Kent District Library (MI)'s Blog, page 71

Wikipedia and You

Have questions about Wikipedia and didn’t know who to ask?  Are you an expert in a certain topic, or simply a know-it-all?  Enjoy photography? Do you already edit a page on Wikipedia?

Plan to attend our Wikipedia Editors Meet-Up and Informational Gatherings taking place at 2:00 PM on Saturday, March 29 and Saturday, April 19 the East Grand Rapids Branch.

Topic for March 29: Local History and Genealogy
Topic for April 19: Photos, Research, Editing Tips and Tricks, Gardening

Join Bettina Cousineau, a Wikipedia educator and editor who is currently developing an online course for new Wikipedia editors, and other editors to help create the encyclopedia for everyone. Please bring your own laptop, or indicate at registration if you require borrowing one of ours.

Registration for this program is requested. To register, call 616-784-2007 or visit your local KDL branch. Please provide your library card number at time of registration.

This program is for teens and adults. We hope to see you there!

 

 

Huge Honor for KDL Manager!

We are so excited! Melissa DeWild, our Collection Development Manager, has been named one of Library Journal’s 2014 Movers & Shakers. This thirteenth annual round of Movers & Shakers profiles 50 up-and-coming individuals who are innovative, creative and making a difference in the library world.

Melissa has done great things for KDL and libraries across the country. To learn more about Melissa and her awesome achievements, read her Library Journal profile.

Please join us in congratulating Melissa on this huge honor!

KDL Top Ten — Freegal Downloads

Time to face the music — Try KDL’s Freegal Music site today!  Download DRM-free MP3 files for millions of songs from Sony Music. And while you’re visiting, check out “My Library Top 10“:

You’re Hired! Career Transitions Workshops

Want to brush up on your job-hunting skills? We can help with a series of free Career Transitions Workshops occurring this spring!

Developing Your Personal Brand

Learn how to identify, develop and market your innate talents to best be able to “sell what you do well,” whether it’s through verbal or written communications.

Wednesday, April 2, 6:00 – 7:45 PM — Kentwood (Richard L. Root) Branch

Wednesday, May 7, 6:00 – 7:45 PM — East Grand Rapids Branch

Communicating Your Brand

Learn how to best share your personal brand by focusing on elevator pitches, résumés and online profiles, with emphasis on aligning your message with your professional value in the marketplace.

Wednesday, April 16, 6:00 – 7:45 PM — Kentwood (Richard L. Root) Branch

Wednesday, May 14, 6:00 – 7:45 PM — East Grand Rapids Branch

Networking

A lot of getting connected to job opportunities is about who you know.  Explore strategies and techniques needed to build and nurture effective relationships with contacts.

Wednesday, March 19, 6:00 – 7:45 PM — East Grand Rapids Branch

Wednesday, April 23, 6:00 – 7:45 PM — Kentwood (Richard L. Root) Branch

Wednesday, May 21, 6:00 – 7:45 PM — East Grand Rapids Branch

LinkedIn Boot Camp

Optimize your use of the professional networking website LinkedIn and develop your networking experience. Registration is required only if you cannot provide your own laptop.

Thursday, March 20, 6:00 – 7:45 PM — East Grand Rapids Branch

Thursday, April 24, 6:00 – 7:45 PM — Kentwood (Richard L. Root) Branch

Thursday, May 22, 6:00 – 7:45 PM — East Grand Rapids Branch

Behavioral Interviewing

Create a positive and lasting impression. Learn essential techniques of how to ace interviews in today’s job market and how to negotiate terms of employment.

Wednesday, March 26, 6:00 – 7:45 PM — East Grand Rapids Branch

Wednesday, April 30, 6:00 – 7:45 PM — Kentwood (Richard L. Root) Branch

Wednesday, May 28, 6:00 – 7:45 PM — East Grand Rapids Branch

The Career Transitions Workshop series is presented in partnership with Career Transitions Center West Michigan. Registration is not required.

 

Write Michigan: Celebrate with Us!

You are invited! We would love for you to attend the Write Michigan Awards Ceremony, taking place at 2:00 PM on Saturday, March 22 at the Kentwood (Richard L. Root) Branch. Come celebrate the Write Michigan Short Story Contest winners.

The free event will feature a keynote address by Kentwood-based novelist Kristina Riggle.  Copies of the Write Michigan anthology published by Chapbook Press will be available for purchase, and many of the contest winners will be available for a book signing. The Awards Ceremony is sponsored by Meijer.

We hope to see you there!

 

The Deanna Durbin Sweetheart Collection

Who was Deanna Durbin? Chances are her name is not as familiar to you as, say, Judy Garland. Though Deanna and Judy started their careers in film at the same time, Deanna, after about 10 years as a major singing and acting star, suddenly called it quits in 1948 and went to France, where she married her third husband. But she left behind a number of light comedies and musicals featuring her classically-trained voice and spunky acting style. The Deanna Durbin Sweetheart Collection puts together a sampling of her work, with six titles released between 1936 and 1947. I didn’t view all the films here, but based on the three I did watch, I can heartily recommend the set.

A great place to start is Three Smart Girls, which was nominated for three Oscars in 1936. Durbin plays one of the “smart girls” of the title, who, along with her two sisters, have to rush from their Swiss chalet to New York in order to prevent their divorced, wealthy father from remarrying. As with numerous other ’30s comedies, the action is swift and the comedy sharp, and never is a bread line seen.

First Love, a retelling of the Cinderella story in a modern setting, has Durbin playing the poor girl against snobby rich relatives who only want her to stay in her room. Keeping its (not quite glass) slipper as part of the story, the movie is great fun, even if we do know how it’s going to end.  None other than the writer Graham Greene said it was “admirably directed, amusingly written, and acted with immense virtuosity…”

It Started with Eve hinges on the comedy of misunderstanding and deception: Robert Cummings, playing a dying tycoon’s son, can’t find his fiancée in the hotel where she’s staying with her mother and, in a panic because his father wants to meet her (and thinking that dad will be dead before morning) he plucks Durbin, the coat check girl, from the hotel and brings her instead. Of course dad likes Deanna—she sings great and is wonderfully down-to-earth—but Cummings isn’t so sure, and has to stay one step ahead of the deception in order to keep his fiancée in the dark and his father happy. As with the other two movies seen here, the world shown is one of penthouses and gilded mansions, butlers and soaring songs—all the things that continued to comfort a nation beaten down by a depression and getting ready for a world war.

 

KDL on WGVU — Seed Library

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 the new KDL Seed Library and our upcoming gardening programs.

Enjoy!

Download WGVU3-6-14.mp3

(photo courtesy of Shelley Irwin)

 

April LibraryReads Staff Picks

You already know that your local KDL staff provide great recommendations when you’re looking for your next favorite book. Now library staff across the nation have connected to offer LibraryReads, a nationwide “Top 10″ list of favorite titles each month! Check out these upcoming titles that librarians across the country have read, loved, and want to share with you.

The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin

“A middle-aged bookseller mourning his lost wife, a feisty publisher’s rep, and a charmingly precocious abandoned child come together on a small island off the New England coast in this utterly delightful novel of love and second chances.”

—Beth Mills, New Rochelle Public Library, New Rochelle, NY

 

Frog Music by Emma Donoghue

“Donoghue returns to historical fiction in this latest offering, based on the unsolved murder of Jenny Bonnet, a cross-dressing frog catcher with a mysterious past. Set in 1870s San Francisco, this brilliant book includes impeccable historical details, from a smallpox epidemic to period songs.”

—Diane Scholl, Batavia Public Library, IL

 

And the Dark Sacred Night by Julia Glass

“Four stars to Julia Glass for this, her best work since Three Junes. We become reacquainted with old characters Malachy, Fenno, and Walter and learn more about their life stories. The individuals are imperfectly human, and perfectly drawn. A wonderful, highly recommended novel.”

—Kelly Currie, Delphi Public Library, Delphi, IN

 

Silence for the Dea d by Simone St. James

“A young nurse working in an isolated hospital for WWI veterans finds herself in over her head. Are the patients in the mysterious estate haunted by their wartime experiences, or something more malevolent? St. James is an up-and-coming author with a flair for combining horror and romance. A great choice for readers of either genre.”

—Jenna Persick, Chester County Library, Exton, PA

 

By its Cover: A Commissario Gui do Brunetti Mystery by Donna Leon

“In the 23rd book in this delightful series, Commissario Guido Brunetti is brought in to investigate the theft of pages and maps from rare books. Brunetti is a great character with warmth, style and elegance. Leon’s book enlightens us about Venetian customs and delivers a solid mystery.”

—Joanne Genovese, Smithtown Special Library District, Smithtown, NY

 

The Intern’s Handbook: A Thriller by Shane Kuhn

“How did Shane Kuhn pull this off? He’s written an action-packed, twisting thriller about professional assassins, and — guess what? — it’s funny and romantic, too! In a totally quirky way, of course. You have to read it to believe it.”

—Nancy Russell, Columbus Metropolitan Library, Columbus, OH

 

Love, Nina: A Nanny Writes Home by Nina Stibbe

“With a unique voice, Stibbe brings 1980s literary Camden back to life in this delightful epistolary memoir. The letters that Stibbe writes to her sister are a hoot, featuring unexpected cooking advice from the great Alan Bennett, and droll commentary on just about everything from Mary-Kay Wilmers.”

—Jennifer Estepp, Queens Library, Jamaica, NY

 

The Axe Factor: A Jimm Juree Mystery by Colin Cotterill

“I love this sharply-written and quirky cozy mystery. Jimm Juree is a wonderful character, slyly funny and insightful, with an oddball cast of family and friends to back her up. Set in coastal Thailand, this is a laugh-out-loud funny mystery with plenty of great twists and turns that will keep readers guessing.”

—Vicki Nesting, St. Charles Parish Library, Destrehan, LA

 

Family Life by Akhil Sharma

“The Mishras move from India to New York City in the 1980s in order to give their two sons better educational opportunities. When tragedy strikes, the family tries to recover the optimism and hope that propelled them to America. Beautiful, clear-eyed and compelling, this book packs a powerful punch.”

—Anbolyn Potter, Chandler Public Library, Chandler, AZ

 

On the Rocks by Erin Duffy

“After her fiancé dumps her on Facebook, Abby retreats to her apartment until her best friend invites her to spend the summer in Newport. This book is for every woman who’s been determined to put things back together after finding herself on the wrong side of social media, in the aftermath of a bad breakup, or elbow deep in Ben & Jerry’s when things fall apart.”

—Sara Grochowski, Alpena County George N. Fletcher Public Library, Alpena, MI

 

See http://libraryreads.org for more information and find your next great read!

 

Michigan Thumbs Up Top 10

Teens: It’s time for you to vote!  Below is the list of the top 10 teen books selected by a group of librarians. Read all of these books (or as many as you want) and select the ONE that you feel is the best.  Then be sure to get in your vote!  Voting is open until May 31 and can be done online.

by Matthew Quick
Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell
Far, Far Away by Tom McNeal
Out of the Easy by Ruta Sepetys
Reality Boy by A.S. King
More Than This by Patrick Ness
Winger by Andrew Smith
Two Boys Kissing by David Levithan
Boxers & Saints by Gene Luen Yang
Midwinterblood by Marcus Sedgwick

 

KDL on WGVU: Teen Film Festival Winners

Nick Hansen and Emily Livermore, two winners from our recent Teen Film Festival, went on the WGVU Morning Show to talk about their film-making experience. They shared information about the films they made, their ambitions and the films that inspire them.

To watch Mutts of Motown (Emily’s film), Desolation (Nick’s film) or any of the other films that were screened at the Teen Film Festival, click here.

Enjoy!

Download WGVU3-7-14.mp3

(photo courtesy of Shelley Irwin)