• Month of October,  "2017 Big Read: 'Station Eleven' by Emily St. John Mandel."  The community is invited to read the book, attend presentations, participate in games and activities and enjoy interactive exhibits at the library throughout the month of October. These activities and events are sponsored by the Blount County Friends of the Library and coordinated with the Knox County Public Library. Events and activities include:

o   October 1 to 31, "Dystopian Lit. and Why It's Important" exhibit at the Circulations Desks in the Main Gallery.

o   Tuesday, October 3,  7 p.m.,  "Survival!: Tips & Anecdotes."  Could you survive in the wild?  Join Dolphin Riggs, Burt Emmerson and Joe Kelley as they explains tools and strategies needed to survive alone in nature.  Emmerson and Kelley are backpackers, and have taught and camped in the backcountry many times.  Kelley is a retired Great Smoky Mountains National Park ranger.  Join them for tips, strategies and stories. This event will be held in the Sharon Lawson Room.

o   Saturday, Oct. 14,   2-4 p.m., Gaming @ Your library, featuring Pandemic Board Game & Pandemic: The Cure:  Join the team of specialists and rescue humanity from four diseases that have broken out and threaten the world in this ga me based on a fictitious plot. Play these two games, find the cures and save mankind.   This month, teens and adults are also invited to learn and play the hit strategy board games Pandemic and Pandemic: The Cure, tense races against four killer diseases that threaten the world's population. Players must collaborate to find a cure and stop the diseases - if even one virulent plague breaks out of containment, everyone loses! It's a heart-pounding competition against an all-too-real foe. This event will be in the Sharon Lawson Room.

o   Thursday, October 19,  7 p.m., "Station Eleven Adult Coloring." We all know surviving a fictitious pandemic, and then surviving in the post-apocalyptic world, is stressful and tiring. So calm down while being creative. Color pandemic- and "Station Eleven"-themed coloring pages. This will be in the Reference Area.

o   Monday, October 23,  7 p.m.,  "TVA's Global Career: East Tennessee and the World."    Despite causing what felt like a pandemic to some people, TVA is a model for regional uplift and was exported across the globe during the Cold War era.  The rural development program reached places as far flung as Afghanistan, India, Mexico as well as many other countries and was quite involved in 20th-century global conference. This presentation will be in the Sharon Lawson Room.

• Thursday, October 5, 7 p.m., "What Baby Boomers Need to Know About Social Security," presented by Kevin Proffitt, Certified Financial Planner, Wealth Management Advisor and Managing Director of Northwest Mutual - Knoxville. As baby boomers fast approach retirement years, some critical questions arise: How much social security can I expect to receive? When should I apply for social security? How can I maximize my benefits? Will social security be enough to live on? Proffitt will answer these questions and help audience members know better how to plan for, apply for, and manage social security benefits. The program will be in the Sharon Lawson Room.
• Monday, October 9, 6:30 p.m., "Fiscal Fitness: Personal Banking Options" will be presented by Andrea Warnick, Branch Manager at Regions Bank. Ever wonder what the benefits of banking are and why you should open an account? What are the different types of accounts available to you and how do you set one up? Perhaps you're not sure what the differences are between a bank and a credit union. Are there fees involved? How is your money protected once you deposit it? This banking class will provide a basic overview of these things and more related to banking and is open to any interested community member. This program will be in the Kathy Pagles Board Room.

• Saturday,  October 14,  9 a.m. until 12 noon.  "Free Legal Advice Clinic."  Part of LAET's Pro Bono Project, the Advice Clinic is offered in celebration of National Pro Bono Month. Volunteer attorneys from the Blount County Bar Association will join LAET staff attorneys to provide free advice on various legal matters. "Legal help will be available on a first come, first served basis," says Dr. Kathryn Ellis, LAET's Pro Bono Project Director.  "The public will be able to seek advice on topics such as adoption, child custody & support, criminal defense, divorce, elder law, foreclosure, identity theft, personal injury, VA benefits, wills, worker's comp, and more."  The clinic is open to the public regardless of income level.  No appointment is necessary. The clinic will be in the Sharon Lawson Room and Board Room of the library.  For more information regarding this program, please contact Legal Aid of East Tennessee at 307 Ellis Avenue, Maryville, Tennessee 37801, (865) 981-1818 or 637-0484, or visit www.laet.org

• Monday, October 16,  7 p.m. to 9 p.m., "Landscaping with Wood Ornamentals,"  presented by John Wilson, Blount County UT Extension Agent, and trainer for the Blount County. Plan your landscape with wood ornamentals that thrive in this East Tennessee climate. This presentation will be in the Sharon Lawson Room.

• Thursday, October 19,    5:30-8:30 p.m.,  "Take Back the Night" at the library is a Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence Awareness event co-sponsored by Pellissippi State Community College and the Blount County Public Library. The event will be held at the library. "Take Back the Night" is designed to promote safe communities and respectful relationships while seeking to end sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, sexual abuse and all other forms of sexual violence. 
The evening will feature a series of events:
• 5:30 p.m.,  Introduction- Meet in Reading Rotunda end of Main Gallery for welcome & sign-making.  Ready-made signs will be provided by PSCC, or materials will be available for participants to make their own signs. Arrive earlier than 5:30 if you desire to make a sign.
• 5:45 p.m.,  Walk/March- Follow a prescribed parade route (approximately 1 mile) through downtown Maryville, beginning and ending at the Blount County Public Library's Reading Rotunda and Main Gallery.
• 7 p.m.,    Speak Out or Informational Session - Attend the session of your choice:
  • Speak Out - Participants 18 years of age and older may attend this session which will include a guest speaker from The Helen Ross McNabb Sexual Assault Center of East Tennessee and voluntary audience sharing in the Sharon Lawson Room. Mental health counselors will be on hand to offer support as needed.
  • 7 p.m.,   Self Defense and Safety: Informational Session - This will be a general self-defense and safety session by the Maryville Police Department. They will include self-defense protection actions and will invite audience members to practice if they desire to do so. This session will be open to the general public as well as interested Take Back the Night participants, including those under 18 years of age.  This session will be held in the Reading Rotunda end of the Main Gallery.
  • 8:15 p.m.,  Finale/Candlelight Vigil - Following the presentation sessions, attendees will proceed to the back patio area of the library, near the pedestrian bridge, for the concluding ceremony.
• Thursday, October 19,  7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., "Station Eleven Adult Coloring." Remember the carefree joy of picking up your favorite crayon or marker and adding color to a beautiful picture? Experience the same fun and relaxation even though you are now an adult!  For this program, sponsored by the Blount County Friends of the Library, participants (teens and older) can bring their own coloring books and materials, or you can select from a variety of intricate adult coloring pages and utilize coloring supplies provided at the library. Just show up at the library at 7 p.m., on the third Thursday of every month, select a fun design and color away to your heart's content. This program will be in the Reference Area of the library.
• Monday, October 23,  7 p.m.,  "Southern Appalachian Studies Series: TVA's Global Career - East Tennessee and the World,"  presented by Tore C. Olsson, Ph. D., UTK.  Today, many define southern Appalachia by its isolation and disconnection from the world. This presentation argues the opposite - that East Tennessee in particular has had a massive global footprint. Olsson will look specifically at the Tennessee Valley Authority, the New Deal-era rural development program, and how various nations sought to imitate its program within their own nations during the Cold War years. This program will be in the Sharon Lawson Room.
• Wednesday, October 25,  11 a.m.,  "Medicare Plans and Changes for 2018."  Joani Shaver, Blount County Office on Aging Director, will discuss Medicare and the changes for 2018:  What's new this year, What Medicare Parts A and B cover, Medicare costs, Health and prescription drug plans and Fraud prevention.  Shaver will discuss Medicare and Medicaid, Medigap/Supplemental Plans, enrollment in Medicare prescription drug plans (Part D), Low Income Subsidy, finding help with the cost of prescription drugs during coverage gaps and access to drugs not covered under Part D, Medicare Advantage options, claims and billing problem resolution, information and referral on public benefit programs, employer and retiree health insurance options for those with Medicare, and VA benefits and other military health insurance for those with Medicare. Participants are encouraged to visit www.medicare.gov prior to the presentation to come to the presentation with their questions. The program's goal is solely to help consumers make informed decisions and will be in the Sharon Lawson Meeting Room of the library.
• Monday, October 30,  7 p.m.,  "Ghosts and Appalachian Literature: The Dead Shall Rise," present by Melanie K. Hutsell. This will be held in the Sharon Lawson Room.
• Monday, November 6,  7 p.m. to 9 p.m.,  "Dulcimer Concert" at the library by the Maryville Area Dulcimer Club.  The concert, featuring popular, patriotic, classical and even some holiday songs, will be in the Reading Rotunda end of the Main Gallery of the library.
• Friday, November 10,  "Library Closed in Honor of Veterans' Day."
• Monday, November 13,   6:30 p.m., "Fiscal Fitness: Identity Theft & Credit Fraud" will be presented by Andrea Warnick, Branch Manager from Regions Bank. Identity theft, scams and fraud are serious issues. The Department of Justice reports there were 17.6 million victims of identity theft in 2014. How can you prevent identity theft and fraud? What protections do you have by law? This class includes the warning signs and how it happens. Finally, you should know how to deal with fraud and identity theft if it happens to you. This program will be in Dorothy Herron Room A.