February Toddler Story Time Schedule

Toddler Story Time is a 30 minute story time adventure for your tot, ages 18 months to 3 years. Each child is to be accompanied by a parent or caregiver.

Monday, February 1st at 11:00 AM

Monday, February 8th at 11:00 AM (Spanish Story Time)

Friday, February 12th at 3:00 pm (Valentine's Day Party - see blog post below for details.)

Monday, February 15th at 11:00 AM

Valentine's Day Party!

Valentine Party for the kids, Friday, February 12th, 2010 from 3 - 5 pm!

We're having a Valentine Bash for the kids (and parents too!) on February 12th from 3 - 5 pm. Children who attend will be able to enjoy a special story time, crafts, a fun Valetine-themed movie, and even snacks and refreshments.

But the most fun event of the afternoon will be the exchange of Valentine's Day cards. Each child should bring a stack of Valentines to exchange will all the other kids!

This is a special event, so make sure to come by and sign up your children at the front desk to participate. We hope to see you there!

Bookshelf News 02

(image from inkpop.com)

Online Teen Author Network from HarperCollins.
This week, HarperTeen (a division of the HarperCollins publishing company) officially launched their new website, http://www.inkpop.com/. The site's goal is to connect rising stars of teen literature with potential publishers and readers through online community publishing. Since it's beta launch last year, inkpop has drawn in over 10,000 members and nearly 11,000 submissions, varying from novels, poems, short stories, and even essays. The members are ages 13 and up, and come from 109 countries around the world. The most valuble assest of the site is the international group of HarperCollins editors that review the site's top five monthly selections, and provide critique and feedback to the young authors, all the while considering their works for publication. What young author doesn't dream of getting published by a huge company like HarperCollins?

For more information, and maybe to even make an account yourself, visit http://www.inkpop.com/.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows to go 3D!
Warner Bros. is taking note of the recent huge success of 3D movies, such as the box office smash hit Avatar. According to the Hollywood Reporter, no official decision has been announced, but a 3d version of Clash of the Titans is "expected by week's end, and official word on the Potter pics will surely follow." The Deathly Hallows have been split into two films, the first to release November 19th of this year, and part 2 to release July 15, 2011. (image from wikipedia.com)

Apple taking the ebook phenomenon by storm!

This week, Apple announced it's brand new iPad tablet, a piece of technology that is sure to give it's competition a run for it's money. Users can choose books from the iBooks app that even looks like a real bookshelf. Books will be downloaded straight to the iPad, and most of today's major publishers are in the bookstore for you to peruse. Reading a book is simple and sweet. You tap anywhere on the right side, and the iPad flips the page for you (or you can turn your own pages by dragging your finger across the screen!), and a scrollbar at the bottom keeps a record of your progress through the book, and what page you're on. And for those of us who may need glasses to read, don't worry! On the iPad, you can change the font and size to make it easier on your eyes. While a little pricey with a tag of $500 retail, the fuctionality is surely worth it to the tech-savvy bookreaders out there. (image from shelf-awareness.com)

Library Tunes

Flavorwire.com featured the 10 best songs about libraries and librarians this week. So, for the music lovers, hop on over to the site for a mixtape your can enjoy in the "stacks":

http://flavorwire.com/64968/mixtape-10-best-songs-about-libraries-and-librarians

February Movie Madness 01

Nights in Rodanthe, Friday, February 5th, at 5pm!

Our first film for February is the heartwarming Nights in Rodanthe, based on the book of the same name by Nicholas Sparks. Not only is it based on a book (which you can check out from us as well!), but it was even filmed in North Carolina, making this movie and obvious choice when we were decided what "romance" to show for the Valentine season. Released in 2008, the film stars Richard Gere and Diane Lane. The movie was filmed on location in the small seaside village of Rodanthe, as well as Carolina Beach. This film is rated PG-13, and seating is limited, so make sure to arrive at least 15 minutes early.

"Two unhappy people's lives become entwined when they have a life changing romance. Adrienne is a woman who's trying to decide whether to stay in her unhappy marriage or not. Her life changes when Paul, a doctor who is traveling to reconcile with his estranged son, checks into an inn in a North Carolina beach town where she is staying." (Summary and image from imdb.com)

YA Board Meeting 02

The Brown Library Youth Advisory Board met once again this past Tuesday, January 26th, 2010. It was an exciting meeting, and all the kids seemed super pumped about helping out Brown draw in a younger crowd. The biggest event of the meeting was the dividing of all the kids into committees. These included:

Promotion and Publicity

Technology

Writing

Creative

The Creative Commitee has already stopped by and started planning our February bulletin board. Make sure to come by and check it out!

We're looking forward to a lot of fun things coming from the YA Board, including decorations for the kids room, technology usage classes, and maybe even their own newspaper article.

The date for the next meeting has not been set, as of yet - but we'll keep you posted!

Bookshelf News

(image from robertbparker.net)

In Memory of Robert B. Parker

We are sad to say that the beloved author of dectective mysteries, Robert B. Parker, passed away this past Monday, January 18, at the age of 77. While at his home in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Parker suffered a fatal heart attack. He will be dearly missed in the world of mystery novelists, but with over 60 books to his name, we will always be able to salvage a small part of him.

Poe's Mysterious Birthday
Every year on the anniversary of Edgar Allan Poe's birth on January 19th, a mysterious visitor cloaked all in black has left roses and a half-empty bottle of top-notch cognac on his grave in Baltimore, Maryland. This year, for the first time in six decades, the nightly visitor failed to show. His identity unknown for years, his strange absence this year has even furthered the intrigue. The annual tribute reportedly began in 1949 - and in 1993 he began leaving notes, starting with one that stated: "The torch will be passed." Another note in 1998 indicated the the orginator of the tradition had passed on, and that his sons were to take over. Have the sons disregarded their father's wishes, or did something ghastly happen to the nightly wanderer? For the full story, head over to http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100119/ap_en_ot/us_poe_mystery_visitor. (image from http://www.sanctaflor.files.wordpress.com)

Twilight turns graphic!

On March 16, 2010, Twilight fans will have a brand new feast of Edward and Bella to drool over. The teen sensation series by Stephanie Meyer has been converted into graphic novel form. Hachette Book Group's graphic novel imprint, Yen Press will be producing "selected text" from Meyer's book, with a retial price of $19.99. Young Kim, a Korean artist, has illustrated the new version in black and white, with a few color panels interspersed throughout. Due to Twilight's overwhelming length, the graphic novel version has had to be split into two volumes (the second volume's release date is unknown at this time). Yen Press also wanted to assure fans that Mrs. Meyers had input on every single panel. (image from amazon.com)

YA Board Meeting 01

Brown Library Youth Advisory Board

Brown Library is going to be getting a little help on the teenage front. Local students have banded together to form their very own advisory board - designed to encourage and draw in more teenagers to reading (and all the other fun stuff we have at the library!). The next meeting for the board will be January 26th, at 3 p.m., at the P.S. Jones Media Center. After each meeting, we'll be posting a few highlights and notes right here on our blog. We really hope the start of this new board will encourage teens (and tweens!) of the area to frequent the library much more often.

2009 Goodreads Choice Awards

The 2009 Goodreads Choice Awards

What books were the best of the best this year? Goodreads pitted all of it's 2009's "Best of Lists" against one another to find out. Here are a few of the winners, all of which are available at the library!

All-Time Favorite
Catching Fire (Hunter Games, #2)
by Suzanne Collins





Fiction
The Help
by Kathryn Stockett






Non-Fiction
Columbine
by Dave Cullen






Mystery-Thriller
The Girl Who Played with Fire (Millennium, #2)
by Stieg Larsson





Romance
An Echo in the Bone (Outlander, #7)
by Diana Gabaldon






This is only a taste of the categories Goodreads covered. For the full list, head on over to http://www.goodreads.com/award/goodreader/2009 and puruse the winners. While you're over there, you might also want to sign up for a Goodreads account. It's a wonderful way for all you book-lovers out there to keep track of what you've read, what you want to read, and what you're even currently reading. Vote in poles, answer fun trivia, trade books, and even write reviews with the wonderful community over there - maybe even help decide the award winner for 2010!

January Movie Madness 02

G-Force, Friday, January 22nd!

The second movie of January Movie Madness is here - and this time it's for the kids (though parents are, of course, welcome!). "Buckle up for thrilling edge-of-your-seat action and laugh-out-loud fun in Disney’s family comedy adventure G-Force. Just as the G-Force — an elite team of highly trained guinea pigs — is about to save the world, the F.B.I. shuts the secret unit down. But these next-generation action heroes — Darwin, loyal team leader; Blaster, weapons expert with attitude to spare; Juarez, drop-dead gorgeous martial arts diva; and tag-along Hurley — won’t be stopped. Armed with the latest in high-tech spy equipment, and with the F.B.I. on their tails, the fur flies as they race against the clock to save the world. From the producer of the Pirates Of The Caribbean trilogy and National Treasure, and filled with high-octane action, daredevil stunts, cutting-edge special effects and outrageous comedy, G-Force is fantastic fun for the whole family." (From Amazon.com)

We will be showing the movie on Friday, January 22nd from 5:00 pm to 6:30 pm. It will be shown, as usual, in our upstairs meeting room, so if you're unsure of where to go, just ask at the front desk for directions. Please try to arrive at least 15 minutes early, as our seating is limited. This film is rated PG.

2010 FOBL Book Sale

2010 FOBL Book Sale

It's that time of year again! Brown Library's annual book sale is right around the corner. It will be hosted, as usual, at the Washington Civic Center, right down the road from the library. Here are the upcoming dates:

Thursday, January 21st, 5:30 pm to 8:00 pm

This day is reserved for memebers of the Friends of the Brown Library only!

Friday, January 22nd through Saturday, January 23rd, 9:00 am to 5:00 pm

These days are open to the public.

Sunday, January 24th, 12:00 noon to 3:00 pm

The last haul - the Books-By-The-Bag day! This is open to the public as well.

We hope to see you there, and may you find many gems amongst the books to take home with you!

Closed for MLK Day

Martin Luther King, Jr. Day

Brown Library will be closed Monday, January 18th, in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. We will resume our normal schedule on Tuesday, January 19th, at 10:00 am.

Yurtfolk!

Yurtfolk is coming to Brown Library!

Coming on Wednesday, January 13th at 4:00 pm, Yurtfolk is a husband and wife troupe of traveling performers. They will sing songs and tell stories from different cultures and in different languages. Learn what it is like to live in a yurt!

Who is Yurtfolk?

LuAnne and Brian perform together in a variety of venues and make their home in North Manchester, Indiana, where they like in a yurt (a dwelling that originates in Mongolia). They appreciate folk music, books, stories and traditions from around the world, languages, the outdoors and creativity.

This is a special event, so make sure you come in and sign up at the front desk!

Toddler Story Time (Spanish)

Toddler Story Time!

Monday, January 11th at 11:00 am, we will be having a special Spanish story time! Toddler Story Time is a 30 minutes story time adventure for your tot, ages 18 months to 3 years. Each child is to be accompanied by a parent or caregiver.

Our Spanish story times feature children's books read entirely in Spanish by the lovely Mrs. Stella Olivares, our Children's Services Coordinator. This event is open to anyone who wishes to come, and we hope to see you there!

January Movie Madness

Julie & Julia, Saturday, Janurary 9th!

Brown Library is pleased to announce that we will now be showing at least two movies every month, free of charge, for our patrons! Our kick-off event will be the heart-warming Julie & Julia! Julie & Julia is a 2009 comedy-drama film written and directed by Nora Ephron. The film depicts events in the life of chef Julia Child in the early years in her culinary career, contrasting her life with Julie Powell, who aspires to cook all 524 recipes from Child's cookbook during a single year, a challenge she described on her popular blog that would make her a published author.

We will be showing the movie on Saturday, January 9th from 12:30 to 2:35 p.m. There will be coffee, tea, and a few nibbles for attendees. The movie will be shown in our upstairs meeting room, so if you're unsure where to go, ask one of our lovely librarians at the front desk where to go. Please try to arrive 15 minutes early at least, as seating is limited! This film is rated PG-13.

See you on Saturday!

Welcome!

Welcome to Brown's Bookshelf!

Today George H. and Laura E. Brown Library is hopping on the technology bandwagon by starting our very own blog! You will be able to find everything going on at the library through the new blog, including days we'll be closed, special events, and even new releases. We all are incredibly excited about being able to reach out to our patrons in this new way, and we hope this will be only one of many technology-based resources we will have for the library. To all our patrons (and non-patrons too!), happy blogging!