Rom-Com Trivia at the Brandon Library!

February is Library Lover's Month, and we at the Brandon Library want to make sure you all know how much we love having you here! Which is why, on February 21 at 6:30 pm, we're going to host our very first Rom-Com Trivia Night.

How well do you know your romance? Find out for a chance to win one of three awesome prizes!

(Remember: the bigger your team, the better your chances, but the more you have to share, as well!)

Black History Month: Following the "First" Footsteps

Whenever most people celebrate Black History Month, their minds immediately travel to the street marches of Martin Luther King, the Underground Railroad of Harriet Tubman, the bus ride of Rosa Parks, or the presidential trail of Barack Obama. African Americans have been on the move for years, advancing their race in all areas of American service. The theme of this year's Black History Month is Black Migrations; however, in Scott County, one only has to travel down the street to find African American accomplishments.

The Forest Public Library Teen Advisory Board (TAB) in partnership with the Legacy Education and Community Empowerment Foundation is presenting a Black History Month program at the library on Tuesday, February 26, at 6:00 p.m. The event for all ages includes a program compiled by Constance Slaughter-Harvey entitled THE FIRST: Legacy's African American Accomplishments in Scott County. On display will be the amazing artwork of Rev. Allen Cooks with a focus on local African Americans. The teens will assist with crafts and activities for children, and refreshments will be served after the program.

One of the highlights of the program will be a Jeopardy-style game entitled I AM THE FIRST. The challenge is to name the Scott County African American who achieved a "FIRST" accomplishment. Here are some examples of the first achievements:

I am the first African American Circuit Clerk elected in Scott County. Who am I? 

I am the first African American female graduate of the University of Mississippi (Ole Miss) Law School. Who am I? 

I am the first African American in Scott County drafted by the National Football League in 1994. Who am I?

I am the first African American county-wide elected official -- Tax Assessor, 1997. Who am I?

I am the first African American female Forest Police Department Employee (31 years). Who am I?

Migration is defined as the movement of people from one place to another, requiring that the migration start over or begin anew. The Scott County African Americans who achieved the firsts listed above blazed new trails. Their migration did not require them to move to new locations, but rather to create new paths within their own community and county. 

Ralph Waldo Emerson said, "Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail."  Journey with us on Tuesday, February 26, at 6:00 p.m., as the Forest Public Library follows the footsteps of these far-reaching Scott County African American "firsts". 

The Unexpected Reference Question

A librarian is often tasked with the duty of helping a patron perform research on designated topics of interest. When a patron has a question that requires research, we call this a reference question. A librarian is capable of helping the patron and knows what research tools to use to get the patron the answer he or she needs in an expedited manner. Often a patron's question can be answered using the internet or using a book from our collection.

Sometimes a librarian must draw upon personal experience to quickly respond to a patron's request for information.

Whatever the path the librarian chooses to help the patron, it is the solemn duty of a librarian to pursue the research until the patron is satisfied that they have found all the information they are looking for.

It is a very challenging task sometimes.

Most of the questions asked by patrons tend to be routine. Some questions are downright unexpected.

One morning a patron walked into the library and told me that he wanted to understand women. The reason for this request is that he was getting married again and he did not want to make the same mistakes he had made from his previous marriage.

I thought for a moment. How best should I respond to this reference question? There were a number of approaches I could take to help the patron. There were several information resources I could draw upon including personal experience. I also needed to select an option that the patron would understand.

I had once as a young man asked my father a similar question, "Can you explain girls to me?" My father looked at me and said, "You're on your own, buddy."

I was left to my own devices. I had to learn by trial and error. I would find that some things can only be learned through experience.

There could only be one answer. I referred the patron to the book, Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus by John Gray, Ph.D. I knew of this book from a documentary I had once seen on television by Barbara Walters.

If only I had had this information available when I was younger, I could have avoided many a train wreck of failed relationships.

The patron accepted the book and left satisfied to have found the means to understand his future wife. I never saw him again.

Valentine's Day is rapidly approaching. Cue theme from Jaws. It is the day many men fear because if they forget to make an effort to impress the love in their lives, there will be repercussions.

You will need the following items:

• Roses. Can't go wrong with roses. Stick with red roses. It's easier.

• Chocolates. Any kind of chocolates will do as long as they come in a box.

• Valentine's Day card expressing your devotion for the one you love.

• Dinner reservations at a restaurant where the meal is prepared in front of you or brought to you by a waiter or waitress.

• Optional. A musical stuffed animal that lights up and sings "Doctor, doctor give me the news. I've got a bad case of loving you," by Robert Palmer.

Have a Happy Valentine’s Day from the Flowood Library!

Valentine Fun at Raleigh

We will have a busy but fun Valentine's Day at the Raleigh Library. It will begin with a book club meeting for adults and then a Valentine party for elementary kids.

We have a great book for our adult book club this month. It is a classic you may have read when you were younger. It is always fun to renew our memories. This month's classic is Little Women by Louisa May Alcott. It is the classic tale of four sisters as they relate to each other and the changes that life throws at them.

Our adult book club is a special time to get together with other book lovers for a time of discussion. We meet at 2:00 pm on the second Thursday of the month. It is a good time to read books outside of your normal genre. We would love for you to join us.

We will also be celebrating Valentine's Day with a party for our elementary kids at 3:30 pm.
We will have books, songs, cookie decorating, Valentine Tic Tac Toe craft, Valentine Card decorating, and games. This will be a really fun time. Come out and invite your friends.

Something fun is being planned for March 1st, be watching for the announcement!

A Fan of Psychological Thrillers? Some 1st Novels Worth Checking Out.

If you like psychological thrillers and need some new suggestions, we have recently read these first novels that are highly recommended by a number of Pelahatchie Public Library staff and patrons.

The Woman in the Window by A. J. Finn

"It isn't paranoia if it's really happening... Anna Fox lives alone -- a recluse in her New York City home, drinking too much wine, watching old movies... and spying on her neighbors. Then the Russells move next door: a father, a mother, their teenaged son. The perfect family. But when Anna sees something she shouldn't, her world begins to crumble -- and its shocking secrets are laid bare. What is real? What is imagined? Who is in danger? Who is in control? In this gripping Hitchcockian thriller, no one and nothing are what they seem."-- Provided by publisher.

The Wife Between Us by Greer Hendricks & Sarah Pekkanen

The divorce has just become final, and Richard is already engaged to someone. One woman is determined to change that situation-- no matter what it takes. Soon a tangle of lies binds her life with those of Richard and his new fiancée. A tangle of lies-- that hide some dangerous truths.

Hendricks/Pekkanen have a second novel recently released, An Anonymous Girl.

Behind Closed Doors by B. A. Paris

The perfect marriage? Or the perfect lie? Everyone knows a couple like Jack and Grace. He has looks and wealth, she has charm and elegance. You might not want to like them, but you do. You'd like to get to know Grace better. But it's difficult, because you realize Jack and Grace are never apart. Some might call this true love. Others might ask why Grace never answers the phone. Or how she can never meet for coffee, even though she doesn't work. How she can cook such elaborate meals but remain so slim. And why there are bars on one of the bedroom windows.

B. A. Paris has two additional novels published, both are unique from this novel's premise.  The Breakdown and Bring Me Back are good reads as well.

The Last Mrs. Parrish by Liv Constantine

"Some women get everything. Some women get everything they deserve. Amber Patterson is fed up. She's tired of being a nobody: a plain, invisible woman who blends into the background. She deserves more--a life of money and power like the one blond-haired, blue-eyed goddess Daphne Parrish takes for granted. To everyone in the exclusive town of Bishops Harbor, Connecticut, Daphne--a socialite and philanthropist--and her real-estate mogul husband, Jackson, are a couple straight out of a fairy tale. Amber's envy could eat her alive...if she didn't have a plan. Amber uses Daphne's compassion and caring to insinuate herself into the family's life--the first step in a meticulous scheme to undermine her. Before long, Amber is Daphne's closest confidante, traveling to Europe with the Parrishes and their lovely young daughters, and growing closer to Jackson. But a skeleton from her past may undermine everything that Amber has worked towards, and if it is discovered, her well-laid plan may fall to pieces. With shocking turns and dark secrets that will keep you guessing until the very end, The Last Mrs. Parrish is a fresh, juicy, and utterly addictive thriller from a diabolically imaginative talent."--provided by publisher.

Are You Sleeping by Kathleen Barber

"Serial meets Ruth Ware's In A Dark, Dark Wood in this inventive and twisty psychological thriller about a mega-hit podcast that reopens a long-closed murder case--and threatens to unravel the carefully constructed life of the victim's daughter"-- Provided by publisher

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Tacos & Trivia

Everyone knows that Nicholas Sparks is the King of Romance. How well do you love them? How many times have you read all his books?

His first book was The Notebook, set amid the austere beauty of the North Carolina coast, The Notebook begins with the story of Noah Calhoun, a rural Southerner recently returned from the Second World War. Noah is restoring a plantation home to its former glory, and he is haunted by images of the beautiful girl he met fourteen years earlier, a girl he loved like no other. Unable to find her, yet unwilling to forget the summer they spent together, Noah is content to live with only memories...until she unexpectedly returns to his town to see him once again.*

My favorite is the sequel, The Wedding, after thirty years of marriage, Wilson Lewis, son-in-law of Allie and Noah Calhoun (of The Notebook), is forced to admit that the romance has gone out of his marriage. Desperate to win back his wife Jane's heart, he must figure out how to make her fall in love with him... again. Despite the shining example of Allie and Noah's marriage, Wilson is himself a man unable to easily express his emotions. A successful estate attorney, he has provided well for his family, but now, with his daughter's upcoming wedding, he is forced to face the fact that he and Jane have grown apart and he wonders if she even loves him anymore. Wilson is sure of one thing--his love for his wife has only deepened and intensified over the years. Now, with the memories of his in-laws' magnificent fifty-year love affair as his guide, Wilson struggles to find his way back into the heart of the woman he adores.*

On Tuesday, February 12 at 6:00 pm, the Magee Library will have a Tacos and Trivia Night. We will be asking trivia from all of the romance books written by Nicholas Sparks. 

For a complete list of his books click here.


We will be serving tacos from one of our local Mexican restaurants. 

*Book blurbs came from the website goodreads.com

Writers Meet at Flowood Library

Mississippi Writers Anonymous

February 16, 2019, 10:00-12:00 p.m.

Share your interest in writing with a group of talented writers. This group meets every third Saturday of each month at the Flowood Library.

Explore the art of writing with masters of the written word. Bring the book or short story you have been working on and have it critiqued and improved upon until it becomes a well-polished masterpiece that can be published.

Learning to write was one of the more difficult challenges I had to face when I started college at the University of Georgia. Fresh out of high school I had to take remedial English or English 100 as it was called. During this summer class, I learned to write a paragraph. I passed the class with a “C” and moved on to English 101.

My experience in English 101 was most unpleasant. The teacher had a “my way or the highway” attitude and the class had no sense of direction. I passed the class with a “D” and had to retake the class.

The University of Georgia offered English 101 as a correspondence course. We did not have online courses back then. If we had online courses, then I could have avoided setting foot on the overcrowded UGA campus.

Learning to write was hard for me. I had the imagination to write, but I lacked an understanding of the formal structure which accompanies writing. I did not understand thesis statements, themes, or the basic introduction-body-conclusion components of almost every form of writing. I did not understand the need for sentence diagramming. I did not know what a semicolon was. I could not write a paragraph, an essay, a research paper, a master’s thesis or a dissertation.

How embarrassing. 

I opened my Harbrace College Handbook 1984 edition and learned about subordinate conjunctions and subordinate clauses which for me are the basics of writing.

As part of the course I wrote the following story:

The Passion for Speed

Two racers decided to compete to see who had the faster car. The two drivers revved their engines as the flag dropped. The two cars started to move and accelerated to 30 miles per hour in a matter of seconds. They rounded a curve and increased their speed even more. A dog was in the road, so the cars swerved out of the way and continued. 

Their speed reached 100 miles per hour as each fought to keep the lead. They approached a one-lane bridge that could only fit one of the cars at a time. Their speed reached 120, and neither driver showed a sign of letting the other through first. The bridge was 100 yards away. The distance narrowed to 50 yards and then to half of that. Both cars impacted into the bridge and exploded. The race was over.

The assignment was to write a story that would end in a climax or immediate conclusion.

Why write?

Benjamin Franklin once said, “If you would not be forgotten as soon as you are dead, either write things worth reading or do things worth writing.”

We learn to write to complete a research paper.

We learn to write to complete a job application and often a resume.

We write to create the great American short story or novel which may become a Hollywood movie someday.

We write because we live in a high literacy society where our ability to write can often make a difference between success or failure.

I write because I enjoy it.

The next meeting of Mississippi Writers Anonymous will be February 16, 2019, between 10-12 p.m. This group meets every third Saturday at the Flowood Library.

Come find your “muse” with a group of talented writers.

February Programs at the Pearl Public Library Never Disappoint.

From a great read to Bingo for Books to a Costume Pizza Party, and more, it's all happening at the Pearl Library! And, it's all FREE!

In honor of Library Lover's Month, the Chapter 1 Book Club will be discussing Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers on Tues. Feb. 12 at 6 p.m. This book club meets every second Tuesday of the month at 6 p.m. No reservation or membership required. Just stop on by! They'll be happy to see you!

If a book club isn't your thing, come on by the library on this same night Feb. 12 for this month's Family Night program. It's a Costume Pizza Party with pizza provided by Pizza Shack of Jackson. It's first come first served! So, hurry on in and yes, any costume will do!

Or, how about a good game of Bingo!

 It's Bingo for Books on Thurs. Feb. 14 at 6 p.m. This program was brought back by popular demand. And, it is oh-so-popular! Bingo for Books is every second Thursday of the month at 6 p.m.

By the way, plan to come back the next Thursday for Third Thursday Flicks on Feb. 21 at 5:30 p.m. Watch The Notebook on the big screen and enjoy complimentary popcorn and drinks!  

That's not all! 

Don't forget about the 11th annual Come in From the Cold With a Good Book, the Pearl Library's big Library Lover's Month program. Get free cookies, donuts and coffee donated by Community Coffee, Dunkin' Donuts, the Donut Factory, Simply Southern of Flowood, That Special Touch Cakes, Sam's of Pearl and Wal-Mart of Pearl, on Wed. Feb 13 and Thurs. Feb. 14 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day!

We'll see you there!

Greetings from the Reservoir Library!

Well, the holidays are behind us as we hurry on into the New Year of 2019! We hope that all our patrons have had a great and happy holiday season.  The librarians and our pet goldfish are back at work and ready to serve the public! We are ready to make 2019 the best year at the Rez!

Blind Date with a Book

Need a date for Valentine’s Day? Come by the Reservoir Library during the month of February to be set up on a blind date with some great literature! We will have the books wrapped in paper so that it can truly be a blind date. Remember no peeking!

Library Closings

The Reservoir library will be closed on February 8^th for staff development day.  We will resume normal hours of operation February 11^th at 10am. Thank you for being supportive of all our libraries in the CMRLS organization!

The library will also be closed Monday, February 18^th in observance of Presidents Day; normal business hours will resume Tuesday, February 19^th at 10am. We hope that all our patrons have a happy and safe holiday. We look forward to returning to serve our patrons after a break.

Mugshots Family Trivia Night

Are you a trivia master who is looking for a good challenge? Are you new to the entire game of trivia and are looking to get started? Come to Mugshots of Flowood Tuesday, February 19^th at 6:30 pm for another exciting night of trivia! Patrons of all ages are welcome to attend. Mugshots gift cards will be awarded as prizes to the winners and mugshots will provide free chips and Rotel dip for all patrons with a library voucher which can be picked up before at either library location or can be found on the tables during trivia night. Trivia night is brought to you by the G. Chastaine Flynt Memorial Library, the Northwest Point Reservoir Library, and the great staff of Mugshots of Flowood. We look forward to seeing you there!

Library Lover’s Month

February is the month of love here at the Northwest Point Reservoir Library, Library Lover’s Month that is! Come by the Reservoir Library during February to enter your name and why you love the Reservoir Library in our Library Lover’s Month drawing. The Winner will be drawn on Friday, March 1^st for two $20 gift cards at Mississippi Legends Grill. Just perfect for a late Valentine’s Day date.

High Noon Book Club

For the month of February, the High Noon Book Club will be reading the book The Rising Tide: The Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 and How it Changed America which is written by John M Barry.  This book tells about the history of the Great Flood of 1927 when the river overflowed its banks after a time of too much rain and the result was one of the worst floods in American history. 

The last book that the High Noon Book Club read was titled Dispatches from Pluto written by Richard Grant. The entire book club really liked the book and would recommend it to anyone who is wanting to read about Mississippi written from the perspective of an outsider.

The Book club will meet on February 21^st 12pm to 1pm at the Northwest Point Reservoir Library. All patrons are welcome to attend and bring a brown-bagged lunch of their choice. Deserts will be provided but patrons are also welcome to bring something with them if they would like. The next book for the month of April will be voted on towards the end of the book club meeting.  All suggestions are welcome and greatly appreciated. We will see you there for an hour of good food, good literature, and good friends!

Valentine’s Day Movie

Join us at the Rez on February 14^th for a special Valentine’s Day showing of the movie “Valentine’s Day”!!! Valentine’s Day tells the story of various people and how they spend the holiday of love whether it is with their loved ones or searching for that special someone who got away. Free popcorn will be provided while supplies last courtesy of the Popcorn Palace in Flowood. The movie will primer at 11 a.m. in the morning. We look forward to seeing you and your date there!

Lose Knitters Group

Are you a master knitter looking to share your knowledge of knitting with others? Are you new to the entire hobby of knitting and looking for more knowledgeable people to show you some pointers? Join our lose knitters every Tuesday of the month or a whole two hours of knitting and sewing. Everyone is encouraged to bring their own projects to work on.  This month the group will meet on the 5, 12, 19^th and the 26^th.  The group will meet from 1 to 3 in the afternoon. We hope to see you there.

 

Book Bubbles with Uno

Well, Uno is back from his New Year’s Eve Party! All the holidays have been great for Uno and his family. Like the rest of the library staff, he is back from his holidays of rest and relaxation and is ready to get back to helping the staff at the Northwest Point Reservoir Library serve the public and seeing the children as they come to visit the library.  While taking one of his bubble blowing breaks Uno and I got to talking about the holidays of the month of February and we realized that Valentine’s day was fast approaching.  Uno told me that his plans for Valentine’s day are to go out into the Reservoir to see his friends as they all go out to eat.  Uno wants to wish all his friends a happy Valentine’s Day and a happy Library Lover’s Month.

Parting Words

We hope that all our patrons have a happy Valentine’s Day filled with love! We want to thank all our supporters both here at home and abroad for their continued support using our books, computers, printing services, and various other services. We hope that you will continue to support all our libraries year-round as we bring better services to all our patrons through the Central Mississippi region and beyond! 

Mendenhall Library 's Upcoming Youth Programs in February

Story Time for February 2019 

     Mendenhall Library has Story Time every Thursday morning at 10 am. We love seeing our sweet preschooler's smiling faces, and their laughter is so contagious. They are always full of wonder about the theme for Story Time. Story Time is a great opportunity for preschoolers to interact with other preschoolers. We read stories, sing songs, dance, and make a craft to take home. All preschoolers are welcome to join in the fun. Here is a list of our Preschool Story Time dates and themes for February.

     February 7 theme is Dental Health Month. We are so excited that we will have a special speaker at Story Time. A local dental hygienist will explain to our preschoolers the proper way to brush their teeth, and also how important it is to do so. Below is one of the books I will read.

February 14 theme is "Will you be my Valentine?"
February 21 theme is "National Bird-Feeding Month!"
February 28 theme is "Once Upon a Time Fairy Tales!"

K-5 Program
     February 5 at 4 pm Kindergarten through 5th grade will be making homemade spinners. This will be a fun project so bring your friends.

Tween2Teen Program
     February 26 at 4 pm Rock painting. We will paint kind and inspirational quotes that the teens can give away or place somewhere for someone else to find.

Poetry 101 at Brandon Library

Are you a poet? Do you want to be? Not sure because you haven't had the time or the know-how to really get started?

You're in luck! Poet Tommy Little will be here at the Brandon Library hosting a workshop on the importance of mood and emotion in poetry, focusing mainly on the blank verse form.

If you want to hone your skills--or just want to come and enjoy the poetry--meet us here at 6:00 pm on Tuesdays, February 5, 12, 19, & 25!

Call the library at (601) 825-2672 for more information. We hope to see you there!

Flowood Book Club

Flowood Book Club

February 19, 2019, 6:30-7:30 p.m.

Everyone is invited to come and discuss their favorite books and,

perhaps, learn of a few more good reads in the process. 

 The club shall meet every third Tuesday of the month thereafter from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m.

 There shall be coffee and refreshments for attendees.

We hope to see you there!

One of our main purposes here at the Flowood Library is to promote an interest in reading and improve literacy. We do a lot of this through our children’s programs and through our adult book club program. We also try to anticipate the needs of our community in the books that we order for our collection.

For the Flowood Book Club, we provide the coffee. Our attendees bring their critical expertise and discuss what they liked or did not like about a selected book. The debates can be quite lively and thought-provoking. I can’t comment on the coffee.  

After high school, many young adults do not continue reading books for business or pleasure. Reading opens minds to new ideas and new possibilities. It is one of the primary ways we educate ourselves and a good education leads to better opportunities in life. Reading is an essential skill that we must learn and learn well if we are to succeed. Mark Twain once said, “The man who does not read has no advantage over the man who cannot read.”

In high school over the course of one summer, I was required to read three books that had no appeal for me at all. And I was a little miffed at having been assigned homework over the summer. Why did English teachers always assign dry material to read? I read two of these books and appropriated the CliffsNotes for the third. I passed the test and moved on. After school, I would go home and read what I wanted to read: comic books and action-adventure novels. 

I never lost my love for reading. As an adult, I still read, but I am more particular in what I spend my time reading. One of the books that I very much enjoyed in recent years was Last of the Breed by Louis L’Amour.

This book is a western, but it takes place in the late 1980s in Siberia. It is about an Air Force officer Major Joseph Makatozi (Joe Mack) who is forced down by the Soviet Air Force. He is taken prisoner and moved to a prison camp where he is interrogated. He is given an ultimatum to share what he knows about the experimental aircraft he was flying, or he can remain in prison.

Joe Mack quickly escapes by pole vaulting over a fence and out of the prison camp.  With the Soviet Army in pursuit, he disappears into the Siberian wilderness. Joe Mack is an Air Force officer, but he is also a Sioux Indian.  As the months drag on he leaves behind the man he was in the Air Force, and to the dread of his pursuers, reverts back to his native heritage of a Sioux warrior. 

    

Last of the Breed was a page turner and a pleasure to read. I had the privilege of discussing this book at a book club meeting.

Every month on the third Tuesday of the month the Flowood Book Club gathers to discuss the latest book.  The book for the month of February is The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larrson.

Have You Heard?

February Story Time at Magee Library

We love seeing our little ones every week at Magee. Every Wednesday at 11 am, we have our Story Time for Pre- Kindergarten age. We read books, sing and dance, and make a craft. Each week our stories all follow a theme. Some weeks, we use books that correspond with a holiday. Other weeks, the stories all include a particular animal or object. Sometimes, we read books are all written by the same author. February is a great example of using the upcoming holidays and introducing our little ones to new authors.

The first Wednesday of February is the 6th and that week is the Chinese New Year. Each year celebrates an animal and 2019 is the Year of the Pig. All our books will feature pigs. We will finish with a fun and simple Pig craft.

The 13th, we will get ready for Valentine's Day with some funny books and a really easy craft. We will also do some dancing and singing. It is always fun to the little ones jumping and spinning.

The last two Wednesdays of the month, we will feature two of our favorite children's authors.

On the 20th, author Jane Yolen will be our focus. Yolen's books are great for this age group for two reasons. First, the stories are short and action filled to keep the attention of our little ones. Second, the page illustrations are very colorful. Our craft this week will be taken from one of the books.

The 27th will be the last Story Time for February so we will end the month with one of our favorite authors, Mo Willems. His books feature a misbehaving pigeon that we will read about in one book. Another book will feature his beloved characters, Elephant and Piggie.

We hope to see you every Wednesday at 11 am at the Magee Library!

Gotta Love February at the Pearl Library! It's All About Showering Patrons With Really Good Stuff!

MARK YOUR CALENDARS!

This event should not be missed! Seriously!  

It's the eleventh annual, Come in From the Cold With a Good Book, the Pearl Public Library's star Library Lover's Month program. The library, local businesses and the Friends of the Pearl Library sponsor the two-day, sweet love fest! Free cookies, donuts and coffee! Yes, you read that right. It's all free, Wed. Feb. 13 and Valentine's Day, Thurs. Feb. 14 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. both days!

A huge shout out to  Community Coffee, Dunkin' Donuts, The Donut Factory, Sam's Club of Pearl, Wal-Mart of Pearl, That Special Touch Bakery and Simply Southern Cafe and Grill of Flowood for always coming through with fantastic, generous donations!   

Mmm, mmm, library love soooo good it makes you see sweet birds! 

Well, uh, actually you are seeing birds...paper mache ones. That would be Becky's Simply Crafts adult program Tues. Feb. 5 at 6 p.m.

Simply Crafts is a fun, FREE, and informal adult crafting group that meets every first Tuesday of the month at 6:00 at the Pearl Library.  There is no material fee, and all supplies are provided.  

WOW! Doesn't that sound so relaxing? Oh yeah, so relaxing it makes your eyes glaze over. That's OK! Lisa has just the thing for you! 

A Lavender Eye Pillow!

Uh-huh, Make and Take Lavender Eye Pillow, that's Lisa's How-to Tuesday program Feb. 19 at 6 p.m. Registration is required.  It's so easy. You can go through the CMRLS website at www.cmrls.lib.ms.us, click on EVENTS, choose the How-to Tuesday program and click on VIEW MORE. Or, you can call the library at 601-932-2562 and ask for Lisa or anyone at the reference desk.

How-To Tuesday's meet every third Tuesday of the month at 6:00 at the Pearl Library, and, as always, are absolutely FREE.  

Goodness, all these free, wonderful offerings seem like such a blessing don't they? Sure do.

And, hey, the Pearl Library also gives you a chance to be a blessing too!

Lisa reports that the Pearl Library Blessing Box started by Team Tungsten Robotics has been a huge success.   "We had many generous donations in November and December which sustained us throughout January. We are now in need of more canned food donations to help those in our community who are in need," she said. "We are accepting cereals, boxed foods, canned foods, and hygiene items.  Items can be placed directly in the blessing box in our front lobby or brought to the circulation or reference desks if the box is currently full.  Thank you for supporting your community!"

WOW! So much good stuff! You just have to get in all of the Pearl Library's February LOVE!

We'll see you there!

Show Us Your Books!

February is Library Lover’s Month, and the Forest Public Library is announcing one of its most ambitious promotions of the year: SHOW US YOUR BOOKS! Throughout the month of February, the Friends of the Forest Public Library, along with other library partners, will be participating in a book drive goal of 100 new nonfiction books to update the library’s collection. Librarian Dianne McLaurin explains the purpose for the book drive. “We are asking as many individuals, businesses, organizations, and supporters as possible to donate one (1) new nonfiction book to the library during the month of February. Just one! Despite continued reductions, the library’s book budget sustains the fiction areas of the library with bestsellers and favorite authors; however, the budget to purchase new nonfiction is almost nonexistent. This collection is vital to the library’s relevance and circulation, which is why we are so excited about the upcoming book drive. We want people to show us their passions, show us their interests, show us their love, and show us their books!”

According to McLaurin, an old, irrelevant, out-of-date nonfiction collection sends us message that a library is all of those things, too. "We often hear that libraries are not a bookstores, but we are not museums either. In this age of digital design and colorful graphics, covers make a huge difference to a patron perusing a shelf. We have a responsibility to provide patrons with the most current and attractive resources available. The idea of that "old book smell" does not apply when a library's goal is to be a modern conduit of information."

The book drive begins February 1^st and ends with a Mardi Gras Party on Fat Tuesday! Each person, business, organization, or supporter who purchases one new nonfiction book or gives a donation for a single book purchase receives Mardi Gras beads and an invitation to attend. The program will feature New-Orleans style food and music, along with a display of the new collection.  According to McLaurin, the Mardi Gras theme is part of the promotion. “Last year, the library received a large donation of Mardi Gras beads – bags full of beads. We didn’t know how we would ever use them, then we came up with the idea…Beads for Books! Show us your books, and we will throw you our beads! We have a container filled with beads in the center of the library, so we can accommodate plenty of books."

McLaurin stated that additional information on the donation process is available at the library; however, she explained the basics. “Donations can cover any subject from flea markets to finance, from Legos to law, from baking to banking, from tattoos to technology, from religion to real estate, from sports to sewing, from dinosaurs to drawing. Whatever your career, hobby or interest, show us your books! Parents and grandparents may also wish to donate books for the juvenile nonfiction collection on behalf of the children in their families, as well as teachers for the grades and subjects they teach. We have an extensive subject list available at the front desk.”

Several options are available to anyone who wants to purchase a book, since not everyone is able to visit a bookstore during the month of February. New nonfiction books can be purchased directly from online websites such as Barnes and Noble and Amazon. If anyone isn’t sure how to order online, the staff at the library can find books based on specific interests and within a donation range, then choose a book according to what we have and what we need. During the cataloging process, a book plate will be placed at the front of the book with the name of donor and the year. Many nonfiction books range from $20-25, which might not seem like much for one individual, business, or organization; however, multiply that amount by 100, and the contribution to the community is invaluable.

For more information concerning the 2019 nonfiction book drive, please contact the Forest Public Library by telephone at 601-469-1481 or by email at forest@cmrls.lib.ms.us. The library is part of the Central Mississippi Regional Library System serving public libraries in Rankin, Scott, Simpson, and Smith counties.

February Fun at the Morton Library

Happy Library Lovers Month!  

         February is Library Lovers Month, and the Morton Library has many fun and interesting events for library lovers old and young alike!

        To celebrate Library Lovers month we will be having a contest. The rules are simple: just come by the library any time during the month of February, fill out a heart telling us why you love the library, and you will be entered to win a fabulous gift basket from French’s Pharmacy! The drawing will be March 1^st. Good luck!

       Another big event we are excited about this month is Valentines for Veterans.  This event will be held on February 14^th at 5:00 p.m. We will be making Valentine’s Day cards and sending them to hospitalized veterans at the VA in Jackson. We had this event a few years ago and the attendance was great. Everyone who came out enjoyed making cards for the veterans, and we were told the veterans really enjoyed receiving these cards. So, come join us and help make someone’s day a little brighter!

      As always, Preschool Story Time is held every Tuesday at 10:30 a.m. in the meeting room. Story time is a great opportunity to introduce your little ones to reading. We have stories, music, and a craft every week. This month our themes are:

February 5^th: So Many Bears

February 12^th: Happy Valentine’s Day

February 19^th: Silly Sloths

February 26^th: Polar Bears

       For this month’s K-4^th grade craft night we will be making Cardboard Bugs! Join us February 21^st at 5:00 p.m. to make 3D bugs out of cardboard and pipe cleaners.

      

      Our tweens (5^th-8^th grade) will be having a craft night this month as well. Join us February 7^th at 5:00 p.m. to make bird seed art. We will be using bird seed and dried beans to create pictures!

        Join us for any of our programs this month, and don’t forget to tell us why you love your library!

Poets Meet at Flowood Library

Poets Anonymous

February 9, 2019, 9:00-11:00 a.m.

Share your interest in writing poetry with a group of talented poets. This group meets every second Saturday of each month at the Flowood Library. 

What is poetry you may ask? World Book Online, a digital library resource located at our CMRLS website states that,

Poetry is a kind of writing that uses the sounds as well as the meanings of words to create ideas and feelings. The writings are called poems. Poems have sounds and rhythms that people like. Poems have been used as songs, prayers, and magic spells. People clap their hands to favorite rhymes. Many people enjoy reading and hearing poems, and some people enjoy writing them. People who write poems are called poets.

There are three main kinds of poems. Lyric poems are short poems that describe things or express strong feelings. Japanese poems called haiku are one of the shortest kinds of lyric poems.

Narrative poems are poems that tell a story. Some of these poems are stories of heroes and battles. Others tell a story about one person.

In dramatic poems, one or more people in the poem tell the story. The plays of the English writer William Shakespeare are dramatic poems.

Poems have a rhythm. The language flows in a certain way. Sometimes the language has a regular pattern or beat.

Poetry has been an important art since early times. Some Greek poems are more than 2,500 years old. The Old Testament of the Bible contains Hebrew poetry.

The ancient Romans learned much about poetry from reading the Greek poets. They wrote their poems in Latin, the Roman language. In Europe, many educated people learned Latin and wrote poems in Latin. But about 500 years ago, people began writing in their own languages. Many styles and forms of poetry then became popular.

In the 1900s, poets wrote many new kinds of poetry. Many poems were free verse. Today poets write poems in new forms and in forms that are hundreds of years old.

Poetry is found in the lyrics of your favorite music. Words that rhyme can be used to help with memory. Poetry is a form of expression that is uncommon in literature.

How hard can it be to write a poem? Not hard at all.

The following is my first attempt at writing poetry. It is a narrative epic of a terrible battle that took place many years ago. It is a parody of The Night Before Christmas by Clement Clarke Moore.

The Night Before Christmas

Twas the night before Christmas, and all through the house.

Everything was stirring including the mouse.

Who cares about stockings?  Who cares about St. Nick?

There's a mouse in the house, and it's making me sick.

Mama with a 'kerchief was standing on a chair.

Sis with a broom was swinging at the air.

Brother by the mouse hole was looking quite puzzled.

I had my shotgun and was adjusting the muzzle.

When out on the lawn we heard such a clang.

We ran to the door just as the doorbell rang.

We opened the door and to our surprise.

The Orkin Army appeared to our startled eyes.

They brought in their sprays and they poisoned our house.

And we had to leave because of one little mouse.

The Orkin Army failed as we knew they would.

But, there was one man left, and we knew he could.

Along came Santa with his pesticide and spray.

He would rid the house of the mouse or he wouldn't go away.

So he sprayed and he zapped with all his great might.

The mouse was choking and coughing, but it saw the light.

The mouse ran out at a very quick rate.

It had to run to the store for some Kaopectate.

Santa said, "I'm in the wrong business, don't you know.

Ridding houses of mouses is the best way to go."

On to his sleigh as he drove out of sight.

Santa's Pesticide Service began on this night.

The next meeting of Poets Anonymous will be February 9, 2019, between 9-11 a.m. This group meets every second Saturday at the Flowood Library.

Come express your inner poet with a group of talented writers of poetry.