Books, eBooks, Activities and Fun at Libraries Throughout Ventura County

If this video doesn't get you excited about books, nothing will!

There are nearly 20 libraries in Ventura County and surrounding areas. Most of these libraries provide thousands of books as well as downloadable eBooks readable on devices such as Nook, Kindle, iPad, iPhone, Android, PDF and other formats! And most of these local libraries host free and/or inexpensive events and activities like storytimes, classes, concerts more for kids, teens and adults of all ages!

The Ventura County Library system currently includes 13 libraries throughout the county.

The Camarillo Public Library is the newest library in the county.

There are 2 libraries in Thousand Oaks: The Grant R. Brimhall Library and the Newbury Park Branch Library.

The Agoura Hills Library, part of the Los Angeles County Public Library System, opened in 2001.

The City of Moorpark manages its own library.

Last but not least is the Westlake Village Library.

The Curious Appeal of Curious George

This is George. He was a good little monkey and always very curious.

These words are emblazoned in my brain as I've read Curious George books to my kids hundreds, if not thousands, of times.

There are so many great kids books to read but something keeps bringing me back to Curious George. Many books I find painful to read after awhile, but not Curious George.

Maybe it is the predictable storyline of the books:

• George goes out on some type of excursion, usually with the Man with the Yellow Hat.
• The Man with the Yellow Hat leaves George to go do som

Click to read more ...

Three Volunteering Vignettes

Three Volunteering Vignettes

By Gail Small

Who knows what avenue volunteering might take you?  Sarah Glaser volunteered in the kelp forest tank at Birch Aquarium at Scripps. She dove down under to clean the 70,000 gallon kelp forest tank.  Her nemeses were the moray eels who tied themselves up in knots around the vacuum connector. Sarah wondered if one of them would bite her as who knows what might happen when volunteering.  She graduated to wearing a communication mask to speak to audiences during live shows as she retrieved a bucket of food and fed the fish by hand. Something did happen! It was on her last day as a volunteer diver that an audience member named Cullen asked the question. And I quote, “Will you marry me?” This volunteer had a once in a lifetime experience!

Brian in Australia one day had an idea to be a clown to amuse and help others. He created an outfit with colorful funny-looking clothes. And so, the Fatso Fun Show began. He did silly things to bring laughter to others. He could not find bright oversized shoes and thought that not a problem. So he volunteered bringing cheer with his unusual clown shoes homemade from scraps all connected creatively with bright purple paint. One day while volunteering, Brian described to a lady he just met how he made his clown shoes the best that he could. It was months later, just before the holidays, when to his surprise she arrived with what Brian describes as, “the most magnificent pair of multicolored leather clown shoes.” They were blue, red, yellow and green with big black toes and lined with soft blue leather. This woman who seemed to come out of nowhere said, “They are a gift for you. The reward for me is to see and hear your reaction and know

Click to read more ...

Local Ojai Resident Son/Father Team Up to Publish "The Promise Doctrine"

Craig Womack / Jason WomackJason Womack is a local Ojai resident known for traveling around the world training people how to master workplace performance (in fact, a previous employer of mine hired Jason to train our management team and to teach productivity at a large conference). Craig Womack has nearly 40 years of executive experience in the consumer product industry. This father and son team combined forces to publish "The Promise Doctrine," an easy to read guidebook help us keep our commitments!  I asked them 10 questions about the book and Craig provided me these answers.  For more information and to buy the book, check out www.thepromisedoctrine.com.

1. Tell me what The Promise Doctrine is about in 1 sentence.
The Promise Doctrine is a guidebook and system that readers can use to choose, manage, and accomplish what they are truly committed to, in life and at work.

2. Why did you decide to write The Promise Doctrine?
We came up with the idea for The Promise Doctrine as we listened to our peers, employees, friends, and family discuss how “hard it is, to do it all.”  

3. What prompted you to team up with your dad in writing the book?
When we took on this project, a writing collaboration between father and son, we knew that we wanted to explore the dynamics of promise keeping. Publishing our book was the best way we knew of to share the importance of promise keeping with the world. First, we see each other as equals, with distinct strengths to share and learn from. Together, we were able to merge our backgrounds in business and in education, and bridge a generational gap that drives most people crazy. We did this through honest communication, regular check ins and meaningful acknowledgment of milestones along the way. These are principles we share and have lived by in our executive and teaching lives.

4. Is the book geared towards certain people or ages in particular? In other words, who should read this book!?
Our enthusiastic answer is: “EVERYONE should read this book”. We geared the book towards four broad target audiences:

• Results driven individuals and leaders who realize the power of a promise made and a promise kept
• Executives who lead successful companies
• Leaders and teachers who promote sustainable communities

Click to read more ...