The Friends have and are participating in quite a few events over the next 4 weeks!
Our AGM is on Monday the 31st January, with a local key note speaker that should be fabulous.
We have our massive Winterfest booksale on the 7, 8th February (Monday and Tuesday).
We are also having a Friends morning coffee for bookstore volunteers on Valentines day.
The Friends has also sponsored some of the Rochester Reads programme, with events including:
January 28 (Friday), 1:00pm, Library Auditorium RPL children's department will be showing the film Kit Kitteridge: An American Girl
February 2, (Wednesday) 7:00pm, Civic Theatre Jazz singer Christine Rosholt will be performing 30's & 40's standards with musical accompaniment.
February 5, Saturday 10:30am and 1:30pm, Library Auditorium Mike Schneider Polka Band (Pint Size Polka) will perform period music. The Pint Size Polkas! at 10:30am will be geared toward children and their families, and the afternoon event "Polka Entertainment from the 1930s!" at 1:30pm is aimed more toward seniors and their families.
February 6, (Sunday) Minnesota History Center Catch a bus at the library to visit the "Minnesota's Greatest Generation" exhibit at the Minnesota History Center in St. Paul. The bus will leave from the library at 12:30pm and return to Rochester at approximately 6:00pm. Transportation and admission to the exhibit free, but total seating is limited to 55 participants. Pre-registration required.
February 11, (Friday) 10:00am, Library - Meeting Room B Ancestry and Heritage Quest Genealogy Database class. Registration is required.
February 15, (Tuesday) 12:00pm, Library - Meeting Room A The Plain Readers book group will discuss The Worst Hard Time by Timothy Egan.
February 25, 26 and 27, Rochester Civic Theatre lobby stage (7:00pm performances on Friday and Saturday, 2:00pm matinee on Sunday) Jerry Casper's play Faces of the Dust, tells the stories of three men from different walks of life sharing their view and struggles with the dust storms.
February 27, Sunday 2:30pm, Library Auditorium Yaggy Colby History Lecture (currently confirming speakers)
Saturday, January 29, 2011
Thursday, January 27, 2011
WORD PLAY
Not sure if this is this year or last, currently going around the internet/email circuit, but some wonderful fun to share. Don't forget the great book : Imaginary Words by Jeffrey and Carole Bloom (2004)
Once again, The Washington Post has published the winning submissions to its yearly neologism contest, in which readers are asked to supply alternate meanings for common words.
The winners are:
1. Coffee (n.), the person upon whom one coughs.
2. Flabbergasted (adj.), appalled over how much weight you have gained.
3. Abdicate (v.), to give up all hope of ever having a flat stomach.
4. Esplanade (v.), to attempt an explanation while drunk.
5. Willy-nilly (adj.), impotent.
6. Negligent (adj.), describes a condition in which you absentmindedly answer the door in your nightgown.
7. Lymph (v.), to walk with a lisp.
8. Gargoyle (n.), olive-flavored mouthwash.
9. Flatulance (n.) emergency vehicle that picks you up after you are run over by a steamroller.
10. Balderdash (n.), a rapidly receding hairline.
11. Testicle (n.), a humorous question on an exam.
12. Rectitude (n.), the formal, dignified bearing adopted by proctologists.
13. Pokemon (n), a Rastafarian proctologist.
14. Oyster (n.), a person who sprinkles his conversation with Yiddishisms.
15. Frisbeetarianism (n.), The belief that when you die, your Soul flies up onto the roof and gets stuck there.
16. Circumvent (n.), an opening in the front of boxer shorts worn by Jewish men.
The Washington Post's Style Invitational also asked readers to take any word from the dictionary, alter it by adding, subtracting, or changing one letter, and supply a new definition.
Here are this year's winners:
1. Bozone (n.): The substance surrounding stupid people that stops bright ideas from penetrating. The bozone layer, unfortunately, shows little sign of breaking down in the near future.
2. Foreploy (v): Any misrepresentation about yourself for the purpose of getting laid.
3. Cashtration (n.): The act of buying a house, which renders the subject financially impotent for an indefinite period.
4. Giraffiti (n): Vandalism spray-painted very, very high.
5. Sarchasm (n): The gulf between the author of sarcastic wit and the person who doesn't get it.
6. Inoculatte (v): To take coffee intravenously when you are running late.
7. Hipatitis (n): Terminal coolness.
8. Osteopornosis (n): A degenerate disease.
9. Karmageddon (n): its like, when everybody is sending off all these really bad vibes, right? And then, like, the Earth explodes and it's like, a serious bummer.
10. Decafalon (n.): The grueling event of getting through the day consuming only things that are good for you.
11. Glibido (v): All talk and no action.
12. Dopeler effect (n): The tendency of stupid ideas to seem smarter when they come at you rapidly.
13. Arachnoleptic fit (n.): The frantic dance performed just after you've accidentally walked through a spider web.
14. Beelzebug (n.): Satan in the form of a mosquito that gets into your bedroom at three in the morning and cannot be cast out.
15. Caterpallor (n.): The color you turn after finding half a grub in the fruit you're eating.
And the pick of the literature:
16. Ignoranus (n): A person who's both stupid and an asshole.
Once again, The Washington Post has published the winning submissions to its yearly neologism contest, in which readers are asked to supply alternate meanings for common words.
The winners are:
1. Coffee (n.), the person upon whom one coughs.
2. Flabbergasted (adj.), appalled over how much weight you have gained.
3. Abdicate (v.), to give up all hope of ever having a flat stomach.
4. Esplanade (v.), to attempt an explanation while drunk.
5. Willy-nilly (adj.), impotent.
6. Negligent (adj.), describes a condition in which you absentmindedly answer the door in your nightgown.
7. Lymph (v.), to walk with a lisp.
8. Gargoyle (n.), olive-flavored mouthwash.
9. Flatulance (n.) emergency vehicle that picks you up after you are run over by a steamroller.
10. Balderdash (n.), a rapidly receding hairline.
11. Testicle (n.), a humorous question on an exam.
12. Rectitude (n.), the formal, dignified bearing adopted by proctologists.
13. Pokemon (n), a Rastafarian proctologist.
14. Oyster (n.), a person who sprinkles his conversation with Yiddishisms.
15. Frisbeetarianism (n.), The belief that when you die, your Soul flies up onto the roof and gets stuck there.
16. Circumvent (n.), an opening in the front of boxer shorts worn by Jewish men.
The Washington Post's Style Invitational also asked readers to take any word from the dictionary, alter it by adding, subtracting, or changing one letter, and supply a new definition.
Here are this year's winners:
1. Bozone (n.): The substance surrounding stupid people that stops bright ideas from penetrating. The bozone layer, unfortunately, shows little sign of breaking down in the near future.
2. Foreploy (v): Any misrepresentation about yourself for the purpose of getting laid.
3. Cashtration (n.): The act of buying a house, which renders the subject financially impotent for an indefinite period.
4. Giraffiti (n): Vandalism spray-painted very, very high.
5. Sarchasm (n): The gulf between the author of sarcastic wit and the person who doesn't get it.
6. Inoculatte (v): To take coffee intravenously when you are running late.
7. Hipatitis (n): Terminal coolness.
8. Osteopornosis (n): A degenerate disease.
9. Karmageddon (n): its like, when everybody is sending off all these really bad vibes, right? And then, like, the Earth explodes and it's like, a serious bummer.
10. Decafalon (n.): The grueling event of getting through the day consuming only things that are good for you.
11. Glibido (v): All talk and no action.
12. Dopeler effect (n): The tendency of stupid ideas to seem smarter when they come at you rapidly.
13. Arachnoleptic fit (n.): The frantic dance performed just after you've accidentally walked through a spider web.
14. Beelzebug (n.): Satan in the form of a mosquito that gets into your bedroom at three in the morning and cannot be cast out.
15. Caterpallor (n.): The color you turn after finding half a grub in the fruit you're eating.
And the pick of the literature:
16. Ignoranus (n): A person who's both stupid and an asshole.
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Winterfest Booksale
Remember Friends memberships entitles you to early admission for best choice.
Winterfest Booksale
Monday February 7th
Friends early admission at 10:30 a.m.
Public 11:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m.
Tuesday February 8th
10:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Winterfest Booksale
Winterfest Booksale
Monday February 7th
Friends early admission at 10:30 a.m.
Public 11:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m.
Tuesday February 8th
10:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Rochester Reads
Rochester Reads : The Worst Hard Time: the untold story of those who survived the great American dust bowl. by Timothy Egan
Egan is a journalist who worked for NYTimes for 18 years as PNW correspondent, reporter. He lives in Seattle WA. Egan won the National Book award with this book. His latest book is The Big Burn: Teddy Roosevelt and the fire that saved America.
Dust storms terrorized America's high plains in the darkest years of the depression, never seen before or since. Living members of six families/communities depict their struggles. Their stories were never fully told and will be lost without this in-depth interview. The descriptions include desperate attempts to carry on through blinding black blizzards, crop failures, and death. And while this is depressing, the light of the hope and human endurance shines.
Discussion topics include:
What events led up to the great depression?
What caused the dust bowl - human conditions or weather?
How did the dust bowl/depression affect the midwestern farms?
How did the govt help victims of the dust bowl and the depression? New Deal responses, what was effective, what not.
How does this relate to the environmental concerns of today/global warming/climate change?
Did you like Egan's writing style?
Egan is a journalist who worked for NYTimes for 18 years as PNW correspondent, reporter. He lives in Seattle WA. Egan won the National Book award with this book. His latest book is The Big Burn: Teddy Roosevelt and the fire that saved America.
Dust storms terrorized America's high plains in the darkest years of the depression, never seen before or since. Living members of six families/communities depict their struggles. Their stories were never fully told and will be lost without this in-depth interview. The descriptions include desperate attempts to carry on through blinding black blizzards, crop failures, and death. And while this is depressing, the light of the hope and human endurance shines.
Discussion topics include:
What events led up to the great depression?
What caused the dust bowl - human conditions or weather?
How did the dust bowl/depression affect the midwestern farms?
How did the govt help victims of the dust bowl and the depression? New Deal responses, what was effective, what not.
How does this relate to the environmental concerns of today/global warming/climate change?
Did you like Egan's writing style?
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Book Publishers Day
January 16th is Book Publishers Day!
Check out your favourite publisher for special deals this week! A favourite of mine is of course Penguin Books, but I also greatly appreciate small presses. One of my all time favourite authors Susan Hill has a publishing house. I believe the actor Viggo Morgensten does as well.
Check out your favourite publisher for special deals this week! A favourite of mine is of course Penguin Books, but I also greatly appreciate small presses. One of my all time favourite authors Susan Hill has a publishing house. I believe the actor Viggo Morgensten does as well.
Saturday, January 15, 2011
Library and Bookstore Holiday closings
Closed:
Monday, January 17, 2011in observance of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
Monday, January 17, 2011in observance of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
Friday, January 14, 2011
Martin Luther King Jr Day
Remember that the Library (and the Friends' Bookstore) will be closed to celebrate this day, Martin Luther King Jr, Monday January 17th, 2011.
Take this opportunity to read an American author, book, African American subject, History textbook, essays, etc!
Take this opportunity to read an American author, book, African American subject, History textbook, essays, etc!
Wit Wisdom & Wine fundraiser
Oooh Shiny! This year's 10th Annual Wit Wisdom & Wine raffle on January 15, 2011, features the winner's choice of one of three pieces of jewlery donated by Hight & Randall, Ltd.
Monday, January 10, 2011
Wit Wisdom & Wine fundraiser
This entertaining and intellectual fundraising event features a variety of speakers. Attendees select two class choices to attend. Wine and Hors d'oeuvres will be served throughout the evening, with special wine tasting and refreshments following the second class.
Sunday, January 9, 2011
Just Add Readers!
Book Group in-a-bag kits (BGBs)
You just finished reading the most amazing book and you’re just dying to talk to someone about it but none of your friends have read it yet. So you loan your book out to your friends, but it’s taking forever for them to read it. Being the good friend you are, you don’t want to spoil it for them by telling them the ending too soon, so you wait—and wait some more—until you finally have someone to discus the book with. By that time you may have forgotten all the details you wanted to talk about, leaving the much anticipated discussion unsatisfactory. What’s a person to do?
The library has a solution: Book Group in-a-bag kits—just add readers!
These book group in-a-bag kits contain ten books of the same title that someone can check out and share with their friends. We started with 22 book group bags (January 2005) and currently have over 100 titles to choose from: classics, mysteries, thrillers, etc. They can be reserved up to a year in advance for a specific six-week period. They are in high demand so plan accordingly. We are on track to have 400 circs for 2010. We recently added some titles for children to enjoy the experience of book groups. The kits for children have between six and eight books per bag and currently there are eleven titles available.
The kits were originally part of an initiative funded by the Minnesota Library Association Foundation in 2004. We had a grant of $2000 to start our collection of book club kits that people can check out for their own book groups. The majority of that money was used to purchase the book group bags, since we initially selected titles based on which books we were able to pull from donations. We still create some kits using donated books from our Library Friends. If there is enough local interest in titles that we don’t have, we will purchase books; 10-15% of new BGBs are patron suggestions. Every year we add 10-20 new titles and circulation for these kits have really increased through the years.
Interested patrons should contact library staff at the Fiction, Movies and Music desk to book BGBs (in person or over the phone).
BGBs must be picked up and returned to the Fiction, Movies & Music Desk, NOT the bookmobile or the drive up book return. Bags are not checked out until all the books are returned. The title list is available online. If you have any suggestions of titles you would like to see in our book group in-a-bag list, just let us know.
Each bag has:
10 copies of the book
A reading group guide and discussion questions
sign out sheet,
book group basics handout,
evaluation sheet
Read-alike bookmarks
Katherine Stecher
Readers Services Division
You just finished reading the most amazing book and you’re just dying to talk to someone about it but none of your friends have read it yet. So you loan your book out to your friends, but it’s taking forever for them to read it. Being the good friend you are, you don’t want to spoil it for them by telling them the ending too soon, so you wait—and wait some more—until you finally have someone to discus the book with. By that time you may have forgotten all the details you wanted to talk about, leaving the much anticipated discussion unsatisfactory. What’s a person to do?
The library has a solution: Book Group in-a-bag kits—just add readers!
These book group in-a-bag kits contain ten books of the same title that someone can check out and share with their friends. We started with 22 book group bags (January 2005) and currently have over 100 titles to choose from: classics, mysteries, thrillers, etc. They can be reserved up to a year in advance for a specific six-week period. They are in high demand so plan accordingly. We are on track to have 400 circs for 2010. We recently added some titles for children to enjoy the experience of book groups. The kits for children have between six and eight books per bag and currently there are eleven titles available.
The kits were originally part of an initiative funded by the Minnesota Library Association Foundation in 2004. We had a grant of $2000 to start our collection of book club kits that people can check out for their own book groups. The majority of that money was used to purchase the book group bags, since we initially selected titles based on which books we were able to pull from donations. We still create some kits using donated books from our Library Friends. If there is enough local interest in titles that we don’t have, we will purchase books; 10-15% of new BGBs are patron suggestions. Every year we add 10-20 new titles and circulation for these kits have really increased through the years.
Interested patrons should contact library staff at the Fiction, Movies and Music desk to book BGBs (in person or over the phone).
BGBs must be picked up and returned to the Fiction, Movies & Music Desk, NOT the bookmobile or the drive up book return. Bags are not checked out until all the books are returned. The title list is available online. If you have any suggestions of titles you would like to see in our book group in-a-bag list, just let us know.
Each bag has:
10 copies of the book
A reading group guide and discussion questions
sign out sheet,
book group basics handout,
evaluation sheet
Read-alike bookmarks
Katherine Stecher
Readers Services Division
Friday, January 7, 2011
Visiting Author Series - Cary Griffith
Save the date: Sunday, April 10 - 2:00 pm in the auditorium.
Sponsored by the Friends of the Rochester Public Library.
Find Cary Griffith online
Thursday, January 6, 2011
Visiting Author Series - Kent Nerburn
Save the Date: Sunday, March 20 - 2:00 pm in the auditorium
Find Kent Nerburn online
This program was funded in part or in whole with money from Minnesota’s Arts and cultural Heritage Fund.
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
Visiting Author Series - Gayla Marty
Reminder: Save the date! Sunday, March 6 - 2:00 pm in the Auditorium
Sponsored by the Friends of the Library
Find Gayla Marty online
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
Friends' Bookstore Second Saturday Sale
January 8, 2011
Hot reads cold nights - buy 2 get one free of equal or lesser value.
Too hot to handle - a free oven mitt with $10 purchase.
Sunday, January 2, 2011
January - National Book Month
January is National Book Month!
Celebrate with us by checking a book (or several books) out of the library, by purchasing a book in our favourite bookstore : Friends of the Library Bookstore, or by checking out a Book Group in a Bag selection and have your book club all read the same book.
Reading gives us some place to go when we have to stay where we are. Mason Cooley
Celebrate with us by checking a book (or several books) out of the library, by purchasing a book in our favourite bookstore : Friends of the Library Bookstore, or by checking out a Book Group in a Bag selection and have your book club all read the same book.
Reading gives us some place to go when we have to stay where we are. Mason Cooley
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