News from East Central Regional Library

March 2013

Volume 3, Issue 3

E-Connect

Communities Matter @ Your Library

Our country is made up of individual communities, each with its own needs that can be as unique as the communities themselves. In the middle of all of these challenges, often in the very heart of our community, is a solution, a trusted institution that makes it its business to understand our needs: the library.

Librarians listen and respond to meet community needs. Libraries provide the space for diverse groups to come together for a common purpose, to tackle local issues. Librarians work with elected officials, small business owners, students, seniors and the public at large to discover what their communities needs are and to meet them.

The library helps foster all types of communities. We see this in our libraries firsthand, in ways big and small. New moms connect at storytime, small business owners come to get specific information relative to the community or their needs, teens meet up to collaborate on projects and to hang out together after school, adults come to learn new technologies. Libraries bring in speakers, musicians, and art experiences to educate, inspire, and entertain.

Service to the community has always been the focus of the library. While this aspect has never changed, libraries have grown and evolved in how they provide for the needs of every member of their community.

This spring, schools, campuses and communities across the country celebrate libraries. It is a time to remember that needs of our community matter to one of our most important institutions: our libraries.

Celebrate with us!

March 15 - Freedom of Information Day

April all month - School Library Month

April 12 - D.E.A.R. Day - Drop Everything and Read Day

April 14-20 - National Library Week

April 16 - Library Workers Day

April 17 - Bookmobile Day, ECRL calls it the Outreach Mobile

April 18 - Teen Literature Day

April 20-27 - Money Smart Week, a partnership between the Federal Reserve Bank and the American Library Association to promote financial literacy

April 21-27 - Preservation Week

April 30 - Children's Book Day

May 1-7 - Choose Privacy Day, promotes privacy rights in a digital age

May 7-9 - National Library Legislative Day

Staff Recommendations

Recommendation by Vickie Sorn, Youth & Community Services Librarian

Children's Book-A-Day Almanac by Anita Silvey

This is a great source for any children's librarian or lover of children's books. The author has taken the almanac form and included information about famous events and celebrations for each day of the year and included along with related book recommendations. The recommendation for March 15, for example, is Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats. March 15 also happens to be his birthday.

Recommended by Ceci Cross-Maser, Hinckley Branch Librarian

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

A woman disappears on her fifth wedding anniversary. Is her husband the guilty party? This title has been on the New York Times bestseller list for 39 weeks, much of the time at the #1 position.

Recommendation by Betty Evans, Milaca Community Library Aide

India Becoming: a Portrait of Life in Modern India by Akash Kapur
An easy to read and informative non-fiction title about the changing culture in India.

Recommendation by Donna Larson, Rush City Branch Librarian
Rescue Warriors: The U.S. Coast Guard, America's Forgotten Heroes by David Helvarg

My son-in-law's employment as a Coast Guard rescue swimmer drew me to this book so I might better understand his career, duties and the demands they place on him. I discovered the USCG has saved over 1 million people in its 200+ years of existence yet few of us know much about this branch of the military. If you liked the movie, "The Guardian," you'll love this book's spellbinding, true-life tales about the men and women who jump out of helicopters and subscribe to the USCG motto, "Semper Paratus: Always Prepared" so that others may live.

Upcoming Legacy Programming

Mascot Mania

Join us at the library for a short storytime and meet and greet with your favorite Children's Book Character. Don't forget to bring your camera!

Max the Bunny

Saturday, March 23

10:30 am - Aitkin Public Library

Curious George

Wednesday, April 3

10:30 am - North Branch Area Library

Clifford

Saturday, April 6

11:00 am - McGregor Public Library

Mouse (If You Give a Mouse a Cookie...)

Wednesday, April 10

10:30 - Sandstone Public Library

Froggy

Wednesday, April 17

4:00 pm - Rush City Public Library

Llama Llama

Thursday, April 18

10:30 am - Milaca Community Library

A Recipes to Remember Scrapbooking Workshop

Turn family recipes and photos into a family heirloom. Participants are welcome to bring pictures & memorabilia. Program is designed for adults. Class size is limited, so you must pre-register by calling the library.

Mora Public Library - Saturday, March 16 - 1:00 pm

(320-679-2642)

Ring of Kerry

Join us on St. Patrick's Day for a celebration of Irish tradition with music from Ring of Kerry plus Irish Dancers! Free and open to the public. No tickets necessary!

Pine City Elementary Auditorium

700 6th Ave. SW - Pine City

Sunday, March 17 - 2:00 pm

Tyler Fish, Author & Adventurer

Co-author of the book, Forward: the first unsupported expedition to the North Pole, will stop by the library to talk about his experience. Part of the Rush City Community Wide Read program.

Rush City Public Library

Tuesday, March 19 - 6:30 pm

Minnesota Comic Workshop

Preteens and teens sharpen your pencil, lay out your plot, and hone your cartoonist skills! Participants will also learn about Minnesota cartoonists.

Milaca Community Library

Saturday, March 23 - 2:00 pm

Cambridge Intermediate School

Tuesday, March 26 - 12:30 pm

Mandolin and Fiddle Player Peter Ostroushko

Renown instrumentalist, Peter Ostroushko, accompanied by Dean Mcgraw, Marc Anderson and Joel Sayles will present an evening filled with a variety of musical styles. Mr. Ostroushko was a frequent performer on Prairie Home Companion.

Sandstone Old School Center for the Arts

214 Eagle Drive - Sandstone, MN

Friday, April 5 - 7:00 pm

Comedian C. Willi Myles

Referred to as "America's Everyday Comedian," his hilarious down-to-earth performance will convince you that Willi is truly comedy at its best!

McGregor Public Library

Friday, April 12 - 4:00 pm

McGregor School Auditorium

Friday, April 12 - 7:00 pm

Irish Lumber Camp Songs

Brian Miller and Randy Gosa perform Irish folk tunes traditionally sung in lumberjack camps across Minnesota, the Midwest and Canada during the late 1800s and early 1900s.

Aitkin Public Library

Saturday, April 13 - 1:00 pm

*All events are free and open to the public!

*All programs funded with money from Minnesota's Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund. Call your local ECRL branch for more information about each program.

Plus there are lots of other activities going on throughout ECRL. Simply check the NewsBits at www.ecrlib.org or our Google calendar.

Author of the Month: Anne River Siddons

Siddons is renowned for her fiction set in the American South. Peachtree Road was published in 1988 and over a million copies are currently in print. Her second book, The House Next Door, is one of the finest horror novels of the 20th century according to Stephen King. Many bestsellers followed, including Outer Banks (1991), Low Country (1998), and Burnt Mountain (2010). Her latest novel, The Girls of August, will be released in August.

Forthcoming Titles in the ECRL catalog:

Search for any of these items in the ECRL Online Catalog:

*Widow's Tears by Susan Wittig Albert
*Light of the World by James Lee Burke
*Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman
*Stranded by Alex Kava
*Eye of God by James Rollins
*Miss Julia Stirs up Trouble by Ann B. Ross
*The Girls of August by Anne Rivers Siddons
*Silver Star by Jeanette Walls

Forthcoming DVDs to the ECRL catalog:

Search for any of these in the ECRL Online Catalog

*Angel in the House (2012) starring Toni Collette
*Django Unchained (2012) starring Jamie Foxx
*The Guilt Trip (2012) starring Barbra Streisand
*Hyde Park on Hudson (2012) starring Bill Murray
*The Impossible (2012) starring Naomi Watts
*Lincoln (2012) starring Daniel Day-Lewis
*Les Miserables (2012) starring Hugh Jackman
*Zero Dark Thirty (2012) starring Jessica Chastain

Forthcoming Non-Fiction in the ECRL Catalog

Search for any of these titles in the ECRL Catalog

*Made by Dad by Scott Bedford
*Inside the Real Area 51 by Thomas Carey
*Wrapped in the Flag by Claire Connor
*Making Marriage Simple by Harville Hendrix
*Joe and Marilyn by C. David Heymann
*Letters of John F. Kennedy by John F. Kennedy
*Incorporate Your Business by Anthony Mancuso
*The Last of the Doughboys by Richard Rubin

Easter & Bunny

Easy Book Titles:

Search for any of these

in the ECRL Catalog

*Mater and the Easter Buggy by Kirsten Larsen

*Dora's Easter Bunny Adventure by Veronica Paz

*Easter Bunny's Assistant by Jan Thomas

*There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Chick by

Lucille Colandro

*10 Easter Egg Hunters by Janet Schulman

*Bad Easter Bunny by Isabel Atherton

*Bunnies on Ice by Johanna Wright

*The Bunny's Night-Light: glow in the dark search by Geoffrey Hayes

*Betty Bunny Wants Everything by Michael Kaplan

*Little Bunny Foo Foo: the real story by Cori Doerrfeld

*Five Funny Bunnies: three bouncing tales by Jean Van Leeuwen

Juvenile Author Highlight - Henry Winkler

Many of us remember Henry Winkler from his Happy Days fame playing the "Fonz." Did you know that he has written many children's books along with co-author, Lin Oliver. Their first successful books were the Hank Zipzer series. The series was based on Winkler's experiences growing up with dyslexia.

The two have recently begun publishing their latest series collaboration, Ghost Buddy. This series is about a young boy and his phantom friend. Although comical, they also can be used as anti-bullying resources. Plus you might just think the two characters sound a lot like Richie and Fonzie!

ECRL's Mission

Connecting and strengthening communities

through the power of knowledge.

*East Central Regional Library is funded by the counties of Aitkin, Chisago, Isanti, Kanabec, Mille Lacs and Pine.

ECRL also receives state and federal funds.