Antiques Appraisal

If you're a fan of Antiques Roadshow, come to the Library on June 10th for "Antiques Appraisal" with Solomon/Jones and Wickliff Auctioneers. Last year, we saw a wide variety of items and heard fascinating stories of how they came to be in the possesion of their owners. Family heirlooms, treasures from long-ago travels, a knickknack purchased in an antique shop or in a garage sale...the tales were varied and entertaining and most if not all of the items had one thing in common: an abundance of sentimental value. 

You may bring up to three antiques including artwork, ceramics, glassware, jewelry, textiles and decorative objects (if the item is large, such as a piece of furniture, a clear photograph will do). Ben Solomon of Solomon/Jones and Darin Lawson of Wickliff Auctioneers will give you an estimation of the value of each item, and Mr. Solomon is a wealth of information about the origins and history of all sorts of materials --listening to him is a treat. Afterward, check out the collection of books about antiques and price guides at the Library.

Don't have any antiques to bring but want to come and listen to the stories? Sign up for a Spectator-Only seat and join us for the fun. "Antiques Appraisal" is an adult program and registration is required, so sign up today, dust off that old vase or grab a spoon from your great aunt's silverware set, and we'll see you at the Library.

Mural Painting: A very special gift!

The Library celebrated 50 years of service last year, and what a fabulous year that was!  In honor of that major milestone, the Friends of the Library gave a very special gift to the Youth Services Department that will be put into place this June.

The Friends of the Library commissioned local potter, Don Edwards of IndyClayWorks, to create a community mosaic mural on the wall behind the Youth Services Reference Desk.  The exciting part is that this really will be a community project!  Local artist Susan Fletcher Conaway donated her time to design the beautiful image that will go on the wall, and the children of Zionsville will paint the pieces that make up the mural.  Register your child to paint clay tiles throughout the week of June 3-7.  We chose different time slots in hopes that your child can participate, we want everyone to be a part of our mural!  You can also participate by coming back on Monday, June 17 from 10am-2pm to help glaze the tiles.  The final project will be unveiled at the end of June.

The Youth Services department would like to extend a special thanks to The Friends of the Library, Don Edwards, and Susan Conaway for helping this project come to life!

Kids can register to paint clay tiles on the following days and times...

Monday, June 3 10:30-11:30 AM, 12:30-1:30 PM, 2:30-3:30 PM

Tuesday, June 4 1:00-3:00 PM

Wednesday, June 5 10:00 AM- 12:00 PM

Thursday, June 6 4:00 PM-6:00 PM

Friday, June 7 1:00-3:00 PM

Portrait of a Marriage

Intrigued by marriages of the rich and famous? Here’s a timely story, given the newly-released The Great Gatsby starring Leonardo DiCaprio.  Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald by Therese Anne Fowler follows the marriage of Zelda and F. Scott Fitzgerald from its riotous beginning to its tragic end. Married in 1920, beautiful, Southern belle Zelda Sayre and handsome, Ivy Leaguer F. Scott Fitzgerald capture the spirit of the scandalous “Roaring Twenties.”  When the extravagant, cash-strapped newlyweds move to Paris, they meet Ernest Hemingway and his first wife, Hadley.  And here’s where the story really takes off—especially if you’ve read The Paris Wife by Paula McLain (another fine novel about a celebrity marriage). The literary rivalry—The Sun Also Rises and The Great Gatsby were published within a year of each other—is  as riveting as the emotional tangles that ensnare both writers and wives.  I liked Z for the all the same reasons I enjoyed The Paris Wife.  It’s a well-researched, engrossing account of what it’s like to be married to a man who fears failure almost as much as he covets success.

Other recent novels that reveal the inside stories behind notable couples include:  The Aviator’s Wife by Melanie Benjamin, which portrays the marriage of Charles and Anne Morrow Lindbergh, Loving Frank by Nancy Horan, an account of the clandestine love affair between Mamah Borthwick Cheney and Frank Lloyd Wright, and The Master’s Muse by Varley O’Connor about the marriage of principal ballerina (and polio survivor) Tanaquil Le Clercq to George Balanchine.

Youth Summer Reading

The Youth Summer Reading Program, Star Spangled Summer: READ, WHITE & BLUE begins Friday, May 31 for children ages birth through entering 5th grade.  Kids earn prizes as they read their way through the summer.

To complete the program, each child chooses to read 50 books, 50 hours or 50 days.  Preschoolers will probably choose to read 50 books to make it easy on mom.  2nd graders might like to challenge themselves by reading 50 books.  If you are an avid reader, you will definitely want to choose to read 50 hours because you can earn more prizes that way (we have an extreme reading challenge sheet that goes up to 200 hours!).
Choose your path and then start reading, beginning May 31.  Keep track of your reading on a reading log, which will be available at the Library beginning May 31, or print a log from our website: www.zionsville.lib.in.us (you can't print it until May 31).

The Summer Reading Kick-Off Party will be Mon., June 3.  It’s a day-long celebration of magic, mural painting, reading, games, and prizes!   If you have read 3 books, hours, or days by June 3 you will be able to report your reading and pick up your first prize! The first 1000 children to report their first goal of 3 from their reading log will receive a Foam Rocket or Rubber Duck.  Kick-off Party Bonus: if you join us for our Kick-off party on June 3 and have read 3 books, hours, or days, you can utilize our reading rocket launch to launch your prize across the library-THIS IS ONLY POSSIBLE ON JUNE 3!  The Prize Market opens Monday, June 10.  

When you have completed “50” on your reading log, you will earn a chance to win a Grand Prize! 
 
Families are invited to the End-of-Summer Carnival celebrating our Library’s 51st Birthday on Friday, August 2 from 5:30 – 7 PM. Join us for extra special events, carnival games, music and refreshments on the Fifth St. lawn and parking lot.

Ready for a Tough Workout?

If you’re not happy with your workout unless there’s a pool of sweat on the floor, the library has you covered.

If you haven’t discovered them, we now have “Insanity” and “P90X.”  They are very popular right now, and you might want to reserve the ones that interest you.  But if you have to wait, we have more choices for you.

 

Gilad has over 30 years experience in creating highly effective workouts.  His “Cuts &Curves” DVD is a mostly standing routine.  It mixes core, balance and body awareness exercises with his traditional boot camp routines.  And of course, it is filmed on the beach in Hawaii.  

Don’t let the fact that Jari Love is a pretty blonde fool you, she puts together challenging routines.  They are no-nonsense and tough.  Her “Slim & Lean” DVD covers all major muscle groups.  She does the workout with three people who demonstrate different levels of intensity.  If you want to learn about proper form, any of Jari’s DVDs will be a good choice.

Jillian Michaels is known as “America’s Toughest Trainer”.  Her “Kickbox Fast fix” workout is high impact and designed for the intermediate to advanced exerciser.  The best thing about the three workouts is that they’re short!  Each one lasts twenty minutes.   Each section focuses on a different area of the body: Upper, Lower and Core.  You will tone your body without lifting a weight.  

The only thing that won’t be hard about these workouts is finding one. 

Liberty and Books for All

Summer is almost upon us -even the weather finally seems to agree- and with it comes summer reading and prizes for adults in "Liberty and Books for All." For the third consecutive summer, Zionsville and nearby businesses have donated coupons and gift certificates for their wares and services that the Library is honored to offer as adult prizes for reading and recording books. A coupon is earned each time you read and record a quantity of five books, and you get to pick the coupon you want. All coupons are "while supplies last," but the generosity of our merchants is considerable and we have a total of over 500 coupons available for you this summer.

Two of the adult weekly prizes were also donated by local businesses and will soon be displayed in the Sixth Street entrance window. Every book you read (including ebooks and audio books) and record qualifies you for one raffle ticket at the Library, which you may use to try to win a weekly prize. Visit the second floor reference desk for details on adult summer coupons and weekly prizes, and then visit the local businesses that support the Library. We wouldn't have such great prizes to offer without their support, and we love that the Library and our community is so important to them.

A big, loud "THANK YOU!" to the following businesses for their generous support of adult summer reading at the Library:

Big Dave's Deli

Black Dog Books

Cheveux Salon & Spa

Cobblestone Grill

Cold Stone Creamery @ Traders Point 86th Street

Grapevine Cottage

Kern Bros. Shoes

Kristeens

Le Dolce Vita Patisserie

Monical's Pizza @ Traders Point 86th Street

My Sugar Pie

NjS Studio Salon & Spa

Noah Grant's

Orange Leaf Frozen Yogurt Zionsville

Patrick's Kitchen

Schakolad Chocolate Factory @ Traders Point 86th Street

Stone Creek Dining Company

Traders Mill Grill & Bar

If you would like your business to participate in coupons and prizes for adults, call 873-8341 and ask to speak with Lisa. There is still time to be part of summer 2013!

One last thing: Don't miss engaging and entertaining programs for adults this summer. Look for another Antiques Appraisal (find out what some of your heirlooms may be worth) in the beginning of summer and Texas Roadhouse Cut & Taste at the end (learn how to grill steak and pork to perfection), with plenty of great programs between. Check out June and July on the calendar now. 

Summer reading registration begins June 3rd and the Teen and Youth departments have lots of fantastic summer programs and prizes, too, so check it all out the next time you're in. We've got the whole family covered at the Library.

Hooray for Mother's Day

Moms come in all shapes and sizes: tall, short, thrifty, generous, giddy, gutsy, critical and kind.  They’re bakers and bankers and jills-of-all-trades.  In recognition and celebration of maternal diversity and mothers everywhere, I’d like to recommend a trio of books about remarkable women and their equally remarkable offspring.  First is Lifesaving Lessons: Notes from an Accidental Mother by Linda Greenlaw.  Some readers may know Greenlaw from her previous books, The Hungry Ocean and The Lobster Chronicles.  The New York Times bestselling author is a no-nonsense New Englander AND the only female sword fish boat captain in the country.  When Notes opens Greenlaw is forty-something, unmarried, and resigned to a life of solitude on Isle au Haut (population 47).  She rises to an unexpected challenge when fate delivers Mariah, an abused 14-year-old girl, to her doorstep.  Greenlaw not only offers Mariah temporary sanctuary, but also assumes legal guardianship for the troubled teen.  It’s a feel-good story, unsentimentally told, about a how woman with a passion for fishing learns to embrace change.

Conflict is at the heart of Mira Bartok’s The Memory Palace.  Bartok’s mother, Nora, is a gifted pianist who suffers from schizophrenia.  Nora’s frequent psychotic episodes turn Bartok’s childhood into a nightmare.  Thwarted in their efforts to find medical and legal help for Nora, Mira and her sister forge new identities to protect themselves from their mother's intense, irrational love.  The haunting account ends with Mira and Nora reunited, although reconciliation comes at great cost.

In The Spark: A Mother’s Story of Nurturing Genius, local author Kristine Barnett writes about raising her son, Jacob, a boy with a photographic memory and an IQ higher than Albert Einstein’s.  Defying experts, Barnett encourages autistic Jacob to pursue his passion for astrophysics.  Publishers Weekly calls The Spark an “eloquent memoir about an extraordinary boy and a resilient and remarkable mother [that] will be of interest to every parent and/or educator hoping to nurture a child’s authentic ‘spark’”.

Kids! Join Lemonade Day!

And learn how to start, own and operate a successful lemonade stand!

By participating in Lemonade Day, a metro Indianapolis area program, you can become a budding entrepreneur and learn practical business experience, while having fun with your family and friends.

Interested families, with students in grades pre-K through 12, may register for the program at the Library and pick-up a FREE Lemonade Day backpack, full of business start-up information for both the young entrepreneur and sponsoring adult.

All stands should be open on the official  Lemonade Day:  Saturday, May 18. More information and a downloadable registration form are available here.

Drop by the Library today and get started on your first business!

One Direction Fan Party!

Believe it or not, we are big fans of One Direction here at the Library.  Why?  Because they are one of the many bands who have songs available for free downloads on our Freegal database.  Your library card and library card password allow you to download three songs per week.  I know you want to know more about Freegal (rhymes with legal), but I also know you are really interested in Louis.  Louis is one of the five band members of the hit band One Direction and is laying low at the Library.  Harry is hanging out at the high school, while Niall and Zayne are making their presence known at the middle schools.  The guys are helping to advertise our program, plus each band member is looking forward to going home with four lucky library program participants.

"So do you have to buy tickets to win this guy?" asked an adult.  "Nope.  All students need to do is register for the event and then show up."  Not a bad deal, right?  So students in grades 5-12 and college students, be sure to register and then show up on Saturday, May 11 (that's right, the day before Mother's Day) from 2:00 - 3:30 p.m.

Silent Auction at the Library!!

Today - May 4

Are you ready for Mother’s Day, graduation parties, upcoming birthdays or just want to treat yourself to something special?  Allow the Library's Relay for Life Team to simplify your shopping this year with our silent auction of four magnificent gift packages. Stop by the second floor circulation desk to take a look at the items and place your bid.  The items featured range from a handmade tote bag and books, to a dozen cupcakes from Confectioneiress.  I have my eye on the assortment of gift cards (yes, Starbucks is one of them!) or maybe those beautiful pearl earrings are just what I need!  Don’t take my word for it, stop in and see for yourself all the goodies these packages contain!

All money raised from the auction will be donated to the American Cancer Society. Winners will be notified by Monday, May 6.

Relay for Life is such a fantastic community event and we are proud to have been a part of it for more than 5 years.   Anyone is welcome to join our team – you do not have to be a library employee!

Please visit our Relay website for more information about joining and other upcoming fundraising events. 

Donations can be made online to the team or an individual team member. 

So, while you are checking out that book, check out our silent auction as well! 

By Jackie J.