Times Herald-Record

HOW TO SUBMIT AN EVENT

To submit events in the Whats Happening calendar for online and print, go to recordonline.com/entertainment and click on calendar. Then click on Promote Your Event. Please submit information two weeks before the event. Keep the listing length small as long listings will not be printed. Listings appear in print as space allows. For questions or help with submissions use the chat feature for online submissions and for all other questions and corrections emailcommunities@th-record.com.

Wednesday, Aug. 12

Healthy Living for your Brain and Body:1-2 p.m. Aug. 12. A free virtual educational program with information on diet, nutrition, exercise, cognitive activity, and social engagement. Registration is required at alz.org/hudsonvalleyor call 800-272-3900.Information about how toparticipate in the webinars will be provided following registration.

Thursday, Aug. 13

Virtual Magic Tree House Summer Book Club:4 p.m. Aug. 13,via Zoom. Discussion, games, puzzles and projects. Activities will accompany the Magic Tree House book Hours of the Olympics.Registration is requiredbefore each sessionby contacting Carolyn Thorez atcthorenz@rcls.orgfor select or all dates. There will be a limit of 12 per session. Activity kits will be made available for curbside pick-up prior to first meeting. Formoreinformation, visitgardinerlibrary.org/kidseventsandprograms.aspor the Gardiner Library Facebook page.

Working in the Borscht Belt: TalesFromthe Dining Room Virtual Program:6:30-7:30 p.m. Aug. 13, E.B. Crawford Public Library, 479 Broadway, Monticello. Panelists will discuss their experiences working in the dining rooms of several Catskills hotels in theirhey day. We will hear their personal stories about working and playing in the mountains during 60s and 70s. Hear what it was like to work seven days a week serving all 21 meals to stations of from 24 to 40 guests, with no days or meals off. Many doctors, lawyers and teachers earned their yearly college expenses in eight hectic weeks of summer. Panelists include: MyronGittell, Alan Barrish, Lynn Skolnick and Marvin Rappaport. Registration is required. This virtual program is provided by the Ethelbert B. Crawford Public Library in Monticello. Registration is limited to 75 registrants. Please register online at ebcpl.org, click on adult calendars and then click on August. 794-4660.

Virtual Board of Trustees Meeting:7 p.m. Aug. 13,these meetings are held virtually using the Zoom application. Dates, times and instructions to join the meeting are posted at cornwallpubliclibrary.org and on the door of the building. To Join the meetingemailcor@rcls.orgto request computer access; or call 534-8282,option 2, and leave a message by 5p.m.,Aug. 13to request call-in access.

Ten Mile River Museum Talk, A discussion about bats in the Upper Delaware River Valley":7-8 p.m. Aug. 13,Ten Mile River,1481 Crystal Lake Rd.,Narrowsburg, free. Erica Spiess, biological science technician and natural resource ranger, NPS, Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational River, will lead the talk. Parts of the it can help scouts meet the requirements for the Mammal Study merit badge. Museum Chairman MichaelDrillingerwill moderate. A Q&A session will occur at the conclusion. 201-716-9261.mitchell.slepian@gmail.com.

Friday, Aug. 14

Story BreakLive!:11 a.m. Aug. 14, every Fri. Think youre too old for a childrens book? The Cornwall Public Librarys Youth Services Team begs to disagree. Celebrate TGIF with a familiar library face and a good story. You can catch these live events on the LibrarysFacebookpage ,through the summer. Cornwallpubliclibrary.org.

Drive-Thru Fish Fry:5-7 p.m. Aug. 14, Polish Legion of American Veterans, 16 Legion Rd., Pine Island, $15 per person, take out only, tickets available at theLegion bar,Wed.-Sun. 2-8 p.m. or call 258-4168.

Saturday, Aug. 15

GriefShare - Grief Support:1-3 a.m. Aug. 15,Goshen Christian Preschool building, 2440 Route 17A, Goshen, $5. GriefShare is athirteen-weekvideo seminar led bywell-knowncounselors, teachers and pastors who guide the participates in working through the grief process. Each participant will receive a workbook to take notes in and use at home, along with other key tools. The video seminar is combined with small group discussion and essential question and answer times which will enable the participants to travel to healing from their grief in the death of a loved one.Pre registrationrequired, call381-0533,sdfrench1999@yahoo.com.

Sunday, Aug. 16

Plein Air Art Event:Noon-5 p.m. Aug. 16, Friends-Harmony Hall- Jacob Sloat House, 15 Liberty Rock Rd., Sloatsburg, free. The legacy of important 1930's impressionist painters George Macrum and Edith Varian Cockcroft; who lived and worked in Sloatsburg, lives on. Presented by The Friends of Harmony Hall, The Sloatsburg Chamber of Commerce and Rockland County Tourism. Artists will have the opportunity to paint on the great lawn and work at various sites in historic Sloatsburg. RevitalizedMainStreet features several restaurants set up for safe outdoor dining experiences.Ample parking on site and community parking lot 27 Mill Street. Walking maps of the village will be available. Social distancing, mask wearing and all safety protocols will be enforced. 320-296-2719,jssitylre@gmail.com.

The Gardiner Library Virtual Young Adult Book Club Meeting:1:30 p.m. Aug. 16, via Zoom, will cover Children of Blood and Boneby Tomi Adeyemi. Discussion, games and design a decorative fan during the meeting.Registration is required before each session by contacting Carolyn Thorez atcthorenz@rcls.orgfor select or all dates. There will be a limit of 12 per session. For more information, visitgardinerlibrary.org/kidseventsandprograms.aspor the Gardiner Library Facebook page.

Tuesday, Aug. 18

Zoom Friendly Visitor Volunteer Training:10 a.m. Aug. 18.Jewish Family Service of Orange County invites you to become a Friendly VisitorVolunteer in Orange County. This 90-minute training prepares potential volunteers to provide support to older adults inyour own communities.For about 3 hours a week or less, volunteers provide local transportation to essential appointments, grocery shopping and friendly visits. Volunteering is rewarding and flexible. Reservations are required for this event.To register or to learn more about volunteering,call or email Paula Blumenau at 341-1173 ext.305 orpblumenau@jfsorange.org. Background checks and Insurance while volunteeringareprovided.

AccomplisedNewburgh NASA Ambassador Teacher toSpeakbassadorBrings NASA to theClaassader:7:30-9:15 p.m. Aug. 18, Aleen Toback will talk about her role in having students gather and interpret research for NASA and other scientific organizations. The presentation will be made via Zoom and will be sponsored by theMid HudsonAstonomicalAssociation.Toback has been a life science teacher at the Heritage Middle School in Newburgh for 22 years. Sheis an Educational Ambassador for GoddardSpacefightCenter, aliasonfor the GoddardSpacefightCenter Office of Stem Management at the Goddard Institute for Space Studies in New York City, and a trainee for the Global Observations to Benefit Earth (GLOBE) program. The presentation will follow the regularly scheduled meeting of the MHAA which begins at 7:30. All are invited to both. To access the 8 PM talk or the meeting and talk go tomidhudsonastro.organd register "ATTEND" at their Meetup site.631-553-1144, 245-5483.

Wednesday, Aug. 19

Virtual Out & About Book Club:8:30 p.m. Aug. 19, book pick, Real Lifeby Brandon Taylor. Just because we cant be Out & About doesnt mean we cant still have a great book club meeting! Digitalebooksand audiobooks are available through Libby or call the library for a hard copy. Register via theCornwall Public Librarysonline calendarat cornwallpubliclibrary.org.Zoom links will be emailed to registrants the day of the book.

Thursday, Aug. 20

Mystery Book Discussion:2 p.m. Aug. 20, book pick, Worthy Brown's Daughterby Philip Margolin. Join a Zoom meeting to discuss a mystery novel with fellow readers. Digitalebooksand audiobooks are available through Libby and hoopla.Register via the Cornwall Public Librarysonline calendarat cornwallpubliclibrary.org.Zoom links will be emailed to registrants the day of the book club.

Diane Lang presents Staying Positive During Trying Times Virtual Program:6:30 p.m. Aug. 20.With gloom and doom around us, it can be hard to find the positive. Isolation has many of us feeling sad and anxious. But it is possible to stay positive, feel hopeful and reduce stress/anxiety during these turbulent times. Diane is an acclaimed author and therapist. She is a noted speaker and positive living coach who has presented a number of programs at the Ethelbert B. Crawford Library. This virtual program is another program provided by the Ethelbert B. Crawford Public Library in Monticello. Registration is limited to 75 registrants. Please register online atebcpl.org, click on adult calendars and then click on August. You will find your program there. 794-4660.

Friday, Aug. 21

Story BreakLive!:11 a.m. Aug. 21, every Fri. Think youre too old for a childrens book? The Cornwall Public Librarys Youth Services Team begs to disagree. Celebrate TGIF with a familiar library face and a good story. You can catch these live events on the LibrarysFacebookpage ,through the summer. Cornwallpubliclibrary.org.

Saturday, Aug. 22

Putt Fore Paws: 11 a.m. Aug. 22, Apple Green Golf Course, 161 South St., Highland.This year's event will include live mobile scoring and leaderboard, a raffle, grab-&-go lunch provided by Apple Greens Catering, and trophies for top dog among men's single and women's single, and best two-some and best four-some. Social distancing measures will be used. Tickets available atbrownpapertickets.com/event/4681887.Call the shelter front desk if you'd like to purchase raffle tickets without purchasing tickets to attend.

Sparrowbush Engine Company annual Chicken BBQ Take Out:4-7 p.m. Aug. 22, donation$12, includes chicken, corn on the cob, baked potato and desert, ticket available from any SECO member or call 856-5047 to reserve your tickets.

Thursday, Aug. 27

Bonnie Lewis presents Tai Chi for Arthritis Part 2 Virtual Program:6:30 p.m. Aug. 27. Bonnie J. Lewis, RN and Certified Instructor, Cornell Cooperative Extension of Sullivan County will present the second part of her benefits of Tai Chi for arthritis. The first part was very well received and Bonnie is back to explain in more depth how Tai Chican increase strength,posture, relaxation, prevent falls and reduce stress. This virtual program is provided by Ethelbert B. Crawford Public Library in Monticello. Registration is limited to 75 registrants. Please register online atebcpl.org, click on adult calendars and then click on August. 794-4660.

Sunday, Sept. 6

CANCELED -Onion Festival:2-6 p.m. Sept. 6, PLAV Pavilion, 16 Legion Rd., Pine Island, tickets $20, JimmySturr& His Orchestra, onion eating contest sponsored by the Pine Island Chamber plus food and fun, special tribute to first responders, healthcare and medicalpersonnel .Classic cars are welcome to attend and display their vehicles and will be admitted to festival free of charge.

Saturday, Sept. 12

6thannual Fiesta Latina:10 a.m.-6 p.m. Sept. 12, Museum Village, 1010 Route 17M, Monroe,free, donations appreciated,celebrating Family, Faith and Country, vendors focused on culture, family activities, food, live musicincluding Julian Vasquez. All proceeds support Museum Village.

Practice Sustainable Living:9 a.m.-4 p.m. Sept. 12, Manza Family Farm, 4 Hathorn Road, Warwick. Orange Environment, Inc. is sponsoring two workshops. During the morning session from 9 a.m.-noon, the Essentials of Natural Building instructor, Jamie Manza, will guide you in how to use natural materials like clay paints, cob, straw, and stone in natural building for applications around your home (fee is $45). The afternoon session on Rainwater Catchment runs from 1:30-4 p.m. and will be led by Frank Dragone. A 55-gallon drum will be provided to each participant so you can build your own water collection system (fee is $65). CDC Guidelines will be followed and total participants will be limited to 15 to provide for safe social distancing of 6-feet apart and masks will be required. Please bring your own masks, snacks, drinks, and/or lunch (if you are staying for both sessions). Visitorangeenvironment.comto print out a registration form and contact Peter Lai at 313-4246 or emailpeterl@frontiernet.netfor more info. Then mail your check, made out to Orange Environment, Inc., to Orange Environment Inc., P.O. Box 25, Goshen, NY 10924. *If attending both sessions or are an Orange Environment, Inc. member, a $10 discount will apply. 313-4246.peterl@frontiernet.net.

Tuesday, Sept. 15

Legal and Financial Planning for Alzheimers Disease Virtual Program:6-7 p.m. Sept. 15,if you or someone you know is affected by Alzheimers disease or dementia, the time for legal and financial planning is now. Join in on a free virtual program to learn about important legal and financial issues you may face and how to put plans in place featuring Martin Hersh, Esq. To register visitsullivancce.org, emailsullivan@cornell.edu, or call 292-6180.

Saturday, Sept. 19

Chicken B.B. Q.:Sept. 19, Ulster Heights Rod and Gun Club, Sherman Rd., Ellenville. Take outs only. Pre-pay $12. For Reservations, call 647-5190.

Sunday, Oct. 4

Doggie Dash 2020:11:30 a.m.-3 p.m. Oct. 4, HITS-on-the-Hudson, 454 Washington Ave., Saugerties.The 3rd annual Doggie Dash is the only 5k fun run/3k walk where you can bring your dog,in the process of designing this as a 2020 virtual event.Registration is $25 and is accepted viaraceentry.com.VisitUCSPCA.orgor contact the shelter for more information.All proceeds from the race will benefit the Ulster County SPCA.

Thursday, Oct. 15

CANCELED -Holocaust Remembrance Day Program:7-9 p.m. Oct. 15, Temple Sinai, 75 Highland Ave., Middletown. Featured speaker is Dr. RonaldIsraelskiwill tell the story of his parents who were survivors of the concentration camps. There will be candle lighting in memory of those who did not survive. 343-1861.

Saturday, Oct. 24

The Warwick Valley Quilters Guild Stars of the Valley Quilt Show:Oct. 24-25, TheSanfordvilleElementary School, 144SanfordvilleRd., Warwick. Local quilters from N.Y., N.J., Pa., and Conn., will show more than 150 quilts, and wall hangings. Speakers areTimnaTarr and Lisa Shepard Stewart. Vendors will offer machines, furniture, fabrics, and sewing accessories in addition to raffle prizes.pattiewhelan@yahoo.com. Warwickvalleyqg.org.

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What's happening - Times Herald-Record

University Librarian Valerie Hotchkiss (Vanderbilt University)

Many people are familiar with Wikipedia, a free online encyclopedia created and edited by volunteers, but what about Wikidata, its sister project? Like Wikipedia, Wikidata is a free and collaboratively edited reference source, but it functions like a database rather than an encyclopedia. Users can ask highly complex questions and receive direct answers.

Vanderbilts librarians are harnessing the power of Wikidata to enhance the online reputations of Vanderbilts faculty and our overall status as a tier-one research university,University Librarian Valerie Hotchkisssaid. These efforts also advance the Jean and Alexander Heard Libraries broader mission of contributing to the public good by promoting faculty scholarship and making it discoverable and accessible to researchers.

A team of librarians is collaborating this summer to contribute data about the academic backgrounds of Vanderbilt faculty and their scholarly publications. Since starting the project, the team has created an entry for every faculty member on campus. They have made almost 14,000 edits, adding roughly 600 bibliographic items.

Our goal is to provide complete information about the scholarly outputs of Vanderbilt faculty, said Clifford Anderson, associate university librarian for research and digital strategy. While we are just at the beginning, we are excited about the potential impact of this project.

To speed up the creation of metadata about faculty and their publications, Steven Baskauf, data science and data curation specialist for libraries, developed VanderBot, a set of scripts that can read and write to Wikidata, greatly improving the efficiency by which Vanderbilts faculty are discoverable through Wikidata.

VanderBot helps us automate certain tasks, Baskauf said. The script can determine whether data already exists in a record or can create, for example, a new item, add or change labels and descriptions, or add references and qualifiers to existing statements. Baskauf has made his code freely available for other coders to adjust to meet their own needs.

Vanderbilt librarians also are involved in related initiatives to describe scientific and cultural heritage online. For example, librarians are adding information about clinical trials to Wikidata and Wikipedia. Philip Walker, director of the Annette and Irwin Eskind Family Biomedical Library and Learning Center, has been meeting weekly with counterparts from Duke University, the University of Virginia and other institutions to develop the data model for these trials.

Original data from and about clinical trials are an extremely important source of grey literature, meaning information that is not formally published in books or journal articles, Walker said. Currently, there are approximately 2,000 clinical trials on Wikidata that list Vanderbilt University or Vanderbilt University Medical Center among research sites.

Meanwhile, staff members at the Vanderbilt Fine Arts Gallery and the Visual Resources Center are adding information about Vanderbilts art objects to Wikidata. The WikiProject Vanderbilt Fine Arts Gallery will integrate Vanderbilts collection into the linked data universe. Having the collection easily accessible through Wikidata will generate a greater interest in the gallerys collection, creating more opportunities for research, object loan requests and exhibition participation, said Kali Mason, registrar and collections manager of the gallery.

In the process of adding faculty members to Wikidata, librarians at Vanderbilt discovered that there was no straightforward way to describe an academic appointment, so a group of librarians, including Anderson and Baskauf, proposed and received approval for a new category of data, Academic Appointment. Bruce Morrill, Edward A. Malloy Chair of Roman Catholic Studies at the Divinity School, became the first faculty member to have his academic appointment described with this new category in Wikidata.

While carrying out these incredibly useful projects, Vanderbilt librarians have become leaders in developing the potential of Wikidata for scholarly communications and academic research, Hotchkiss said. If faculty members would like to learn how to incorporate linked data into their research or coursework, our librarians stand ready to assist.

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Librarians work to broaden Vanderbilts research reputation with Wikidata tools - Vanderbilt University News

But the librarians were confronted with the novel question of how to gather and preserve material related to a movement that was born and partly still exists in a virtual world. Their answer: Gather websites, tweets, online articles, and other electronic material related to the topic in a publicly accessible digital archive.

There was no clear individual to whom we could reach out to acquire the #MeToo collection, so we knew we would have to work differently to document the movement, and that we were really going to have to create the collection ourselves, said Kamensky.

The Schlesingers digital services team had some experience creating an archive focused solely on virtual material. In 2007, they launched the 10-year project Capturing Womens Voices to collect blogs and websites detailing American womens lives, philosophies, and engagement with politics. They also had access to tools developed by Documenting the Now, a community archiving project developed after the police killing of Michael Brown in August 2014 in Ferguson, Mo.

Above all, they had a guiding mission to include everything related to #MeToo they could find. Philadelphia activist Tarana Burke is credited with creating the original movement in 2006 as a way to support survivors of sexual violence. But a decade later, the social media hashtag became a rallying cry and the spark that ignited a wave of political, social, and legal battles, and backlash.

We had a social-media driven revolution whose pushback was almost simultaneous, as opposed to the way that we often think of revolution and counterrevolution, said Kamensky, and we realized we had a chance to collect the whole political spectrum around a hot-button issue of gender and sexuality.

The commitment to that collecting ethos is reflected in the librarys #metoo Digital Media Collection, which opened to researchers on July 1. The online archive contains more than 32 million tweets, 1,100 webpages, and thousands of articles reflecting a range of perspectives.

Amid the collection of websites is a link to a piece by the editors of the Boston Review, who defend their decision to maintain ties with the magazines fiction editor, prize-winning author Junot Diaz, after sexual misconduct allegations emerged against him. An article posted on Time.com described an open letter signed by more than 200 women who work on national security for the U.S. stating they had survived sexual harassment and assault or knew someone who had.

The wide-ranging tweets capture both the support for and opposition to the movement.

In November 2017, the Womens Funding Network posted a tweet encouraging people to remember how pervasive sexual harassment is in society.

In 2018, one year after she encouraged people to share their stories of abuse using the #MeToo hashtag, actress Alyssa Milano honored the day with a repost of her original tweet.

In September of 2018, user Mark Alan Chestnut reposted a tweet from conservative commentator Candace Owens:

The same month, FOX News contributor Lisa Boothe tweeted:

Earlier this year, someone with the Twitter handle Josh the Leftist posted:

The projects 71 hashtags include everything from #BelieveChristine, #believewomen, #timesup, and #ustoo, to #himtoo, #confirmkavanaughnow, #MeTooLiars, and #metoohucksters.

The community of American women is our community, and this was a key moment in their history, said Jennifer Weintraub, the Schlesingers head of digital collections and services, who worked on the project. That doesnt mean that we are pro #MeToo or against #MeToo, it just means that we document it.

A steering committee made up of historians, lawyers, and data experts from across Harvard helped Kamensky and the Schlesinger staff think through the challenges associated with capturing the movements digital footprint. The librarys digital team, aided by an S.T. Lee grant from the Harvard Library and funds from Harvard Business School, identified a range of relevant hashtags and created a system to capture them that has become largely automated. Twitters terms of service dictate that the Schlesinger can only provide users with tweet IDs, a number that identifies each unique tweet, but researchers can load the numbers into an online app that will restore or rehydrate the tweets original content.

Moving forward, Kamensky said she is eager to investigate teaching and research opportunities related to the archive through a partnership with the Harvard Data Science Initiative, which will provide grant funding to explore how the digital data will engage in conversation with the librarys more traditional holdings, and to see what kinds of scholars it can attract. (The collection has already been put to use, supporting the argument in Susan Faludis New York Times opinion piece that the believe all women hashtag is an invention of the right and a corruption of #believewomen.)

We had a social-media driven revolution whose pushback was almost simultaneous, as opposed to the way that we often think of revolution and counterrevolution.

Jane Kamensky

Kamensky said she could envision researchers using the data to explore everything from social movement organizing through social media, to whether people posting in the U.S. are paying attention to news from other parts of the world, to the ways the #MeToo movement has been driven by original content versus retweets. People are going to ask questions of it and produce answers from it that will be far-reaching in scope and scale, said Kamensky. A sophisticated analyst of big data will be able to see the movement through this corpus in ways that I cant even fathom.

But amassing such a big trove of digital material raises its own questions around privacy and who has the right to access information posted online. Kamensky worked with the steering committee to create an ethics statement for the archive that includes their recommendations on the principled use of the data and the acknowledgement that the library is abiding by social media providers terms of service in distribution of any data that is collected.

For people worried about what researchers will do with their tweets, Kamensky has a simple suggestion: Read your user agreement.

To post something on Twitter may feel like a conversation with your intimates at a virtual table in a bar, she said, but in fact, its a form of publication.

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Challenge of archiving the #MeToo movement Harvard Gazette - Harvard Gazette

Tacoma, Wash. In June, the Archives and Special Collections in University of Puget Sounds Collins Memorial Library was awarded a National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) grant to support the creation of primary resource digital toolkits for use in university classes and research. The grant is part of $40.3 million in new funding from the CARES Act supporting essential operations at cultural institutions across the country. The Archives and Special Collections proposal was one of just 317 selected from more than 2,300 applications, and one of two grants awarded in Washington state.

It fits so nicely with the work that weve been doing in Archives and Special Collections over the course of the last couple years, says Library Director Jane Carlin. Weve been uncovering the stories of Puget Soundsuch as the history of the Black Student Union, understanding the Japanese incarceration and how that affected our campus, and exploring campus protest movements. The grant gives us the impetus to continue this work and make a focused effort to create digital toolkits that will be online, open, and accessible not only to Puget Sound faculty and students but to scholars worldwide.

Carlin gives credit to the Collins librarians who work closely with faculty members to develop lessons that integrate primary source materials into their classes. Archivist and Special Collections Librarian Adriana Flores 13 has made many documents and images accessible via digital format prior to the coronavirus pandemic and move to remote learning. This grant will enable her and other librarians to expand access to Collins Librarys unique materials, which is particularly important in times of remote learning.

The CARES Act funds will allow staff members in the Archives and Special Collections to review and audit current teaching resources, scale up its digital collections, and create more robust and meaningful humanities teaching tools using digitized portions of its collections. The new kits will put primary source materials into the hands of professors to integrate into their courses however works best for them.

This flexibility extends to the community, as well. Part of the grant will provide funding to hire an individual to liaise with Tacoma Public Schools, creating lesson plans, discussion questions, and class prompts to supplement the toolkits and help make them useful and age appropriate for local classrooms.

Its a great opportunity to show our commitment to the Tacoma community, says Carlin. The grant offers us an opportunity to look inwardly and ask, What types of resources can we provide to support the K-12 education curriculum here in Tacoma, and talk about Tacoma history and Tacoma legacy?

Librarians are already at work reviewing existing teaching materials and building new toolkits. The work will continue through the end of the year, with hopes to begin making new kits available both on campus and to the community later this fall.

Archives and Special Collections, launched in 2011, supports the broader mission of the university while pursuing its own mission: to collect, preserve, and make available materials of lasting historical value that support research, teaching, and administrative activities, supporting the academic interests of more than 230 faculty members and 2,400 undergraduate students.

Created in 1965 as an independent federal agency, the National Endowment for the Humanities supports research and learning in history, literature, philosophy, and other areas of the humanities by funding selected, peer-reviewed proposals from around the nation. Additional information about the National Endowment for the Humanities and its grant programs is available at neh.gov.

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New Collins Library grant is part of $40 million in CARES Act funding from the NEH - The Suburban Times

Different times: A digital board outside the Nicholson Memorial Library promotes a summer reading program in 2014.

When the coronavirus pandemic hit, leaving people across the country stuck indoors, Garlands library system saw an opportunity to bridge a gap.

Kathleen Cizek, the public services administrator for the citys Nicholson Memorial Library System, says Garland libraries stepped up online programming and services and bulked up their digital holdings.

Weve been able to reach a much larger audience with our online programs, and hopefully that includes new viewers who realize all their Garland libraries have to offer them, Cizek said.

The library system offers programs, services and online readings for people of all ages and interests.

After the pandemic forced libraries to shut their doors to the public, library staffers sprung into action to transition in-person services and programs for virtual use.

The team worked tirelessly, first launching online story times on Facebook Live. On Fridays, for instance, the library holds family story time at 10:30 a.m.

The staff then focused on expanding special programs online, including yoga classes for youngsters and adults, the popular Pajama-rama story times in the evening, online craft courses and book clubs.

Other newly available programs include adulthood transition courses for teenagers and online performances for seniors.

Programs like online story time helped give kids and families a sense of normalcy amid a period of confusion and concern.

I think publishers and authors recognized that, too, Cizek said. Without their generous support allowing librarians everywhere the opportunity to use their books in online story times, we wouldnt have been able to use the books that kids know and love and take comfort in hearing their favorite librarian read to them.

Meanwhile, libraries worked to beef up their virtual holdings, including e-books, audiobooks, magazines, newspapers, videos and digital comic books.

Garland residents can register online for a library card, which makes it easier to access literature and other holdings in a time of social distancing.

These materials meet the demand of our patrons any time, but they were especially useful during the time the doors to our physical libraries were closed, Cizek said.

Libraries have since reopened at 25% capacity and are now operating with reduced hours, and the library system has instituted new measures aimed at protecting public health and supporting patrons.

Books are quarantined for at least 72 hours after being returned, and the libraries are not charging late fees for items that were returned after their due date because of the pandemic.

The libraries are also offering curbside pickup and returns, which helps keep in-person capacity down and promotes social distancing.

For more information about the current hours of operation at each branch, visit the Garland library systems website.

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Garland libraries are reaching residents online during the coronavirus pandemic - The Dallas Morning News

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senators Joe Manchin (D-WV) and John Cornyn (R-TX) introduced the bipartisanAccelerating Connected Care and Education Support Services on the Internet Act (ACCESS the Internet Act), which includes funding for libraries.The $2 billion legislation addresses immediate gaps in internet access necessary for distance learning and telehealth. The distance learning provision will fuel a two-year, $200 million hotspot pilot program for libraries, to be administered by the Institute of Museum and Library Services. A minimum allotment of $1.6 million per state will allow states, tribes, and territories to purchase and distribute internet-connected devices to libraries in low-income and rural areas. The bill includes funding for the Department of Education, the Veterans Administration and the Federal Communications Commission.

ALA President Julius C. Jefferson, Jr., praised the legislation, saying, The American Library Association (ALA) is pleased to see the introduction of Senator Manchins and Senator Cornyns solutions to keep their communities connected and Wi-Fi hotspots are in high demand as people pivot to learning, working, seeking healthcare, and many day-to-day tasks online. With so many households still without broadband at home, libraries are key to addressing digital inequities the COVID-19 pandemic has laid bare.

The ACCESS the Internet Act is a timely step in the right direction and ALA commends the Senators for recognizing that investment in libraries is the most effective way to put the broadband provisions to work. This bill alongside legislation to ensure libraries are fully staffed will help millions of under-connected Americans during this critical time.

Ensuring that libraries have affordable, high-capacity internet access is a critical priority on ALAs national advocacy agenda. Throughout the pandemic, libraries have been striving to ensure their communities remain connected by loaning Wi-Fi hotspots, extending their Wi-Fi signals beyond their walls, and delivering Wi-Fi access into the community with mobile vans and partnerships with community organizations.

In addition to advocating for funding to expand internet access through libraries, ALA is urging Congress to support the Library Stabilization Fund Act (S.4181 / H.R.7486), which would address financial losses due to COVID-19 and bolster library services, allowing libraries to continue to provide essential community services, including distance learning, telemedicine, e-government services, digital collections and legal information.

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ACCESS the Internet Act to enable libraries to lessen broadband gap in rural and low-income communities - ala.org

Staff report, San Angelo Standard-Times Published 3:21 p.m. CT Aug. 10, 2020 | Updated 11:58 a.m. CT Aug. 11, 2020

Casey Dees works with a 3D printer at the Stephens Central location of the San Angelo Public Library system to produce supplies during the covid19 pandemic Thursday, June 11, 2020.(Photo: Colin Murphey / San Angelo Standard-Times)

SAN ANGELO Tom Green County Library will receive a $50,000 federal grant to respond to the coronavirus pandemic, U.S. Senator John Cornyn announced Monday, Aug. 10, 2020.

The grant is a part of the $2.6 million Texas received from the Institute for Museum and Library Services as part of the CARES Act, which Cornyn supported in March.

These funds will help allow Texans to safely utilize local library services and resources, Cornyn said. I applaud area leaders in San Angelo for their work to obtain these grants and for putting the safety of Texans first as we continue to persevere through the COVID-19 pandemic.

More: San Angelo 3D printers produce PPE supplies to help during coronavirus pandemic

Tom Green County Library will use grant funds to install permanent hot spots throughout the community, with a particular emphasis on rural, outlying communities.

The library will work with San Angelo ISD and the county's rural school districts to identify areas where students who receive free and reduced school lunch services reside, targeting those areas for public, communal hot spots.

Placing hot spot stations throughout the community will get Internet services closer to where people live and work, allowing them to complete online tasks without the need to come to, or in, the library's four walls.

Grant funds will also support expansion of the librarys popular hot spot lending program, the purchase of PPE, and 3D supplies to develop protective gear in-house.

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Tom Green County Library to receive $50k grant to create wifi hot spots - Standard-Times

Older magicians were tearing their hair out, and the younger ones were getting hooked, Arch said.

Besides, Cole said, magic is best learned from books, not television or, heaven forbid, the internet.

Thats how he learned as a kid in St. Louis, checking out books from the school and public libraries.

He has been a professional magician for 21 years, performing at parties, classrooms and restaurants such as the Upstream Brewing Co. and The Good Life. In schools, he visits libraries beforehand, assesses magic book collections and then promotes those titles in his presentations.

I tell them, This next trick is on page 785. If you want to learn this trick, youll have to read it, he said.

A member of the Omaha Magical Society, Cole has a fair collection of books himself.

When I pass away it will all be at UNO, I guess, he said with a laugh.

Magician Pete Petrashek shows off some of his props, in 1990.

Arch said the future of magic looks bright. The society has about 60 members; the oldest is magician Pete Petrashek, who turns 95 next week. He worked well into his 80s, performing for thousands of Omahans over the years. And as a cameraman for what now is WOWT-TV, he worked with a another young guy who dabbled in magic and was about to become famous as a talk-show host. That guy, of course, was Johnny Carson.

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New 1,200-book collection magically appears at the UNO library - Omaha World-Herald

Edtech startup BibliU has raised over 550K as part of a Series A extension funding round, supported by Angel Investment Network(AIN), the worlds largest online angel investment platform.

The British startup is a digital education platform that provides students with digital access to their textbooks and libraries across all their devices. The campaign funding round, an addition to itsapprox. 7.2 million Series A, was in response to a surge in demand due to COVID 19. Completed in eight weeks, the funds will be used for new technical hires to support demand from Universities. The startup is scaling rapidly with 60+ new pilots across the globe.

Founded in 2014, the company now has over 100 university customers including Oxford, Imperial, University of Phoenix and Coventry University. The company has digitised content from more than 2,000 publishers including: Pearson, McGraw-Hill, Oxford University Press. The content is licensed directly to universities, who can then provide access to students and include the costs in their existing tuition fees.

According to David Sherwood, CEO and co-founder of BibliU: BibliU has seen rapid growth across the globe over the last few months, and we believe COVID has pulled the transition to digital learning forward by at least 5 years. We have always existed to assist universities with this transition, by providing an unmatched student experience in a cost-effective way. BibliU is the perfect intersection for universities that are looking to create a seamless distance-learning experience, and do so in a way that introduces operational efficiencies to their workflows. Were thrilled that AIN was able to assist us in this rapid extension to our Series A, and are excited to see where this round takes us.

According to Sam Louis from Angel Investment Network, who led the raise: BibliU sits at a fantastic intersection of traditional learning structures and digital evolution. The business has broad reaching applications, a strong business model and most importantly, it delivers real value to its users. EdTech is a tough area to gain real traction and I think what BibliU has stands apart from many of the others which is why weve seen such great uptake from investors. The COVID lockdowns have now accelerated adoption of digital learning and hopefully this will lead the way for more sustained growth in the EdTEch space and of BibliU.

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London-based startup BibliU raises 550K Series A extension to bring digital libraries to more Universities - EU-Startups

The Journal News Published 6:00 a.m. ET June 24, 2020 | Updated 8:13 a.m. ET June 24, 2020

Libraries in the Ramapo Catskill Library System, which includes Orange, Rockland, Sullivan, and southern Ulster counties,are offering online reading programs this summer.

So far, out of RCLSs 47 libraries, 35 have signed up to use the online reading program solution, READsquared,to facilitate signups, track reading, fun challenges, earning digital badges, and more.

ROCKLAND: When, and how will county's public libraries reopen?

Also, 32 libraries have signed up for the READsquared app, which RCLS purchased using New York State Family Literacy Grant funds.

Summer reading programs have gone online for 2020.(Photo: John Meore/The Journal News)

The READsquared application has learning programs for people of all ages and reading levels. READsquared provides a variety of features to meet each librarys needs.

RCLS libraries not using READsquared plan on using different software to hold their summer reading programs online. To learn more about summer reading programs, communities are encouraged to check visit the web sites of their local library, or social media sites.

Visit summerreadingnys.org/readsquaredfor information aboutREADsquared

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Rockland libraries offer online summer reading programs - The Journal News