BOOK SALE!

The sale is Saturday, April 18th from 8:00am – 3:00pm. There will be a Preview Sale on Friday, April 17th from 4:00pm – 6:30pm, which is open to Friends or you have to pay a $5 fee. On Sunday, April 19th from 1:00pm – 4:00pm, we are having a Half-Price Sale. The sale is in the Brush building (the brick building to the left of the library).

Computers for New Users Seminar:
The seminar is Saturday, April 18th – 9:00am – 4:30pm in the Meeting Room. Angie Kaye from John A. Logan College will be leading the seminar. No more than 24 people are allowed to attend, and you must be at least 18 years old. If you have any questions, please call our Adult and Teen Services Librarian, Mary Stoner, at 457-0354.

Teen Poetry Contest:
All entries for the poetry contest must be submitted by April 20th. Pick up forms from the library or print them from our website. The contest is open to teens ages 12-19 (or in the 7th-12th grade). Submissions will be divided into two categories 7th-9th and 10th-12th. Winners will receive cash prizes, and there will be 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners for each category. If you have any questions, please contact Chris Battaglia at 457-0354.

Library Scavenger Hunt:
To celebrate National Library Week, we are having a Library Scavenger Hunt. There is a list of 25 items to find, and if you complete it, you could win a $25 Kroger Gift Card, a $25 Wal-Mart Gift Card, or a $25 Kerasotes Theater Gift Certificate. Good luck hunting, and stop by the Circulation Desk if you have any questions.

posted by Sandra

Watch Twilight at CPL!

We will be showing Twilight on Friday, April 3rd at 7pm. Popcorn and drinks provided. Limited seating is available, so you must have a ticket. Tickets are only available to patrons 13 and older. You can pick up your ticket from the Circulation Desk.

Geocaching Rain Date:

Since it rained last Saturday, our Geocache Hunt with special guest Dr. Matt Therrell, Asst. Professor from SIUC Geography and Environmental Resources, will be this Saturday, April 4th from 1:00pm-4:00pm . Meet at the library and make sure to wear comfy clothes and sunscreen. The library will be providing the GPS equipment, but if you have a device of your own, you may bring it. The event is open to Project Next Generation members (6th, 7th, and 8th graders) and Teens (13-19). For more information, contact the Carbondale Public Library at 457-0354.

posted by Sandra

Geocaching Events:
On Wednesday, March 25th from 4:30pm-6:00pm, we are having a Geocache Workshop. See what geocaching is and help the library create a cache site. Later in the week, on Saturday, March 28th from 1:00pm-4:00pm, we are having a Geocache Hunt with special guest Dr. Matt Therrell, Asst. Professor from SIUC Geography and Environmental Resources. Meet at the library and make sure to wear comfy clothes and sunscreen. The library will be providing the GPS equipment, but if you have a device of your own, you may bring it. The rain date for the Geocache Hunt will be the following Saturday, April 4th. Both events are open to Project Next Generation (6th, 7th, and 8th graders) members and Teens (13-19). For more information, contact the Carbondale Public Library at 457-0354.

Homebound Services:
The Carbondale Public Library is now offering free homebound services. This service is intended for those patrons of Carbondale Public Library that are not able to visit the library due to disability or health reasons. Patrons will either request specific materials or they will request materials on specific subjects. Library staff will then select the books and a Carbondale Public Library Volunteer will deliver them to the homebound patrons once per week. Homebound service patrons must have a library card before requesting materials. For more information or to register, please contact Patrick King, Volunteer Coordinator, at 457-0354, extension 7.

Homework Assistance:
The Carbondale Public Library will be offering a Homework Assistance Table for 4th-8th graders. The program will be held on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons from 4:00pm-6:00pm. It will begin on Tuesday, March 24th. Participants will work on their homework while volunteers will offer assistance and guidance. Activities and healthy snacks will also be offered. Please call Patrick King, Volunteer Coordinator, at 457-0354, extension 7, to register or for more information. Participants can also register at the Library’s circulation desk.

Video Gaming:
Teens! On Fridays from 4:30pm-5:30pm, play games such as Rock Band or Super Smash Bros. Brawl on the Nintendo Wii or Xbox 360. Gaming is open to ages 13-17. Snacks provided!

posted by Sandra

Teen Poetry Contest:
April is National Poetry Month, and to celebrate, we will be having a Teen Poetry Contest! Teens ages 12-19 (or 7th - 12th grade) are limited to three poems that are no longer than one page each. All entries must be submitted by April 2oth before 9pm. Pick up entry forms from the library or print them from our website. All winners will be announced and prizes awarded at the Poetry Contest Event on Saturday, April 25th at 3:30pm. For more details, stop by the Carbondale Public Library or call us at 457-0354.

Also, if you haven't had the opportunity to view the winners and submissions from our Creative Writing Contest held in February, please visit our website. A chapbook containing all the Creative Writing entries will be available in the Teen Fiction section shortly.

Taxes:
The library has tax forms. There is a table located across from the Circulation Desk with a variety of tax forms. If you don't see a tax form you need, the Circulation Desk has a binder filled with a plethora of forms that you are more than welcome to copy. (Copies are 10 cents per page.) You can also ask one of our helpful Reference Librarians, and they may be able to print you the form you need if it is available online. (Printing costs 10 cents per page.) We also have links to several tax websites on our home page. From these websites, you can print the tax forms you need from your home.

posted by Sandra

Winter is here with some changes!

Hello everyone!

Fall came and went so fast we all can't believe that Christmas is right around the corner!

We've had lots of changes here at the library. The "Friends of the Library" through years of great service and dedication were able to make possible a new circulation desk for us! The desk is great, much larger and we love it! The new desk has allowed us to get more organized and offer better service. Thanks Friends! Along with this addition the library had to do some relocating, all of the Internet computers are now on the first floor among other things. Come on in and check it out!

This month is also time to think about "Adopt a Magazine". This program allows a patron or family to "adopt" a magazine, this entails picking a title from our list of subscriptions and paying for its yearly subscription rate. The donor or adoptive parent has his or her name on the cover of all current issues, pick a title you like and join in! We will also consider obtaining new titles if you have one you think we must have!

There will be some new things for Teens starting soon. On the Teen table by the circulation desk currently is a display of Fantasy books. This theme will be until the beginning of January, any teen that reads a fantasy book and writes a short review will receive a $2.00 credit towards fines. The forms are on the table or you can make your own. Any teens out there with fines, here is your chance to work it off while having fun. The theme will change on a regular basis. We also have a teen book club starting in January. The first title is Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card. This is a popular sci-fi type book. We will have copies for teens to pick up at the circulation desk if they would like to participate. Book discussion will be January 14th at 6:30pm. Hope to see you there!

We will be starting a Fiction book club in January. This club will be open to both teens and adults. The Book Club will meet on Wednesday night once a month. After the first meeting we can decide if we want to meet more often or not. Check back here for the first title and meeting time. This will also be posted in the newspaper.

Have extra time and like spending time in the Library? Contact our Volunteer programmer Patrick and join in! We have lots of volunteers that help us out everyday. Lots of duties to choose from and some perks too.

Have a great Holiday and be safe. We have tons of audiobooks for your travels and if your staying home come on in and get a good book or two to snuggle up with!

More soon, Chris

What's New!

Hi Everyone!


Summer reading programs are ending this week! WE had lots of fun, and lots of participation too! Congratulations to the winner of this summers grand prize - a Nintendo Wii - to Joanna Bean! Hope you have lots of fun! A special thanks to all our volunteers that helped make our summer run smooth.



August brings lots of changes to our library. August 1 we will begin our renovations with a new circulation desk and carpeting for the first floor. The layout of our circulation desk will change and we are all excited for our new look! Please bear with us through these changes, it will take about 2 weeks for the job to be completed and it could be chaotic. The outcome will be well worth it.


Sunday, August 3 we will be closed. We are getting our parking lot resurfaced, don't worry about fines if you have items due that day, we will absolve any that are issued.


Have fun these last few weeks of summer before school starts. Patrons can checkout fishing poles at the circulation desk, poles come with tackle and bait packs, they are ready to use!

Lincolns for the Library! Donate your Lincolns. Near the circulation desk is our Lincoln display. We are collecting "Lincoln's" until February 2009 to celebrate Abraham Lincoln's 200th birthday! Monies collected will be going towards the library "wish list".


Remember if you ever have a comment, complement or complaint feel free to fill out a "message to the director" form. These are located in a binder by the circulation desk.


Hope to see you all soon! Stay cool, come to the library!



Chris Battaglia

Summer is here!

Summer is upon us! Its seems like we had no spring this year, we went from 60 degree weather to this week 90's! We all just love it here though right?

SCHOOL'S OUT!

Lots of stuff going on this summer. Get in the Game! This is our children's reading program for the summer. Registration starts on June 16th. Kids from newborn through middle school can participate. Kids log their reading time and for every 100 minutes they can submit an entry for prize drawings. (Adults and older kids can read to the younger ones) Drawings will be weekly for sport related prizes and on July 28th at the Babaloo Program, special prizes will be awarded, reading ribbon awards for all participants and each registered reader will be able to pick a prize from the prize room! Also, the grand prize will be drawn and this summer it is a set of 6 SI Miners Box Seat Tickets!

Get in the Game for Teens! Friday June 13th from 3:00 - 5:30 a kickoff tailgate party! Food and entertainment! The reading program starts up! Teen participants must be 13 - 17 years old and must read age appropriate books and for each book read a form has to be filled out. These forms are then used as your entry for prize drawings. There will be weekly drawings for 10 dollar gift cards for local businesses (the mall, movies, Barnes & Noble, etc.) and the grand prize drawing will be at our end of summer party on July 24 from 3:30 - 5:30. The Party - Pizza and the grand prize award - a Nintendo Wii! Be there or be square!

New Adult Summer Reading Program! This summer adults can participate in their very own program, read a book and fill out a review form, these forms are them used as entries for prize drawings! Prizes will be gift cards for Barnes and Nobles or fine reductions!

Reading for fitness and fun! Join us each Monday afternoon starting June 16th from 1:00 - 3:00 for an light workout while enjoying an audiobook!

Did you Know? The library has free family passes for the Science Center of Southern Illinois. Just show your library card at the circ desk for a pass to admit a family of up to 7 people! This pass must be used within 3 days of issue so plan accordingly!

There are lots of other things going on at the library this summer, check out our newsletters for more information!

We will be getting our new circulation desk this summer! Get ready to see a new look for us. We are all eagerly awaiting the new desk and new organization of the first floor. More news to follow, check back!

Chris Battaglia