Congratulations to Mary Louise Cox

A very good friend of the Westchester Library System and the Mamaroneck Special Legislative Library District, Mary Louise Cox, has been maned Mamaroneck's first Poet Laureate. We are truly thrilled for Mary Louise. Her poetry is quite expressive and beautiful.

In 2007 Mary Louise published a collection of her poems from 1935-2007 entitled Shards. Following is a selection from that collection:

Pretendings

After all these years
I still awaken
before
dawn
pretending
it's my turn on watch
as the world spins into light.
Until the sky
brightens
I pretend it's up to me
to see that the world
is kept safe.
I have wished
all these years that pretending
had more power!

Congratulations Mary Louise! You deserve it.

WLS Catalog versus WLS website

During the month of May 2008 WLS posted an open-ended question on our website which asked visitors what they though of our new website. The overwhelming number of respondents (approximately 30) commented on issues searching the WLS catalog which in all honesty will take us a while to solve. Many, however, commented on the challenges using the search function at the top of the left side of the home page. Please know that we are currently working on addressing this issue to include an easier way to find the materials you are actually looking for rather than be bounced to yet another search function. We are also reinstating the bestsellers list for adults, and will now expand the bestseller list to include teen and children's titles as well. Finally, per a number of comments, we are also looking at amending some of the categories in the "Online Resources" section. All in all, within a short period of time, many of the recommendations should be addressed in some fashion.

Please keep writing to let us know how to keep the website and catalog useful tools to help meet your educational, recreational and other interests.

Earth Day

I recently came across a wonderful article regarding going green with your computer. It has helpful hints about shutting down, sleeping, or hibernating your computer when you're not using it, printing tips and suggestions for reducing the not-so-obvious drain on energy of all your computer peripherals. Click on the title of this blog (Earth Day) for the link to retrieve the article. As always, you should visit your local library for books, cds and dvd's which promote awareness of Earth Day and a more green environment.

Second Health Advocacy Resource Center Opens

The Westchester Library System (WLS), in partnership with the Medicare Rights Center and the Sarah Lawrence College Health Advocacy Program, recently opened its second Health Advocacy Resource Center in Westchester County, located at the John C. Hart Memorial Library in Shrub Oak. The Health Advocacy Resource Center, a library-based health information center, was established to help older adults and their caregivers to navigate the confusing maze of health care information. It’s the first program of its kind to integrate a counseling component.

The first Center, located at the Grinton I. Will Branch Library in Yonkers, opened in November 2007. Both locations represent a new type of service for libraries and a unique collaboration among the project’s partners. Visitors to the Center have access to the vast array of WLS print and on-line health care resources, with guidance from trained volunteer counselors. The counselors assist older adults and their caregivers in finding up-to-date and reliable information and answer questions about health care, prescriptions, insurance coverage and claims, and other health topics.

Another resource of the Center is the interactive Health Advocacy Workshops, which are designed to train people to be health advocates for themselves and their peers. Among the topics addressed at these workshops are how to speak up for yourself and how to navigate a hospital stay.

Volunteer counselors are trained on Internet search techniques for consumer health information as well as on the WLS library system and health-related links on the WLS website. The Medicare Rights Center provided 15 hours of training, including how to use Medicare Interactive Counselor, its online resource for all Medicare information. The faculty of the Sarah Lawrence Health Advocacy Program provides expertise and assistance when volunteer counselors encounter questions that were not covered in their training. Additionally, the Medicare Rights Center offers a hotline staffed by trained counselors who can help people with complex issues, such as Medicare-related appeals.