Don't Miss This LEGO Event Downtown!

All you LEGO lovers, be sure to check out LEGO KidsFest at the Indiana Convention Center, coming up November 7-9. Hurry to get your tickets now because this traveling event has sold out at other tour locations in the recent past; in other words, you might not be able to purchase tickets at the door. This tour includes interactive play and build areas, LEGO Master Builders, and intricate models of LEGO structures and creations.

Watch for LEGO programs at the library!
Starting November 11, you can sign your kiddos up for LEGO Read, Build, Play on Monday nights in December at the library. We will have three different story sessions of LEGO play on Monday, December 1, 8, and 15, from 6:30-7:00pm. This is an interactive storytime for ages 3-6 with a parent.

Great News for Lifelong Learners

If you like learning new things and enjoy listening to distinguished experts talk about subjects that matter, you’ll want to try one of The Great Courses. 

The Library recently added over twenty new lectures in this acclaimed instructional series, and more terrific titles are coming soon!  Explore astronomy with Skywatching: Seeing and Understanding Cosmic Wonders. Delve into the relationship between neuroscience and consciousness with Origins of the Human Mind. Roam the galleries of the world with How To Look At and Understand Great Art. Challenge yourself with Understanding the World’s Greatest Structures: Science and Innovation from Antiquity to Modernity. And these are just a few of the intriguing offerings.

We're in the process of consolidating The Great Courses in one convenient location.  For now, you'll find our latest additions on second floor next to the World Languages. Or you can search the online catalog.

Since The Great Courses have no exams or homework, they're perfect for lifelong learners!

That's Gross

October is a month full of bonfires, candy, scares, and sometimes things that are gross.  

Our teen librarian knows the students of Zionsville love any program that deals with food, so she decided to mix it with something that is just plain gross.  

In the past we've had October programs centered around cupcakes and there's this other book that is downright disgusting, but don't worry, it's pure fake. 

Now if you are looking for something that leaves you reading about gross things and not eating foods that look gross, the library has you covered.  If you want to make something that looks gross and tastes delicious, students in grades 6-12 will have to join us on Wednesday, October 29 at 5:30PM for our Gross Desserts program.  Registration is recommended to ensure we have enough supplies.  What are we making?  Let's just say that is so gross that you don't have to worry about anyone eating it.

Trick or Treating and Reading

Bring your children to Boone Village Shopping Center for safe trick or treating on Wednesday, October 29 from 5:30-7 PM and you will see your local librarians passing out candy. 
 
Not only will we be passing out candy at this special event, but we will also have an exclusive reading challenge for children ages Birth through 5th grade.  The challenge sheet will only be available at the trick or treating event, and it will be very simple to complete.
 
The Librarians are challenging children birth-grade 5 to read 10 Library books or to read at least 100 pages of a Library book by November 23, 2014.  You choose the challenge you want to accept and start reading.  Though it is called the scary book challenge, you do not have to ready scary books!  After you have completed the challenge, return your completed form to the Youth Services Reference desk where you will be entered into a drawing for the Very Scary Book Basket.
 
This form will not available at the Library, you can only pick it up at the Boone Village Trick or Treat event!

MINGLE - creative ideas for unique gatherings

The holidays are fast approaching.  Once Halloween is over it is such a short jump to Thanksgiving.Then after Thanksgiving, need I say more?  Christmas is at our doorstep!!!

If you need some help with ideas for decorating, what to serve, or gifts themselves,  check out a copy of Mingle.  The current Autumn, 2014 issue is bursting with ideas for all of your favorite holidays.

Halloween - how about a pumpkin drink cooler or maybe homemade candy apples with tree branches for sticks and spiders crawling to the top.  And don't forget s'mores on a stick - non-messy and great for kids.

Thanksgiving - looking for a different approach?  What about a southwest Thanksgiving theme. Instead of turkey,  maybe filet of salmon prepared with herbs and Three Sisters Stew.  This is a stew combining squash, corn and beans  - they were planted close together by the Indians so that they would thrive and survive.
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Christmas - many knitting ideas from the owner of a Washington craft shop named Apple Yarns.  Also if you're thinking about a different kind of holiday party,  an afternoon get-together drinking hot chocolate and sharing time unhurried away from the hustle and bustle could be the perfect solution.  Hot Chocolate Highlights by Danielle Mohler gives all the information you need.

Hmmmmm - a Ladies Winter Whiskey Tasting Party - fantastic idea!!  Kate Bowler tells us that whiskey can be a well-loved ladies' drink when mixed properly with the perfect ingredients.
 
Ideas galore and beautiful pictures that can help you bring these ideas into your own home and your family's celebrations.  Come into the library and check out the Autumn issue of Mingle

No Rules Teen Program!

Our teen librarian should really clarify what she means here.  Kitchen Sink Crafts is a repeating program for students in grades 6-12 and college that tends to occur on no school days like fall and winter break.  As for that no rules thing, it is more of an "anything goes" policy.  You see, each teen program done at the library has supplies for 20-30 teens.  What happens if only 10 teens show up?  Our teen librarian is left with those supplies and after years and years of programs, our library owns a strange array of craft items, like bottle caps and clothespins.  We do not repeat programs and throwing away perfectly good items would be downright wasteful.  Thus, Kitchen Sink Crafts was born.  For a whopping three hours, we lay down tablecloths, throw open the craft cabinets and let the creating begin.  We are making nothing and everything all at once.  Perhaps you can find a use for a few of those plastic eggs we have left over from when we made dragon eggs during one of our Harry Potter programs.  Or maybe you missed it when we made a Wookie tissue box cover and desperately want to make one.  Either way, we've got you covered.  The fun begins this Friday at noon and registration is recommended.

National Book Award Finalists

Finalists for the 2014 National Book Award, one of the nation’s most prestigious literary prizes, were announced last week on NPR’s Morning Edition. Each year the National Book Foundation makes awards in four categories: fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and young people’s literature. In order to be eligible, a book must be written by an American citizen and published by an American publisher between December 1 of the previous year and November 30 of the current year.

This year’s fiction and nonfiction finalists are:

Fiction

• An Unnecessary Woman by Rabih Alameddine

• All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doer

• Redeployment by Phil Klay

• Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel

• Lila by Marilynne Robinson

Nonfiction

• Can’t We Talk About Something More Pleasant? by Roz Chast

• No Good Men Among the Living: America, the Taliban, and the War through Afghan Eyes by Anand Gopal

• Tennessee Williams: Mad Pilgrimage of the Flesh by John Lahr

• Age of Ambition: Chasing Fortune, Truth, and Faith in the New China by Evan Osnos

• The Meaning of Human Existence by Edward O. Wilson

For a complete list of finalists in all categories click here.  Winners will be announced November 19.

Surgery of the Late 19th Century (United We Read)

  
Learn the fascinating history of 19th century medicine from an author who has done extensive research on the topic. This talk is one of our programs tied to this year's United We Read book,  Destiny of the Republic. Candice Millard's book demonstrates  that President James Garfield died, not of an assassin's bullet, but of the medical treatment he received for his gunshot wound. At the time Garfield was assassinated, the value of antisepsis was still being debated by the American medical community. In this talk, Diane Prenatt, Professor of English at Marian University, surveys the consequences of that debate as they are depicted in American literature and visual art. To register, call (317) 873-3149 ext. 12400 or click here.

Are You Ready for Some Football?

Basketball may be “Indiana’s Game,” but we love football almost as much.  And with a premier team like the Indianapolis Colts in our neighborhood, it makes us love the sport even more.  After a rough start, Indy now has a 4-2 record.

The NFL is an elite club.  At any one time, there are only about 1,700 players in the league, and those players make an average of nearly two million dollars.  When we are able to go behind the scenes of the sport, it can be pretty interesting.

The cover of “Slow Getting Up: A Story of NFL Survival from the Bottom of the Pile” pictures the author, Nate Jackson, face down on the turf.  In his career, Nate represented the hundreds to players who did not reach the level of super-stardom.  He was one of the players who fought through tenures on the practice squad to finally make it as a starter in the league.  

What price football?  Nate talks about debilitating physical injuries, including brain trauma, which young men risk to play in the NFL.  With all the recent attention given to NFL players with brain injuries, this book has a unique perspective on how the players deal (or don’t deal) with the very real possibility of disability after their NFL career.

In 2011, Nick Dawidoff was given unfettered access to the New York Jets.  This experience led to“Collision Low Crossers: Inside the Turbulent World of NFL Football”.  The focus of this tale is head coach Rex Ryan and his coaching staff.  How did this staff coax the best out of their players?  How did the staff rein in the uncontainable coach?  You’ll find out in the pages of this book.  Recently Rex Ryan has acknowledged that his job is on the line.  Read the inside story of how he does his job, as Dawidoff goes from the early days of the February, 2011 scouting combine to the coaches “post mortem” at the end of the season.  

“Monsters: 1985 Chicago Bears and the Wild Heart of Football” is the story of this team's lone championship season.  What a unique blend of personalities!  There was crazy quarterback Jim McMahon, quiet leader Walter “Sweetness” Peyton, and William "Refrigerator" Perry.  Rex Ryan’s dad Buddy was the defensive coordinator, and then there was “Iron Mike” Ditka, the mercurial head coach.  

All these characters melded to make one unforgettable year on and off the field.  The book not only details that season, but goes back in history to explain how the team and city made it to that pivotal year.  The story unfortunately ends, as so many Chicago sports stories do, with the downfall of the Bears team.  

It's been almost 30 years since that season, but who can forget the guys who brought us the "Super Bowl Shuffle"?  It was far from musical masterpiece, but it was sure fun.  And isn't that what the game is all about?

Historic Cartoons on Display at the Library

    

     Come to the Hussey-Mayfield Memorial Public Library to view the exhibit Campaigns & Cartoons. You’ll see original sketches and published political cartoons from 1860-1912. These unique art works demonstrate the evolution of such symbols as Uncle Sam, Miss Columbia, and the Democrat donkey and Republican elephant. They will be on display everyday except Sunday from now until Thurs., Oct. 30, from 2 - 4 PM. On Tues., Oct. 28 at 7 PM, the collection's owners, Sue and Julian Ridlen, will give a talk on the historical perspective that the cartoons represent. To register for the talk, click here. The exhibit is generously on loan from the Benjamin Harrison Presidential Site. Many thanks to the Library Foundation for making this possible.

I Am Malala

Congratulations to Malala Yousafzai, 17-year-old champion for girls’ education. On October 10, this remarkable young woman was jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize with Indian child rights activist, Kailash Satyarthi.  Malala is the youngest recipient to receive this honor. To learn more about both winners and watch their acceptance speeches click here. To read Malala's remarkable story, check out I Am Malala: The Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban from the Library.

Busy Bag Workshop - Creating Activities for Your Toddlers and Preschoolers

Thursday, October 16 from 6:30-8:30pm the Friends of the Library is hosting a special Busy Bags Workshop. Registration is limited to 12 adults; no childcare available as this is an adult program.


What’s a busy bag?

A Busy Bag is a small, portable (housed in a Ziploc™-type baggie), age-appropriate manipulative activity for a toddler and/or preschooler that aids in developing motor and literacy skills.  The activity is ideal for occupying a child, for example, while he or she waits for a doctor’s appointment, rides in the car, or sits in church services.


What happens at the Busy Bag Program?

Parents will assemble everything needed to make a tote bag full of 12 different busy bag activities. There will be different self-serve stations you will rotate through to make the various busy bags. All the supplies will be supplied and any prep work will be done; you just have to do the basic assembly. Directions will be posted and staff will be there to help and answer any questions.


These bags must cost some money to make. Is the program free?

Online Busy Bag programs often are valued at about $60 per person (after all, you are getting 12 activities for your child!) but ours is totally funded by The Friends of the Hussey-Mayfield Memorial Public Library. The only requirement is that you are or become a member of the Friends of the Library. Individual membership is $10/year. Basically, you get a $60 value for $10, plus you get to be a valued part of our Library’s Friends community!


What does a Friends membership do and what will be expected of me? 

You can be involved in the Friends as much or as little as you like. Beyond your $10 membership dues, participation is up to you. Your membership dues alone help to fund Library programs and Library grants (for example, those colorful rugs in the YS department were results of Friends’ donations). If you wish to go deeper, you can attend Friends quarterly meetings and have a voice in how the Friends support the Library; or perhaps you would like to volunteer for working a book sale.

Books To Go

The inscription on the New York City Post Office reads: "Neither snow, nor rain, nor heat, nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds."

Books To Go, the Library’s service to the homebound, doesn’t deliver at night, but it does keep homebound customers supplied with books and audios throughout the year—rain or shine.

If you know a senior citizen who lives at home and loves to read or listen to CDs, but can’t visit the library because of advancing age or poor health, please tell him or her about Books To Go. How does it work? It's simple. First, we ask our homebound customers what they like to read. Then, each month we deliver a green bag filled with a 4-week supply of Library materials chosen just for them.

For more information, or to find out if someone you know qualifies, call Teen & Adult Services at 873-3149, ext. 12400.

Book Talk on Tuesday; United We Read Begins

   On Tues. Oct. 7, at 7 PM, this year's United We Read lineup of programs begins with a discussion of the book, Destiny of the Republic; A Tale of Madness, Medicine, and the Murder of a President by Candice Millard. To register for the book discussion, click here. Those who come to this discussion will be granted a sneak peak at the Campaigns & Cartoons exhibit that will be displayed starting Mon., Oct. 13.
     The discussion is just one of many exciting programs tied-in to the book. Be sure not to miss:

Beginning Genealogy with the SullivanMunce Cultural Center. Tues Oct. 14, 6 - 7:30 PM

Medical Treatment at the Time of Garfield. Tues. Oct. 21, 6 - 7:30 PM

Skype Chat with the Author, Candice Millard. Mon. Oct. 27, 7 - 8 PM

Campaigns and Cartoons; a Talk Led by the Collection's Owners. Tues. Oct. 28, 7 - 8:30 PM


    Also, throughout the Library you will find exhibits generously loaned from the SullivanMunce Culutral Center that show what life was like in 1880s Zionsville.
    See you at the Library!