In the Heat of the Night – February 10 – Midday Movie

Join us on Wednesday, February 10 at 2:00 p.m. for our monthly Midday Movie.  We’ll be screening In the Heat of the Night (1967), directed by Norman Jewison and starring Sidney Poitier, Rod Steiger, and Lee Grant.

A small-town sheriff and a big-city detective clash over the investigation into the murder of a prominent local businessman.

The movie was nominated for seven Academy Awards and won five, including Best Actor (Rod Steiger) and Best Picture.

Admission is free and open to the public, and snacks will be provided.

Library Lines–January 14, 2010

Winter has set in and the cold definitely has had a grip on us. This time of year it is difficult to think about much of anything except staying warm. That is where the Chatham Area Public Library can help. Warm thoughts and wishes can easily be translated into real warmth with a little imagination.

With the outdoors a little too inhospitable for most activities, people have to find indoor leisurely pursuits. For those who have children at home, some fun science experiments could help pass the time. For younger children, Experiments With Heat explains in simple terms the basic concepts associated with heat along with very easy experiments that they can perform safely. For readers a little older, Heat contains more in depth details and more difficult experiments, many of which require adult supervision. For kids eight years and older, Amazing Sun Fun Activities explains solar energy and heating and has more complex experiments. All three use ordinary household objects to demonstrate the concepts and contain glossaries of the pertinent terms, and all encourage children to pursue careers in science and engineering.

Adults need indoor projects also, and knitting is a very productive pastime. Knitting Year-Round includes patters and designs for mittens, scarves, hats, sweaters, and hooded things for all ages and seasons. While only for the advanced knitter, Kaffe’s Classics: 25 Favorite Knitting Patterns for Sweaters, Jackets, Vests, and More has difficult but stylish patterns for the connoisseurs of comfort and warmth. For the quilters among us, 505 Quilt Blocks: Plus 36 Beautiful Projects to Make shows pattern blocks that can easily be adapted for use as wearables and decorations, as well as for those warm and soft quilts we all love to snuggle up in. For something that will warm your insides, The Ultimate Soup Cookbook contains over nine-hundred recipes that are sure to please, and Soup for Everybody: Low-Carb, High-Protein, Vegetarian, and More has something to take the chill off of even the most particular eaters. If you really like it hot, Flavoring with Chiles and The Great Chile Book have everything you need to know to create something truly flavorful.

Speaking of spicing things up, one of the best ways to stay warm is by kindling a little romance. The CD Jazz for the Quiet Times can help set the mood with just the right background music. Heat it up a little more by practicing the techniques found in Massage: Simple Ways to Achieve Relaxation, Enhance Sensuality, and Enjoy the Healing Power of Touch. Bring it to the boiling point by taking a page out of 1001 Ways To Be Romantic and doing it.

There are many ways to heat things up this winter. Let the Chatham Area Public Library help you spark an imagination, put something warm around you, ignite a fire in your belly, and set alight someone’s heart.

Tomorrow – Introduction to Genealogy – Computer and Internet Research

Computer and Internet Genealogical Research
Tuesday, January 12, 6:00-7:30 p.m.
Presented by Ron Hallberg, Friends of Genealogy (FOG)

Find out how computer programs and internet-based information can help you out with your genealogical research.  Registration is requested.  Please call the Library (483-2713) to sign up.

Library Lines–December 17, 2009

Did you know…? That is a phrase that is often used to start a conversation, to change subjects, or to emphasize a point. The phrase is usually followed by some factoid or bit or information not popularly shared. Knowing what you need to know is very important. Knowing that, come to the Chatham Area Public Library to find out.

A really cool and informative little book is I Used to Know That: Stuff You Forgot from School. It is full of concise explanations of all the interesting and important things that you can almost remember. It is sort of like a walk through your past, and a book that is hard to put down. Cosmologist John D. Barrow has given us One Hundred Essential Things You Didn’t Know You Didn’t Know: Math Explains Your World. He uses mathematics to examine everyday living like packing your stuff, why you are always in the line that moves the slowest, pushing a car, and remembering names. Numismatist Arlyn G. Sieber has produced the book The Instant Coin Collector: Everything You Need to Know to Get Started Now. His work covers the basics like handling and storing coins and the terminology used by coin collectors as well as information on what kinds of coins to look for and how to grade their condition.

Another book full of curiosities is Discover’s 20 Things You Didn’t Know About Everything. It contains twenty entries each on twenty different subjects from airport security and aliens to duct tape and germs to space disasters and weather. This entertaining read also jaunts through the world of rats, the internet, ancient weapons, and several others. If you would really like to know how much you don’t know about the English language, check out The Book of Hard Words: Read It, See It, Know It, Use It. According to the description, it will “satisfy even the most ventripotent concupiscence for mellifluous magniloquence!” With helpful illustrations and usage guides, this book delivers up plenty of surprising and humorous multiple syllable words. For that sort of knowledge that doesn’t necessarily come naturally, Style 101: What Every Stylish Woman Should Know is a life skills guide to sophisticated and trendy living. Inside there are tips on beauty, fashion, decorating, and entertaining that will keep you tasteful and polished.

Staying with the practical kind of knowledge, a book that is full of ideas is Family Reunion: Everything You Need to Know to Plan Unforgettable Get-Togethers. Included are suggestions for getting started, choosing the location, planning the food, selecting activities, and preserving the event and family history. If a large family reunion or even just a small gathering is in your future, this is one book that should be consulted. Much more seriously, the conditions described as autism have become considerably more numerous among children. For parents, teachers, and caregivers of autistic persons, Autism and Diet: What You Need to Know is a succinct guide to, and distillation of, all of the latest research. Noting how certain foods can adversely affect some children, the book is full of pointers on what foods to avoid, tips for planning at home and at school, and the essential explanations behind the science.

Whether you know what you need to know, what you don’t know, or what you want to know, it doesn’t matter. Chances are, you can come to know it at the Chatham Area Public Library. Ya’ know?

Gingerbread House

If you have been in to the library recently, you have seen how beautifully the building has been decorated for the holiday season.  One of our favorite decorations, however, is the gingerbread house that was made by our very talented staff member, Noel (pictured here at our staff Christmas party).

Noel said the house took about twenty hours to make over the course of more than a week.  She estimated that the house contains three batches of gingerbread cookie dough, two boxes of crackers for the roof, and about nine pounds of powdered sugar.  She said that she doesn’t like to buy too much candy or other special ingredients for decorating the house.  Most of the decorations are made from homemade frosting and other things from around the house–she saves Halloween candy every year to use for decorations, and reports that the trees are made from waffle cones.

Noel said that she learned how to make gingerbread houses from reading books on the subject.  Although it is fairly advanced, Noel said that The Gingerbread Architect: Recipes and Blueprints for Twelve Classic American Homes by Susan Matheson and Lauren Chattman is a very good book about making gingerbread houses.

A Little about EBSCOhost

Do you need magazine or journal articles for a school or other project? Need an idea of where to start? The Library has one resource that’s great for this kind of research–EBSCOhost’s MAS Ultra, which is a full-text database of more than 350 magazines, newspapers, and other periodicals including such titles as The Nation, National Geographic, Scientific American, Time, Newsweek, and many others.

To access EBSCOhost, go to the Library’s website, then click on “Resources” in the left-hand navigation panel. EBSCOhost can be found under several of the categories listed there: “Business/Law,” “Health/Medicine,” “Literature, English, Social Sciences,” and “Science, Technology, Mathematics.” Click on any of these categories, and then on the “EBSCOhost” link. After that, click on the link that says, “Search magazines here,” and then on the link that says, “MAS Ultra–Public Library Edition.” Chatham patrons, please contact the library for usernames and passwords to gain access.

If you need full-text articles, then you should click the check box near the middle on the left side of the screen that says “Full Text.” The database has many items that are full-text, but it also includes many records that have the citation only. Once you have conducted your search–you can do a simple keyword search or enter limitations as to year, publication type, and even whether the article has a picture, graph, or map in it–look at the bottom of the record for a link (highlighted with a yellow background) that says either PDF Full Text or HTML Full Text. The difference between the two is that the PDF version will retain all the formatting and look of the original publication–including any pictures or illustrations, whereas the HTML version will be plain text.

With either the HTML or PDF full text article, once you have accessed the article, you have several options. Icons at the top of the screen will allow you to print, save, or email the file to yourself. If you click on the “cite this article” icon, you will see the citation for the article in a variety of styles: MLA, APA, Chicago/Turabian, and others. If you use a program like EndNote or ProCite, you can even export citations to those or similar programs.

We encourage you to check out EBSCOhost for your research needs. As with any database (or other library materials and services), remember that the library staff is willing and able to assist you.

Library Lines – December 3, 2009

There are a lot of celebrations and holidays this month that you are probably busily planning for, but did you know that December also marks National Write a Business Plan Month?  Prepare to take your business to the next level, or launch a new one, in the New Year by creating or updating your business plan now.  Not sure where to start?  The Chatham Area Public Library has lots of books that will guide you through the process.

A business plan, simply stated, is a working paper that describes every aspect of your business in a clear and concise manner for lenders, landlords, and investors, all of whom may ask to see your business plan before conducting business with you.  Many books are available to help you decide what to write and how to write it so your plan presents your business is the best possible light.

Some guides are specifically targeted to those who are writing their first business plans–Joseph Covello and Brian Hazelgren’s Your First Business Plan is one example.  The book leads new business owners and planners on a step-by-step path to answering all of the questions potential investors will look for in your business plan.  It also offers practical tips and a sample business plan.

If you’re interested in seeing more examples of business plans, The Complete Book of Business Plans, also by Covello and Hazelgren, may be just the book for you.  In addition to its eleven sample plans, the book offers a workbook-style 101 questions section that will get you thinking and writing about various kinds of information that will need to be included in your plan.

Before you are ready to start writing, however, maybe you need some guidance on how to plan and launch a new business.  There’s help for you in this area, too.  The Everything Business Planning Book by Marlene Jensen, for example, lays out everything from taking stock of your interests and skills to learning about your industry and competition to putting together a marketing strategy.

If you’re interested in starting a large, high-growth business, then Ueli Looser and Bruno Schläpfer’s The New Venture Adventure is for you.  They encourage entrepreneurs to think big and give insight into how companies grow as well as offering business plan guidance and methods for creating a successful start-up business that has potential to operate on a national or international scale.

Celebrate National Write a Business Plan Month the right way and prepare to start your New Year, and new business, with a bang.  And, as always, the Chatham Area Library is here to help.

Library Lines – November 19, 2009

For a long time, the comic strips that appear in newspapers and magazines have been a favorite place to find biting and witty humor. Often full of social and political commentary, some of these pictorial spoofs have become so popular that they have been running for decades. Consequently, demand has resulted in the daily and weekly installments being collected into bound volumes for viewing together. It is only natural that one could find these collections at the Chatham Area Public Library.

 Over the past eight decades, some of the best cartoons to lampoon our culture have appeared in The New Yorker. The Complete Cartoons of The New Yorker is a hilarious compendium of the cartoons that have appeared in the magazine. Covering the years from 1925 to 2004, the oversize book comes with two CD’s that contain all 68,647 cartoons that graced the pages in that period. Conversely, The Rejection Collection: Cartoons You Never Saw, and Never Will See, in The New Yorker contains hundreds of drawings that were either too risqué or weird for that publication. While very funny, risqué and weird are the appropriate descriptors.

 Anyone that has ever worked in an office has to be familiar with the Dilbert comic strips created by Scott Adams. Bring Me the Head of Willy the Mailboy! is just one of several Dilbert collections available at the Library featuring that lovable cubicle dwelling loser. The Andy Capp Treasury by Reggie Smythe explores all of the subtleties of the life and marriage of that unemployed, pub frequenting, middle aged footballer from across the pond. The Essential Calvin and Hobbes features the selfish and imaginative adventures of a clever and impulsive six year old, and the disdainful mocking of his stuffed tiger. For those who are fans of Gary Larson’s The Far Side, The Prehistory of the Far Side: A 10^th Anniversary Exhibit includes letters that angry readers wrote to newspapers at the time, as well as cartoons that were immediately rejected by editors for being over the top.

 Pulitzer Prize winner G.B. Trudeau has for several decades penned the strip Doonesbury. Some love it, some hate it, all for the same reason. Often political, the humor is very subtle, the societal discourse stinging. Dozens of compilations of this material are available including The Virtual Doonesbury. For something political and local, Cheap Shots: An Incredibly Inexpensive Collection of Political Cartoons by Mike Thompson of the State Journal-Register is a collection of cartoons about politics, Illinois, and life in America, many of which were reprinted in several national publications. It helps if you remember former Governor Jim Thompson, whom wrote the introduction, but it may surprise you how many of the issues raised are still relevant today.

If you are a fan of the funny papers, want to see what you’ve missed, or just want a really good laugh, then one of the numerous collections of cartoons on hand at the Chatham Area Public Library should draw you in. It’s not a sketchy thing to do. It’s a great way of illustrating your good humor.

Instant Message the Library

You may have noticed the Meebo widget in the sidebar here on the blog.  Any time the Meebo widget indicates that the Chatham Library is online, you can instantly communicate with a friendly member of the library staff.  (And yes, it really is a real person who works at your library.)

If you don’t see the Meebo widget, try updating your Flash player.

In the near future the Meebo chat interface will be available on the library’s main website as well, but for now it’s only available through the blog.

You don’t have to have a Meebo account or sign up for anything.  Just type your question into the box right here on the blog’s sidebar.

Ask us any question you’d ask in person at or on the phone with the library.  We’ll tell you our hours, whether we have a particular movie or book, request an item for you…whatever you’d like.

Whet your appetite for instant information.  We’re here to help.

Library Lines – November 5, 2009

With the recent announcement by Condé Nast that Gourmet magazine will cease publication at the end of this year, and with Thanksgiving mere weeks away, food is on many of our minds.  While most of us associate food with good cooking and good eating, not many make the connection between food and good writing.   It is true, however, that over the years some amazing books have been inspired by an appreciation for food.   While you are probably aware that the Chatham Area Public Library offers an array of cookbooks for every palate, you may not know that we also offer a variety of narrative nonfiction books that will stimulate your inner epicurean.

Many memoirs concentrate on the writer’s love of food, cooking, and eating.   Ruth Reichl, editor of Gourmet magazine and former restaurant critic for the New York Times, has written several memoirs along these lines.   In Tender at the Bone: Growing Up at the Table, Reichl describes growing up with a mother who not only couldn’t cook, but would routinely throw together appalling concoctions that would quite literally make anyone who ate them violently ill.   Reichl describes how, from such inauspicious beginnings, she learned to love food and how cooking figured into her personal and professional life.  Reichl continues her story in Comfort Me with Apples: More Adventures at the Table, in which she recounts her transition from cook and chef to restaurant critic.

Many people who work in the food industry have written wildly entertaining accounts of their years spent in the kitchen.  Anthony Bourdain, known for hosting the TV series No Reservations, is the author of a number of books as well.  In Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly, Bourdain traces his culinary career and reveals some of the dark secrets of the restaurant industry along the way.  Steve Dublanica wrote Waiter Rant: Thanks for the Tip–Confessions of a Cynical Waiter (based on his popular blog, Waiter Rant), recalling anecdotes about his customers’ odd, rude, or clueless behavior.

Other foodies take the approach of writing about particular ingredients or meditations on where our food comes from.  One wouldn’t think it, but it is possible to write a fascinating book about the humblest of foodstuffs, and Mark Kurlansky demonstrates this powerfully in Salt: A World History, which traces the socio-cultural importance of salt from ancient to modern times.  Kurlansky also wrote an interesting account of a more exotic food, combining the history of the oyster and of New York City into one compelling narrative in his book The Big Oyster: History on the Half-Shell.

One well-known exposé of the fast food industry is Eric Schlosser’s Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal, which was the basis of the 2006 film Fast Food Nation.  In the book, Schlosser reveals not only the practices of the fast food industry, but also the impact it has had on our health and other aspects of the culture and economy.

On the other end of the spectrum from Schlosser’s fast food focus is Barbara Kingsolver’s Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life.  In this book, Kingsolver describes how she and her family started to actively investigate where the food in their refrigerator came from, and then embarked on an experiment to buy food produced as locally as possible–preferably by themselves or their neighbors.  Kingsolver concludes by arguing for the reinstatement of diversified farms as the suppliers of the majority of foods.

Before the stupor following Thanksgiving dinner sets in, head out to the Chatham Area Public Library and pick up a book or two about food.  They’re sure to make your mouth water!