Harford County Public Library

The Harford County Public Library Board of Trustees is seeking a student liaison representative as an ex-officio member of the board. The student liaison is chosen in cooperation with public and private high schools in Harford County and applicants should be in their junior year and will serve during their senior year. Student applications must be submitted by Friday, March 15. The role of student liaison is to obtain input on library services, policies and materials collections from their peers, to encourage teens to consider librarianship as a career, to encourage use of library services by teens and to gain practical experience in the operations of their government.

Dr. Carlyn Buckler, director of the Mastodon Matrix Project in Cornell, N.Y., visited the Bel Air library Jan. 7 to share her enthusiasm for mastodons with replicas of a few finds her team had excavated in New York. Teeth and tusk examples were the highlights of the evening as she explained to more than 50 audience members how important it is for regular citizens to get involved in citizen science projects. Buckler was invited to Harford County to kick off the library's involvement in the Mastodon Matrix Project in which Harford residents will help trained investigators sort through and analyze the sediment or "matrix" found around the bones from a real mastodon dig and submit their results to the Museum of the Earth.

Harford County, get ready for another demonstration of Power to the Purple! Bel Air's super Purple Pride Ravens Rally is coming up Friday from noon to 2 p.m. in the county government's parking lot at the corner of South Main Street and Churchville Road. The Purple Pride Ravens Rally is co-sponsored by the Harford County government, Harford County Public Schools, Harford County Public Library, Harford County Chamber of Commerce, Town of Bel Air and the Bel Air Downtown Alliance.

The Harford County Public Library Board of Trustees is searching for three candidates to be considered for appointment to the board beginning July 2013. The new trustees will represent the Bel Air, Jarrettsville and North County areas. An application form and additional information may be obtained from any Harford County Public Library branch, the HCPL website ( http://www.HCPLonline.org or by calling 410-838-3749. Completed applications together with a resume must be returned by Friday, March 1, 2013 to Office of the Director, Harford County Public Library, 1221-A Brass Mill Road, Belcamp, Maryland 21017.

Renowned for unique auction items at its annual Gala, the Harford County Public Library Foundation recently added a catered lunch for six with New York Times bestselling author Jeff Shaara to its live auction. The auction will take place at 8:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 3, at the Abingdon Library during the Library's Gala, Once Upon a Time - an Evening in the Stacks. Shaara has written 11 historical war novels that have made the New York Times bestseller list and will also be the feature author for the Foundation's annual Night Out @ the Library on April 19, 2013.

Jarrettsville Elementary School, Fallston Middle School and Patterson Mill High School are the recipients of the Harford County Public Library (HCPL) 2012 Summer Reading Trophies. The trophies were awarded to the public elementary, middle and high schools with the highest percentage of students who completed the Dream Big: READ Summer Reading Program. In addition, John Archer School was presented with an Extraordinary Achievement Award for having the largest increase in completions between 2011 and 2012.

Enthusiastic crews from BB&T's Madonna and Upper Crossroads branches worked tirelessly July 25 to plant new gardens at both the Jarrettsville and Fallston libraries as part of their annual Lighthouse Project. BB&T's Lighthouse Project encourages employees to get outside of the office and give back, improving the communities they serve and making them better places to work and live. According to their website, during the first three years of BB&T's Lighthouse Project, employees nationwide have donated more than 150,000 volunteer hours to local charities and touched the lives of more than 5 million people in 25 states.

As taken from the pages of The Aegis dated Thursday, July 5, 1962: A study of the future development and needs of Harford Junior College was presented by Engelhardt and Leggett, an educational consultant firm in New York City, to the college Board of Trustees and the Advisory Board of the College. The report indicated that by 1966 the enrollment of Harford Junior College would reach 700 students, 350 daytime students and 350 evening students, and by 1972, at least 1,000 students would be enrolled.

Stories of one of the country's most contentious debates over slavery and westward expansion and the Underground Railroad filled the Bel Air library June 23. With more than 50 in attendance, Fergus Bordewich, author of "America's Great Debate," spoke about the about the epic story of the Compromise of 1850, bringing to life during his animated discussion the colorful characters like Daniel Webster and John Colhoon and their stances. Stories included those not found in history books about the longest debate in Congressional history - like the fights that broke out on the Senate floor; the extraordinary political strategies that were at work during this turbulent time in our history; and the untold heroes of the Underground Railroad.

June if a festive month for young people! Graduations and special events! This year just happens to be particularly significant in the lives of some very deserving students. Harford County has been participating in the Smithsonian Journey Stories Youth Oral History Project for the past four months, and on June 2 presented at the Hosanna School Museum one of the first exhibitions in the country. In a remarkably short time, many groups came together to present a program thanks to the Smithsonian Institution, the Maryland Humanities Council, Harford County Public Library, the Historical Society of Harford County and the Havre de Grace Boys and Girls Club.