Information for children here on what the TVA is, as well as information on different forms of energy and information on how to save energy.
State Animals November 1, 2009
“StateAnimals.com is an educational web site which contains photos and descriptions of Official State Animals of the United States. Our objective is to provide simple yet concise information about these Officially Designated State Animals as well as providing clear documentation of a unique part of America’s heritage.”–From the Web site.
Judy Blume : “I Was Margaret” — Interview October 6, 2009
http://www.doublex.com/section/arts/judy-blume-i-was-margaret
The Web magazine doubleX offers this interview with noted author Judy Blume.
National Domestic Violence Awareness Month October 3, 2009
President Obama has declared October, 2009, as Domestic Violence Awareness Month. The National Domestic Violence Hotline web site has much information on domestic violence, including resources, statistics, and more. The hotline number is: 1-800-799-Safe (7233).
NASA Educational Materials August 14, 2009
http://search.nasa.gov/search/edFilterSearch.jsp?empty=true#
Although intended for educators, there are over 3000 resources here in this NASA database that could of help and interest to all kinds of library customers and library staff. There is also a browsable list of the publications available.
Find Your Summer Camp 2009 May 14, 2009
http://www.commercialappeal.com/SummerCamps2009/search/
The Memphis Commercial Appeal provides this online search tool to help you find summer camps in the Memphis Area. There are ways to narrow your search, including by camp type: Arts/Hobbies, Day Camps, Educational, Residential, Specialty, and Sports.
Free books! April 28, 2009
“Do you remember the magic of your first book?” This nonprofit organization provides free books to children who are in financial need.
URDB: The Universal Record Database March 20, 2009
The URDB is “an open, participatory database for world records.” This is a very new site, but it allows people to search existing records, set new ones, or try to surpass old records. So, if you are curious about the “Longest Shh…” or the “Largest Toothpick Beard,” this is the site for you.
Free Technology for Teachers March 13, 2009
http://www.freetech4teachers.com/
This blog reviews free technology resources for teachers and offers guidance on how to integrate technology into the classroom. And of course, the best part is that everything is free! A quick scan suggests that the content is very timely and well-researched.
Inspiring Young Readers February 25, 2009
From Norvel Adams-Walker, East Region Manager
Best-selling author James Patterson has a new website encouraging children to read. The site is geared toward newborns to ages 10 and up. Patterson has selected several age-appropriate titles and even divided the books into various genres for the older ones. This website is eye-catching as well as educational so it should appeal to kids and adults as all are trying to find something new to read.
Thanks, Norvel!
Build Your Family Tree February 10, 2009
Thanks to Mary Seratt and Hillary Pesson for passing this along!
dynastree is a site that allows users to create their own family trees. This could be very helpful for children who need to do a genealogy project. There is also a great tool that will map the distribution of a particular surname in the U.S. A free registration is required to build a family tree, but the mapping tool can be used without a registration.
Banning Children From Libraries? January 24, 2009
I just received a call about Congress’ move to ban children from libraries… WHAT??!!
OK, calm down, and take a deep breath. There is much more to the story.
The Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA), passed this past August, requires that all products for children under 12 must be tested for lead. Books are subject to this requirement, as lead is often present in ink, but testing is expensive and time consuming.
So what does this mean for libraries? Well, that is not completely clear just yet. The Consumer Product Safety Commission is still working on guidelines for all industries, including schools and libraries, for when the law takes effect on February 10th. Libraries and schools could be granted an exemption.
For more information:
ALA Wiki – http://wikis.ala.org/professionaltips/index.php/Consumer_Product_Safety_Improvement_Act_(CPSIA)
Library Journal - http://www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA6628453.html
SurLaLune Fairy Tales October 2, 2008
http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/sitemap.html
SurLaLune Fairy Tales is a great resource with over 1,200 fairy tales and 1,500 illustrations. The major fairy tales are annotated, with histories, interpretations and links to similar tales across cultures. Click on “How to Search the SurLaLane Website” for links to timelines, quotations and much more.
Tainted Milk From China September 29, 2008
http://www.who.int/foodsafety/fs_management/infosan_events/en/index.html
http://www.who.int/csr/media/faq/QAmelamine/en/index.html
These are two sites from the World Health Organization that offer information on the melamine-contaminated infant formula and other dairy products that have affected over 40,000 children in China. Other people in other countries are beginning to be affected because China has exported these melamine-contaminated products to other countries.
The second site includes frequently answered questions on melamine.
According the information from the first WHO site, melamine was what tainted the pet food that killed so many pets in the United States in 2007.
Awareness of self-asphyxiation in children September 26, 2008
75 percent of children (ages 9-16) have heard of or even played the “choking game,” according to this website. But, what’s even worse, according to the site, 25 percent of the parents do not know about the game, including parents of some victims. This website is hosted by the Dangerous Adolescent Behavior Foundation, and gives the games’ other slang names as well as warning signs if a child has been participating in this dangerous activity. The site is to raise awareness about this tragedy before any other senseless death occur.
