Free Food for Teens!

It is not quite as exciting as it sounds, but if you are studying for finals, it is quite possibly the best news you will hear this week.  For the third year in a row, the Library is proud to offer the program "Teen Study Break."  Each semester during finals week a room is designated for teens only and the Library provides yummy snacks and a place for group study.  While we provide snacks for their belly, we are giving teens the energy and the ability to focus on their finals.  "Teen Study Break" will be held in the Mayfield Rooms on the first floor Tuesday, Decemeber 18 and Wednesday, December 19 from 4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.  Registration is not required, just show up!

Tandem Read Book Club: The Tale of Despereaux

Parents are invited to spend quality time reading together with their children by joining the Youth Services Tandem Read Book Club, a new parent-child book club that will meet once a month from January through May.  The Tandem Read Book Club will discuss a different book at each meeting.  You can sign up for each of the five months, or if your schedule is overbooked, you can register for just the ones that fit into your busy schedule.  

 
The first meeting will be held Monday, January 23.    We will read and discuss the Newbery Award winning book by Kate DiCamillo—The Tale of Despereaux: being the story of a mouse, a princess, some soup and a spool of thread.  This book, Dear Reader, is the beautifully written story of a mouse named Despereaux Tilling.  Despereaux is an unusual mouse and a complete disappointment to his family; he fails at everything a mouse should be good at.  Although Despereaux fails miserably at being a mouse, he has a big heart and he finds love, as well as an important purpose to his life.

Bring your favorite dish to our Pitch-in Dinner and we will eat and discuss the book of the month. Register for each book you would like to discuss.  We will meet one Monday per month from 6:30-7:30PM.

 

The dates that we will be meeting, as well as the books we will be reading are as follows.

Monday, January 23 – The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo

Monday, February 18 – Frindle by Andrew Clements

Monday, March 18 – The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin

Monday, April 15 – The Borrowers by Mary Norton

Monday, May 20 – We will play Review Jeopardy

Book Club books are available for checkout at the Youth Services Reference Desk.  You may also place a hold on the book through Evergreen.

I spy at the fish tank!

Take a close look at the fish tank as you walk by, we have a new Library friend!  Look for the black Plecostomus, an algae eating fish.  This new fish will have  a huge job: keeping the fish tank clean.  You might see him swimming around the edge of the aquarium, or perhaps he will be hiding among the plants-he can camouflage himself very well, so look closely!   
See if you can spy the new baby fish, too!

If you like to Challenge yourself with I Spy games, you might want to check out these I spy series books and you'll have a blast!

I Spy

Can you see what I see

Where's Waldo

Look and Find  
1001 Things to Spot 

Who is TED? And what is he talking about?

If you haven’t been introduced to TED, you’re in for a treat. TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) is a nonprofit organization that “offers free knowledge," delivered as bite-sized (under 20 minutes) podcasts by "the world's most inspired thinkers."  Currently there are more than 1200 TEDtalks to choose from on topics relating to science, business, and technology. 

 If you’re new to TEDtalks, you might want to start with Steve Jobs’s commencement address to Stanford University's Graduating Class of 2005, entitled “How to live before you die.”  Readers of Walter Isaacson’s excellent biography will be familiar with the three life-altering situations Jobs describes: dropping out of college, getting fired, and facing death, but nothing can compare to seeing and hearing the late Jobs relate the stories in his own words.


Or start with “Finding the story inside the painting.”  Tracy Chevalier, author of The Girl with the Pearl Earring, believes people "are wired" to tell stories.  As proof, she interrogates three different portraits: The Girl with the Pearl Earring by 17th century Dutch painter, Vermeer, Boy Building a House of Cards by 18th century French painter, Chardin, and an anonymous portrait by an unknown Tudor artist.  Art aficionados and readers of Chevalier's novels will appreciate the way she spins a unique identity for each  portrait's model.

As you might expect, many TEDtalk presenters have written books about their specialties.  So after you've listened to Barry Schwartz talk about "Using our practical wisdom," you can check out Practical Wisdom.  And after you've viewed Dan Ariely's podcast "Our buggy moral code," you can read The Honest Truth about Dishonesty.  The same goes for A.J. Jacobs "How healthy living nearly killed me" (Drop Dead Healthy) and Steven Johnson's "The Ghost Map" (The Ghost Map.)

Evergreen Indiana Boasts 100 Members!

More than four years ago on August 25, 2008, your Hussey-Mayfield Memorial Public Library, became the first member of Evergreen Indiana, a new library consortium in Indiana. 
 
So with a bit of fanfare, we welcome the 100th Evergreen Library: Peabody Public Library of Columbia City in Whitley County.  (That’s in the northeast corner of Indiana, in case you were wondering.)  This 111-year-old library serves a population of 13,509 residents and boasts a collection of more than 100,000 items that you can now browse online.
 
As you can see, Evergreen Indiana has continued to grow through the years and today includes 100 public, school and institutional library members located throughout the state that use the Evergreen shared online catalog.  Customers of member libraries all around the state can use their Evergreen Indiana library card to view the catalogs and borrow materials from the other member libraries.   Items placed on hold that belong to other member libraries will be transited to our Hussey-Mayfield Library via a state-wide courier service and may be returned to any Evergreen Indiana member library.

As of November 2012, the Indiana State Library, plus 99 other member libraries, are live on Evergreen and serve 962,252 Indiana residents, just under 1/6 of the state’s total population.  The Evergreen Indiana catalog holds more than 2.8 million bibliographic records and provides access to more than 6.6 million items. The catalog may be viewed at: http://evergreen.lib.in.ushttp://evergreen.lib.in.us/. 

 
Do we have you wondering where all of the Evergreen Indiana Libraries are located? Well, there’s a map for that: http://evergreen.lib.in.us/map/evergreenmap.html

Join our celebration! Visit your Hussey-Mayfield Library to browse our shelves, search the online catalog that includes the collections of 100 Indiana libraries and pick up a special book mark commemorating our 100 member strength!

Gift Wrapping Class

You spend lots of time choosing the perfect gift, now learn how to wrap it like a pro! Artist Paula Scott-Franz teaches "Gift Wrapping for Guys (and Gals, too!)" on Tuesday, December 11th at 6:30pm. She'll show you how to wrap gifts beautifully using simple techniques, and you'll get to try your hand at it during the class. Afterward, use your newfound wrapping skills to delight your friends and family, just in time for the holidays. Individual registration is required, reserve your seat today.

Holiday Reader's Theater: Readers Wanted!

Reader's Theater is a cross between reading and drama. It is a low-key, low-stress, fun way to bring to life some fun stories through "acting out" with our speaking voices. By reading the words aloud and consciously deciding how to read those words, comprehension increases. By reading aloud in front of peers and others, confidence grows. It is a fantastically fun and simple way to help kids improve their reading skills.

Join us Monday, December 10 from 4:00-5:00pm for a Holiday Reader's Theater (ages 8-11). This time there will be no performance; just a fun time of reading stories like the Grinch, a Christmas Carol, and other holiday tales.

Ho, Ho, Ho!!!