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!

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.

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 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.

Two Great Teen Programs in August

Thursday, August 13 @ 7 pm
Manga Drawing Contest
Winner receives a pizza giftcard from Dominos!











Saturday, August 15 @ 2 pm
Guitar Hero Contest
Come break in the library's new Guitar Hero set!









Programs for teens ages 12 - 17

Scary As You Like It

I just wanted to share the news that I am collaborating with another coworker on a different type of blog. Nick Hirsch, from Watha T. Daniel Library, started a blog dedicated to fun and freaky books that walk on the dark side. I will be co-authoring the blog with him, and perhaps others in the future.

Spooky Books For Strange Children is dedicated to all things strange. It is for "the strange at heart, children and adults, who share a love of books bizarre, scary, terrifying, odd and, well, spooky!" We will post reviews for children and teens in different genres, with our main focus being on horror, sci-fi, and fantasy. It is our intention to create a blog that looks at scary and odd books from picture books, to easy readers, to chapter books and everything in between. We will compile subject and age-specific reading lists, post book reviews, and we look forward to discussion.

Go check it out today and start following our posts. Stay Scary!

Upcoming Events: This Week at Takoma Park

We have a busy week this week at Takoma Park Neighborhood Library. Summer reading programs are in full swing, not to mention we are still offering our Wednesday Preschool Story Time. In addition to special and regular programming we are delighted to offer a new program that will take place on Wednesday afternoons. I will be hosting "Art in the Afternoon" every Wednesday for the rest of this month. I will demonstrate art techniques, highlight our art book collection, and let participants free style sketch, draw, and/or paint for each afternoon session. At the end of the afternoon, staff and customers will vote for their favorite piece of art and the winner will receive a prize bag. Each participant will get a free prize from the summer reading prize box as well. We hope to see you at one, or more, of our many great programs this week.

Tuesday July 14th

Program: Lyn Dancing

Time: 6:30

Ages: Teens

Wednesday July 15th

Program: Preschool Story Time

Time: 10:30

Ages: 3-5 year olds

Description: Join us in the Children's Room for stories, songs, rhymes and more!

Wednesday July 15th

Program: Art in the Afternoon

Time: 3:30

Ages: 6+

Description: Join us for art techniques, drawing, art book exploration, and sketching. One artist will be voted the top winner for that day and they will receive a small prize bag.

Thursday July 16th

Program: Fast Freddy the Clown

Time: 1:30

Ages: All Ages

Description: Join us as we host Fast Freddy the Clown and his comedic and artistic magic.

Saturday July 18th

Program: Expressin' Out Teens

Time: 2:00

Ages: Teens

Description: Join YA Librarian Heather Petsche while she hosts a project runway contest. Bring in a t-shirt which you can then learn how to reshape and style into a whole new look.

Summer Reading Continues!

The 4th of July is over, but there is still plenty of time to rock out at the Takoma Park Library. Children and teens are able to sign up for the summer reading program until the end of July. The summer reading programs "Be Creative @ Your Library" for children and "Express Yourself" for teens have some great performers and special events coming up in July and August. If you match the reading goal of six books you can earn some fun incentive prizes and also get your name entered in the raffle for the big award at the end of the summer.

Small prizes for children include inflatable guitars (which my lovely niece Amelie is showing off in the photo), sports balls, stuffed animals, light up pens, puppets, and many other things. Small prizes for teens include glitter lamps, light up pens, MP3 players, flash drives, and art sets. These cool trinkets and prizes could be yours and all you have to do is read! So whether you're into Very Hungry Caterpillars, Lions, Witches, and Wardrobes, or teenage vampires, you can earn some fun awards. Stop by the library today to sign up!

Also, for those interested, here are some upcoming events at the library this week:

Tuesday July 7th at 1:30: Janice the Griot - Storyteller for children

Wednesday July 8th at 10:30: Preschool Story Time for children 3-5

Friday July 10th: Young Adult program at 1:30

Saturay July 11th: Be Creative Saturday at 2:00 for children 8+ or younger with an adult

Silver Screen Book Club coming this Fall

This Fall I will be starting a Silver Screen Book Club for children and teens ages 10-14. There is a huge assortment of wonderful books that have been made into films and we will explore some of those. This will be a very enriching experience, noting differences between the way a story is told in the two formats and also seeing the benefits of each type of media.

This program will start in late September but right now we are looking for suggestions. If you have a favorite book that was turned into a film and it is appropriate for this age group (reading level wise and content wise) please let us know. I will be reading books and screening films throughout July and August so any suggestions would be helpful!

Teen and Children's Programs Tomorrow!

For those of you looking for something fun to do tomorrow, come check out what's going on at the library. You can sign up for summer reading and participate in our fun and creative programs. The Young Adult Librarian will be hosting karaoke for teens and I will be hosting an arts and crafts session for ages 4+.

Karaoke and Arts and Crafts (Crafternoon), both start at 2:00. Singing will be downstairs in the programming room and Crafternoon activities will be on the main floor in the children's section. We hope to see you then. Don't forget to bring in your completed reading logs for prizes or sign up for Summer Reading if you haven't done so already!

Summer Reading Starts Today!

Today is the official first day of summer reading. This year’s summer reading theme for children is Be Creative @ Your Library. For Teens, it is Express Yourself @ Your Library. We have a lot of great plans for this summer, including wonderful programs, crafts, and performers for children, teens, and the whole family!

How The Program Works

1. Children and Teens ages 0-17 register for the reading program at your local library. At Takoma Park, children 0-14 sign up with Either Ms. Lindsay or Ms. Rachel. Teens register with the YA librarian. Those participants 12-14 are able to sign up for both the children's and the teens program if they so desire.

2. Once you register you will receive a book log to keep track of the books you read. Set a reading goal for yourself and ask a librarian if you have questions how to keep track of your books.

3. For every 3 books you read, you can show your reading log to a librarian and receive special prizes and incentives. The first 3 books read earn a level I prize, the next 3 read earn a level II prize.

4. Throughout the summer DC Public Library will be offering various presentations, programs, contests, and performers. Pick up a list of events from the library or check back to the blog for performer and program updates.

5. Everyone who completes the program by finishing their reading goal/submitting a complete book log will be entered into a drawing for more prizes and rewards, including the huge prize pack awarded at the end of the summer. You can earn more entries into the prize pack drawing by reading beyond the initial 6 books.

Participants are reminded to only sign up at one library. While you can attend events at any public library, it is encouraged that you only sign up and return your book logs to one location.

Just a reminder that our Summer Reading Kick-Off event is on May 5th at 3:30 in the children’s room. Stop by to get creative and help us make our summer reading display board!

For more information on upcoming programs or if you have any questions, please contact the Takoma Park Neighborhood Library, visit http://www.dclibrary.org/, or check back to this blog.