Bringing the World to Zionsville!

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 this coming Saturday afternoon, February 23rd, 1 – 2:30 PM on your calendar and make your way to the Hussey-Mayfield Library for the 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 15 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.  

Some of the countries and cultures you will meet people from at this year’s International Fair are Japan, Italy, Lebanon,  China, India, Greece, Latvia, Great Britain, Jamaica, Lithuania, Mexico, Libya, Trinidad & Tobago  among others.  Some of our friends from other countries will have activities and crafts for you to do that are illustrative of the culture and life in their home countries.

 

Additionally, we will have some teen foreign exchange students at the American Field Service (AFS) table who can talk with visitors about their experiences living with American families this school year.  English for Internationals, a non-profit organization that provides classes for adults who wish to learn English (ESL) or improve their English skills will also be present to provide information about their ongoing classes in Zionsville. 


 

 

There will be music from the Baltic States by the band The Hedgehogs, some Steel Pan players from the Indiana Steel Pan Association and dancers demonstrating dance from India and Lithuania during the afternoon Fair.

Saturday's high temperature looks like it’s going to be in the upper 30s, still winter weather!  So, come to the Library on Saturday afternoon 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 bit.ly/hsF7UJ.  Go to Saturday, February 23rd on the calendar and register at the link for the International Fair.  See you there!

Mac and Molly Are Turning 12! Let's Party!

Mac and Molly, our beloved TheraPets of Indiana dogs who have "read" with us since 2007, are turning 12! We're having a birthday celebration on March 5, 4:00-5:00pm, in the Mayfield Rooms with cake and lots of doggie and human friends. Please join us! RSVP by registering online or calling us at 873-8342.



Your presence is the best gift; however, if you wish to bring something, the doggies prefer Milkbone Minis Originals (no dyes added).

Valentine's Day Pop Quiz

Rev up for Valentine's Day with some romantic poetry.  Just for fun: Who penned the following love-ly rhymes?  (Answers appear at the bottom.)

Swing by the library any day of the year for works by major British and American poets, including contemporary writers, Billy Collins, Mary Oliver, Rita Dove, Nikki Giovanni, Charles Simic, Norbert Krapf, Eduardo Corral and more.

  

                         1.

Let me not to the marriage of true minds
     Admit impediments.  Love is not love
Which alters when it alteration finds,
    Or bends with the remover to remove:

                         2.
To make a perfect heart you take a sheet
of red construction paper of the type
that’s rough as a cat’s tongue . . .

                         3.       
I will not play at tug o' war.
I'd rather play at hug o' war,
Where everyone hugs
Instead of tugs,
Where everyone giggles
And rolls on the rug,
Where everyone kisses,
And everyone grins,
And everyone cuddles,
And everyone wins.

                         4.        

How do I love thee?  Let me count the ways.
I love thee to the depth and breadth and height
My soul can reach . . .

                         5.
You sing, and your voice peels the husk
of the day's grain, your song with the sun and sky,
the pine trees speak with their green tongue:
all the birds of the winter whistle.

Answers:   1 – William Shakespeare, Sonnet CXVI ; 2 – Ted Kooser, A Perfect Heart in Valentines;  3 – Shel Silverstein, Hug O' War in Where the Sidewalk Ends;  4 – Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Sonnet XLIII in Sonnets from the Portuguese;  5 –  Pablo Neruda, Sonnet LII in 100 Love Sonnets

Scoring: 1 correct answer = Kid Prufrock; 2 = Miles-to-go Standish; 3 = Pepe le Poet; 4 = Call Me Cupid (maybe); 5 = Don Juan Unchained

Happy Valentine's Day!

REUSE Heart & Sole -- Give Your Shoes a New Pair of Feet!

REUSE Heart & Sole -- Give Your Shoes a New Pair of Feet!

In support of the REUSE Heart & Sole project sponsored by the Boone County Solid Waste Management District, the Hussey-Mayfield Memorial Public Library is a drop-off site for used or new shoes from Monday, February 11th through Monday, February 18th.  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.  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.   Donations will be given to needy men, women and children all over the world so that they can be comfortable at work and play.  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 the week of Feb. 11th - 18th.  REUSE Heart & Sole will make sure they have new life for someone who will be extremely grateful!

WINTER READING PRIZES!

Hopefully you all have had a chance to "Pop open a Good Book" this winter.  
The Winter Reading Program is designed to be a simple way to help your family make reading a habit: all you have to do is read out loud 15 minutes a day for 21 days, then mark your reading log each day you read.  After 21 days, bring your log into the Library and get a PRIZE!  
Kids are excited about the prizes sitting on our desk, but they have to bring in their reading logs before they can get them! 

Free Ice Cream!

Now that I have everyone's attention, I will need to clarify and sadly disappoint a few of you.  There is free chocolate ice cream for students in grades 6-12 and college students on Monday, February 18 at 4:00 PM.  As the teen librarian, I have a few goals in life when it comes to work and one of them is to find a way to feed teens at the library and say, "It's educational."  Yes, I will be giving your teen sugar, but I will also teach them about history of ice cream and how to correctly taste test ice cream.  "It tastes like chocolate ice cream," is not an acceptable answer and most likely will not be uttered by participants.  I can say this with confidence because the past two years teens have done chocolate tastings at the library and teens most often describe the samples as "smooth, nutty, or earthy."  So while your teens may only hear the words "free ice cream,"  you will be pleased to know that they will walk away with more than just a sugar buzz... they will walk away with a greater appreciation for everyone's favorite dessert.  Spaces are limited and registration is required. 

PVE Reads: One Book One School

The 2013 PVE Reads: One Book One School book choice is Charlotte’s Web by E. B. White. 

In cooperation with PVE Reads, the Youth Services Department is promoting science books that correlate with the story, as well as fun activities that relate to the classic book. 

Stop by the library to spy “Some Pig’s” hidden words around the Youth Services Department, or you could try matching Templeton’s Rat Rhymes, or perhaps you would like to create “Terrific” words in Charlotte’s Word Web.