Hot Reads for Cold Nights!

Hot Reads for Cold Nights Logo

When the weather is cold, it’s time to find a hot read and join Virginia Public Library’s annual “Hot Reads for Cold Nights” reading program.  This is the 17th year that "Hot Reads for Cold Nights" is being sponsored by the Friends of Virginia Public Library.  Area residents over 18 are invited to register in the library or online to participate.  To register online, click on this link and select the Hot Reads program.

This program is designed to promote reading for adults since reading is equally important for all ages. Each book read during the program will earn one entry in a big giveaway on February 27^th. Participants must visit the library to check out library books and submit their entries.

Hot Reads Tuesdays will continue on Tuesday mornings from 10:00-12:00. Each week, members of the Friends of the Library will provide coffee and bakery to area readers.  This is a great time to find out about new books and visit with your neighbors.

The Hot Reads celebration continues with the launch of the 2015 Winter Brown Bag Lunch Series beginning on January 15^th at noon with “Travels and Tribulations” by Melody Swenson and Coach Bob McDonald. On January 29^th, Paul Niemisto will present “Cornets and Pickaxes” a presentation on Iron Range brass bands.

This year’s Book Lover’s Tea on February 12th will feature celebrated author/artist Chris Monroe.  Please note:  Advanced registration for the tea is essential!  Reservations must be made by Feb. 6^th.

For more information on these events and more, visit the event calendar at www.virginia.lib.mn.us or call 748-7525.

--Dawn Heisel, Public Services Librarian

What's Happening @ Your Library?

There is a lot going on at the library this fall!

Michael Czarnecki

See, It Was Like This...
Tomorrow, September 10, at noon, Michael Czarnecki will present a creative non-fiction oral memoir of the 60s.  Michael grew up in Buffalo, NY, a member of a working class Polish family. The performance covers from 1963, when Michael was in 8th grade, through 1975, when he became part of a rural community in the hills of New York State. Along the way he suffered through battles of conscience, incurred the wrath of family, participated in college demonstrations, hitchhiked 30,000 miles, backpacked in the mountains and experienced the usual late-teen, young adult joys and sorrows of life. All of this is set against the cultural and historical happenings of the era as it affected him. This is not the memoir of one who was a major, or even a minor, figure of the time. No San Francisco, Woodstock, group sex or drug experiences. Just the story of an ordinary person who came of age during this unique time period in our recent history.

Those who lived through the 60s will find much to connect with. Others who know of it only as “history” will get an understanding of one person’s experience during those vital and vibrant years.

Sara Pajunen

Violin, Vocalist and History
Artist and musician Sara Pajunen brings her Laatikko/Box project Finnish folk music and a sampling of the University of Minnesota’s Finnish-American archives to the library. Using violin and voice, she weaves Finnish folk song with both archival audio recordings and conversations with her own Finnish-American family members. During the presentation, participants can view pictures, letters, and other material from Finnish-Americans.

Sara Pajunen is a Minneapolis-based musician and artist whose recent work is inspired by her Finnish ancestry. Join us for her thought provoking program on September 25 at noon.

Digital Photography 101

For those who wish to create better photos with their digital cameras, Brian Rauvola will present a three hour hands-on beginning photography workshop about using your digital camera and editing your photos. Bring your camera (compact or dSLR), camera manual, a tripod (if you have one) and other accessories to learn how to use your camera’s features to improve the pictures you take.  Make sure your batteries are charged and you have plenty of memory because the group is going to explore the library inside and outside (weather permitting) to practice taking photos while also learning to use light effectively and other artistic elements, such as composition, leading lines, rule of 3rds, etc. to improve your images.

The last part of the workshop will be about downloading pictures, organizing your files, and using software to optimize and resize images. Brian’s favorite program to use is Photoshop CS6, but other free or inexpensive computer programs with which you can start will also be demonstrated, such as GIMP (free, www.gimp.org) and Photoshop Elements (around $100, www.adobe.com.) Brian will show you how to edit your pictures to get better photos and have fun doing it!

Brian Rauvola has been a semi-professional photographer in the Duluth/North Shore area for nearly 20 years.  He owns and operates the Duluth Photography Institute, which began October of 2010, and offers workshops, gallery space, and a fully equipped lighting studio for photographers to use. 

This workshop, which is on Thursday, October 16 from noon until 3:00 is limited in class size.  Sign up with Dawn or Susan to be sure of having a space reserved for you.

Story as Tribute
Join us at noon on Thursday, October 30, to learn the true story of Elisabeth Mannering Congdon, heiress to a mining fortune and victim of one of Minnesota’s most notorious homicides. Entrusted with the burdens and joys of memory, her eldest granddaughter, Suzanne Congdon LeRoy, combines lived experience and meticulous historical research as she details a family legacy of love, loss, and perseverance. 

Suzanne Congdon LeRoy

Elisabeth Congdon emerges not as heiress or victim but as the messenger of spring and the key to her granddaughter’s survival. Elisabeth Congdon’s early efforts to nurture a foundation of hope, optimism, and the power of possibility lead Suzanne to advanced education, a remarkable nursing career and the discovery of the ineffable relationship between healing oneself, service to others, and the connection to the spirit and beauty of the earth that makes her whole again.

Suzanne Congdon LeRoy will talk about her grandmother's life as well as the process of researching and writing her memoir.  Nightingale is her first book. A portion of the proceeds will be used to support health and human rights initiatives that benefit women and girls with an emphasis on education, reproductive health, and violence prevention.  

Mario Cianflone
One program isn't enough the week of Halloween!  You may have seen Mario Cianflone in Ely over the summer, or perhaps at Land of the Loon this year.  On Friday, October 31, at 1:00, he will educate and play for us in the library lobby.  Mario is a music educator and master accordionist who plays classical, French, Italian, and Latin American music. 

Mario Cianflone is widely recognized as a leading performing artist and music educator in the mid-west. Receiving his doctorate in music education from the University of Minnesota, Mario possesses performance skills on the accordion that reflect years of dedicated studies with the renowned master accordionist, Larry Malmberg, and distinguished composer Dominic Argento.  He has performed at the Guthrie and State Theaters, the Ordway, and accross the US, Canada, and Mexico.

Henry Boucha

Henry Boucha

Henry Boucha is a former NHL Player, U.S. Olympic Silver Medalist, U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame member, Ojibwa Native American, and author. His book, Henry Boucha, Ojibwa, Native American Olympian, is about his triumphs and tragedies as he traveled from Warroad high school hockey to professional and Olympic level hockey. Learn about those challenges, how his Ojibwa roots guided him through that experience and continues to influence his life today as he works on a video series about Native American Olympic medal winners.

Henry will be at the library on Thursday, November 13, at noon.  This would be a good program for bantam, high school and college age hockey players as well -  A motivational discussion about the opportunities in hockey while preparing yourself for life off the ice and the importance of being true to your beliefs.

If you have would like more information about these programs or others, call us at 748-7525.

Tickets for you @ your local library!

Elephant Man at the Encore Performing Arts Center in Cloquet
The Arrowhead Library System is pleased to offer free event tickets to Elephant Man at the Encore Performing Arts Center in Cloquet, on September 26-28 and October 2-5.  Performances are at 7:00 p.m., except for Sunday at 2:00 p.m.

The Elephant Man, by Bernard Pomerance

The Elephant Man, by Bernard Pomerance, is based on the life of John Merrick, who lived in London during the latter part of the nineteenth century. "A horribly deformed young man, victim of rare skin and bone diseases, he has become the star freak attraction in traveling side shows. Found abandoned and helpless, he is admitted to London's prestigious Whitechapel hospital. Under the care of celebrated young physician Frederick Treves, Merrick is introduced to London society and slowly evolves from an object of pity to an urbane and witty favorite of the aristocracy and literati only to be denied his ultimate dream, to become a man like any other."

The Encore Performing Arts Center and Gallery has been the home of the County Seat Theater Company since 2008.  This is Community Theater at its BEST!

A limited number of free event tickets are available at the following libraries: Aurora, Carlton, Cloquet, Eveleth, Gilbert, Hibbing, Moose Lake, Silver Bay and Virginia.

This program, sponsored by Arrowhead Library System, was funded in part or in whole with money from Minnesota's Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund.  Tickets for this event and others are available at your local library. 

The Arrowhead Library System does a lot to make fantastic programs available to the patrons of ALS member libraries.   Please let them know how much you appreciate it when you fill out the evaluation for this fascinating production.

Call 748-7525 if you have any questions. 

--Susan Hoppe, Adult Services Librarian

Sit Down with a Stand Up

Scott Novotny

Have you been told you are funny?  Have you ever considered becoming a stand-up comedian?  Or thought of writing comedy routines?  Then attend Sit Down with a Stand Up, Scott Novotny’s comedy writing program that incorporates the history and culture of stand-up comedy in Minnesota and its development since the 1970’s. 

Scott recently celebrated his 30th anniversary of being a full-time professional stand-up comedian. Over that time, Scott has had people laughing from coast to coast with his clean, non-offensive, very funny observations and humor.

At noon on Tuesday, July 29, Scott will guide participants through stand-up comedy, improvisation, and comedy writing as well as live demonstrations of a comedy routine. Workshop participants will stay engaged by using Scott’s comedy writing formula for beginning writers.

Minnesota born (Rochester) and educated (Gustavus Adolphus College), Scott has written for HBO, Dudley Rigg’s Brave New Workshop, TV commercials, Strange Brew daily comic strip, and Saturday Night Live. Let Scott help you find your comedy style in this writing workshop for teens, young adults, and adults of all ages!

This program, sponsored by Arrowhead Library System, was funded in part or in whole with money from Minnesota's Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund. 

If you have any questions, call 748-7525.

--Susan Hoppe, Adult Services Librarian

News You Can Use

There is a lot going on in the world and many places to find information about it. Your library is one of those places.

Wall Street Journal

The Virginia Public Library has hard copies of several local, state, and national newspapers.  These range from the Mesabi Daily News to the Wall Street Journal.  We keep back issues of some of our newspapers for up to a year.  If you are looking for an article you saw in the MDN four months ago, give us the date and we'll provide the copy! 

NewsBank Logo

If you are looking for news from a particular community in another state, we have America's News, part of the NewsBank databases the library subscribes to.   With your library card, you can use America's News to read newspapers from Bangor, Maine; Fremont, California; and many points in bet
ween! 

ACRES Magazine

Many people prefer to get their news and entertainment from magazines, rather than newspapers.  Your library has a lot of magazine titles to choose from!   Our print magazines include Bloomberg Business Week, Mayo Clinic Health Letter, The Nation, the UTNE Reader, ACRES, Men's Journal, Midwest Home, The Writer, and many others.

zinio Logo

We don't have the magazine you are looking for?  Maybe we do...  The Virginia Public Library and other members of the Arrowhead Library System have subscribed to Zinio--"the World's Largest Newsstand"--in order to provide you access to more than eighty titles!  There are magazines for children, teens, athletes, car repair enthusiasts, and people with other interests.  If Zinio doesn't have it, we can find it in one of many other resources. Zinio will be available beginning July 1st. 

Circulating books, magazines, and newspapers can all be checked out for three weeks.  All you need is your library card!

Library Card

Susan Hoppe -- Reference Services Librarian

Annual Book and Bake Sale

The Friends of the Virginia Public Library will hold their annual book sale in the library auditorium from Wednesday, September 19th through Friday, September 21st. Books, DVDs, paperbacks, and more will be available for sale from 10:00 - 5:30 on Wednesday and Thursday and from 10:00 - 4:30 on Friday. 

 

This year there will be a lot of books on cassette available.  If you or someone you know likes to listen to books while traveling or working around the house, now is a good time to stock up! 

 

Want more than books?  There will be lots of delicious goodies to choose from at the bake sale on Wednesday.

 

Browsing Available Non-Fiction

Chatting About Books

--Dawn Heisel, Public Services Librarian

Attention Genealogy Buffs!

The Virginia Public Library has a two week trial of two great databases from Newsbank.  The first is America's GenealogyBank.  On it you can quickly find your ancestors in over 300 years of historical newspapers, books, pamphlets and government reports. You can search over 1,000 newspapers; the American State Papers; US Congressional Serial Set and more. There are also obituaries, birth & marriage notices; pension records etc. You can even read every article on every page of the newspaper!

Link to America's GenealogyBank

The other database is America's Obituaries and Death Notices.  Extensive editorial review of all newspaper sections ensures thorough selection of obituaries for easy access. An easy-to-use interface allows searching by name, date range, or text such as institutional name, social affiliation(s), geographic location(s), philanthropic activities, etc. 

Link to America's Obituaries & Death Notices

These databases will be available until September 27th, so don't delay your explorations!  All you need is your library card. 

Susan Hoppe, Reference Services Librarian

National Library Week at VPL

Of course, everyone knows that National Library Week is pretty high up on my list of happy weeks.  I decided to be a librarian in the 7^th grade and hardly ever wavered -- just a little blip of thought when I discovered that degreed librarians are required to go to college for at least 5 years.  But, dedication persevered and here I am, more than 30 years later, still a librarian who enjoys National Library Week.

This is the week to celebrate our libraries and their role in our communities.  Coming on the heels of the 2012 MN Bureau of Business and Economic Research report which concluded that the return on investment for every dollar spent on libraries brought $4.62 back into our communities, I say it’s a pretty good role. After all, not many people can say they quadrupled their money. 

This year, Virginia Public Library is once again planning some great events: 

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks

April 10^th – Noon in the Library Auditorium: Not only is this National Library Workers Day, but it is also the day for our community discussion of this year’s One Book, One Community book selection.  So, on the way to the auditorium, give your favorite library worker a hug and continue on to discuss The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, by Rebecca Skloot.  Everyone is encouraged to read this riveting book and discuss its many themes. Like all of the library's Brown Bag Programs, this one is designed to fit into the work week, so feel free to bring a lunch and enjoy the discussion during your lunch hour.  To make our week even more festive, the Friends of the Library will provide coffee 'an!

Poetry of Place

On April 11^th – Noon in the Library Auditorium:  What a great opportunity! Poets Sheila Packa and Michelle Matthees will lead a poetry reading and workshop. The reading will feature the poets’ work as related to place. Sheila Packa grew up south of Biwabik and has a deep understanding of how place helps define identity and can be celebrated in poetry. Michelle Matthees shares how place informs her poetry, especially as it relates to travel—including her recent trips to Russia, Turkey, and Ukraine. Local poets are encouraged to share their poetry as well.

The workshop will immediately follow the reading and will explore and celebrate the role of place in our lives. Using guided writing exercises, participants will explore themes like memory, tradition, pride and even alienation. This workshop is designed for everyone, from beginning to more experienced writers.

Sheila Packa is the author of Echo & Lightning and Cloud Birds, editor of Migrations: Poetry & Prose for Life's Transitions, and served as Duluth’s Poet Laureate from 2010-12. Michelle Matthees is a current Minnesota State Arts Board Fellow and the author of Served, Outside, and Junket.

This informative and interactive program is geared toward all audiences. Admission to the event is free thanks to sponsorship by the Arrowhead Library System and funding by money from Minnesota’s Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund.

Blue Guitar Highway

On April 12^th – Noon in the Library Auditorium:  Local folk singer-songwriter Paul Metsa, who creates not only folk music, but also music in most styles to be found in America, will present a fantastic program for our Brown Bag Series. Bring a lunch and listen to Paul discuss his new memoir, Blue Guitar Highway which will be available for purchase and signing. (BTW, we're hoping he will also bring his guitar!) Once again, coffee an' will be generously provided by the Friends of the Library.

For more information on these events or others, please call 748-7525 or visit the event calendar at www.virginia.lib.mn.us.  And remember, during this week especially, that your library is at the heart of your community.

--Dawn Heisel, Public Services Librarian

The "Oscars" of Libraryland

It seemed like everyone in the world was waiting for Sunday night's Oscar ceremony.  Unfortunately, what I didn't see this season was the same type of anticipation for the "Oscars" of children's literature.  As a children's librarian by profession, I just can't understand why so few people are chatting around the water cooler about their next big children's read.  So, on the chance that this wonderful event has passed you, by let me shed some light on the subject.

First Newbery Award Winner, 1922

Every year the American Library Association gets a big group of librarians together and tries to make them agree on what books are the best children's books published that year.  If you think that people get hepped-up about movies, just try talking about what's good for children. I'm sure that at sometime since 1922 (note this date is FIVE YEARS EARLIER than the first Oscar) when The Story of Mankind by Hendrik Willem van Loon was awarded the very first Newbery award, someone must have written a murder mystery about this process.  From what I've heard, it would not be an exaggeration to say there have been many thoughts of murder made during these awards discussions.  I will even go so far as to say that the butler probably did do it, since, of course, librarians are always innocent.

Caldecott Award Winner, 2011

Anyway, the choices this year are truly amazing.  Last fall, I even held one of the books in my hands and thought "Gosh, I hope this wins."  For once the planets aligned in my favor and awarded Chris Raschka a Caldecott award for A ball for Daisy!  For those who like short books this does the trick.  In fact, for those who hate to read, it does one even better since it's a wordless book.  It's the fascinating and hilarious story of Daisy and her ball told through the fingers of an artist who is definitely going somewhere.  All I can say is that Chris Raschka definitely knows dogs.

Newbery Winner, 2011

For the older crew, the Newbery this year went to a popular artist with a gritty past.  Jack Gantos, of “Joey Pigza” and prison inmate fame, won with his new title Dead End in Norvelt.  I have to be honest and say I haven't read it yet, but I definitely plan to find the time.  It is a work of autobiographical fiction (yes, that really exists, especially since James Frey's interview with Oprah) and features the exploits of a 12 year old Jack Gantos during the summer of 1962. From what I've heard through the Libraryland grapevine, it is a fantastic book with a lot of kid appeal.  And, considering how many Newbery books have been made into movies, I'm sure we'll see it up for an Oscar by 2015. 

--Dawn Heisel, Public Services Librarian