All Summer Reading Links and Logs Will Be Available on June 7th!

June and July Newsletter

Scholastic Book Sale June 8-10

Scholastic Book Sale @ the Library
June 8-1o, 2011
Preview some of the books that will be at the sale.
Preview Sale Here

If you want to be sure to get the titles you want before they are sold out send us your wish list.

Last year we raise over $1,000 in books. New books were added to our collection and given during our summer reading program to kids who read and recorded 5 hours.

This year we will be collecting loose change for the
One for Books promotion.

Every Dollar is Matched and given to:

Kids in Distressed Situations, Inc.,

Kids In Need Foundation

Marine Toys for Tots Foundation

Great Deals … Great Cause!

The spring book sale sponsored by the Friends of the Hussey-Mayfield Memorial Public Library is this weekend, Friday, May 20th through Sunday, May 22nd, and an event you won’t want to miss! Although it’s called a “book sale”, because that’s the main item that the Friends sell, it’s much more than that! Books of all types can be found, both used and new, library discards and books originally purchased by others, from baby board books to hardcover and paperback fiction and nonfiction books for children, teens and adults, to reference books, magazines and large print books. VHS and audio tapes, music CDs and books on CD, as well as a few posters, LP albums, children’s puzzles and other odds and ends also await shoppers. And all at bargain prices! Magazines are the lowest priced items at 10 cents each and items for sale go up from there to $2 for adult hardbacks. Some special quality items are priced at higher prices.

The sale times are Friday evening, May 20th, 5 – 7 PM with an entrance fee of $5 for the opportunity to preview the sale; Saturday, May 21st, 9:30 AM – 5 PM, with a bag sale, $10 per brown grocery bag of items from 3 – 5 PM; and Sunday, May 22nd, 1 – 5 PM, a brown grocery bag of items all afternoon for $5 per bag.

Come enjoy shopping for bargains and support the Friends of the Library at the same time! Proceeds from this and all book sales go directly to support the Library and its services. Our Friends have donated more than $120,000 to the Library in the last 30 years to support programming and to purchase items for the Library during building projects. The Library would not be the special place that it is today without the ongoing support of our Friends group. Become a Friend of the Library for just $10 per year – you can join when you visit the sale this weekend!

Friday, May 20th is National BIKE TO WORK DAY!

I have to admit, I almost didn’t do it.  It would have been nice to have another cup of coffee, leisurely peruse the newspaper and not rush.  However, I couldn’t very well back out.  I was the one who sent an email to the entire library staff about my intention to bike to work this morning.  Then a funny thing happened about half way through my ride.  I remembered why I love to ride.  

 Traveling by bicycle allows you to view all those things you miss in the car when you are going at a higher speed.  The birds crossing your path, the smell of lilacs in the air and the house far back from the road or the garden that you never noticed before.    The other wonderful thing about riding is that is always takes me back to my youth.  Going downhill with the wind on my face never fails to remind me of the feeling I had when I was young of having complete freedom on my bike.  So for a short while, I am young and carefree without worry until I start thinking about the uphill ride home!

Jackie J

The Kettlebell

Have you heard of this very old fitness tool that is making new waves in the fitness world? A kettlebell is a hand weight that is shaped like a cannonball with a handle. While relatively new in its popularity in the U.S., it has been used in Russia for centuries.

The interest in the kettlebell has grown because of its effectiveness in toning the body. It is used to perform explosive moves that combine strength training, cardiovascular fitness and flexibility training. It provides a shorter workout, because you are exercising multiple parts of the body at once.

Besides the “buzz,” the other reason we know kettlebells are gaining in popularity is that you can purchase them at your local discount retailer. They come in different weights, starting at 5 pounds. Normally, you will only use one bell in a workout, so that is all you need to purchase to get started. If you haven’t decided if the kettlebell is for you, give the workout a try using a dumbbell held by one end.

Where can you learn about the kettlebell? You need a good instructor. This can be at a local gym, or through a good book or DVD. I recommend a DVD or live class, because you need to see how the instructor interacts with the kettlebell to learn proper form.

Currently, the library has “Power Body Kettlebell Boot Camp” a DVD by Angie Miller. Angie also includes a kettlebell section on her DVD “Give me 10! 10 Minute Workouts for a Total Body Tone Up!” We also have “The Kettlebell Goddess Workout” by Andrea DuCane. One book resource that is available is, “Kettlebells for Dummies” by Sarah Lurie.

At prevention.com you will be linked to several articles and videos that will help you get started. Don’t be afraid of this piece of equipment. It will do great things for you if you start slowly and receive good instruction.

Corn Hole Tournament @ BlackTop BBQ Saturday, May21

If you are looking for an awesome way to spend your Saturday, join the Library Staff at Boone Village to participate in our Relay For Life Corn Hole Tournament to raise money for a great cause.

100% of money raised at the Corn Hole Tournament goes to Relay For Life to help fight cancer. Let’s make a world with more birthdays!

The Corn Hole booth opens at 11:00am. Stop by the booth to register and play. There will be a $10 entry fee per team (2 people). And each team has a chance to win super prizes!

1st prize receives a “Pop-A-Shot” indoor basketball game and 2 Relay for Life Coolers
2nd prize will receive 2 Relay for Life Baseball Caps

Also on Saturday, the Black-Top BBQ begins at 1:00 where you can sample BBQ for just $10. Additional items will be for sale such as chips, cookies, pop and luminaries.

You and your family are welcome to join in the fun--games, music and food 'round the clock!

THANK YOU for all your help.

Youth Summer Reading Program

Summer is fast approaching and you might have heard that your Youth Librarians have been visiting the elementary schools to promote the Summer Reading Program. The theme this year, Dragons, Dreams and Daring Deeds will take us back to the exciting time of castles, knights, and princesses.

The Summer Reading program begins June 7th. Right after the kids get out of school they can start keeping track of how many minutes they are reading. You can stop by the Library to pick up a reading log or print one from our website; however, the reading logs will not be available until June 7.

What counts as reading? Parents can read to children, children can read to themselves or others, and audiobooks count, which can be great for long car trips! Children can read almost anything for the summer reading program—picture books, chapter books, comics, newspapers, non-fiction books, newspapers or magazines. Subtitles on the television do not count!

A huge Summer Reading Kick-Off Party will be Friday, June 10th. It’s a day-long celebration of reading, games, prizes, and fun! Join us for a Scholastic Book Sale, Knight stories with Lady Howard, Hip hop dance classes with Indy Dance Academy, Ronald McDonald will impress us with his magic, the Indianapolis Fencing Club will perform a fencing demonstration; you don't want to miss this day!

Everyone may begin reporting their hours June 10th, although the Prize Market does not open until June 13. The first 1000 children to report at least 3 hours of reading will receive a Multi Color Pen or Medieval duck!

When your child has reached the reading goal for their age, they will be entered into the Grand Prize Raffle Drawing. School-aged children are entered to win A Clay Works Party with Don Edwards or a Lego Castle set. Babies, toddlers, and preschoolers are entered into a drawing for a Wooden Castle Set.

Eating With the Seasons

You may have been hearing terms like slow food , locally grown and ethical eating a lot lately and may wonder exactly what they mean. I began to understand them after reading Barbara Kingsolver’s wonderful Animal Vegetable Miracle, A Year of Food Life. Her family moved to a farm deciding to eat and drink only what they or their neighbors could produce – for an entire year. With subtle humor, an unpreachy style, beautiful prose and fascinating research, she describes the experiment.

According to Kingsolver “the average food item on a U.S. grocery shelf has travelled farther than most families go on their annual vacations. True fact.” Personally, I had never thought of the environmental impact my love of Costco fruits and vegetables available in quantity all year round could have. I have even more incentive to plant a vegetable garden and hope for better weather than last summer.

We have chosen some wonderful books from our collection for display on the 2^nd floor. Look there for more books on the slow food movement, vegetable gardening, canning and preserving and lots of beautiful cookbooks for seasonal eating and serving up the harvest – whether it is from your own garden or one of the great local farmer’s markets coming soon. The Zionsville Farmer's Market starts June 4th on the corners of Main and Hawthorne Streets.

Also, please consider attending the Friends of the Library meeting on Wednesday May 18^th at 10 am to learn more about becoming a Friend of the Library and hear a presentation by Amy Rhodes of the Traders Point Creamery .

Teen Tech Week Robot Story

Give teens the freedom of Facebook and limitless story telling possibilities and what do you get? An action-packed story! Now, I like action books, don’t get me wrong, but when Zionsville teens think, they think BIG! Check out the Library’s first ever social experiment as part of Teen Tech Week 2011, which is hosted by the American Library Association!

Once there was a little troll walking through the forest when she met a robot. The robot jumped out and said, "BLLAAARRRG!" and then shot lasers out of its eyes. The troll does a Matrix dodge and then casts a spell that chains the robot to a wall, immobilizing him. Then the troll does the traditional troll rain dance and rusts the robot and then he does a dance like this (visualize three teens doing a stiff version of Michael Jackson's Thriller). The robot sputtered, sparked and blew up. The troll screamed. The robot formed back together and fought like a MANIAC! Suddenly, a dragon comes and breathes fire at the robot. The robot is so hot that it melts and immobilizes the troll in liquid metal. Suddenly, the robot springs up and swears revenge on the dragon that melted him. Out of nowhere the robot sees a shooting star; and she wishes to meet her true love because even though she was hard on the outside, she was mushy on the inside. Little did he know, the troll saw the star first and wished for an object, or weapon, to defeat the robot once and for all. The troll then, being who she is, used her powers to steal all of the light from the land, ALL OF IT. She also stole the dragon's and robot's luck so she had all of that too.

If you would like to keep track of this story and other information about the Library, be sure to "Like" the Library's Facebook Page.

Anyone can take an IU computer class

Summer is an ideal time to pump up the skills you need in your job or your job search. One source of first-rate training in a wide variety of technology topics is Indiana University. Their tech-training classes are available to anyone.

I happen to know of IU's offerings because I'm a grad student at IU's School of Library & Information Science at Indianapolis, so I get the university's newsletters about information technology. I was surprised to learn that all the technology training that's available for free to faculty, staff and students is also available for $25-$65 to the general public. IU alumni get a discount. Class subjects include: Microsoft Office applications, such as Access, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint and Word; website creation and management tools; Adobe Creative Suite (CS5) and Flash; and global information systems (GIS).

You can visit the IU IT training website for more information, including a downloadable PDF copy of the university's technology classes' descriptions and summer schedule for the Indianapolis campus.

Do you know of any other good sources of continuing education? Please let us know by clicking the comments link below.

If you have any questions about technology training that you've received from me here at Hussey-Mayfield, click the comments link to post your question and I'll answer it right away. Or you can visit my Blogger page, which has a link for sending me an email.

The Future!

It’s getting to be that time already! What time you ask? School visits for the Summer Reading Program! The Hussey-Mayfield Memorial Public Library Summer Reading Program starts in little over a month, and though earlier than usual, we actually started school visits last week.

My first time to actually go – by myself – to do an SRP presentation, I had a lot of fun talking with the kids about our way cool theme this year & doing some storytelling. During a Q&A time with the third graders at Pleasant View Elementary, several of the kids asked if reading from an iPad, Kindle, Nook, etc counted towards their reading time. “You bet,” I replied, intrigued that this technology is an option and consideration for them. Later that night, I got on to peruse the blogs I follow, and what do I find? An Association of Library Services to Children blog post about “iPad and Smart Phone Apps for Kids.” Need some ideas or want recommendations – check out the post!

For you adults, you might also find a recent talk on TED.com interesting. Mike Matas talks about the next generation digital book - http://www.ted.com/talks/mike_matas.html. Even though I have a distinct fondness from the beauty and comfort of paper, I’ve got to admit, it’s pretty cool! For those of you interested in e-books and down-loadable audiobooks, you can check out our growing collection from Overdrive.

Chicks are here!

Peep into the Youth Services area and you will find 14 one day old chicks and 25 eggs getting ready to hatch.

Boone County Extension Educator Doug Akers set up the incubator and eggs this morning. Eggs stay in the incubator 21 days before hatching, which means that most of the eggs will hatch Tuesday and Wednesday of this week. It is always EGG-CITING to watch a chick work itself out of the egg, and quite EGGS-hausting as well!

If you don’t want to miss any of the excitement you can view chicks from home by visiting our website and clicking on the “Watch us Hatch” banner. After all of the eggs have hatched, the webcam will move to the live baby chicks.

Some of the chicks will be at the Library all week so patrons can watch them grow. Others will go home with our 12 foster families for two weeks. Foster families came Sunday to learn how to care for the baby chicks.

Special thanks to the Friends of the Library for sponsoring this amazing program!