The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind

I just came across a truly inspiring story. It's the story of William Kamkwamba from Malawi, Africa. When William was 14 years old, he went to his rural school library (pictured above) and stumbled upon a book entitled, "Using Energy." He was intrigued with the information found in the book and used it (along with scrap pieces of metal and plastic) to create a windmill capable of generating electricity. Since only 2 percent of the people in his village had electricity, this was a very big deal. And he was only 14 years old! Watch this short video clip to learn more about this fascinating story:



William is now 21 years old and has written a book entitled, The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind (co-written with Bryan Mealer.) In it he describes the process of creating the windmills (he has built more than one over the years) and the effect it has had on his life and the lives of those in the small village in Africa where he is from.

When I hear stories like this, I can't help but feel proud to work in a library- a place where so much information and inspiration exists. The truly amazing part is when someone takes something found within the library to create something larger than themselves... something that transforms not only themselves but those around them for the better.

Harry Potter Theme Park

For all the Harry Potter fans out there... a new Universal Theme Park is set to open in Spring 2010! Get all of your questions answered at the official website.

Teen Book Review:Footfree and Fancyloose by Elizabeth Craft

Footfree and Fancyloose by Elizabeth Craft

Reviewed by: Lianna, Gr. 10

Footfree and Fancyloose is a great sequel to Bass Ackwards and Belly Up. The book follows friends Becca, Kate, Harper, and Sophie on their "Year of Dreams". The girls spend their freshman year following their dreams. Harper lives in her parents' basement, trying to write the next Great American Novel. Kate ditched Harvard and traveled to Ethiopia to dig wells. Sophie moved to LA to become an actress, and Becca is the only one at college. Its a wonderful, funny book about following your heart.

Amazing Bookcart Transformation!

Before....

And after!

The Hauppauge Public Library's Teen Decorating Committee had two meetings this summer. Our focus for the summer was on rejuvenating our very tired (and very sad) book cart that house the library's items for sale in the children's department. Many people browse this sale cart throughout the day and we wanted the cart to say something like, "Look at me and buy some books!" not "Don't look at me, I'm hideous!"



Our first meeting was dedicated to brainstorming ideas for an overall theme for the cart. The group came up with tons of really good ideas, but ultimately we had to choose just one and so the group narrowed it down to "Go Green." This smart and timely theme made sense since buying used books is a very eco-friendly thing to do.



Someone had the idea that Oscar the Grouch was a good iconic figure for this theme so... with the help of staff members Donna, Peter and myself... and the teens who attended the 2nd meeting of the Decorating Committee, we came up with the finished product.



Next time you're in the library, come see the book cart transformation in person!


By the way: Our crafty librarian, Donna, hand-sewed Oscar from an ordinary, plain, green pillow/blanket set! Even his trash can is made from "other" material... to make it look like an aluminum trash can we lined a regular garbage can with one of those car visors that block the sun while your car is parked. Recycling at its best!

Teen Advisory Board's Food Drive a Success!

Check out this wonderful letter we received from Long Island Cares, the food bank that our food drive items were donated to. Good job, Teen Advisory Board, for helping make this food drive a great success!

(Click on the letter below to make the font size larger.)