During tough times, free resources help library flourish

Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2008

"Historically, when the economy goes down, library use goes up," she said in mid-December.

Last year's circulation was up 3 percent over the year before, looking at circulation rates by fiscal year, which starts in July. This year, just as of December, the circulation rate is already 10 percent higher than that.

"Circulation is sky high," Reif said.

Librarians are telling Reif that patrons are using computer stations to redo their resumes and look for jobs. Demand for computer classes has increased as patrons try to brush up on their skills.

"It's a resounding theme," Reif said.

This all means extra work for library staff. However, Reif noted that the self-checkout machines now available at all three branches have helped with the extra workload. For instance, about 28 percent of the items borrowed at the Lexington Park branch are checked out using this machine. "That helps alleviate a little bit of the workload," Reif said.

Patrons, however, may find that there may be a slightly slower turnaround for when items get reshelved and back in circulation as staff tries to keep up with the boom.

Reif noted that now would be a great time for people to volunteer at the library, when there is so much extra work. "Absolutely," she said.

For information about volunteer opportunities, call the Charlotte Hall branch at 301-884-2211, the Leonardtown branch at 301-475-2846 or the Lexington Park branch at 301-863-8188.

Church offers self-defense for women

Lexington Park Baptist Church will host a free class in self-defense for women on three consecutive Saturdays next month — Jan. 10, 17 and 24 — from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. each session.

The class will be led by a certified instructor. A course manual and snacks will be provided.

Minimum age for participants is 16, with parental consent required. Participants need to register by Sunday, Jan. 4. Registration forms are available at the church office. The class is being sponsored by Women's Ministry of LPBC. Call 301-862-2552 or visit www.LPBConline.org.

Book on county history reissued

"Yesterday in Old St. Mary's County" was written and published by Robert E.T. Pogue of Bushwood in 1968.

Born in Maddox after the turn of the century, Pogue was a lifelong resident of St. Mary's. His maternal ancestors arrived with the early colonists. His paternal ancestors helped settle Virginia, North Carolina and Tennessee. Both sides of his family fought in the Revolutionary War and for the Confederacy in the Civil War.

Pogue died in 1988 and the 5th edition of the book was sold out in 2005. This June, however, the family had the book reprinted.

Copies are available at numerous locations throughout the county. For more information contact Robert Steele Pogue, 36898 Bushwood Wharf Road, Bushwood, MD 20618; or e-mail rspogue@aol.com.

Students assist local family

Students at Holy Angels-Sacred Heart School sponsored a family of 17 over Thanksgiving last month when it was discovered the family "wasn't able to have Thanksgiving dinner because of the cost to feed such a large group," according to a statement from the school.

The school's students brought in enough food to fill two large baskets and several bags.

In another school project, the students participated in Operation Christmas Child this month, a project of Samaritan's Purse. The students sent six shoe boxes full of school supplies, toys, personal hygiene items and notes to children in other countries.

For more information about programs at Holy Angels-Sacred Heart, call 301-769-3389.

Forums set regarding forage production

Hay growers, dairy and livestock producers and those who work with these producers can get the latest information on forage management and costs of production at a series of three hay and pasture conferences to be held in early January in Delaware, Maryland and Pennsylvania.

"What You Don't Know About the Growth of Forage Plants Will Hurt You" and "What Does that Bale of Hay Really Cost?" are two of the topics to be covered by Marvin Hall, professor of forage management at Penn State University, and Gordon Groover, extension economist farm management at Virginia Tech.

More program information is available at www.mdforages.umd.edu or through local county extension and NRCS/Soil Conservation District offices within each region.

Registration by Jan. 2 for the conference in Waldorf will be $15 per person. Registration at the door will be $20.

Checks for the Southern Maryland conference should be made payable to University of Maryland and sent to Ben Beale, St. Mary's County Extension Office, P.O. Box 663, Leonardtown, MD 20650.

Chopticon announces NHS inductees

Twenty-four students at Chopticon High School were inducted into the National Honor Society last month.

Seniors inducted were Lauren Diggs, Julie Gould, Matthew Hale, Paul Herbert, Allison Kvien, Nicole Lourette, Olivia McQuilkin, Melissa Messer, Chelsea Tominack and Brittany Trexler.

Juniors inducted were Kaitlyn Crowningshield, Samantha Durdock, Katie Fersch, Shannon Hammerlund, Jeffrey Harris, Jessica Herbert, Tanner Kellogg, Sean Moore, Christopher Raley, Elizabeth Shupe, Brody Smith, Shelby Taylor, Sarah Tennyson, Shelby Warring and Darryl White.

ROBObees prepare for competition

Mondays and Thursdays, students from Leonardtown, Great Mills and Chopticon high schools have met at Dr. James A. Forrest Technology Center as part of their work with the ROBObees. These students are combining engineering and education to design and build a competitive robot. These same students will compete this spring with their robot at competitions against other schools from all over the country.

FIRST (For Inspirations and Recognition of Science and Technology) is an organization that has developed programs for students interested in engineering. The local St. Mary's FIRST team is ROBObees team 836, which has been involved in the FIRST Robotics Challenge for the last eight years.

Each year the creators of FIRST invent a new game or competition. The game is revealed in a kickoff ceremony, which will take place Jan. 3 this year. A clue has already been mailed to each team to get the momentum going. When the game is finally revealed, hundreds of teams from the U.S. and other countries will scramble to build a robot in six weeks that can meet the challenges of this year's game.

The game consists of two parts — the autonomous mode when the robot navigates itself and the human control mode when students guide the robot to complete the game tasks. In previous years, games have included lifting plastic tubes and ringing them around a pole. Last years' task consisted of firing 40-inch diameter balls over six-foot hurdles.

With the help of sponsors, thousands of dollars and hundreds of hours, robots are created to perform these specific tasks to gain points.

Each year the ROBObees seek one major goal — to compete in the national championship held in Atlanta each year. Like any sport-related championship, in order to get there, teams need to qualify. One means of qualification is to win a regional competition; the first one in this area will be in Washington, D.C., in February. Teams can also qualify by winning the Chairman's Award, an award based on team community service, a presentation by the students and how the team spread the word of FIRST, inspiring interest in engineering and science.

FIRST robotics compels students to work with necessary functions to create real working robots in competitive situations. It motivates the students to work past what they thought capable of or possible and, in many cases, changes the outlook students have toward real-world applications of math and science.

scraton@somdnews.com