Welcome Week Storytimes

Welcome Week went off with  resounding success! We had a total of 28 kids over five days at all 8 branches. Many are more excited for the regular story times to start up in October!

During story time, we read both "A Library Book for Bear " by Bonny Becker and "Dinosaur Vs the Library!" by Bob Shea.

After, we all made yarn necklaces out of dinosaur beads, letters, and rainbow shaped erasers!

Labor Day, the History Of.

As many of you know, Labor Day is fast approaching! According to the Department of Labor, "the first Labor Day holiday was celebrated on Tuesday, September 5, 1882, in New York City by Central Labor Union". By 1884, the first Monday in September was selected for the holiday and Central Labor Union urged other unions and organizations to celebrate the holiday. Calling it the "Workingman's Holiday", by 1885 it was celebrated nation-wide by industry leaders. 

The DOL puts an emphasis on that holiday was created and celebrated by the American Worker. As, the "...vital force of labor added materially to the highest standard of living and the greatest production the world has ever known and has brought us closer to the realization of our traditional ideals of economic and political democracy. It is appropriate, therefore, that the nation pay tribute on Labor Day to the creator of so much of the nation's strength, freedom, and leadership — the American worker."

It's traditionally been a day for families. In the last years, it's also been celebrated as the last weekend of summer. Not to mention the mass of Labor Day sales in the retail industry. If you are interested in learning more about Labor Day, check out the links below.

• History.com- Labor Day
• Department of Labor  
• Times 
• PBS
• DOL Historian on Labor Day
• Rosie: By Any Other Name - The Riveting True Story of the Labor Icon

The Original "Rosie the Riveter" as designed for the Saturday Evening Post by Norman Rockwell.

Do you want to write a novel?

Have you ever wanted to write a novel? What about writing a novel in a month? The Month of November is known as National Novel Writing Month and here at Ozark Regional, we are offering middle and high school students the chance to join in and write a novel at the library.

What is NaNoWriMo?

National Novel Writing Month happens every November! It's a fun, seat-of-your-pants writing event where the challenge is to complete an entire novel in just 30 days. For one month, you get to lock away your inner editor, let your imagination take over, and just create!

That means participants begin writing November 1 and must finish by midnight, November 30. The word-count goal for our adult program is 50,000 words, but the Young Writers Program (YWP) allows 17-and-under participants to set reasonable, yet challenging, individual word-count goals.

In 2013, over 300,000 adults participated through our main site, and nearly 90,000 young writers participated through the YWP.  

From What is NaNoWriMo?

Using the Young Writers Program (for those under 18), each writer can feel free to explore the joys and hardships of writing so much in so little time. If you are interested, the Youth Services librarian is offering prep sessions in the month of October on every Tuesday at the Ironton Branch. Call Ironton to sign up ASAP if you're interested. She's offering write-ins on every Tuesday in November for the Young Writers Program.

• If you are interested, click here to sign up. Be sure to register as a Young Writer.
• Follow the steps listed here.
• Feel free to join the Virtual Classroom , which welcomes all interested participants even if they are not located near the Ironton Branch.
• There are prep materials listed on the website if anyone needs them. In the month of October, the Youth Librarian will be doing prep workshops after school on Tuesdays at the Ironton Branch.