Now @ MPL...

October 14-20, 2007

1. Poster Contest

Your library wants you to submit posters based on the theme “LOL @ Your Library.”

Entries by teens age 13-18 will be accepted October 1-12 at all Milwaukee Public Libraries. Posters must be done by hand (not computer-generated) in any other medium including: pencil, chalk, ink, marker, paints, etc. Posters must be submitted on 8.5 x 11” paper. Each entry will be judged on composition, quality of drawing, originality, and how closely it relates to the theme. Winning posters will be displayed on the library’s web page.

PRIZES
1st place – $50 Target gift card
2nd place – $25 Target gift card
3rd place – $15 Target gift card

2. ComedySportz @ Washington Park Library (2121 N. Sherman Blvd.)
Thursday, October 18, 2007 6:30 p.m.
Sit back and laugh, or take the opportunity to stand up and make people laugh during this interactive improv comedy performance suitable for all ages. The entire show is fueled by audience suggestions and participation.

3. Meet the Author: Sonia Hayes @ Center Street Library (2727 W. Fond du Lac Ave.)
Saturday, October 20, 2007 3:00 p.m.
Sonia Hayes, author of Ms. Thang and Urban Goddess, will present a book discussion based on her novels entitled: Flavor of Love Adolescents age 12-18 will be invited to explore the concept of love in various relationships including friends, family, romantic and, most importantly, self-love.

Please join the Milwaukee Public Library and Harry W. Schwartz Bookshops in welcoming Caroline Kennedy to Central Library on Thursday, December 13. Beginning at 6:00 p.m., Ms. Kennedy, editor of A Family Christmas, will be signing books in the Richard E. and Lucile Krug Rare Books Room. The Milwaukee Children's Choir will also be part of the evening's festivities. Tickets for the event are $32 and may be purchased at any Harry W. Schwartz Bookshop or online at www.schwartzbooks.com. One ticket includes admission to the event, an autographed copy of A Family Christmas and a $5 tax deductible contribution to the Milwaukee Public Library Foundation. Tickets and additional books will be available at the event. We hope that you will be able to join us!

The staff of the Adult Programming Committee prepared a tea party to celebrate the 232nd birthday of Jane Austen. A beautiful display of the Milwaukee Public Library staff’s tea cups and related items was prepared to complement the celebration.

Authors Victoria Hinshaw and Kim Wilson in the Rare Books Room.

Regency romance author Victoria Hinshaw and tea aficionado and author Kim Wilson gave talks about Jane Austen’s life, her books and the history of tea in England. A trivia quiz was distributed and the authors’ books were given as prizes. Several kinds of teas and cookies, some brought by generous participants, were enjoyed by all.

The event took place in the Richard E. and Lucile Krug Rare Books Room at the Central Library on Saturday, December 8, from 2:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. The event was a great success with the 28 participants raving about the program and there were several requests that a similar program take place on an annual basis.

Central Library will host The American Presidency Traveling Exhibit from Saturday, February 16 through Monday, February 18. This museum-quality exhibit contains 80 objects from the two largest private presidential memorabilia collections in the country. Among some of the rare and unique items on display are campaign buttons, state dinner menus and seating arrangements, and an original key to the White House. MPL has supplemented this exhibit with items from its own collection, as well as donations from library patrons and friends.

Along with the exhibit, Jordan M. Wright, author of Campaigning for President, will be discussing and signing his book on Sunday, February 17 from 2:00 p.m. until 4:00 p.m. in Central Library's First Floor Meeting Room. Copies of his work will be available for purchase at the event.

**MPL is partnering with HarperCollins Publishing and FOX News to bring this exhibit to Milwaukee.**

This Saturday, February 23 from 2:00 p.m.-3:00 p.m., the author of Milwaukee's Bronzeville 1900-1950 will be giving a talk at the Villard Library. Paul H. Geenen will share a slide presentation that discusses the history and stories of Bronzeville, and explores the cultural achievements of African Americans of that time.

Bronzeville was an area that centered around Walnut Street, with the heart of the area between 3rd and 12th streets. In the time period between 1900 and 1950 the area was predominantly African-American. In the 1950s, the neighborhood disappeared after a majority of the buildings were razed to make way for the I-43 north-south freeway.

This program is part of the Milwaukee Public Library's Big Read celebration which features Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston.

Milwaukee resident Frank D. Alioto, a Lieutenant with the Milwaukee Fire Department and local historian will present his new book, Milwaukee's Brady Street Neighborhood, along with a slide presentation including pictures from his book.

The author will sign copies of his book along with copies being sold at the discussion.

Saturday, April 12
2:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.

East Library
1910 E. North Ave
(414) 286-3058

On Sunday, April 6 at 1:30 p.m. in Central Library's Centennial Hall, native Milwaukeean Susan Firer will be inducted as the city's Poet Laureate for 2008-09. Firer will read from her latest poetry collection, Milwaukee Does Strange Things to People, which includes new and selected poems from 1979 to 2007. Her other collections include The Laugh We Make When We Fall (2002), The Underground Communion Rail (1992), My Life With the Tsar and Other Poems (1979), and The Lives of Saints and Everything (1993), which won that year's Cleveland State University Poetry Center Prize. Firer is an assistant professor in the English Department of UWM, where she teaches courses in creative writing and women's studies.

The Friends of the Milwaukee Public Library will hold their annual Spring Literary Luncheon on Monday, May 19 from 11:00 a.m. until 1:30 p.m. at the Wisconsin Club, located at 900 W. Wisconsin Ave. This year's event will feature award-winning author Louise Erdrich. She is the author of over a dozen novels, including Love Medicine, which won the National Book Critics Circle Award. On May 19, she will be signing copies and reading from her latest book, The Plague of Doves.

Reservations are required for this event. Each reservation includes an autographed hardcover copy of The Plague of Doves or a Schwartz Bookshops gift card of equal value. Please call 286-8720 for more information.