April 30th is Hairstyle Appreciation Day. So, how do you plan to celebrate? You could try out a new style, tell others how much you like their dos, or research what styles were popular the year you were born. To help you appreciate hairstyles, Mid-Continent Public Library has a variety of resources. Here at the Blue Springs North Branch, we have the ever-popular magazine Sophisticate’s Hairstyle Guide. We also have a variety of books in our system such as:
Recently, a colleague and I spent part of the day at the local post office promoting National Library Week. We had a nice time talking with people, and we even signed a few up for library cards. I was wondering what we could offer people who already had cards and already use the Library on a regular basis. The answer to that is information about other services we offer besides checking out books.
National Library Week, which recognizes and honors the significant impact that libraries and librarians have on the community, is April 14-20th, 2013. Our theme this year is Communities Matter @ Your Library. In the 1950s, it was thought that Americans were reading fewer books and spending too much time listening to the radio and watching TV. This concerned the American Library Association (ALA) as well as the American Book Publishers, so they formed an organization known as the National Book Committee.
As a child, I loved going to the Library to check out books. I was always fascinated with reading and books. I loved to get interested in an imaginary story. My favorite books were Curious George books! I remember checking out the same Curious George books over and over again. As I look back on that time, I am glad I was introduced to the Library as a child. If I hadn’t been introduced to the Library as a child, I probably wouldn’t have the love for the Library and books that I have now.
Ask yourself this question: What legacy will I leave? When you have passed from this life or job, what will people say about you? When occasion knocks to make a difference in someone else’s life, do you seize the opportunity to brand yourself as an awe-inspiring individual or will you leave a caustic memory? What reputational epitaph will commemorate your time spent? Will you be remembered as a person who lived to serve someone other than yourself? Recall those in your life that took that additional moment to be kind and treated you with value.
Reading and eating. Now that is a good combination, and I have the perfect solution to that combination. The Joanne Fluke’s Hannah Swensen Mystery series. The books in the series are usually murder mysteries. The main character, Hannah Swensen, owns a cookie shop and puts the recipes for the cookies in her shop throughout the book. The setting is up in Lake Eden, Minnesota where it is pretty much winter all the time, and there is pretty much a murder all the time.
Have you ever looked at a super simple invention and thought why didn’t I think of that? For me, one of those inventions is that little, plastic table thingy that keeps the pizza box from messing up your pizza. This nifty device, initially called a "package saver" and now known as a "pizza saver," was invented by Carmela Vitale of Dix Hills, NY. She filed for the patent 30 years ago in February of 1983 and received the patent in February of 1985.
If you want to invent something, they always say to look for a need in everyday life and go from there.
Can you believe people still come in and say, "I didn’t even know that this library was even here?" I can remember hurriedly moving furniture and labeling books for the anticipated opening of the Blue Springs North Branch. The staff worked on assembling tables, computer desks, and labeling lots and lots of books. We finally opened our doors in January 1993 to the public. I can even remember our first patron that came in to introduce himself and commented that his family would be one of our biggest supporters. Every once in a while I’m lucky enough to still see this patron.
Sometimes talent just runs in the family, and it’s no different for authors. Do you have some favorite writers you just can’t get enough of? If so, you might be surprised to know who else in their family writes.
