Fun Sites

If you enjoy birdwatching, you will really enjoy this site:

Maine Birding Trail. The site contains information for the entire state of Maine and provides maps, charts, and lots of useful information for birdwatchers.

For anyone who enjoys word games, visit Free Rice. Select the correct definition of a word and for each correct answer 20 grains of rice will be donated through the United Nations World Food Program to help end world hunger.

If you enjoy taking digital photos and finding fun ways to share them with friends, take a look at this site: Dumpr.

Do you need to choose a baby name? Wondering how popular your name was when your parents gave it to you? Just curious about names in general? Then visit the Social Security popular baby names page and see the top ten names for any given year, popular names by birth year, by state, and by decade.

If you get frustrated that you can never reach a real person when you call customer service at your favorite company, check out Get Human. This database lists information on how to reach a real human for many of the companies you may need to call.

If you are looking for movie reviews, check out Rotten Tomatoes. You'll find a great selection of reviews that may help you pick out your next movie to watch.

Holiday Closing

The library will be closed on Tuesday, January 1st and will reopen on Wednesday, January 2nd at 9 am.

Happy New Year!

Most Literate Cities 2007

The America's Most Literate Cities study for 2007 has just been posted online and it is interesting to note that library resources are one of the six key indicators. The study has been conducted every year since 2003 by Dr. John W. Miller, President of Central Connecticut State University. It ranks the 69 largest cities (population of 250,000 and above) and focuses on six key indicators: bookstores, library resources, periodical publishing resources, educational attainment, and Internet resources.

The top ten most literate cities are:

• Minneapolis, MN
• Seattle, WA
• St. Paul, MN
• Denver, CO
• Washington, DC
• St. Louis, MO
• San Francisco, CA
• Atlanta, GA
• Pittsburgh, PA
• Boston, MA

Energy Assistance and Fuel Economy

Everyone is concerned about heating costs and fuel consumption this winter so here are a few sites for you to review. Many of the links below will provide information on fuel assistance programs and fuel economy.

Maine Public Service offers free energy audits for your home. Just call them and schedule an appointment and one of their staff members will come out to your house and review your energy consumption. The information they provide is specific to your home and your energy usage. They will leave a detailed report and offer suggestions for ways to reduce and conserve your electricity usage.

Citizens Energy Heating Oil Assistance Program

Maine Weatherization Program

Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) Programs for Maine

Maine State Housing Authority Energy Assistance Programs

ACAP Energy and Housing Services

Citizens Energy Corporation for Maine

US Department of Energy Fuel Economy Guide

EPA Fuel Economy

Energy Information Administration

How to Say Thank You

Writing the perfect thank you note takes time, practice, and a lot of thought. After receiving wonderful holiday gifts, we all want to thank the special people who gave them. Somehow a thank you e-mail to Grandma just doesn't seem satisfying enough.

If you need help finding the right words, you may want to read the book Just a Note to Say...The Perfect Words for Every Occasion, by Florence Isaacs.

Be sure to read this piece by Leslie Harpold on How to Write A Thank-You Note. It is brief, to the point, and offers many good tips on the subject.

To put things in perspective, read The Essential Handbook of Victorian Etiquette to learn about very demanding social etiquette of an earlier time.

Holiday Hours

The library is open Sunday, December 23rd from 10-2

Open Monday, December 24th from 9-1

Closed on Tuesday, December 25th.

Reopens on Wednesday, December 26th from 9-5:30

Happy Holidays from all of us at the library!

Presque Isle Reading & Discussion Group

Reading Group Selections for 2008

Meets in the library at 6 pm on the dates listed below

January 17 Team of Rivals by Doris Kearns Goodwin
February 21 Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert
March 20 A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest Gaines
April 17 Macbeth by William Shakespeare
May 15 Selected Short Stories by Flannery O’Connor
June 19 Bound for Canaan by Fergus Bordewich

Meets the third Thursday of every month at 6 pm in the library.

The group does not meet in July and August.

Everyone welcome.

The Mitchell Report

I confess that I'm not a sports fan, but even I had to take a look at the Mitchell Report.

The online report is 409 pages and is certainly worth a quick scan. There is also an executive summary for those with an interest and little time. If you are a big sports fan, then you just might want to read all 409 pages.

Make it an Eco-Friendly Holiday Season

EPA Reducing Holiday Waste

2007 Holiday Season Facts from the US Census Bureau

Some ideas for greener holidays and gift giving:

Greenliving

Greengiftguide

Natural Resources Defense Council

Sierra Club

Treehugger Gift Guide

Newsweek How to have a Green Christmas

Green Holiday Season, University of North Texas

Second Life

You may have seen the recent story on WAGM-TV about the Mark & Emily Turner Memorial Library in Second Life. If you are already in Second Life, thanks for visiting our library, and if you are new to Second Life, we encourage you to stop by for a visit.

What is Second Life?

Second Life (SL) is a 3D online virtual world created by its users. You simply create an account, create a name for yourself, and create an avatar (a computer-designed representation of yourself). Your avatar can be anything you want it to be and can look however you wish.

If you want to learn more about Second Life, need help creating an avatar, or want to take a tour of the Mark & Emily Turner Memorial Library in SL, contact Sonja Plummer-Morgan at sonjaplummer@presqueisle.lib.me.us

Second Life

What is Second Life

Wikipedia Article on Second Life

Second Life Blog

Second Life Glossary

Embrace the Winter

We just received copies of the 2008-2009 Northern Maine Snowmobile Trail Map from the Presque Isle Chamber of Commerce. Stop by the library to pick up your copy or visit the Chamber of Commerce at 3 Houlton Road. This year's map is the most accurate ever produced thanks to the work of Kirk and Cheryl St. Peter of County Environmental Engineers, Inc. for their efforts in gathering GIS snowmobile trail data.

Maine Snowmobile Association

Presque Isle Snowmobile Club

Snowmobile Facts from the Snowmobiling Fact Book 2007/2008

There are approximately 1.58 million registered snowmobiles in the US and 700,000 in Canada.
In 2007, there were 160,318 snowmobilies sold worldwide with 79,815 in the US and 45,477 in Canada. Number of registered users in Maine: 53,275
Average suggested retail price of new snowmobile sold in 2007 in US dollars was $8,700

Are you a Locavore?

The 2007 Word of the Year for the Oxford American Dictionary is Locavore:

One who eats locally grown food.

Read more about the announcement and words not selected

A book you might enjoy if you are considering becoming a locavore is Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life by Barbara Kingsolver.

New York Times Review

Get Real Maine - Info on finding local Maine foods and farms

Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association

Upper Valley Localvores / Local Eaters in Vermont and New Hampshire

Maine Eating Blog

Holiday Generosity from Maine

The Worcester Wreath Company in Harrington, Maine began donating wreaths to cemeteries back in 1992. What started out as a way to put its extra wreaths to good use has turned into a national story. Beginning December 9, two tractor-trailer trucks accompanied by several dozen motorcycles will make their journey from Harrington, Maine to Arlington, Virginia to deliver the wreaths to Arlington National Cemetery on December 15. This year the company will donate 14,371 wreaths, with 2,500 going to veterans' cemeteries in Maine.

Wreaths Across America

Arlington National Cemetery

Down East article, "Journey of the Wreaths"

Thanks to the Presque Isle Garden Club

The Presque Isle Garden Club has donated two beautiful wreaths which now hang on the entrance doors of the library. The Garden Club provides the library with wreaths every year and their generous donation is greatly appreciated. The club also donates their time and expertise to tend the flower gardens around the library during the summer.

Holiday Ideas

We just received a beautiful book, Origami Jewelry by Ayako Brodek. The jewelry is so lovely that you'll want to learn how to make it as soon as possible.

The holiday season is here again, and if you want to give homemade gifts, you should come in and browse the Craft Section. The array of books and projects will astound you. You can learn to make a birdhouse, knit, crochet, quilt, and more. The Cookbook Section will give you hundreds of ideas for food gifts. Our Children's Collection has craft books for kids, too. The library even has a knitting group which meets on Thursday evenings from 5-7, and everyone is welcome.

Another way to reduce your holiday stress is to think of new and simple ways of gift giving:

• Donate to a local charity on someone's behalf
• Shop locally and give local gifts such as the Presque Isle Historical Society's 2008 Calendar (available at shops in town and at the library)
• Make a donation to the library for the purchase of a book in honor of someone special or purchase a non-resident membership for a friend or relative
  
• Browse the library's used book sale for gifts (many of the books are in perfect condition)

The Maine Writers & Publishers Alliance's new book, Eating Between the Lines: A Maine Writers' Cookbook, makes a great gift. The library owns a copy and you will have fun seeing what Stephen King, Tess Gerritsen, and many others have to say about cooking. You can even make an author's favorite recipe and enjoy it while reading one of their books.

Send a Maine postcard to a friend this holiday season - it's free!

Maine School of Science and Mathematics

Congratulations to the students, faculty, and staff at
Maine School of Science and Mathematics

U.S. News and World Report has ranked the Maine School of Science and Mathematics (MSSM) in Limestone, Maine the 35th best in the nation, placing it in the top 100 high schools to earn a gold medal rating. MSSM is the only school from Maine to make the gold medal list. It is also the only magnet school in Maine.

Maine School of Science and Mathematics

US News and World Report Best High Schools

Maine Government News

Food for Fines and Upcoming events

Food for Fines
December is amnesty month. No fines will be charged during the month of December. Patrons are encouraged to bring in a non-perishable food item to be donated to Catholic Charities Food Bank.

Author visit at the Turner Library
Author and photographer, Ron Laing, will be visiting the library on December 15th and 16th from 1:00 to 2:00 PM to talk to patrons and sign copies of his book, An African Adventure: The Story of a Photographer's Visit to Kenya's Maasai Mara. Mr. Laing will be selling autographed copies of his book ($19.95) and note cards ($9.95). All funds raised will be used to purchase school uniforms for the Maasai children in Kenya's bushland.

Santa is coming to the Library
December 18th
10:00 - 11:00 in the Children's Department

Children's Books

These books aren't only for children.

If you haven't visited the Children's department lately, you'll be surprised at all the wonderful books on display. If you haven't read a children's book in while, treat yourself to some of the titles below. Better yet, stop in and locate a book from your own childhood and reread it. Children's books contain wonderful illustrations and beautiful stories. They are a treat to read at any age.

Be sure to look for award winning books such as Caldecott, Newbery, Coretta Scott King, Michael L. Printz Award for Excellence in Young Adult Literature, and many others.

Earmuffs & Chester Greenwood

It was 8 degrees this morning and the wind was blowing hard. Luckily for everyone in Maine, earmuffs were invented and can be used to keep us all warm. Better yet, they were invented by a Mainer from Farmington, Maine. Chester Greenwood was born in Farmington, Maine in 1858 and invented earmuffs in 1873 at the age of 15. Every year on the first Saturday of December, the town of Farmington celebrates their native son and his invention with a parade and other events.

The library is open today from 10-2 and if you stop in, we'll have a cup of hot chocolate waiting for you. Be sure to wear your earmuffs.

To read more about the invention of earmuffs and Chester Greenwood, click on the links below:

About.com

Visit Maine

Idea Finder

World AIDS Day December 1, 2007

United Nations World AIDS Day

World AIDS Campaign

US Department of Health and Human Services

Centers for Disease Control & Prevention

Maine CDC

Read Stephanie Nolen's book 28 Stories of AIDS in Africa.