SSsssssnnnaaakkkeeesss???????

Snakes in a library? Well, not yet, but they ARE scheduled to appear for storytime on Wednesday, May 25 at 10:30 am. Don't miss out as Daemon and his handler, Mitchell, join us for a slithering good time full of stories and snakey crafts. If you are brave, I'm hoping you will touch Daemon for me....and maybe hold my hand to give ME courage to touch him????

Archaeology Club at LH Public Library

Join me....three stories DOWN in the earth to dig up goodies that are hundreds if not THOUSANDS of years old. We will have a special event on Thursday, July 7 at 6:30 pm discussing Native Americans/Arrowheads in this area. At this time we will be talking about the digs that we have the opportunity to be a part of. We will be creating field trips.....bring your family and join us!

If the interest is high enough, we may plan something on a Saturday in June....so if you have any kind of desire to join us, please let me know! At this writing it looks like we have eight people interested.....

The Library is YOURS!

Your local public library, did you know there is one in Liberty Hill? Located inside Lions Foundation Park your public library provides FREE services to you. We have the latest best sellers, DVD's and books on CD for your commute....and yes, that free was not a typo.

We just started a FREE beginning computer class. I'm very impressed with our instructor and would encourage anyone needing help learning computer basics to join us, it's not too late to start. They will be held on Mondays at 6:30 pm in the library. Registration is required so that we might have a computer set up and waiting for you.

May 25 is going to be an exciting day when the snakes make their way to the library. Our Wednesday storytime will be all about snakes and we have special guest Daemon the snake coming. Rumor has it his handler, Mitchell will let you touch Daemon. Are you brave enough?

Summer reading will run throughout the summer and we will reward everyone, children through adults. Thursday nights at 6:30 pm throughout the month of June will be filled with Children's Reading Club programs.

Thursday July 7 we have a program for the entire community, Archaeology in Texas. We have an active dig site that is not too far away and we will be starting an archaeology club and going on digs, three stories down into the earth, where they have been unearthing items 1200 years old! Let Sandy know your interest so you can be added to our email group about field trips we will be going on.

Wednesday, July 13 at 10:30 am will be Safety Day at the Liberty Hill Public Library. Join our Liberty Hill Fire Department and Police Department as we present a special program for the kids in our community. Preschools and day cares welcome, please call ahead so that we can plan for the larger groups!

Other teasers: classes on string games (think cats cradle and Jacob's ladder), paper airplane folding, Wii tournaments.....

Let me throw out some ideas and see what response I get.....I'd like to see the library partner with the community more. We are here for you, to support you, provide services. How about some activities for senior citizens in the community? I'm thinking some Wii gaming, maybe a grandparent/grandchild Wii bowling competition, Senior basic computer classes, traveling lending library. We are YOUR library, let us know what it is you'd like to see.

And....know that we are accessible to you. Visit our website at www.lhpl.org (soon to be redesigned), follow us on Facebook(http://www.facebook.com/LibertyHillPublicLibrary), read our blogs.

Lots of fun summer activities

It has been so busy at the library lately, lots of that self-imposed. We're gearing up for summer and not only does that mean Summer Reading, but many opportunities for the library to help fill your summer with activities.

Coming this summer a partial list:

Summer reading - runs all summer long, all it requires is you read and record your reading, stop in and get rewarded.

Summer reading special programs Thursdays at 6:30 pm
*June 9 - Digging for Dinosaurs
*June 16 - Big Equipment Petting Zoo
*June 23 - Joe McDermott performance
*June 30 - Beach Party

Native Americans & Arrowheads Program Thurday July 7 6:30 pm ALL AGES

Annual Checkers Tournament Saturday July 9 11:00 am

Beach Reads Book Discussion Group Sunday July 17 3 - 5 pm

Archaeology Digs - ALL AGES Dates TBA throughout the summer

Safety Day - Date TBA but will be a Wednesday at 10:30 am - Join the LH Fire Department, LH Police Department and the LH Library as we present a special storytime event/safety day!

Beach Read Book Club....

Mothers & Daughters by Rae Meadows
…beach read book club…

Hosted by the Liberty Hill Public Library

Discussion date: Sunday, July 17 3 pm – 5 pm

Your mission, should you choose to accept it:
First, sign up to join our discussion. There is no purpose for signing up other than letting us know how many to expect, how much chocolate to buy, and how hard we need to push to get this book moving through the readers. Actually, buying your own copy might be easier, but we do have a copy in the library. All I can ask is that if you borrow our copy, please be conscientious that there is a whole crew of book lovers waiting for it, so read it expediently and bring it back for the next bibliophile.

Second, read the book. Make notes. Read summaries and reviews. Ok, so that was said on the assumption you are planning ahead and reading the LHPL copy of the book in advance. If you have your own copy, write in it. I know, I know sacrilegious right? NO WAY! I write in all my books that I own….how they affected me, thoughts and revelations I have while reading, definitions if I had to look a word up.

Third, show up. We all plan ahead and have things come up. If it’s important to you to forge these new bonds with other book lovers, write it on your calendar and make it a priority. We all need time for us, and (assuming here) many of us are busy moms. Say yes to yourself. You ARE worth it. Come and let us pamper you with some good company, drinks and chocolate…and who knows what else. Taking care of you will only help you in taking care of others and make you better equipped to do that….and sometimes just a little piece of time that is just for your own indulgence is what it takes. Let this be your indulgence.


A rich and luminous novel about three generations of women in one family: the love they share, the dreams they refuse to surrender, and the secrets they hold.

Samantha is lost in the joys of new motherhood --- the softness of her 8-month-old daughter's skin, the lovely weight of her child in her arms --- but in trading her artistic dreams to care for her child, Sam worries she's lost something of herself. And she is still mourning another loss: her mother, Iris, died just one year ago.

When a box of Iris's belongings arrives on Sam's doorstep, she discovers links to pieces of her family history but is puzzled by much of the information the box contains. She learns that her grandmother Violet left New York City as an eleven-year-old girl, traveling by herself to the Midwest in search of a better life. But what was Violet's real reason for leaving? And how could she have made that trip alone at such a tender age?

In confronting secrets from her family's past, Sam comes to terms with deep secrets from her own. Moving back and forth in time between the stories of Sam, Violet, and Iris, Mothers and Daughters is the spellbinding tale of three remarkable women connected across a century by the complex wonder of motherhood.
 

Summer Reading 2011

Yes, Summer Reading plans are underway and this year’s theme is Dig Up a Good Book. Registration forms will be sent home through the schools in mid-May and also be available online and at the library starting April 20. Sponsored in part by Texas State Library and Archives Commission. We are looking for more sponsors so that our programs can be all that we can possibly offer.

For kids through incoming sixth graders, our formal program will be:

Thursdays at 6:30 pm

June 9: Digging for Dinosaurs
June 16: Big Equipment Petting Zoo
June 23: JOE McDERMOTT performance
June 30: Beach Party

We are also planning a couple Family Night in the Park Thursdays with special events, July 7 and 21, details to be released.

As usual, we will be welcoming everyone to participate in summer reading, simply by…….READING! We will have reading logs to record your reading accomplishments over the summer, with prizes for all ages; kids, teens and adults.

Throughout the summer, we will be continuing our regularly scheduled storytime for all ages of children, Wednesdays at 10:30 am.

More sneak peeks at plans……..a “beach read” book club, art and craft classes for all ages, our annual checkers tournament, kids classes on fun things like “Jacob’s Ladder” and other string games, paper airplane folding, origami. THE place to be……@your library.

What the library is all about

What a wonderful afternoon....Thursday after school, the kids are flooding into the library. Suddenly I notice we have 10 teenaged boys in the library, all different groups represented, but hanging out none-the-less. I have a checkers set ... think BIG ... set out on a table and I'm constantly amazed how many people sit down and play. People that don't know each other.

Case in point. Two high school friends playing checkers. A young boy standing there watching them, obviously thinks the older boys are pretty cool. When the game is over, he asks if he can play. Some chair shuffling ensues, and the younger boy figures out who he is playing against.....and the game begins.

I was very impressed watching these teens play with the younger boy.....the could have creamed him, but they seemed to be having fun, let him learn a bit, didn't take the obvious "wipe you out" moves. Eventually the younger boys mom walked up and stood there with her mouth open, amazed at what she saw. It did the heart good for everyone witnessing this interaction. THIS is what the Liberty Hill Public Library is about.....community building.

Can you tell I absolutely LOVE what I do?

Day One....Poetry Month

INVITATION

If you are a dreamer, come in.
If you are a dreamer, a wisher, a liar,
A hope-er, a pray-er, a magic bean buyer . . .
If you're a pretender, come sit by my fire,
For we have some flax golden tales to spin.
Come in! Come in!

Shel Silverstein Where the Sidewalk Ends

You will find this outside the front door to the library in honor of National Poetry Month. Come draw on our sidewalks or write your own poem!!!!

April is National Poetry Month

Inaugurated by the Academy of American Poets in 1996, National Poetry Month is now held every April, when publishers, booksellers, literary organizations, libraries, schools and poets around the country band together to celebrate poetry and its vital place in American culture.

Join us at the Liberty Hill Public Library as we celebrate poetry month. To kick this fantastic month off, I will be taking chalk to the sidewalk and putting poems on our walkways weekly. Stop by and illustrate the poem for us or write one on the ground yourself.

April 14 is Poem in you Pocket day. We are making it exceptionally simple. Stop by the library and pick up your poem. We have a variety already printed that you can slip in your pocket to share with others.

Our front door will feature a poem each day. At our circulation desk, we will have copies of that poem for you to take, if you like.

We have some incredible books of poems that are just plain fun for any age. One of the newest is a 2011 Bluebonnet book called Mirror Mirror: A Book of Reversible Verse. "A collection of short poems which, when reversed, provide new perspectives on the fairy tale characters they feature."

Stop on by and pick up a poem or visit our website at www.lhpl.org and download your own calendar.

Summer Reading Plans Underway...donations needed

The Liberty Hill Public Library is in the planning stages of our Summer Reading Program and is seeking help! Our theme this year is “Dig up a good book!”

One program we are planning is a LARGE EQUIPMENT PETTING ZOO….this means the BIG trucks. We are looking for people who have the large trucks to bring them to the library for the program, let the kids explore the trucks, and answer the kids questions. If you have access or own a piece of large equipment we would LOVE to hear from you.

Due to drastically decreased revenue over the past years, we have no funding for summer reading this year and are asking for donations to make it happen. If you are willing to give of your time, money, talents or goods, we would love to hear from you.

Our WISH LIST for the program :

Large equipment as listed above
Summer Reading Volunteers that LOVE working with kids and are enthusiastic
Craft talent - to do samples of crafts, paint library doors, lead crafts
Donations of snacks/drinks for programs
Coupon/prize donations from local businesses
Craft supplies, list will be available in library
Monetary donations to run program

If you haven’t been by the library lately, we invite you to stop in. Remember, we are your FREE PUBLIC LIBRARY, there is no cost to join and you might just be surprised at what we have for you. Come in and pick up the latest book releases, a Wii game to try out, the hottest box office movies. Yes, FREE!

Chalk it up to the library.....

Storytime this last week, beautiful weather, a bucketful of chalk. Miss Sandy CANNOT resist mixing those all together. Here you see what happened when the chalk bucket was grabbed and the kiddos rounded up and herded outside. Miss Sandy poses Gage on the ground and proceeds to outline him so that he can create his own person. Not to be outdone, Gage then proclaims it's HIS turn and has to outline Miss Sandy on the ground as well.

You just NEVER know what is in store, don't miss storytimes on Wednesdays at 10:30 am.

Library Member EXTRORDINAIRE!!!

Look at that....Donnie Caseltine in a Liberty Hill Public Library t-shirt in Washington, DC. Way to go Donnie! Proudly showing support and promoting Liberty Hill even on vacation.

Gotta love a library member like that.....

.....thanks to his wonderful wife Stacey for telling....oops I mean....I heard it from a little bird :)

Faeriewalker Series.....

April found a new series we all need to watch.....Faeriewalker. Click on the link above to go to the author's website, or better yet.....come in and chat with us. We have the first two in the series, they are hitching a ride home with April tomorrow, so ask her what she thinks about her new discovery! I'm dying to hear, I always need a new read.

Proposed Budget in Texas Nearly Zeros Out Key State Library Funds

Very concerned....Liberty Hill....you like your TexShare cards? Borrowing books from other libraries via Interlibrary loan? We receive an annual grant from the state which is a BIG part of budget....we'd say bye-bye to it. HELP!! Ask us how.

Proposed Budget in Texas Nearly Zeros Out Key State Library Funds

NEW NEW NEW NEW NEW

Stop by the library Friday afternoon, January 28 and be the first to see the new additions. There's already waiting lists going on some of them, so get in line! Three favorites....

Life by Keith Richards....yes that rocker of the Rolling Stones that is so near and dear to librarians hearts. If you are a Keith or Stones fan, get in line behind me for this one. On the best seller lists, this is sure to be popular.

Oh, and here's why he's extra dear to my heart.... "When you are growing up there are two institutional places that affect you most powerfully: the church, which belongs to God, and the public library, which belongs to you. The public library is a great equaliser." ~Keith Richards

The Lost Gate by Orson Scott Card. "Card's newest series opener can't decide whether it's a thought experiment featuring a nifty magic system, a YA urban fantasy, or a series of fantasy interludes, so it settles for performing all three tasks satisfactorily, if not spectacularly." ~Publishers Weekly

Bloody Valentine by Melissa de la Cruz "Combined with all the glitz, glamour, and mystery fans have come to expect, this is sure to be another huge hit in the Blue Bloods series."

What's at the Library?

Resources

Resources available at the library, such as books, CDs, DVDs, magazines, games, computers, Internet access and more

Books

Libraries carry many categories of books such as fiction, nonfiction and reference. Believe it or not, we keep current on the popular best seller lists. Try us and see, if you don't find what you like, let us know and we'll get it!

Movies

Save money and cut down on errand time by picking up your weekend movie at your local library. We carry an assortment of DVDs for entertainment and education.

Bond with your children while watching blockbusters like Iron Man. Pick up that documentary you have been meaning to watch. Whether you want informative films such as Iron Jawed Angels, or foreign films like Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, libraries are a great place to look for them.

Music

Assorted genres of music can be found at libraries, from the latest album by Taylor Swift to Broadway hits. Many libraries offer eclectic music collections that span much of music’s history. Find out more about your local library’s music collection by visiting one near you.

Reference Librarians

Reference librarians not only know the library like the palm of their hands, they also have a wide knowledge of authors, technology and more. If you need help finding a book or category, or want a book recommendation, ask a readers advisory librarian.

Computers/Printers/ Copiers

If you don’t have a computer, copier or printer at home, you can able to access these technologies at your local library. Whether you want to print out a grocery list, send an e-mail or print out documents, libraries may have the resources to help.

Internet

Most libraries offer free Internet access. You can use your local library’s Internet to job hunt on sites such as CareerBuilder or Craigslist, check music venues or find show times for movies. The Internet is a great resource for finding information for school or business projects. If you don’t have an Internet connection at home, take advantage of this resource at a library near you.

Feel the heat, catch the FEVER!

The latest is here....Karen Marie Moning's latest, Shadowfever, is available for reserve! Yes, reserve list only at this point if you want to read it. Call me, email me, stop in, go online. Do what you have to do to get in line! Check out the widget link at right for more info on this series. I also have some blog entries that tell more about this series and others like it if you happen to be a fan of Twilight, House of Night or Vampire Academy and are looking for more authors....