Holiday Schedule

Just a reminder - The library will be open today and tomorrow, but will be closed Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. We will reopen Friday morning at 10 am. We will follow the same schedule next week for New Year's Eve and New Year's Day.

Basket Drawing

The Weirton Woman's Club Literary Department held their basket drawing this morning. The winners are: WVU - Lisa Anderson, Toys -  Karen Gilliam, Italian - Gloria Foster,  Chocolate - Shelly Johnston,  Christmas - Barbara Losey,  Scrapbooking - Enid Williams, Spa Lady - Sandy Lancaster, Tea - Mary Musmanno, Steelers - Connie Thompson

Freegal Downloadable Music

The library is introducing a new service this week! Freegal downloadable music is now available with your library card.  The address is:  http://mhwl.freegalmusic.com

Each person who has a library card will be allowed three downloads a week. The download allotment starts over each Monday. We are working on a link for the library's main page.

New Weirton Book

A new pictorial history of Weirton from Arcadia Books has just been released. Join us on Saturday, December 6th for a book signing by the author, Dennis Jones. Books will be available for purchase. The books will make a great holiday gift for those who like to remember the good old days.

That book smell!

RT @cox_tom: Ever wondered why books smell so great? Here's the reason. pic.twitter.com/cxkmvuUdow
— Doubleday (@doubledaypub) November 17, 2014

Library patrons tell us all the time that the building smells like books. We are so used to it that we don't notice it, unless of course someone brings us a musty moldy one. In that case we are smelling the mold and dust not the book.

The Small Business Administration Celebrates National Distance Learning Week

The U.S. Small Business Administration is celebrating National Distance Learning Week, November 10-14, by providing online training in entrepreneurship. The classes which are based on the stage of development of your business are listed on the SBA Blog, News and Views. Additional classes are available at the SBA Learning Center. Print resources concerning small businesses can be found in the library at 658.02 in the non-fiction section.

Thank You!

Thank you to every single one of the 5,023 voters that supported us yesterday!

NARA Virtual Genealogy Fair

The National Archives has great information about records available for Genealogical Research. For the next three days they are hosting a Virtual Genealogy Fair on You Tube. Just go to You Tube and search Virtual Genealogy Fair. They are finishing up the Intro to Genealogy now. Next up is Preserving Your Personal Records at 11:00. The sessions will be available for viewing on You Tube after the fair is over.

Saturday Book Discussion Group

We had a nice discussion about the book "The Emperors of Chocolate: Inside the Secret World of Hershey and Mars" this morning touching on such topics as the flavor of chocolate, advertising, corporate secrecy, company towns, food sanitation and management styles. Next month's book is "The Light Between Oceans" by M.L. Stedman. We will meet on November 29th at 11 am. Anyone interested is welcome to attend.

Value of Library Services

How much does your library save you? Try the Library Value Calculator at http://www.ilovelibraries.org/getinformed/getinvolved/calculator to see how much the services would cost if you were paying for them.

Our Children, Our Future Candidate Forum

If you didn't make it to the candidate forum Thursday evening, you missed a really interesting evening. Candidates for the Senate seat from District 1 and the House seats from District 1 and 2 were invited to share their feelings on issues affecting WV children. Those attending included State Senator Fitzsimmons, District 2 Delegate Diserio, District 3 Delegate Ferns who is now a candidate for WV State Senate, Ryan Weld who is a candidate for the WV House of Representatives District 2, and Mark Zatezalo also a candidate for the WV House of Representatives District 1. Due to another commitment, Pat McGeehan, candidate for the WV House of Representatives District 1 sent a representative to read his comments. Each candidate was allowed to respond to several questions prepared by the Our Children, Our Future coalition.

We also heard from Aerica West, VISTA volunteer serving at the Weirton Christian Center about the trythiswv.com website to promote a healthier WV and the community garden project that was started this summer.

The audience was given time to discuss 20 policy issues affecting children in our state. Those attending will be give a chance to help select those issues that they feel should be a priority for Our Children, Our Future to work on this year. The issues considered included:

• Reducing Unfair Barriers to Employment of People with Criminal Records
• Buy American
• Domestic Violence Unemployment Compensation
• Earned Sick Days
• Erin’s Law: Curbing Child Sexual Abuse
• Foster Kid’s Bill of Rights
• Family Support Programs: Protect and Provide their Secure Funding Stream
• In-Home Family Education
• Juvenile Justice Reform
• Medicaid Mental Health Therapy
• Ramp It Up: A Healthy Foods Initiative
• Removing Barriers to Better Health for WV Families
• STOP Meth Labs
• Substance Abuse Funding
• Supporting West Virginia Farmer’s Market Growth
• Tobacco Tax
• Voluntary Employee Retirement Accounts
• Worker-Owned Cooperatives
• Workforce Development
• Workplace Bullying

We would like to thank everyone who attended this event, particularly the candidates for taking time out of their busy schedules. Hearing each candidate's response to these questions gave a clearer perspective of their viewpoints and some insight into who they are as people and candidates.

Library Levy

The Hancock County Library levy will be on the ballot in November. The wording says it is to "authorize additional levies" The legalities require that it be worded this way, but this levy will maintain the level of the funding the libraries in Hancock County have been receiving for the last few years. There is no change. The levy must pass with 60% of the vote for the Hancock County Libraries to continue to receive funding from the county. Every vote counts. Any money libraries receive from the state is dependent on local funding. Libraries that have a decrease in local funding may also have state funding cut. Today is the last day to register to vote!

Our Children, Our Future

The Our Children, Our Future Fall Candidate Forum will be held this Thursday at the library beginning at 5:30. This forum is one of several taking place across the state, as part of the Our Children, Our Future Campaign and is co-sponsored by the Brooke Hancock Family Resource Network, WVU Extension Services, Weirton Library, and the Healthy Kids and Families Coalition. These forums bring together community members, advocates, agency officials, and families to learn about the policy issues that the Campaign will focus on in the 2015 legislative session. We would like to encourage everyone to attend. The following candidates have made a commitment to attend: Fitzsimmons, Ferns, Disero, Weld, McGeehan, and Zatezalo. Snacks and activities for children will be provided.

November Polling places for Brooke and Hancock Counties

If you have not registered to vote, you only have one week left to register for the November election.

From last Thursday's Bluegrass Performance. Players are from left: Bob Swartzmiller, Darrell Henline, Pat Lynskey, and Beth Cook

National Archives Virtual Genealogy Fair

On October 28, 29, and 30, the National Archives is having a Virtual Genealogy Fair. Over the course of the three day event, they will broadcast 17 workshops live over YouTube. Anyone interested may view the event from their home computer at no cost. The library wants to make this event accessible to everyone, so we will open our lower level computer lab and display the event on the large screen in that room.  The following is a schedule of workshop topics and their times:

Family Movie Night

Thursday begins this year's series of monthly family movie nights. We're starting with a 2014 film that stars characters made of some of your favorite building blocks. The movie will start at 6 pm. Popcorn will be provided.

Story Hour

Preschool Fall Story Hour began this week, but it's not too late to register. There is a Monday evening session that meets at 6 pm and a Tuesday morning session that meets at 10 am. Sessions will continue weekly until December 16th. The themes for this Fall are:

Week 1 - Three Little Pigs' Jig
Week 2 - Pet Store Galore
Week 3 - Whose Shoes?
Week 4  - Mama and Baby Animals
Week 5 - Click Clack Moo Too!
Week 6 - What's in my Pocket?
Week 7 - Pajama Party
Week 8 - Fasteners
Week 9 - Grandma's Attic
Week 10 - Popcorn
Week 11 - Mice in the Museum
Week 12 - Castles
Week 13 - Penguins

Call the library at 304-797-8510 for more information.

Voter Registration Day

Today is National Voter Registration Day. If you have moved or changed your name, you should register.

The deadline to register to vote in the November 4 election is October 14th. We have voter registration forms at the library's Reference Desk -- you can fill them out and mail them to the county clerk's office of the WV county you live in. You can also register at the courthouse, or online. Information is available at the West Virginia Secretary of State's website for Voter Information

2014 City Fall Clean Up Dates

Fall Clean Up has been scheduled for the week of Monday, October 6, 2014 through Friday, October 10, 2014. The Clean Up Week pickups will be scheduled on the same day as your regular garbage pick-up day. Please utilize the following guidelines:  1.    Have household goods on the curbside before 7:00 AM.  A fee will be assessed to residents if crews return to a completed area. 2.    Clean Up Week pickups will be limited to household items only. 3.    The City will not pick up the following items: Construction materials Vehicle tires or vehicle parts Tree trimmings and brush Propane tanks Air Conditioners Paint and Paint Cans Lawnmowers Hazardous Materials The City of Weirton will accept electronics; however, electronics must be separated from the regular household items.  Weirton Residents can recycle their paint cans at the Hancock County Solid Waste Authority on old Gas Valley Road at the old Animal Shelter Building (gray building) near Oak Glenn High School on Route 8, or call the Hancock County Solid Waste Authority at 304-459-3269.  Recyclable materials will not be picked up during the Clean Up Week (10/06/2014 through 10/10/2014).  Recycling collection will resume on the residents’ next scheduled recycling week.  Metal Items Day will be held city-wide on Friday, October 3, 2014. On this day, the Public Works Department crews will only pick up metal items throughout the entire City between the hours of 7:00 AM and 3:00 PM. Metal Items to be collected include:  stoves refrigerators dishwashers washing machines dryers hot water tanks old railings bicycle frames metal shelving etc... Residents must place these items by the curb before 7:00 AM. SPECIAL NOTICE: An ordinance prohibiting the removal (scavenging) of garbage or any other articles placed at curbside for “clean up” pickup by the City is in effect.  Individuals cited for this activity shall be fined not less than $5.00 or more than $500.00 and costs, and, for the second or subsequent offenses, may be imprisoned for not more than 30 days, in addition to the fine.

Class Cancellations

It's hard to believe, but Fall will soon be here and Story Hour and TASC tutoring will both resume in the next few weeks. When winter weather arrives, listen for school closings. If Hancock County schools are closed, that means that Story Hour and TASC tutoring will also be cancelled.

TASC Tutoring

Group tutoring sessions will begin September 9th to prepare students for the TASC high school equivalency exam. In WV, the TASC replaced the GED last year. Sessions are held from 10-12 on Tuesday and Thursday mornings, and after September 23rd, also from 12-2. Please contact the library's Literacy Coordinator, Pam Makricosta, at 797-8510 between noon and 8:00 Monday through Thursday or on Friday from 9:00-5:00 for more information.

The Wizard of Oz

On Thursday, August 21st at 3 p.m., we will be thrilled to welcome Stevens Puppets back to the library for a presentation of The Wizard of Oz. This nationally known touring company was founded in 1933, and has been entertaining audiences ever since. Both children and adults were captivated by their performances of Beauty and the Beast and The Legend of Sleepy Hollow which we hosted last year. Below are some pictures from one of those performances. 

Puppeteer Greg Genna introduces the Beast from The Beauty and the Beast

Puppeteer Greg Genna answers questions after the show.

Fall Election Registration

Fall is fast approaching and with it comes November elections. If you have not yet registered to vote, the forms are available in the library or on the West Virginia Secretary of State's website. The forms must be mailed in to the County Clerk three weeks before the election. Registrations must be postmarked no later than October 14. Residents of  Hancock County should send their forms to Eleanor Straight at P.O. Box 367, New Cumberland, WV.  26047  Residents of Brooke County should send their forms to Sylvia J. Benzo at 632 Main Street, Wellsburg, WV  26070.  This election is particularly important to the library as the Hancock County Library Levy that provides a significant portion of our budget will be on the ballot. This is not a new levy and has not been increased. In West Virginia, library levies must pass by at least 60%. 

The Family Resource Network of Brooke and Hancock Counties is conducting a survey to help determine the needs of the residents of those counties. Please take a few minutes and take this survey.

Brooke Hancock Family Resource Network Survey

Don't forget Teddy Bear Tea  - Wednesday at 1:00

 

Sponsored by the Weirton Woman's Club Literary Department

Book Discussion Group

The library's monthly book discussion group will meet this Saturday at 11 a.m. This month's title is The Good Earth by Pearl Buck. Anyone is welcome to join, no commitment required. July's book is The Lady and the Unicorn by Tracy Chevalier.

We had a great group of  creative kids and adults at the Michael Albert collage workshop yesterday. While the participants were working on their collages, Michael made an original collage for the library. Everyone who came to the workshop received a print of one of his collages. 

Summer Hours

Beginning June 9th and continuing until Labor Day, the library will close at 6:00 on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. Friday and Saturday hours will remain the same. (5:00 closing)

Fizz, Boom, Read - Summer Reading

Summer Reading begins Monday, June 9th at the Library with a special celebration at 1:00!  In addition to reading for fun, there will be weekly programs for all age groups. There is a group for everyone beginning with 3 year olds and going up to and including young teens. Join us this summer for friends, stories, music, crafts, experiments and some special visitors. Register now by calling the library at 304-797-8510.

Summer Reading Group Meeting Times

Preschool (3-5) Mon. 4:30-5:30 or Tues. 10:00-11:00

K-2nd Grade (6-8) Tues. 1:00-2:00

3rd - 5th Grade (9-11) Thurs. 10:00-11:00

6th Grade and Up (12 and up) Thurs. 1:00-2:00

Celebrity Read Night

Celebrity Read Night was celebrated Thursday evening. It looks like everyone enjoyed the book that the Mayor selected.

Military Heroes Project

The Military Heroes Project is gathering information about local veterans for a book “Military Heroes of the WV Northern Panhandle." They would also like to interview veterans. We are encouraging veterans and their families to participate as this would be a valuable historical resource for our community. Many of our veterans are getting older. We would like for their stories to be recorded. Forms for both participants and volunteers are available at the Reference Desk of the Mary H. Weir Library. For more information contact: The Military Heroes Project at 704 Charles Street, Wellsburg, WV or bchmcc2012@gmail.com.

It's National Poetry Month! The Morton Grove Public Libary created this video using lines from some famous poems, including two of my favorites!

HOW TO WRITE CHILDREN’S BOOKS

 

Martin and Delia Wach are coming to

Mary H. Weir Public Library
3442 Main Street, Weirton

Thursday, April 3 – 6 to 7:30

Presenting their adult class, “How to Write Children’s Books”