Welcome
to the
February
2008
In
This Month’s Edition
Web
Picks: Cool Stuff on the Web
The
library will be closed on Monday, February 18 for Presidents
Day.
The
Hall County Library System, a cooperating collection with the Foundation Center
of New York will once again offer Grant Writing 101-How to Get
Started. This class
is taught by Angel Randolph and is
held in the Bill & Melinda Gates Computer Lab at the Gainesville Branch from
10:30 am until noon. There
are multiple opportunities to participate in 2008: February 7, June 12 and September 11.
Please check our website
for updates and to download a registration form. One may also register by asking for a
form at the Gainesville Branch Information Desk. For more information please call
770-532-3311 or e-mail Kathy Smith at ksmith@hallcountylibrary.org.
Read
to the Dogs
Children
are invited to “Read to the Dogs” on February 5th from
3-4pm. To save a spot for your child to read to one of our four legged
visitors, come by the library or call 770-532-3311 ext. 151 to make an
appointment. The dogs are registered with Atlanta Therapaws, Therapy Dogs international. Your child will
remember this for a lifetime!
Black
History Month Celebrated
To commemorate
Black History Month, the film, Sights and Sounds of Gainesville – From Past
to Present, will be shown in the downtown Gainesville Library meeting room
on Wednesday, February 13 at 12:00 noon, 1:00 p.m., 3:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m.
It will be shown at Blackshear Place in the large meeting room on
Friday, February 15 at 1:30 and 3:00 p.m.
There will also be
a book signing by Ella Jean Smith and Linda Hutchens of their book, Black America Series: Hall County
Georgia following the film at 3:30 p.m. at Headquarters and at 3:30 p.m.
at Blackshear Place.
Kids
and Critters
Kelley
Uber of the Hall County Humane Society will visit
Blackshear Place Library twice in February. Come join her for stories on
February 7th or 28th at 3:00 (or both times!)
Find out what surprise guests she will bring for her “Kids and Kritters” program.
The
library system offers free computer classes including Introduction to
Email, Introduction to the Internet, Advanced Email,
Introduction
to MS PowerPoint, Word Processing Basics and
Introduction
to MS Publisher.
Classes are taught by trained library staff and are free to the public. Classes
will be held in the computer training labs at the Blackshear Place Branch and
the Gainesville Branch. For more
information please click here
or call 770-532-3311.
The
next pajama
storytimes
will be held at 6:30 pm on January 7 at the Gainesville
Branch
and January 8 at the Blackshear
Place Branch.
Everyone is welcome. Children may wear their jammies and bring their favorite
bedtime buddy.
The
winter session of Baby
Steps lapsits and preschool storytimes
will start the week of January 7 at the Gainesville Branch, Blackshear Place
Branch, and Murrayville Branch. Click on the link above, check the library
website, or call 770-532-3311 ext. 129 for more
information.
The
Reading
Patch Club
(for independent readers in grades K-5) and the Jump
Start Reading Club
(for
children who cannot read on their own) are in session through the day before the
Memorial Day holiday in May. There are new rules and new patches for the Reading
Patch Club for 2007-2008—check it out!
New
titles for children and teens:
Kate’s
Surprise
by Ann Burg
When
Pete cannot play in the snow because he has a cold, his sister Kate makes a
surprise for him that has him feeling better in no time. (EZ
Reader)
The
Gingerbread Man
(A My Turn, Your Turn Reader) by Timothy S. Donehoo
This
is the classic story, written for adults (more text) and beginning readers
(short text) to read together. (EZ Reader)
No
Talking
by Andrew Clements
The
noisy fifth grade boys of Laketon Elementary School
challenge the equally loud fifth grade girls to a “no talking” contest. (Large
Print, JFC)
Penny
from Heaven
by Jennifer L. Holm
As
she turns 12 during the summer of 1953, Penny gains new insights into herself
and her family while also learning a secret about her father’s death. (Large
Print, JFC)
Firestorm
by David Klass
After
learning that he has been sent from the future for a special purpose,
18-year-old Jack receives help from an unusual dog and a shape-shifting female
fighter. (Large Print, YAF)
Hattie
Big Sky
by Kirby Larson
After
inheriting her uncle’s homesteading claim in Montana, 16-year-old Hattie travels
from Iowa in 1917 to make a home for herself and encounters some unexpected
problems related to the war being fought in Europe. (Large Print,
YAF)
New
titles in the adult area:
New
Books from Old Favorites
T
is for Trespass
by Sue Grafton
In
her most unsettling appearance to date, Private Investigator Kinsey Millhone confronts identity theft and the horrors of elder
abuse.
Duma
Key: A Novel
by
Stephen King
When
a construction accident causes Edgar severe mental and physical damage, he
leaves for Duma Key to rebuild his life. There, he
discovers his passion and talent for painting. Unfortunately, he also discovers
a power within his painting that he cannot
control.
Double
Cross by
James Patterson
Alex
Cross and girlfriend Det. Brianna Stone hunt a grisly murderer who likes nothing
better than an audience for his horror show.
Why
Marines Fight by
James Brady
The New York Times bestselling author of
the Scariest Place in the World and
the Coldest War writes a ruthlessly
candid book about professional killers not ashamed to recall their doubts as
well as exult in their savagely triumphant battle cries. Marines and Americans
alike will want to read this book and may find it impossible to
forget.
Screamfree
Parenting: The Revolutionary Approach to Raising Your Kids by Keeping Your
Cool
by Hal Edward Runkel,
LMFT
The
author states that the biggest enemy parents face is not the TV, the Internet,
or even drugs but their own emotional reactivity.
A
Cure for the Common Word
by K.D. Sullivan
“Remedy
your ailing vocabulary with 3,000+ vibrant alternatives to the most overused
words.”
Crazy
Craft Class
The Crazy Craft
Classes will meet again this month on Tuesday, February 26, from 5:30 to
7:30 in the
Gainesville Library’s meeting room. This month Allison Hallman will be
teaching
a knitting class.
People of all ages and skill levels are invited to attend. Bring knitting
needles, yarn,
paper and pen, or any current knitting or crocheting project you have
started.
Space is limited,
so call 770-532-3311, ext. 129 or ext. 114 to register.
Scrapbooking
Workshop
There
will be ongoing Scrapbooking Workshops once a month at the Blackshear Place
Branch. The next meeting is
scheduled for Monday, February 4th from 5:30-7:30pm. Experienced scrapbooker Arneshia Echols will
demonstrate useful techniques and creative ideas to showcase family memories or
create clever pages for your memorabilia. Experienced scrappers and “newbies” are welcome, but advanced registration is required.
Beginners may purchase an optional starter kit for $12, payable upon
registration. Attendees are encouraged to bring their own photos or clippings.
Please call 770-532-3311 ext. 151 for more
information.
Donating
a book to the library in honor or memory of a loved one is a great way to show
affection. Titles of suggested book donations are listed on the library’s
Amazon.com Wish List. For the price
of a book, anyone can help the library keep the most current materials
available. To view the list, see the library
website
and follow the link to amazon.com.
Book donors may request that a commemorative plate be placed inside the
front cover of the book in recognition of a loved one or to honor a special
occasion. The Hall County Library System is a non-profit government agency
and a charitable 501(C) (3) organization; therefore, all donations are tax
deductible. The library is pleased
to announce that it has now received 200 plus books through this
program.
Dear
Patron,
We know you love us. We survey you
every year and that is just what you say.
Do I believe the surveys? Generally. My wife loves me but I know there
are days when she would put me outside with our cats. Maybe she would leave the
cats in.
I suspect most feel good about library
staff on any given day since management in this library system tries to hire
good people with a spirit of public service. We tell our staff they are not
public servants but hired by the public to provide a service. The shortcoming of
the person being assisted matters little but staff willingness to be attentive
and try to help does. I do not think anyone expects people to be verbally
abused, so we encourage staff who are not able to overcome whatever barriers
have been erected when two people fail to solve a problem should send them to
management. Management is hired to solve problem, and when two people who fail
to communicate - shades of Cool Hand Luke – we hopefully have cooler heads to
turn to intervene.
One of the stories I tell staff is
about a patron that used another library where I once worked in another state.
Staff had nicknamed him Mr. Clean since he was tall, broad shouldered, bald and
always in white pants, shoes and shirt. For those too young to remember, Mr.
Clean pitched a cleaning product on television a few years back and was always
seen dressed in clean cut whites, in the kitchen, showing off a clean,
black-and-white checked, sparkling floor.
This library’s Mr. Clean had problems
with younger female patrons, most half his age. One day I had to speak to him
about bothering others while in the library. I have learned long ago never to
show my anger but to be polite yet firm even when the other party resorts to
yelling. That day I was yelled at by Mr. Clean but made my point and he left the
building knowing what would happen if he continued to bother patrons in the
library. I can only imagine what some patrons thought when they heard this very
large man yelling at me about being “the jerk that I was” but know those same
people would have changed an unfavorable opinion on learning that he stabbed a
police officer who had gone to his boarding house to arrest him the very next
week. I always tell staff to be polite, considerate, follow the rules, explain,
always treat everyone the same, and in the end even the most belligerent will do
what is asked since there are very few that fail to recognize wrong. Library
management is there to intervene when staff feels uncomfortable or patrons feel
they have been treated wrongly and neither should be abused by the other.
A library is only as good as the
people that use it. Let us know when we need to do better. It is also “ok” to
let us know when we do good but good public service comes about when there is
true civil discourse between employees and those they are hired to help. I feel
your library staff knows there is two sides to a fence and will truly hop to the
other side to see what it looks like when asked. So talk to
us!
I hope to catch you in the stacks
reading.
Sincerely,
Adrian Mixson
Library
Director
To
get more information on your library account, please call the library’s
Circulation Manager at 770-532-3311 ext. 110 or visit the
library
website
and enter your account through the
library's catalog. You will need your library card and pin number, which
may be obtained by visiting any library branch. You may also email the
Circulation
Manager
for additional information.
Web
Picks: Cool Stuff on the Web
Chinese New
Year -February 7, 2008
marks the start of the Year of the Rat on the Chinese Lunar Calendar.
Celebrate the Chinese New Year holiday with great kids' activities and
crafts. Also learn about the history and meaning behind Chinese New Year
symbols.
The Original Harlem
Globetrotters Learn about the
history of the Harlem Globetrotters basketball team, which started in Chicago in
1926 as the Savoy Big Five and was renamed the Harlem New York Globetrotters in
1930.
The Blues, Black
Vaudeville, and the Silver Screen. This "online collection consists of
selected correspondence, financial records, contracts, and advertising
materials" relating to the Douglass Theatre in Macon, Georgia, historically "a
preeminent entertainment venue for African American Georgians outside of
Atlanta" that featured legendary blues performers, vaudeville acts, and silent
films.
Editors
For
more information please call (770) 532-3311 ext. 134 or visit our website at
http://www.hallcountylibrary.org/
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