The Schlowdown - CDT

A Season of Change

Nathaniel — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 09:27:00 -0400

Ah, Spring. The season of renewed hope, spring cleaning, soccer, baseball, lacrosse, track, and libraries! Libraries? Wha - huh? There. I've said it. Spring is a FANTASTIC time to visit your local library. "But, dear Schlowdown-Blog-Writer, the weather is beautiful! We wanna be OUTSIDE!" Fair enough, gentle reader. Let me offer some arguments for utilizing a library in the springtime. 1) Do you Garden? Do you want to start? Do you want to try something different? Yup. We've got resources for that.2) Are your kids tired of playing Red Rover for the 1000th time? Hey! We have all sorts of places you can find new and exciting games as well as to explore the older versions (like Blindman's Bluff - what are the REAL rules?)3)Starting a new fitness routine? We have exercise DVDs and an extensive collection of music that can get you moving. 4) Planning a road trip? We offer a number of audiobooks that you can download (without setting foot in the library - but we'd love to see you here) and listen to while you drive, ride, run or bike. 5) Did you get an eReader for Christmas? Thinking you'll get one for Mother's Day? Father's Day? We're developing a very nice collection of eBooks that you can check out (please note: eBooks DON'T work on Kindles). 6) Of course, into each life a little rain must fall. And Spring is a very rainy season here in Happy Valley. So, when it rains, come down to the library and attend one of our many programs. Sign up for Summer Reading (it's not just for kids!), visit our gallery to get a glimpse of the talented artists we feature. There is so much to do, and so many ways we can help. Won't you let us? Drop by and ask one of our friendly staff members to lead you in the right direction.

Solve the Mystery of the Murdered Music Librarian @ Schlow

Nathaniel — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 10:12:00 -0500

Schlow library is soon to be a hot bed of CSI-like activity. Thursday, January 21st at 7:00 pm we're turning the library into a giant crime scene with an interactive murder mystery party. As a nod to this year's Centre County Reads pick, The Maltese Falcon, We're appealing to all of you who devour mystery books, movies or TV series like popcorn at a movie. Do you come to the end of a mystery and think, " I KNEW it! I was sure she was the one who did it?" Do you love to play Clue? Now you can live it at the library. Just go to schlowlibrary.org and sign up to be a part of what is rapidly becoming a tradition here at the library. It's free, there are prizes and FOOD! Don't miss out, and don't let the "perp" get away with this "heinous act of violence"! This program is appropriate for teenagers & adults, parents of younger children should use discretion.

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Nathaniel — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 12:42:00 -0500

OK, for the Scrooges and curmudgeons who opened this blog post prepared to be irritated by yet another missive about how GREAT the holidays are I say, "Bah! Humbug!" It IS the most wonderful time of the year, but not just because of the holidays. I love the first snow (when it is timed appropriately - someone needs to let Ol' Man Winter know that October is NOT the time for a snowfall). This past Saturday, my 8 year old son came running into my room oh-so-excited to tell me about the fluffy white stuff. And, of course, the older kids (and more than a few teachers, I'm sure) are wondering when they will have a snow day - sorry guys, it wasn't today but I have a hunch you'll get one or two before April. It's also the end of the year... all those well-intentioned resolutions made last January can be discarded (if you hadn't already done so by mid-February). If, like so many people this year, you had a really crummy year, you'll be glad to bid '09 adieu and welcome '10 with open arms. The possibilities are once again endless, a shiny new place to begin. Not only is the year ending, but I was shocked to get my "Best of the Decade" wrap up issue of Entertainment Weekly - to quote John Stewart: "Whu huh?" the 00's can't be over, can they? It was interesting to see the kinds of things that hadn't even been thought of prior to the year 2000 and how many of those things are now considered "necessities" (hello TiVO? iPhone? Facebook? Twitter?). So, whether you celebrate a religious holiday, Mother Earth, or Festivus for the rest of us (thank you Seinfeld!) I hope you'll be able to take a moment or two to reflect on the last decade and what it has meant to you. Alright, bring on the chaos and busy-ness of wrapping up a year AND a decade! Happy New Year, y'all!

Who will it hurt?

Nathaniel — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 11:27:00 -0500

OK. Today, I must vent. Lately there have been several instances of theft at Schlow Library. Mangled shells of DVD cases have been found strewn about the floor of the bathrooms in the library. When I hear about this I wonder what on earth someone is thinking when they do this... Here are a couple ideas I've had...1) It's a disgruntled patron who has had to pay a fine that they find to be unfair. 2) It's someone just doing it for kicks because they think they can.3) It's someone who wants to watch these movies, but doesn't want them on their cards for all to see (trust me, no one's checking or that interested in ANYONE's borrowing habits). 4) Whoever is doing this thinks it's a "victimless" crime - the library is often considered a government entity - even though it's not - and people think we have unlimited funds and resources - even though we don't.5) It's being done by someone inconsiderate, who doesn't give a rip about the time, effort, and staff hours that go into putting a DVD on the shelves and who couldn't care less about the fact that those DVDs may or may not be replaced thanks to budget cuts. 6) Aliens have landed in the Centre Region and don't have any idea that damage to library property is a crime and that taking items out of the library without checking them out is considered theft. Perhaps Martians don't realize the (rough) meaning of Non-Profit is to provide things without making profit from them. Perhaps Venusians are unaware that we are only capable of keeping DVDs free through the consideration and honesty of library users and that each time one gets checked out the correct way it counts as a "use" for which we receive funding. So, if you see a one-eyed, one-horned flying purple martian in one of our bathrooms and they look like they're up to no good - please let a staff member know. And if, by some wild stretch of the imagination, you see a HUMAN damaging library property or taking items from the library without checking them out, let us know that, too. We'll check first to see if it's an alien in disguise and then, if it turns out they're Earthlings, we'll take care of it.Thanks. Live Long and Prosper!

Where to go When it's Cold

Nathaniel — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 10:50:00 -0400

Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the... hold on! It's not even NOVEMBER yet - let's put the kibosh on the holiday songs & while we're at it, could someone please let old man winter know he should maybe take an Ambien until December? What a MESS! It sounds like there were a lot of chilly people in the dark over the weekend. How many of you trekked over to the library while your "grid" was down? We were open! We had heat! We had electricity! We even had wi-fi! Yet another reason the library is a great place to have in State College! "But," you say, "I have never used the library before! I'd feel uncomfortable just coming in to keep warm or use the Internet...." Guess what, we don't mind! We won't give you the hairy eyeball and tell you that you can't stay unless you make a purchase! Even if you don't have a library card, you can come in and read a magazine, read the paper, read (GASP!) a book! You can get a library card while you're here and check out a DVD in anticipation of the power coming back on. It's free and we have a kicking collection of entertainment and non-fiction media. So please, remember us the next time your power goes out and you don't know where to turn. We cannot restore your power, but we can make the outage a little more bearable. Oh, and one more thing... If you see an Allegheny Power worker, thank them! It's always nice to be recognized and they all worked so hard this weekend to light up State College again! Thanks!