Tuesday, July 24, 2007

Back to Normal

Unbelievable as it may seem, the 2007 summer reading program is complete! Every year I'm amazed at how quickly those six weeks zoom by.

This past Saturday, the 21st, we had our SRP finale. After drawing for the raffle prizes and congratulating the top readers, we enjoyed a fantastic display of science from "Dynamite" Dan of Mad Science of Central Iowa. He did some great experiments for the audience and he showed that science is fascinating and fun. We had about 200 attendees at the event, which was a great turnout!

Thanks to all our patrons for making this year's SRP - Get a Clue @ Your Library - a successful program!!

Tuesday, June 12, 2007

SRP is Here!!!

It's official! The summer reading program has begun!

This year's theme is "Get a Clue @ Your Library. Our first Tuesday program was today and we had 162 kids attend the two programs! Kindergarten thru 2nd graders met from 9:30-10:30 and 3rd thru 6th graders met from 11:00-Noon. Our guest presenter was Kristin Simon from the East Central Iowa Council of Governments. She did a terrific program about recycling.

Next week's program is an evening event celebrating Eastern Indian culture. It will be from 6:30-8:30pm, and there will be food, music, dancing, and crafts. Hope to see you there!

Friday, May 18, 2007

SRP Kick-Off!!!

It's that time for year already?!! Yes, indeed! Summer is almost here, and that means Summer Reading Program!

The theme this year is "Get a Clue @ Your Library." It's going to be a great SRP!

The Kick-Off party is Wednesday, May 23rd, from 5:30-7:00pm, at Hills Bank in North Liberty. Join us for lots of fun events and register for the Pre-K and K-6th summer reading program. If you can't make it to the party, you can register at the library beginning Monday, May 21st.

This year we're trying something new. In addition to completing a reading log to earn a tshirt, we have a second option - an activity sheet. There will be a list of 30 activities, and kids complete 24 of them to earn their tshirt. Both the logs and the activity sheets will be available beginning Monday, June 11. Readers will earn raffle tickets along the way for prizes that will be drawn at the finale.

Tuesday morning programs begin June 12th. As in years past, K-2nd graders meet from 9:30-10:30, and 3rd - 6th graders meet from 11:00-Noon. The SRP finale will be held Saturday, July 21st, from 10am - Noon.

Wednesday storytimes will be themed to match the SRP theme. Preschoolers can earn raffle tickets for their own special raffle drawings.

Be sure to sign up, read, and get a CLUE with us!

Friday, March 9, 2007

The "Last Tuesday of the Month" Book Club

Did you know the library has a book club? The group meets once a month, on the last Tuesday of the month, at 6:30pm, in the library's meeting room. They read some great books, with March's pick being The Lemon Tree, by Sandy Tolan. Here's a description of the book from Amazon.com:

In 1967, not long after the Six-Day War, three young Arab men ventured into the town of Ramle, in what is now Jewish Israel. They were cousins, on a pilgrimage to see their childhood homes; their families had been driven out of Palestine nearly twenty years earlier. One cousin had a door slammed in his face, and another found his old house had been converted into a school. But the third, Bashir Al-Khairi, was met at the door by a young woman called Dalia, who invited them in.This act of faith in the face of many years of animosity is the starting point for a true story of a remarkable relationship between two families, one Arab, one Jewish, amid the fraught modern history of the regio. In his childhood home, in the lemon tree his father planted in the backyard, Bashir sees dispossession and occupation; Dalia, who arrived as an infant in 1948 with her family from Bulgaria, sees hope for a people devastated by the Holocaust. As both are swept up in the fates of their people, and Bashir is jailed for his alleged part in a supermarket bombing, the friends do not speak for years. They finally reconcile and convert the house in Ramle into a day-care centre for Arab children of Israel, and a center for dialogue between Arabs and Jews. Now the dialogue they started seems more threatened than ever; the lemon tree died in 1998, and Bashir was jailed again, without charge.The Lemon Tree grew out of a forty-three minute radio documentary that Sandy Tolan produced for Fresh Air. With this book, he pursues the story into the homes and histories of the two families at its center, and up to the present day. Their stories form a personal microcosm of the last seventy years of Israeli-Palestinian history. In a region that seems ever more divided, The Lemon Tree is a reminder of all that is at stake, and of all that is still possible.

If you are interested in more information, contact the library at 626-5701.

Book group members take turns bringing treats! This is a great group, so if you've been looking for a book group to join, why not come to this month's meeting?

Friday, March 2, 2007

Library's Online Reference Chat is Here!

The library's online reference chat is up and running! It's VERY easy to use. If you have a reference question you'd like to ask, you can ask us online, just by using your usual AIM, Yahoo, MSN, or ICQ messenger service. To communicate with us, our online ID is nlclrefchat if you're using AIM, Yahoo, or MSN messnger. If you use ICQ, our ID# is 419783616.

Monday, February 26, 2007

Teen Tech Week is Coming!

Teen Tech Week is March 4 - 10. Come in to the library and find out more about these events:
My Mom is on MySpace?! -- Wednesday, March 7, 6:30pm, Gerdin Conference Center, North Liberty Community Center.
MySpace, Facebook, Bebo...what is social networking all about? Teens, bring your parents to this open forum to show them what MySpace and other Internet sites are all about. Learn about privacy and give each other pointers about online safety. Bring your questions and concerns. No registration necessary, just show up...and bring your parents! Contact Jennie Garner for more info. at 626-5701.
Video Editing Demo - Saturday, March 10, 1:00-3:00pm, North Liberty Community Library.
Staff from NLTV will guide you through the basics of non-linear digital video editing using Adobe Premiere 6.0 and a Matrox RT2000. You can use this editing equipment in the library to help make your entry in the North Liberty Teen Film Festival. Call Andy at 626-5726 or email NLTV@northlibertyiowa.org with questions.
North Liberty TEEN Film Festival!
Submit a video, 5 minutes or shorter, to the first North Liberty Teen Film Festival. All aspects of production must be done by YOU. Videos can be on any topic, but must be G or PG in language and content. All entries will be screened at the Film Festival on Friday, May 25 at 6:00pm at the Community Center. Best of the Fest will be aired on NLTV channel 5 and online.
Deadline for submitting completed video is Friday, May 4 at 5:00pm.

Thursday, February 1, 2007

BIG Harry Potter NEWS!!!!!

It's official!! The final book in the Harry Potter series, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, will be released July 21, 2007!!!

Stay tuned for more information, Harry Potter news and events, and information on the upcoming HP move - Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, which comes out in July.