Volunteers party down

We had a pretty good turnout for our volunteer blast last Friday night and were able to say, when it was all over, that it was a big success. The surprise hit of the evening was that the board games were really popular - so popular, in fact, that we decided then and there to have a games night for our YA's once a month! We'll bring back all the games we had on Friday, plus lots of new ones (anyone have a Go board they could bring?), get out the DDR, provide snacks, and invite all our BFYA's. Late Night at the Library will kick off on Friday, September 15 at 6:00 pm. Details will be posted here when we get closer to the date.

Of course, we'll still run Halo After Hours on Fridays, too -- just different Fridays. The next one of those will be on August 25th.

Thanks once again to all our summer volunteers! We love you!

Oh - and Megan L. took home the monkey. Take good care of it, Megan!

Who will take home the monkey?

We'll know the answer to that by this time tomorrow, after the gala Volunteer Appreciation Party here in the library. All our Young Adult volunteers from this summer (you know who you are!) are invited to come at 5:00 for pizza, soda, games and prizes, and we'll raffle off the coveted giant inflatable monkey to one very lucky person.

We'll have the DDR pads out, all the computers up, and we even brought some non-electronic games for the traditionalists. Hope to see everyone there!

Volunteers contribute in a big way

Summer reading is our favorite time of year because we see so many kids in the library every day. But it would drive us crazy, if it weren't for our Young Adult volunteer army, 35 kids ages 12 and up who show up every week to help out. Some sit at the desk and take reports, some help out with the little kids in storytimes, and some just do whatever we ask them to. We couldn't imagine summer without them! Thanks, everyone!

Other cool things we're doing: Miss Becky's Tuesday quilt group, Wild Things Quiltmakers, learned some stitches last week and created some great looking quilt blocks today; AniManga will be screening the second three episodes of Full Metal Alchemist next Monday, and another LAN party is scheduled for 5:00 Friday night.

Farewell, Miss Honda!

The Ani-Manga Club watched our last 3 episodes of Fruits Basket today, and we made so much noise I thought they would hear us all the way upstairs! Next meeting, we'll get going on Full Metal Alchemist, so stop by on June 5th and 4:00 and start something new.

The summer schedule is out, and we have some new things and some old ones, too. New: Miss Becky's Wild Things Quiltmakers, meeting on Tuesdays in June and July, to learn the fine art of quilting for charity. Old: Get Wired!, more anime, and more Halo parties scheduled for May 26, June 16 and 30, and July 14. Also, we bought some DDR pads and now we have to figure out what to do with them! Get all the info on the Youth Services page of our NORMAL website.

We still have a reading program! You could win some very interesting prizes just for reading books from the library. See the staff, if you want to know more.

What a week!

The Young Adult Department hosted three great events in one week! We ran Get Wired, a Halo LAN party, and the first meeting of the Ani-Manga Club, all within seven days of each other. Not coincidentally, it was National Library Week, and I think we celebrated in style.

Ani-Manga has decided to meet every other week, at least for a while, because we can't wait a whole month to see the next three episodes of Fruits Basket. Everyone had a blast at the first meeting. That little rat was so cute! If you want to come to the next meeting, but missed the first part of the story, we'll be more than happy to fill you in on what happened -- or you can check out the first five volumes of the manga, which should be available on shelf by then. Next meeting will be on April 24th at 4:00. Call and let me know if you're coming!

Fruits Basket

The Ani-Manga Club will meet on Monday April 10 at 4:00 to screen the first three episodes of Fruits Basket. I've seen it, I like it, and I bet most of you will, too. Give us a call to let us know you're coming, so I know how many bags of wasabi snacks to buy (there'll be popcorn, too, for traditionalists).

Non-boring non-fiction.

We have some great nonfiction on our new books shelf this week, including:
Bat Boy Lives! the WEEKLY WORLD NEWS guide to politics, culture, celebrities, alien abductions, and the mutant freaks that shape our world (be sure to use the link to check out the cover art, so you can understand what a credible news source this is)

Fantasy Encyclopedia: A guide to the fabulous beasts and magical beings-from elves and dragons to vampires and wizards (beautiful illustrations, if this is the kind of thing you like)

The Art of the Sports Car: The greatest design of the 20th Century (beautiful illustrations, if this is the kind of thing you like)

and

It's Happy Bunny: Love Bites

Non-fiction does not have to be good for you!!!

We got wired, again!

Eleven people learned to make bracelets, necklaces AND earrings under Suzanne's watchful eye, and laughed a lot while doing it. The next Get Wired! is scheduled for Tuesday, May 2, so call us if you want to get in on the fun. (Elizabeth, you are so BAD!)