Recycle Your Cell Phone for Soldiers at the Library!

The Hussey-Mayfield Public Library sent 450+ donated cell phones to Cell Phones for Soldiers this year!!!! That is about 1,125 free hours of talk time for our soldiers- each phone donation warrants 2.5 hours of talk time!


Cell Phones for Soldiers is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that provides communication services to active duty military members and veterans.  

• Since 2004, Cell Phones for Soldiers has provided troops with 192 million minutes of free talk time and distributed more than 2.7 million international calling cards.
• Since 2004, more than 11 million cell phones have been recycled, reducing the impact on landfills.
• Thus far in 2013, Cell Phones for Soldiers has distributed more than 11 million minutes of free talk time and more than 185,000 calling cards.
• In 2012, Cell Phones for Soldiers shared more than 515,000 communication tools with military families, providing 31 million minutes of talk time.

Here's how it works:  Cell Phones for Soldiers sells the donated cell phones to their recycling partner, ReCellular, and the money is used to purchase calling cards for our US military to call home.  Approximately 12,000 calling cards are mailed each week to our troops.   

Donated phones are sent to Michigan-based ReCellular for recycling. For every donated phone valued at just $5, Cell Phones for Soldiers is able to provide two and a half hours of free talk time to deployed troops. 

What does this mean for you?  If you recently got a new cell phone, please consider donating* your old one at the Library!   Since Hussey-Mayfield Memorial Public Library joined forces with Cell Phones for Soldiers in March 2010, our customers have donated over 1,250 phones!  Your generosity has helped connect our overseas troops to their families and helped protect our environment!

*Before donating your cell phone, please make sure your personal information and contacts have been removed!

So, the next time you're in the library, drop your old cell phone in the Cell Phones for Soldiers donation bin located by the elevator on the 1st floor.

It's a Mystery Book Club selection

  For its December 5^th meeting, It’s a Mystery Book club has selected the Dagger Award winning “The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie” by Alan Bradley.  This 1^st in the Canadian author’s series features the precocious 11 year old Flavia de Luce, chemist and sleuth in training.  She has such a forceful personality her as yet unnamed character hijacked the story in another novel Bradley had been writing and thus a new book and series was born.

  “The Sweetness …” begins in the summer of 1950 with  a series of inexplicable , yet intriguing events which have struck Buckshaw, the decaying English mansion that Flavia’s family calls home. A dead bird  is found on the doorstep with a postage stamp bizarrely pinned to its beak and,hours later, Flavia finds a man lying in the cucumber patch and watches him take his dying breath. For Flavia, who is both appalled and delighted, life begins in earnest when murder comes to Buckshaw. ‘I wish I could say I was afraid, but I wasn’t. Quite the contrary. This was by far the most interesting thing that had ever happened to me in my entire life.”

   If you have not been an audio book reader/listener before, hearing Jayne Entwistle  narrate the 5 book series is a treat.  She sounds exactly as you might imagine the 11 year Flavia with great inflection, humor and, of course, an English accent.   Entwistle has won multiple AudioFile  Earphones awards for her delightful performance and will continue in “The Dead in Their Vaulted Arches” to be released January 14, 2014. 

Young writers can participate Letters About Literature & RIVER of Words Contests

Letters about Literature 

Have you read a book that changed how you perceive the world? Write a response to the author and participate in Letters about Literature, a national reading and writing promotion program from the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress and Indiana Center for the Book.

It’s easy and fun to participate. You can participate individually or as a school group.
Letters for Grades 9-12 are due on December 10th, 2013.
Letters for Grades 4-8 are due on January 10th, 2014.
If you have questions about the competition, feel free to email Suzanne Walker at icb@library.in.gov. Visit: www.centerforthebook.org. 

River of Words

Are you an artist or a poet? Using water as your inspiration, write a poem or create a visual piece of art for the River of Words contest.   The River of Words contest is a national art and poetry program from the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress and Indiana Center for the Book. 
Ages 5-19 are welcome to enter the River of Words contest.
Find contest details, including entry forms at: www.riverofwords.org.
Entries are due on December 1st, 2013.

Designing a Winter Garden

When you think of wintertime, gardening may not be the first thing that comes to mind. A landscape of white snow, bare trees and heavy clouds might be what you think of, and what you expect to see when you look upon your yard from indoors, but the view doesn't have to be so plain. There are many different ways to keep the view bright and interesting year round, even during winter. Tall grasses add height and movement to your garden, and generally stand upright throughout the freezing months. Plants such as holly, inkberry and winterberry bear fruits to speckle your wintry landscape with color. You can also create outdoor decorations from your garden materials to welcome visitors at your door, with vibrant wreaths and urn displays made from common materials such as pine greens, Red Twig Dogwood branches, red winterberries and dried seed pods.

Bird feeders can add small rainbow bursts to your yard, too, while sustaining delicate songbirds in the blustery months. Make your own uniquely-shaped hanging feeders and cover them with peanut butter, suet, softened raisins, apple bits, peanut bits, banana slices and other foods safe and nourishing for birds. Birds need to consume extra fat during winter in order to survive the freezing temperatures. The Library has plenty of books for you to borrow about attracting and feeding birds year-round.

On Tuesday, December 3rd at 7pm, professional gardener Amy Mullen, aka "The Fraudulent Farmgirl," will be at the Library to talk about Designing a Winter Garden. Amy is the lead garden designer for Spotts Garden Service in Indianapolis and is a master at planning, growing and maintaining beautiful, earth-friendly gardens. One lucky attendee to Designing a Winter Garden on December 3rd will win a door prize specially selected by Amy. Keep your spirits up this winter with a beautiful vista of your own creation, and learn how at the Library.

How to renew your items (Let me count the ways)

Imagine a world in the not too distant future: Saturday, November 30, 2013.  You wake with a hazy memory brought on by Thursday’s turkey binge or even a day of frantic holiday shopping.  Suddenly, you realize that your library materials are due…today!!  But wait, panic and terror grow as you remember you are not at home, you are at Grandma’s house in North Dakota for the holiday!  If you were home, you would simply visit the wonderful Library and renew them IN PERSON at the Circulation desk or at one of their self-check stations.  “Wait a minute,” you think.  “I can renew them ONLINE!”  That’s right! You can log on using the “My Account” feature on the Library’s website.  Oh no!  You forgot, Grandma still does not have a computer!  This last moment of anxiety quickly fades because you know that you can always call the friendly Circulation staff BY PHONE at 317-873-8340 and they will be happy to help you out of this jam.  Now, if only somebody can teach you how to use Grandma’s rotary phone…

To recap, all the ways that you can renew your library materials:

• In person—at the Circulation desks or self-check stations
• Online—www.zionsville.lib.in.us and choose the “My Account” link on the left side of the page (You will also need your Library card number or username and your account password)
• By phone—the Circulation desk can be reached at 317-873-8340

JFK Assassination 50th Anniversary

What do the letters JFK bring to mind?  President…Bay of Pigs…Jackie…Cuban Missile Crisis… Dallas…

 John F Kennedy, our 35^th President was a complicated man.  Like many of us, he was both flawed and brilliant.  This month marks the 50^th anniversary of his assassination.  His death marked the end of an era that even he liked to call “Camelot.”  

“Listening In: The Secret White House Recordings of John F. Kennedy,” is a multi-media experience.  In a controversial move, John Kennedy installed hidden recording systems in the Oval Office and in the Cabinet Room.  This book is a result of those recordings.  Along with many pictures, there are two audio CDs in the back of the book with the actual recordings made by the president.

Kitty Kelley wrote “Capturing Camelot”, but in this book, her words are

secondary to the photographs of Stanley Tretick.  A photographer for “Look” magazine, Tretick had extensive access to the President and his family.  When you open this book, you take a glimpse into a blessed life that ended too soon.

The most well known book of the past several years is Bill O’Reilly’s “Killing Kennedy: the End of Camelot”.  This perpetual best seller delves in to the life of John F. Kennedy before and during his time in the White House.  As you would expect, this is a “no holds barred” account.  You learn of his failure but eventual heroism during WWII, with the tale of PT-109.  The details of the “Bay of Pigs” debacle are outlined, as well as the success and respect won during the Cuban Missile Crisis.  

That day in Dallas our country was changed in an instant.  Despite tragedy, we continue on.  But, from time to time it is good to look back at what was, and ponder what might have been.

Book Blogs

Want the latest buzz on books? Like reviews, author interviews, podcasts and trailers? If so, let me share what I learned at the Indiana Library Federation's recent annual conference. “Readers, Writers, Books, and Blogs” by Rebecca Vnuk and Karen Kleckner Keefe was a whirlwind tour of 35 blogs and 11 websites written for and about people like us—people who love to read. In the interests of time and space, I’ve whittled down the list to a few of my favorites; however, serious blogophiles should follow Vnuk’s and Keefe’s “Weekly Web Crush” every Friday on Shelf Renewal.

First, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention BooklistOnline, The American Library Association's online journal, which includes five blogs: Bookends (children’s and YA), Likely Stories, Book Group Buzz, Audiobooker (audio books), and the aforementioned Shelf Renewal (backlist).

I also like GalleyCat, which shares news and reviews for readers and writers, with a tip of the hat to what’s going on in the publishing world. 

Next, I’m enjoying Blogging for a Good Book written by staff members from the Williamsburg Regional Library. The reviews are thoughtful, and I’m finding the sidebar of archived posts great when deciding what to read next. There are over 200 entries in historical fiction, alone! 

Another keeper for me is Men Reading Books by 4 male contributors who collectively favor “mysteries and thrillers with some non-fiction thrown in to keep us honest.” Since I typically read meandering, character-driven novels, it's a way to keep up with what the other half's reading.

And now, how about you? What good book blogs have you read recently?

The clock is ticking!

Astrophysicists agree there’s no way a 6.5 kilometer-wide ball of rock, known as Maia, can miss the earth. They’ve even set a date, October 3.  On that day the majority of the world’s population will perish.  Detective Henry Palace, Concord Police Department, has just been called to the scene of what may very well turn out to be his final case.  Although all signs point toward suicide—not uncommon in this pre-apocalyptic world—Palace believes it’s murder. That’s the starting point for the 2013 Edgar Award-winning detective story, The Last Policeman, by Ben H. Winters.  If you like mysteries and speculative fiction (as you know I do from my previous posts) this book may hit the spot.  BAM!

Ben Winters, author of seven novels, lives in Indianapolis, teaches in the MFA in Creative Writing Program at Butler University, and is on the faculty at the Indiana Writers Center.

And, speaking of Indiana authors don’t forget to stop and browse the “Indiana Writers of Fiction” permanent display in Teen & Adult Services.

Our Heroes' Tree 2013 and Hope for Heroes Donation Station at the Library

Our Library partners with the Indiana State Library to present Our Heroes' Tree, a national program founded to recognize and honor the sacrifices of our current military personnel, veterans, and deceased service members.  

Create an ornament honoring a service member and share it on our tree through the holidays. It is located in the Youth Service Department. As a way to honor our heroes' service, stop by and look at the photos and stories on these ornaments with your children.

The Hussey-Mayfield Memorial Public Library is a drop-off station for Hope for Heroes: Winter Warm-Up for Homeless Veterans, a project of the ESA Kappa Theta Chapter of Zionsville. You can help make winter a little warmer for United States Veterans who are homeless or at-risk.

Donations will be accepted in the Youth Services Department from now through December 15. The items will be distributed to veterans through the Hoosier Veterans Assistance Foundation.

Items Requested for male and female Veterans:
Winter-Wear:
Jeans (size 40 and up)
Khaki pants (size 34-40)
Thermal Underwear
Underwear/Undershirts
Socks
Gloves

Personal Care Items:
Toothbrushes & Paste Deodorant
Shaving Supplies
Feminine Care Products

All items should be new.

Holiday Stroll Helpers

Doodle Pad Tree. Candy Cane Mouse Tree. Heroes Tree. Polka-Dot Tree. Bingo Tree. Gingerbread House Tree. Holiday Card Tree. Puzzle Tree. What are these trees? Why, they're trees that have corresponding crafts at our Holiday Stroll event, "Home for the Holidays," on Saturday, December 7th. Why am I mentioning these trees? To pique your interest in joining us as we help little hands make fun crafts during this all-day family event. We need your great personality to help make the Holiday Stroll a perfectly delightful, activity-packed day at the Library. Sign yourself up on our Holiday Stroll volunteer page and help us make some magic as we kick off the holiday season. We will have snacks and beverages available for Holiday Stroll volunteers, and as an extra "thank you" for volunteering, for each volunteer shift that you complete, you'll get a ticket to enter into a raffle for a Volunteer Prize Package. We also need volunteer greeters to welcome people as they arrive and give them the lay of the land...you'll be perfect for it...sign yourself up today!

Fancy a Cup?

Fancy a cup of tea? Tea and coffee are the most popular drinks in the world (after water) and tea has long been extolled for its general health benefits and naturally protective properties. When coupled with a healthy lifestyle, tea can improve wellness and has been touted to help with everything from joint pain to losing weight to slowing the aging process. According to Harvard Women's Health Watch, the health benefits of tea are due to a concentration of plant-derived compounds called flavonoids. Flavonoids are found in fruits, vegetables and certain beverages, and have antioxidant effects. The National Institutes of Health explain that antioxidants "...may protect your cells against the effects of free radicals. Free radicals are molecules produced when your body breaks down food, or by environmental exposures like tobacco smoke and radiation. Free radicals can damage cells, and may play a role in heart disease, cancer and other diseases." Drinking freshly-brewed tea is the easiest way for your body to absorb the flavonoids; decaffeinated, instant and bottled teas have less of the antioxidant compounds.

Learn more about how tea can improve your health when Tina Jesson of Tina's Traditional Old English Kitchen presents "Health Benefits of Tea" on Tuesday, November 12th at 6:30pm. Tina moved to Indianapolis from the Derbyshire region of England in 2008 and is a trained educator who has been cooking traditional British cuisine for over twenty years. During her talk, which she has presented for the American Heart Association, Tina will cover real tea, herbal tea and spice blends, and she'll offer samples of some of those teas for you to taste. If you've been to a program at the Library by Tina before, you know you're in for a fun, informative and delicious time. Registration is required, so reserve your seat today and we'll see you on November 12th.

Give a Book, Get a Book

Give a Book, Get a Book

November 1st is National Family Literacy Day.  Begun in 1994, this day is dedicated to promoting family literacy programs and the importance of literacy and reading. This year, McDonald’s Restaurants are helping to spread the word about family literacy through two programs:  Give a Book, Get a Book, and Happy Meal Day.

In conjunction with books being placed in Happy Meals nationwide next week, McDonald’s of Central Indiana is leading the “Give a Book, Get a Book” campaign.  Book donation sites will be set up around central Indiana, including one right here at the Library!  Between November 1 – 14, drop off a new or gently used children’s book at the Children’s Reference Desk (1st Floor) and receive a Be Our Guest card for a free Happy Meal.  Books for all ages of children will be accepted and will be donated to various children’s literacy organizations in the area.  What a great way to share your love of books and reading with another child!

In addition, we will be hosting a Happy Meal Day on Thursday, Nov. 7 all day in the Library.  There will be coloring sheets, bookmarks and copies of the new Happy Meal books to read.