Last fall’s move to uniform story hours for toddlers and preschoolers was not well-received by parents and caregivers, so Boyd County Public Library is switching back to its previous times.

The 2013 story time programs include Toddler Time at the Catlettsburg, Main and Kyova branches; and Preschool Story Time at Main and Kyova. The Catlettsburg programs will resume as soon as the branch reopens in February (an exact date has not been set).

Toddler Time is a 20-30 minute program featuring songs, short stories and active play, and is designed for those just starting to walk through age 3. Activities are adapted by trained library staff to match the attention span of toddlers. In 2013, Toddler Time will take place on Mondays at 10:30 a.m. at Catlettsburg; and on Fridays at 11:30 a.m. at Main, and at 1 p.m. at Kyova.

Preschool Story Time, for ages 3 to 5, is a 30-45 minute program featuring books, songs, and games. The stories are longer and more complex than the ones in Toddler Time. It will be on Tuesdays at 1:30 p.m. at Kyova, and one Wednesdays at 11 a.m. at Main.

The Main Branch is located at 1740 Central Ave., Ashland. The one in Catlettsburg is at 2704 Louisa Street. The Kyova Branch is in the Kyova Mall, across from Elder-Beerman.

The Library can also arrange special story times for home school groups, day cares, etc. To set something up, please call (606) 329-0518, ext. 1300.

One of our newest, and coolest electronic additions is TumbleBookCloud. We have versions for elementary through high school readers.

For middle and high schoolers, TumbleBookCloud allows you to listen to your favorite audiobooks with just a click of the button. Books are available in fiction, non-fiction, classics and even Spanish language, and feature adjustable online text and complete audio narration. Sentences are highlighted as they are being read, and the pages turn automatically.

For elementary and middle school readers, TumbleBookCloud Junior  is a collection of ebooks and read-along chapter books, graphic novels, educational videos and audio books.

TumbleBooks are created from existing picture books, adding sound, animation, music and narration to create an electronic picture book. “TumbleBooks are great for children learning to read. The interactive website keeps children interested in reading, contributes to success in school and helps to instill a love of learning,” said Natalie Church, who works in the youth services department at our Main Branch.

All books are available all the time, from any device with an internet connection. The website is easy for children to navigate. Each story comes with puzzles and games to reinforce comprehension.

BookFlix is a new online literary resource that pairs classic video storybooks from Weston Woods with related non-fiction ebooks from Scholastic to build a love of reading and learning. And the award-winning True Books print series goes digital in another new electronic resource for kids, called TrueFlix.

BCPL’s Internet Branch, thebookplace.org, is also home to several other free online databases geared toward kids and teens:

• America the Beautiful contains state history, people, places and events for elementary and middle school students.
• Kid’s Search provides a graphically enhanced search interface, and is designed for youth grades K-8. It also contains teacher resources.
• Lands and Peoples is a look at countries and cultures of the world, for middle & high school students.
• The New Book of Popular Science contains Science & Technology plus science in the news for middle & high school students.
• Enciclopedia Estudiantil Hallazgos is the World Book Encyclopedia – in Spanish – and includes a visual dictionary.

And of course, there is the ever-popular Tutor.com, which offers Homework Help daily from 2 to 9 p.m. The service is for students from elementary school through the first year of college.  Just click on the Tutor.com button, enter your library card number, and you’re in. Select your grade level and the subject you need help in, and you will be quickly connected with an expert tutor for one-on-one help in elementary math and science, algebra, geometry, trigonometry, calculus, earth science, biology, chemistry, physics, American history, world history, political science, spelling, grammar, essay writing and book reports. Spanish-speaking tutors are also available.

Each tutoring session is archived, so you can review or replay it later. You can also save files to your “locker” to work on them later, or talk to your tutor with voice chat.

Tutor.com is also the only online, on demand tutoring service that allows students to connect to a tutor from any device in its HTML5 classroom. Students who use an iPod Touch, iPhone or iPad can download the Tutor.com To Go mobile app.

Before the stresses and commitments of the holidays get to be too much, make sure to   take some time away from the shopping and wrapping and cooking to have some fun at the library. We have lots of options for you.

On Saturday, Dec. 1, it’s “All Aboard the Polar Express” for ages 12 and under at the Kyova Branch. Starting at 2 p.m., we’ll do some games and crafts, before settling in with snacks to watch “The Polar Express” at 2:30. We hope everyone who comes will wear their PJs (parents, too!).

Also for the younger set, we have an interesting program on Saturday, Dec. 15, at 2 p.m. at the Main Branch. That’s when Ebeneezer Snooze is coming to visit.

Yes, you read that right – Snooze is the last name. Never heard of him? Well, like most of us, Ebeneezer loves to read. He also has a tendency to walk in his sleep. Those two habits combined will make for an interesting afternoon. Whatever Ebeneezer reads right before going to sleep is what he becomes when he sleepwalks. So, we don’t really know who will be joining us, but we do know you definitely don’t want to miss it.

We haven’t forgotten about our teens during the holiday season. We have a fun program planned for them – making homemade holiday treats. There are two chances – Dec. 11 at Main, or Dec. 20 at Kyova, both starting at 6 p.m.

For the adults, our popular wreath-making class returns at the Main and Kyova branches (Catlettsburg remains closed for remodeling). Lori Bowling, horticulture agent for Boyd County, will show you how to make and decorate a beautiful, live wreath for your home. The classes are Dec. 7 at noon at Main, or Dec. 8 at 11 a.m. at Kyova. Participation is limited to 15 at each location. You can register online starting this week.

And all ages will enjoy our annual Holiday Music in the Library, taking place this year from Dec. 17-22. Local individuals and groups will perform free holiday concerts, at either noon or 6 p.m. most days. We always are impressed with the wonderful quality of musicians who volunteer to do this each year. And we promise to have plenty of coffee and cookies.

Even with all these cool programs, we know that shopping and wrapping and cooking must still get done. So, if you are one of those out there this Friday, we would like to offer our branch in the Kyova Mall as a respite from the madness.

The Kyova Branch will be open on Black Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Enjoy free hot chocolate and coffee all day long; play video games on the Xbox 360; read a newspaper or magazine; check your email; or just rest your weary shopping feet.  (FYI… if you are being dragged to the mall against your will, you can hang out in the library while the others fight the crowds. We won’t turn you in.)

Here’s wishing you a warm and wonderful holiday season!

Due to Sandy and subsequent snow storm, the fish tank has been delayed a bit. (Factory is in New Jersey but wasn’t hit too bad.) It looks like it will now be installed November 28 or 29.

Jim from Bert’s will remove and find new homes for the fish, drain the tank, haul off the old one, and install the new one. It will be filled, treated, and Terry, The Fish Guy, and Bert’s will add “fish habit” and new colorful fish. I’m not entirely sure how long the second part will take but I don’t think it will be too very long.

The new tank will be generally the same size, filling the space, incorporating the porthole, and holding between 250 and 300 gallons of water. It will be the same color as the wood in the furniture and shelving (not the archways). It will have clean lines, a little decorative molding at the top, and a full length step along the front for kids to get a good look inside.

The reason for the new tank is because the old one is just about 30 years old, needs a new filter system, and has developed a small “flaw”. Because the tank was not designed for the space it went in, the installers had to cut holes to accommodate the filtration system. As these things go, modern filtration systems will not fit our current holes. Cutting addition holes and patching old ones is “just asking for ongoing leaks”, to quote the experts the Fish Guy and Bert’s. And in the past six months a small flaw (I’ve been assured it’s not a crack) has developed along the front of the tank.

It’s definitely time for a new one. So make a trip to say good-bye then come back the first of December to see our new fish friends.

Most kids – and their parents – have grown up with the affable Berenstain Bear family, learning about a litany of issues, from bullying to obesity, to visiting the dentist, along the way.

Brother Bear and Sister Bear are making a special visit to the Kyova Branch on Saturday, Nov. 17, at 2 p.m. (The first 50 will get a free copy of the Berenstain Bears’ Thanksgiving book). The Berenstain siblings will be sticking around a extra few days, so they can walk with BCPL staff in the Ashland Christmas Parade on Tuesday, Nov. 20. And, a few other surprise storybook characters will be joining them!

Before you meet Brother and Sister, you might like to learn a little bit about the Berenstain family, and their significance on the world of children’s literature during the past 50 years.

It’s been exactly half a century since the first of more than 300 Berenstain Bear titles was published.

But you actually have to go back more than 70 years, to when Janice Grant met Stanley Berenstain on the first day of their drawing class at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. They were briefly separated during World War II, but got married in 1946 and soon began working together on illustrations and cover art for various magazines. Their first joint publishing venture was a humorous look at raising their son in 1951.

Jan and Stan Berenstain started writing for children in the early 1960s. They said they chose bears as the main characters because the animal could be drawn easily, and because, according to Stan, female bears are “terrifyingly good mothers” and male bears are “lousy fathers.”

Their first bear story featured a Papa Bear, Mama Bear and a son, and was titled “Freddy’s First Spanking.” The manuscript went to Random House, where it landed on the desk of a new editor named Theodor Geisel. You may know him better as Dr. Seuss.

Geisel worked with Jan and Stan for the next two years, and the book was finally published in 1962 under the title, “The Big Honey Hunt.” At that point, there were no plans for a sequel. In fact, Geisel, aka Seuss, told the authors to find a different animal for their next story because “there’s already too many bears.” So, Jan and Stan started working on a book about penguins – until Geisel  called them up and said the bear book was selling like crazy.

The second bear book, “The Bike Lesson,” was published in 1964, with the name “Berenstain Bears” added to the cover (Geisel’s idea).

The early books featured an only child, Small Bear (who later became Brother Bear). Sister Bear joined the family in 1974, and baby Honey Bear was announced in 2000, along with a reader contest to name her.

Each of the 1100-word stories follows a similar pattern: Papa Bear sets out to instruct on some aspect of life, and it ends up going badly. Mama Bear eventually sets it all straight, and the kids still express their appreciation for Papa’s lesson.

Some have criticized the book series for its formulaic storytelling, but others praise it as a “wonderful and lasting contribution to children’s literature.” You can’t argue with its success: over 260 million copies of the books, in 23 languages; two television series, five animated TV specials, computer games and other learning software. The Berenstain Bears franchise has been licensed to more than 40 companies for more than 150 types of products.

The Berenstain Bears is also the first animated series to be translated into a Native American language in the United States. Just last year, 20 episodes were dubbed with Native American Lakota language and started airing in North and South Dakota as “The Compassionate Bear Family.”

Stan Berenstain died in 2005, and Jan in 2011. Their sons, Leo and Michael, now run the family business.

Though 50 years old, the Berenstain Bears are staying on top of current trends. They recently put out an app for the iPad and iPhone that combines the books’ original illustrations with optional narration.

OneClickdigital has released their new titles for the 2nd quarter! New e-audiobook titles include adult and children’s selections.

With over 20,000 titles to choose from, OneClickdigital is proud to offer the largest selection of digital audiobooks anywhere! We’ve recently added dozens of titles for your listening pleasure—with more coming each quarter.

Whether it’s through your library’s website, the OneClickdigital Media Manager, or the new iPhone app, downloading titles has never been quicker or easier.

To view new title selections click here:

For Adult Titles

For Children’s Titles

To learn more about OneClickdigital click here

Explore the new Tumble Book Library!  You can read, listen and interact with the entire online collection, streamed live to your computer!

Available titles include easy readers for new readers up through young adult readers as well!  Let us know what you think!!

E-book collection

Audio book collection

   Read-along collection