Strategies for mental health

Fauquier County Public Library and The Mental Health Association of Fauquier County are hosting two mental health programs in May, which has been designated Mental Health Month. Both programs will be held at the Warrenton Library.

 

Resiliency: Moving Forward, presented by Alan Rasmussen, Prevention Specialist with Rappahannock Rapidan Community Services, will be held at 7 p.m. Monday, May 7. Mr. Rasmussen will talk about the skills we can use to stay mentally healthy and to get through difficult times. Some helpful resources are:

• Mental health resources from the National Institutes of Mental Health (part of the National Institutes of Health); search by topic, age/gender and access services
• The Virginia Dept. of Behavioral Health has resources for empowerment and self-determination
• In the library’s online catalog, get started by browsing the subject mental health, as well as related subjects like self-actualization (psychology) and resilience personality trait

Social Media and Its Impact on Young People, presented by Therapists Bryna May and Julie Turner, National Counseling Group, will be held at 7 p.m. Monday, May 21. Some helpful resources are

• NetSmartz 
• GetNetWise
• In the library’s online catalog, check out books under the subject “internet and teenagers”

 The programs are free. Call (540) 422-8500, ext. 6862, for more information.

 

Family research marathon coming up soon

A family research marathon is being hosted by the Warrenton Library from 6 to 9 p.m. on Friday, May 4. There is no fee to attend, but advanced registration is required, as seating is limited. Please call (540) 422-8500, ext. 6862, to reserve your spot.

Librarians will be available to assist you in your research and give guidance for your continuing research. The marathon will be helpful for beginners, those trying to break through a “brick wall” in their research, or anyone who would like to their research using library resources for an extended period.

The library has several Fauquier County and Virginia resources, as well as free access to the Ancestry.com (available free at the library) and Heritage Quest databases, two of the largest networks of genealogical and historical record websites. Light refreshments will be provided by the Friends of the Fauquier Library.

Write a haiku about libraries

April is National Poetry Month and we've been celebrating by posting haiku about libraries or reading penned by library staff all over the library. Here are a few:

Board books let

tiny hands hold

big thoughts

Meeting on Thursday

Mysteries, thrillers and more

Have a snack, let's talk

While browsing the stacks

I thought I saw zombies there

Oh, it's my brother!

Now it's your turn. Please help us celebrate poetry month by posting your own library poem on our Facebook page.

If you will post one

We'll know you're reading this blog

Can't wait to see it!

Chess anyone?

Do you remember playing chess with your father or grandfather as a kid? I do, and those memories are some of the best. I was a slow learner, but after I caught on to the game I was constantly vying with my brothers for a chance to play against dad.

Many of us don't have family members or friends who play chess, but it was once a very common activity. If you are interested in learning to play or already know how to play, you are invited to enjoy an afternoon of chess: 2:30 p.m. Sat., April 21, at the Warrenton Library.

Bring a chess set if you have one available. Call (540) 422-8500, ext. 6862, to reserve a table - we want to make sure there are enough chess boards and partners. Light snacks and beverages will be provided courtesy of the Friends of the Fauquier Library.

In the meantime, you can explore some of our books on this game, which is so much more than a pass-time. You'll discover that chess has been influential from a political and historical perspective if you read The Immortal Game: A History of Chess, Or How 32 Carved Pieces on a Board Illuminated Our Understanding of War, Art, Science, and the Human Brain by David Shenk.

You might want to read a little about some of the great chess competitions of the past and for that I recommend Bobby Fischer Goes to War: The True Story of How the Soviets Lost the Most Extraordinary Chess Match of All Time by David Edmonds and John Eidinow.

Or, if you like trying to outsmart computers, read The Turk: The Life and Times of the Famous Eighteenth-Century Chess-Playing Machine by Tom Standage.

To bring the game home to the present and find out how chess playing probably produced the first geeks read Game of Kings: A Year Among the Geeks, Oddballs, and Geniuses Who Make Up America’s Top High School Chess Team by Michael Weinreb.

Chess strategies also have useful parallels and applications in the conduct of business and daily life as you will see if you check out Every Move Must Have a Purpose: Strategies From Chess for Business and Life by Bruce Pandolfini or Chess For Success: Using An Old Game to Build New Strengths in Children and Teens by Maurice Ashley.

And chess has inspired some interesting fiction. Teens might like Checkmate by Walter Dean Myers or The Eight by Katherine Neville.

When you are ready to plunge right in and start playing the game you should have a copy of the official rules handy: U.S. Chess Federation’s Official Rules of Chess.

We're celebrating National Library Week

This week, the Fauquier County Public Library joins libraries across the country to celebrate National Library Week, a time to remind the public about the contributions libraries make to their communities every day.

We at the library are especially proud to work for an institution that serves as a great equalizer of knowledge, providing free access to information for all people. Every day we see people making use of the library’s print and digital information to find jobs, seek answers to questions, or to research family history. They come to check out a book or movie, use a computer, or participate in a book discussion group. Some come to read newspapers and magazines or to ask a question of the reference librarians.

And, nothing gives greater joy than to see a child’s face light up while listening to a fairy tale during story time.

National Library Week also provides an opportunity to thank the Fauquier community for the support it gives to its library. Throughout the year citizens give generously of their time and resources to make the library one of the best things Fauquier County has to offer.

With that support, we reaffirm what Andrew Carnegie once said “A library out ranks any other thing a community can do to benefit its people.”

Happy National Library Week!

You belong @ your library

This year’s theme for National Library Week (April 8-14) is You belong @ your library because, whether you are a job seeker looking for resources to land a new job, a parent looking for free activities for children or a student searching for your next favorite book, you belong @ your library.

Today’s libraries help level the playing field by making both print and digital information affordable, available and accessible to all people. Libraries provide cultural heritage and genealogical collections, materials in print and electronic formats, job seeking resources, English as second language classes and many other creative and resourceful programs.

Libraries have historically served as our nation’s great equalizers of knowledge. The strength of libraries has always been the diversity of their collections and c

ommitment to serving all people. This National Library Week, join our nation’s libraries and librarians by celebrating the place where we all belong.

In keeping with this year’s National Library Week theme, Fauquier County Public Library branches are encouraging library users to take a picture of themselves or their families at the library and post them on the library’s Facebook page.

The library is also celebrating by releasing newly designed library cards. There are three designs to choose from: a country road scene; a close-up of Virginia, the statue in the Warrenton Library’s garden; and a brightly colored photo of books. If you currently have a library card, for a donation of $1 you may replace it with one of the new designs.