Tompkins County Public Library

Friday, April 28, 2017

Library to Host Campbell for Book Discussion


Tompkins County Public Library will host author and artist Annie Campbell for a discussion of her recently-published memoir, The Whore Next Door, Tuesday, May 9 at 6 p.m. in the BorgWarner Community Room-East.

The lavishly-illustrated, The Whore Next Door, follows Campbell’s journey from adolescence during the turbulent 1960s through the wild adventures of adulthood during the 1980s.

Campbell is known for painting the carousel horses at Stewart Park. Her creative and captivating artwork has also been featured in several children’s books, six award-winning card games published by Gamewright Games, greeting cards for Bottman Design and at many group and solo art shows. She is currently writing the sequel to The Whore Next Door.

Campbell’s Library program is free and open to the public. For more information, contact Tom Burns at tburns@tcpl.org.

Library to Host Homeschool Resource Fair


Tompkins County Public Library will host its second annual Homeschool Resource Fair, Saturday, May 13 from 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the BorgWarner Community Room.

The Homeschool Resource Fair provides an opportunity for families to explore--through table displays, networking and a question and answer session--a variety of regional resources available to homeschoolers, including local lending labs, curricular resources, educational programming, homeschool co-ops and classes, and support groups.

An informational panel discussion featuring parents of elementary, middle and secondary-aged students will be held from 1 to 2 p.m. and will offer an opportunity for potential and veteran homeschool families to connect with their peers to share experiences and advice.

Exhibiting organizations include: The Finger Lakes Fife and Drum Corps, Classical Conversations, the Finger Lakes Unschoolers Network Library, Northern Light Learning Center, Earth Arts, The Clay School, The Finnstitute, Ithaca Community LEAH, Tompkins Cortland Community College’s CollegeNow program, The Hangar Theatre, The Learning Web, Primitive Pursuits, Tompkins County 4-H Youth Fair, The History Center in Tompkins County and Cornell University SPLASH.

For more information, contact Teen Services Librarian Regina DeMauro at rdemauro@tcpl.org or (607) 272-4557 extension 274.

Wednesday, April 26, 2017

Library to Host STEAM Book Club


Children ages 8-12 are invited to explore science, technology, engineering, art and math through lively book discussions and hands-on activities during Tompkins County Public Library’s monthly STEAM Book Club.

Continuing May 24 with a discussion of “The End of the Wild” by Nicole Helget, the STEAM Book Club is designed to encourage area students to improve their understanding of current core competencies through critical thinking and book-related activities.

“The End of the Wild” explores the debate over fracking through the eyes of 11-year-old, Fern. Tasked with foraging for food for her impoverished family, Fern discovers a fracking company has moved into the peaceful woods near her home, threatening the forest and her family’s livelihood.

The club will meet in the Library’s Thaler/Howell Programming Room at 3:45 p.m. for discussion and refreshments.

Free copies of “The End of the Wild” can be picked up at the Youth Services Reference Desk.

For more information, contact Kate DeVoe at (607) 272-4557 extension 277 or kdevoe@tcpl.org.

The 'STEAM Book Club' has been made possible by the Tompkins County Public Library Foundation with support from the Michael Kammen Children's Fund and the Bradford Endowment for Youth Services Programming.


Tuesday, April 25, 2017

Library to Celebrate County Bicentennial With Exhibit, Reading


In celebration of the County’s bicentennial, Tompkins County Public Library will offer after-hours access to Mapping Tompkins, a commemorative community art project, and a dramatic reading of County Historian Carol Kammen’s original piece, “Nine Towns and a City,” Friday, May 5 from 5 to 8 p.m., during Downtown Ithaca’s Gallery Night.

Through illustrated maps created by more than 50 county residents, Mapping Tompkins showcases—for this and future generations--what it means to live, work and study in Tompkins County. Participants were asked to design pre-printed Tompkins County maps to reflect the places important to their lives—from where to get the best ice cream to where they met their spouse. The exhibit will be on display through June.

At 6 p.m. in the BorgWarner Community Room, members of the Tompkins County Bicentennial Commission and County Legislator Rich John will read Kammen’s “Nine Towns and a City.” This fascinating, light-hearted reading attempts to tell-- with humor and a bit of irony--how the pieces of the geographic puzzle were connected to form Tompkins County.

Gallery Night access to Mapping Tompkins and the reading of “Nine Towns and a City” is free and open to the public. After-hours entry to the Library will be available through the BorgWarner Community Room door, adjacent to TCAT’s East Green Street bus shelter.

For more information about Library exhibits, contact TCPL Exhibit Coordinator Yvette Rubio at yrubio@tcpl.org. To learn more about Tompkins County’s Bicentennial, visit http://www.tompkinscountyny.gov/tc200.

Monday, April 24, 2017

Library to Offer Family Science Program


Tompkins County Public Library and Cornell University’s Center for Materials Research will host “Physics of Flight” Saturday, May 13 from 1 to 2 p.m. in the Library’s Thaler/Howell Programming Room.
 
Families will explore Bernoulli’s Principle by performing some fun demonstrations. They will also construct a hoop and/or paper airplane and see how far they can make it fly.



Sheila Saia, graduate student in Cornell University's Department of Biological and Environmental Engineering, Soil and Water Lab, will be on-hand to answer questions and join the fun!

Families Learning Science Together is a free program designed to help children develop an early love of science through hands-on participation. These programs are offered at the Library on the second Saturday of each month.

Families Learning Science Together programs are free and open to the public, but space is limited. To register, email ccmr_outreach@cornell.edu. Please include the name and age of all children in the email. 

More information about Families Learning Science Together workshops can be found at http://www.ccmr.cornell.edu/education/community-programs/families-learning-science-together/.