Concerts

Some of the biggest regrets in my life are the awesome concerts I missed by musical groups that no longer tour or have retired from the music scene.  Last winter I finally got to see the Moody Blues live and it was a great concert!  Now don't get me wrong, the concert was lovely.  Justin Hayward sang as sweet as he always did and they covered some of my favorite Moody Blues songs and I was thrilled to be there, but I wish I could have seen the Moody Blues when they were in their prime. I also got to see Ian Anderson from Jethro Tull last summer.  He still plays a mean flute but Ian's slowed down a bit and his voice doesn't have the singing range and abilities it once had. I still enjoyed going to see him but wow, what a rush it would be to see Jethro Tull live back in the day. 

This summer I will see The Dave Matthews band once again and I am really looking forward to that.  However, I didn't get to see Heart, or Sheryl Crow, or Led Zeppelin, or who knows how many other groups when they were touring.  I was busy raising my family or I didn't have the time or the money.  Something stopped me from seeing many of the music groups I would have loved to have seen back then.  Now I have more time and money to attend concerts but sometimes the groups I want to see are no longer touring or aren't even a band anymore.

This is where having a library card comes in handy though.  The library has many concerts on DVD that I can check out for free and enjoy right in my own living room at my leisure.   Sometimes I think watching concerts on DVDs at home is even better than attending a concert.  You don't have to worry about getting good seats, the drunken bums hogging the view in front of you as they become loud and obnoxious, or parking for that matter.  Just dim the lights, put on the DVD, turn it up (within reason of course) and enjoy! 

I encourage you to look at the library's selection of concert DVDS!


Also check out these links on the best concerts on DVD:

Top 10 Concert Films to See Before You Die by Village Voice

50 Greatest Concert Films Of All Time

Rolling Stone's Readers' Poll: The Best Concert Movies of All Time

It's not too early to be thinking SUMMER!

It definitely smells like Spring today. The flower beds around the Waverly Branch are being raked up, and fresh mulch is being applied. Now that it looks like spring may be here to stay, perhaps you're looking forward to the joys of summer. I hate to gloss over the delights of spring, but after the brutal winter we're still getting over, I'm REALLY ready for summer.

Of course we all have our own ideas of what constitutes a fun summer. For many, as Laura pointed out a few blogs back, nothing can beat working in the soil and making green things happen. I've turned over my garden plot, and I'm already looking forward to freshly made pico de gallo; I'm also looking forward to the opening of the new Orangutan center at the Indianapolis Zoo. I'm sure each of you is looking forward to some particular delight. It might be the first mushroom of the season; it might be the annual family trip to the Smokey's, the beach, Disney World, or the annual family reunion. As you might have guessed, the library has resources to help prepare for any of those endeavors. As an example, we have been adding titles about homesteading, sustainable living, and general gardening and small farming topics, including beekeeping. We have started to display them near the front of the branch.

Let us know about your summer passion, and we'll try to help you connect with it. And don't forget to be watching for the Summer Reading Program with activities for children, teens, and adults. It's going to be an exciting summer.

Enjoy it!

Chuck

Morgantown Branch Has Room to Grow

The Morgantown Branch limped by for several years in its small location on the main drag in Morgantown. We worked hard to use up every bit of free space for books and public computers. We even packed kids and adults in for our Summer Reading programs. We had a faithful core of patrons who didn’t mind browsing the shelves even though it felt like they were browsing someone’s private library. We had patrons who used the computers despite the fact that there might be someone lurking over their shoulder trying to find a book on the shelf right next to them.

When a larger building down the street became available, and the Library Board voted to let us move there, we were giddy. Once the physical labor of moving was over, we immediately enjoyed the extra space, and light. Our faithful core of patrons was excited. We started getting new people coming in. Some were looking for the fabric store that had moved out, but most were there to see the “new” library in town. We issued a lot of new library cards, and were happy that more residents were starting to take advantage of having a library in their community.

 

That was almost two years ago. And while the initial excitement of moving has faded, our patrons and the staff are still reaping the rewards of a larger, more inviting facility. Computer users have an area separate from the bookshelves. No more browsing the Internet while someone is browsing books over your shoulder. We have plenty of free space for Wireless Internet users to choose from. There is a large meeting area for our Summer Reading programs, as well as any other programing needs. We have a great window area for creating eye-catching displays. We have been able to expand our DVD movie collection, as well as our audio book section. We are working on building a video game collection. And, we have more room for books.

The Morgantown Branch is still considered small compared to some other libraries, but we have more to offer our patrons than ever before. We can request books from any of the Evergreen Indiana Consortium libraries for our Morgan County patrons to pick up in Morgantown. If you want audio books, e-books, or music, we can help you learn how to use our online digital collection. If you need a space to hold a meeting, we can accommodate you.

Our physical space may have increased, but we are still committed to giving our patrons a small town quality of service. If you haven’t checked out our “new” branch yet, stop by and see it for yourself.

 

Preparing for the Dash: Then and Now

First, let me start off this entry with a confession-- I love my job!  There, I said it!  I get the opportunity to plan all sorts of fun library programs/ activities, and I seriously enjoy it.  My favorite event to put together as of late has been our family 5K run/walk that we call the Dewey Dash.  But it didn't start out that way...

Last year was our first race, and boy were there a lot of details to sort out!  Even though I had ran quite a few 5Ks, I had never planned an event on such a large scale that depended on so many different things coming together at once.  One thing I knew I couldn't plan for was the weather.  When I woke up at 5:30 that Saturday morning, it was gray and drizzling. Ack!

I was really worried that folks wouldn't bother coming out in the nasty rain and would rather just roll over and sleep in.  I was also worried that the course would be full of mud and puddles and might be hazardous.  In a nutshell-- I was a little freaked out.  My husband did his best to reassure and calm me down (God bless him for always trying), but I was still nervous. 

When I arrived at the library, I was soon greeted by the smiling faces of our race volunteers and library staff members who graciously offered to help out.  They didn't seem worried-- why should I?  I've never been so happy to be a part of a team!  Even though the rain kept falling, the enthusiasm of the race participants and volunteers never waned.  It turned out to be a great event, and I think that everyone had a good time. So this year, when the time came to start planning the Dewey Dash, I felt nothing but excitement.  I have accepted that I may not be able to prepare for every little thing and assure that everything will turn out perfect. But, I can be sure to make it a fun day and a wonderful fundraiser for the library! 

This year's dash will be held Saturday, June 7th (8 a.m. for registration, 9 a.m. for race start)!  You can register now on the Mag7 Race Series website: http://mag7raceseries.com/?event-tags=register-now.  The price is $18 if you register before May 23rd, and you can save 10% by entering the promo code "Mag7Voucher".  You will also be guaranteed a t-shirt!  One cool new thing we've added this year is a costume contest.  You can run or walk the race dressed as your favorite literary character and we'll award prizes for the best overall costume, and the fastest runner & walker in costume. All proceeds from this program benefit the library.  Join us!  I'll be the one with the bullhorn and (hopefully) a calm demeanor.

Happy Reading,

Jennifer

 

March Madness

If you ambled around Main, or just wandered past, during the month of March you might have noticed a growing display in the big windows upstairs in the teen area, a bracket of sorts.  We might not go mad over basketball but we sure get a little wild over books.  Young Adult March Madness was back at MCPL again this year with some heavy hitting contenders in the sweet sixteen.  Each week teens could vote for which titles they wanted to send to the next round.  Not only were they pushing their favorite books to the top they were also competing for a prize of their own.  Every time they voted we put their name into a prize drawing.  There were 37 votes and Kira W. is taking home a cup-o-goodies.  

Sidewalk View of Bracket

Lucky Voter's Cup-o-Goodies

 The Sweet 16

Dare You To – Katie McGarry

The Beginning of Everything – Robyn Schneider

Leviathan – Scott Westerfeld

Gone – Michael Grant

How to Save a Life – Sara Zarr

Uses For Boys – Erica Lorraine Scheidt

I Hunt Killers – Barry Lyga

Butter – Erin Jade Lange

Me and Earl and the Dying Girl – Jesse Andrews

Will Grayson, Will Grayson – John Green & David Levithan

If I Ever Get Out of Here – Eric Gansworth

Ketchup Clouds – Annabel Pitcher

Love in the Time of Global Warming – Francesca Lia Block

Shelter – Harlan Coben

Boy Nobody – Allen Zadoff

Period 8 – Chris Crutcher

But here’s the real question…Which book took home the top spot?  The gold medal?  The big prize?  Winner, winner, chicken dinner?  First place?  Big kahuna?  Well it was a close race but a champion was finally crowned…How to Save a Life by Sara Zarr just barely beat out EricGansworth’s If I Ever Get Out of Here.

How to Save a Life by Sara Zarr

 YA March Madness is over but the fun isn’t!  We periodically offer activities similar to this in the teen area so stop by often.

Spring Cleaning

Tis the time of year when many people do a thorough cleaning of their house.  I'm not really a big "spring cleaner" (actually, I'm not a big cleaner at all but that's another story), but it is nice get rid of the extra clutter around the house.

Speaking of getting rid of extra clutter, I need your help!  I'm gathering up some materials that the library needs for different Summer Reading project.  While you're Spring Cleaning, please look around to see if you have any of the following items to donate to the library:

-LEGOs.  I'm looking for both regular LEGOs and for LEGO Duplo.  Please make sure they're clean and in good condition.

-Empty 2 liter bottles.

-Empty baby food jars/containers.  

-Empty cereal boxes and oatmeal containers.

This seems like a rather strange list, doesn't it?  What could all of these things possibly be used for?  You'll have to come to some of our Summer Reading programs to find out how we will use them!

Thanks for the help and happy spring cleaning!
Alyssa