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March 15 is the Ides of March in the Roman calendar. While the term ides refers to the 15th day of any month, The Ides of March is known as the day Julius Caesar was assassinated. The ominous warning "Beware the Ides of March" became famous through William Shakespeare's play Julius Caesar. You can experience all the intrigue of this time period through works of fiction like Robert Harris's Conspirata: a novel of ancient Rome, or nonfiction, like Jeffery Tatum's Always I am Caesar. For a visual retelling of this story, you can check out the HBO series Rome, and experience this time period through the eyes of both the patrician class and the proletariat.

Calling all teens ages 13-18! Stop into one of your participating neighborhood libraries on selected dates in March for the Super Smash Brothers Gaming Tournament. This gaming tournament is hosted by the Teen Advisory Board and sponsored by the Helen Bader Foundation. Teens can choose to compete at Bay View, Forest Home, Martin Luther King, Jr., or Mill Road for a chance to qualify for the finals at Central Library. Test your gaming skills for a chance to win bragging rights as well as prizes! Snacks will be provided, so come on over to get your game on!

These were the legendary words first spoken through the telephone by Alexander Graham Bell, the man credited with that device's invention. On this day in history, March 3, 1847, Bell was born in Edinburgh, Scotland. He developed an interest in the transmission of sound through his father, who was a teacher of the deaf. Although Bell is widely accepted as the telephone's inventor, there was a bit of a race to the patent office as rival Elisha Gray submitted a similar claim the same day Bell filed his. To read more about this intriguing saga, check out The Telephone Gambit: Chasing Alexander Graham Bell's Secret.

On Tuesday, March 23 at 7:00 p.m. in Centennial Hall, the Milwaukee Public Library will offer the latest program in the Frank P. Zeidler Memorial Lecture Series.

The featured speaker is John Nichols, co-author of The Death and Life of American Journalism: The Media Revolution That Will Begin the World Again.

Nichols is a political writer for The Nation magazine as its Washington correspondent. He contributes to The Progressive and In These Times and is the associate editor of Madison's daily paper, the Capital Times. His articles have appeared in the New York Times, Chicago Tribune and dozens of other newspapers.

March 8 is international Women's Day. International Women's Day was created by the Socialist Party of America in 1909 to commemorate the women garment worker's strike in 1908. Clara Zetkin, a German Socialist, intoduced the idea of International Woman's Day to the First International Women's Conference in Copenhagen. In 1911, several countries celebrated the first International Women's Day on March 19. It wasn't until 1975 that International Women's Day was celebrated on March 8. In the spirit of International Women's Day and Women's History Month, you can read more about the this day and the works of feminist movements around the globe.

On Saturday, March 20, at 1:00 p.m. in Central Library's Herzfeld Activity Center join MPL and Woodland Pattern Book Center for an afternoon of book making! This workshop is for adults and children ages ten and older (limit two children per adult).

An edible book is designed to encourage new ways of thinking about literature by creating books out of food. Come try your hand at making a few simple edible books with local bookmaker Sharon Van Ruiswyk.

After this edible book warm-up you will be ready to compete in the Edible Book Show at Woodland Pattern Book Center on Sunday, March 28! For inspiration, check out last year's winners.

To register for this program, please contact Woodland Pattern Book Center at (414) 263-5001. There is a $7 materials fee for this workshop.

If you know of a family with an honor student graduating from high school soon, Harvard University would like to pay for tuition. The prestigious university recently announced that undergraduate students from low-income families (earning less than $60,000 a year) can go to Harvard for free... no tuition and no student loans!

To find out more about Harvard's generous offer, visit their financial aid website or call the school's financial aid office at (617) 495-1581. For other information about higher education or financial aid, click here to see our recommended education links on the MPL homepage .

You're Invited To
GRAND OPENING EVENT
Milwaukee Public Library
March 10th, 2010
Come Celebrate With US!

Mocais M Cafe at Cathedral Square has expanded! Plan to stop by our newest location for great coffee and all your favorite bites at the Milwaukee Public Library at 814 W. Wisconsin Avenue. We are located off the main entrance rotunda in the Bookseller.

We invite you to join us, our customers and the Friends of the Milwaukee Public library at the "Grand Opening" kick-off on March 10th, 2010.

The day will feature a ribbon cutting, free tastings, chair massages and door prizes throughout. Cafe hours 10am-4pm.

Mocais Cafe' is a minority women owned business that has " Catered to the business professional" in the downtown and Milwaukee area for over 8 years. We have a reputation for "fresh & fabulous food" and friendly and attentive service. In these difficult times we are proud to have been invited to the library, expanding our customer base and creating additional jobs.

We hope you can be a part of this special day for MOCAIS M Cafe & The Friends of the Milwaukee Public Library.

The Language of Conservation program at MPL is pleased to host the screening of the award-winning film Immortal Cupboard: In Search of Lorine Niedecker. The film, by Cathy Cook, won the Jury Award at the 2009 Wisconsin Film Festival.

The film will be introduced by Karl Gartung, poet and co-founder of the Woodland Pattern Book Center, and will be screened in the Krug Rare Books Room.

Lorine Niedecker was a poet, and was born on the Black Hawk Island near Fort Atkinson. She spent much of her life in rural isolation, and her poetry reflects this isolation.

The film is a documentary of Lorine Niedecker's life and poetry that takes its cues from Ms. Niedecker's poetry.

Date: 3-27-2010
Start Time: 2:00 p.m.
End Time: 3:00 p.m.
Library: Central
Location: Krug Rare Books Room

Even those of us without a drop of Irish ancestry can use St. Patrick's Day as an excuse to sample some delicious fare from the Emerald Isle. Recipe sources range from books such as The Irish Pub Cookbook to the Ready Reference Historic Recipe File to numerous websites. One of my favorites, accessible via the Milwaukee Public Library's House and Garden Recommended Links, is www.allrecipes.com. What I especially like about this site is the review section, which allows a sort of virtual kaffeeklatsch in which people who've made the item offer their suggestions on how to tweak it. There's also the serendipity of starting out with a search for Irish potatoes and winding up with a delicious mash up of spuds and cabbage called Colcannon. Bon appetit, now you may eat!

Are you 18 years old and a new Wisconsin voter? Did you just move to the city of Milwaukee? Were you previously registered to vote but your name or address has changed since the last election? All Milwaukee Public Library locations have special registration deputies who can register you to vote.

2010 Election Dates:
Spring Election, April 6, 2010 (MPL voter registration ends Wednesday, March 17, 2010)
Fall Primary, September 14, 2010 (MPL voter registration ends Wednesday, August 25, 2010)
Fall General, November 2, 2010 (MPL voter registration ends Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Any questions about the voter registration process? Go to the City of Milwaukee Election Commission website or call them at (414) 286-3491.

For other information about government or politics, check out our Recommended Links on the MPL webpage.

Have yourself a traditional St. Patrick's Day celebration tomorrow by serving Corned Beef and Cabbage to your friends and family! Here is a recipe from the March 12, 1975 edition of the Milwaukee Journal.

Corned Beef and Cabbage
(Traditional)

4 pounds corned beef
1 sprig thyme and 1 bunch parsley, bound together
1 onion stuck with 6 cloves
Pepper
2 onions
1 whole carrot
2 pounds cabbage

Tie beef into a neat shape. Put in large pot, cover with cold water. (Do not add salt.) Add remaining ingredients except cabbage. Bring very slowly to boil, uncovered.

Simmer very gently for 3 hours. Skim when a scum rises.

Remove thyme, parsley, and cloved onion. Add cabbage, which has been cut in quarters and well washed in salted cold water. Simmer for about 20 minutes, or until cabbage is cooked.

Remove meat and cut string. Strain cabbage, pepper well and serve on a dish surrounding the beef. Makes 6 to 8 servings.

Note: If corned beef water is too salty, cook cabbage in separate water, adding 3 cups of the beef stock to salt and flavor the water.

The United Nations General Assembly declared March 22, 1993 the first International World Water Day. International World Water Day is a reminder of how important freshwater resources are to the world. International World Water Day also serves to focus on advocating for sustainable management of freshwater resources. Since 1993, each International Water day focuses on a particular aspect of water resources. The theme in 2010 is "Clean Water for a Healthy World". Milwaukee Public Library has many books that can help you understand the issues surrounding the lack of clean water in certain areas of the globe and what can be done about it. Milwaukee Public Library also has many books for children on these topics.

In 2009, the Milwaukee Public Library applied for and received an LSTA Grant to aid in the digitization of 2,900 photos of business and industry in the City of Milwaukee.

The project is taking place this year, and to date, 606 photos have been added to the Milwaukee Historic Photos digital collection, to bring the total number of photos available in that collection up to 1,785 (as of today).

The areas that are complete include:
Airports
Beer Gardens
Breweries

Areas that are currently being worked on are:
Banks
Conventions
General Business & Industry photos in the letters A and M.
Occupations
The project is moving along well, so make sure to keep checking back as more images are being added weekly and sometimes daily.

Calling all aspiring poets! Do you like writing poetry but have nowhere to submit it? If you're age 10-18, you can submit a poem with an entry form at any Milwaukee Public Library or fill out an application online.

Winners will be announced at the Teen Poetry Slam at Washington Park Library on Wednesday, April 28 at 5:30pm. Your poem could be published on the MPL webpage and Facebook page!

Poems must be submitted between March 15 and April 10.

Prizes will be awarded to top poems in three separate age categories: