Welcome to the
June
2007
Rep.
Nathan Deal to be Guest Reader
at Youth
Program
Evening
pajama storytime will be held at 6:30 pm at Hall County Library System’s
Gainesville Branch on Monday, June 4. U.S. Congressman Nathan Deal will be the
special guest reader for the evening’s program. Representative Deal
was first elected to Congress in 1992 and today serves the citizens of fifteen
North Georgia counties, including Hall County.
For
this exciting special event, children are encouraged to wear their pajamas and
bring their favorite bedtime toy or blanket. All ages are welcome. For more
information call 770-532-3311 x129.
Vacation
Reading Program
The
theme for the 2007 summer Vacation Reading Program is Reading Takes You
Everywhere.
Registration starts
June 4 and the program ends July 31. Activity programs begin the week of June
11. Pick up activity information in any library branch or check the
library
website.
What’s
Hanging in the
Galleries
Margaret Amoss,
artist and calligrapher, recently moved to Gainesville from Athens, Georgia. She
has a bachelor’s degree in graphic design from the University of Georgia, where
she took her first calligraphy class. Besides teaching continuing education
classes in the Atlanta area she has also taught at the Georgia Center in Athens.
Her involvement with the Atlanta calligraphy guild (Atlanta Friends of the
Alphabet) has been continuous since 1987 and she has participated in many
workshops taught by nationally known lettering artists.
Please visit the
second floor of the Gainesville Branch to see some samples of Margaret Amoss’
work. For more information contact
the Hall County Library System at 770-532-3311 ext. 116 or visit the website at
www.hallcountylibrary.org.
On
Display
Clifford “The Big
Red Dog” is actually sometimes rather small. Bring the little ones in your
family to the Blackshear Place Library to see Clifford in all his many forms and
sizes. They are in the display case near the circulation desk.
Coming in June, library patron Zach Vance will display his impressive rock
collection.
Get
Published
Get
Published! Two local authors, Cindy Woodsmall and Amy Wallace, will speak
at the Blackshear Place Library on Saturday, June 9 at 1:00 pm. In addition to tips on writing, they
will also share their knowledge and offer suggestions on how to get your first
book published. For more information or directions please call
770-532-3311 ext. 151.
Scrapbooking
Workshop
There will be
ongoing Scrapbooking Workshops once a month at the Blackshear Place Branch. The next meeting is scheduled for
Monday, June 18 from 5:00-7:30pm. This workshop will feature great ideas
for creating clever pages for your memorabilia. Experienced scrappers and
“newbies” are welcome, but advanced registration is required. The registration
deadline is June 4. Beginners may purchase an optional starter kit for $12,
payable upon registration. Attendees are encouraged to bring their own photos or
clippings. Please call the Blackshear Place Branch at 770-532-3311 ext. 151 for
more information or click here and follow the
links. The scheduled date for July
is Monday, July 16 from 5:00-7:30pm.
Playaways
are Here!
Playaways are here! All Hall
County Library System branches have a few new children’s and young adult audio
books in Playaway format. These MP3
players are pre-loaded with individual titles (sometimes two or three) such as
the ones listed below. Playaways
come with a battery and a set of ear buds for a complete listening experience.
The
Hall County Library System,
a cooperating collection with the Foundation Center of New York, is pleased to
announce a workshop entitled
Grant Writing Basics. This class is taught by Angel Randolph,
program director for the
The workshop is
free; however, space is limited and registration is required. For more information call 770-532-3311
ext. 114 or email ljames@hallcountylibrary.org.
Computer
News
The library system
offers free computer classes including Introduction to Email,
Introduction to the Internet, Advanced Email, Introduction to MS PowerPoint and
Word Processing Basics. Classes are taught by trained library staff
and are free to the public. Classes will be held in the computer training labs
at the
The library system is
also pleased to announce the start of a new program at the downtown Gainesville
Branch. The library will be
offering Senior Online Sessions (S.O.S.) to any senior
citizen who would like basic instruction in the use of a personal computer. S.O.S. class size will be limited to ten
students so that each student can receive a high level of personal
attention. Curriculum in the class
will focus on logging onto a library computer, the parts of the PC and their
functions, how to customize a computer’s display options to suit the needs of
the user and more. The S.O.S. class
will also learn the basic use of an internet browser. There will be ample opportunity and
encouragement during class for asking questions. To register, contact the
library’s computer services department at 770-532-3311 ext.
124.
This
Month in Youth Services
The next
pajama
storytimes will be held at
6:30 pm on June 4 at he Gainesville
Branch and on June 12 at
the Blackshear Place
Branch. Everyone is
welcome. Children may wear their jammies and bring their favorite bedtime
buddy.
Reading Patch
Club and
Jump Start Reading
Club are on hiatus
until the day after Labor Day. Children who have not completed Reading Patch
Club patches may read for them during the summer and receive their patches when
the club begins again in September.
There
will be a special session of Baby Step lapsit
storytimes
at the Blackshear
Place Branch on Tuesdays, June 5, 12, 19, 26 at 10:30
am.
There will be a
special session of Baby Steps
Plus programs at the
Murrayville
Branch on Thursdays, June
7, 14, 21, 28 at 10:30 am. Baby Steps Plus is a new addition to HCLS family
programming. Click on the link above to learn more about
it.
Vacation Reading
Program 2007 registration
starts June 4 and the program ends July 31. Activity programs begin the week of
June 11. Pick up activity information in any library branch or check the
library
website.
For more
information about any of the library’s family programming, call 770-532-3311,
ext. 129.
New titles for children
and teens:
Take a Kiss to
School
by Angela
McAllister
Digby's mother helps
him make it through the second day of school by sending him off with a pocket
full of kisses. (EFC)
Flotsam
by David
Wiesner
The story of what
happens when a camera becomes a piece of flotsam.
(EFC)
Juliet Dove Queen of
Love: The Monster Ring by Bruce
Coville
A shy twelve-year-old
girl must solve a puzzle involving characters from Greek mythology to free herself from a spell which makes her irresistible to boys.
(JFC Playaway)
Moongobble and
Me by Bruce
Coville
Three stories about
an almost-magician named Moongobble who, in his quest to become a magician, must
face The Dragon of Doom, The Weeping Werewolf and The Evil Elves. (JFC Playaway)
Under the Baseball
Moon by John H.
Ritter
Andy and Glory, two
fifteen-year-olds from Ocean Beach, California, pursue their respective dreams
of becoming a famous musician and a professional softball player.
(YAF)
Things Hoped
For by Andrew
Clements
Seventeen-year-old
Gwen, who has been living with her grandfather in Manhattan while she attends
music school, joins up with another music student to solve the mystery when her
grandfather suddenly goes missing. (YAF)
This
Month in Adult Services
New
titles in the adult area:
The Friend of Women
and Other Stories by Louis
Auchincloss
“In this collection of five previously unpublished short
stories and a one-act play, he [Auchincloss] reaches back in time to the
mid-twentieth century, providing behind-the-scenes glimpses into the
often-peculiar customs, lifestyles, and rationalizations of the rich and
privileged.”
Skylight Confessions:
A Novel by Alice
Hoffman
This family saga
follows three generations of the family begun when seventeen year old Arlyn
Singer decides, on the day of her father’s funeral, that the next man she sees
will be her true love.
Sister Mine: A
Novel by Tawni
O’Dell
“At 40,
Shae-Lynn Penrose has overcome a mostly motherless, abusive childhood and a
teenage pregnancy to finish college, work for the D.C. Capitol Police, raise her
son alone, and return to her coal-mining hometown of Jolly Mount, Pennsylvania.
Here she runs a one-vehicle cab company; her father died in a mine; her best
friend, E. J., was one of the Jolly Mount 5, whose survival after a mine
explosion made headlines; and her son, Clay, is a deputy for Sheriff Ivan
Zoschenko. Then Shannon, the younger sister Shae-Lynn thought long dead, shows
up and reveals an unorthodox means of making money that's causing a
ruckus.”
Eat Well, Feel Well
by Kendall Conrad
Meals to help manage
Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, IBS, celiac disease, diverticulitis, and
other digestive conditions.
The Cleveland Clinic
Healthy Heart Lifestyle Guide and Cookbook by The Cleveland Clinic, Bonnie Sanders Polin, Ph.D. and Towner
Giedt
The Cleveland Clinic
is ranked as the #1 heart hospital in America and is renowned for its
life-saving medical breakthroughs.
This book answers heart related diet and fitness questions featuring over
150 recipes.
Ancient Healing for
Modern Women by Xiaolan Zhao,
C.M.D.
Traditional Chinese
Medicine for all phases of a woman’s life.
Donate a
Book for a Loved One
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.
From the
Director
Dear
Patron,
The other week I
was bemused over an article I read in the local paper about a dignitary getting
caught in a malfunctioning elevator. The thrust of the article was money would
be located to repair it to the tune of $37,000. I could not help but recall how
many times patrons and staff have been in similar situations in our main library
in the last two years. Our Gainesville branch is a two story building and there
have been times when neither the main patron elevator nor the back staff
elevator worked. I am not an elevator mechanic but I now know more about
elevators than the average Joe.
I believe our
library system is on a “lucky” streak. Two years ago we lost seven air
conditioning units in one week, six of them at Blackshear Place in Oakwood. That
same week our septic tank backed up at the Blackshear Place branch and it took
two truckloads of men and a backhoe two days to get the tank pumped. It would
seem it was buried extra deep, which would explain why the tank had never been
pumped. I learned a little more about septic tanks and public buildings after
these incidents.
Summers seem to be
especially rough on library buildings in Hall County. Lucky for us, last summer
things did not break; they functioned normally. The coolest we could get our
Murrayville and East Hall Branch libraries was a balmy 80 degrees. It seems
every year we are on pins and needles anticipating the worst. So far this year
we only had to deal with a little water at East
Hall.
Water is on every
library director’s mind right now. Last week the LaGrange Memorial Library had
an overhead pipe burst and it filled the first floor with water. The same thing
happened to the new public library in Woodstock. It made our small leak at the
East Hall branch seem sort of a trivial event; of course our staff was in the
building when the water started raining from the ceiling so it was just a short
shower. The previously mentioned libraries were closed when the water lines
broke and staff did not discover it until Monday morning; our rain ceased when
the county fix-it fellows arrived. Thank goodness we have competent mechanics in
our county maintenance department that can keep things that appear to be on their last legs crutching along. I have
learned a little about HVAC systems since working in
libraries.
Last week was especially rough for one library in Georgia. The
Centerville Library in Houston County had a large SUV drive through its meeting
room. If it had been an hour earlier there would have been 30 kids and their
parents there to help stop the vehicle. Cell phones, what can you say. Five
years ago we had two different patrons, just six months apart, drive through the
small meeting room at our Blackshear Place branch. Both times the drivers
were in large SUVs and thought they had shifted in reverse. In the last six
months drivers took out a brick bench and placed a large dent in a brick
retaining wall on the Gainesville branch site. I learned a long time ago to be
careful walking through a library parking
lot.
No one really
understands what it takes to be a librarian these days. You need to be able to
budget, write grants, manage personnel, monitor building and vehicle
maintenance, understand building construction, and that is on top of knowing
enough about the publishing industry to purchase materials. Further, when you
open your doors each morning, you need to be able to handle the irate people you
sent to a collection agency for debts, help keep the computers and servers
operating, and be ready to deal with a few of the irrational people that seem to
migrate to library buildings and make some uncomfortable when they act a little
different.
Several years ago I
intervened between a middle age man and two teenage girls. I told the girls to
move on and I would take care of the gent’s problem. Then I proceeded to tell
him in no uncertain terms that he was going to leave females alone if he comes
into our building. This had not been the first time he bothered the opposite
sex, but this time they were younger. He got upset with me and stormed out
the building muttering what an evil person I was. He told me where I was
going. A week later I read in the paper he had stabbed a police officer that had
come to his boarding room to arrest him.
Sometimes I do not
know what is more frustrating, a problem with a building or a patron, but
luckily for me most of our maintenance problems happen during the Blue Moon and
the truly problem patron is rare. I live in
a good community.
I hope to catch you
in the stacks reading. You might bring an umbrella since this year it seems
libraries in Georgia are leaking from their ceilings even when the weather is
hot and dry. You never know.
Adrian Mixson
Library
Director
Your Account
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
Swim
Healthy, Swim Safely Swimming and wading
can be fun, active, and healthy ways to spend time. Keep yourself and your loved
ones safe and healthy as you head for the
water.
Womenshealth.gov For National Women's
Health Week, the Office on Women's Health sponsors an 8-week national physical
activity challenge called the WOMAN (Women and girls Out Moving across the
Nation) Challenge.
National
Barbecue Association This is the official
website of the National
Barbecue Association. NBBQA is a not-for-profit,
tax-exempt trade organization dedicated to all things barbecue with the single
exception of providing sanctioning services and rules for BBQ cook-offs.
Editors
For more information please call (770) 532-3311 ext. 134 or visit our website at http://www.hallcountylibrary.org/
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