Harry Potter Party

Visit the Charlotte Hall Library to check out our AWESOME Harry Potter display, to advertise the upcoming party.
Hall, Thursday 2-4:30
Leonardtown, Thursday 5-7:30
Lexington Park, Wednesday 4-6:30


Participate in the costume contest; trivia contest; enjoy the Potter-themed snacks; and watch Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix!

Please register on www.stmalib.org, but it is not necessary.

We have winners!

The first 30 prizes have been awarded in the Express Yourself! Summer Reading club. These 30 lucky readers have won cool posters. Are you registered for the club yet? Get registered, and bring in your reading logs and book reviews to earn chances in the next drawing, July 20, for awesome T-shirts!

Charlotte Hall:

Jessica Butler, Katie Fersch, Kevin Fersch, Russell Gilbert, Kayla Housewright, Brandon Lehoskay, Luke Marra, Olivia Passmore, & Mary Prather

Leonardtown:

Aleksander Glut, Kelsey Hancock, Olivia Higgs, Madeline Mattingly, Stephanie Miller, Victoria Miller, Hannah Ray, Olivia Ray, Jack Savage, & Kristina Sproul

Lexington Park:

Peter Carroll, Emily Dunn, Faith Hastings, Ravyn Hicks, Jewels Lonkert, Julien McDermott, Jabrena Milburn, Caleb Thompson, Connor Vickers, & Hannah Wichrowski

Express Yourself!(Summer reading begins)

Summer Reading begins this week! Hurry, hurry, hurry on down to your local library and sign up at once for "Express Yourself," the 2009 Teen Summer Reading Club. What's that you say? You think you're too cool for Summer Reading? Too cool to win awesome prizes? Like T-shirts, posters, free italian ice and ice cream? Like an iPod, iTunes gift cards, a digital video camera, an entertainment chair, and movie theater gift cards?

How to win this great stuff? It's easy! Sign up for the club. Get your reading log, your free giveaways, and your book review slips. Fill up your reading log by spending time reading (anything!) and return to the library 3 times during the summer to show off your progress. You earn entries in the prize drawings for each of 3 visits with your reading log. Want more chances to win? Write a (very short) review of each book you read. Every one you submit is another chance in the prize drawings.

Summer Reading is from June 8-August 8.

ALA has announced the Teens' Top Ten Books Nominees of 2009!!!

Open the link to find the list of 25 books YALSA has chosen as the best of 2009. You can vote for your favorite(s) beginning August 25 (Teen Read Week). Read one or read them all! Let your YA librarian know what you think!

Leonardtown TAG meeting CANCELLED, May 14.

The Leonardtown Library TAG meeting scheduled for May 14 has been cancelled. Sorry, guys- it couldn't be helped. The next Leonardtown TAG meeting will be Thursday, June 11 at 5:30pm.

Summer Volunteers Needed!

It's that time again! Summer Reading Volunteers (entering 6th grade & up) are needed to:

• help children sign up for clubs
• explain the Summer Reading clubs to kids & parents
• give out prizes
• answer questions and give information about library activities
• help with various small jobs in the Children's Department during the very busy summer season
• help set up, clean up, and seat people at Summer Performer shows (puppet shows, magic shows, etc)

Volunteers get certificates documenting their service hours, invitations to a special appreciation event, and the lasting gratitude of the library staff!

Interested? Visit any St. Mary’s County Library or click here for the Summer Reading volunteer application, fill it out, and return it to the library branch where you wish to volunteer by May 22. Then attend one of the training meetings:

• Leonardtown: Thurs, May 28 6-7pm
  
• Charlotte Hall: Thurs, June 4, 6-7:30pm
• Lexington Park: Mon, June 1, 6-7:30pm OR Weds, June 3, 6-7:30pm
  

There are changes to the Summer Reading program this year, so attending a training session is very important even if you have been a Summer Reading volunteer before.

Homework Headaches? Try HelpNow!Free online tutoring

Is your homework hurting your brain? Help is here! Southern Maryland libraries now offer free online tutoring and homework help through Brainfuse HelpNow. Just log on with your library card number. Expert tutors will work with you in an online classroom. You can get help with a specific homework problem, or take tutoring sessions on these subjects in grades 3-12, including AP levels:

• English/Language Arts
• Math, including Algebra, Geometry, Trig, and Calculus
• Science, including Biology, Chemistry, Physics, & Earth Science
• Social Studies & History
• Foreign Language

Writing a paper? Submit your draft to the Writing Lab, and a tutor will send you feedback to help improve your paper within 24 hours.

Tutors are available from 2pm-11pm, 7 days a week. The online writing lab is open 24/7.