Winter Reading Program - There's Still Time!

There's still a chance to sign up for the Winter Reading Program. Simply stop by the Teen & Adult Services Reference Desk to get your Challenge Sheet and you're all set. If you've already picked up a Challenge Sheet, be sure to bring it back by Saturday, Feb. 28 for a shot at a gift basket brimming with prizes. If you haven't picked up a sheet yet, what's stopping you? You'll get a free book, a piece of chocolate, and a chance to win great stuff. Teens, be sure to ask about the program for Young Adults.

Winter Reading Wrap up!

The last day to return your Youth Winter Reading Log is Saturday, February 28.  Bring in your log and help one of these reading buddies find a home!  When reading logs are returned, children will also be entered to win a $20 Amazon gift card.

The goal of winter reading is simple, read OUT LOUD to your child or have your child read OUT LOUD to you  15 minutes a day for 21 days and your child gets a prize.  The purpose of Winter Reading is to help your family make reading a habit: when reading is a habit, everybody wins!

Valentines To Go

Homebound Library patrons received a special treat this month.  In addition to the usual goodie bag of books and audios, each senior received valentines created especially for them by the Library’s Tween Council.  Below are a couple of the happy recipients!

For information about about Books To Go, the Library's service to the homebound, contact Barbara in Teen & Adult Services, barbaral@zionsvillelibrary.org. To inquire about the Library's Tween Council, contact Julie in Youth Services, juliem@zionsvillelibrary.org.

Editing Hold Activation Dates

Tired of all of your hold items arriving at the exact same time?  You can avoid this by changing the activation dates for each hold; a feature available through your online Evergreen account.   By changing the activation dates, the hold items can be suspended until the date specified for their reactivation.  This will help to stagger the dates they will arrive at the Library.   

 



To change an item’s hold activation date, log into your Evergreen account, select the “Holds” tab, and click the “Edit” link for the item. (See example above.)

Next to “Active?”, choose to suspend the hold, then enter the desired activation date next to “If suspended, activate on.”  Finally, click the “Submit” button to save the activation date changes.  Congratulations, your hold is now suspended until the chosen activation date!

Leaving town for Spring Break?  Postponing your hold activation dates also helps you avoid the $1 expired hold fee for holds not picked up. Suspending your holds before your vacation means you won't get charged, plus that book you've been waiting for could be ready once you return.

If you need help accessing your online Evergreen account, please contact the Circulation Department at circ@zionsvillelibrary.org or 317-873-8340. 

Hail to the Chief

This Presidents' Day, challenge yourself to some star-spangled fun, by seeing how many of the following you can you answer?

1.  Name the four presidents memorialized on Mount Rushmore.
2. The Library of Congress recently unsealed love letters written by which president to his mistress?
3. Name two of the three presidents who died on July 4.
4. Which president was the first to appoint a woman to his Cabinet?
5. After an urgent plea to surrender was rejected, which president ordered atomic bombs dropped on Japan?
6. What's the title of former President George W. Bush's current best-selling book? 
7. Who was the principal author of the Declaration of Independence?

You'll find more interesting facts in The Handy Presidents Answer Book, 2nd ed., by David L. Hudson, Jr., and The Presidents, "About the White House," online.

Answers:  1. George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, Abraham Lincoln  2. Warren G. Harding  3. John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, James Monroe   4. Franklin D. Roosevelt   5.  Harry S. Truman  6.  41: A Portrait of My Father  7. Thomas Jefferson

Meet the Author of Farty McFee!

Grades K - 5 can spend a lively morning with author Jim McVeigh and illustrator William Johnson as they describe how their book, The Ballad of Farty McFee, came to be. Jim will bring along his musical and story-telling talents, and Bill will invite you to try your hand at illustrating a story using pencil and paper.  Please register, the program will be Monday, February 16 at 10 AM (it is President's day so kids are out of school).

Bringing the World to Zionsville! International Fair at the Library

 
Do you enjoy learning about countries and cultures other than your own?  Have you ever wanted to spend a little time in another country but don’t have the means or the time? 

If so, put Saturday, February 21st, 1 - 2:30 PM on your calendar and come to the first floor of the Hussey-Mayfield Library for our 8th International Fair!

  

Our first International Fair was held in 1999 as part of a Youth Summer Reading Program and it has been held almost every other year since then. 

This year, there will be at least 16 countries represented with tables full of cultural curios, crafts, cloths, music, books written in different languages, maps, food, etc. as well as participants from those countries available to tell you about their home country and culture.  

People from these countries and cultures will be represented at this year’s International Fair: Japan, Switzerland, Haiti, Lebanon, Bulgaria, China, Sweden, India, Latvia, South Vietnam, Germany, Nicaragua, Ukraine, Jamaica, Lithuania, and Libya. Others may be added before Feb. 21st.

 

You might find activities and crafts for you to do that are illustrative of the culture and life in their home countries at some of our friends' displays.  

                                                                                                                                                                 
 

There will be young dancers demonstrating dance from Latvia during the afternoon Fair as well as a woman from  India playing a Veena.  And more entertainment may be added!

Additionally, the American Field Service (AFS) high school foreign exchange student program will have a table and invites visitors to learn about hosting foreign exchange students as well as possibly becoming one! 

We are in for a bit of snow and very cold temperatures between now and then, and the 10-day forecast currently shows that Saturday as being  drizzly with a high temp near freezing.  Brrr!

So, come to the Library on Saturday afternoon, February 21st at 1 PM and warm up inside while you make some new friends and learn about countries and cultures from around the world!  

Registration is recommended to help our participants plan for amounts of food to bring for visitors to sample and enjoy. Registration may be done via the Library’s website Event Calendar http://bit.ly/1zUd36x . Go to Saturday, February 21st on the calendar and register at the link for the International Fair.  See you there!

Renewing Library Materials

There are many different ways to renew your library materials here at the Hussey-Mayfield Memorial Public Library.  While coming to the Library and renewing items at the Circulation desk is common, here are some alternative methods:

• Use the Self-Checkout Station to renew your materials if they have at least one renewal remaining on the items.  Just check out the items like normal and they will be renewed.
• Log into your Evergreen account, click on the “Items Checked Out” tab, check the boxes next to the items you want to renew, and then click the green “Go” button to renew the selected items.  To ensure all items have been renewed, remember to check that the due dates have been changed.
• Call the Circulation desk at (317) 873-8340, and either speak with a Circulation assistant or leave a message including your name, library card number, and which items should be renewed.
• Email the Circulation desk at our new email address circ@zionsvillelibrary.org, and let us know your name, library card number, and which items you would like to be renewed.

What Would You Like to Learn?

Is there something you've always wanted to learn, but never quite got around to? Now's your chance. Here at the Library we're always responsive to the needs of our patrons, so we're opening future program planning to suggestions. For the next couple weeks you'll find a sandwich board at the second floor reference desk. There, you are free to write down something you've always wanted to learn. It could be a skill, like changing a bike tire, wiring a lamp, or cooking techniques. It could be a craft, like cross-stitching or working with clay. Or it could be something just plain fun, like new apps for your phone or making a kite. However you want to improve your life, swing by the library and write down what you'd like to know.

Try Focus T25 or P90X3 to get in Shape - they're here at your library.

We have two new exercise DVD sets by the BeachBody team.  They both focus on getting your workout done in half the time of your normal workout.

Shaun T. brings us Focus T25. 

From the website: “It's a full-body workout in 25 minutes. With zero rest.  Focus Interval Training works every muscle group in your body—one after the other—then it works it again. It's short. It's sweaty. But after 25 minutes, it's done.”

Shaun claims big results.  If you’re short on time and not afraid of sweat, this might be a good choice for you.  

Our second new set is P90X3 by Tony Horton. 

He is promising great results in 30 minutes a day.  Your library owns the 9 DVD set, as well as the Nutrition & Fitness Guide.  

From the P90X3 website: "I used to think...the longer you work out, the better results you'll get. Turns out, it doesn't work that way. In fact, the latest science says that most of your progress happens in the first 30 minutes of your workout. After that, your body responds to the exercise less and less. So the trick is to get the absolute most out of that 30-minute 'window of change.'”

Don’t forget we also have complete DVD sets of Insanity, P90X, Body Beast & Zumba.  Don't have buyer's remorse, or DVDs gathering dust on your shelf.  Check out DVDs from your library and get in shape for free. 

REUSE Heart & Sole Shoe Collection

For the third year, the Hussey-Mayfield Memorial Public Library is collecting new and used shoes for the REUSE Heart & Sole project sponsored by the Boone County Solid Waste Management District.   This is a district-wide effort to provide shoes to a new pair of feet in Central Indiana.

Most of us typically don't think much about our shoes:  we outgrow them, wear them out, or change styles without much thought as to what happens when we discard them.  The truth is that discarded shoes can take over 200 years to decompose in a landfill, which is a shame when there are so many people in need of shoes all over the world.

There will be a white mesh bag near the main entrance on each floor into which donated shoes may be placed. Donations should have laces tied together as a pair or be rubber-banded together if there are no laces.  Rubber bands will be provided.

Last year, more than 1000 pairs of shoes were collected at 6 schools and 8 public collection sites, like the Library, and they hope to collect more this year.

There are some types of shoes that are NOT acceptable, so please DO NOT donate these:  slippers, inline skates, ice skates, winter boots, shoes with higher than a 2-inch heel or heavily soiled shoes. 

So, as you sort through your wardrobe and look at the shoes you have, if you have some that just don't match the clothes you got over the holidays or some that you've outgrown or just don't care for anymore, bring them to the Library between Feb. 7th & 17th.  REUSE Heart & Sole will make sure they have new life for someone who will be extremely grateful!

2015 Newbery and Caldecott Winners Announced

The John Newbery Medal for the most outstanding contribution to children's literature goes to:
The Crossover , written by Kwame Alexander.
 

Two Newbery Honor Books also were named:
El Deafo by Cece Bell, illustrated by Cece Bell
Brown Girl Dreaming, written by Jacqueline Woodson

The Randolph Caldecott Medal for the most distinguished American picture book for children goes to:
The Adventures of Beekle: The Unimaginary Friend, illustrated by Dan Santat

Six Caldecott Honor Books also were named:
Nana in the City, illustrated by Lauren Castillo, written by Lauren Castillo
The Noisy Paint Box: The  Colors and Sounds of Kandinsky's Abstract Art, illustrated by Mary GrandPre, written by Barb Rosenstock
Sam & Dave Dig a Hole, illustrated by Jon Klassen, written by Mac Barnett
Viva Frida, illustrated by Yuyi Morales, written by Yuyi Morales
The Right Word: Roget and His Thesaurus, illustrated by Melissa Sweet, written by Jen Bryant
This One Summer, illustrated by Jillian Tamaki, written by Mariko Tamaki