Friends of Catawba County Library will hold their monthly meeting at 11 a.m. Monday, May 11, at the Main Library in Newton.

Members will discuss results of their big book sale scheduled May 1 and 2 at the Main Library and participation in MayFest May 16 in Downtown Newton.

Friends of Catawba County Library is a support resource and community liaison for the library system and sponsors author readings and other events. This year proceeds from the book sale and other fundraisers have been used for programming and to enhance the collection system-wide. The group welcomes interested members of the community. For more information call 465-8292.

The Main Library is located at 115 West C Street in Newton.

Catawba County Library System will sponsor several special displays during the month of May. Displays are intended for informational and education as well as entertainment.

Offerings will include:

Newton- Foster Care Awareness, Summer Reading program

            Genealogy-Salt & pepper shakers owned by Sylvia Bajorek

St. Stephens-Summer Reading display

 Sherrills Ford - Woodcarvings by David Greenlee

Southwest-Big Read Civil War items

Maiden-Horse collection by Hope Smith                 

Claremont-True crime books

Conover-BIG Read Civil War items

The library system operates seven locations throughout the county and has more than 70,000 registered users.                                          ¼/p>

Looking for work?

Catawba County Library’s new job-hunting books can make the difference.

The library staff recently ordered a number of new nonfiction titles covering everything from resume-writing to interviews.

Diane Jennings, Collections Development librarian, said most of the new books can be found on the 331 or 650 shelves. Multiple copies mean that at least some of the new acquisitions will be available at all seven locations: Main in Newton plus Conover, Claremont, Maiden, St. Stephens, Sherrills Ford and Southwest.

Career exploration books include the latest edition of the classic What Color Is Your Parachute? by Richard Nelson Bolles to the 2009 edition of Career Renegade: How to Make a Great Living Doing What You Love by Jonathan Fields.

Some other must-reads for the unemployed or underemployed:

150 Best Recession-Proof Jobs by Laurence Shatkin

Knock ‘Em Dead 2009: The Ultimate Job Search Guide by Martin Yate

30-Minute Résumé Makeover by Louise Kursmark

Resumes for Dummies and Job Interviews for Dummies by Joyce L. Kennedy

To shop the whole collection, log on to the library website at http://catawbacountync.gov/library  or check the shelves at any location of the Catawba County Library System. All books may be checked out for two weeks at no charge.

Job seekers are reminded that JobLink and the Catawba County Library System have planned a series of free workshops at six locations. Reservations are not necessary. The schedule:

Newton: Tuesday, May 5, at 6:30 p.m.

 

Southwest: Wednesday, May 6, at 3 p.m.

 

Sherrills Ford: Friday, May 8, at 10 a.m.

 

Conover: Tuesday, May 12, at 10 a.m.

 

St. Stephens: Wednesday, May 13, at 3 p.m.

 

Maiden: Thursday, May 21, 10 a.m.

Readers who like needlecrafts have a niche at Catawba County Library.

Librarians at Southwest, St. Stephens and Maiden branches have organized groups to discuss books while they work on needle crafts.

The Knitting Up Fiction group at Southwest has been going for several months. Their next meeting is scheduled at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, May 19, at the library branch on Hwy 127 South in Mountain View.  Twenty Wishes by Debbie Macomber will be discussed.

The Hooks with Books reading/crocheting group at St. Stephens will discuss Nora Roberts’ High Noon at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, May 26. Donna Fox, library service specialist is facilitating the group that is working on crochet squares for a charity project. The St. Stephens Branch is at 3225 Springs Road NE in Hickory.

Meanwhile, Maiden’s Knitwits group will meet Tuesdays from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Maiden Branch, 11 South A Ave. Beginners to advanced crafters should bring their own yarn and needles.  The group will be listening to an audio version of Debbie Macomber’s A Good Yarn.

All three groups welcome new members who like to read and work on projects. Participants are welcome to bring their needlework with them.

For more information, contact Southwest at 294-2343, St. Stephens at 256-3030 or Maiden at 428-2712.

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Catawba County Friends of the Library groups kick off May with a flurry of book sales on Saturday, May 2. Used books will be sold at Sherrills Ford (fire station) from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. and at Claremont City Hall from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Meanwhile in Newton, Catawba County Friends kick off sales at 3-7 p.m. Thursday, April 30 for a members-only preview. The public sale will be held from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. May 1 and 2 at Main Library, Newton. Customers should enter by the ground floor entrance near the elevator.

Children’s Book Week will usher in special programs after Mother’s Day. Southwest Branch will host “Off to See the Wizard” story time at 6 p.m. May 12. Children will decorate watering can planters beginning at 3:30 p.m. May 14 at Maiden. Local novelist Joyce Moyer Hostetter will appear at 4 p.m. that day in Newton to discuss her books, Blue, and Comfort, about the 1944 polio hospital in Hickory.

Main Library will sponsor a community blood drive from 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on Friday, May 15. For an appointment, contact Wanda Rozzelle at 465-8663.

Anyone who wants to safeguard themselves against identity theft should plan to attend the free program in Newton at 6 p.m. May 18. Representatives of the Sheriff’s Department will share how to avoid identity theft and advise what to do if thieves strike.

All programs are free and open to the public.

           

                                                UPCOMING EVENTS

Library closed Monday, May 25 (Memorial Day)

Main Library, 465-8664

   · Preschool story time, each Thursday at 10 a.m.

   · Friends Books sale, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. May 1 & 2

   · Homework help for kids, 3:15 p.m. each Tuesday & Thursday through May 21

   · Intro to Computers, 10 a.m. May 7

   · JobLink workshop, 6:30 p.m. May 5

   · Friends of the Library, 11 a.m.  May 11

   · Local author visit, 4 p.m. May 14

   · Red Cross blood drive, 11-3:30, May 15

   · Summer Reading Open House, 3-6 p.m. May 18

   · ID Theft program, 6:30 p.m. May 18

   · Teen Advisory Board, 2 p.m. May 23

  

 

Conover Branch, 466-5108

   · JobLink workshop, 10 a.m. May 12

   ·  Intro to Publisher, 6 p.m. May 18

 

Claremont Branch, 459-9311

   · Friends Books sale, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. May 2

   · Big Read book talk, 6:30 p.m. May 7

   · Friends of the Library, 6 p.m. May 26

  

Maiden Branch, 428-2712

   · Toddler stories 9:30 a.m. & preschool 10 Wednesdays.

   · Knitwits needlecraft group, 6:30 p.m. Tuesdays

   · Children’s craft time, 3:30 p.m. May 14

   · Begin Summer Reading registration May 19

   · JobLink workshop, 10 a.m. May 21

 

St. Stephens Branch, 256-3030

   · Preschool/toddler story time 10 a.m. Thursdays. Themes: mothers, 7; flowers, 14; music, 21; vacation, 28.

   · Preschool stories, 6:30 p.m. May 12

   · Intro to Excel, 10 a.m. May 13

   · JobLink workshop, 3 p.m. May 13

   · Intro to Word, 10 a.m., May 20

   · Music Makers 10 a.m. & 4:30 p.m. May 21

   · Hooks with Books crochet/book group, 6:30 p.m. May 26

 

Sherrills Ford Branch, 478-2729

   · Toddler/preschool stories Wednesdays, 10 a.m.  

   · Toddler/preschool music time, 10 a.m. Thursdays

   · Friends Book sale 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. May 2

   · JobLink workshop, 10 a.m. May 8

   · Friends of the Library, 7 p.m. May 19

  

Southwest Branch, 294-2343

   · Toddler/preschool story time, 10 a.m. Wednesdays

   · Free GED classes, 6-8 p.m. Thursdays. Sign up through CVCC.

   · JobLink workshop, 3 p.m. May 6

   · Off to See the Wizard program, 6 p.m. May 12

   · Knitting Up Fiction 6:30 p.m. May 19

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Many of us remember the World Book salesman. He or she would come knocking in early fall when the family’s first child headed off to school.

For the $100 investment-a hefty sum in the 1960s-parents helped to ensure their child’s academic success. Dubbed “A World of Knowledge,” the set of white leather-bound encyclopedias would allow a youngster to explore every subject under the sun.

Who can say how many medical professionals were inspired by the plastic overlays of the invisible man? And how many future illustrators practiced drawing the photos of birds or flowers in the encyclopedia? How many teachers were empowered to pursue an education degree by childhood hours reading the encyclopedia?

Today, parents can offer such an advantage at no cost. Thanks to NC Live, a free service of Catawba County Library System, any library cardholder can browse the latest edition of Funk & Wagnall’s New World Encyclopedia from your home computer as well as various reference materials through Gale Virtual Reference Library.

NC Live can be accessed from any computer at www.nclive.org  The website simplifies the search for materials by directing you immediately to reliable sources that may be hard to find or otherwise available to paid subscribers. 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 your library by calling 465-8663.

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Catawba County Library System can stretch your entertainment budget with free movies on DVD.

Added last month include some hot new titles including Australia starting Hugh Jackman and Nicole Kidman, Slumdog Millionaire with Dev Patel, Marley & Me starting Jennifer Aniston and Owen Wilson, Rachel Getting Married with Anne Hathaway and Seven Pounds featuring Will Smith.

If learning is your bent, try United States History, Origins to 2000 (Civil Rights), Hunting the Hidden Dimension and Garbage Warrior.

Vintage viewing is in store with The Three Stooges Collection Vol. 3 (1940-42), Tarzan Collection Vol. 2 and River of No Return with Robert Mitchum and Marilyn Monroe.

Check availability on-line at http://catawbacountync.gov/library /.

Catawba County Library System has an impressive new collection of classic books for young people, thanks to a We the People Grant to Catawba County Library System.

For the sixth year in a row, Catawba County Library System has enhanced its classic book titles for young people through the National Endowment for the Humanities’ “We the People” project, receiving books for each location: Main Library in Newton as well as Claremont, Conover, Maiden, Sherrills Ford, Southwest and St. Stephens branches.

The collection includes a set of classic books for young readers from kindergarten through high school. This year’s bookshelf includes:

Grades K-3
Walt Whitman: Words of America by Barbara Kerley
Harvesting Hope: The Story of Cesar Chavez by Kathleen Krull (English and Spanish)
The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Sweet Music in Harlem by Debbie Taylor

Grades 4-6
The Birchbark House by Louise Erdrich
American Tall Tales by Mary Pope Osborne
On the Wings of Heroes by Richard Peck
Forty Acres and Maybe a Mule by Harriette Gillem Robinet
The Captain’s Dog: My Journey with the Lewis and Clark Tribe by Roland Smith

Grades 7-8
The Life and Death of Crazy Horse by Russell Freedman
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving (English and Spanish)
Across America on an Emigrant Train by Jim Murphy
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain

Grades 9-12
Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation by Joseph J. Ellis
Restless Spirit: The Life and work of Dorothea Lange by Elizabeth Partridge
Travels with Charley on Search of America by John Steinbeck (English and Spanish)
Democracy in America by Alexis de Toqueville

Bonus:
Our White House; Looking In, Looking Out by the National Children’s Book and Literary Alliance
1776: The Illustrated Edition by David McCullough

Each year NEH identifies a theme important to the nation’s heritage and selects books that embody that theme. In addition to introducing young readers to good literature, the Bookshelf promotes understanding of abstract or general ideas through the power of particular stories. This year’s theme is “Picturing America.”

Earlier, 40 poster-sized prints of visual art were presented to the library system. They have been displayed at the Main Library in Newton on a rotating basis.

Catawba County Library System, headquartered in Newton, circulates more than 247,000 items each year from a collection valued at more than $5.7 million.

Catawba County Library System continues its free introductory computer classes to adults next month.

Three 90-minute sessions will be led by trained library staff and pre-registration is required.  

Classes include:

Intro to Computers-Take the first steps toward computing with the Windows operating system. Offered 10 a.m. Thursday, May 7, in Newton.

Intro to Excel– Get acquainted with this essential program to create, edit and store documents. Offered 10 a.m. Wednesday, May 13, in St. Stephens branch.

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 6 p.m. Monday, May 18, in Conover.

To register for call the Main library at 465-8665; Conover, 466-5108 or St. Stephens, 256-3030. The Main Library is located at 115 West C Street in Newton.

If you’re unemployed, Catawba County Library may be your ticket to finding work.

A series of free workshops are scheduled next month to help with job quests. “Surviving the Jungle” workshops will be led by Donna Gilbert, director of JobLink.          

“We are pleased to partner with JobLink to offer these sessions to our customers,” said Debbie Hosford, branch manager at St. Stephens. She worked with Gilbert to schedule the sessions designed to help individuals bridge to re-employment.

The JobLink Career Center at the Catawba Valley Community College East Campus is a collaboration of workforce partners serving the community by matching employers with trained personnel.

 “The JobLink workshops augment resources we have here at the library to provide information about job openings in the county, assistance with completing a resume and give direction about job search,” Hosford said.

Among the topics covered will be how to sign up for basic computer classes, find help with food assistance, paying the mortgage and overall budgeting to helping individuals determine their skills.  

The workshop schedule is:

 Newton: Tuesday, May 5, at 6:30 p.m.

Southwest: Wednesday, May 6, at 3 p.m.

Sherrills Ford: Friday, May 8, at 10 a.m.

Conover: Tuesday, May 12, at 10 a.m.

St. Stephens: Wednesday, May 13, at 3 p.m.

Maiden: Thursday, May 21, 10 a.m.

Reservations are not required.

Earlier this year, Gov. Bev Perdue partnered the state’s libraries with the Employment Security Commission and Dept. of Commerce. JobSearch Help Desk has trained local librarians to help patrons connect with employers and conduct job searches at public libraries. With the training, library staff is now better equipped to help patrons find work.

As part of the statewide job search initiative, the county library system is also expanding its book collection to help job seekers. A free employment “Fact Sheet” is now available at the library as well for individuals to fill out essential information needed for job applications and resumes. Having that data in-hand is important before one begins filling out an application on-line.

For more information about the job seeker workshops, contact Hosford at 256-3030 or the JobLink office at 324-5650.