Summer Reading Program: The Final Countdown

We're less than a week away from the start of the Summer Reading Program!  May has been crazy busy for us as we make the final preparations for the program.  Cassie and I, along with Janet and Joyce from the Youth Services Department, have been visiting schools all over the county to get kids, teens, and adults pumped up for Summer Reading.  It's always great to see everyone during these visits (yes, we recognize a lot of you because you come to the library so much!).

On top of the visits, we also have to prepare ALL THE THINGS to be sent out to our branches.  From posters to prizes, there are several things each branch needs to be ready for summer.  We also want the branch staff to have all of their materials ahead of time so they can be familiar with what's going on during the summer and can ask any last minute questions.

Then there's the decorating.....

 Team Curie vs. Team Einstein Adult Reading Program

 All decked out in Mad Scientist finery

 Ms. Janet, Queen of the Bulletin Board, Strikes Again!

 And again.....

 Finally got her to stop at board #3.  

Story Laboratory (formerly called the Story Corner)

The fun all begins on June 1st!  Be sure to stop by your local branch to find out about all of the great things happening at the library this summer.

Alyssa

Summer Tunes

Most people think of books when they think of the library, but did you know you can get music, too?  Through our Freegal download service, library patrons can download five free songs per week to your computer or portable device. The songs are yours to keep and never expire.  We don't have access to every song on the radio, but there are about 7 million songs, including Sony Music’s catalog of legendary artists. In total the collection is comprised of music from over 28,000 labels with music that originates in over 80 countries. There is no software to download, and there are no digital rights management (DRM) restrictions.  To get started, visit the Library's web page, http://morg.lib.in.us and click on the Freegal logo. 

Here are just a few of the hot new summer albums you can enjoy using Freegal: 

Xscape is the second posthumous album of previously unreleased tracks by Michael Jackson.  It consists of eight songs from the Jackson vaults, each updated with new instrumentation and arrangements from star producers like Timbaland and Rodney Jerkins that still retain Jackson’s essence and integrity, creating the best music you’ve never heard.  Dubbed the King of Pop, Michael Jackson transformed the face of pop music and popular culture. He released the best-selling album in history, Thriller, in 1982. He died unexpectedly in 2009.

 

Corazón is the twenty-second studio album by Santana, and features collaborations with various singers like Gloria Estefan, Ziggy Marley, Pitbull and Cindy Blackman. Guitarist Carlos Santana formed the Santana Blues Band in 1966 San Francisco.  With their highly original blend of Latin-infused rock, jazz, blues, salsa and African rhythms, the band—which quickly became known simply as Santana—gained an immediate following on the San Francisco club scene and led to a memorable performance at Woodstock in 1969. Throughout the following decades, Santana released a string of successful albums.  As the band's personnel changed frequently, Santana (the band) came to be associated almost exclusively with Carlos Santana himself and his psychedelic guitar riffs.
 

Welcome to the New is the eighth studio album from Christian rock band MercyMe.  It debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Christian Album chart, selling 26,000 copies in its first week. MercyMe, consisting of vocalist Bart Millard, keyboardist James Bryson, percussionist Robby Shaffer, bassist Nathan Cochran and guitarists Michael Scheuchzer and Barry Graul was founded in Greenville, Texas in 1994.  The group first gained mainstream recognition with the crossover single, "I Can Only Imagine" which elevated their debut album, Almost There, to double platinum certification. Since then, the group has had 13 consecutive top 5 singles on the Billboard Christian Songs chart, with 7 of them reaching No. 1. MercyMe has won 8 Dove Awards and has had numerous Grammy Award nominations.

Thinking About Summer

As I contemplate summer there are a number of things I would like to accomplish.  And guess what?  The library is the perfect place to help me plan my summer.  Books and other items in the library can help you plan yours, too. 

First up is a trip to Pigeon Forge, TN.  I have already placed a specific book on hold through Evergreen and received a Fodor's travel guide about that part of our great nation.  Other books about interesting destinations in Indiana and beyond can be found in the library. (914 - 919.931)

Until the upcoming trip, I find that my home could stand a lot more organization.  So once again to the shelves of our wonderful library to find books filled with ideas. (640 and/or 648.8)

But all work and no play will make the summer rather unpleasant so for a little entertainment, I need only go as far as the DVD room directly behind the main desk.  There's also a wonderful collection of children's movies in the children's area.  I watch my e-mail for the library's Wowbrary newsletter for the latest videos.  From there I can place a hold on the newest movies.  If we have your e-mail address, you should be getting Wowbrary, too.  If not, don't hesitate to come in and have us update your library record to include your e-mail address.

Being a couch potato all summer wouldn't be such a good idea, so I need to get up and get moving.  Of course, we have exercise DVDs, but there are also many wonderful books about various sports activities.  Books about sports can be found in the 790s.  It's a great place to browse for inspiration to get you up and active.  Another great form of exercise is gardening and those books can be found in the 635s.

While exercise is great, eating right most of the time would be a good idea as well.  Books about special diets can be found starting with 613.25.  However, I don't plan to overlook the cookbooks in the 641.5 and beyond section.  Sometimes these cookbooks are written to go along with a specific diet. 

Two of my favorite things to do are making things (arts and crafts) and playing games.  This summer is sure to offer lots of time for those endeavors.  Once again the 700s are the place to visit in the library.  Arts and crafts start at 745.5 and continue on through 746.9.  For more fun, books about games start at 790 and continue through 790.9. 

Last but certainly not least on my list of things to do this summer is to just read for pleasure.  While I'm choosing some pleasure reading, I can sign up for the adult summer reading game starting on June 1st.  I hope you will, too.  And if you are interested in any of the types of books mentioned in this blog and can't seem to find them, just ask.  We're all here to help you find those books you wish to read.

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