Friday, September 24, 2010

Free to Read, You and Me

HAPPY BANNED BOOKS WEEK!


Remember: "A truly great library contains something in it to offend everyone"-- Jo Godwin

Thursday, September 23, 2010

Heck yeah, programs!


First off, can I just say that if you missed our Edgar Allen Poe program on September 17th, shame on you! It was A-MA-ZING! And just to prove to you how amazing it was, here's some pictures that our handy dandy, bearded wonder, Len Struttmann, took that evening:



Duffy Hudson (the actor who portrayed Poe) was an absolute delight as a performer and afterwords as himself. His riveting performances of The Tell-Tale Heart, Annabelle Lee, and The Raven captivated the entire audience. So if you missed it, well, too bad for you! It was awesome!

But have no fear, we still have some other fun programs in store for you. Coming up on Thursday, September 30th at 6:30pm is the newest book club to join our ranks here at Hiawatha. The Big Read Book Club will make its dazzling debut! Our first selection will be none other than To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. I chose this one first because it is the 50th anniversary of its publication and also because it seemed a fitting way to celebrate Banned Books Week. Believe it or not, To Kill a Mockingbird was the 4th challenged book in the United States for 2009. 4th! After 50 years, people still find a reason to challenge this book! Most ironically, the number one reason for the challenges is racism. Evidently they haven't read the book...anyways, to get back to the whole point of this, come out and join our new book club! I should mention, that sign up is limited to 8 participants, and each one receives a free copy of the book and a nifty little reader's guide.

On Wednesday's in October from 5:30-7:30pm you can learn to crochet with the lovely Katy. She will be sharing her expertise and mad skills with anyone who wants to learn! And when I say mad skills, I mean the woman can crochet! There is no cost for this program except that you will need to purchase the materials for whatever project you wish to complete. Here's a list of the projects you can choose from:

Fall 2010 - Crochet Classes for Hiawatha Library

Easy Crochet Gifts for the Holidays

#1 - Spa Cloths - Crochet them in several colors, tie together with a ribbon or add to a pretty basket of bath goodies.

Materials:

1 ball cotton worsted sized yarn ie: Sugar’n Cream or Peaches and Cream, etc

5.0 mm [US H-8] crochet hook

Scissors

Yarn needle (Fat eye)

#2 – iPod/MP3 Holder - A handy way to carry around iPods, or cell phones! Add embellishments to personalize for a fun gift.

Materials:

1 ball worsted sized yarn – Varigated yarns work nice for this

5.0 mm (US H-8) crochet hook

Scissors

Yarn Needle (fat eye)

Sewing thread and sewing needle

Embelishments:

Cute buttons, or lace, or ribbon, or small sew on patches, etc.

#3 – Cozy Neckwarmer – Quick to crochet these buttoned mini-scarves make easy gift giving and easy wear for the lucky people who receive one.

Materials:

150 yards Worsted sized yarn – wool, wool blend or acrylic

2 – 3/4 inch buttons – match or contrast button color to yarn

5.0 mm (US H-8) crochet hook

Scissors

Yarn Needle (fat eye)

Sewing thread and sewing needle

#4 - Winter Bucket Hat - Made plain it’s a perfect gift for men or women, add crocheted flowers for extra cuteness.

Materials:

2 balls Bulky or Super Bulky yarn; wool, wool blend or acrylic

9.0 mm (US M/N) crochet hook

Scissors

Yarn needle (fat eye)

For Crocheted Flower:

1 ball contrasting Sport weight yarn: wool, wool blend or acrylic

5 mm [US H/8] crochet hook


Well, that's about all for now. I hope to see you all at one of our programs this fall! Yippee!

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Which of these things is not like the other?

Can you guess what's wrong with these two pictures?


Jean had made the top for our little announcements board several weeks ago. It was only today that Alicia realized that it said "Dancing with Scissors" instead of "Drawing with Scissors" like the one below! Whoops! We think that she may have had other important things on her mind, like who made the cast of the next season of Dancing with the Stars. :-)

Many thanks to Jean for a good laugh, even if it was an accident!

Monday, September 13, 2010

Blue Screen of Uh Oh!


It's been one of those days where you remember just how terribly frustrating and irritating computers can be. Don't get me wrong, I love technology as much as the next person. But alas, today is not one of those days! For one, our computers have been terribly slooooow. I mean really slooooow. As in, I can't do my job slooooow.

Then I had a patron come up and say that the screen on her computer went blank. And when I went to check on her computer, number eight to be exact...I saw the dreaded blue screen of death. (Hence, the funny cartoon) So all in all, here's hoping that tomorrow is a better day for these obnoxious little machines! And for me too!