My Place to Learn, Discover, Relax!                                                         August 5, 2017
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Did you know... DidYouKnow
St. Mary's County Library teaches online safety and privacy classes?

Sign up today to learn about staying safe and how to protect your  privacy online. Two classes will be held at Lexington Park Library in August. 

Staying Safe Online
Learn how to stay safe online by protecting your personal information and avoiding common Internet scams. Registration recommended.
Lexington Park Library
Thursday, August 17; 5:30 - 7:30 p.m. 

Protecting Your Privacy Online
Learn about tools you can use to limit what's shared about you online. Find out how browser plug-ins, the Tor browser, and VPNs can help keep your information private. Attendees should be proficient computer users. Registration recommended.
Lexington Park Library
Thursday, August 24; 5:30 - 7:30 p.m. 
    
More to Explore  Explore
Calling all More to Explorers! 

The online program was previously saying that the secret codes were incorrect. This has been fixed - keep exploring and simply enter the codes for the places you have already visited to finish and collect your prize. To access the online More to Explore portal, click here
Save the Date for LexiCon!  Lexicon
LexiCon is returning Saturday, October 7 from 12 - 4 p.m.

Celebrate your fandom by participating in LexiCon - the St. Mary's County Library Comic Con. There will be a variety of events for people of all ages to enjoy ranging from comic book trivia to button making! Comic book artist, Sophie Campbell, best known for her work on the comic series "Jem and the Holograms", will have a Skype interview to answer all your questions about working in the industry. Come dressed as your favorite movie, anime, or comic book character and participate in our cosplay contest to earn prizes from the secret "library vault." All of this and much more will be going on so visit our website for a full schedule of events. 

Summer Reading Ends August 26!   SummerReading
Earn your finisher's medal and be entered to win awesome prizes

Summer Reading for all ages will end on Saturday, August 26 - hurry and finish your gameboard to be entered to win Kindle Fires! Come in to any branch to pick up your finisher's medal.  

Kids Programs
Kids
Storytimes 
Storytimes are back! 
June 1 - August 31
Check www.stmalib.org for times

Minecraft Challenges!
Can you think on your feet, team up, use creativity, and complete the challenge? Come play Minecraft with us and find out! Must be able to use a mouse and keyboard commands, and be familiar with how to play Minecraft (we will not use the tutorial). Ages 8 - 11. Registration opens 2 weeks before each program. Please only register for one of the two August 14 programs at Charlotte Hall so that as many children as possible may attend.
Lexington Park         Thursday, August 10            2 - 3:30 p.m.       Register
Charlotte Hall            Monday, August 14              10:30 a.m. - 12 noon.       Register
Charlotte Hall            Monday, August 14               2 - 3:30 p.m.         Register

Storytime at Greenwell State Park
This program takes place at Greenwell State Park (25420 Rosedale Manor Ln., Hollywood, MD 20636).
Stories, rhymes, songs, and activities for children ages 2 - 5 with their adult caregivers (and siblings)! Since the barn will be open to guests, be sure to check out all the friendly horses and goats after the program. Feel free to bring a picnic lunch in case you get hungry!  No registration.
Greenwell State Park         Saturday, August 5           10 a.m.

Pokémon Trainers Club!
Do you have what it takes to be the very best? Bring your games and/or your cards and prepare to battle against other Pokémon trainers! You can also make some Pokémon buttons to take home, take turns playing a retro Pokémon game, and maybe make some friends (or rivals....) along the way. All ages.
Leonardtown               Monday, August 7           5 - 6 p.m.

LEGO Fun
We supply the "bricks," you bring the imagination! Come and build something amazing with our thousands of LEGO and Duplo pieces. All ages. No registration.
Leonardtown                 Tuesday, August 8              1 - 4 p.m.

Kindness Rocks! 
It's time to spread  the love! Paint inspirational messages of your own on small rocks that can be placed around town. Imagine when a stranger looks down to see your cheerful message staring up at them; it's going to make their day just that much better! Paint supplies provided. Ages 5 and up. Registration begins 2 weeks before each program.
Lexington  Park                 Thursday, August 10              2 p.m.            Register

Mini Monet
Come join us on a messy adventure as we explore the world of art in its various forms. A new experience at your library for our youngest customers and their caregivers. Please expect and prepare for a messy good time! Ages 6 months - 4 years. Registration begins 2 weeks before each program.
Lexington Park               Friday, August 18                  9:30 a.m.         Register

Kindergarten, Here We Come!
Let's get ready to start Kindergarten (or PreKindergarten)! We'll read stories about school, make crafts, learn how to stay healthy and safe at school, and take a practice ride on a real school bus! Registration opens 2 weeks before each program.
Lexington Park               Friday,August 11             10:30 a.m.             Register
Leonardtown                 Saturday, August 19        10:30 a.m.             Register


Teen Programs Teens

Teen Tech Space
Open computer lab use for Teens and Tweens ages 11 - 18. Play Minecraft, Wii, games, computers, and make crafts. Hang out and bring your friends!
Lexington Park           Tuesdays      4 - 6 p.m.

Ultimate Water Bottle Flipping Challenge
Flipping a water bottle to fall perfectly upright sounds easy enough, right? It may not be as easy as you think. Challenge your friends to see who can land their bottle upright, who can make the most successful flips in 30 seconds, and who has the most artistic flip. Learn techniques for proper flipping and the science behind a successful flip. Ages 12-18. No registration.
Leonardtown            Tuesday, August 15      5:30 p.m.


Adult Programs adult
 
Mobile Career Center
Leonardtown        Tuesday, August 8                 1 - 4 p.m.
Lexington Park     Wednesday, August 23         9 a.m. - 1 p.m.
Charlotte Hall       Thursday, September 7         9 a.m. - 1 p.m.

Master Gardeners Plant Clinics
Have questions about growing vegetables, soil conditions, mystery insects, invasive weeds, or heirloom plants? Ask a Master Gardener at this free plant clinic. Stop by the table in the library lobby with your plant samples and questions.
Lexington Park Library          
1st and 3rd Tuesdays from 11 a.m. -1 p.m. 
Leonardtown Library              2nd and 4th Tuesdays from 11 a.m. - 1 p.m. 
Charlotte Hall Library             1st and 3rd Saturdays from 10 a.m. - 12 p.m. 

Common Thread
Whether you have been stitching for years, or you just want to  learn, join fellow crafters who love all things fabric and fiber. Open to knitters, crocheters, quilters, embroiderers, cross-stitchers, and any other kind of needleworkers. Bring your current project, mingle with like-minded makers, and swap patterns, ideas, and tips. Basic supplies available, if needed. All skill levels welcome. No registration required.
Lexington Park         2nd and 4th Tuesdays        6 - 7:30 p.m.

Caring Through Crafting
Calling all crafters! Use your time and talents to make a difference in your community.
Join us in making knitted or crocheted newborn hats to donate to Little Hats, Big Hearts, a nonprofit that spreads awareness of congenital heart defects. Knowledge of basic knit or crochet stitches required. Please bring a size H or I hook or size 8 needles. Yarn and pattern provided. Adults only. Registration recommended.
Lexington Park           Saturday, August 5         10 - 11 a.m.          Register

Staying Safe Online
Learn how to stay safe online by protecting your personal information and avoiding common Internet scams. Registration recommended.
Lexington Park              Thursday, August 17            5:30 - 7:30 p.m.          Register

Protecting Your Privacy Online
Learn about tools you can use to limit what's shared about you online. Find out how browser plug-ins, the Tor browser, and VPNs can help keep your information private. Attendees should be proficient computer users. Registration recommended.
Lexington Park               Thursday, August 24              5:30 - 7:30 p.m.        Register

Introduction to Genealogy 
Learn about free websites to start your genealogy search. Also covers the library's databases, US Census, Social Security Death Index, and more. Knowledge of internet required. Limited to ages 16 and up. Registration required.
Leonardtown             Monday, August 14             2 - 4 p.m.              Register


One-on-One Help available -call your branch to make an appointment.

Cloud Computing 101
Have you heard of the Cloud, but you're not quite sure what that means or where to go to access it? Take a look at some common cloud applications and learn how easy and convenient cloud computing can be. Adult computer classes are limited to ages 16 and up. Registration required.
Lexington Park                   Monday, August 7         10 a.m.         Register

Introduction to Google Drive
Take your basics skills to the next level with Google Drive. You will learn how to save files online using your Gmail login and see how to access Google's word processor so you can create documents on any computer that has an internet connection. Adult computer classes are limited to ages 16 and up. Registration required.
Lexington Park                   Monday, August 14          10 a.m..         Register



Book Discussions Book
Join a book discussion at your branch to talk about a good book!   

All book discussions are open to the public. Copies of selected titles are available at the hosting library.  
   
 Maine   by J. Courtney Sullivan
For the Kellehers, Maine is a place where children run in packs, showers are taken outdoors, and old Irish songs are sung around a piano. As three generations of Kelleher women arrive at the family's beach house, each brings her own hopes and fears. Maggie is thirty-two and pregnant, waiting for the perfect moment to tell her imperfect boyfriend the news; Ann Marie, a Kelleher by marriage, is channeling her domestic frustration into a dollhouse obsession and an ill-advised crush; Kathleen, the black sheep, never wanted to set foot in the cottage again; and Alice, the matriarch at the center of it all, would trade every floorboard for a chance to undo the events of one night, long ago.

Charlotte Hall         Monday, August 7         6:45 p.m.

Following the fortunes of representative settlers of the southern Great Plains, Egan's narrative of the dust bowl during the Depression begins with the seeds of environmental disaster. The area was the last tract of the continental U.S. to be homesteaded, the last episode of open-land real-estate showmanship that enticed people to start over. "Settlement was a dare," writes Egan, a dare of plowing rain-sparse, blustery grassland. And briefly, around World War I's inflated grain prices, the dare paid off: towns materialized on the horizon, homesteaders such as Bam White moved in, cheered on by boosters like John McCarty, editor of the Dalhart Texan. "Every man a landlord" was the slogan of the era, a banner of optimism that eroded into despair due to dust storms of relentlessly increasing ferocity. In vivid fashion, Egan reports on the grit, the drifts, and the figures bent against the gusts. All the elements of the iconic dust bowl photographs come together in the author's evocative portrait of those who first prospered and then suffered during the 1930s drought. - Booklist

Lexington Park           Monday, August 14           6 p.m. 

 
The Snow Child   by Eowyn Ivey
Alaska, 1920: a brutal place to homestead.  In a moment of levity during the season's first snowfall, they build a child out of snow. The next morning, the snow child is gone--but they glimpse a young, blonde-haired girl running through the trees.  As Jack and Mabel struggle to understand this child who could have stepped from the pages of a fairy tale, they come to love her as their own daughter.  But what they eventually learn about Faina will transform all of them.


Leonardtown            Thursday, August 17            7 p.m.



Lexington Park Library Art Gallery ArtGallery
See artwork by Suzanne Shelden until August 14
See photographs by Jim Bershon from August 15 - September 30

Suzanne Shelden grew up in the Washington, DC area and currently lives in Southern Maryland. She has been working in art for well over 40 years, achieving experience in painting, drawing, photorestoration, graphic design, and exhibit design. As a painter, she spent several years working on commission and participating in shows with local art associations in Rockville and DC. She continues to work actively, finding her career both challenging and rewarding. At this time she has several series in progress, including the following: Route 4 (paintings of views as seen from the car), Appalachian (scenes from the mountains), Washingtonian (DC perspectives).

The Lexington Park Library Art Gallery was created by artist Candy Cummings in 2005. The  St. Mary's County Arts Council took over the management of the gallery in 2014. Over the years many amateur, student, and professional artists have displayed their artwork. Contact the Arts Council at info@smcart.org or 240-309-0686 if interested in displaying your work. Exhibits change every 4-6 weeks and a reception is held to recognize each artist. The Art Gallery is funded by the St. Mary's County Arts Council.


Laura Boonchaisri | St. Mary's County Library | 301-475-2846 ext. 1007 | stmaps@stmalib.org   www.stmalib.org
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