Kids and adults will mark the upcoming presidential inauguration with special programs at Catawba County Library System.

“Presidents New and Past” invites patrons of all ages to share memories of U.S. presidents they remember beginning at 6 p.m. Monday, Jan. 12 at St. Stephens Branch. Presidential trivia and stories will be included, and books on the subject will be available for checkout. Library Services Specialist Donna Fox will lead discussion to include President Bush and President-Elect Obama. Youth groups are encouraged to participate, but all ages are welcome. Light refreshments will be served.

For details, call the branch at 256-3030. St. Stephens is located at 3225 Springs Road NE in Hickory.

Meanwhile, Maiden branch is engaging kids in “Hail to the Chief” activities Jan. 6-23. Kids will pick up age-appropriate work sheets for a prize drawing. Preschool through grade 1 will be given coloring sheets, grades 2-5 a word search puzzle and grades 6-12 a presidential crossword puzzle.

More information is available by calling 428-2712.

Catawba County Library System with its seven locations is a service of Catawba County Government.

Kids will learn more about author A. A. Milne during a program at 4 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 18, at Catawba County Library in Newton.

Light refreshments and a coloring time will be offered along with a reading of Milne’s most famous story, Winnie the Pooh. The program is free and open to the public.

Alan Alexander Milne (pronounced Miln) was a British author best known for his stories about a teddy bear Winnie the Pooh and for his children’s poetry. A prolific playwright, Milne’s earlier work was overshadowed by the success of Winnie-the-Pooh (1926), a story about a boy named Christopher Robin, after his son, and various characters inspired by his son’s stuffed animals, most notably the bear named Winnie-the-Pooh. The sequel, The House at Pooh Corner, came in 1928.

Milne, born in London, received his early education at Henley House School, where one of his teachers was H. G. Wells who would later achieve fame writing The Invisible Man, The Time Machine and The War of the Worlds.

The county library system has a variety of materials about Milne and his Pooh creation including books, videos and audiobooks. The Jan. 18 event is one of many children’s programs offered by Catawba County Library System. The Newton facility is located across from the post office at 115 W. C Street.

In case you haven’t heard, Geraldine Brook’s novel, March is the BIG Read selection for 2009 in Catawba County.

The novel, which won the Pulitzer Prize three years ago, explores the devastation and moral complexities of the Civil War as the author imagines the story of “Mr. March” the absent father in Little Women, who was based on Louisa May Alcott’s own father, Bronson Alcott.

Multiple copies of March are available at Catawba County Library System, and free copies will be available to underserved populations as part of The BIG Read project. Events will kick off Jan .31 at the SALT block in Hickory. BIG Read is a county-wide literacy project of Catawba County Library System, Catawba Valley Community College, Lenoir-Rhyne University and Hickory Public Library System, which is the lead agency this year.

If you’ve already read March and would like to read other works by Brooks, the library can help. She has four other books to her credit:

FICTION:

People of the Book: Offered a coveted job to analyze and conserve a priceless Haggadah, a rare-book expert discovers a series of tiny artifacts in the volume’s ancient binding that reveal its origins.

Year of Wonders-A vicar’s maid confronts the horrors of the bubonic plague in a historical novel based on real-life events in 17^th century England.

NON-FICTION:

Foreign Correspondence -A biography about Brooks’ own quest as an adult to find her childhood pen-pals around the world.

Nine Parts of Desire-An intimate portrait of the lives of modern Muslim women shows how male pride and power have distorted the message of Islam to justify subjugation of females and how feminism of sorts has flowered in spite of it.

More information about the author can be found at http://www.geraldinebrooks.com .

To check the availability of her books, contact any library branch or log on to http://catawbacountync.gov/library  .

Adults will have a chance to employ their creativity in artist book workshops at the Catawba County Library System.

“Shapes of War” workshops will be offered free of charge and allow local residents to create their own paste-paper books including original poetry and prose based on experiences with war and its effect on people and society.

Local writer/artist Sigrid Hice will lead two-part workshops at each of the seven locations of the library system. The workshops support the BIG Read 2009, a literacy project of the county library system, Hickory Public Library System, Catawba Valley Community College and Lenoir-Rhyne University. The sessions are made possible by a grant from the United Arts Council of Catawba County.

The activity is being held to support the BIG Read project focused on March, a Geraldine Brooks novel about the Civil War.

Workshops next month will be held at 6:30 p.m. Jan. 20 and 22 in Newton. Another session will begin at 6:30 p.m. Jan. 27 at Sherrills Ford. To pre-register, call the Newton facility at 465-8664 or Sherrills Ford at 47-2729. Later workshops are planned at Maiden, Claremont, Conover, St. Stephens and Southwest.

Residents of various backgrounds and ages are encouraged to participate to discuss the effects of war and to create their own hand-made books reflecting those experiences. Participants will write their own poetry and/or prose in the books.

Sigrid Hice, a native of Germany, has lived near Hickory for 33 years. As a visiting artist-in-schools, she integrates bookmaking and creative writing. She is a member of the Mountain Arts Program, the South Carolina Alliance for Art Education, ArtsTeach and the Hickory Museum of Art and has taught classes at the John C. Campbell Folk School in Brasstown.

Catawba County Library System is doing brisk business as patrons seek ways to save money. Circulation figures for November are up nearly 15 percent over that month a year ago.

“Main Library, which serves the most customers in our system, saw a 13 percent increase last month from November 2007,” said Lynne Bolick Reed, library services coordinator at Newton.

Southwest (Mountain View) and St. Stephens, the largest branch operations, had 17 percent and 15 percent increases respectively. The highest percentage increase: Claremont up 24 percent.

“As people try to economize, they turn to public services to fill their needs,” Reed said.

The county library system, which serves the lion’s share of the county’s residents, has some 70,000 registered borrowers. The library circulates some 680,000 items per year including adult and juvenile books, magazines, audios and DVDs.

 “Families strapped for cash really appreciate this service as well as our free services and programming,” Reed said.

Children’s story times are scheduled weekly at each location while special programs on a variety of subjects are available for all ages periodically.

Patrons who cannot afford a home computer and internet service are turning to the library for free internet access.

“We’re seeing an increase in traffic in our computer labs,” Reed said. Customers use the service to do homework, to check email and to search for jobs as more and more employers demand applications be filled out on-line. Catawba County Library System has 65 public service computers available. Free wireless internet service is also available at each location.

To help residents better navigate the web, the library offers free computer classes each month. Subjects range from setting up email accounts and navigating the web to how to write resumes.

The county library is always available to citizens without regard to age, race, income or educational level.

“In these times, people appreciate what we do more than ever,” Reed said.

Details about library services and programming is available by contacting any library branch or going on-line at http://catawbacountync.gov/library  A free e-newsletter is available by subscription by logging on to http://enewsletter.catawbacountync.gov/library/ .

Hard copies of the library newsletter can be picked up at any location: Newton, St. Stephens, Southwest, Maiden, Sherrills Ford, Claremont and Conover.

The holidays mean family gatherings…and family stories. If you’ve always wanted to research your family tree, there’s no better time than now.

If you plan to visit relatives, have a notepad ready to jot down some dates and highlights of their family stories and recollections.  Ask questions. Chances are they’ll be flattered that you’re interested in what they have to say. Some excellent questions can be found at http://genealogy.about.com/cs/oralhistory/a/interview.htm

Genealogy is vastly popular these days, but the best advice is to start with what you know. If you have older relatives who can share information, ask them now. Jot down your birth dates and places, marriage(s), and names of parents and grandparents. Ask who they were named for. That may give clues about previous generations.

Next, use the family Bible, and official documents and/or visit cemeteries to verify facts. Birth, marriage and death certificates offer important leads about occupations, places of residence and earlier generations.

Set a goal. You have two parents, four grandparents, eight great-grandparents. Decide which line you wish to search and stick to it. Do you wish to collect information for a family reunion? Join a lineage society such as the Daughters of the American Revolution? These goals will help you focus.

Get organized. Keep a notebook and write legibly. Invest in good quality dividers and file folders so you’ll have quick access to photos, charts and documents.

Visit the library. The Rhodes Room at Catawba County Library in Newton includes some hundreds of family files, plus published genealogies, maps, county histories, census records and more. The collection focuses on Western North Carolina, but includes materials on several states too.

On-line sources such as HeritageQuest allow you access out-of-print books, military documents and census records. Access to this and other services is free at the Rhodes Room. Hours are 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday.

Write for record copies, but be specific and brief. Always enclose an SASE (self-addressed, stamped envelope). North Carolina courthouse information can be accessed at: http://www.genealogy.com/00000262.html

Join a genealogy society. Swapping ideas with like-minded folks offers help and encouragement. The Catawba County Genealogical Society meets at 7 p.m. on the fourth Tuesday of each month at the Main Library. Similar groups exist elsewhere. Their look-up service and publications can save you time and money.

Take a workshop offered by a genealogy group or lineage society. The effort is well worth it.

Beware of generic family histories, directories, crests and coats of arms. They’re just marketing ploys.

Beware of Internet postings and other “facts.” Seek out original sources such as court records, diaries and deeds. Footnoted material is always preferred to undocumented websites and hearsay.

As you search, you’ll locate long-lost relatives and learn about interesting places. You’ll also gain a better appreciation for the past. Just remember that genealogy is a journey that’s never finished. There’s always more to discover.

The county system includes the Main Library at 115 W. C Street in Newton. An extensive genealogical collection is also located at the Patrick Beaver Library in Hickory.

A  new language is a sure-fire way to sharpen your mind. If self-improvement figures into your New Year’s resolutions, Catawba County Library System is your ticket. And best of all, the materials are free!

Audio materials cover languages from Arabic to Welsh to let you navigate in a foreign tongue.

There are a number of options for the more popular languages such as Spanish, French, German and Chinese, but language courses for more obscure ones are available too.  Suppose you wish to learn some Romanian, Polish or Hmong. Language kits are available for all of them.

The library system has up-to-date language offerings to help you get started. Just a few sessions on your commute or an upcoming road trip can ease you into the basics. Materials are available for all ages.

Non- English speakers are in luck, too. The county system has language audios available to help listeners grasp the nuances of American English.

To help with your language quest, there’s the popular CD, A Spymaster’s Secrets of Learning a Foreign Language. For more help with your language quest, the library also has bilingual dictionaries along with books, maps and other materials about different cultures and countries.

And don’t forget to explore downloadable books. Language instruction is available for more popular choices such as French, Spanish, Italian, German, Russian and Japanese. All can be downloaded to a CD or MP3 player through the library website, www.catawbacountync.gov/library/ .

Catawba County Library locations plan a variety of displays during the month of January. Displays are intended for informational and education as well as entertainment.

Offerings will include:

Newton-Miniature chairs, healthy eating

            Genealogy-How to trace your family tree

Maiden-Dulcimers owned by Pat Cloninger

Sherrills Ford-Snowmen, penguins and “winter scene” items

St. Stephens-David Peeler’s Dick Tracy and Sherlock Holmes memorabilia

Southwest and Claremont-New Year’s resolutions

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.                                                                                                                                         ###

Catawba County Library System will continue its tradition of offering free computer classes next month.

The introductory sessions, taught by trained library staff, will better orient adults to personal computer basics. Scheduled are:

Intro to Word -Get acquainted with this essential program to create, edit and store documents.  Class begins at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 13, at St. Stephens.

Intro to Excel-Learn this basic spreadsheet program to create interactive charts for bookkeeping and other purposes. Scheduled 10 a.m. Friday, Jan. 9, at Newton.

Intro to Computers–Take the first steps toward computing with the Windows operating system. Offered 6 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 6, at St. Stephens; 10 a.m. Thursday, Jan. 8, at Newton and 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, Jan. 20, at Sherrills Ford.

Intro to Power Point-See how to use this integrated software program that will allow you to create slides, handouts, notes and outlines. Offered 10 a.m. Friday, Jan. 16, at Southwest.

Internet Job Searching-Explore the many on-line options available to finding employment. Class begins at 10 a.m. Wednesday, Jan. 14, at Newton.

Setting Up an Email Account-See how easy it is to create and send electronic messages with or without file attachments. Scheduled at 10 a.m. Friday, Jan. 23, at Southwest and 6 p.m. Monday, Jan. 26, at Conover.

Pre-registration is required by calling the appropriate location: Newton, 464-8553; Southwest, 294-2343; St. Stephens, 256-3030; Sherrills Ford, 478-2729 and Conover, 466-5108.

To keep abreast of library programs and services, subscribe to the new e-newsletter at

http://enewsletter.catawbacountync.gov/library/

 What’s Christmas without music?

At Catawba County Library System, holiday tunes are free for the borrowing.

If you haven’t browsed the CD collection lately, you’re in for some treats. Tucked among the jewel cases are CDs to fit most every fancy.          

Country fans will enjoy Hear Something Country. This newer collection includes performances by Alan Jackson, Kenny Chesney and Johnny Cash, among others.

Elvis enthusiasts are in luck with White Christmas. In a more classical vein, try Mannheim Steamroller’s Christmas Extraordinare and The Three Tenors Christmas starring Jose Carreras, Placido Domingo and Luciano Pavarotti.

Kids will vote for The Coolest Kids Bop Christmas Ever, released in 2007 or this year’s Clifford’s Christmas.

Fans of the local group Puddingstone should know that two of their CDs are in the system: Christmas Past and Transitions, an album that knows no season. Puddingstone specializes in traditional folk and Celtic sounds.

And for a little Christmas funk there’s Jeff Dunham’s Don’t Come Home for Christmas.

A brochure listing holiday books, DVDs and music CDs is available free at all library locations.

Check these and many other offerings at Catawba County Library System, but hurry. The libraries will suspend operations for the holidays Dec. 24-26. Normal business hours resume on the 27^th.