itOut
Volume 1, Issue 2
The Smartest Card is @ Your Library!
by Susan Benning, Head Librarian, May Memorial Library
Alamance County Public Libraries want to remind you that “The Smartest Card is @ Your Library” – it's your library card.
“Your library card is your ticket to discover the endless possibilities that await you at your public library. Alamance County Public Libraries offer you a variety of resources that enhance lifelong learning. The best part is that it's all free with your library card,” said Library Director Judy Cobb.
The library is joining the Public Library Association, a division of the American Library Association, and public libraries across the country to promote “The Smartest Card @Your Library,” a campaign to make the library card the most valued and used card in every wallet. The campaign, held annually in September, also serves as a reminder that public libraries are an essential part of vibrant and educated communities.
For more information on how you can sign up for your library card, visit any of the four libraries in Alamance County or stop by the library website at www.alamancelibraries.org.
High School Reading Lists Go Multicultural!
by Lisa Kobrin, Head of Reference Services, May Memorial Library
Move over Shakespeare, Homer, and Herman Melville. The dreaded high school reading list isn't plain vanilla anymore. The Scarlet Letter and Moby Dick still figure prominently, but many lists have expanded to include a wider world view. Some titles are based on contemporary world events of the past century and others on the lives of various immigrant populations within the U.S.
Night by Eli Wiesel and Maus by Art Spiegelman explore the horrors of the Holocaust. Night is the story of a father and son's stay in the concentration camps and Maus is a graphic novel that depicts via cartoons the struggles of the author's father, a Polish Jew, to survive the Holocaust.
The Chosen, a novel by Chaim Potok, is a post-war account of the Jewish experience in 1940s New York that highlights generational conflict within two Jewish families. It is largely a coming of age novel. Similarly, The House on Mango Street, focuses on a young Latina's struggle to adulthood on the rough streets of inner-city Chicago.
Farther afield, Nectar in A Sieve by Kamala Markandaya is the life story of the child bride of a peasant farmer in rural India. Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe is an African novel that takes place among the Ibo people of Niger during the late nineteenth century. Kaffir Boy follows a young black South African who grows up under the shadow of Apartheid. One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich portrays the daily life of a hapless
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
Upcoming Events. . . .. . . . . 2
Friends of the Library Deliver Summer Reading ........3 Kids’ Calendar . . . . . .. .. . . 3 Coming Soon - Alamance
Reads 2007 .. .. . . . .. .. . . 4
Russian prisoner in a Stalin-era Siberian labor camp. It is largely autobiographical and reflects the author, Soviet dissident
continued on page 3
Alamance County Public Libraries
| May Memorial Library342 S. Spring Street Burlington, NC 27215 (336) 229-3588 | Graham Public Library211 S. Main Street Graham, NC 27253 (336) 570-6730 | Mebane Public Library101 S. First Street Mebane, NC 27302 (919) 563-6431 |
| North Park Library849 Sharpe Road Burlington, NC 27217 (336) 226-7185 | South Annex Library6343 Snow Camp Road Graham, NC 27253 (336) 376-9705 | On the Web www.alamancelibraries.org |
UPCOMING EVENTS
Friday, September 1, 10:45 a.m.
Car Seat Safety Check Graham Public Library
Sunday & Monday, September 3 – 4
Labor Day Holiday LIBRARIES CLOSED
Tuesday, September 5, 4:00 p.m.
Library Orientation May Memorial Library
Tuesday, September 5, 7:00 p.m.
Internet Scams & Identity Theft May Memorial Library
Wednesday, September 6,
1:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.
South Annex Library Open
Friday, September 8–Sunday, September 17
21st Annual Book Sale May Memorial Library Call 229-3588 for times.
Tuesday, September 12, 7:00 p.m.
Evening Book Club Mebane Public Library
Thursday, September 14, 7:00 p.m.
Poetry Spoken Here – Open Mic Night May Memorial Library
Monday, September 18, 6:30 p.m.
Let's Talk About It – Faith Differences, Different Faiths Graham Public Library
Tuesday, September 19, 12:00 p.m.
Books Over Coffee Graham Public Library
Tuesday, September 19, 4:00 p.m.
Library Orientation May Memorial Library
Tuesday, September 19, 7:00 p.m.
Independent Film Theater presents
Day Break
May Memorial Library
Friday, September 22, 4:00 p.m.
Free Movie Friday presents Hoot! Graham Public Library
Tuesday, September 26, 7:00 p.m.
Let's Knit & Read Mebane Public Library
Monday, October 2, 6:30 p.m.
Let's Talk About It – Faith Differences, Different Faiths Graham Public Library
Tuesday, October 3, 4:00 p.m.
Library Orientation May Memorial Library
Wednesday, October 4, 11:30 a.m.
Lunch ‘n’Learn - Alzheimer’s Disease May Memorial Library
Wednesday, October 4,
1:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.
South Annex Library Open
Thursday, October 5, 4:00 p.m.
Knit Happens (Knitting Club) Graham Public Library
Tuesday, October 10, 7:00 p.m.
Evening Book Club Mebane Public Library
Tuesday, October 10, 6:15 p.m.
Independent Film Theater presents
A Peck On The Cheek
May Memorial Library
Thursday, October 12, 7:00 p.m.
Poetry Spoken Here May Memorial Library
Friday, October 13, 4:00 p.m.
Free Movie Friday presents
Freaky Friday
Graham Public Library
Monday, October 16, 12:00 p.m.
Lunch Bunch Book Club May Memorial Library
Tuesday, October 17 , 6:30 p.m.
Let's Talk About It – Faith Differences, Different Faiths Graham Public Library
Tuesday, October 17, 12:00 p.m.
Books Over Coffee Graham Public Library
Tuesday, October 17, 4:00 p.m.
Library Orientation May Memorial Library
Thursday, October 19, 7:00 p.m.
Knit-In (for knitters of all levels) May Memorial Library
Tuesday, October 24, 7:00 p.m.
Let's Knit & Read Mebane Public Library
Friday, October 27, 4:00 p.m.
Free Movie Friday presents Sky High Graham Public Library
Monday, October 30, 6:30 p.m.
Let's Talk About It – Faith Differences, Different Faiths Graham Public Library
Wednesday, November 1,
1:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.
South Annex Library Open
Thursday, November 2, 4:00 p.m.
Knit Happens (Knitting Club) Graham Public Library
Tuesday, November 7, 4:00 p.m.
Library Orientation May Memorial Library
Thursday, November 9, 7:00 p.m.
Poetry Spoken Here May Memorial Library
Friday, November 10
Veteran's Day LIBRARIES CLOSED
Monday, November 13, 6:30 p.m.
Let's Talk About It – Faith Differences, Different Faiths Graham Public Library
Tuesday, November 14, 7:00 p.m.
Evening Book Club Mebane Public Library
Thursday, November 16, 7:00 p.m.
Knit-In (for knitters of all levels) May Memorial Library
Tuesday, November 21, 12:00 p.m.
Books Over Coffee Graham Public Library
Tuesday, November 21, 4:00 p.m.
Library Orientation May Memorial Library
Thursday & Friday, November 23-24
Thanksgiving Holiday LIBRARIES CLOSED
Tuesday, November 28, 7:00 p.m.
Let's Knit & Read Mebane Public Library
Check It Out, Fall 2006 Page 2
Kids’ Corner
Friends of the Library
Deliver Summer Reading
by Julie Walker, Head of Youth Services
Does Santa come to town when the heat index is 105+ ? No, he sends his elves on that special delivery for the Friends of Alamance County Public Libraries.
This summer Julie Walker and Frances Soule, ESL teacher for Alamance Burlington Schools, delivered new bilingual books and Summer Reading materials to children and young adults in Alamance County.
The first stop was the Migrant Summer School programs held at Broadview Middle and Grove Park Elementary Schools serving eighty five students. Along with stories and an information program about the Public Library the students chose a book, a gift from the Friends.
The second stop was on the hottest day of the year, at the Terrace Apartments. Looking like the Pied Piper of Hamlin, Frances went door to door leading the children to the table for them to select their very own book! Twenty five students from ages 4 and up received brand new books that day. The biggest dilemma for three young adult girls was to choose between Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul and Harry Potter.
A back to school fair is planned for the ESL students in conjunction with the Public Library to continue the book distribution and promote the library. As one child put it “This is wonderful!”
High School Reading
continued from page 1
Alexander Solzhenitsyn’s, own prison camp experience. The diverse locations of these far-flung novels seem to reflect a common thread of the universality of human suffering.
Come check out these “contemporary classics” on the shelves at the Alamance County Public Libraries. You may enjoy them so much you won't count the pages as the teens do.
Dial-A-Story
229-3595
Kids’
Calendar
May Memorial Library
Baby Fun Time
Tuesdays at 11:00
Time for 2s
Wednesdays at 10:00
Preschool Storytime
Wednesdays at 10:30
May Kids’ Book Club
Monday, September 18 at 4:30
Graham Public Library
Preschool Storytime
Wednesdays at 10:30
Toddler Time
st
1 and 3rd Fridays at 10:30
Car Seat Safety Check
Friday, September 1 at 10:45
Monday Afternoon Movie –
Cheaper By the Dozen starring Steve Martin Monday, October 9, 4:00 p.m.
Spooktacular Saturday
(ages 6 and up)
Saturday, October 28, 3:00 p.m.
Frightful Film
Nanny McPhee starring Emma Thompson Monday, October 30, 4:00 p.m.
Tuesday Night Movie –
The Shaggy Dog starring Tim Allen Tuesday, November 21, 6:30 p.m.
Mebane Public Library
Preschool Storytime
Tuesdays at 10:30
Toddler Time
Thursdays at 10:30
Bilingual Storytime Tiempo de Cuentos Bilingue
Saturdays at 3:00 Todos las Sabados a las 3:00
| Dial-A-Story is a 24 hour a day free service of Alamance County Public Libraries. The stories are approximately 4 minutes long and are changed daily. | North Park LibraryAfterschool Book Bunch Tuesdays at 4:00 | |
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| Check it Out, Fall 2006 | Page 3 | |
Alamance County Public Libraries 342 S. Spring Street Burlington, NC 27215
Visit us on the web:
www.alamancelibraries.org
Do You Have Plans for Lunch?
by Becky Peterson, Reference Librarian, May Memorial Library
May Memorial Library is excited to announce the start of its new book club, the Lunch Bunch Book Club. Our first book club meeting will be Monday,
th
October 16 at 12:00 pm. We'll be reading The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards to discuss during our first meeting. Please bring a bag lunch, and the library will provide the beverages. For more information about the book club, the book, or to sign up for the first meeting, please call 229-3588.
Friends of the Library Sponsor
Free Movies at Graham Library
by Heather Holley-Hall, Head of Branch Libraries
The Friends of Alamance County Public Libraries are sponsoring an exciting new program at Graham Public Library. They’ve purchased a licensing agreement that allows the library to show current feature films for free. With the new sound system, also provided by the Friends, viewers will think they’re at the theater!
Graham Public Library has a great line-up of films planned for September, October and November. Check the Upcoming Events and Kids’ Calendar in this newsletter for dates and titles, or call 570-6730 for more information.
COMING SOON...
Alamance Reads 06-07
by Susan Holland, Co-Chair 2006-2007 Alamance Reads
Our first Community Read was a huge success. Over 3,500 people read The Bridge by Doug Marlette. With its strong local ties and engaging multifaceted author, this book, along with 125 volunteers and 35 sponsors, helped establish a One Book, One Community program in Alamance County. Numerous organizations partnered with Alamance County Public Libraries to provide a wide array of events including workshops, book discussions, films, a poetry reading, panel discussions, tours, a cooking contest, art exhibits and lectures.
The next Alamance Reads is just around the corner. We’ve chosen a wonderful book, and have exciting programs planned. The Friends of Alamance County Public Libraries look forward to having even more of our community involved in Alamance Reads 2006-2007!
Don’t Miss the Book Announcement!
Monday, November 27, 2006Burlington Times-News www.alamancereads.com