Hi, I’m Janice, your Local History Librarian. I’m excited to announce that the POB Library is now officially part of the Long Island Memories Digitalization Project. This project is a visual and oral record of Long Island history compiled by Long Island archives, historical societies, libraries, museums, and organizations. On the homepage for the project, use the drop down menu under program participants and select Plainview-Old Bethpage. You can see some old photographs of our community and reminisce about how our area has changed.

Click on the pictures for a larger view. You can also find the pictures by searching on the internet. There will be a lot more photographs, as soon as I can put them up on the site. I’m having a lot of fun deciding which photographs to put up first. Let me know what you think of them. Also, if you have any old pictures of our neighborhood that you might want to donate to our Local History Photograph Collection, you can reach me, Janice, at the Reference Department of the library (516-938-0077 x1221).

Shopping for toys is hard enough without the worry about the safety of the purchases you make. Lately the dangers and poisons in the manufacture of toys have been in the news. Fortunately there is help in the form of the web site www.healthytoys.org. They rate the safety of many popular toys and will list the toxic chemicals in the particular toy. There is a list of “best toys” and “worst toys”. Check this site out before you buy to avoid buyer’s remorse.

Are you tired of having to save Microsoft Word files on a flash drive, hard drive, or even emailing documents to share them. You might want to consider Google Docs which is a “free, Web-based word processor, spreadsheet presentation, and form application offered by Google. It allows users to create and edit documents online while collaborating in real-time with other users.” (Wikipedia) You may pick who can access your documents. There is also a Google Docs template for the holidays. (Create free greeting cards, labels, party invitations, and more).

We are always ordering new books. We love books and are always looking for ways to share new titles with our patrons. Besides featuring lists of hot new titles in the Library, which are very hard to keep current, we suggest you check out the information found on our website. Under the category, “Everything for Book Lovers” you can connect to a page that lists our “Newest Arrivals.” After you have selected a genre, you will be connected directly to the online catalog. The catalog displays the title and from this point you can browse the new selections and reserve the titles that interest you. You can also send in a book review or register to subscribe to a monthly newsletter on “Book News.” Add another dimension to your reading life on the Plainview-Old Bethpage Public Library website!

“How do I phone home?” asked a patron from Melbourne, Australia. I told her about the website,
How To Call Abroad.com International Calling Guide.
On the left hand side of the page you will see “Choose Country,” she clicked on “A” for Australia. A second page comes up which is; “How To Call Abroad.” She saw the link for “How To Call Australia” and clicked on it. Automatically, the cell phone and telephone instructions appeared on the screen. Our patron was able to call Melbourne without a hitch! Try this site when you need to make an overseas call to anywhere in the world.