August Update

Since the 1st of the month falls on a Saturday and Community Services will not be here over the weekend, we will post the August Clues for the Reading Challenge on Monday, August 3rd.  Thanks for your patience!

Local Author Meet-N-Greet 2015

Last Thursday we had four local writers in our Library signing and selling their books.  They were set up in our main area and chatted with patrons from 4pm-6pm and then we had a friendly, conversational discussion about their writing journeys and styles.  We had a great time and enjoyed getting to know the writers and attendees!  

While the styles, subjects and stories varied, the authors were uniformly kind, entertaining, and helpful.  Les Johnson, whose works include science fiction and fact, discussed his road to publication in both of those areas.   Donna Fitch shared how physical therapy following an accident led her to an idea for a novel (and the benefits of her academic library in her historical research **SHAMELESS LIBRARY PLUG**).  Angela Blount discussed how she makes herself put a manuscript aside for at least a month before making edits, and Charles Jackson shared how family history inspired him to start writing.  Each had much more to say and the atmosphere was casual and engaging.  

If you missed out, you can still get to know these talented and remarkable authors.  Those who have websites are linked above.  Several of the works are in our collection, but if a title is missing that you’d like to read then stop by the Reference Desk and ask us to get it.  If you prefer to have your own copy, the authors have information on how to purchase their books on their websites.  

DPL Foundation Shoe Show!

The Decatur Public Library Foundation is holding a Shoe Show fundraiser in September presented by Cricket By The Creek.  A ticket to this event provides a footwear fashion show and luncheon.  This is an exciting event for our Foundation since it’s their first fundraiser, and we wanted to take a moment to tell a little bit about what they do for us.  

All of the proceeds from this event will go towards Decatur Public Library's digital collection, part of which includes music.  Very soon we will be launching Freegal® Music service for Decatur Public Library card holders.   This amazing service will allow our patrons to download 3 songs per week and stream 3 hours of music per day, from a selection of over 9 MILLION songs.  Once a song is downloaded, it will be yours FOREVER.  While this service will be free to our patrons, the Library has to pay a yearly fee that is not insubstantial and which we could not afford on our own.  

It's thanks to the Foundation that we will be bringing Freegal music service to our patrons in August, and with their successful fundraising efforts they will continue to provide us with digital materials for our patrons.  

The Shoe Show is a fun event that will raise money for an excellent cause…YOUR library! For details about purchasing a ticket, please go to our website.  We hope to see you there!

July's Adult Reading Challenge “Clues”

 

July means there are 5 months to complete this year’s Adult Reading Challenge. We want to remind everyone of the prize level requirements. The first level this year is the Boatswain which requires 15 stamps, 9 of them for pre-printed clues and 6 monthly released clues. The second level is the Privateer and requires 30 stamps, 20 pre-printed clues and 10 released clues. The final and third level is Swashbuckler and you must have 60 stamps to reach this level. I hope everyone is having fun and well on their way to the level of their choice.

The clues this month are:

Sherlockian Book must be about or contain the character of Sherlock Holmes. The book does not have to be written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

Cats Book must have the word cat in the title, have a picture of a cat on the cover or contain a cat in the story.

Island/At Sea The book must be set on an island or at sea.

July Author Read any book written by an author born in the month of July. Mary Kay Andrews, Kathy Reichs, Mark McGarrity and Clive Cussler all share birthdays for this month.

The released clues this month are:

# in the Title This clue requires you to read a book with a number in the title. Any number so long as it is part of the title of the book.

Western- The second additional clue for July will come from the map of the library you received when you signed up for the challenge. We have put up graphics on the shelves to match the map and make it easier for you to find these areas in the library.

The area you are looking for is #10 on the map-Western Straits. You must read a book that comes from this section of the library. One way to know a book works for the challenge is if it has a Western sticker on the spine. Remember you are looking for these decals; (1) will be on the end caps of the shelves and (2) will be on the spines of the book.

(1)    (2)