Showing posts with label libraries. Show all posts
Showing posts with label libraries. Show all posts

Friday, February 13, 2015

Welcoming Neely to the South Sioux City Public Library

The following is the weekly column that I write for the South Sioux City Public LIbrary.


Welcoming Neely to the South Sioux City Public Library
The husband and wife duo, Neely will be in concert on Tuesday night February 17th at 6:30 p.m.

Nashville-based husband & wife duo NEELY integrates the region's eclectic musical soundscape into an array of well-crafted Rock anthems featuring spine-chilling harmonies and hook-laden lyrics.

The roots of what is now NEELY began decades ago in the small towns of Cosby, MO and Bennington, Kansas where both Jeremy and Kaci would record hours of radio broadcasts on cassette tape and pour over the content, honing writing and vocal skills that seeming providence would set on a collision course.  The two were married May 5th, 1996, yet it wasn't until the summer of 2000 that they began to explore the extraordinary musical harmony that was fused together.  Constantly pursuing excellence in their craft and traveling under other banners, Jeremy and Kaci began to exhibit a quality in their music that began to turn heads in the Central United States.

Neely is touring throughout the Midwest.  A $10 donation per person will be received at the door to defray the cost of their tour.  They will also have CDs for purchase on the day of the event.

Tuesday Technology Classes:  This week we have the following educational opportunities on Tuesday February 17th:  Windows 3 at 10:00 a.m., Word 1 at 11:00 p.m.; Word 2 at 1:00 p.m., Windows 3 at 2:00 p.m., PowerPoint 1 at 5:00 p.m., E-book Reader at 6:00 p.m., and PowerPoint 2.

Menu Planning on a Budget:  As part of our financial lessons classes we present a class on how to plan healthy meals on a budget on Tuesday night February 17th at 6:30 p.m.

Tangled Yarns meets for needlecraft and fun on Tuesday night February 17th at 6:30 p.m.

Youth Education Opportunities:  We have Night of FUN on Tuesday night at 6:30 p.m., Tell Me a Story on Wednesday February 18th at 6:30 p.m, Pat-a-Cake Pals on Thursday February 19th at 10:00 a.m., and Toddler Time is on Friday February 20th at 10:00 a.m.

Thursday Technology Classes:  We offer Clean up Your Computer at 10:00 a.m., Mango Languages 11:00 a.m., E-Book Reader 2:00 p.m., Publisher 1 at 3:00 p.m., Publisher 2 at 4:00 p.m., Pinterest 5:00 p.m., Tech Thursday at 6:00 p.m., and Publisher 3 at 7:00 p.m.

Club 745.5 Crafts will teach beaded art on Thursday February 19th, at 6:30 p.m. The class will be repeated on Friday February 20th at 10:30 a.m.

Writer to Writergroup will meet on Saturday February 21stat 10:00 a.m.  Debra LaCroix  will speak on writing and publishing children's books.  Hour 2 participants will discuss what they are writing.

Presidents Day:  The library will be closed on Monday February 16th for Presidents Day.

Reading the Presidents: We recommend these titles.in honor of Presidents Day.

Eisenhower 1956:  the President’s Year of Crisis:  Suez and the Brink of War by David A. Nichols. This book draws on hundreds of newly declassified documents to present an account of the Suez crisis that reveals the considerable danger it posed as well as the influence of Eisenhower's health problems and the 1956 election campaign.

The Final Days by Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein covers the last days of the Richard Nixon presidency.

Hit List : an in-depth Iinvestigation into the mysterious Deaths of Witnesses to the JFK Assassination by Richard Belzer and David Wayne. Belzer and Wayne set out to uncover the truth about the many witness deaths tied to the JFK assassination. For decades, government pundits have dismissed these "coincidental" deaths. Some of the deaths seemed purely coincidental; heart attacks, hunting accidents. Others clearly seemed noteworthy; witnesses who did seem to know something and did seem to die mysteriously. The findings were absolutely staggering: some cases were clearly linked to a "clean-up operation" after the murder of President Kennedy, while others were the result of 'other forces'.

Barack Obama:  the Story by David Maraniss.  In Barack Obama: The Story, David Maraniss has written a deeply reported generational biography teeming with fresh insights and revealing information, a masterly narrative drawn from hundreds of interviews, including with President Obama in the Oval Office, and a trove of letters, journals, diaries, and other documents.The book unfolds in the small towns of Kansas and the remote villages of western Kenya, following the personal struggles of Obama’s white and black ancestors through the swirl of the twentieth century. It is a roots story on a global scale, a saga of constant movement, frustration and accomplishment, strong women and weak men, hopes lost and deferred, people leaving and being left. Disparate family threads converge in the climactic chapters as Obama reaches adulthood and travels from Honolulu to Los Angeles to New York to Chicago, trying to make sense of his past, establish his own identity, and prepare for his political future.Barack Obama: The Story chronicles as never before the forces that shaped the first black president of the United States and explains why he thinks and acts as he does. Much like the author’s classic study of Bill Clinton, First in His Class, this promises to become a seminal book that will redefine a president....from dust jacket.

Have a great week and read a good book.

Monday, February 9, 2015

Sacramento Pubic Library Loans Sewing Machines

One of our staff members circulated the following article to our library staff today.  Does anyone have any thoughts on loaning sewing machines or other types of machines?

Borrow a sewing machine? Sacramento Public Library to start loaning more than books 

Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/news/local/education/article8920145.html#storylink=cpy

Saturday, February 7, 2015

Following the Grammys at the South Sioux City Public LIbrary

Following the Grammys at the South Sioux City Public Library
Sunday February 8thwe will be treated to the 2015 Grammies.  The library is your sound center for Grammy nominated music. Follow the link at www.southsiouxcity.org/libraryto go to the 57th annual Grammy awards website.  The following CDs are from Grammy nominated artists. 1989 from Taylor Swift; Title from Meghan Trainor; Morning Phase by Beck; BeyoncĂ© by BeyoncĂ©; X by Ed Sheeren; and GIRL by Pharrell Williams.

Youth Education at the Library:  Reading to children is the beginning of making them lifelong readers.  These are our youth education activities for the week:  Tell Me a Story, Monday at 1:30 p.m.; Night of FUN, Tuesday at 6:30 p.m.; Tell Me a Story, Wednesday at 6:30 p.m.; Pat-a-Cake Pals, Thursday at 10:00 a.m.; and Toddler Time, Friday at 10:00 a.m.

Cover to Cover book club will discuss the second half of the bookFlyboys by James Bradley.  This is the story of the brave Americans, who were captured on an air raid to destroy the communication facility at Chichi-jima. Cover to cover meets at 3:00 p.m. on the second and fourth Mondays of each month.  The group is open to all ages and interests.  We read a variety of fiction, nonfiction, and biography.

Family Movies: Bring the whole family to our family-friendly movie night on Monday at 6:00 p.m. and Saturday at 1:00 p.m. 

Tuesday Tech Classes:  The library offers multiple opportunities for lifelong learning with these Tuesday classes:  Know your Computer, at 10:00 a.m.; Keyboard and Mouse Skills, at 11:00 p.m.; Pinterest, at 12:00 p.m.; Windows 1, at 1:00 p.m.; Windows 2, at 2:00 p.m.; and Clean up Your Computer, at 5:00 p.m.

Tangled Yarns:  Tangled Yarns is a group of active needle workers.  If you want to learn to crochet, knit, or do any number of other needle crafts, join us at 6:30 p.m. each Tuesday.

Financial Literacy Class:  Achieving Financial Goalswebinar is on Tuesday February 10th at 6:30 p.m.  If you have any questions about the classes, it is a great time to ask.

Library Eats Gluten Free:  Learn how to cook delicious gluten-free dishes.  Library Eats is on Thursday February 12th at 6:30 p.m.

Thursday Technology Classes:  Lifelong Learning in the field of technology continues on Thursday with E-Book Reader class, at 2:00 p.m.; Facebook Basics, at 3:00 p.m.; Search Engines at 4:00 p.m.; Tech Thursday, at 6:00 p.m.; How to Search the Internet at 7:00 p.m.

If you enjoy Clive Cussler… As I was writing this article, I was asked what are some good suggestions for book, if a reader enjoys Clive Cussler.  The following are my recommendations:  The Black Order by James Rollins; The Ice Limitby Douglas Preston; and The Book of the Dead by Lincoln Child.
A Little Romance: February 14th is Valentine’s Day.  Take some time to read a good romance:  The Guy Not Taken:  Stories by Jennifer Weiner; Orchard Valley Grooms by Debbie Macomber; A Most Unsuitable Match by Stephanie Grace Whitson; andFangirl by Rainbow Rowell.

A Box of Chocolate: With a little romance, we need to have a little chocolate to make the holiday complete.  Here are some books that have it:  Killing Cupid by Laura Levine; Friends, Lovers, Chocolate by Alexander McCall-Smith; Echoes of Mercy by Kim Vogel Sawyer, Summer on Blossom Street by Debbie Macomber; and The Beautiful Mystery : a Chief Inspector Gamache mystery novel by Louise Penne.

Have a great week.  We will see you at the library.

Thursday, February 5, 2015

Roger Williams Lands in Massachusetts, February 5, 1631

The history of the United States is one of religious diversity, but most of us only remember the Puritans and the Cavaliers of Virginia.  We forget the work of men like Roger Williams, who began in the Church of England, but moves to Puritan, Massachusetts, finally becoming a Baptist, a proponent of religious liberty and founder of Rhode Island.

The Library of Congress writes a wonderful entry for Today in History for February 5th.  Today in History is a wonderful daily almanac, for lack of a better word.  Today in History is a vehicle used to go deep into a topic in history, as well as showcasing the vast collections of the Library of Congress.

This entry points to the following collections:

  • Religion and the Founding of the American Republic
  • Photographs of the Detroit Publishing Company
  • the Mat Collection
The article cross-references:
  • tthe Quakers
  • John Cotton
  • Oliver Cromwell
  • William Penn and 
  • Ann Hutchinson 
This article is must reading on America's Christian dissenters.

Today in History offers worthwhile reading each day of the week.

Wednesday, February 4, 2015

All You Ever Wanted to Know About Godzilla

Roy Kenagy shared a blog post from CCGC in Libraries on Twitter today.  The article was entitled Gojira:  Getting Ready for a Godzilla Invasion at Your Library.  The article contains:


  • Film History
  • Godzilla's Enemies
  • Websites 
  • Articles 
  • Media 
  • Collection Development and 
  • Programming ideas.
The CCGC in Libraries site is worth reading, beyond this one article.  I had to look it up, but cosplay is short for costume play.  It has a lot of cool, geeky ideas.  Great for young adult and summer reading program ideas.

You would also do well to visit Roy Kenagy's site What Would Ranganathan Do?