S.T.E.M. Events for All Ages @ Hanahan Library This Fall
Looking for a fun and intelligent way to build in some quality family time into your crazy schedule? Look no further than your Hanahan Library. There are 3 different S.T.E.M. events during the month of September.
Teen and Tween S.T.E.M. Night
Come and explore Science, Technology, Engineering, & Math through various activities sponsored by Google Maker Camp.
Wednesday, Sept. 9th | 4:30 – 5:30 pm
Wednesday, Sept. 16th | 4:30 – 5:30 pm
Family S.T.E.M. Drop In
This drop-in style program will feature Science, Technology, Engineering, & Math hands on projects the whole family will enjoy.
Saturday, Sept. 19th | 11 – 1 pm
STEM is an acronym referring to the academic disciplines of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. The term is typically used when addressing education policy and curriculum choices in schools to improve competitiveness in science and technology development. (source: wikipedia.org)
New Adult Anime Club @ Sangaree Library
Are you an adult who likes Anime, Manga, Comics, or any other sort of Graphic Novel? Join us at the Sangaree Library for a monthly gathering of like-minded people! This new group is still in the developing stages, so please come with ideas for how to make it awesome!
Sept. 22nd | Oct. 27th | Nov. 24th
5:30 – 7 pm
Canning Tips with the Clemson Extension
Not sure what to do with all those fruits and vegetables from your summer garden? Or have you ever just wanted to learn to can? Join us Sept. 19th at 1 pm in Sangaree for Canning Tips with the Clemson Extension to learn some tips and tricks on successfully canning those fruits and veggies.
Don’t forget, the Sangaree Library has a community garden and needs volunteers. Produce from the garden benefits the local food bank, Helping Hands.
Read more about the garden here.
We also invite you to the Fall Planting Party @ the Sangaree Community Library on October 3rd at 11 am.
New Color Me Calm at Goose Creek Library
There is a new trend in town and it has found it’s way to BCLS @ the Goose Creek Library.
Source: Fox News
Health benefits of coloring books attracting adults to childhood pastime
Coloring is just for kids, right? Not anymore.
Recently, adults across the country have picked up coloring books as a way to relax and unwind.
Jason Abrams, 30, is an account manager at North 6th Agency, a New York City-based public relations firm. High anxiety and the hectic schedule of the deadline-driven job left him needing a way to cope with the stress.
Eight years ago, he got hooked on using coloring books as a relaxing exercise— he even sparked a trend in his office.
“We’ll meet in the conference room on Friday afternoons,” Abrams said, “and get our coloring session in… to help relieve the stress.”
The health benefits go beyond relaxation, and include exercising fine motor skills and training the brain to focus.
Doctors have known about these benefits since the early 1900s. Psychiatrist Carl Jung, the founder of analytical psychology, prescribed coloring to his patients to calm and center their minds. Doctors today continue to follow Jung’s lead and still recommend the activity to combat anxiety.
The fact that coloring is structured activates the logic part of the brain, and generates a creative mindset, said New York-based clinical psychologist Dr. Ben Michaelis.
“Because it’s a centering activity, the amygdala, which is the part of the brain that is involved with our fear response, actually gets a bit, a little bit of a rest,” Michaelis said, “and it ultimately has a really calming effect over time.”
Not only does he prescribe coloring, but Michaelis even uses coloring books with his own family.
“We do it on Fridays as a way to kind of take the steam out of the week,” he said, “and also when my kids are kind of fighting or the temperature is starting to rise a bit in the house.”
The trend has spread nationwide as adult coloring books are popping up on bestseller lists, and major publishers are producing the books in droves, with titles like The Mindfulness Coloring Book, Splendid Cities, The Time Garden, and Color Me Calm.
Once a month, Heidi Johnson, a member of the Ladies Coloring Club in New Hope, Minnesota, finds herself unwinding with the group when they meet for cocktails and coloring. And there’s no need to worry about staying in the lines, Johnson said.
“You don’t have to be an expert at the DIY project, or a painter or an artist,” she said. “You can just pick something you like that speaks to you and color it however you want it.”
Abrams compared his experience with coloring to the feeling of doing yoga.
“You go in, right, you’re tight, and you’re tense. You start going through the motions, and the poses, and stretching out,” he said. “Then when you’re done, you’re like, ‘I feel excellent.’”
But above all else, coloring lets stressed-out adults feel like a kid again, and channel a worry-free lifestyle— at least for a little while.
BCLS Offers New Writers Group as Part of SC New Writers Partnership Project
The Berkeley County Library System has joined the movement of this new project with new Writers’ Groups beginning in September 2015 at several of their branches. Further resources are in development to help support the SC New Writers Partnership Project but we need help from the community to tell us what you need by completing this survey.
The SC New Writers Partnership Project is in the beginning stages of development spearheaded by the Calhoun County Library. Through this partnership with multiple library systems across the state, resources will be offered to supporting writers and literacy development in their community.
Calhoun County Library director, Kristen Simensen, describes the project as, “An opportunity to look at how skill development and practices in one area can support development and practices in another area. For example, as individuals write, how do their reading practices change? As their technology skills grow, how do their writing skills and practices change? As they become engaged with other writers, how does this affect their reading and writing practices and roles as members of their writing and other communities?”
In addition to helping understand how the library’s customer’s literacy and writing skills grow, the SC New Writers Partnership Project will be an opportunity to support the goals of and strengthen outreach and services to other groups, including:
- Writers in the community
- Writers Groups
- The SC Humanities Council
- Local Schools
- Community organizations of virtually any kind
Kristen further explains, “This project speaks to the value not only of what public libraries can do for individual customers and organizations in the community, but also serve a new and critical role. The Library as a Community Anchor is a role that [libraries] increasingly find themselves in through business development and creative opportunities. So while, we have long been positioned to be the important centers of literacy development and community engagement, we now step into this new role of community anchor, impacting individuals who may never step foot in the library.”
The BCLS is happy to be a part of this new project and helping our local writing community.
The BCLS “Open-Up!” Fall 2015 Program Catalog is Here
New amazing programs like the teen “Hangout” and Movie Club, NEW family programs like Family LEGO Night, and NEW adult clubs like “Hook and Needle Me This” knitting in St. Stephen. Check it all out here:
Friends of the Berkeley County Library Seek Donations for Huge September Book Sale
The Friends of the Berkeley County Library, Inc. are seeking book donations for their September 19th book sale. The sale will be held at the Berkeley County Administration Building located at 1003 N HWY 52, Moncks Corner (next to the Library). There will be a pre- sale from 8 am – 10 am for members only. The sale for the public will open at 10 am to 2 pm.
The Friends of the Library are seeking music and book CD’s, movie DVD’s, current novels, children’s books, books on gardening, health, history, religion, and cookbooks. Please ensure books are in the good condition with no missing or torn pages. Complete sets of encyclopedias, 2010 or newer will be accepted. Books in less than desirable condition will not be accepted as well as textbooks and Reader’s Digest Condensed Books.
All money raised through Friend’s book sales go to benefit the 7 libraries in the system. This enables the Friends to provide funds for the Summer reading programs, teen programs, and many other items that are beyond the county budget. Donations may be taken to any Berkeley County Library Branch and a tax receipt is available upon request.
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About Friends of the Berkeley County Library
The Friends of the Berkeley County Library, Inc. is a 501(c)3 organization of volunteers. It promotes, enhances and supports the Berkeley County Library System. Money is raised through membership fees, corporate incentives, Friends’ book sale tables/shelves at each library and special fundraising events. To learn more about the Friends, visit http://berkeleylibrarysc.org/friends-of-the-library/
Donations boxes can be found at the following locations:
Moncks Corner
VP Racing Gas Station 200 Rembert C Dennis Blvd
YMCA 210 Rembert C Dennis Blvd
The Corner Cafe and Bakery 323 E. Main Street
Panache Salon 100 C Fairground Rd
Goose Creek
Goose Creek Gymnastics 135 St. James Blvd
