Catawba County Library System will welcome young trick or treaters on Halloween Night.

Trick or treat hours are 3-6 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 31 at the Main Library in Newton as well as branches in Claremont, Maiden, St. Stephens, Sherrills Ford and Southwest (Mountain View).

Several locations have autumn/Halloween book displays to entice young readers, which are among the more than 68,000 juvenile books in the system.

 

Catawba County Library will be the place to go for family fun in November with activities ranging from a colonial tea party to Muppet Madness.

Main Library in Newton will host a Pumpkin Day at 6:30 p.m. Monday, Nov. 3.  Pumpkin stories and treats will be offered for school-aged children.

Fractured Fairy Tales will be presented at Southwest Branch at 3 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 16. Librarian Kim Wetmore will present fairy tales with a twist. The session is designed for children aged 4 and older.

Pajama story time is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Monday, Nov. 17 at St. Stephens Branch. Preschoolers and their families are welcome.

Sherrills Ford Branch Library will host an evening of Muppet fun from 4-7 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 18. Muppet Madness will include stories about the popular Jim Henson characters as well as a craft time to create a version of Oscar the Grouch. The evening is targeted for children aged 10 and younger.

An 18^th century tea party will commemorate the birthday of North Carolina at 4 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 20 in Newton. Elementary aged children are invited to high tea with a time traveler from 1789. The North Carolina ratified the U.S. Constitution on Nov. 21, 1789 to become the twelfth state.

For more details about individual events, contact the individual library location: Main Library 465-8668, St. Stephens 256-3030, Southwest 294-2343, Sherrills Ford 478-2729

Ken Burns fans take heart. You can now view your favorite documentaries any time from your personal computer.

Thanks to streaming technology, the films are viewable through NCLive, the free on-line service available to public library cardholders.

The films, originally broadcast on PBS, include nine innings of Baseball plus the entire series of The Civil War, Jazz, Frank Lloyd Wright, Empire of the Air: The Men Who Made Radio, Mark Twain, Lewis & Clark, Thomas Jefferson, and The West. Each can be seen and heard in its entirety.

Ken Burns, the film-making genius, has brought American arts and history to the public since 1990.  The Civil War, regarded as his masterpiece, has earned him more than 40 major awards including two Emmys, two Grammys and a Peabody Award. Techniques used in The Civil War gave rise to the term the “Ken Burns effect,” whereby archival photos are panned and zoomed in to create the appearance of a motion picture.

In addition to Burns’ work, NCLive offers a host of other PBS programs from the archives of Frontline, American Masters, American Experience, Cyberchase, Empires, Liberty’s Kids and Scientific American Frontiers.  All offer teachers and students excellent opportunities to expand learning in the arts, social studies and science. PC users must first download the free Adobe Flash Player. Easy instructions are offered on the NCLive website.

Thanks to support by the N.C. General Assembly, NC Live’s many resources are available free to North Carolina residents and students. The required password is available from the Catawba County Library System.

Catawba County Library System will again offer displays at various locations.

The displays, made available for education and enjoyment of patrons, are created to better promote community projects, events and the overall library collection.

Scheduled next month are:

Claremont-Holiday books

Newton-Campaign memorabilia, feasting display

Genealogy–Quilting items

Maiden-Jewelry creations by Christen Ehlert

St. Stephens-Southern recipes and crafts

Southwest-Native American heritage

Sherrills Ford-Antique coin banks owned by Chris Murphy

The library system operates seven locations throughout the county. Beside the Main Library in Newton, branches include Conover, Claremont, Maiden, Sherrills Ford, St. Stephens and Southwest which serves the Banoak and Mountain View communities.

Friends of Catawba County Library will meet at 11 a.m. Monday, Nov. 10, at the Main Library in Newton.

The group will discuss their ongoing book sale at the Main Library lobby as well as upcoming projects. A tree trimming will be held at 10:30 a.m. Monday, Nov. 24.

Interested members of the community are welcome to join Friends. For more information call 465-8292. The Main Library is located at 115 West C Street in Newton.

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Catawba County Library System promises an eventful November with activities slated at all seven library locations.

Would-be pastry chefs can get a sweet jump on the holidays through a dessert contest at St. Stephens Branch. Entries will be accepted Nov. 12-14 at that location. Prizes will be given for Most Creative, Tastiest, Best Presentation and Most Nutritious.

Southwest Branch will celebrate National Family Week and National Game and Puzzle Week with an array of board and trivia games available to families. That observance is Nov. 23-30.

Meanwhile, Jim Henson’s Muppets take center stage at Sherrills Ford on Nov. 18. Kids through age 10 are invited to hear stories and work on crafts from 4-7 p.m.

 

COMING EVENTS

 

Please pre-register for computer classes.

Library will be closed Nov. 27& 28.

 

Main Library, 465-8664

• Preschool story time, each Thursday at 10 a.m.
• Early voting concludes Nov. 1
• Pumpkin Day, 6:30 p.m. Nov. 3
• Resume Writing, 10 a.m. Nov. 6
• Friends of Library, 11 a.m. Nov. 10
• Intro to Computers, 10 a.m. Nov. 13
• Teen Advisory Board, 2 p.m. Nov. 22
• NC Birthday tea party, 4 p.m. Nov. 20, elementary age
• Friends of Library decorate tree, 10:30 a.m. Nov. 24

 

Claremont Branch, 459-9311

• Story time 9 a.m. Wednesdays

 

Conover Branch, 466-5108

• Story time, 10 a.m. Wednesdays
• Intro to Computers, 6 p.m. Nov. 17

 

Maiden Branch, 428-2712

• Wednesday story time, 9:30 a.m. toddlers, 10 a.m. preschool. Themes: favorite stories Nov. 5, Native Americans Nov. 12, Food & families Nov. 19.
• Family Games, 3:30 p.m. Nov. 13

 

St. Stephens Branch, 256-3030

• Toddler/preschool story time 10 a.m. Thursdays. Themes: Farm Nov. 6, Nutrition Nov. 13, Family Nov. 20.
• Intro to Publisher, 10 a.m. Nov. 5
• Create a Dessert Contest Nov. 12-14
• PJ story time, 6:30 p.m. Nov. 17

 

Sherrills Ford Branch, 478-2729

• Toddler/preschool stories Wednesdays, 10 a.m. Themes: Election Nov. 5, Family Time Nov. 12, Muppets Nov. 19, Thanksgiving Nov. 26.
• Music Time 10 a.m. Thursdays
• UFO talk with author George Fawcett, 2 p.m. Nov. 8, Sherrills Ford firehouse
• Muppet Madness stories and crafts, 4-7 p.m. Nov. 18, ages 0-10
• Friends of the Library, 7 p.m. Nov. 18

Southwest Branch, 294-2343

• Toddler/preschool story time, Wednesdays, 10 a.m.
• Free GED classes 6-8 p.m. each Thursday (except Nov. 27)
• Intro to Word, 10 a.m. Nov. 7
• Small Business Workshop, 5-8 p.m. Nov. 13. Preregister with CVCC.
• Fractured Fairy Tales, 3 p.m. Nov. 16 for age 4-10
• Intro to Excel, 10 a.m. Nov. 21
• Puzzles & games available for National Family Week & National Game & Puzzle Week Nov. 23-30

Catawba County Library System has created an electronic newsletter to keep the public abreast of events and programs. The web address: http://enewsletter.catawbacountync.gov/library/

The newsletter, available by free subscription through the library website, will include library system news as well as general information such as driving directions to each of the seven locations in Newton, Conover, Claremont, Maiden, Sherrills Ford, St. Stephens and Southwest (Mountain View).

“This as a way to offer our traditional paper newsletter to a wider audience,” said Tammy Wilson, public information officer for the library system.

The e-newsletter will be updated at least once weekly. Subscribers will receive email notices of new postings about children’s programs, author visits, story times, workshops and Friends of the Library events and more. To subscribe, simply log on to the website and click on the “subscribe” tab.

Paper copies of a monthly newsletter will continue to be available at all seven library branches, Wilson said.

The library e-newsletter is one of a few offered through Catawba County Government. The county’s newsletter was initiated two years ago. Others include a Family Consumer Science, Agriculture and 4-H e-newsletters offered through the Agriculture Department.

What book has most inspired you?

Famous authors and other celebrities have been answering that question for years, as editors have compiled their answers into compendiums of favorite reads. Each of these collections offer a way to get to know that person better and serve as a guide to books you might not otherwise consider.

Catawba County Library System has several of them available. Though it’s now eight years old, Readers’ Choice 2000 Book Club Favorites (028.1 MCM) is a treasury of top picks by some 70 reading groups. Victoria Golden McMains catalogued 200 top choices which are not only detailed by also indexed by subject and title.

Books of Passage, edited by David Perkins (028 PER) is a compendium of literature that influenced the lives of Tar Heel writers. You’ll read a brief biography and learn what book spurred that person to a literary life. The picks may surprise. Chappell noted Julia Child’s The Art of French Cooking, Robert Morgan cited War and Peace, while Betts recalled Hurlbut’s Stories of the Bible for Young and Old.

The Book that Changed My Life edited by Roxanne Coady and Joy Johannsen (028.8 BOO) treats you to landmark books admired by a wider variety of writers. You’ll read about the likes of historian Doris Kearns Goodwin and novelist Anne Lamott. As a bonus, the editors have included their own eclectic reading lists.

More accomplished Americans are listed in You’ve Got to Read This Book! By Jack Canfield and Gay Hendricks (028.8 CAN). “The Waltons” creator Earl Hamner loved Charlotte’s Web by E. B. White; Sue Ellen Cooper, founder of the Red Hat Society, appreciated The Great Divorce by C. S. Lewis.

Want to read these books for yourself? If the county library doesn’t have a copy, it is possible to have the book ordered if it’s available and appropriate for the collection. Bear in mind that it may take several weeks for an order to be received and for the book to be catalogued into the library system. Some may be available in audio formats or through downloadable e-books or audiobooks. Check the library website for details at http://www.catawbacountync.gov/library/

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The McCain-Obama contest marks the 53^rd time Americans have gone to the polls to pick the next occupant of the White House.

Main Library in Newton is looking back on past campaigns with a display of memorabilia. And, of course, there are suggested books to whet your political appetite…biographies of U.S. presidents and presidential wannabes and current books from Dick Morris’s best-seller Fleeced (320.973 MOR) to Attack Politics by Emmett H. Buell Jr. and Lee Sigelman (324.7097 BUE).

For specifics about political trivia in years past, there’s Almanac of American Presidents by Thomas Lawrence Connelly (Ref 973.0992 ALM) and the Almanac of American Politics 2004 by Michael Barone and Richard Cohen (Ref 328.73 BAR).

For an in-depth lesson on the American political structure, there’s no better resource than the Modern Scholar audio series. American Party Politics is a collection of 14 lectures by Dr. Joshua Kaplan of the University of Notre Dame. He thoroughly discusses the history of our political parties, explains why third parties can’t win and de-mystifies the Electoral College.

With the general election rapidly approaching, registered voters may want to take advantage of early balloting at the Main Library or Southwest Branch in Mountain View. Voting hours begin in Newton will continue on a varied schedule through Nov. 1. Hours for voting at Southwest begin at 9 a.m. Monday, Oct. 20 and will continue through Oct. 31. Questions about voting should be directed to the Catawba County Board of Elections, 465-8440.

Catawba County Library System continues to offer free computer classes for adults who need help working with personal computers.

The 90-minute sessions are taught by trained library staff and pre-registration is required.  Classes will include:

Intro to Computers-Take the first steps toward computing with the Windows operating system. Offered at 10 a.m. Thursday, Nov. 13 in Newton and at 6 p.m. Monday, Nov. 17 at Conover.

Intro to Publisher- Discover how your PC can integrate text and graphics to produce brochures, newsletters and other printed pieces including birthday cards and reunion letters. Offered 10 a.m. Wednesday, Nov. 5 at St. Stephens.

Intro to Excel-Learn this basic spreadsheet program to create interactive charts for bookkeeping and other purposes. Class scheduled at 10 a.m. Friday, Nov. 21 at Southwest.

Intro to Word- Get acquainted with this essential program to create, edit and store documents. Offered 10 a.m. Friday, Nov. 7, at Southwest.

Resume Writing-Learn how to sell yourself on paper to land that next job. Scheduled at 10 a.m. Thursday, Nov. 6, in Newton.

To register for call the Main library at 465-8665; Conover, 466-5108; Southwest 294-2343 or St. Stephens, 256-3030.