Paige Hardwick

08/30/2024

Want to make storytime more engaging? Check out these tips for reading aloud to your child!

01/31/2023

☺

12/19/2022

In the late 1870s, Williamina Fleming was in her early 20s and a recent U.S. immigrant from Scotland. She had come married with a child, but her husband abandoned the family shortly after arriving. Responsible for raising their son, she took a job as a housekeeper in the home of Edward Pickering, the Director of Harvard College Observatory.

As the story goes, one day, when frustrated with the men he employed, Edward yelled out, “My Scottish maid could do better!” While said in jest, there was much truth to his comment. Williamina was an advanced student while in Scotland. She was a pupil-teacher by 14 years old and continued teaching for five years until she married.

In 1881, Edward hired Williamina as the first of what would become a famous group of Harvard Computers. All women, they studied the stars through glass plate photographs. Then only a few years later, while still not even 30 years old, Williamina became curator of astronomical photographs. This role came with the responsibility of managing a dozen women computers. Within a few years, the team classified over ten thousand stars.

Williamina became a prominent astronomer of her time, receiving many awards and numerous honors. She became the first American woman elected an honorary member of the British Royal Astronomical Society. And she would discover ten novae, 59 nebulae, and 310 new variable stars. As she achieved much success and helped her team thrive, she also stood up for women in science, advocating for the hiring of women.

—
Sources: “Fleming, Williamina Paton Stevens” by Kéri Katalin. Biographical Encyclopedia of Astronomers. Springer Science – Business Media, LLC. 233 Spring Street, New York, NY 10013, USA, 2007, p. 375 ( https://bit.ly/2Nx8Sdd) / Project Continua / The Women Who Mapped the Universe And Still Couldn’t Get Any Respect by Natasha Geiling, Smithsonian Magazine (https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-women-who-mapped-the-universe-and-still-couldnt-get-any-respect-9287444/) / Williamina Fleming – Wikipedia

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12/13/2022

Holiday Ode – 2022

The Christmas Conversion

The librarian was doubtful
There was a guy on Christmas night
Who went around and gave out toys
She said, “A Santa Claus – yeah, right”

“And I don’t believe in elves
Or little dudes that dance and play
My uncle Louis looks like one
But he’s a CPA”

“He sees you when you’re sleeping
I just can’t believe that’s true”
She said, “If there’s a Santa Claus
He’d have better things to do”

But before her eyes that night
As she was dusting off a shelf
Right in her library
There stood the man himself

“How on Earth did you get in here”
She asked to Santa Claus
“You couldn’t fit through the book drop
And I double-locked the doors”

He winked – Then handed her a book
That brought her gladness to its peaks
She said, “That’s the Danielle Steel
I’ve been trying to find for weeks”

It was right then that she knew
That she had truly faltered
There WAS a Santa Claus
And her belief-system was altered

Then she watched Santa depart
And into the sky soon climb
Shouting, “Merry Christmas now to all
And please return your books on time!”

Mark A. Malcolm – Maynard Public Library

10/01/2022

https://www.tasteofhome.com/article/pumpkin-color-meanings/

There are more colors where that came from, too!

09/19/2022

Why read aloud?

Via First 5 Contra Costa

09/17/2022

We have received a grant from Norcross Trustee to host a library field trip to Tupper Hill Wildlife Sanctuary next weekend! We will take a natural walk and talk with a Norcross educator about conservation!
Registration required, an additional permission slip will be emailed upon registration and is required. Open to ages 11-18.

09/15/2022

Come one, come all, for a fun-filled evening!

09/13/2022

https://worcestercentralkidscalendar.com/50-things-to-do-this-fall-in-central-mass-with-kids/?fbclid=IwAR2bRQTbV7Lf7d-Pwu-fJizwdO9bOv0pq4j3YYzgJ8Y8pNvBrd87xjpLAy0

50 Things to do this Fall in Central Mass with Kids! Worcester is the second largest city in New England, making Central Mass a gold mine..