Now @ MPL...

Even though the weather doesn't support the notion that spring is just around the corner, it's time to start considering your garden.

A backyard garden can be a great way of saving some money off your grocery bill. Of course, the produce doesn't get any fresher then when it's from your own back yard!

East Library is hosting the folks from Milwaukee Urban Gardens who will discuss issues related to gardening such as how to prepare your soil for planting and which crops will be most successful in your own backyard garden in their program called Grow Your Own Groceries.

Space is limited, so call the East Library (414) 286-3058 to register.

Grow Your Own Groceries
Saturday, March 28, 2009
10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
East Library

Center Street Library is definitely the place to be during Teen Tech Week 2009 (March 8-14) and throughout the spring. The celebration next week is about connecting teens with different technologies, especially those available through the library:

Teen Tech Week 2009: A Gadget Buffet
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
5:00 p.m.
Center Street Library
286-3090

FREE COMPUTER TIME FOR TEENS AT CENTER STREET LIBRARY
Mayor Tom Barrett’s Summer Youth Internship Program (SYIP) provides youth with employment and life skills and helps them meet educational, job readiness and career exploration goals. SYIP serves high school juniors and seniors between the ages of 16 and 19. The application deadline for the program is March 31. Center Street Library is offering free computer time for teens to apply online at 1:00p.m on Friday (March 13) and Saturday (March 14) of Teen Tech Week. A library card will not be required to access computers. They will also offer free computer time for teens to look for summer employment at 1pm on Monday, April 13 and Tuesday, April 14 during Spring Break.

Have fun, make a new friend, and improve your reading! Students in first through fifth grades read to a certified therapy dog for 25 minutes each week for four weeks. They can bring in their own reading materials or a librarian will help select materials at the library.

Attendance at all four sessions is required:

Atkinson (286-3068) April 11, 18, 25, May 2 10 a.m.-12 noon
Forest Home (286-3083) Mar. 7, 14, 21, 28 10 a.m.-12 noon

Readers who finish this free program will receive a certificate of accomplishment, a book and a toy dog.

Print out this online version and return to any Milwaukee Public Library. Please also print out and complete a consent form from the Wisconsin Humane Society and return with your registration form. Registration is limited.

READ to Rover
Provided in cooperation with the Wisconsin Humane Society.
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Do you feel that the nice weather is right around the corner? It's time to shed your winter coat and try a new restaurant in Milwaukee. MilwaukeeFood.com provides a menu and eating guide which may help you discover an old favorite or try something completely new. The site also has information on the newest restaurants in the area and provides detailed entries on atmosphere, reviews and links to the eateries websites.

For other interesting sites about Milwaukee, check out the category called Milwaukee Area Sites under Recommended Links on the MPL Homepage.

The next Friends of the Milwaukee Public Library used book sale will be Saturday, March 14, 2009 from 9:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m. at Central Library.

It will feature half-price books. Make sure to stop by for some great deals!

All proceeds from the book sale benefit the Milwaukee Public Library.

The Milwaukee Public Library is proud to announce the launch of its new Facebook page.

This is not MPL's first foray into the world of social networking. The library already has a MySpace page focused on teens.

This new Facebook page is geared towards adults and is a great way of keeping up with all the various things that are going on at your library. You will need to be a member of Facebook to view the page. If you are not a member already, signing up is free.

So make sure you check out Facebook. Just search for "Milwaukee Public Library", and become a fan!

Milwaukee Parents: Are you strapped financially and wondering how in the world you're going to amuse your kids this summer? Would you love your children to attend a computer or basketball camp? Do you want to give them an opportunity to play music or practice cheerleading with their peers, but can't find the cash? There is help available.

Representatives from Wisconsin Pre-College Programs will be available to offer you and your children (pre-kindergarten through high school) information about the various educational opportunities available this summer:

Saturday, March 14, 2009
9:00am-12:00pm
Alumni Memorial Union
Marquette University
1442 W. Wisconsin Avenue
2nd floor, in Marquette Place

You (parent or legal guardian) must be present, and you must bring your child's most recent school report card and proof that they qualify for free or reduced lunch.

For more information on Pre-College Camp scholarships and classes, click here.

MPL' s Kelly Hughbanks was on Morning Blend, Tuesday, March 03, 2009 to discuss the Dr. Suess Program at MPL. The programs are taking place throughout the month of March.

Atkinson Wednesday, March 11, 6-7 p.m.

Bay View Thursday, March 12, 6:30-7:30 p.m.

Capitol Saturday, March 28, 1-2 p.m. Dr. Seuss Carnival

Center Street Saturday, March 21, 2-3 p.m.

East Wednesday, March 11, 6:30-7:30 p.m.

Forest Home Saturday, March 14, 2-3 p.m.

Martin Luther King Wednesday, March 11, 5-6:30 p.m.

Mill Road Saturday, March 7, 2-3:30 p.m.

Tippecanoe Wednesday, March 18, 6:30-7:30 p.m.

Villard Avenue Monday, March 23, 5:30-6:30 p.m.

Washington Park Friday, March 13, 2-3 p.m.

Zablocki Wednesday, March 11, 6-7 p.m.

To learn more visit our website or watch the video.

Click on this link to watch video!!

Keeping your brain healthy is just as important as keeping your heart healthy!

Did you know that playing board games keeps your brain healthy and can lower your risk of developing dementia? Having fun with games activates strategic, spatial, and memory parts of the brain.

If you are looking for ways to get healthy and stay fit, start at your library!

Drop in to play games, enjoy nutritious snacks, discover the Nintendo Wii, and receive health information. All ages welcome!

Bay View Library
Saturday, March 21
1:00 - 3:00 p.m.

Martin Luther King Library
Saturday, March 28
1:00 - 3:00 p.m.

*Sponsored by the MetLife Foundation*

Come to a special presentation of "Tea with Jane Austen" at the Rare Books Room of the Central Library. Not only will tea be served, but costumed performers from the Milwaukee Rep's production of Pride and Prejudice will be on hand to model the fashions of the era.

In addition to that, Marsha Huff (president of the Jane Austen Society of North America) will discuss Jane Austen's writing of Pride and Prejudice. Kim Wilson, the author of Tea with Jane Austen and In the Garden with Jane Austen, will discuss tea in the novel and the play.

Admission to the event is free. However, seating is limited and reservations are required, so call (414) 286-8720 to reserve your spot.

Saturday, March 21, 2009
1:30 PM
Central Library

The Buddha advised that he who envies others does not obtain peace of mind.
I would quibble with that bromide by adding that the Buddha never had pals who had the good luck to work in the heavenly Bay View or Washington Park Libraries.

Former City Librarian Kate Huston (uncompromising in her aesthetic and a champion of forward-thinking architecture) had the good sense to hire Milwaukee’s own genius-architect Joy Peot-Shields to design both buildings. You hardly have to be a blind acolyte of contemporary design to appreciate what Ms. Peot-Shields accomplished with an ugly, neglected little corner on Kinnickinnic Avenue in 1993:

Bay View Library was designed to resemble a lantern of learning atop a hill.
When you enter this little gem with it’s southern and western walls of glass, you can feel your body inhale the natural elements, like sitting in a forest clearing on a warm summer evening.

Washington Park Library overlooks Washington Park at the busy intersection of N. Sherman Blvd., W. Lloyd St. and W. Lisbon Ave. and smiles at the old-world Revolutionary War hero Frederick William von Steuben on the boulevard. The building’s high-tech energy conservation system (including radiant in-floor heating and geothermal heat pumps) is uber-cool. The glassy, double-canopied entrance wraps around the northern corner and the inside atrium sports an enormous steel and glass sculpture by artist Steve Feren. The work is entitled “Megaphor” which is a nod to the megaphone and information transmission. I think it looks like a rocket ship. See what you think:

It’s Women’s History Month, and Milwaukee owes Ms. Huston and Ms. Peot-Shields an enormous debt of gratitude. If you’re a New Urbanist looking for yeasty, cutting edge-intellectual culture and lovely green architecture rising from the ashes of the old city, drop by both of these treasures. Go inside and meet dear Christopher, Enid, Mike and Tony, Lisa, Opal and Kenya, Ashley, and the lovely Irene. Tell those lucky-ducks I say hello.

College Trade Fair
Saturday April 4th, 2009
11am - 2pm

Northside YMCA
1350 W. North Ave

!! Raffling off 2 Computers !!

* School Information
* Scholarship Information Availible
* Job/Career Information
* Learn about $5 YMCA Youth Membership
* Scholarship Packets Availible

Contact
David Crowley - YMCA-CDC Northside
414-374-9444

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Are you feeling overwhelmed by the constant barrage of financial news? Are you interested in learning about basic financial websites for researching saving and investing? Then please join us at 6:30 p.m. on Monday, March 23rd at East Library for a one hour presentation on smart money management websites. A librarian and an investment professional will be on hand to demonstrate and answer questions. Please call 414-286-3058 if you have questions.
This program at Milwaukee Public Library is made possible by a grant from the FINRA Investor Education Foundation through Smart Investing @ your library®, a partnership with the American Library Association.

Public Enterprise: How the Socialists Saved Milwaukee, a presentation from local author and historian John Gurda, will be held Tuesday, March 24 at 7:00 p.m. in Central Library's Centennial Hall.

At the turn of the 20th Century, Milwaukee, like most large American cities, was a civic cesspool of corruption, inefficiency, and inequality. Bending their lofty ideology to the common-sense concerns of the working class, the Socialists took charge of local government. They were highly effective champions of public enterprise for 50 years and the expectations they created still carry weight today. John Gurda will shed light on a critical period and some critically important figures in the life of the modern city.

*This program is sponsored by the Frank P. Zeidler Memorial Lecture Series and the Argosy Foundation, the International Institute of Wisconsin, the Milwaukee Public Library and Milwaukee Public Television.*

If you have ever wondered about the history of your home, you may want to attend the Milwaukee Public Library's House History program. This extremely popular program will be running again Saturday, April 18, from 9:30 a.m.-11:30 a.m.

This program is intended as an introduction to resources at the Central Library that are extremely useful for determining the history of a house or property. Resources that will be explored include the Milwaukee city directories, the fire insurance atlases, the tax rolls, and much more.

The program is especially helpful for residents of the City of Milwaukee, as the resources focus on the city. Residents of Milwaukee area suburbs will find less information than those in the city, but search strategies and the types of resources available may offer insight into the types of resources that are available in those communities.

Advance registration is required. To register, call the Frank P. Zeidler Humanities Department at (414) 286-3061.

MPL is the only library in Wisconsin to own a copy of Hypnerotomachia Poliphili, a romance by Francesco Colonna and a famous example of early printing. Join researcher Stefano Questioli for a program entitled “Hypnerotomachia Poliphili – A Hieroglyphic of the Renaissance”. Learn about the authorship, language and intent of this book – which translates to 'Poliphili’s Strife of Love in a Dream' – published in Venice in 1499.

Saturday, March 28 – 2:00-4:00 p.m.
Central Library’s Richard E. and Lucile Krug Rare Books Room
This encore presentation features improved audio visuals and sound.
It is free but seating it limited. Call 414.286.3071 to register.

Starting June 12, 2009, full-power television stations nationwide must switch from the old method of transmitting TV signals, known as analog, to digital television (DTV). It is estimated that nearly 70 million television sets could lose their signals when the transition happens.

Experts from Radioshack are offering a free class to discuss and prepare you for the switch.

Thursday, May 15, 2009
1:00 PM
Atkinson Library
1960 W. Atkinson Ave

Join us on Saturday, April 25th at 2:00 p.m. in Central Library for the latest program in MPL's Maritime Disasters of the Great Lakes series. Milwaukee Public Library Trustee Sharon Cook will present "Lost on the Lady Elgin - The Cook Family Tale of Woe."

On September 8, 1860, the Lady Elgin, a historic paddleboat steamer, sank in Lake Michigan. Ms. Cook's great, great grandmother perished with the sinking of the boat. Cook will share her adventures and photos of a recent diving expedition to the Lady Elgin. As a member of the Alliance for the Great Lakes, she will also discuss what she saw at the bottom of Lake Michigan and why we should be concerned about the health of the Great Lakes.

A library card gives borrowing and usage privileges at Central (and Central's vast special collections) and the twelve branches--- as well as other public libraries throughout Milwaukee County. They give you access to books, dvds, cds, cd-roms. downloadable audio books. They provide remote access to MPL's online resources and are also required for free computer access.

New library cards with an optional key ring card (adults and teens only) are now available at all thirteen Milwaukee Public Library locations. If you already have a valid card, the new card will cost you $1.00 to replace your old one.

Don’t have a MPL card? Stop by with two forms of identification to get your FREE card.
There's more information here.