Languages: Now available at Ruidoso Public Library

Ruidoso Public Library’s latest offering is Mango Languages.  This is a fun, flash-card way to learn languages.  The graphics are flashy and sharp.  There are men and women speaking each word, phrase, or sentence.  You can repeat each card, lesson, or section as often as you wish.

These have been a hot topic at the library this winter and spring.  Biblical Hebrew is popular with theology students.  Kids can learn how fun languages a”RRRRR”e in the Pirate section.  Try out a section before your next trip.  You may learn the basics (hello, goodbye, thank you) or jump to sections on restaurants or directions.

Mango Languages are on the library’s webpage.  Look for the bright green banner (seen above).  A duplicate link is available from the e-branch tab.  Use your library card number to log in from home or your smart phone or tablet.  

This is the complete listing of languages on offer:

Arabic (Egyptian, Levantine, or MSA)

Chinese (Cantonese or Mandarin)

French or French (Canadian)

Greek (modern, Ancient, or Koine)

Hebrew or Biblical Hebrew

Spanish (Latin America or Spain)

German

Croatian

Czech

Danish

Dari

Dutch

Farsi (Persian)

Finnish

Haitian Creole

Hawaiian

Hindi

Icelandic

Indonesian

Irish

Italian

Japanese

Korean

Latin

Norwegian

Pashto

Pirate

Polish

Portuguese (Brazil)

Romanian

Russian

Slovak

Swahili

Swedish

Tagalog

Tamil

Thai

Turkish

Ukrainian

Urdu

Vietnamese

English as a Foreign Language is available for speakers of:

Spanish

Russian

French

German

Arabic

Polish

Italian

Greek

Brazilian Portuguese

Vietnamese

Turkish

Korean

Cantonese

Mandarin

Japanese

Jennifer wants you to know: "If you are an advanced speaker, I recommend the lessons on learning English.  I spent a happy hour digging through the meaty sentences explaining to Russians how Americans expect small talk about the weather.  I may try the Ancient Greek sometime—I have a poster from Homer’s Odyssey I hope to read."  

Mango Languages are very convenient.  You are not stuck in front of a computer.  Apple and Android apps are available.  Language, like math, benefits most from doing a little bit every day.  Continue a lesson during lunch, review phrases while waiting in line, or use it as a trivia game while you await your order at restaurant.  This video demonstrates:

help your student write with these handy guides

Recently, a friend described her daughter's writing assignment at school.  This mom was at a loss for how to help with the research and writing, without taking over the assignment, from the student or the teacher.  Luckily, several options are available through Ruidoso Public Library.

If you have time to stop by, we have books (!) not just on content, but on the writing and research process, though these are often grade-level specific, especially for upper grades.

If you, like most parents I meet at the library, are down to the last weekend before you hear there is any paper at all, no fear.  While we do close at 4pm on Fridays and 2 pm on Saturdays (and Children's closes 30 minutes earlier), we have several resources available 24/7 via internet and your library card number.

Where to begin? Research, as I am learning at school myself, is a conversation. As students, we are late to the party and have to catch up by reading.  After some general reading, pick a few topics of interest and look for them.  Remember to try synonyms to find more references.  After more reading, begin to think about what you have read. Most important of all, ask questions about who wrote the information (and whose voice is not yet heard), question whether that information fits with what you know, and then look for information to answer your questions.

Depending on the teacher and assignment, writing about the whole process (and what you learned to try instead next time) is a great step in learning.  Even if it is the last weekend, there is time to look, read, rest and think, and repeat on Saturday and Sunday.

You are not alone, either.  If the links below fail, find the Magazines or Opposing Viewpoints links from the homepage's e-branch tab (and Children's page, too!).  Inside Junior Edition, Kids Edition, Student Edition, or Kids Infobits (depending on your student's age/level), look for Teacher Toolbox.  Luckily, they all have the same feature.  The Toolbox page offers several lessons and links to handouts you may print out.  For example:

How to Make a Concept Web
How to Write a Topic Sentence
Make an Outline
Cite a Source
Build an Argument
Write a Conclusion
How to Judge Information (encyclopedia v. magazine v. web)


 

If in Opposing Viewpoints, find Resources, in the black bar.  Scroll to the bottom for Students: Tools for Getting Started and Wrapping Up.

Update on the Friends of the Library: now open first Saturdays

As part of an experiment, the Friends of the Library bookstore will open the first Saturday of each month, from 10 am 'til 1:30 pm, the same hours as the library.  The new hours should see a lot of business in our resort community, especially when you hear that these are SALE DAYS.  The First Saturday of each month,  books in the Friends' store are 2-for-1!  If you have guests, please include our picturesque library and its friendly store in your nickel tour.  Check them out this Saturday, May 4th.

The store is completely volunteer-run and sells donations from the general public and retired library books.  The Friends of Ruidoso Public Library held a very successful month-long book sale in February.  The store's hours during the week are Monday through Friday, 10 am to 3 pm.

Friends of a library understand its value and how much one contributes to its community.  A recent article, "There Are No Free Libraries" eloquently explained the confusion in the phrase: It's free at the library.  I often make this mistake myself, as a lazy short-hand, so the article is a timely reminder to keep me honest.

Ruidoso Public Library is very lucky in its Friends group.  Several are very active, many help out in a pinch, and countless more provide financial assistance.  Becky Baker, the new president, has as her priority recruiting a pool of volunteers willing to work either a regular 2 1/2 hour shift or be "on call" on the "sub list".

What is Friends of the Library?  They sponsor the Summer Reading Program, which encourages and rewards reading habits during summer break.  Studies find students who read throughout the summer lose less academic progress between school years and begin learning new material earlier each Fall.  The Friends also support our expanding Children's programming, such as Tiny Tots, with over-sized storytelling picture books, and funding busses to bring Nob Hill students to the library on field trips.

In my hometown, the library had a different sort of booster group.  The leader called it "FOOL"s for Friends Of Our Library.  An annual appreciation event celebrated contributions to the library on April 1st with a Mardi Gras theme.  Whether serious, small, active, or visible, Friends of any library are very important for the programs and atmosphere.  Thank you.