Amongst the constant rustle of scattered leaves, the boisterous colors of Fall foliage, and fears of Winter's impending arrival, sometimes it's difficult to hear yourself think. Three out of four librarians agree that reading poetry may help reduce Autumn-related stress.*
 
The Literature Department of Cleveland Public Library houses an impressive, growing collection of poetry books.  From turn-of-the-twentieth-century Cleveland nature poet Leonard Gurley Foster's Blossoms of Nature to former Poet Laureate Billy Collins' recently released Ballistics, there are thousands of diverse works from American and world poets in the Literature Department.  Stop by and peruse our New Poetry Books display, browse our shelves, and pick up a copy of the monthly list of featured new poetry.  You're sure to find something that tickles your fancy and/or tickles you pink.

If life is a slice of pumpkin pie, add a dollop of cream by indulging in some of these new additions to the poetry collection in the Literature Department:  

It's that time of the year again when the students of Ohio are preparing to take the Ohio Achievement Tests (OAT) and the Ohio Graduation Tests.  Achievement tests are currently administered in grades 3 to 8.  Each test consists of five sections: reading, writing, math, social studies, and science.  The Ohio Graduation Tests have replaced the Ohio Ninth-Grade Proficiency Tests, effective with the graduating class of 2007.   Click to read Frequently Asked Questions provided by the Ohio Department of Education as well as, links and resources available at Cleveland Public Library, Social Sciences Department.

“We have all seen them, late night infomercials, websites, and reference guides, advertising “millions in free money”.  Don’t believe the hype!” – Grants.gov

Today, Grants.gov is a central storehouse for information on over 1,000 grant programs and provides access to approximately $500 billion in annual awards.  There are many types of organizations that are eligible to apply for government grants.   Grants.gov does not offer money for personal financial assistance or debt.

Visit the John G. White Reading Room of the Special Collections Department to see the baby mammoth jaw first displayed at the Cleveland Public Library in 1909. On May 9th, 1909 The Cleveland Plain Dealer published an article entitled In the Days of the Cleveland Elephant; it described a baby mammoth jaw that was discovered in March of that year. The jaw was found during the construction of a sewer at E. 40th and Euclid Avenue adjacent to the residence of Mr. Sylvester Everett, whose palatial home was built by architect Charles Schweinfurth. This area was at that time considered to be one of the most prestigious streets in the nation.

 

Cleveland Public Library’s baseball collection in the Social Sciences Department includes many early baseball novels. The infancy of American baseball fiction from the Civil War up to 1910 is very well represented in the Library’s collection. The first mention of baseball in fiction is generally credited to Jane Austen, who uses the word in Northanger Abbey:

“[I]t was not very wonderful that Catherine, who had nothing heroic about her, should prefer cricket, base-ball, riding on horseback, and running about the country at the age of fourteen, to books. . . (p.5.)“

Northanger Abbey was drafted during 1797 and 1798, but Jane Austen continued revising and editing it until 1803.  Unfortunately, it was not actually published until 1818.   Cleveland Public Library’s collection includes one nineteenth century edition of Northanger Abbey.

If you want to scratch that itch to learn a programming language, then the Cleveland Public Library has game training for you.

In collaboration with the Cleveland Metropolitan School District’s MC2 STEM program, the Cleveland Public Library has installed Scratch on all of the public computer terminals with Internet access.

To learn more, watch one of these short videos and visit any local branch of the Cleveland Public Library system.

“Scratch is more than a programming language, more than a website, more than an online community. Its ultimate goal is to help people develop as creative thinkers—helping them learn to design creatively, analyze systematically, and work collaboratively.”

From the presentation: Sowing the Seeds for a More Creative Society Mitchel Resnick, Professor of Learning Research, MIT Media Lab.

“73.1% of American's describe themselves as soft-hearted”*

Statements such as the one above are derived from the results of opinion polls. Many people in politics, news organizations, and business believe that the use of poll and survey data can effectively gauge the public’s opinion on a particular issue. Others believe that polls and surveys are fundamentally flawed; they are based on the erroneous premise that public opinion is merely an aggregate of individual opinions which can in turn be represented in percentages.

With the election season in full swing public opinion poll results are continuously referenced in the news. Regardless of how we feel about their merit we cannot deny that they have considerable influence on our own opinions. The results of polls and surveys are determined by using various statistical methods that can be difficult to understand. Cleveland Public Library has a wide range of resources that highlight poll and survey results and delve into the different methodologies used in conducting them.

TAKE OUR POLL!

The Social Sciences Department of the Cleveland Public Library routinely receives questions regarding politics and the upcoming 2008 General Election. Below you will find a sample of frequently asked questions and the answers provided by our staff.