October Books-Sandwiched-In

In 1907, the State of New York issued a provisional charter to the Sodus Circulating Library Association to form a circulating library and reading room for the residents of the First Fire District of Sodus. From this beginning, we've grown into the Sodus Free Library of 2007. To learn some of what happened in between, sign up now for our October 16th Books-Sandwiched-In. Shirley Patchett, Library volunteer columnist for the Sun & Record, will be presenting One Hundred Years of the Sodus Free Library. Reservations are required; $3 covers the program and noon lunch.

Library Board Meets Thursday

The September meeting of the Sodus Free Library Board of Trustees will be held at 4 p.m. this Thursday, October 11th. Board meetings are open to the public.

Library Closing

The Library will be closed on Monday, October 8th, for the Columbus Day holiday.

Treasure Your Freedom To Read

What better time to celebrate our freedom to read than Banned Books Week? This year's theme is "Treasure Your Freedom To Read, Get Hooked on a Banned Book."

During Banned Books Week, September 29 - October 6, 2007, thousands of libraries and bookstores throughout the nation are celebrating the most basic freedom of a democratic society -- the freedom to read. According to the American Library Association's Office for Intellectual Freedom, more than a book a day faces removal from free and open public access in American schools and libraries.

"Not every book is right for every reader," said ALA President Loriene Roy. "Libraries serve users from a variety of backgrounds - that's why libraries need - and have - such a wide range of materials. Individuals must have the right to choose what materials are suitable for themselves and their families."

The "10 Most Challenged Books of 2006" reflect a range of themes, and consist of the following titles: And Tango Makes Three by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell, the Alice series by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor, Athletic Shorts by Chris Crutcher, Beloved by Toni Morrison, The Bluest Eye, also by Toni Morrison, The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier, The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big Round Things by Carolyn Mackler, the Gossip Girl series by Cecily Von Ziegesar, The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky, and the Scary Stories series by Alvin Schwartz.

World War I Programs

With so much written and produced about World War II, the history and importance of the first World War is often overlooked. Researcher Victor Harris will be presenting two programs on World War I at 7 p.m. on consecutive Thursdays in October. On October 4th, Harris will present “A Higher Form of Killing: Chemical Warfare During World War One,” which will examine life in the trenches, new military technologies of the time, and the effects of these new weapons. On October 11th, “Over Here, Over There” will contrast the country’s attempt to preserve democracy in Europe with the hysteria and paranoia that swept America at home. Reservations are not required for these free programs. Thank you to the Friends of the Sodus Free Library for sponsoring these programs.

Books-Sandwiched-In

Sign up now for our first Books-Sandwiched-In of the Fall season. “Rose Lady” Audrey Ferris will present “Roses for Every Garden” at noon on Tuesday, September 18^th. A $3 charge covers your sandwich, a beverage, and dessert. Reservations are required, with the luncheon charge collected the day of the program. Please call or stop by the Library as soon as possible, as Audrey’s presentations sell out quickly!

September Board Meeting

The monthly meeting of the Library's Board of Trustees will be held in our meeting room at 4 p.m. on Thursday, September 13th. All Board meetings are open to the public.

Summer Reading Grand Prize Winner

On Friday, we held the last prize drawing of the Summer. The winner of our Get a Clue grand prize, the Family Fun Pack, is Nora M. Congratulations to Nora and her family; we hope the games and toys bring you many hours of fun.

We're Closed, But ...

Yes, we're closed for the long weekend. However, if you are out shopping the sales and see a book you'd like to read (but not necessarily buy), head to your computer when you get home and place an OWWL Hold on that title. On Tuesday, all of our libraries will be checking our lists of books with reserves, and sending them out in our daily deliveries. The book that caught your eye will be waiting for you at our Library in a matter of days, and in some cases, hours!

Library Closing

The Library will be closed this Saturday, Sunday, and Monday for the Labor Day weekend. Stock up on some great books and DVDs now!

Sixth Week Prize Winners

The last week of Get a Clue is done, and our prize winners are:

Preschool-9th Grade -- Kilah A., Ayanna H., Jade P., Cara P., and Melissa Y.; 10th Grade-Adult -- Antje P.

Congratulations all!

Remember, you have until August 31st to turn in your Bingo sheets. See you at the Library soon!

See You Thursday

Don't forget to join us for the fun tomorrow, August 16th, starting at noon for the picnic on the porch for all Summer Reading participants. If we fill up the porch, we'll spread out under the tree. All families are invited to enjoy the very magical Jim Bush at 1 p.m. in the Library's meeting room. See you there!

Get a Clue Week 6

This is the final week of our Get a Clue @ Your Library Summer Reading program (I just don't know how time can possibly fly by so quickly!). Here's what we have planned for the week:

Monday, Preschool Story Hour - 10:30-11:30 a.m.
Monday, Rock Painting (extra class) - 10:30 a.m.-noon
Tuesday, Share-a-Book Reading Club - 1:30-2:30 p.m.
Wednesday, PJ Storytime/Milk & Cookies - 7-7:45 p.m.
Thursday, Family Picnic - noon
Thursday, Jim Bush's Magic Show - 1 p.m.

Your library is where it's all happening!

More Prize Winners

This week's Get a Clue prize winners are:

Preschool-9th Grade -- Jaylan J., Ahjiana J., Nate L., Ashley W., Sierra W., and Emylie Z.; 10th Grade-Adult -- Carol B.

Congratulations! Only one week of Summer Reading remains, so if you have not yet won a prize, be sure to stop by and put your name in for the final drawing.

Tales on the Porch

It's 2007, but tonight Belinda McElroy took all of us on the Library's porch back two hundred years and more. Her Maxwell Creek Inn Bed & Breakfast has so much history, and we felt like we were reliving some of it with the Swail and the Gaylord families. Thanks for sharing, Belinda!

Don't Miss It!

Interested in area cobblestones? In the Underground Railroad? In schooners sailing into our bays to trade their goods? Make plans to attend tomorrow night's Tales on the Porch to hear Belinda McElroy discuss the rich history of the Maxwell Creek Inn. The program will start at 7 p.m., August 9th, on the Library’s porch. Don't miss it!

More Prize Winners

This week's prize winners are:

Preschool-9th Grade -- Keith A., Drake B., Beth G., Moriah G., Anna L., and Juan L.; 10th Grade-Adult -- Jan C.

Congratulations ... and remember to Keep Reading!

Summer Reading Week #5

Our fifth week of Get a Clue @ Your Library will feature:

Monday - Story Hour, 10:30-11:30 a.m.
Monday - Rock Painting class, 10:30 a.m. - noon
Tuesday - Share-a-Book Reading Club, 1:30-2:30 p.m.
Thursday - Detectives Club, 1:30-2:30 p.m.
Thursday - Tales on the Porch, 7 p.m. - Belinda McElroy shares Maxwell Creek Inn history
Friday - Crafts with Sandy, 2:30-3:30 p.m.

Stop by for the fun!

Library Board Meets Thursday

The August meeting of the Library's Board of Trustees will be held at 4 p.m. this Thursday, August 9th. Board meetings are open to the public.

Week 3 Prize Winners

We've just picked a whole new group of prize winners. They are:

Preschool-9th grade: Jacob G., Larissa G., Joshua M., Marc M., Sam S., and Leena S.; 10th Grade-adult: Janet E.

Congatulations! Come in ASAP and pick a prize out of our Get a Clue window.

Fourth Get a Clue @ Your Library Week

Make plans now to stop by the Library this week. Our plans include:

Monday - Preschool Story Hour, 10:30-11:30 a.m.
Monday - Rock Painting class, 10:30-noon
Tuesday - Share-a-Book Reading Club, 1:30-2:30 p.m.
Wednesday - PJ Storytime, 7-7:30 p.m.
Thursday - Detectives Reading Club, 1:30-2:30 p.m.
Friday - Crafts with Sandy, 2:30-3:30 p.m.

And, of course, keep working on those Bingo cards :)

Prize Winners

Our prize winners for the second week of Get a Clue @ Your Library are:

Preschool-9th grade - Jenna A., Alexis B., Andrew E., Kerri G., Anna Rose M., and Jacob S.; 10th grade-Adult - Brigitta L.

Congratulations!

This Week @ the Library

Take time this week to Get a Clue:

Monday, 10:30-11:30 a.m., Story Hour
Monday, 10:30-noon, Rock Painting
Tuesday, 1:30-2:30 p.m., Share-a-Book Reading Club
Thursday, 1:30-2:30 p.m., Detectives Reading Club
Friday, 2:30-3:30 p.m., Crafts with Sandy

Come Join Us

Bored? Nothing to do? Come visit us at the Library to Get a Clue of things to do! We have something for everyone.

First Week's Prize Winners

Today we had our first prize drawing, and the winners are:

Daniel H., Max L., Nora M., Lucas T., Hope V., Jair V., and Shirley P.

Congratulations to our winners. Enjoy your prizes and remember - Keep Reading!

A Second Fun Week Planned

Come into the library this week for more Get a Clue fun. The schedule follows:

Monday, Story Hour, 10:30-11:30; Rock Painting (reservations required), 10:30-noon

Tuesday, Bubble Day, 1:30-2:30

Wednesday, Crafts with Sandy, 2:30-3:30

Thursday, Detectives Reading Club, 1:30-2:30; Porch Tales with Susan Peterson Gateley, 7 p.m.

I look forward to seeing you @ the Library.

Porch Tales

Come "set a spell" on our porch at 7 p.m. next Thursday, July 19th, and listen to tales of mystery from local author Susan Peterson Gateley. Susan will share stories from her book Mirages, Monsters, Myths, and Mysteries of Lake Ontario. The back cover of her book invites us to "shove off on another exciting voyage of discovery on our big lake ... search for monsters, seek out 50 pound salmon, enjoy tales of love, adventure, mystery, and tragedy, as told by one of the lake's foremost contemporary storytellers." Add this program to your calendar now!

Start Reading!

Today (Sunday) is the official beginning of our Get a Clue @ Your Library, so push away from the computer and start reading! In addition to all those great books waiting to be read, we have five programs planned for this week. They are:

• Monday, Story Hour - Stories and songs with Mrs. Koch, 10:30-11:30 a.m.

• Tuesday, Share-a-Book Reading Club (4th grade & up) - Bring along a good book or two to share with the group, 1:30-2:30 p.m.

• Wednesday, PJ Storytime - Wear your pajamas; all friends, stuffed or real, are welcome, 7-7:30 p.m.

• Thursday, Detectives Reading Club (1st-3rd grade) - Stories and more with Mrs. Garland, 1:30-2:30 p.m.

• Friday, Crafts (1st grade & up) - Sandy Hopkins takes the mystery out of making crafts, 2:30-3:30 p.m.

We have something planned for all age groups. There is no charge for any of these programs, and all supplies are provided by the Library.


Here are some of the prizes you can win by filling out those raffle tickets - 1 for each library visit, 1 for each program attended, and 2 for each Time Tracker turned in. You can also earn a prize by playing one of our Bingo games.

If you are not yet signed up for the fun, come in and ask for more information at the desk. We look forward to seeing you soon!

Summer Reading Registration

Registration for our six weeks of Summer Reading started today. Get a Clue @ Your Library will include reading fun, mysteries, and prizes for all ages, so stop by and get signed up! When you register, you'll be given a calendar of all the activities we have planned. Reading starts on Sunday, and we expect our Readers' Wall of Fame and our Evidence Board to fill up quickly.

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Get A Clue @ Your Library

Click on the screen shot above or just click here for a message from Emma Roberts, the new Nancy Drew. Registration for summer reading fun starts at noon on Thursday, July 5th. See you there!

Library Closing

The Library will be closed Wednesday, July 4th.

It's a Girl!

Congratulations to Library Page Donna VanDuyne and her family on their beautiful new baby girl, Keturah Grace, born yesterday morning!

Today in History

Click here to read about the first Newbery Medal for outstanding children's literature, announced this day in 1922.

Tilia x europaea

Stop by the Library this week to enjoy the wonderfully fragrant blossoms of the beautiful European Linden in our front yard.

In honor of these amazing trees, Friedrich Ruckert wrote the following for Gustav Mahler's Ruckertlieder - Ich atmet' einen linden Duft (translated by Emily Ezust): "I breathed a gentle fragrance. In the room stood a sprig of linden, a gift from a dear hand. How lovely was the fragrance of linden."

Depending on the weather, the blossoms won't last long, so pull into our parking lot when you're going by. This is too good to miss!

Class of 2007

Congratulations to all of our Sodus graduates! We wish you the brightest of futures.

Grant Books Received

Newark's Lifetime Care has received a grant from the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation with which to purchase books for Wayne and Seneca County libraries. Here are the books our library was given at a lovely "book brunch" last week. Thank you to all the staff at Lifetime Care involved in this grant; we appreciate the opportunity to expand our collection on this important topic.

Library Closing

The Library will be closed Sunday, June 17th, in honor of Father's Day.

Today in History

Click here

Problem-Solving Patrons

Need to use your computer, but the Library is closed? This patron solved that problem in a unique way - he just brought over his lawn chair and accessed our wireless connection from the sidewalk! Our wifi is available 24/7, so you don't have to wait until we open to use it. All you need is your library card and pin numbers, and you're connected.

All the chairs filled? Waiting in line for a computer? This teen also did some problem solving - he found a quiet spot in the biography corner and got totally lost in the exciting world of a graphic novel.

Visit us soon to experience all we have to offer!

June Board Meeting

The June meeting of the Library's Board of Trustees will be held at 4 p.m. on Thursday, June 14th. Board meetings are open to the public.

Paperback Sale

Our paperbacks are selling like the proverbial hotcakes, so if you want a good selection, stop by soon! The sale is open until 8 tonight, and continues tomorrow from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Saturday (10 a.m. to 1 p.m.) is $1/bag day, but the pickings might be slim by then.

New Nonfiction

Prefer nonfiction? Here's a list for you:

Einstein: His Life and Universe, Walter Isaacson; Savage Peace: Hope and Fear in America, 1919, Ann Hagedorn; The Organic Lawn Care Manual, Paul Boardway Tukey; Decorating Without Fear, Sharon Hanby-Robie; 52 Weekend Makeovers: Easy Projects to Transform Your Home Inside and Out; Chasing Life: New Discoveries in the Search for Immortality to Help You Age Less Today, Sanjay Gupta; The Summer of 1787: The Men Who Invented the Constitution, David O. Stewart; A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier, Ishmael Beah; A Worldly County: New Poems, John Ashbery; Marinades, Brines, Rubs, Cures, and Glazes, Jim Tarantino; and Crashing Through: A True Story of Risk, Adventure, and the Man Who Dared to See, Robert Kurson.

These, too, are all available for OWWL Holds.

New Fiction

Looking for a good novel? Here is a list of some of our newest additions:

White Night, Jim Butcher; What the Dead Know, Laura Lippman; The Sea Lady, Margaret Drabble; The Naming of the Dead, Ian Rankin; The Last Empress, Anchee Min; The Book of Air and Shadows, Michael Gruber; A Tendering in the Storm, Jane Kirkpatrick; Bad Luck and Trouble, Lee Child; Boomsday, Christopher Buckley; Sunrise, Karen Kingsbury; Hurin: The Tale of the Children of Hurin, J. R. R. Tolkien; Luncheon of the Boating Party, Susan Vreeland; A Thousand Splendid Suns, Khaled Hosseini; Stormy Weather, Paulette Jiles; Free Fire, C. J. Box; The Woods, Harlan Coben; The Camel Bookmobile, Masha Hamilton; The Overlook, Michael Connelly; Joshua's Family, Joseph Girzone; The Ministry of Special Cases, Nathan Englander; and The Society of S, Susan Hubbard.

Call 483-9292, or stop by the Library, to place an OWWL Hold on any of these titles.

"Just Paperbacks" Book Sale

The members of our Friends group are currently working on their 2nd annual "Just Paperbacks" Book Sale. The dates are June 7th, 8th, and 9th, during regular library hours. Last year's sale was very successful, and we've been collecting boxes and boxes of donated paperbacks since then. Plan on stopping by to support this great group, as they in turn support your community library. The most recent events for which the Friends have raised funds include Jerdine Nolen's visit and Spanish classes for library staff.

What a Day!

Hundreds of people - students, teachers, administrators, parents (and librarians!) - experienced an amazing day yesterday, as author Jerdine Nolen captivated her audiences, charming us with her stories and encouraging us with her urging to "hold onto your dreams, as you would your balloons." Be sure to read her award-winning book, Harvey Potter's Balloon Farm, for more on that.

Thanks to all who made this author visit possible, especially Sodus Central School Librarians Becky Olson and Jennifer VanKouwenberg and their administrators, and the Friends of the Sodus Free Library. The Intermediate School's Homework Club even crafted a Plantzilla for the occasion!


At the evening session's reception, our Friends served punch and cookies, and sold several books, which Jerdine graciously signed for everyone.

Program Reminder

Don't forget today's visit by Jerdine Nolen. The program by this wonderfully talented and inventive children's author will begin at 6:30 p.m. in the Sodus High School auditorium. Be sure to linger afterwards, as our Friends group will be serving punch and cookies, and several of Jerdine's books will be available for sale. It's sure to be a terrific evening - see you there!

Library Closing

The Library will be closed May 26th, 27th, and 28th for the Memorial Day weekend, and will reopen on Tuesday, May 29th, at noon.

Click here to visit "The History and Origin of Memorial Day in Waterloo, New York."

Tuesday's Luncheon

What a great turnout we had for Tuesday's Books-Sandwiched-In (36!) - we had to set up tables in the video room to accommodate the overflow! Several of those in attendance helped us take down the lunch tables so that we could all fit into the meeting room for the program. Carolyn Adriaansen did a wonderful presentation on cobblestone buildings, and kept the audience in stitches with her humorous asides. We definitely intend to call on this historian's expertise again in the future.

Author Coming To Sodus

Here's a great opportunity for your family - go mark your calendars now!

We have been working in partnership with the Sodus Primary and Intermediate libraries to bring a noted children’s author to the community on Thursday, May 24^th. Jerdine Nolen is the author of many wonderfully imaginative books, including Harvey Potter’s Balloon Farm, Raising Dragons, Big Jabe, and Thunder Rose, a Coretta Scott King Honor book.

Ms. Nolen will be speaking to students during the school day. An evening program for the entire community will be presented at 6:30 p.m. in the High School Auditorium. The Friends of the Sodus Free Library are inviting everyone to enjoy an informal reception for the author following the evening program. At that time, there will also be an opportunity to purchase copies of Nolen’s books at a 40% discount.

There is no charge for the program or reception, and all are encouraged to attend. I hope to see you there!

May Books-Sandwiched-In

Our area is unique for its wonderful cobblestone buildings. Sign up now for this month's Books-Sandwiched-In, which will feature Marion Town Historian Carolyn Adriaansen's presentation on the history of cobblestones in our area. The luncheon will be at noon on Tuesday, May 15th; the price of $3 covers a sandwich, beverage, and dessert. Reservations are filling up fast, so call or stop by the Library soon.

May Board of Trustees Meeting

This month's meeting of the Library's Board of Trustees will be held at 4 p.m. on Thursday, May 10th. All Board meetings are open to the public.

3 Apples Nominations Announced

The nominations for the second annual 3 Apples Book Award have been announced and can be found if you click here. Also listed are the nominated titles for the first annual Teen 3 Apples Award. Check out the list for your favorites, and come in to the Library to check out the ones you haven't yet read. No matter what your age, there are great books on these lists that I'm sure you'd enjoy.