Life Long Learning Archives - Patchogue-Medford Library

February 24th, 2:30 PM – 4:30 PM, “Civil Rights and Racism on Long Island, a Brief History (1950-1980)”

February 11, 2018 By Jose-Rodrigo

Five trailblazing panelists will talk about and answer questions related their battles in integrating Nassau and Suffolk Counties. Moderated by Paul Arfin, author of “Unfinished Business: Social Action in Suburbia”, the program is the first of its kind in highlighting the local Civil Rights actions of many leaders to improve housing, education, health and incomes for African-Americans during the post-war period.

There will be small appetizers. To register for the free program, call the library at 631-654-4700 x220 or online by clicking this link. Walk-ins are welcome entrance the day of the program.

Panelists

Marvin Colson

Vietnam War Veteran and founding director of the Elsie Owens (Coram) Health Center. As an activist, he was on the front lines protesting against inadequate health care, affordable housing, and redlining, the act of denying access to housing due to race.

Dr. Aldustus E. Jordan

Dr. Aldustus E. Jordan is the co-founder of ERASE Racism and has been active for 50 years in developing and implementing programs that provide an educational opportunity for persons in Long Island communities that have been traditionally by-passed due to racism, segregation, and neglect.

Janet Hanson

Janet Hanson, former Executive Director of Suffolk Housing Services, joined with other efforts to seek local Open Housing ordinances in Brookhaven Town and its villages, including Port Jefferson after she moved to that area and discovered the substandard housing conditions and restrictions that African-Americans faced when attempting to buy property outside of identifiable neighborhoods.

Dr. Frances Brisbane

Dr. Frances Brisbane has, since the 1960s, prioritized being at “every march, every meeting” with federal, state, and local officials on issues of social justice, elimination of poverty, education literacy for everyone, and farm workers’ rights. Dr. Brisbane is currently Vice President for Health Sciences and Workforce Diversity at the State University of New York at Stony Brook.

Click here to register for the program

The mission of the Patchogue-Medford Library is to provide resources and opportunities to empower, educate and entertain the community. As the Central Library for the Suffolk County, this distinction has allowed the library to develop a collection that is known for its depth and has also contributed to the library’s role as a leader in new trends and services.

Free Resume Wizards – Through the Library

September 7, 2017 By Jose-Rodrigo

Free Resume Wizards – Through the Library

Job Searchers are unaware of the costs of creating a resume. The prices are small but can cause a lot of problems if the job searcher isn’t expecting to pay. If you don’t have access to a debit/credit card, paying for a resume online is impossible.

Further complicating things for job seekers is that most sites don’t advertise their costs until you reach the print and/or save file screen. In fact, job searchers can spend a lot of time crafting the perfect resume, only to be forced to pay or lose the work they put in.

I did a simple search for ‘resume maker’ and ‘make a resume free’ to get an idea of what job seekers see when they try to create a resume.

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I Knew They Would Go, I Never Planned On Paying

August 5, 2017 By Jose-Rodrigo

I Always Knew They Would Go To College, I Just Never Planned On Paying

Nine out of ten families knew their children would go to college, but only 4 had a plan. That’s the latest report from Sallie Mae and Ipsos’ ‘‘How America Pays for College 2017’. Now in its tenth year, the report notes that parents and students equally share the costs of paying for college. Additionally, families are increasing their knowledge of costs and planning within their means. In fact, nearly half of all families have used grants and scholarships to pay for college. Almost all families have taken steps to reduce college costs, such as having students live with their relatives.

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This New Snapchat feature Endangers Children

June 26, 2017 By Jose-Rodrigo

Turned out, she didn’t know she had Snap Map enabled, and didn’t know it was showing her location every time she opened the app. When she updated Snap and went through the Snap Map introduction, she believed Snap was giving the option to geotag her Snaps for Our Story, as shown in the promotional video. Instead, she had inadvertently broadcast where she lived to every one of her Snap contacts.

Snapchat’s newest feature is also its biggest privacy threat – The Verge

If your children are on Snapchat, you need to make sure that they are not broadcasting their location publicly. This new Snapchat feature endangers children and puts them at risk. Since the update has been released, several news outlets have reported on its danger. While you need to opt-in in order to turn on the Snap Map, many people don’t think twice about agreeing. Only afterward do they realize their privacy was compromised.

How to turn off Snap Map

In order to make sure they have their snap map turned off, pinch the screen when the camera is open. Then, click on the cog on the top-right hand corner of the map. After that, turn on ‘Ghost Mode’. To thoroughly prevent the Snap Map, turn off location sharing in your phone’s settings.

Free Apps for Productivity – 2017

June 23, 2017 By Jose-Rodrigo

I like free apps. Who doesn’t? If you’re looking for something to help you at work or school, you’ve come to the right place. All of these different sites can help your productivity and expand your thinking. In fact, I use them all the time. Because they are free, they are perfect for everyone! Most of them have a premium version, but those aren’t necessary to enjoy their benefits. Check them out!

Free Apps

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Learning Tools for Short Attention Spans

May 23, 2017 By Jose-Rodrigo

Tl; DR : Learning tools for Short Attention Spans are finally here. Most are free and teach important things in small doses.

Instructors and teachers often struggle to get learners to sit still long enough to get through a complete lesson. Thankfully, more and more learning tools are being designed with tomorrow’s learners in mind. They deliver bite-sized content to students, which holds their attention better and increases learning overall.

Best Learning Tools for Those with Short Attention Spans

I like to learn big things in small pieces. For example, I’m reading War and Peace. I’ve been reading it for about three years. I’m less than halfway through. Every few days a read a few pages. I’ve missed out on just about every hot new book for a few years now. I don’t really stress about it. When I talk to a particularly strong reader, replying with “I’m reading War and Peace” either nets me an 1)eye-roll or 2) a contorted ‘ugh, why’ face. My reply is the epitome of Salvadoran queso duro. Smells brutal (tastes amazing).

Why not just give up? Because it’s just how I roll. I’m not reading it for school. Such a gargantuan undertaking takes a long time. I am not the Usain Bolt of reading. I’m OK with that.

In fact, I learn a lot of things slowly. Last year, I spent about eight months learning French. Every day. Some days were just a few minutes. Other days, I would learn for about an hour. I started to read newspapers and magazines. I could hold a basic conversation. Poorly. But enough to be understood! I’ve been learning French for about 15 years.

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The Baby Chicks Have Hatched!

April 11, 2017 By Jane Drake

2017 is the fourth year that Children’s and Parents’ Services will be hatching baby chicks during the school spring break. Over the past few years, we’ve had a pretty good hatch rate for our chicks. In 2014 we successfully hatched eight chicks, the last of which we named Lucky because he almost didn’t make it! In 2015, ten chicks and last year, nine chicks hatched. We candled our eggs and discovered that at least one of them is empty. Because the shell of the dark brown eggs is so dark, it makes it difficult to see what is going on inside the egg.

Baby Chicks will be hatching at the Teen Center

New this year, the Teen Department at the Carnegie Building will also be hatching chicken eggs for the first time. Their eggs will be hatching sometime around Monday, April 17.

On the first full day of spring, Tuesday, March 21, I placed a dozen eggs in our incubator, located in my office on the Lower Level of the Library. Four of the eggs are white, four are light brown and four are dark brown.

The white eggs are from a White Leghorn mix breed and they will hatch into the familiar yellow chick that we all remember from the early ‘60’s cartoon Foghorn Leghorn who always asked the baby chick character, Henery “So you want to be a chicken hawk, do ya son?” There is no way to determine the sex of these chicks when they are hatched.

The Baby Chicks will be one of three varities

The brown eggs will hatch into either Black Star chicks or Cinnamon Queen chicks. Black Star chicks are a cross between a Rhode Island Red rooster and a Barred Rock hen. Female Black Star chicks hatch all black and the male chicks hatch black with a white spot on its head.

Cinnamon Queen chicks are a cross between a Rhode Island Red rooster and a Silver Laced Wyandotte hen. Female Cinnamon Queen chicks hatch red and the male chicks hatch yellow.

Click this link to watch the hatching action on our live feed!

Now that you know all that, you may be able to identify them as they begin to hatch on Monday, April 10. Be sure to check the Patchogue-Medford Library’s Live Chick Cam on Youtube often so that you don’t miss these eggs hatching!

Since March 21^st and for the last 18 days, we have monitored and maintained the optimum temperature and humidity levels in the incubator of approximately 100 degrees and a 48%-56% humidity. Later today, the eggs will be taken out of the automatic eggs turner and laid down on the screen inside the incubator and the humidity will be increased to 65%.

Baby Chicks are expected Monday, April 10th, 2017!

This begins the final three day countdown as the chicks prepare to hatch. With any luck, on Monday, the eggs will begin to show signs of pipping by the chick. The chick will use a special egg tooth to peck its way out of the shell. This egg tooth is only there on the chick for the first 12-24 hours. The hatching process requires a great amount of exertion on the part of the chick. The chick alternates between periods of activity and lengthy periods of rest. Chicks can take up to 24 hours to hatch. While it can be a slow process, it is amazing to watch! Once all or most of the eggs have hatched and the chicks are dry, they will be moved to a brooder box. Chicks absorb some of their yolk so they can survive in the incubator for 48-72 hours before being moved.

I know you won’t want to miss out on the action and educational experience this year! The chicks will be around for about a week if you would like to come down and see them in person too! We have many stories as well as nonfiction books about chickens that you can borrow from the Children’s and Parents’ Services Department as well as from the Adult Department too!

Looking forward to seeing you (and the chicks!) soon!

Mrs. Drake, Children’s and Parents’ Services

Biblioboard

Ways to Steal Your Password

February 24, 2017 By Jose-Rodrigo

There are many ways to steal your password. No matter who you are. Do you have a college degree? Are you a high-level executive? Do you feel pretty smart when it comes to computers? You’re in luck: you will definitely have your password stolen. That’s because hackers use your confidence against you. As long as you feel thoroughly aware of all risks, you are most at risk. Nobody is immune from hacking. Nobody.

Password hacking illustration

Beware of phishing.

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Learning Resources for the New Year

February 7, 2017 By Jose-Rodrigo

Every year I like to take a glance at the learning resources available free or at a low-cost.

It’s easier than ever to learn how to do something. In the first place, the abundance of teaching websites or videos is mind-numbing. For example, you can now choose from about six websites that can teach you to code. In addition to coding websites, there are sites that teach foreign languages. Although Home Ec was a disaster in High School, you could revitalize your crafting career with lessons you learned off Reddit.

In the event that you got stuck, who could you turn to if you wanted to check a code you wrote? Until now, how could you be sure that what you were translating would be well understood by your audience? As long as you have a reliable connection to the internet, the number of places to ask questions and expect a high-quality answer is well organized and easy to use. However, you need to have a heap of digital literacy to understand the difference between an expert and a charlatan.

In fact, digital literacy is key to evaluating all kinds of information on the internet.

Which of these articles are fake?

Vizio Televisions track everything you watch and sell it back to marketers
Barrel of maple syrup spills on 1-91 in Vermont, briefly, closes highway
Facebook buys Snapchat for Five Billion Dollars
Venezuela’s currency value depends largely on one guy at an Alabama Home Depot

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Libraries Make a Difference

November 8, 2016 By Elaine Perez

The article is from Real Simple – November 2016 issue,

titled 5 Reasons the world is still a wonderful place by Liz Loerke.

Photo Credit: Elaine Perez

Libraries Still Exist by Caitlin Moran (excerpt)

When you’re a child, if your home is perhaps unhappy or else just cramped or dull, and you are too poor for the mall to hold any appeal for you, there is a third, magical space you can go to on a rainy day: the library. A place where you can go without a penny in your pocket and be given a room full of worlds. For each book is a doorway you can walk through into another land. There are a million people, from across the world and through time, who are sitting on those shelves, dying to tell their stories and become your friend. It is a place where you will be valued not for what you wear or how you look, but for how many words you have collected and stored in your head (corybantic, uxorious, shagreen, mimosa). Most important, it is a place where you can just sit on a chair and read all the rude bits from Judy Blume books. And we invented these facilities! We made them happen. How cool is that? This humanity’s greatest achievement.