What's New Part 4 - Exciting Children’s Programming

There’s always something interesting going on for children at the Petawawa Public Library! Alyson Young is the Children’s and Young Adult Programmer at the Petawawa Public Library. (Could she HAVE a better last name for the job?) Miss Alyson, as she is known to her Storytime friends, works tirelessly to develop fun and creative activities for kids of all ages.

Just recently, her March Break Week of the Extreme programs proved to be “extremely” successful as kids explored extreme weather, extreme design, and extremely gross creations, and dropped in for a fun Storytime and an exciting Movie afternoon.



But wait, there’s more …

Back by popular demand is the Fancy Nancy Tea Party on Friday May 6. A new twist this time: It will be open to girls AND boys 3-7 years old. Registration begins April 6.

Register now for the Easter Craft Day taking place on Saturday April 16 from 1-2pm. Don’t delay. Space is limited.

On Saturday May 7, drop in between 12 and 2pm to make a special craft for Mother’s Day.

Paws to Readtm is another successful ongoing program here at the library. Register for 15 minute sessions where children develop confidence in their reading ability by practicing with a certified therapy dog. Kids love it! Join us on Thursday April 8 for a Meet and Greet from 11am – 1pm to get to know the Paws to Readtm dogs.

During the month of May, Alyson will be offering a Drop in Storytime with a Spring theme on alternating Tuesdays and Wednesdays at 10 am. The exact dates will be posted on our calendar in April. Meanwhile, the Saturday Drop in Storytime at 1pm continues until June 18!

As summer approaches, we are gearing up for the TD Summer Reading Program. The theme this year is Splash! Celebrate Summer! This program is planned and presented by a Summer Student under the supervision of Children’s Librarian Janet Coulas. Registration will take place in June. Watch our website, calendar, Facebook and Twitter for the exact dates.

(Heads up for job-hunting University & College students: The Summer student position will be posted in the library and on our website as soon as the funding is approved!)

If you have questions about any of our Children’s and Young Adult Programming, contact Alyson at 613-687-2227 ext. 29 (email: ayoung@bellnet.ca) or Janet at 613-687-2227 ext. 22 (email: jcoulas@bellnet.ca).

For more information about activities in the Children’s Department and to view the current Children’s Department Newsletter, visit the Kids Programming Page of our website.

HINT: “Like” us on Facebook and you’ll get news about library programming delivered straight to your news feed.

What's New Part 3 - NEW Online Resources

A young student uses our Online Databases for  research

If you need quick access to information for your research or personal interest projects, look no further than the Petawawa Public Library. In addition to our always growing collection of books, we have added new health, hobby and kid’s educational e-resources to our list of Online Databases.

Find them on our website at petawawapubliclibrary.ca. Go to the Collections tab and select Online Databases from the drop-down menu. Use them at the library on one of our Public Internet Computers, or on your own laptop. From home, just have your library card handy and enter your 14-digit library card number if prompted.

Try them out now by clicking on the captions below each icon!  (You'll need your library card number to log in to some of them).


Consumer Health Complete

Everyday consumer health care information. Search and browse medical encyclopedias, popular reference books, and magazine articles, as well as fact sheets & pamphlets.

Nursing & Allied Health

For nursing students, physician’s assistant students, and researchers in allied health fields who are looking for answers related to the specialized care, treatment and management of all sorts of patients.

Sante en francais

Santé en français fournit des rapports faciles à lire avec des renseignements scientifiquement fondés dans le domaine de la santé. Ces rapports couvrant diverses maladies, conditions et traitements sont vérifiés par des médecins et reflètent les données les plus récentes.

Chilton Library

The most authoritative automotive repair information available to car owners. Thousands of year, make and model combinations covering the most popular vehicles of the past 30 years, plus additional coverage of specialty models.




Home Improvement

More than 180 home-improvement focused titles covering such topics as architectural techniques, tool and material selection, zoning requirements, and much more.




Agriculture Collection

Focus on agriculture and its related fields: from practical aspects of farming to cutting edge scientific research in horticulture.



Grzimek's Animal Life

Learn all about Amphibians, Reptiles and Birds, Fish, Insects, Mammals and Simple Aquatic Life, including information on evolution, habitat, behavior, range and more. For levels K-12.



PebbleGo

Links to PebbleGo Animals and PebbleGo Earth & Space designed for grades K-3. Includes articles, games and videos!

These online resources are brought to you by the Southern Ontario Library Service and Ontario Library Service - North. The support of the Government of Ontario through the Ministry of Tourism and Culture is gratefully acknowledged.

What's New Part 2 - eBooks through OverDrive

Imagine being able to browse, sign out and read library books whenever you want, all without leaving the comfort of your own home. For a growing number of people, access to library books is really becoming this easy. If you have a Petawawa Public Library card, you can now borrow eBooks powered through OverDrive. These eBooks can be downloaded to compatible devices such as Sony, Nook and Kobo eReaders (plus others) as well as iPad, iPhone, iPod touch, BlackBerry, Windows Mobile and Android mobile devices!

The Basics …

Before you borrow OverDrive eBooks the first time, make sure you have your library card and PIN handy. (Visit the library to get your PIN if you don’t have one yet). You will also need to set aside time to download the free Adobe Digital Editions software to your computer in order to transfer titles to your eReader or take the time to install the free OverDrive Media Console app for your mobile device (iPad, Blackberry etc.).

NEW ...

OverDrive has just added a customized help feature on its main page. Just click on “My Help” on the left side of the OverDrive Download Centre page (under the Search box). Here, you will find easy to follow step-by-step instructions for downloading eBooks (and Audiobooks too) specific to your device.

Good to know …

If you are invited to “Place a hold” that means the title is not currently available. You will be notified by email when the book is available. It is also important to know that you are permitted to have only 5 books at once, including eBooks and Audiobooks.

We share the collection with other libraries in Ontario. To avoid the disappointment of picking titles showing as “unavailable”, click on “Advanced Search” (under the “Quick Search” box).  This opens another page where you can check the box at the bottom that says “Only show titles with copies available”.

When you wish to download an eBook, you will need to sign in by selecting the Petawawa Public Library first, and then entering your 14 digit library card number and PIN. You can also change the borrowing period from 7 to 14 days if you wish.

More help and information is available in a question and answer format here: Help - Policies and Procedures - Borrowing Help.

We hope you enjoy your eReading experience with OverDrive. Let us know if have any questions or great tips to share. Remember, this is all new to us too!

(OverDrive ebooks are brought to you by the Southern Ontario Library Service and Ontario Library Service - North. The support of the Government of Ontario through the Ministry of Tourism and Culture is gratefully acknowledged).

Our next blog post will cover some our newest online resources.