Zionsville Coupons for Kings & Queens of the Castle

Hey, adult summer readers, did you know that once you have read and logged 5 books for the adult summer reading program, “Kings & Queens of the Castle,” you get your choice of a special coupon from one of several generous local merchants? And, starting today, if you’ve read and logged 10 books, you’ll be eligible for a second coupon! All coupons are While Supplies Last, so don’t delay, log your books today.

A hearty THANK YOU goes to our superstar local merchants who provided coupons in support of adult summer reading at the Library: Big Dave’s Meat & Deli, Carter’s Ice Cream Parlor, Eagle Creek Coffee Company, Ghyslain at the Sanctuary, Grapevine Cottage (The Wine Guy), Kern Brothers Shoes, Nana Market, Noah Grant’s Grill House & Raw Bar, Patrick’s Kitchen and Drinks. Thanks for adding a delicious incentive for our Kings & Queens of the Castle.

Remember that anything you read counts: eBooks, audio books, fiction, nonfiction, books for work, books you already own, books you buy, books you borrow from the Library (HMMPL or another). So, read to your heart’s content and earn prizes while doing so. Don’t forget the weekly raffles, too- each book you log “buys” you one raffle ticket. See you at the Library.

Summer Reading Program: Not JUST Fun!

As much as our kids enjoy earning prizes for reading (and we enjoy giving them!), recent research shows that the benefits of summer reading are greater than we realize.

James Sangil Kim, Ed.D., assistant professor of education at Harvard, says "students who read a minimum of eight high-interest books at their Lexile level over the summer can achieve similar gains in reading growth as students who attend school."* The loss of kids' reading ability over the summer break is referred to as "summer loss."

So, keep your summer loss at a miniumum and read with us! Come in and register for the Summer Reading Program. It's not too late!

(To check your child's Lexile level, go to www.lexile.com and enter the latest title of a book your child has completed. This Lexile number can be used as a guide for selecting additional titles at your child's reading level.)

*www.oclc.org/news/announcements/2010/announcement469.htm

Kings and Queens of the Castle: Watercolor Class

The coat of arms class scheduled for Wednesday, June 29^th at 6:30pm as part of the Adult Summer Reading Program, "Kings and Queens of the Castle," has been changed to a watercolor class. Paula Scott-Franz will teach you to paint watercolor flowers that were prevalent in medieval times. We supply the materials, you take home the masterpiece. There are only eight seats remaining, reserve yours today.

Scan this . . .

Another use for those ubiquitous bar codes: mobile phone apps that let you catalog and organize books. Scan the bar code on a book (using your device’s camera) and import a synopsis, reviews, cover art, prices, and more. Now, when I’m at a bookstore, I can scan the UPC on books I’ve read, books I want to read, and books I want to borrow from the library!! The free app I’m currently using on my Android phone is MyBookDroid. (There are probably others, too.) Inexpensive apps for iPhones include Book Crawler and iBookshelf @ $1.99. No camera? My old iPod Touch doesn’t have one either, but if I enter the book’s ISBN manually, I can still import and store data.

And on the subject of apps, don’t forget OverDrive. OverDrive Media Console apps allow HMMPL Cardholders to download EPUB eBooks and MP3 audiobooks directly to their Androids, BlackBerries; iPhones, iPads, and Windows Mobile devices, so they can read them anywhere, anytime.

Many thanks to Bridget who tipped me off to the existence of “book cataloging apps” at Books Over Coffee, an awesome brown bag lunch bunch that meets at the Library at noon on the second Tuesday of every month.

A Whole Lot To Bark About

Does your dog have ancestors that lived during the middle ages? Dawn Chance and her helper dog, Georgie-girl, will be at the Library on Tuesday, June 21^st, 2011, at 6:30pm in the Lora Hussey Room, for a discussion about “Hounds & Hunting” in medieval times. During the presentation, learn which modern dog breeds can trace their lineage to those long-ago times. Please register for this program.

Electronics Recycle in Lions Park Saturday June 25th 8am-11am

RecycleForce will be collecting old computers and other small electronics from 8am-11am on Saturday June 25, 2011 in Lions Park, Zionsville.

Items that can be recycled include Bicycles, Bike Accessories cardboard, cash registers, cell phones, computers and computer components, electronic motors, electronic wiring, fax machines, game systems, integrated circuits, laptops, laserdisc players, microphones, microwaves, complete monitors, motors, Palm Pilots, photocopiers, power cables, power supplies, printers satellite components, scanners, surge protectors, telephone systems, toner cartridges and VCR/DVD players. Televisions will be accepted with a $5.00 donation to help defray the cost of picture tube disposal.

For questions or more information contact RecycleForce at 532-1367 or Leigh Ann Akard at Akard True Value 317-873-5255 or leighann@truevalue.net.

Zionsville Community Schools Seeks Your Opinion!

All Zionsville residents are invited to share their opinions with Zionsville Community Schools through an on-line opinion survey available through Friday, June 17.
School administrators said the ten minute survey will help the district better understand where it is succeeding and where it can do a better job serving students,
parents and the Zionsville community. All responses are confidential and no
identifying information will be recorded.
All ages are encouraged to participate in order to provide the most accurate and inclusive information for the school district.
Time is short, so take a few minutes and give your opinion.

And the Knight’s Name is…

Sir Bookshire of Zionsville! Thanks to all who participated in our Knight naming competition, what a fun way to start Summer Reading!

A special thanks goes out to Renaissance Stables for loaning the Knight to the Library for our Medieval Summer Reading theme; he has been a royal treat. Renaissance Stables is a full service boarding, riding, and lesson facility located in Zionsville (10655 E. 300 South), which will open Spring of 2012.

If you have been looking for “Good Knight Read” this summer, I have just the book for you (although it doesn’t have any knights, just dragons). The Dragon Rider by Cornelia Funke was a truly enchanting story and would be a great book for the entire family to enjoy together.

Ben, a human boy, unexpectedly meets a dragon named Firedrake and a funny brownie named Sorrel who are in search of The Rim of Heaven, a safe place for dragons to live. Ben joins Firedrake and Sorrel on their journey and they meet many fantastic creatures on their way.

The book is an adventure story full of strong and imaginative characters—a temperamental villain named Nettlebrand, tiny humans, wondrous sea serpents, greedy gnomes, intelligent rats, and so many more wondrous creatures.

Follow them on their journey to the Rim of Heaven where, hopefully, the dragons can find peace.

Young and old will enjoy the Dragon Rider. If you have older children at home, Cornelia Funke also wrote The Thief Lord, which is another of my favorite books. And don't forget Inkheart, which is another imaginative fantasy for the older crowd as well.

Calling all art-lovers...

Enhance your summer with a talk about art in medieval times. Dr. Jennifer Lee of the Herron School of Art and Design will be at the Library on the evening of Tuesday, June 14^th for “Finding the Unicorn in Medieval Art.” She will show images and discuss art from the medieval period, including illuminated manuscripts and tapestries, the multiple aspects of unicorn symbolism in Arthurian legend and other literature, the bestiary tradition, love imagery, and religious symbolism. Join us and learn about the art of the times from an expert, and check out our large collection of art books to borrow afterward. The program begins at 6:30pm in the Lora Hussey Room, please register here.

Summer Reading has Started!!!!

Summer Reading has started! We have passed out hundreds of reading logs in Youth Services and equal that number have signed up on-line for the teen and adult summer Reading programs.

Our 40+ member Teen Volunteer Corp has been training to assist the library in many ways. We are so happy to see them walk through the doors. They help people sign up for the programs and explain how things work. Some cut out craft items and even shelve books.



The weather has let us know it is really SUMMER! It is hot and humid and it feels great in the Library. Our air conditioner is working overtime! We have posted signs to remind people to use the automatic doors only when necessary. We hope to save electricity by reducing the unnecessary use of the automatic doors.

We started our 3 day only Scholastic Book Sale that will be held while we are open Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. We are off to a great start! Last year we earned over a $1000 in free books for our Summer Reading prize room! We hope to do that again.

Name the Knight Challenge

Look who will be staying in Youth Services for the Summer! This Knight is very excited about the Medieval Summer Reading Youth Program: Dragons, Dreams, and Daring Deeds.

But this Knight has a challenge for you. Your Challenge is to come up with the best name for this Knight. You submit your name on our blog, twitter (ZPLinfo), or on our Facebook page by June 8.

Your favorite Youth Librarians will choose the best name and we will post the Knight’s name on June 10th (just in time for our big Summer Reading Kick-off Party)!

Read anything!

Kings & Queens of the Castle, the Adult Summer Reading program, starts at the Library next week on Tuesday, June 7^th. That same Tuesday, the 7^th, we’ll have musician Samuel Lawson playing a guitar and a lute from 3-5pm on the second floor near the Teen & Adult reference desk. On Wednesday, June 8^th, we’ll have a fencing demonstration by Firebird Fencing from 4-6pm in the Lora Hussey Room. Join us as we kick off the summer at the Library, and remember, anything you read counts: fiction, nonfiction, eBooks, audio books. So get ready to register next week and start logging your books for prizes all summer long.