Albert Lea Public Library

Join us for the Teen Tech Week Movie

In celebration of Teen Tech Week we'll be showing a movie Friday, March 13 at 5 p.m. Teens and tweens are welcome to sign up for the movie by visiting the 2nd floor circulation desk. Pop and popcorn with be provided. Come sign up and join us for a fun time!

GO GREEN ON YOUR WEDDING DAY

"Going green" is the buzz word for our times.  Building a "green" home, "green" decorating, organic food, recycling, compost sites, cloth bags instead of plastic bags and green cleaning products  are just a few ways of helping to sustain the environment. Green wedding veteran and environmentalist Kate L. Harrison has written a handy reference book, The Green Bride Guide: how to create an earth-friendly wedding on any budget .  It offers hundreds of eco-friendly choices for the big day and beyond. She has a website, http://thegreenbrideguide.com/, that goes hand in hand with the book. On the website, it reads, "A green wedding is any wedding where the couple tries to decrease the impact of their event on the planet - and there are many ways to do it! Every part of a wedding has eco-friendly options worth considering.  Use the products section and vendor database of this site to explore hundreds of green alternatives for invitations, flowers, photography and more!"

Webtools for Booklovers

Shelfari.com and GoodReads.com were blogged about in previous posts, but, maybe you're ready for some new webtools for reading.

You might like to try:

• BookSprouts - to form an online book club
• WhatShouldIReadNext - to get a helpful suggestion online from other readers about (you guessed it) what you should read next
• LitLovers - if you like to take your reading a little bit more seriously

Fact or Fiction?

Have you ever wondered if an "old wives' tale" or that crazy Internet rumor is true?  A great website to get the facts is Snopes.com.  It is a Internet reference source for urban legends, folklore, myths, rumors, and misinformation.  Search by category, Top 25, submit a rumor or check out the latest "odd news".

Here's a couple I found interesting..

Everyone has heard the suspicious claim that chewing gum takes 7 years to pass through the digestive system.  FALSE.  Chewing gum is no different than anything else we swallow.  It doesn't linger in the stomach, it is eliminated the same as food.  Although it is relatively unchanged by the trip.

Or the one that scares all of us.  Our cell phone numbers will be released to all telemarketers unless we register with the "Do Not Call" directory by a given deadline.  This is also FALSE.  These dire warnings that continue to circulate via e-mail grew from a misunderstanding about the proposed creation of a wireless directory assistance service.

Spay Day USA

Today is the 15th annual nationwide campaign to end the tragedy of pet overpopulation by encouraging every humane American to take responsibility for having at least one cat or dog spayed or neutered, be that pet his or hers, a neighbor's or a shelter animal.  For more information about Spay Day or to learn more about the Humane Society, go to its website:  http://www.humanesociety.org/

Children's Programs for the Week of February 23rd

Storytime- Monday, Tuesday and Thursday at 10:30 a.m.
Patty will be reading stories and singing songs all about Dinosaurs.  You will also make a dinosaur headband and have a snack.  Families are welcome.
L.A.F. Library Afternoon Fun- Tuesday at 3:30 p.m. 
April and the kids will be making our own dog-tag necklaces.  We will be playing fun games and have a snack.  Kids in grades K-6th.
Movie Day- Wednesday at 3:30 p.m.
Open Season 2 will be shown (76 minutes).  Parents are welcome and popcorn is provided.
Night-time Storytime- Thursday at 6:30 p.m.
Same fun, just at night!

There is no fee and no need to register for any of these fun programs.

Books Worth Rediscovering...

Some books sit meekly on the shelf but read half a page or the introduction and you are hooked . . . here are some of those books:

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Mark Haddon (My Had) - A story told from the perspective of a boy with Autism

Life of Pi by Yann Martel (Mar)

The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver (Kin)

On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft by Stephen King (921 Kin) - A must read for King fans and those who have an interest in writing - much wit and personal insight.

The Book of Lost Things by John Connelly (My Con)

The Tale of Despereaux: What's better - the book or the movie?

Kate DiCamillo, award-winning author of Because of Winn-Dixie, has brought another tale to life that will be sure to be loved by children and adults: The Tale of Despereaux: Being the Story of a Mouse, a Princess, Some Soup and a Spool of Thread. The tale is a Newberry honor book and features illustrations by Timothy Basil Ehring.

The story is a pleasure to listen to and to read, depending on the age of the audience. (The audiobook is read by Graeme Malcolm, whose voice is so nuanced and rich, that you might find yourself also looking for other books he has narrated.) Although Despereaux's love for Princess Pea might appeal more to girls than boys, there is enough adventure to appeal to the boys who might otherwise think the story is too "girly." 

Many readers of this book give it 5 out of 5 stars. 

NORTHERN HEMISPHERE HOODIE-HOO DAY

Annually, on February 20,  people go out at noon, wave their hands over their heads and chant "Hoodie-Hoo".  It is a day to chase away winter and bring in spring.  After all, everyone in the northern hemisphere are sick and tired of winter at this point and a little crazy being cooped up inside all winter and not seeing the sun.  Hoodie Hoo Day is a copyrighted holiday. It was created and is provided, courtesy of the great folks at  Wellcat.com.  If you like Hoodie-Hoo Day, you will also enjoy all the wild and crazy holidays listed in Chase's Annual Events for 2009  which is available at the Albert Lea Public Library.

Surviving the Cold and Flu Season

Cold and Flu season can make anyone miserable. You might want to check out some books from our health section that feature alternative medicine and home remedies.

Best Remedies: Breakthrough Prescriptions that Blend Conventional and Natural Medicine by Mary Hardy (615.88 Bes) 2008

Mayo Clinic Book of Alternative Medicine: The New Approach to Using the Best of Natural Therapies and Conventional Medicine (615.5 May) 2008

Story Festival this Weekend!

Load up the kids and bring them to the Children's Library for our Story Festival.  We are celebrating 80 years of Storytime with our special guest readers.  Join us on Saturday, February 21st at 2:00 p.m. for great stories, songs, craft and snack. 

No Movie Today

Due to a training seminar the computer lab will be unavailable for our Wednesday movie.  Join us next week when we will show Open Season 2.

NON-FICTION BOOK CLUB TO MEET

The Non-Fiction Book Club will meet on Tuesday, February 17 at 7:00 p.m. in the Information Library.  Led by Library Director, Peggy Havener, the group will discuss Team of Rivals: the political genius of Abraham Lincoln  by Doris Kearns Goodwin.

Library Closing

The ALPL will be closed Monday, February 16th for Presidents' Day.  We will re-open on Tuesday with regular business hours.

To learn about the history and traditions of this federal holiday, visit Wikipedia.   Also, be sure to check out the Information Library for books on past and present Presidents.

Dealing with Grief

For anyone dealing with grief or loss or helping someone else cope, the Kubler-Ross model speaks of the five stages: Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression and Acceptance.

Books that may be useful:

• One Grief and Grieving: Finding the Meaning of Grief Through the Five Stages of Loss by Elizabeth Kubler-Ross and David Kessler (155.937 Kub)
• Death and the Search for Lasting Love by Thomas Attig (155.937 Att)
• Awakening from Grief: Finding the Road Back to Joy by Jon E. Welshons (155.937 Wel)