New & Noteworthy @ WHPLibrary

The West Hempstead Community Scholarship Fund, Inc. (WHCSF) awards scholarships to residents of the WH Union Free School District, students from the Island Park School District who attend WHHS, and graduates of WHHS who are continuing their education beyond high school.

This year, each individual award will be two thousand dollars ($2000). The awards (3 or more) are based on character, potential and financial need. The Selection Committee has the option to grant (1) single award based solely on character and potential, without regard to financial need.

Students may pick up applications in the Young Adult corner of the library. They are located in a bin near the FAFSA application forms.

Thanks to all the West Hempsted Public Library staff who participated in National Wear Red Day on February 1, 2008 to support heart disease awareness for women.

WHEN:
Friends only Pre-Sale - Wednesday, May 28 5 - 9 pm;
General sale: Thursday, May 29 through Sunday, June 1st.

WHERE:
Takes place in the Community Room on the lower level at 500 Hempstead Ave.

DETAILS:
Donations will be accepted from 9 - 5 pm on Tuesday, May 27 and Wednesday, May 28.

Because our very popular two-day AARP Driver Safety Class for drivers age 50 and over fills up almost instantly, we have scheduled a class in April and another class in May. So, don't be disappointed! Mark your calendar now, and remember the signup dates.

REGISTRATION DATES FOR BOTH CLASSES:
West Hempstead residents - Monday March 31, 9 a.m. at the Reference Desk.
Non-residents - Friday April 4, 9 a.m. at the Reference Desk.

The class in April will be taught by Hank Goldman: Monday April 7 and Thursday April 10 - 9:30 am – 1:30 pm.

The class in May will be taught by Charley Hlavenka: Two Thursdays, May 1 and May 8 - 9:30 am – 1:30 pm.

Join us for a May Day Book Chat on Thursday, May 1, 2008 at 7pm in the second floor conference room.

We will select the book for discussion based on feedback offered by the March 13 Book Chat participants during our Long Island Reads meeting, so stay tuned. We'll update our library blog and the website and post flyers in the library with the title of the book. Copies of the book will be available at the Circulation desk by April 1.

We also welcome book choices suggested by other readers in the community who plan to join our group in the future. Check our website for books we have read and discussed in the past. Please email or call the reference desk at (516) 481-6591 to register for a book discussion or to be added to our mailing list.

February 29, 2008 is a Leap Day, also known as Leap Year Day.

(photo downloaded from Leapzine.com)

Browsing the Internet is a great way to learn about both the science and the traditions associated with Leap Year. Using a search engine, like Google, when you enter the words "Leap Year" you get approximately 2,180,000 results, far more than most people would have the time to research. A quick review of the ten on the first page and a cursory look at the ten on the second page gives a taste of what can be found on the subject.

To help you focus your research, Google has included additional search terms at the bottom of the results page under the heading "Searches related to: Leap Year". Use these hints to modify your own search terms, based on your specific interests. For example, adding "trivia" to your search, reveals a set of appproximately 110,000 results or adding "traditions" reveals another 138,000 results.

The Yahoo search engine also provides related searches under the heading "Also try:..."

These are some of my favorite picks:

Leap Year 101 for an overview.
If you were born on a Leap Day, check out the Leapzine website and Leap Year Capital of the World.
Sadie Hawkins Day which is actually celebrated in November.
Online Conversion Calculator for figuring out which years are Leap Years.