Celebrating 150 Years of Origin

The children’s room at Takoma Park Library is proud to honor Charles Darwin as we celebrate his classic work On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection. The book was first published on November 22, 1859. London publisher John Murray printed an initial run of 1250 copies which were priced at 15 shillings per copy. All copies sold out that very same day. The book immediately ignited a firestorm of public and private discussion. The word evolution did not appear until the 1872 edition.

Charles Robert Darwin (1809-1882) was an English naturalist who composed a thoughtful and compelling theory to explain that all species of life have evolved over time from common ancestors. His evidence to that effect illustrates a pattern of evolution that is made possible by a specific process called natural selection. While many members of the scientific community accepted Darwin’s theory in his lifetime, it was not until the 1930’s-1950’s that a broad consensus developed which accepted natural selection as the fundamental mechanism of evolution. Darwin’s discovery is one of the most essential unifying theories in the life sciences as it helps explain the expansive diversity of life this planet has seen since the first organisms.

I have taken some time to create a bulletin board and book display featuring Darwin, Origin, evolution, and the natural world. If you have questions about what books we are featuring or would like to learn more about how Takoma Park Library is celebrating this important milestone please contact me in the children’s room at (202) 576-7486.

Today is National Gaming Day

The Takoma Park Library is participating in National Gaming Day today from 1-4. Please join us for board games, cards, chess, puzzles, and of course, we will set up the wii for sports. Also, today is Crafternoon, so in addition to games, we will be making turkey crafts for the bulletin board in the children's room. We have fun for all ages this afternoon and we hope to see you there!

40 years of Fun and Learning!

40 years later and children are still asking "will you tell me how to get, how to get to Sesame Street?" Today is the 40th birthday of the popular children's educational show. Designed to teach children beginning social and academic concepts, the show has flourished and reached many people over the past four decades. A delight for children and a blessing for teachers, librarians, and parents who recognized it as an important learning tool, I'm sure many of us can say the show played a role in our early years. I know I have many fond memories watching the show on the CBC when I was a preschooler. My favorite characters were the Count and Bert. Who were yours?

Also, just so you know, different volumes of Elmo's World, a popular spinoff show featuring arguably the most popular Sesame Street character, are available on DVD at Takoma Park Library. We also have films featuring other characters. Check the shelf, ask a librarian, or browse the catalog to find a film, book, or CD to celebrate this milestone birthday for a great children's program.

History Night it Tonight

This is just a friendly reminder that tonight the library will host a historical talk at 7:00 pm. I will discuss my recent grant project to preserve, catalog, and exhibit the Takoma Park History file. The first exhibit from this project is a glimpse at the library entitled "Takoma Park Library Through the Years." The display is a random assemblage of interesting tidbits from the history of the library since it opened in 1911. I plan to run a new exhibit every two months. I hope to see you tonight for a great look at our past.

This is a DC Community Heritage Project and was made possible by a grant from the DC Humanities Council, which is affiliated with the DC State Historic Preservation Office.

Special Events This Week at Takoma Park

Sorry for the lag in posting. I have been on vacation. I'm happy to announce some wonderful special events this week at Takoma Park Neighborhood Library. Our regular Wednesday morning story time will have a special theme this week. As part of the Kids Euro Festival, which is a celebration of European art and culture by EU embassies and local partners, the Takoma Park Library will dedicate their Pre-K story time to celebrating the country of Finland. I am almost 100% Finnish so when I was told of this opportunity to partake in this festival I jumped at the chance. Please join me tomorrow morning for Finnish stories, folktales, a felt craft, and traditional Finnish pulla bread, or Nisu, for a snack. The program will start at 10:30 am tomorrow.

Another great special event this month is History Night at the library. I recently received a grant to properly store and exhibit the Takoma History File, a small archival vertical file of clippings, photos, articles, and other ephemera. I will discuss the work I did as part of this grant project and highlight the collection. Please join me as I open the Takoma History File Exhibit and introduce the newly indexed collection. History Night is Thursday, October 22 and the program will begin at 7:00 pm. This project was made possible by a grant from the DC Humanities Council which is affiliated with the DC State Historic Preservation Office.

Spook City USA

Just in time for the season, the library has been receiving some new shipments of spooky books for the month of October and Halloween. One precious book takes the idea of the old woman who swallowed a fly and turns it into a monster who eats many strange and squiggly treats, one more bizarre than the next. We have a lot of great Fall and Halloween books on display above the mantle so please come in and check them out today!

NEW ARRIVALS

Haunted Party - by Iza Trapani

There Was And Old Monster - by Rebecca, Adrian, & Ed Emberley

Hush, Baby Ghostling - by Andrea Beaty

And Then Comes Halloween - by Tom Brenner

Hours Change

As of October 5th, all neighborhood libraries will be closed on Sundays. We apologize for this extreme inconvenience. Due to the fiscal situation for this coming year we are unable to keep our Sunday hours in effect. If you have comments or questions please contact one of the librarians at Takoma Park Neighborhood Library. Also, remember you can "visit" the library all day and all night every single day by checking our website at http://www.dclibrary.org/. You can browse the catalog, read feature articles, get library news and updates all with the click of a mouse!

Special Guest Author - Carolivia Herron

This morning, instead of our regular preschool story time, we are proudly presenting local Takoma Park author Carolivia Herron, author of Nappy Hair and other children's books. She will present a story session this morning at 10:30. We hope to see you there!

October Book Announced!

Hi everyone,
We had a great first meeting for our adult book group at the library. We will be discussing The Sister by Poppy Adams on Thursday, Oct. 15 at 7 pm.

All are welcome to attend, even if you missed tonight's initial meeting. Place your own hold on the book or call 576-7252 and we'll order you a copy. Hope to see you there!





Check out this review from Publishers Weekly:

"Estranged sisters Ginny and Vivien Stone reunite after 50 years, releasing a flood of painful memories in Stone's eerie, accomplished debut. Ginny and her younger sister Vivien lead an idyllic childhood in West Dorset, England, until Vivien nearly dies in an accident (the aftermath of which takes decades to unravel) when Ginny is 11 and Vivien is eight. Later, after the pair is expelled from school, a 15-year-old Vivien moves to London, and Ginny stays behind, covering up her mother Maud's alcoholism while trying to assist her father, Clive, with his research on moths and butterflies. After Maud's death and Clive's subsequent dementia, Ginny lives alone in the massive house, a brilliant but increasingly reclusive scientist whose insular world is cracked open when Vivien announces her desire to return and live out her days with Ginny. Long-buried secrets float to the surface as Ginny narrates with scientific precision her life's slow disintegration. Though the lepidopterological jargon and asides can slow things down, Adams expertly captures Ginny's voice and the dynamics of a deeply troubled family as the book barrels toward its chilling conclusion."
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

This Week at Takoma Park Library

We have a busy week this week at Takoma Park Library, not to mention an exciting one. Our adult book club debuts on Thursday and we also have our regular programming. This week is the last week to sign up for the Silver Screen book club (September Session).

Also, please note, we are getting new books in adult and children's so please stop by to see the new book shelves today.

Monday September 14

Program: Resume Workshop

Time: 10:30-11:30 am

Age: Adults

Description: Join Adult Librarian Jeanne Lauber for a career building workshop which will show you how to master the art of resume creation. This is an essential skill for adults of all ages.

Wednesday September 16

Program: Preschool Story Time - Feelings Theme

Time: 10:30 am

Age: 3-5

Description: Join us in the children's room for stories, rhymes, songs, and activities.

Program: Art in the Afternoon

Time: 3:30 pm

Age: 6+

Description: Take part in art discussion using the "Picturing America" series and join in the drawing contest after school.

Thursday September 17

Program: Teen Games

Time: 4:00 pm

Age: 12-17

Description: Teens are welcomed to come play games, from WII to board games to Playstation.

Program: Book Club

Time: 7:00 pm

Age: Adults

Description: This is the intial meeting of the adult book club. Come and join us to discuss the scope and format of this new book group. We will also brainstorm title selections.

Celebrate Roald Dahl!

For all of you fans of silly and fun children's fiction, come in and celebrate Roald Dahl month. September is dedicated to the amazing and imaginative storyteller. He was born on September 13th so it is only fitting for that day to be known as Roald Dahl day.

To celebrate this special author, the Takoma Park library is doing a few things. Our first installment of the Silver Screen Book Club is featuring a book by Dahl. We will be doing a book discussion and a film screening relating to Dahl's book about a boy and a magic peach. There is still time to sign up. The film screening and book talk will take place on Tuesday, September 22 at 6:00 pm. Popcorn and drinks will be provided. Come into the library or call the children's room (202) 576-7486 for more details.

For Roald Dahl day on September 13th, I've set up a display over the mantle in the children's room featuring all things Dahl. Come and check out your favorite title for some rainy day reading this weekend. If you are interested in finding out more about Roald Dahl and his work please check out his website at http://www.roalddahl.com/.

This Week at Takoma Park Library

Here is our weekly events calendar for the upcoming week. Also, please remember that we are closed for Labor Day on Monday, September 7th.

Wednesday, September 9th
Program: Preschool Story Time - Furry Friends Theme
Time: 10:30 am
Ages: 3-5
Description: Join us for stories, songs, rhymes and more!

Thursday, September 10th
Program: Teen Game Night
Time: 4 pm
Ages: 12-17
Description: Play games, sing songs, dance, draw.

Saturday, September 12th
Program: Crafternoon
Time: 2 pm
Ages: 6+
Description: Join us in making a simple story inspired, seasonal, or fun and funky craft.

New Arrivals! Books in Spanish for Children

We received a new shipment of children’s books in Spanish today. We have a few new board book titles, picture books, and nonfiction books in Spanish. These titles will be a great addition to our bilingual section. Please come in to check them out today! When my Spanish skills get a little better we will have a bilingual story time. I promise!

New Board Books
El pequeno Edu no se aburre nunca by Linne Bie
Que’ esconde el pequeno Edu by Linne Bie
El pequeno Edu va al pediatra by Linne Bie
Juana y los Colores by Ana Maria Gil
Juana y los Posiciones by Ana Maria Gil
Juana y los Tamanos by Ana Maria Gil

New Picture Books
Pomelo es Feliz by Ramona Badescu
Garbancito by Olalla Gonzalez
La Mejor Familia del Mundo by Susana Lopez
El Rino Realmenta Rudo by Jeanne Willis

New Nonfiction Books
I do India by Prodeepta Das
Oh, los Colores by Jorge Lujan
P de Piramides by Lali Sandiumenge

This Week at Takoma Park

Fall is finally starting to show itself, even if just a smidge! This pleases me immensely, as I am quite fond of Fall weather (not to mention Fall fashion.) I hope the changing season finds you in good spirits as well. We have a few upcoming events this week at the library, including our weekly Pre-K story time for 3-5 year olds as well as the new Teen Gaming Club. Our story time this week will focus on shapes and colors. I have a great flannel board planned as well as some interesting concept books. Our Young Adult Librarian, Miss Heather, has some great ideas for game night.

Also, dont' forget about our new book clubs for adults and children. The first informational session of the Adult Book Group will take place on Thursday the 17th. Additionally, it is not too late to sign up for the Silver Screen Book Club. We are reading a fantastic book by Roald Dahl. Our book group will meet on the 22nd and is designed for children 9-14. We will discuss the book to be immediately followed by a film screening. We hope to see you at a library event soon!

September 2, 2009
Program: Preschool Story Time - Color and Shape Theme
Time: 10:30 am
Ages: 3-5
Description: Join us in the children's room for stories, songs, rhymes, and more!

Program: Art in the Afternoon
Time: 3:30 pm
Ages: 6+
Description: Join us for art discussion using artwork from the "Picturing America" series to be followed by art techniques and an art contest.


September 4, 2009
Program: Teen Game Night
Time: 4:00 pm
Ages: 12-17
Description: Play games, sing, dance, draw. Be your loud silly selves!

The Sundance Worked!

Despite warnings of a looming thunderstorm, the sun peaked out at 11:00 and our summer reading roundup party went off without a hitch! It was a great event to celebrate the accomplishments of all of our summer readers. We had a duck pond, a ball toss, sidewalk chalk art, kites, and refreshments. We had over 75 people attend! It was a great afternoon. I would like to give a special thanks to the Friends of the Takoma Park Library, the library staff, and last, but certainly not least, our awesome customers! Thanks for making today so special.

This Week at Takoma Park Library

Since it is the first week of school, the library is taking a little breather from programming during this week. We only have one regular program scheduled. However, we do have our Summer Reading Roundup Party this weekend. All of those summer readers who completed the program (read 6 books or more and turned in their reading lists to a librarian) are invited to attend our party. There is no rain date for this party, so if we have rainy weather the party is canceled. This celebration is just for those participants that registered at Takoma Park.

Wednesday, August 26

Program: Preschool Story Time

Time: 10:30 a.m.

Ages: 3-5

Description: Joins us in the children's room for stories, songs, rhymes and more!

Saturday, August 29

Program: Summer Reading Round Up - Summer Readers Party

Time: 11:30-1:00

Ages: Summer Readers of All Ages who completed the Summer reading Program

Description: Celebrate your summer reading achievements with games, cake, and fun. We will have a duck pond, sidewalk chalk art, a ball toss, cake, and of course, prizes! We hope to see you there!

I Collect Spores, Molds, and Fungus...

Its that time of the year again when teachers are getting their classrooms ready and children are getting all those school supplies together. September is just around the corner. You know what that means! Wait...did you say back to school? Well, yeah, it means back to school. But, really, what I was going to say, is that when I think September, I think MUSHROOMS!

That's right, mushrooms! September is National Mushroom Month. Not only are mushrooms a great addition to sauces, salads, and stews and make a great topping on pizzas, but they also provide plenty of imagery in literature. Stories about magic, folklore, fairy tales and picture books all have their share of mushrooms and toadstools. During September we encourage you to come in and scope out our wide array of vegetarian cookbooks to find some great mushroom themed recipes. After you give the recipes a try, be sure to check out some after dinner reading as well. May we recommend Unexpected Magic by Diana Wynne Jones, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll, Mushroom in the Rain by Mirra Ginsburg, or any of our wonderful non-fiction books for those interested in finding out more about mushrooms and other fungi!

This Week at Takoma Park Library

Here is our weekly events calendar at the Takoma Park Library. We hope to see you stop in this week!

Tuesday, August 18th
Event: PJ Story Time
Time: 7:00 pm
Ages: 0-6 with and adult
Description: Snuggle up with stories, songs and snacks. Feel free to wear your pjs and bring your stuffed animal or lovey.

Wednesday, August 19th
Event: Preschool Story Time - Back to School Theme
Time: 10:30 am
Ages: 3-5
Description: Join us in the children’s room for stories, songs, rhymes, and more.

Event: Art in the Afternoon
Time: 3:30 pm
Ages: 6+
Description: We discuss art from the picturing America Series, practice art techniques, drawing, and sketching. After each session we have library staff and customers vote for their favorite masterpiece of the afternoon.

Saturday, August 22
Event: Crafternoon
Time: 3:30 pm
Ages: 6+
Description: Join us in making simple story inspired, seasonal, or fun/funky crafts.

The Library Rocks

We will be having guitar hero today for teens at 2:00. It seems only fitting to have a guitar hero event this weekend in honor of guitar legend and genius inventor Les Paul's passing. Les Paul, one of the quintessential influences in the guitar world, is known not only as an early innovator of the solid body guitar and the world famous Les Paul model of Gibson guitars, but also because he was just a freaking awesome good guitar player. To read a tribute article, go over to Guitar World magazine.

If you are interested in guitars, guitar playing, and some awesome rock and roll, feel free to come into the library or check the online catalog. We have guitar instruction books, a huge assortment of CDs, from the Beatles to the Rolling Stones, AC DC to ZZ Top. We not only have classic rock, but also a good selection of new rock as well. No matter what, we want to get the community to not only read, but to rock.

How Puzzling

It's a lovely day in the library and we have children coming out of our ears. To get those hands busy I spilled out a 1000 piece puzzle. We started at 1:00. Do you think we will finish by the end of the day? If you stop into the library today come and give us a hand. Let's see if we can get the pirate ship sailing before closing time!