Now @ MPL...

On June 19, 1999, Stephen King was struck by a van while walking along a road near his home, sustaining injuries to his spine, hip, ribs, and right leg. One of his broken ribs punctured a lung, and he nearly died. His near-death experience shows its influence in Just After Sunset : 14 tales about obsession and compulsion, richly nuanced with multiple narrators.

Informacion sobre como ofrecerle a su familia comidas y meriendas sanas con un presupuesto limitado. Almacenar alimentos adecuadamente para prevenir desperdicio, tambien como mantener los alimentos seguros. Ensenar a los ninos a comer de una manera divertida.

Cuando: Los martes, comenzando el 10 de noviembre desde la 1:00 pm a las 2:30 pm.
Donde: En la Biblioteca Forest Home.

Registrese para la clase con la bibliotecaria, el cupo es limitado.

Este programa es financiado por Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program.

Hey, Teens! Do you have any questions about college? Come to the Central Library on Saturday, November 7th between 2:00 and 3:00 p.m. Or, drop in at the Atkinson Library on Wednesday, November 11th between 7:00 and 8:00 p.m. Bring your questions...and leave with answers.

The Wisconsin Regional Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped has changed its name! It is now the Wisconsin Talking Book and Braille Library.
The library is part of the Talking Book Program of the Library of Congress, and provides Braille and recorded books and playback equipment for those Wisconsin residents who, for any physical reason, cannot read normal print.

The name change was made in coordination with a new digital transition that will allow the library to provide patrons with digital books recorded on flash memory cartridges that can be played on a machine that is also provided.

To learn more about the service, call 1-800-242-8822.

Effective Wednesday, November 4th, 2009, the way people sign on to MPL's public access computers will be changing slightly. Where it used to be the last two digits of the birth year, going forward it will now be the same as the password that is used to view your own patron record.

To create your password click here. Simply enter your library card number and click on the submit button. If you have no previous password you will be prompted to create one. If you have forgotten your password a librarian can reset it for you so that you can create a new one.

The password can be created or reset from home or at your local neighborhood library.

This password will not only get you logged onto MPL's internet computers, but it will also allow you to access your own patron record. From your patron record you can track what books you have checked out or on hold.

Today seems like an auspicious occassion to mention that 2009 is the International Year of Astronomy, as Benjamin Banneker and Carl Sagan (both American astronomers) were born on November 9th.

This celebration coincides with the 400th anniversary of the first recorded astronomical observations with a telescope by Galileo and the publication of Johannes Kepler's Astronomia Nova in the 17th century. The purpose of IYA2009 is to help people rediscover astronomy, and thereby reexperience a personal sense of wonder and discovery.

The official IYA2009 site includes special events and projects. You can access it here. For additional databases and links on this subject, check out the Science and Technology category from the Recommended Links section of the Milwaukee Public Library home page.

Check out the great deals on books this November!

The Friends of the Milwaukee Public Library are holding their Holiday and Children's Book Sale on Saturday, November 21st. The sale will run from 9:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m., and will be held at the Central Library.

For more information on book sales in 2009 and 2010, check out the Used Book Sales page on MPL's website.

Crave all things Anime and Manga?

Come to Bay View Library on Thursday, November 19 from 6:00-7:30 p.m. for a night of anime, manga, and fun activities!

Entries from last month's YA Manga Drawing Contest will be on display and open for People's Choice Judging! Snacks will be provided.

Sponsored by the MPL Teen Advisory Board, funded by the Helen Bader Foundation.

Remember the story of Hansel and Gretel in the forest? Recall that house of gingerbread belonging to the child-devouring witch? Create a miniature gingerbread house with your own children and then display it--or eat it!

(Witches not included.)

Martin Luther King Library
Wednesday, December 2, 5:30-6:30pm

Central Library
Saturday, December 5, 10:30-11:30am
Call 286-3091 to register.

Did you know that November 22 - 29 is National Game and Puzzle Week? This annual event takes place the Sunday through Saturday of Thanksgiving week and is a great reminder of the fun to be had playing games with family and friends...and, if you're feeling a bit more solitary, there are mental treats like crossword puzzles and sudoku, too. Not only can you have fun, but playing board games and doing puzzles can also help you to build a better brain.

Artist and Villard Library patron Jeanette Wright-Claus was inspired by an episode of the "Oprah Winfrey Show" in 2000 during which Oprah encouraged viewers to follow spirit by pursuing their passion. Ms. Wright-Claus began to create portraits, floral and abstract drawings and paintings. Soon Jeanette was exhibiting her art in many Milwaukee galleries.

With "Creative Dreams" workshops as her vehicle, Wright-Claus now aims to share positive creative change with children.

If you visit soon you'll be able to see the incredible paintings and pastels the Villard neighborhood children (ages 6-12) produced at their "Creative Dreams" art workshop this fall. They're on display at the library until Thanksgiving.

The Wisconsin Marine Historical Society will be holding its 29th annual Christmas Tree Ship Holiday Dinner at the Milwaukee Yacht Club on Thursday, December 10th.

The event starts at 6:00 p.m. with cocktails, followed by dinner at 7:00 p.m. and the program at 8:00 p.m.

The program features LCDR Will Naback, Safety Officer for the US Coast Guard Sector Lake Michigan. His program will give a modern perspective of the ROUSE SIMMONS operation and why the schooner designs of yesterday could be considered unsafe today.

The cost to attend the event, which includes dinner, is $32.00 a person. Call (414) 286-3074 by Monday, December 7th to reserve your spot.

Thursday, December 10, 2009
Milwaukee Yacht Club
1700 N Lincoln Memorial Drive

One week from today, you may be wondering how to use up the rest of that Thanksgiving turkey. Try this recipe from the Milwaukee Sentinel on November 18, 1982.

After Thanksgiving Strata

4 cups (7 to 8 ounces) herb-seasoned stuffing cubes, divided
1 package (10 ounces) frozen chopped broccoli, thawed and drained
1 cup diced cooked turkey
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
3 tablespoons thinly sliced green onions with tops
6 eggs
1 1/2 cups milk
2 tablespoons sliced blanched almonds
Green onions for garnish (optional)

Arrange 2 cups stuffing cubes on bottom of greased 8-by-8-by-2 inch baking dish. Arrange broccoli, turkey, cheese and onions over cubes. Sprinkle with remaining cubes. Blend together eggs and milk. Pour over stuffing mixture. Sprinkle with almonds. Cover. Refrigerate several hours or overnight. Bake in preheated 350-degree oven until golden brown, about 50 t0 60 minutes. Garnish with additional green onions, if desired.

What's your passion? Do you love music? Is medieval poetry your thing? Do you love astronomy? Are you determined to be a life long learner? Whatever you geek, your public library supports you. Geek The Library is a campaign to spread awareness of the value of public libraries and the critical funding they face. Almost any topic at any age level can be fostered and explored at your library. So don't hold back, get your Geek On!

Ellen Ermingard Raskin was born in Milwaukee and received the Newbery Medal for her 1978 book, The Westing Game.

Eleven original Ellen Raskin drawings from her book Nothing Ever Happens On My Block were recently loaned from Central Library to the James Watrous Gallery of the Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters. The James Watrous Gallery is located in the Overture Center for the Arts in downtown Madison. The gallery is highlighting the work of some of Wisconsin's most accomplished children's book illustrators.

Raskin's original drawings are normally housed in the Richard E. and Lucile Krug Rare Books Room at the Central Library and will be on display in Madison until December 9, 2009.

Many years ago, a young library patron asked me to help him find information on a "numbat." Now, I'd heard of a wombat, but not a numbat, and back in those pre-Internet days, it wasn't too easy to find any references to such a creature. After much paging through books and encyclopedias, we had success. Thanks to the Animal Diversity Web, one of the websites highlighted under Kids' Homework Help on the Milwaukee Public Library's Recommended Links page, finding information on this Australian marsupial is much easier.

Looking for the perfect gift? A Friends of the Milwaukee Public Library membership is an impactful gift that keeps on giving! By purchasing a gift membership you will give your friends and loved ones access to a treasured destination with endless information, resources and opportunity through the library.

We will send the gift recipient a Friends membership card with a personal message in a special greeting card. As a further "welcome" to this group of committed library lovers, they will receive exclusive Friends membership benefits, like a subscription to The Reader--the Milwaukee Public Library newsletter by mail; as well as first entrance to Friends book sales, author lectures and other literary events.

MPL Friends tote bags ($2 and $10) are also available for purchase to carry loads of books, movies and music materials on future visits to the library!

Support from Friends memberships helps further enhance the collections of the Milwaukee Public Library.

Milwaukee's Manga fans have voted! The Bay View Library hosted a very successful Manga & Anime Night event on November 19th. This popular program was sponsored by the Teen Advisory Board of the Milwaukee Public Library and the Helen Bader Foundation.Over 57 talented teens submitted entries to many of the Neighborhood libraries and Central. A judging panel and the participants had the difficult task of picking six winners comprising the Judge's Choices and the People's Choice. To explore more on this topic, the CountyCat catalog has many entries on this popular type of Japanese art.

Take a look at the winning entries here.