Search results matching tag 'oaklyn branch'

What Stories are For

kiya@evpl — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 21:03:00 GMT

"Forty-three years old, and the war occurred half a lifetime ago, and yet the remembering makes it now. And sometimes remembering will lead to a story, which makes it forever. That's what stories are for. Stories are for joining the past to the future. Stories are for those late hours in the night when you can't remember how you got from where you were to where you are. Stories are for eternity, when memory is erased, when there is nothing to remember except the story."

-Tim O'Brien, The Things They Carried, p.36

War and Our Communities: the 2012 Community Read

The Community Read is a community project where various groups read The Things They Carried, written by Vietnam War veteran Tim O'Brien, and discuss the effects of serving in an active combat zone, how it affects soldiers and their families, and how the community can help ease veterans' reintegration.

The Reader's Guide describes the book:

Tim O'Brien's The Things They Carried (1990) is considered one of the finest books about the Vietnam War. Far from a combat story of pride and glory, it is a compassionate tale of the American soldier, brimming with raw honesty and thoughtful reflection.

The book's narrator follows a platoon of infantrymen through the jungles of Vietnam. We see them trudge through the muck of a constant downpour, get hit by sniper fire, pull body parts out of a tree, laugh while they tell their stories to each other, and fall silent when faced with making sense of it all-both in the moment and twenty years later.

The book is available at EVPL. Book discussions are being held at two EVPL locations:

Tuesday, March 6, 6:30 pm at North Park Branch Library
Monday, March 12, 3:30 pm at Oaklyn Branch Library

If you are interested in joining another group and are curious what groups are accepting new members, contact Helen D. Azarian by phone at 812/759-7635 or by email. If you are a veteran looking for a group, contact Greg Wagoner. Join an online discussion at the Community Read's Facebook page, or learn how to start your own online discussion.

Many other events are planned for the month of April.

Earthquake Drill @ EVPL libraries on Tuesday

professor.knowsitall@evpl — Fri, 15 Apr 2011 18:40:00 GMT

The EVPL will be participating in The Great Central U.S. ShakeOut. On Tuesday, April 19, 2011 at 9:15am, all EVPL locations will be participating in this earthquake drill.

At the time of the drill, an audio broadcast will be played announcing the drill. Staff and customers in the building at the time of the drill are encouraged to participate by doing the following:

DROP down to the floor.
Take COVER under sturdy furniture.
HOLD on until the "shaking" stops.

The drill will last approximately 2 minutes.

The EVPL is participating in this earthquake drill to bring awareness to disaster preparedness in an effort to keep our staff and customers safe.

More Info

Central U.S. Earthquake Guide [2MB pdf]: This guide by the Central U.S. Earthquake Consortium provides facts and safety tips.
ShakeOut.org: Find out more about The Great Central U.S. ShakeOut by visiting the official website.

Zoo Story: Life in the Garden of Captives by Thomas French

lit.fic.reader@evpl — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 17:23:00 GMT

"Eleven elephants. One plane. Hurtling together across the sky." From these opening sentences, I was captivated by this account of the inner workings of zoos, in particular Lowry Park Zoo in Tampa. The author is a Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter and currently a professor of journalism at Indiana University.

There are many elements that combine to make this such an absorbing narrative. Woven throughout the book is discussion of the issues surrounding the pros and cons of holding animals in captivity and the attendant political implications, local and international. The daily challenge of providing for the well-being of the zoo's residents as well as the safety of its human visitors falls on the shoulders of a largely young, poorly paid, and overworked, if dedicated staff. The author intersperses these considerations with the histories of two of the zoo's most celebrated residents: a chimp who has never fully recovered from his separation from the human family that raised him until adolesence, and a stunningly beautiful but ferocious Sumatran tiger. The ultimate fates of these two animals, the "king" and "queen" of the Lowry Park Zoo, are sadly reflective of the shortcomings of institutions housing animals. Finally, a lighter tone is introduced with an amusing comparison of the behavior of the two-legged power brokers of the Tampa area and the zoo's overreaching director with that of the four-legged denizens of the zoo.

This is as enjoyable a nonfiction title as I've read in a long time and I highly recommend it for its thoughtful examination of the complexities of human-animal interactions.

In discussing the dangers of working with animals, the author makes brief reference to the Christmas Day 2007 attack by an escaped tiger at the San Francisco Zoo, resulting in one human death and another serious mauling; and to the horrific killing, in view of a shocked audience, of a trainer by an orca at Orlando's SeaWorld in February, 2010. An excellent article on the SeaWorld tragedy, "The Killer in the Pool" is in the July 2010 issue of Outside magazine, available at Central and North Park libraries, and is also highly recommended.

Grown-up dollhouses…

SuDocQueen@evpl — Thu, 21 May 2009 01:28:00 GMT

Have you stopped by Oaklyn to check out their Miniatures display yet? Or at least taken a look at the great pictures we have online? I admit I haven’t gotten over to Oaklyn personally, but I have enjoyed looking at the pictures on our website. They reminded me of how much fun I’ve had looking at other miniature collections, like the Thorne Rooms in various museums around the country, Colleen Moore’s Fairy Castle in the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry, and the Museum of Miniatures in Carmel, Indiana.

But just as you don’t have to actually go to Oaklyn to enjoy Marian G. William’s Miniature Collection, you can also enjoy other miniature collections through our books. There’s the Period Rooms of Ruth McChesney, Treasures in Miniature, Dollhouses, Miniature Kitchens, and Shops from the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Center, and for a bit of whimsy Fairy Island: an Enchanted Tour of the Homes of the Little Folk.

And if your tastes run more to doing than looking, try these subject searches. An easy start is dollhouses. You’ll find books from A Beginners’ Guide to the Dolls’ House Hobby to The Modern Dolls’ House and The Dolls’ House Wedding Book. Another good search is doll furniture. You’ll get some overlap with your dollhouses search, but you’ll find additional books like 55 Embroidery Projects in Miniature and Simple Country Furniture Projects in 1/12 Scale. If you’re more into making accessories rather than building furniture miniature craft would be the search for you. You’ll get embroidery, cross-stitch, and needlepoint projects as well as learn how to make miniature food.

Ooh la la! Fancy Nancy Party!

UndergroundLibrarian@evpl — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 18:52:00 GMT

Dress up in your fancy clothes and accessories for our Fancy Nancy and Fancy Clancy Soiree -- that's fancy for party!

We'll make fancy accessories, practice fancy behavior, and model on the red carpet.

Of course we'll read a Fancy Nancy book, darling!

Boys and girls ages from age 4 to grade 3, come to Oaklyn Branch Library on Thursday, April 16, for our Fancy Nancy Party! We'll get started at 3:30 and do fancy things until 4:30. Here are some of the things we have planned: Girls, we'll be making tiaras and bracelets; Boys, we'll be making crowns and power collars. Everybody will get a chance to come down the red carpet! Who knows -- we might even make butterflies, in honor of Fancy Nancy, Bonjour, Butterfly!

Fancy Nancy books are great, and we're going to have a great time at our soiree, as Fancy Nancy would say!

Identify Birds in Winter -- with Sharon Sorenson

MediaPhile@evpl — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 23:39:00 GMT

Can't tell the difference between a downy woodpecker and a hairy woodpecker? Or a house sparrow and a house wren?

Join local birding expert Sharon Sorenson for a Powerpoint presentation that will help you identify birds in your wintertime backyard.

DATE: Wednesday, February 18, 6:30 pm

PLACE: Oaklyn Branch Library

(This program was originally scheduled for January 25th and resheduled due to the ice storm.)

JUST COME -- NO ADVANCE REGISTRATION. Call 428-8234 with any questions.

Like Animals? Zoobooks Are For You!

UndergroundLibrarian@evpl — Sun, 25 Jan 2009 22:47:00 GMT

Zoobooks magazine is published monthly. Each issue specializes in one animal or type of animal, and you can find out lots of info from reading it! While I am here in READ Center in Central LIbrary this Sunday, I see issues on skunks, koalas, lions, and zebras. The January issue is on dinosaurs, and includes discussions and diagrams of their brain size, the density of their bones, comparisons to crocodiles and birds, and theories of why they died out. What makes scientists think plant-eating dinosaurs traveled in herds? How do artists come up with pictures of dinosaurs in their skin, since what people have found are bones? How do they know that younger dinosaurs traveled in the middle of the herd? You can find out by reading the January issue of Zoobooks. You will find Zoobooks in the children's section of READ, East Branch, Oaklyn, North Park, Red Bank, and Stringtown.

If You Were President, Would You . . .

UndergroundLibrarian@evpl — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 22:41:00 GMT

lower gas prices? give money to the poor? bring the soldiers back? make smoking illegal? require everyone to graduate from high school? help keep the earth clean? try to bring peace to the world?

OR would you . . .give out more ice cream? make more toys? outlaw gym class?

OR would you start by throwing a big party?

These are some the the responses we've received at Oaklyn Branch to our kids' form "If I were President I would . . ." We'll keep posting these on the bulletin board in the kids' area this month. If you're a kid, come fill out a form yourself, and we'll put it up. If you're not a kid, come see the good ideas our kids have, and be reassured that we have many very thoughtful young people around here.

And in the meantime, what would you do if you were President? I especially like the replies that said they'd throw a big party, because that's just about the first thing a new President does after he's elected.

What Do You Think Is the Best Picture Book of the Year?

UndergroundLibrarian@evpl — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 21:56:00 GMT

You can help decide!

If you're an adult, you're invited to the Mock Caldecot program at Central Library's Browning Events Room this Thursday, Jan. 8 from 8:00 to 11:00 am. We'll look at some of the most highly rated picture books of the year, and discuss and vote for our favorite, using the criteria that the American Library Association Caldecott Committee uses to select the Caldecott Award winning picture book of the year.

If you're a school age kid, you're invited to bring a parent with you to Oaklyn Branch Library on Tuesday evening Jan. 20 from 6:30 to 7:30 pm. Or if you're an adult and can't make it this Thursday morning, we'd love to have you at Oaklyn on the 20th. We'll be doing the same thing on a shorter time schedule.

If you can't make it to either of these events, or even if you can, we'd love to see you opinions here -- What do you think is the best picture book of 2008? A few criteria: Illustrator must be an American citizen, and the book must have been first published in 2008, and any picture book suitable for children up to the age of 14 may be considered.

Christmas -- Make a Present!

UndergroundLibrarian@evpl — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 20:35:00 GMT

What better for a kid than to make a present for a relative or teacher? And what beloved grandparent, aunt, or parent is not thrilled with something made by the hands of their little darling? Kids get a great feeling of satisfaction from having created their own gift. The libraries have lots of books to get you started, and there are possibliities for kids of all ages.

For example, we have a book at Oaklyn in our Christmas section called Christmas Crafts: Things to Make the 24 Days Before Christmas by Carolyn Meyer. It includes directions for bread-dough ornaments, apple-and-clove pomander balls, potato-print wrapping paper, and lots of other things.

The Christmas section is not the only place to find good craft ideas. Try the general children's craft area for other brainstorms. EcoArt!: Earth-Friendly Art & Craft Experiences for 3- to 9-Year-Olds by Laurie Carlson includes bird feeders, potpourri sachets, flower vases made from glass bottles decorated with decoupage or yarn, wreaths of pine cones or seed mosaics or popcorn, and on and on and on.

Older kids will find lots of ideas in Earth-Friendly Crafts for Kids :50 Awesome Things to Make with Recycled Stuff by Heather Smith. School Library Journal suggests it for grades 5 - 9. It's complete with photos of kids that age making simple things like "Super Stylin' Desk Set" on page 50 (made from assorted tin cans, spray paint and yarn) to involved projects like "Wrinkled Wax Batiks" on page 122 (involving boiling water and hot wax - and the directions to get an adult's help! ). On page 89 are diections to turn a pizza box into a "cool vanity case or collector's box." Hmmm, do I still have that pizza box from last night?