Vermiculture; aka Adventures in Harvesting That Worm Poo!

Our 2nd collaboration with Adirondack Lake Center for the Arts had brought forth all you need to know about helping your garden and house plants by harvesting the power of the humble Red Wriggler worm!

Creating and supporting a worm bin is a fun project for anyone, especially if you like gardening, are interested in biology, or just want to do something good for the planet.

Feel free to email any questions about vermiculture to ind-director@sals.edu

Here’s a link to the instructional video from ALCA:

Here’s the instructions that will help you figure out what you’re getting into:

Straw Bale Garden Instructions

Despite the cool temps, garden season is around the corner! We’ve been teaching classes about straw bale gardening at the library for a couple years each spring, but Covid-19 has caused us to adjust our strategy…

With the filming and editing skills of the Adirondack Lakes Center for the Arts, we produced a how-to video about starting a straw bale garden. It is part of their online ALCA-Seltzer Series to deliver virtual programming to our community. Many thanks to the ALCA crew for making this happen!

Straw bale gardening (SBG) has many benefits over traditional gardening, The video below gives an idea of what you’d be getting into. I’m not a professional presenter (that will become VERY apparent soon), so please ignore my bloopers and general awkwardness. The pandemic is taking us all out of our comfort zones…

The link below is a PDF for step-by-step Straw Bale Garden instructions, so don’t worry about taking notes during the video.

If you have any questions about the instructions, send questions to: ind-director@sals.edu

Online Sign-Ups for Library Cards

The library is pleased to be able to offer OverDrive Instant Card. This gives you access to OverDrive e-content using a phone number. Now if you don’t have an Indian Lake Library card, you may still have access to OverDrive ebooks and audios.

Click here to sign up for instant digital card to access OverDrive content: https://salon.overdrive.com/

In addition to adult content, OverDrive has materials for kids and teens. Check out those collections here: https://salon.overdrive.com/library/youth

Remember, if you don’t have a card, and don’t wish to sign up for one, Tumble Book Library is accessible from the Indian Lake Library home page with instant reading or listening.

We LOVE books, but we've got more going on this summer...

30-Day Reading Challenge

In an effort to stay connected with our community the library has an at-home reading challenge for you to try for fun. It’s the Indian Lake Library 30-Day Reading Challenge!

The challenge is a series of different ways to vary your reading activities for a month. Some challenges you may already do regularly. Others may prove a fun way to add some variety to your reading routine.

We hope this challenge helps you spend time reading in new ways. See how many in your household you can get to participate. Send an image of your completed challenge to ind-director.sals.edu and you will receive a congratulatory certificate to display as bragging rights!

Click the button below to download the challenge. Enjoy!

Online Resources While the Library is Closed

In an effort to keep our community informed of online resources to access while our buildings and books are off limits, we are posting them again, with some additions to the list:

1.) Our library website also has a huge collection of databases you may access: indianlake.sals.edu. Hover over “Find Materials” on the left, and click “More Catalogs, Health, Government Resources.” There’s tons of stuff available, but of particular interest to families will be “Kids Infobits”. Your family can learn about animals, plants, music science, sports, and much more.

2.) https://www.stimolaliterarystudio.com/#/
Stimola Literary Studio, representing kid lit and YA authors and illustrators, will host livetreamed readalouds, craft activities, and drawing demonstrations between 9:00 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. EST with Matt Tavares, Ellen Hagan, Shannon Stocker, and many others.

3.) www.myon.com
Free access to Renaissance myON digital reading resources for students and families during the current COVID-19 school closures. Students who are not already reading with their own personalized accounts to the myON literacy environment can log in through a single, shared account, to access this collection of curated resources.

What’s available on myOn:

• The myON digital library—which includes thousands of authentic digital books, fiction and nonfiction, covering a variety of topics and themes
• Five daily myON News articles—which are written for students by journalists and reviewed by a child psychologist for age appropriateness
These resources are available 24/7 and can be accessed on any digital device that is connected to the Internet. Books from the myON digital library can be downloaded onto mobile devices for offline reading.

How to log into myON:
1. Go to: www.myon.com and click the login button at the top of the screen
2. Enter the following information on the login page.

School name: New York Reads
Username: read
Password: books

4.) https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-QcZISbFb9EiIEQ41cVhxw…
Science Mom is hooking us up with a variety of STEAM stuff on YouTube.

5.) http://daybydayny.org/
A website for young children and their families with daily ideas to keep learning fun. It is part of the New York State Library early literacy initiative Ready to Read at New York Libraries.

6.) https://www.storylineonline.net/
Stream videos featuring celebrated actors reading children’s books alongside creatively produced illustrations.

7.) https://pbskids.org/
Videos and games for little learners. There is also a helpful parent’s resources section with ideas and activities for your little ones.

8.) https://www2.ed.gov/parents/academic/help/reader/index.html
Resources from the US Department of Education.

9.) https://switchzoo.com/
Fun learning games with animals.

10.) https://www.si.edu/kids
Learning games and videos from the Smithsonian Institution, the world’s largest museum, education, and research complex. Learn more about the Smithsonian’s 19 museums and the National Zoo—shaping the future by preserving our heritage, discovering new knowledge, and sharing our resources with the world.

11.) http://buttonsandfigs.com/
A fun, educational program for kids, parents, educators, librarians, anyone, everyone who values wordplay. Buttons & Figs introduces kids to great nonsense literature, poetry, and songs as a way to give them permission to play with words.

12.) https://www.storynory.com/
Free stories for kids age 7 to 11 including some fun re-tellings of classical myths and lots of original content.

13.) https://www.parents.com/syndic…/museums-with-virtual-tours/…
This is a list of museums that offer virtual tours–no admmission fee!

14.) https://totallythebomb.com/heres-33-national-park-tours-you
This has cool virtual tours of National Parks.

15.) https://kidsactivitiesblog.com/…/list-of-education-compan…/…
A list of educational companies offering free subscriptions due to school closings.

16.) https://classroommagazines.scholastic.com/…/learnathome.html
Free educational activities.

17.) https://www.katemessner.com/read-wonder-and-learn-favorit…/…
An extensive & updating list of read-alouds, mini-lessons, and more from children’s author Kate Messner.

18.) https://twitter.com/hashtag/OperationStorytime
Follow on Twitter to see how authors are sharing their stories virtually.

19.) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MjaYnyCJDdU&feature=youtu.be
Lunch doodles with kid’s author MoWillems

20.) https://jarrettlerner.com/activities/
Downloadable comic activities from author Jarret Lerner.

21.) https://www.youtube.com/StudioJJK
Drawing classes with graphic novelist Jarrett J. Krosocka on Youtube.

22.)
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCowhHSUaWp3KJDcuI0nR0vw
On this channel, you’ll find workshops, readings, activities, art projects, writing games, writing advice, and more.

23.) https://www.slj.com/
An article from School Library Journal about kid’s authors helping educators, students, and parents during the covid-19 pandemic. Has links to resources.

24.) https://www.vice.com/…/millions-of-books-are-secretly-in-th…
An article about downloading books in the public domain that are free. The article has links to online sources for these books.

25.) https://www.cosmickids.com/
Combines yoga and storytelling, very fun!

26.) https://www.nypl.org/books-music-movies/ebookcentral
New York Public Library has an app that allows anyone with a library card (and an iOS or Android phone) to “borrow” any of the 300,000 e-books in the collection. To gain access, NYPL’s free e-reader app, SimplyE, can be downloaded for iPhone or Android.

There is a limit of three books that you can borrow because there has been a surge in the app’s usage now that we’re all at home, according to the library.

You can also search the library’s collection of 800,000 digitized items, including historic prints, photographs, maps, and manuscripts and check out Mango Languages and Career Cruising with your New York City library card.

For more info on getting a NYPL card, click here: https://www.nypl.org/library-card

27.) indianlake.sals.edu
Tumble Book Library is easy to use, and feature unlimited access from home! You can read as many books as you want, when you want, and on any device. There are NO CHECK-OUTS, NO HOLDS, or NO BULKY DOWNLOADS. Books are available INSTANTLY.

There are 5 collections to browse from:
1. Children’s ebooks
2. Children’s math ebooks
3.Teen ebooks
4. All ages audio books
5. A huge collection of Romance novels for the older crowd!

Access this free service by going to indianlake.sals.edu. On the right side of the page, below the link for OverDrive e-books, is the Tumble Book logo. Simply click the collection you’d like to browse and enjoy. Please share this info widely.

If on your phone, simply scroll down until you find the Tumble Book logo. Hope this helps you spend the time well.

Staying at Home with the Kids–A List of Online Resources

We’ve been fortunate reaching out to our Southern Adirondack Library System to find resources for parents and kids stuck at home right now. We’ve been compiling lists of online resources for reading, educational activities, virtual tours, drawing classes, and more. We hope this will help families cope better with the social distancing.

Scroll down and find something fun and educational to share with your family.

Our library website also has a huge collection of databases you may access: indianlake.sals.edu for free! Hover over “Digital Library”, and click “Learn” for many resources, interesting research, encyclopedias, and databases. There’s tons of stuff available, but of particular interest to families will be “Kids Infobits”. Your family can learn about animals, plants, music science, sports, and much more.

http://daybydayny.org/
A website for young children and their families with daily ideas to keep learning fun. It is part of the New York State Library early literacy initiative Ready to Read at New York Libraries.

https://www.storylineonline.net/
Stream videos featuring celebrated actors reading children’s books alongside creatively produced illustrations.

https://pbskids.org/
Videos and games for little learners. There is also a helpful parent’s resources section with ideas and activities for your little ones.

https://www2.ed.gov/parents/academic/help/reader/index.html
Resources from the US Department of Education.

https://switchzoo.com/
Fun learning games with animals.

https://www.si.edu/kids
Learning games and videos from the Smithsonian Institution, the world’s largest museum, education, and research complex. Learn more about the Smithsonian’s 19 museums and the National Zoo—shaping the future by preserving our heritage, discovering new knowledge, and sharing our resources with the world.

http://buttonsandfigs.com/
A fun, educational program for kids, parents, educators, librarians, anyone, everyone who values wordplay. Buttons & Figs introduces kids to great nonsense literature, poetry, and songs as a way to give them permission to play with words.

https://www.storynory.com/
Free stories for kids age 7 to 11 including some fun re-tellings of classical myths and lots of original content.

https://www.parents.com/syndic…/museums-with-virtual-tours/…
This is a list of museums that offer virtual tours.

https://totallythebomb.com/heres-33-national-park-tours-you…
This has cool virtual tours of National Parks.

https://kidsactivitiesblog.com/…/list-of-education-compan…/…
A list of educational companies offering free subscriptions due to school closings.

https://classroommagazines.scholastic.com/…/learnathome.html
Free educational activities.

https://www.katemessner.com/read-wonder-and-learn-favorit…/…
An extensive & updating list of read-alouds, mini-lessons, and more from children’s author Kate Messner.

https://twitter.com/hashtag/OperationStorytime…
Follow on Twitter to see how authors are sharing their stories virtually.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MjaYnyCJDdU&feature=youtu.be
Lunch doodles with kid’s author MoWillems

https://jarrettlerner.com/activities/
Downloadable comic activities from author Jarret Lerner.

https://www.youtube.com/StudioJJK
Drawing classes with graphic novelist Jarrett J. Krosocka on Youtube.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCowhHSUaWp3KJDcuI0nR0vw
On this channel, you’ll find workshops, readings, activities, art projects, writing games, writing advice, and more.

https://www.slj.com/…
An article from School Library Journal about kid’s authors helping educators, students, and parents during the covid-19 pandemic. Has links to resources.

https://www.vice.com/…/millions-of-books-are-secretly-in-th…
An article about downloading books in the public domain that are free. The article has links to online sources for these books.

The library appreciates the patience and understanding from our community. We’ll all get through this with more patience, understanding, and kindness for each other.

We hope this collection of websites will help you and your families get through this time in a better way. We will provide updates as often as we can to provide you all with more materials to explore.

Keep healthy.

Covid-19 Update

The Indian Lake Board of Trustees will meet Monday March 16th at 9am to decide next steps for the library during the pandemic.

Our goal is to keep patrons and staff safe during this time. The library has cancelled all programming for the remainder of March. At the end of the month, we will reevaluate the situation based on circumstances. Please be safe and take care of each other.

In order to mitigate exposure to the virus, the library is encouraging patrons to:

  • Avoid public gathering spaces, such as the library, if you feel unwell.
  • Wash hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds.  If soap and water are not available, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer.
    • Hand sanitizer is currently in short supply, but staff can supply patrons with a dose upon request until we have more. We are working with the Hamilton Co. Health Dept. to procure supplies.
  • Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth with unwashed hands.
  • Cover your nose and mouth when sneezing, sneeze into a tissue and throw the tissue into the trash or sneeze into your sleeve (elbow) if a tissue is not available.
  • At this time, please place all returns in the book drop. Please do not bring returns into the library and place on circulation desks.

To get information about the pandemic, please visit the Southern Adirondack Library System’s blog: https://salsblog.sals.edu/

Other Useful links:

2019 Report to the Community

Better late than never!

Another turning of the year and it’s a great time to review 2019.  The library was the place to be! We had so many fun and informative programs, and are grateful to all who attended and those folks who were willing to present programs.  Besides the weekly Sit n’ Knit group and our revived Writer’s Group, we had 146 separate programs for families, children, and adults & teens.

The town’s annual Snocade event was fun, we had Story Time Plus several times for the young ones, ice lantern workshops, sewing classes, and our 1st annual “Light Up the Library” event with games, crafts, a bon fire for s’mores, and of course our community’s luminous display of ice lantern creations.  The 2nd Annual is just around the corner: Wednesday February 19th 6-8pm.  Later in February the Warren Co. Cooperative Extension held a day of free tax preparation.  2020’s date is 2/25/20—be sure to make an appointment.

We had lots of earth-friendly stories and themes for Spring break, using items culled from our collections to create new works of art.  For the gardeners in our community, the library held 2 straw bale gardening classes, and a vermiculture (worm composting) class.  Patrons ordered 90 straw bales to be delivered to the library for pick up in mid-spring from the Hamilton Co. Soil and Water District.

Throughout 2019 the library partnered with the Caregivers Support Initiative to bring a series of educational talks for those caring for loved ones with Alzheimer’s Disease and other dementias.  Local patron and educator Jodie Seymour began an ongoing series on mindfulness that continues once a month into 2020.

Summer Reading 2019’s theme was a “Universe of Stories” and we had lots of new books about space to share with our young readers.   We studied different aspects about space (planets, the moon, the constellations, travel and jobs in space) and ended with a visit to the Indian Lake Theater to visit SkyLab Planetarium courtesy of Up Yonda Farm, and a generous grant from Stewart’s Shops.  Kids earned “book bucks” for every 15 minutes spent reading and used their bucks to buy treats for themselves and friends, but also they bought groceries and school supplies for Indian Lake Community Action, over $140 worth! Summer Reading helps kids keep up their reading skills, and their reading in turn helped the community. On July 31st we celebrated Harry Potter’s and J.K. Rowling’s shared birthday with our first annual “Stay Up Late at the Library.  We had more s’mores, crafts, games, and a telescope trained on Jupiter and saw its 4 moons traverse!

Other summer highlights were an herbal talk, a visit from Adirondack Raptors, a beaver talk from the Adirondack Interpretive Center, DEC led compass and map classes, and loads of craft projects.  Our decentralization grant from the Adirondack Center for the Arts brought us an audience at the Indian Lake Theater with author, actress, and storyteller Fran Yardley, whose book Finding True North was our community read.  The Blue Mountain Center partnered with us for a reading by journalist and novelist Helen Benedict. We plan for more informative and exciting programs next year to keep the summer fun and interesting.

We want to thank Bill LaPrairie, the head of our town Park and Recreation Department for all of his help this year with the nearly $5000 construction grant we were awarded by our library system.  With that money Bill and his crew made some very nice improvements to our building.  New touch free toilets and hand dryers were installed to lower waste and keep germs at bay.  They installed a new book deposit that makes life so much easier for our librarians, and more comfortable for our patrons on the porch. Ken King built our gorgeous new video shelves, the book drop cabinet, and two benches for patrons to use while in the library. 

Plans in 2020 are to build upon what we had going on in 2019 to make the library as essential to our community members’ lives as we possibly can. The Indian Lake Central School has been sending the elementary grades over monthly this school year to read fun books together and do activities based on those stories, the younger we get them in the habit of visiting the library, the better!

One big goal in 2020 is to spread the word on the important magic of reading aloud to each other.  Stayed turned to programming on that very topic, and stop by to borrow some fantastic books on the topic!

Thank you all for your support and suggestions.