it’s Dinesen’s words or
Meryl Streep’s voice-over in the film, we know where we
are. We are in Africa. Years after Dinesen left she wrote, “I have a feeling that wherever I may be in the future, I
will be wondering whether there is rain in Ngong.”
 Isn’t this what travel writing affords us, glimpses into
other worlds, cultures, and even, ethereally, spirits?
Take Barbara Kingsolver’s The Poisonwood Bible about
a missionary family that travels to the Congo while on the
brink of civil war. Although some family members attempt
to adapt, they begin to disintegrate in conjunction with
their surroundings; a civil war being played both within
and outside of their home.
Africa as viewed through the literary eye frequently proves
too much for any one person or family; the necessity for
adaptation too daunting in a continent so vast, so disparate.
Which brings us to Alexandra Fuller’s Don’t Let’s
Go to the Dogs Tonight. Fuller’s tale tells the story of
a childhood spent in war-torn colonial Rhodeshia (now
Zimbabwe), during the country’s 13-year civil war. Once
again, Fuller’s memoir portrays a country under siege,
battle lines drawn, and no matter what side you’re on, as
with all wars, you’re bound to be effected. However, for
those of us who travel, these stories inform why we do.
If you’re interested
in the location of
metro stops in Paris,
or a flamenco show in
Madrid; whether you
require actual travel
guides, or your interest
is geared more
toward fictionalized
accounts of exotic
travel ventures,
your questions can
be answered, and
books located, at your
Library.
Homework Struggles?
Get Free Help from
Expert Tutors
at www.pbclibrary.org
By Wendy Rosenfeld, Outreach Services Coordinator
 Palm Beach County students from kindergarten to 12th grade, in
introductory level college, or adult learners can visit the Palm Beach County
Library System’s web site, www.pbclibrary.org, to get on demand,
FREE help from qualified tutors. Live Homework Help™ connects students
(at no charge) to expert tutors in math, science, social studies, and English via the
Internet. Spanish-speaking tutors are available in math and science. Tutor.com has
more than 1,800 tutors available to work with kids when they need help most. Every
tutor is certified by Tutor.com, and has completed a third party background check.
Over 7,000 Palm Beach County students completed Live Homework Help sessions
during this past school year. Their post-session surveys revealed:
- 96% are glad the public library offers this service.
- 96% would recommend the service to their friends.
- Over 89% feel the program is helping them build confidence in their school work,
complete homework assignments and improve their grades.
It’s Easy Bein' Green!
By Gina Sousa, Royal Palm Beach Branch
 At the Palm Beach County Library System we take the
three R’s seriously — Renew, Reuse, and Recycle — and
our patrons are an integral part of this effort. After all,
what’s circulating 6.5 million items yearly to almost
half a million cardholders if not recycling? When you
borrow instead of purchasing books, DVDs, CDs, and
magazines, you’re not only saving money, you’re also
saving trees and reducing the carbon imprint on our environment.
But our efforts go even further. When materials are slightly worn out, damaged, or
the information contained within is outdated, they are taken out of circulation and
placed with a company that lists them for sale online. Any items that don’t sell within
a specified time period are either offered for donation to a non-profit literacy agency
or are recycled into paper pulp (to make more books!) or insulation. This way, nothing
is wasted and nothing goes to the landfill.
At our branches, we use leftover fliers as scrap paper. We send newspapers, catalogs,
and junk mail into the recycling bin. To help conserve energy, our computers and copiers
are programmed to automatically turn themselves off after hours. And our youth
services staff use magic to help children transform many discarded items — from toilet
paper rolls to cardboard pieces, to fabric scraps — into beautiful and exciting crafts.
Make every day Earth Day! Walk into your local library and check out a few items,
confident in the knowledge that you are part of our commitment to being green.
Working to Reduce
Medication Errors
By Rachel Mick, Community Health Information Service (CHIS) Coordinator
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has received nearly 30,000 reports of medication
errors since 1992. These are voluntary reports, so the number of medication
errors that actually occur is thought to be much higher.
The Institute for Safe Medication Practices (ISMP) president Michael Cohen, R.Ph.,
Sc.D., says, ”You should expect to count on the health system to keep you safe, but
there are also steps you can take to look out for yourself and your family.” Some of
these steps include:
 Ask the doctor what drug you’re taking and what it’s for. This serves as a check in
case there is some confusion about the drug name.- Find out how to take the drug and make sure you understand the directions.
- Read the bottle’s label every time you take a drug to avoid mistakes.
- Keep a list of all medications, including over the counter drugs, as well as dietary
supplements, medicinal herbs and other substances you take for health reasons,
and report it to your health care providers.
- If you see different doctors, it is important that they all know what you are
taking.
- If possible, get all your prescriptions filled at the same pharmacy so that all of your
records are in one place.
- Make sure your doctors and pharmacy know about your medication allergies or other
unpleasant drug reactions.
- If in doubt, ask, ask,
ASK.
The Library’s Community
Health Information
Service (CHIS) has more
health information to read
and discuss with your
doctor. If you would like to
learn more about health
and medical resources or
have other health-related
questions, please contact
the Community Health
Information Service @
Your Library at 233-2736.
Please also visit CHIS at
the Main Library or on the
web at www.pbclibrary.org/health.htm.
Related Pages: Children's Programs - Adult Programs - Computer Training - Publications |
