27 June 2014

27 June 2014 The Summer Reading programs have gotten off to an excellent start. This past monday we the the Zoomobile as you noticed on our homepage. It was a fun time and the kids got to pet the bunny on their way out the door. Tuesday there were two sessions of the science fair. The morning session was geared toward the grade school children and the afternoon toward the middle and high schoolers. In the children's department the straw sculpture from both sessions is on display. You can register for the summer reading program until closing time on 26 July. This coming Tuesday the Teen Program is Doctor Who Day. There will be a Doctor Who trivia contest as well as treats and showing a Doctor Who special video. The Brown Bag Classics Club is taking the summer off. If you want to get ahead in your reading,we are going to read East of Eden by John Steinbeck. We'll be back on September 15, the third monday of September. A reminder for everyone, if your overdue fines or lost book fees exceed $5.00, your account will be blocked until the charges are paid down so that the amount owed is less than $5.00. Minimum payment is 10 cents. Next Friday is the Fourth of July and the Library will be closed that day and reopen on Saturday for the regular hours. With summer vacations many people will be traveling, take along an audiobook for the ride. We have a wide slection for young adults and adults and a few for grade school age and younger. Michigan has produced many stars over the years, among them are: George Peppard who is best known for his role in The A-Team but in his movie career he starred opposite Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany's. Madonna was raised in Bay City and attended the University of Michigan. Robin Williams father was an auto-executive and they lived in Bloomfield Hill though Willams himself was born in Chicago. Those old enough to remember the T.V. show, Mork & Mindy, Pam Dawber who was Mindy was born and raised in Farmington Hills. Tom Selleck was born in Detroit and is a big Tigers Fan. Speaking of a Tiger's Fan, Kate Upton was born in St. Joseph. Wally Cox, born in Detroit, was the voice of Underdog. Jana Kramer, the Nationawide Insurance Girl, is from Detroit. Finally, William Lucking, Piney on Sons of Anarchy was born in Vicksburg. I knew there was a lot of talent in town. This list does not include the contribution of Michiganders to the music world, and there are a lot. Thanks to everyone for being patient with staff as we are mastering the new circulation system. There are still a few bugs that we are working out but we are getting on well with it. We are still hoping to offer email notification for overdue and reserve materials before the end of September. The Library of Michigan has just rolled out the updated Mich E-Library or MeL. Go to MeL.org and follow the links. There are buttons for kids, teens, business, health, books & literacy, jobs,legal and government. Under the kids button there is a homework helper, there are games and activities, storytime and about Michigan. For teens there is homework help, the reading zone for you to select books to read and can download to a reader. Life happens and that button can give you advice from social issues to health to vocations and jobs. A great help for teens who are at a rather confusing time in life. MeL is a great resource for the whole family. I encourage everyone to get on and to click on all the buttons to discover all that is available to people living in Michigan who have a card at their local library. Until next week, be safe and read. John