Category Archives: Readers Services Displays

Happy Autumn!

 As you enjoy this tremendous weather outdoors, take a moment to stop in at the library and peruse our “Seasonal Treats” display located near the Reader Services Desk.  Choose from a variety of reads to help get you in the mood for fall: 

Halloween costumes for you, your kids, your dog (yes, even your dog)

Soup cookbooks full of delicious recipes

Seasonal care for your garden, landscaping

Canning and preserving fruits and veggies from the fall harvest

Ghost stories for both young and old

Fall crafts, decorations & family activities

…and more!

Please note that items labeled as DISPLAY in red on the spine are always available for checkout. 

Jill

Celebrate April *** National Poetry Month!

Reread a poem you learned as a child, or discover a new one from the Library’s  current collection of titles.

The Art of Losing: Poems of Grief and Healing  Kevin Young, editor

811.008035 ART

The 100 Best African American Poems: (*But I Cheated)  Nikki Giovanni, editor

811.008089 ONE

Complete Poems Dorothy Parker

811.52 PAR

No Surrender 

811.54 AI

The Wind Blows Through the Doors of My Heart: Poems  Deborah Digges

811.54 DIG 

Slow Trains Overhead: Chicago Poems and Storie  Reginald Gibbons

811.54 GIB 

The Apple Trees at Olema: New and Selected Poems  Robert Hass

811.54 HAS

The Living Fire: New and Selected Poems, 1975-2011  Edward Hirsch

811.54 HIR

Swan: Poems and Prose Poems  Mary Oliver

811.54 OLI

Morning Haiku  Sonia Sanchez

811.54 SAN

White Egrets: Poems  Derek Walcott

811.54 WAL

Wait   C.K. Williams

811.54 WIL

Approaching Ice: Poems  Elizabeth Bradfield

811.6 BRA

Driving Montana, Alone  Katie Phillips

811.6 PHI

If There Is Something to Desire: One Hundred Poems  Vera Pavlova

891.715 PAV

Here  Wislawa Szymborska

891.8517 SZY

*** Don’t forget “Poem in Your Pocket Day” (April 14, 2011), and share a favorite with friends or co-workers.  Great examples of poems to download or print can be found at The American Academy of Poets website: http://www.poets.org/page.php/prmID/409.

*** Poetry Foundation’s Chicago Poetry Tour Online features recordings of local poets, scholars, music and historical photographs. Go to http:// www.poetryfoundation.org. At Resources click on Poetry Tours/listen & explore/Take the Chicago Poetry Tour.

On the Mezzanine

Thomas Mahady’s tribute to St. Charles artist Yvonne Almo  will be featured on the Mezzanine in the Net.Gallery of the Library during the month of February.  Don’t miss his wonderful perspective which includes photos, newspaper clippings and the art of Ms. Almo.

From Readers Services

• A book display highlighting the Underground Railroad.  Here is a partial of titles to check out:

Traveling the Underground Railroad: A Visitor’s Guide to More Than 300 Sites

Bruce Chadwick     973.7115 CHA

Fleeing for Freedom: Stories of the Underground Railroad

Levi Coffin and William Still     973.7115 FLE

Life on the Underground Railroad

Stuart A. Kallen     973.7115 KAL

Passages to Freedom: The Underground Railroad in History and Memory

David Blight, editor     973.7115 PAS

Hidden in Plain View: The Secret Story of Quilts and the Underground Railroad

Jacqueline L. Tobin and Raymond G. Dobard     973.7115 TOB

The Underground Railroad in Illinois

Glennette Tilley Turner     973.7115 TUR

• A fiction list of African American authors compiled by the Library’s staff.

• Another reading list of new books by and about African Americans is also available on the Library’s webpage.

For Discussion           

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot will be discussed on Tuesday Morning, March 8, at 10:00 a.m. in the Bisbee Conference Room. You may request this title if you would like to join us for the discussion.

Lastly, don’t miss The History Channel’s comprehensive study of the historical events and achievements of African Americans.

Mary

The Olympics are here. If you’re like most everyone I’ve talked with, you were impressed by the pageantry of the opening ceremonies as the Chinese put their best face forward. And now maybe you’re involved in watching the individual events. Undoubtedly your curiosity has been piqued – and at our Readers Services display this month we have just the guide to lead you through the Olympic Games.
A reading map suggests various titles on related topics- maybe you’d like a novel set in Beijing, one that describes street scenes and subway stops vividly enough that you can imagine yourself there-as in The Last Chinese Chef by Nicole Mones. Or maybe you’re wondering about the layout of the Olympic Village itself. Did you know it was planned using principles of Feng Shui? The KISS Guide to Feng Shui by Stephen Skinner gives basic information on these principles. Or maybe ‘re your more interested in the athletes, and what it takes to make an olympic team- Little Girls in Pretty Boxes: The Making and Breaking of Elite Gymnasts and Figure Skaters by Joan Ryan is a fascinating look at the years of training, and what goes on behind the scenes for these two sports. These are just a few of the varied titles on display. Check us out, and let us know if there’s a related title that’s captivated you.
TS

If you’re like me, you don’t find yourself reading a lot of horror books. However, there’s something about autumn that seems to inspire me to try stories that are “darker.” The annual Halloween marketing hoopla is a big influence, of course, but I think there’s more to it. As daylight fades a bit earlier each evening and leaves fall exposing stark branches against moonlit skies, it just seems like the right time to curl up with tales of ghosts and other scary creatures.
All last year I read more horror than I ever expected (or wanted!) as part of a study of the genre with other Librarians. As I anticipated, there were several books that I simply couldn’t finish, or I could only read during my lunch hour if I wanted to fall asleep at night. What was unexpected was how many great writers there are in the horror genre (Stephen King in particular was quite a revelation) and the wide range of terror – from haunted houses and tales of vampires, to medical monstrosities and psychological chillers.
Are you feeling the pull of scary stories? During October, Readers Services has a display which will let you test your “Fright Quotient” against our Spook-o-Meter:
1 bat = “Not So Scary” (likable ghosts and Halloween mischief)
2 bats = “Haunting Tales of Mystery and Romance
3 bats = “Terrifying Tales”
No matter what fright level you’re looking for, there’s sure to be a suitably spooky story to enjoy!
marlise