Kent District Library (MI)'s Blog, page 149

Match the Branch Contest: Results

Thank you to everyone who took a stab at our Match the Branch contest! Mary from Grandville won the eReader… she got 16 out of 18 correct. Congratulations Mary!

Here are the correct answers:

1.) This branch boasts a three-foot tall, three-dimensional Katie L. (our beloved mascot) – Gaines Township

2.) This branch building used to be a fire station – Comstock Park

3.) This branch has a beautiful view of the river from its living room area – Englehardt

4.) This branch building was built in 1904 as a grocery store and has a secret roller rink on the second floor – Alto

5.) One of the unique features of this branch is a wind turbine with solar panels – Cascade Township

6.) This branch has a Children’s Garden, which features a giant checkerboard, raised bed garden, PVC Pipe musical instrument and maze – Caledonia Township

7.) This branch boasts a lovely outdoor amphitheatre and a demonstration garden – Grandville

8.) This is the smallest branch both in terms of size (2,000 sq ft) and population served – Spencer Township

9.) This branch houses the ArtPrize sculpture “Flights of Learning” in its lobby – Kentwood

10.) Patrons at this branch enjoy seeing what is featured in the display case located right on the corner of the customer service desk – Plainfield Township

11.) This branch has all of its nonfiction materials — those for kids, teens and adults — interfiled in one area – Alpine Township

12.) This branch offers a stunning view of Reeds Lake (Don’t say I didn’t give you any easy ones!) – East Grand Rapids

13.) This branch houses a a subregional Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped, as well as a cafe – Wyoming

14.) This branch building is a reddish brown barn with a prairie garden – Sand Lake / Nelson Township

15.) Once staff at this branch found a live lobster in the book drop box! (Now don’t go getting any crazy ideas!) – Byron Township

16.) This branch has a  Congressional Medal of Honor from WWII on display – Krause Memorial

17.) This branch offers a year-round craft/drawing area for kids, as well as an outdoor patio with seating – Tyrone Township

18.) This branch not only has a train painted on the wall of its program room, but also has a working train layout that circles the room – Walker

 

Teens: 1 Month Left to Enter Film Festival

Deadline for submissions in the Kent County Teen Film Festival is Monday, January 7.

Selected films will be screened from 10:30 AM – 1:00 PM Saturday, February 2 at Celebration! Cinema North (2121 Celebration Dr. NE). Check www.kdl.org/teens for more information, or visit your local KDL or Grand Rapids Public Library branch.

 

 

KDL on WGVU Radio

Each month KDL staff join Shelley Irwin on the WGVU Morning Show to talk about what’s going on at the library. This month, listen to Assistant Director Michelle Boisvenue-Fox talk about our new Local Indie @ KDL collection.

Enjoy!

Download WGVU12-6-12.mp3

(photo courtesy of Shelley Irwin)

 

 

 

 

 

They’re Quick, They’re Easy… They’re Magazines

December can be a busy time, so perhaps you might like to have something light on hand to read… something like magazines!

KDL branches offer magazines on every imaginable topic, and back issues can be checked out just like books.  For instance, do you like music?  Then maybe you’d like to come pick up an issue of Rolling Stone or M Music & Musicians.  Want to keep up on current events?  Grab a copy of The Week, or perhaps The Economist if you want something a little more in-depth.  And if you like to read your magazines digitally, don’t forget about Zinio, an online magazine service available to KDL cardholders.

No matter your interest, come in and browse, you’re sure to find something.  And some magazines, such as Cooking Light, Real Simple or Crafts ‘n Things, might even come in handy for the upcoming holiday season.

 

 

Teens: iMovie Stations 4 U

Attention teens: learn how to create a short film in minutes, if not seconds!

See what you can do with iMovie and get the basics of video editing at 4:30 PM on Thursday, December 13 at the Cascade Township branch. Thanks to a grant from Best Buy Children’s Foundation, KDL now has two dedicated film editing workstations and is hosting the workshop to introduce the equipment.

 

State Census News for Genealogy Buffs

State census records often prove to be an invaluable resource for anyone researching their family history. Many states, (including Michigan), periodically conduct their own internal censuses between the years of the decennial U.S. Census. While not all manuscript records have survived, state census records that still exist are incredibly useful for genealogists.

Michigan conducted many censuses following its admission as a state. The 1884 and 1894 records are the most complete.

Up until this point, the records were only available through microfilm or the occasional print index. Last month the Archives of Michigan released over 62,000 records from the 1884 and 1894 censuses on its SeekingMichigan.org website. All the records are searchable and accessible for free to either copy or print. The combination of both censuses helps fill a gap in the federal record due to the unavailability of the 1890 U.S. Census (mostly destroyed in a 1921 fire). They are also a great complement to website’s already heavily-used collection of Michigan Death Records, 1897-1920. Happy researching!

 

Match the Branch Contest – Enter Today!

I’ve got a fun quiz for you. Are you game?

Match each unique feature to the branch it represents. Email your name and answers to webmaster@kdl.org by Thursday, December 6. The person with the most correct answers will win a Sony eReader. If there is a tie, we will randomly draw a winner from the top scorers.

A list of all of our branches can be found here. Each branch will be used once.

1.) This branch boasts a three-foot tall, three-dimensional Katie L. (our beloved mascot)

2.) This branch building used to be a fire station

3.) This branch has a beautiful view of the river from its living room area

4.) This branch building was built in 1904 as a grocery store and has a secret roller rink on the second floor

5.) One of the unique features of this branch is a wind turbine with solar panels

6.) This branch has a Children’s Garden, which features a giant checkerboard, raised bed garden, PVC Pipe musical instrument and maze

7.) This branch boasts a lovely outdoor amphitheatre and a demonstration garden

8.) This is the smallest branch both in terms of size (2,000 sq ft) and population served

9.) This branch houses the ArtPrize sculpture “Flights of Learning” in its lobby

10.) Patrons at this branch enjoy seeing what is featured in the display case located right on the corner of the customer service desk

11.) This branch has all of its nonfiction materials — those for kids, teens and adults — interfiled in one area

12.) This branch offers a stunning view of Reeds Lake (Don’t say I didn’t give you any easy ones!)

13.) This branch houses a a subregional Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped, as well as a cafe

14.) This branch building is a reddish brown barn with a prairie garden

15.) Once staff at this branch found a live lobster in the book drop box! (Now don’t go getting any crazy ideas!)

16.) This branch has a  Congressional Medal of Honor from WWII on display

17.) This branch offers a year-round craft/drawing area for kids, as well as an outdoor patio with seating

18.) This branch not only has a train painted on the wall of its program room, but also has a working train layout that circles the room

Go ahead; take a stab at it! You really have nothing to lose!

Note: We have turned off the comments on this blog post so no one can “give away” their answers. Please email webmaster@kdl.org with your responses. Thank you.

Eat a Meal, Raise $ For KDL

Here’s a deal you can really sink your teeth into.

If you find yourself on 28th Street on Tuesday December 11 between the hours of 11:00 AM and midnight, stop in at Quaker Steak and Lube, 4515 28th St. SE in Kentwood. Grab lunch or dinner and blamo! You’re an instant philanthropist.

Here’s how it works: You eat at QS&L, pay your bill – make sure to print and bring in this flyer — and the restaurant will donate 15 percent to the KDL Fund (Kids eat free from 4:00–10:00 PM, by the way). In turn, the KDL Fund will be able to keep offering fun, educational, inspiring, uplifting, thought-provoking, year-round programming to cardholders of all ages.

Call it what you will — rockin’ reciprocity, benevolent burger binge, charitable chews and brews – bottom line is, everybody wins. See you there!

 

Video Game Tournaments for Kids & Teens

This winter we are offering our second Mario Kart Tournaments for Kids! Children in grades 1-5 can enjoy Mario Kart, snacks, prizes and more. The tournaments are:

Wednesday, January 2, 1:00 PM – Kentwood branch (Sponsored by the Friends of the Kentwood Library)

Thursday, January 3, 12:30 PM – Englehardt branch

Friday, January 4, 12:30 PM – Cascade Township branch

Saturday, January 5, 12:30 PM – Cascade Township branch (Invite-only for the top finalists from previous tournaments).

And teens, have Siri put this on your calendar: The Teen Video Game Tournament, featuring Super Smash Bros. Brawl, will take place at 11:00 AM on Saturday, February 23 at the Byron Township branch. This tournament features great prizes and a super special snack break sponsored by Family Fare.

Registration is required for all tournaments. Please call 784-2007 to register or sign up online by clicking on the events above. Many will enter, only the best will be crowned champion!

Grandville Library December Staff Picks

Here is a list of what the staff at the Granville Branch are reading.

A Winters Dream by Richard Paul Evans:  An interesting twist on an age old story.  Listened to on cd….good story.

 Faith Bass Darling’s Last Garage Sale by Lynn Rutledge: Funny, poignant, a bit of a page turner!

 Hologram for a King by David Eggers:  A struggling American businessman travels to a rising Saudi Arabian city with the hopes of securing a contract that will earn him a commission large enough to stave off his economic woes and hold his family together.

 Age of Miracles by Karen Walker:  Imagines the coming-of-age story of young Julia, whose world is thrown into upheaval when it is discovered that the Earth’s rotation has suddenly begun to slow, posing a catastrophic threat to all life.

 Once Upon a River by Bonnie Jo Campbell:  Margo Crane, a beautiful and uncanny markswoman, takes to the Stark River after being complicit in the death of her father and embarks on an odyssey in search of her vanished mother.

 My Year with Eleanor: A Memoir by Noelle Hancock: Painfully timid as a child, Eleanor Roosevelt dedicated herself to facing her fears, a commitment that shaped the rest of her life. With Eleanor as her guide, Noelle spends the months leading up to her thirtieth birthday pursuing a “Year of Fear.”

 Meet me at Emotional Baggage Claim by Lisa Scottoline & Francesca Serritella:  Love and tomato sauce are thick in the Scottoline/Serritella household, and Lisa and Francesca’s mother-daughter turned best-friends bond will strike a familiar note to many. But now that Lisa is a suburban empty-nester and Francesca is an independent twenty-something in the big city, they have to learn how to stay close while living apart

 When She Woke by Hillary Jordan:  Hannah Payne, sentenced to being dyed a stigmatizing red for the crime of having an abortion, must learn to adjust to her new circumstances in a United States where her married lover, Aidan Dale, is Secretary of Faith.

 Beautiful Ruins by Jess Walter:  The story of an almost-love affair that begins on the Italian coast in 1962 . . . and is rekindled in Hollywood fifty years later.