Showing posts with label Library Programs. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Library Programs. Show all posts

Tuesday, February 25, 2020

FY21 Library Budget Presentation Video

FY21 Budget Presentation

Carnegie-Stout Public Library Director Susan Henricks gave a presentation to the Dubuque City Council last evening about the Library's Fiscal Year 2021 budget recommendations.

Here's a link to the video of Susan's presentation. For more information, see the City of Dubuque's Fiscal Year 2021 Budget page.

Tuesday, February 12, 2019

FY20 Library Budget Presentation Video

FY20 Budget Presentation

Carnegie-Stout Public Library Director Susan Henricks gave a presentation to the Dubuque City Council last evening about the Library's Fiscal Year 2020 budget recommendations.

Here's a link to the video of Susan's presentation. For more information, see the City of Dubuque's Fiscal Year 2020 Budget page.

Friday, February 9, 2018

FY19 Library Budget Presentation Video

FY19 Library Budget Presentation Video

Carnegie-Stout Public Library Director Susan Henricks gave a presentation to the Dubuque City Council last evening about the Library's Fiscal Year 2019 budget recommendations.

Here's a link to the video of Susan's presentation. For more information, see the City of Dubuque's Fiscal Year 2019 Budget.

Wednesday, November 1, 2017

#ComicsWednesday: "O Human Star" by Blue Delliquanti


Mystery, romance, interesting characters, and fun world-building details combine to make O Human Star by Blue Delliquanti one of my top 10 favorite ongoing series. The story is set in a near future where science and technology have advanced to make robots and artificial intelligence a part of everyday life. This is neither a grim dark dystopia nor a naive utopia; rather Delliquanti imagines something believably optimistic. Plus, it's just plain fun to see Minneapolis as the center of the cool robot future. How often do us Midwesterners get to be at the cutting edge?

The story starts when Alastair Sterling wakes up nearly twenty years after his last memory to learn that his work in robotics and artificial intelligence has served as the basis for the fantastically advanced robot future, thanks to the efforts of his former partner, Brendan. I don't want to spoil things too much here, but everything rapidly becomes more complicated and Delliquanti flips the perspective between the disorienting future and the dramas of the past. This story provides a great exploration of questions of identity and humanity, and it's no surprise that it made it onto NPR's list of 100 Favorite Comics and Graphic Novels.

Probably the best part of this series for those of us in the Dubuque area is that we'll have the chance to meet the creator when Blue Delliquanti is the Guest of Honor at Carnegie-Stout's Cabin Fever Mini Con on Saturday, January 27. This means that you have plenty of time to read both print volumes of O Human Star and check out the latest updates online.

~Sarah, Adult Services


Tuesday, February 14, 2017

FY18 Library Budget Presentation Video

Carnegie-Stout Public Library Director Susan Henricks gave a presentation to the Dubuque City Council last evening about the Library's Fiscal Year 2018 budget recommendations. Here's the video:


For more information, see the City of Dubuque's Fiscal Year 2018 Budget.


Wednesday, May 11, 2016

Nine Books for Plant Lovers with Black Thumbs

It's the time of year that even the blackest of thumbs start thinking about gardening. We here at Carnegie-Stout are getting in the gardening spirit too with a Tin Can Planter workshop on Saturday, May 28. Attendees will decorate a recycled tin can into an attractive planter. Registration is required for this program. You can register online on our Program Calendar, or you can call the Reference Desk at 563-589-4225.

To help you brainstorm what you might grow in your tin can planter, we've put together a container gardening reading list in our catalog.

And for anyone who thinks they might prefer to put cut flowers or even artificial flowers in their tin can planter, or who would rather read about gardeners than garden themselves, we've put together a reading list of Nine Books for Plant Lovers with Black Thumbs:

The flower chef: a modern guide to do-it-yourself floral arrangements by Carly Cylinder
A modern, comprehensive guide to floral design that caters to all readers--from beginners who have never worked with flowers before and are looking for a new creative outlet, to decorators, party planners and photographers looking to liven up their spaces.

My first ladies: twenty-five years as the White House chief floral designer by Nancy Clarke
For six administrations, Clarke designed the flowers and decorations for state dinners and planned the floral arrangements for the first family's private living quarters and weddings. She describes the inside story of her remarkable life at the White House, working with each first lady to help her find her own personal style for state dinners and holiday festivities.

The flower workshop: lessons in arranging blooms, branches, fruits, and foraged materials by Ariella Chezar
A master floral designer who has appeared in numerous magazines and is known for her hands-on flower workshops at FlowerSchool New York presents this lavishly illustrated guide to creating a vast array of floral projects, for all skill levels, that will enhance any surrounding with abundant beauty.

Japanese fabric flowers: 65 decorative kanzashi flowers to make by Sylvie Blondeau
Sylvie Blondeau shows you how to make 65 of these simply stunning designs. The projects are so easy and fun to make that you will soon be making them for every occasion.

Origami ikebana: create lifelike floral sculptures from paper by Benjamin John Coleman
The Japanese art of flower arranging is an age-old practice that honors nature and creates beauty through harmony and balance. This brand new book, Origami Ikebana, shows you how to create unique ikebana-inspired paper flower arrangements any time of the year.

Bloom and Doom by Beverly Allen
As the co-owner of the Rose in Bloom, Audrey Bloom creates magnificent flower arrangements for brides to be. Though helping to plan a wedding can be stressful, it's nothing compared to the groom turning up dead.

The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh
A mesmerizing, moving, and elegantly written debut novel, The Language of Flowers beautifully weaves past and present, creating a vivid portrait of an unforgettable woman whose gift for flowers helps her change the lives of others even as she struggles to overcome her own troubled past.

Thyme of Death by Susan Wittig Albert
Eager to open up an herb shop and get closer to the earth, China Bayles leaves behind her career in corporate law and moves to Pecan Springs, Texas, but a close friend's tragic death could end her happy plans.

Backyard by Norman Draper
When a local nursery introduces a gardening contest, the gardeners of Livia jump into the competition with a vengeance, including a middle-aged couple who risk their retirement savings, a garden witch, and a self-styled gardening expert.

Wednesday, April 27, 2016

Nine Books for Bike to Work Week

The annual celebration of the average bicyclist is coming! Are you ready for Bike to Work Week (May 16-20)? The Dubuque Bike Coop is coming to Carnegie-Stout Public Library to answer your questions about biking and give you the basics on bike care. We hope to see you there on Monday, May 9 at 6 p.m.

In the meantime, we've put together a short reading list for cycling enthusiasts:

Along for the Ride by Sarah Dessen
(YA Fiction Dessen) When Auden impulsively goes to stay with her father, stepmother, and new baby sister the summer before she starts college, all the trauma of her parents' divorce is revived, even as she is making new friends and having new experiences such as learning to ride a bike and dating.

Around the World on Two Wheels by Peter Zheutlin
(Biog Londonderry) For more than a century, the story of the audacious and charismatic Annie Kopchovsky and her attempt to circle the world by wheel has been lost to history. Who was this mysterious young woman on a bike? How did she manage, in the 1890s, to make a trip around the world by bicycle?

(796.64 BYR) Since the early 1980s, renowned musician and visual artist David Byrne has been riding a bike as his principal means of transportation in New York City. Byrne's choice was initially made out of convenience rather than political motivation, but the more cities he saw from his bicycle, the more he became hooked on this mode of transport and the sense of liberation, exhilaration, and connection it provided.

(Fiction Cleave) Cyclists Zoe and Kate are friends and athletic rivals for Olympic gold, while Kate and her husband Jack, also a world-class cyclist, must contend with the recurrence of their young daughter's leukemia.

A Lady Cyclist's Guide to Kashgar by Suzanne Joinson
(Fiction Joinson) In 1923, devout Eva English and her not-so-religious sister Lizzie embark on a journey to be missionaries in the ancient Silk Road city of Kashgar.

Lanterne Rouge by Max Leonard
(796.62 LEO) Shares the lesser-known stories of last-place finishers in the Tour de France, recounting the inspirational and occasionally absurd events that shaped their efforts.

Life is a Wheel by Bruce Weber
(917.3 WEB) Riding a bicycle across the United States is one of those bucket-list goals that many dream about but few fulfill. In 2011 at the age of fifty-seven, New York Times obituary writer Bruce Weber made the trip alone and wrote about it as it unfolded mile by mile.

The Lost Cyclist by David Herlihy
(Biog Lenz) Herlihy's gripping narrative captures the soaring joys and constant dangers accompanying renowned high-wheel racer and long-distance tourist Frank Lenz in the days before paved roads and automobiles.

Shift by Jennifer Bradbury
(YA Fiction Bradbury) When best friends Chris and Win go on a cross country bicycle trek the summer after graduating and only one returns, the FBI wants to know what happened.

Thursday, February 11, 2016

FY17 Library Budget Presentation Video

Carnegie-Stout Public Library Director Susan Henricks gave a presentation to the Dubuque City Council last evening about the Library's Fiscal Year 2017 budget recommendations. Here's the video:


For more information, see the City of Dubuque's Fiscal Year 2017 Budget.

Colorful, pocket-sized copies of Carnegie-Stout Public Library's Annual Report are available for free at the library.


Saturday, February 7, 2015

FY16 Library Budget Presentation Video

Carnegie-Stout Public Library Director Susan Henricks gave a presentation to the Dubuque City Council this week about the Library's Fiscal Year 2016 budget recommendations. Here's the video:

For more information, see the City of Dubuque's Fiscal Year 2016 Budget.

Copies of Carnegie-Stout Public Library's Annual Report are available for free at the library. This year's report is in the form of an attractive calendar with historical photos, facts and figures, and upcoming library events.


Thursday, May 1, 2014

Popular Photography and The Artist's Magazine are our May Magazines of the Month

Get inspired and explore your artistic side this spring! Carnegie-Stout has a broad collection of books dedicated to painting, woodworking, and any number of other crafts. To fit with this theme, our May magazines of the month have a creative bent.
https://catalog.dubuque.lib.ia.us/cgi-bin/koha/opac-detail.pl?biblionumber=10968&query_desc=kw%2Cwrdl%3A%20artist%27s%20magazine 
Popular Photography began publication in 1937, and is today the most popular photography periodical on the market. They cover information for beginners and experts, traditional film photography and modern digital methods. You can check out the latest print issue or borrow a digital issue through Zinio 

More monthly features and tips are available on their website: www.popphoto.com


The Artist’s Magazine is celebrating their 30th anniversary of publication in 2014. Each issue is devoted to the work of visual artists, primarily those interested in painting. In addition to advice and interviews, they offer competitions and contests.

More features, including videos, can be found on their website: www.artistsnetwork.com/the-artists-magazine

Wednesday, April 2, 2014

April Magazines of the Month: Kiplinger's and Consumer Reports Money Adviser

April is not just tax season, it's also Money Smart Week! An annual opportunity to take a look at your personal finances and budget to see if there's anything you could be doing better.

http://www.moneysmartweek.org/
If you need a tax form, we have some of the federal forms available in the library, and can help you print others from the state and federal websites for 10 cents a page. We're also partnering with other local organizations for Money Smart Week. Don't miss Community Shred Day from 9-11 a.m. on Saturday April 12th or the Money Smart Kids READ event from 4-5 p.m. on Thursday, April 10th.

In honor of fiscal responsibility, we've selected Consumer Reports Money Adviser and Kinglinger's Personal Finance Magazine as our April magazines of the month! Be sure to check them out, along with the other titles on our Money Smart display on the second floor.

http://www.kiplinger.com/http://www.dubuque.lib.ia.us/BusinessDirectoryii.aspx?ysnShowAll=0&lngNewPage=0&txtLetter=C&txtZipCode=&txtCity=&txtState=&txtBusinessName=&lngBusinessCategoryID=29&txtCustomField1=&txtCustomField2=&txtCustomField3=&txtCustomField4=&txtAreaCode=
You can also check out Kiplinger's Personal Finance on your tablet or computer through our Zinio app.

Thursday, February 13, 2014

FY15 Library Budget Presentation Video

Carnegie-Stout Public Library Director Susan Henricks gave a presentation to the Dubuque City Council last night about the Library's fiscal year 2015 budget recommendations. Here's the video:


For more information, see the City of Dubuque's Fiscal Year 2015 Budget.

You can pick up a copy of the Annual Report for Carnegie-Stout Public Library by stopping in, or on our website.

Monday, November 11, 2013

Reading NaNoWriMo: "Shades of Milk and Honey"

http://hip.dubuque.lib.ia.us/ipac20/ipac.jsp?session=1383O8508439L.289&menu=search&aspect=advanced&npp=10&ipp=20&spp=20&profile=cspl-horizon-main&ri=&term=kowal&index=.AW&x=0&y=0&aspect=advanced&term=shades+milk+honey&index=.TW&term=&index=.SW&term=&index=.SE&term=&index=.GW&sort=The bulk of my attention for November has turned to NaNoWriMo, which means less time for reading (even if I'm woefully behind target for my word count). Luckily there are many books that I've enjoyed, but haven't had a chance to review here on the blog, so today I'm here to sell you on the novels of  Mary Robinette Kowal, who happened to write the first of her Glamourist Histories series, Shades of Milk and Honey, during NaNoWriMo.

[Side note: If you're participating in NaNoWriMo this year, we're having a Come Write In session tomorrow (Tuesday) at 6 p.m. and then at 7 p.m. the book club is discussing another NaNoWriMo book, The Night Circus, which Andrew reviewed here.]

I first read Shades of Milk and Honey in 2011, and I picked up the most recent in the series, Without a Summer, this past August. I really enjoy the way Kowal mixes Jane Austen-like Regency romance with a system of magic that fit naturally with the setting. Even better, this has proven to be a series that holds up well to rereads. A fourth book, Valour and Vanity is scheduled for publication next year, and I'll probably be pre-ordering a copy.


In fact, I liked Shades of Milk and Honey so much, that I named it my favorite book of 2011 (I generally try to read at least a few of the Hugo and Nebula nominees each year). Months later I remembered to add a (very) short review to my Goodreads account, and then was floored when Ms. Kowal (or some person in charge of her Goodreads profile) "liked" my review.

It was a helpful reminder that these days it's not uncommon for social media savvy authors to interact with their fans, and not just the fans who sought out their mailing address, email, or blog comment section. It's fairly easy to use keyword tracking to find mentions of your name (especially if a library @ tags the author), or the title of your most recent novel.

In fact, we now have a half-serious joke about trying not to look like we're stalking Rainbow Rowell on Twitter. We aren't. We swear. Though, speaking of, did you know her most recent novel, Fangirl, is also a NaNoWriMo novel?

Of course, it seems unlikely that a group of librarians encouraging readers to love a favorite book as much as we do would be mistaken for creepers. But the other side of an author's ability to connect with fans online, is that it's astonishingly easy for readers to learn about the lives of their favorite authors. Long gone are the days when a young reader might pour over the about the author paragraph in the back of a favorite paperback trying to guess if the author is a cat or a dog person.

For example, we all recently learned how (not so) easy it is to (apply a rigorous research method and) impersonate Patrick Rothfuss on Twitter. In fact, Ms. Kowal applied some of the same methods she used to achieve a writing voice similar to Jane Austen's in order to out Rothfuss Rothfuss (who, it should be noted, failed to hit the 50,000 word mark during NaNoWriMo, and that's okay).

I also learned, in the course of writing this blog post, that Ms. Kowal is an accomplished voice actress, who has narrated several audiobooks. If you'd like to learn more about the author, she keeps a blog on her website: www.maryrobinettekowal.com
She also tweets as herself: @MaryRobinette

~Sarah, Adult Services


One final note: I couldn't think of a way to work in a link to my review of Shine, Shine, Shine by Lydia Netzer, which was also written during NaNoWriMo.

Saturday, November 2, 2013

Mapping Your Story: A Creative Writing Workshop with Dr. Marianne Choquet

If you weren’t able to make the first of our two writing workshops with Dr. Marianne Choquet, don’t fret! We’ve put together a brief overview of the story mapping exercise so that everyone can join us on Wednesday, December 4th at 7 p.m. If you were one of the participants in our first workshop, remember to keep track of your story map and key to bring with you in December. We'll also be providing a microphone for Dr. Choquet's use.

Mapping Your Story: A Creative Writing Workshop
This two-part workshop is for writers with a story to tell who wonder how best to tell it, where to begin, and how to discipline themselves while writing. The idea of mapping a story is to give structure to the writing process. The goal of the workshop is to encourage and focus writers as they create a map and a key of sorts from which to write a first draft.

Dr. Choquet divided the presentation into three parts:
1)    An inspirational overview of the writing process and discussion of her experience writing her first novel.
2)    A guided meditation to calm the mind and allow participants to access the truth of the story within their hearts. (Meditation guide at bottom of this post)
3)    The creation of story maps during which Dr. Choquet answered questions.

The act of storytelling is an act of generosity. You are giving a part of yourself to the people who hear/read your story. Your story will also give back to you as you create it. As Dr. Choquet said, “creativity and generosity thrive together.”

Mapping is an exercise in ownership of space (think of the explorer and cartographer Amerigo Vespucci whose influence led to the naming of the American continents).  By mapping your story you will find that you have a clearer sense of its direction and purpose. The most important thing to remember in the creation of your map is that there is no wrong or right way to create your map.

What you need to create your map:
1)    A place where you can concentrate.
2)    A large piece of paper.
3)    Your choice of pens, markers, pencils, crayons, glitter, etc.
4)    A snack or treat is also fun!

When creating your map, you are discovering the journey of your story, and that journey may take many forms: a map of geographical locations, the shape of an object, a timeline, a web, or anything else that feels right to you.

Questions to ask yourself when creating your map (the key):
1)    Where does your story start?
2)    Where does it end?
3)    What physical locations/points in time are important to your story?
4)    Why do you want to tell this story?
5)    Who do you want to tell this story to?
6)    Who is telling this story? Who is the narrator?
7)    What do you want to give with this story?
8)    What do your characters want?
9)    What do you want this story to do to your reader? To you? To the characters within it?
10)    Imagine the reader finishing your story. What would you like them to say about it?

Most importantly, don’t rush yourself and give yourself the time to really focus. Likewise, don’t overthink. Your first instinct is often your best. This is only the first step on your journey as a storyteller, and there’s always time to change and refine later.

http://carnegiestout.blogspot.com/2013/10/nanowrimo-and-magazines-of-month.html
Follow this link to learn about our other NaNoWriMo events.

Meditation Guide
I always begin with deep belly breathing, in and out through the nose, for at least counts of five, both inhalation and exhalation. This time, Wednesday eve, I brought fire to the belly, imagining a fire glowing there, and steadily, with breath, tending the flame. At a certain point, when it feels time, I tell people to imagine a gold ball (I like to work with gold) spinning at their tailbone. And from there, with timing that feels right all the way through, I guide that ball through the legs to the bottom of the feet, shooting golden roots to the center of the earth, and back up through the body to the crown feeling the golden rays moving out as well as in from above, I especially like to work with gold in the hands and fingers before writing. I eventually guide people to their heart, and to imagine themselves small, standing at the altar of their heart. For this workshop, I then, after some time of guiding people to see their story as they stand there at the altar of the heart, to hear it whispering to them, I tell them to place this story they want to tell on the altar, all of it, in whatever form it comes. I eventually tell them to open their eyes and write where the story begins. To close their eyes, to see it and hear it again, and then to open their eyes and write where it ends. After that, I tell them to fill the page with it. At that point the guided meditation ends and it becomes a meditation in creativity for each person. The overall idea is to feel the energy inside oneself, to feel the connection to earth and ether, to enter one's heart and claim that space as one's own, to feel the electricity in the body and to create with it.

Thursday, October 31, 2013

NaNoWriMo and the Magazines of the Month

It's November once again, which for most people means time to start thinking about holiday gatherings and snow removal, but for some special few of us, November is something more. You might call us crazy, but every number thousands of people band together over the often solitary quest to write an entire novel in one month. That's right, it's time for NaNoWriMo!

In celebration and support of Dubuque's WriMos Carnegie-Stout has arranged a series of speakers, Come Write In sessions, displays of material to help you on your writing journey, and even the magazines of the month fit in the spirit of NaNoWriMo: 

 

Both Writer’s Digest and The Writer provide resources for writers, from the novice to the established, ranging from advice on publication, networking opportunities, writing prompts, advice and interviews, and more. The Writer began publication in 1887, making it one of the oldest continuously published magazines in the United States. Writer's Digest has been in publication since the 1920s, and is produced by the same publishers as the annual Writer's Market. 

NaNoWriMo Events at Carnegie-Stout

Come Write In!
Tuesdays in November (5th, 12th, 19th, 26th), 6-7 p.m.
Join us in the coffee bar area on the 2nd floor of Carnegie-Stout as we share the fun and frustration of participating in NaNoWriMo. The library will provide a pot of coffee to share, free WiFi, and you can even check out a lap top if you want! Come early, stay late (we're open until 9 p.m. on Tuesdays).

Pathway to Publishing

Sunday, November 17th, 2-3:30 p.m.
Council Bluffs author Marcia Calhoun Forecki will speak about becoming an author.  She has published nonfiction and short stories and contributes to an internet zine and has a blog on Goodreads, a site for readers and book recommendations.  Join Marcia to share your love of stories, books and writing in celebration of NaNoWriMo.

Mapping the Story You Want to Tell

Wednesday, December 4th, 7-8:30 p.m. 
This is the second of two lectures. If you missed the first (on October 30th), you are still more than welcome to join us, as we can also celebrate surviving NaNoWriMo! Dr. Marianne Choquet, a humanities lecturer at UW-Platteville, will direct this two-part workshop for writers with a story to tell and who wonder how best to tell it, where to begin, and how to discipline themselves while writing. The idea of mapping a story is to give structure to the process of writing. The goal of the workshop is to encourage and focus writers and to create a map from which to write a first draft.
 

And if you're registered on the NaNoWriMo website, feel free to add me as a writing buddy: nanowrimo.org/participants/ssmithdbq

~Sarah, Adult Services

Tuesday, October 1, 2013

Jennifer Chiaverini! & our October Magazines of the Month

Jennifer Chiaverini author of the popular Elm Creek Quilt series, as well as the stand alone historical novels Mrs. Lincoln's Dressmaker and The Spymistress will be speaking at Carnegie-Stout Public Library on October 14th. Due to limitations of space, tickets are required to attend this event. Unfortunately, all of the available tickets for this event have been claimed. In fact, all of the tickets were gone within 24 hours!
 
To learn more about Ms. Chiaverini, or to find some reading suggestions, check out our Jennifer Chiaverini Read Alikes blog post. And because our read alike post was written before she turned her pen to the Civil War, you might also enjoy this blog post of Historical Fiction of the American Civil War.

In anticipation of this exciting author visit, we've selected two magazines of the month for October: The Quilt Life and Fons and Porter's Love of Quilting
The Quilt Life magazine is a collaboration between the American Quilter's Society and the stars of the television program The Quilt Show. The magazine, which offers six issues a year, began publication in 2010. Their website provides more information, including patterns:
www.americanquilter.com/quilt_life

Fons and Porter's Love of Quilting is created by the team behind the Public Television program of the same name. There are six issues of the magazine every year that include patterns, tips and tricks, and more. There are some fun extras on their website as well, including recipes: www.fonsandporter.com/index.html

Wednesday, May 29, 2013

Weird Website Wednesday


From the Bee Dogs homepage.
I hope that you had a chance to read Allison's post about stamp collecting, and the potential for collecting to become hoarding. While I imagine it would take an extreme number of stamps to earn you a spot on the television program Hoarders, you still might want to consider starting an online collection. Such as the fine website Bee Dogs, which is chock full of pictures of dogs wearing bee costumes. Though I suspect this site may've stopped updating years ago, the archives of bee dogs are still there for your enjoyment!

Archived Wind Map of Hurricane Isaac, click through for animation.
For something a bit more educational, you should take a look at the Wind Map created by Fernanda ViƩgas and Martin Wattenberg. An animated map of current wind speeds and directions that's both soothing and interesting for amateur metereologists. Be sure to check out the gallery of past Wind Maps, including the landfall of Hurricane Sandy.


The Akinator
Because you're reading a library's blog, it's fairly safe to assume that you're a reader, and you probably enjoy television, movies, and have at least flipped through a graphic novel or comic book. In fact, I'll go out on a limb and guess that you probably have a favorite character. Maybe you wanted to marry Mr. Darcy or live the life of Jack Reacher. Whatever your favorite book is, The Akinator can read your mind. Through a variation on 20 Questions, this website will narrow in to guess whatever character you're thinking of. Although it is possible to stump it.


maHvaD muv pujbe' tay, logh vIq!
These days there are several different free online translation services, but I can still remember how helpful Babelfish was for my French homework when it first appeared years ago (though our teachers warned that it made our sentences into gibberish). These days I tend to rely on Google's Translator, but their rival, Bing, is the place to turn for all your Klingon translation needs. The feature is offered as part of the promotion for the new Star Trek movie, but also serves well as a segue to promoting our upcoming Space Fleet adventure. 
We'll be launching three spaceships on Wednesday, July 17th at 7 p.m. Click through to read more about Artemis, and be sure to let us know if you're interested in signing up

If you missed our first Weird Website Wednesday post, you can check that out here.

Friday, April 26, 2013

Thanks to Dubuque Author Robert Byrne



Thanks to Dubuque author Robert Byrne and everyone who came to our screening of The Towering Inferno last night in celebration of Dubuque Main Street's Architecture Days.

If you missed Bob's visit to the library, you can place a hold on Bob's novel Skyscraper in our online catalog, and browse through Bob's many other titles.

Our next movie is Life of Pi on May 22. We hope to see you there!

Monday, April 8, 2013

Capture the Flag!

When I talk to people about my job here at the library, I often end up dispelling myths about what the library and my job are like. No, it's not particularly quiet; no, I don't get to spend my days reading; yes, we still have plenty of print books and will for the foreseeable future. That sort of thing.

I laid out some rules . . .

Something that comes up a lot is the fact that the library's mission has changed a lot in the last fifty years. Once upon a time we focused on being an erudite source of edification, a little ivory tower in the middle of downtown. These days, our official mission statement reads, "The mission of the Carnegie-Stout Public Library is to improve the quality of life by providing resources that enhance and contribute to individual enjoyment, enlightenment, and knowledge." We still work to provide materials and programs that will broaden people's horizons and teach them more about their world, but we also realize that the library can help the community by being a place where people come together for more lighthearted pursuits.

while the competitors listened attentively.
This is all a big windup to the fact that we tried out a new program this weekend: Nerf Capture the Flag! Just shy of twenty folks gathered after closing on Saturday for a couple of hours running around the reference area shooting little foam darts at each other. Much fun was had by all, we met some nice folks, and we all learned a valuable lesson about the effects of short bursts of intense activity on bodies that aren't as young as they used to be.

I don't suspect that the folks who installed these shelves ever
imagined they'd be used for cover in a foam dart shootout.
If this sounds like fun, keep an eye out for signs in the building or a post on our Facebook page. And if you should happen to find a little foam dart behind the reference desk, give it to a librarian and tell them Andrew said you could have a piece of candy for it.




A tense dash from one shelf to another!




I know this one's quite blurry, but the action pose was too good to pass up!


The winners!