Teen Blog

It's almost time for the annual library Summer Reading Clubs, which run from June 1 - August 31. They are free to join and a great way to discover new favorite books, win prizes, and have a blast reading all summer long. Kids of all ages and teens will earn prizes based on the number of minutes that they read and enter into their online logs. Special summer events include nature classes, drop-in STEM activities, and fun festivals to wrap it all up.

Adults can submit book reviews and be entered to win a movie pass, 2 Bob Evans restaurant coupons, and other goodies. A grand prize winner at the end of the summer will receive a new EReader! Programs feature a special author visit, a writing camp, and our popular Music on the Steps summer music series.

Sign up will be available online and in the branches starting at 9 am on Saturday, June 1.

Intrigue, spying, resistance fighters working behind enemy lines to sabotage the Nazis—Bomb: The Race to Build and Steal the World's Most Dangerous Weapon, by Steve Sheinkin, has it all. The story is true, but it reads like a spy thriller.

Moonbird, by Phillip Hoose, is the story of an incredible bird, B95. Through his story, we learn about an amazing species of tiny shore bird, the Rufa Red Knot. The size of a robin, this bird has one of the longest distance migrations of any animal — more than 18,000 miles in a round trip. B95 has made that trip 20 times, flying the equivalent of the distance to the moon and halfway back, earning him the nickname Moonbird.

Mark your calendars!  You will definitely want to visit the England Run Branch between February 26 and April 24, 2013.  The Central Rappahannock Regional Library system is one of only ten libraries in the country to successfully apply for the grant-funded, museum-quality science exhibit, Discover Earth: A Century of Change!

Do you long for a library catalog with more robust searching options, social networking, and reading recommendations? Are you a fan of Amazon or Goodreads? If so, we think you will love the new catalog that we will be unveiling soon. Check back here on Monday for more details and the link to try it out. We can’t wait until you experience the CRRL’s new way to connect with the library.

You don't have to be a rocket scientist to help astronomers learn about the Universe. You don't need a degree in biology to help track bird populations.  Interested in what whale songs mean? You guessed it—you don't need to be an oceanographer to help scientists figure it out. All it takes is an interest and computer access and you can join the growing ranks of Citizen Scientists. Most projects provide tutorials or clear instructions on their websites. You don't even have to be an adult!

This year the second floor of the Headquarters Library decided to do something a bit different for their holiday decorations. The Youth Services staff made the decision to have all of their decorations made from recycled and repurposed materials, specifically focusing on books weeded from the collection due to extreme damage. Then the system-wide Teen Council and teen volunteers from Headquarters handled the majority of the decoration creation. Over the course of three weeks these groups worked together to create the trees, snowflakes, paper chains and houses that make up the majority of the second floor decorations while staff members created the complementary hedgehogs. One fun twist that came from using old books was creating a game to go with the decorations.

Five trees created from old books are on the Youth Services Research Desk. We encourage all customers to come and try to guess which books were used to make the trees for a chance to win a prize. To go with the theme of recycled and repurposed decorations the Teen Council decided on the slogan “Go Green with the Grinch” to help tie all of the decorations together.

Check out this slideshow and view on Flickr to find out more about how some of the decorations were made.

Thanks to the Library of Virginia, CRRL customers now have access to more eBooks via Freading.

To browse and check out eBooks, visit our Freading web site, and log in using your library barcode and four digit pin number.

Quick FAQs:

• Freading is a token based platform. Each customer gets 4 tokens per week. These roll over for 4 weeks, for a maximum of 16 tokens, and then they leave your account. A week is Monday to Sunday from  midnight, EST.
• Books cost 4, 2, or 1 token(s). In general, this is based on how new a book is.
• Checkout period is 2 weeks. Books can be renewed once for "free" or for a number of tokens depending on the title.
• Freading allows simultaneous use of titles, so no holds necessary!

Like to see the newest additions to the CRRL collection? How about seeing them right on your phone? Now you can with the CRRL mobile app!

First, you need CRRL's mobile app installed on your phone or tablet. It is available for download from your phone's app store, or you can use your phone's Web browser to go to http://crrl.boopsie.com for the download and more information.

Once the CRRL mobile app is installed, open the app and select "What's New in the Catalog." You have a choice of All, Top Choices, DVDs, Teen and Children's Books. Select one of these, and you'll see what's new this week in the category. Click on a title to put it on hold, right from your phone. Easy!

You can get the same information by email by signing up for Wowbrary's weekly email newsletter.

Don't have a phone? No problem. You can also use our mobile app in a Web browser: http://crrl.boopsie.com/m/