Herrick District Library

Attention Book Groups

2013-06-18T19:12:00.000-04:00

Hattie Big Sky, a historical fiction book for young adults is available as a Book Group To Go bag for your book group. After inheriting her uncle's homesteading claim in Montana, sixteen-year-old orphan Hattie Brooks travels from Iowa in 1917 to make a home for herself. Despite many hardships, Hattie forges ahead, sharing her adventures with her friends--especially Charlie, fighting in France--through letters and articles for her hometown paper.

Her backbreaking quest for a home is lightened by her neighbors, the Muellers. But she feels threatened by pressure to be a "Loyal" American, forbidding friendships with folks of German descent. Despite everything, Hattie's determined to stay until a tragedy causes her to discover the true meaning of home.

Time to Read Aloud!

2013-06-11T09:56:00.000-04:00

Need any more convincing about reading out loud to your kids? Take a look at this....

I copied this from Nancy Ann's Blog, and she's got the right idea! I, for one, am headed home to construct some bookshelves in my son's bathroom.

Happy Reading, y'all--remember to share it!

Homes Wins for Women's Fiction

2013-06-05T16:56:00.002-04:00

Now that we're no longer scratching our heads, wondering about the significance of the color Orange in literary prizes (hooray for international snafus that result in award names making much more sense), the Women's Prize for Fiction was announced this week, going to A.M. Homes for her novel, May We Be Forgiven.

This is the story of Harold Silver who stands in awe of his younger brother George's life of flashy success: the major career, the beautiful home in the suburbs, the enviable wife and children--a man who seems to have it all. Harry, a Nixon scholar and historian, lives a low-key life until George commits an act of violence so monstrous that both brothers seek absolution.
While I haven't read this one, I suspect it must be awesome because the competition on the shortlist for the prize was fierce, including Hilary Mantel's Bring Up the Bodies, which has already won roughly every other literary prize known to mankind this year. Regardless, if you're looking for some summer reading suggestions, the longlist should keep you busy through most of your summer vacation.
Happy Reading!

Keep ‘em Reading!

2013-06-01T09:17:00.000-04:00

Do you have a child who hasn’t discovered how much fun it can be to read a good book? Do they find reading a chore? We have a a few programs designed to help them through the summer and keep them reading! Both programs require preregistration.

Reading Buddies is a program where a young reader is paired with an older reading buddy (teen or adult) and they read and share books together once a week at the library.

Growing Bookworms is a program designed to reinforce math and phonics skills for children going into 1st and 2nd grades. We will read stories together and have fun with games and puzzles to review some basic skills.

Find out more and sign up on our website here, call the children’s department at 616-355-3736, or stop by and we would be happy to help you in person.

Note: We are still looking for a few more older reading partners for the Reading Buddies program. Sign up here!

Attention Book Groups

2013-05-30T16:23:00.001-04:00

Maeve Binchy’s last book before her death in July of 2012 is A Week in Winter. This story follows the efforts of a woman who turns a coastal Ireland mansion into a holiday resort and receives an assortment of first guests who throughout the course of a week share laughter and the heartache of respective challenges. (Description from Novelist)

It is available as a Book Group to Go Bag and can now be reserved online. To reserve Book Group to Go bags go to our homepage www.herrickdl.org and choose the Books link under the Resources tab. Scroll down to the Reserve a Book Group To Go Bag button and follow the directions. Questions? Give us a call at 355-3720. Happy Reading!

Get a Jump on Summer Reading!

2013-05-30T12:18:00.000-04:00

Beginning Saturday, June 1, you can sign up and print out the reading charts right on our website! This is a first for us! We don’t officially start the programs until June 10 but children and teens will be able to get an early start and avoid waiting in line to register in person. Try it out and let us know what you think!

You can begin signing up for the reading programs in person at the library beginning June 10 or at our big kick-off party for the younger kids at Centennial Park on Tuesday, June 11. See our website for details.

Can't make it on June 11? Worry not. We register kids for the reading programs through much of the summer. Join us and register when you can, either on-line or here at the library!

Bike Tech!

2013-05-22T13:52:00.001-04:00

Did you know that we have some bicycle experts available to help you keep your bike in tip-top shape? And it’s free! They came last month and were a great hit. Join us this month as they share their knowledge on bike mechanics and bike safety.

Yes, you really get to bring your bicycle into the library and take it into the elevator to the lower level!! Weird, eh? Bring your bike to the May session of Bike Tech this Saturday, May 25 at 10:00 am., learn a bunch from our bike techies, and you may win an awesome tire valve light for your bike! The bike doctors will be in to help you fix, maintain, or even customize your bike.

To the Lighthouse . . . But Only on Tuesdays and Thursdays

2013-05-14T16:41:00.002-04:00

Visit Tuesday or Thursday Only

Beginning Memorial Day weekend, access to Big Red Lighthouse will be restricted, according to the Holland Sentinel. Residents will only be able to access the lighthouse from the south side on Tuesdays and Thursdays. New housing is being erected, and it seems that there are concerns about trespassing and security.

So, for all of you avid bikers and hikers, all of you that enjoy walking your dogs, all of you lovers who enjoy a Lake Michigan sunset over our iconic Holland landmark . . . make sure you consult your calendars before heading out to Big Red. Oh . . . and one more thing: make sure you don't plan on staying for longer than one hour.

The National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act of 2000 governs the current policies pertaining to the running of Big Red, since the transfer of the property to the non-profit organization, Holland Harbor Lighthouse Historical Commission. The following excerpt, concerning accessibility to the Lighthouse, is quoted verbatim from the actual Preservation Act of 2000:

“NHLPA recognizes the cultural, recreational, and educational value associated with historic light station properties by allowing these to be transferred at no cost to federal agencies, state and local governments, nonprofit corporations, educational agencies, and community development organizations. These entities must agree to comply with conditions set forth in NHLPA, and be financially able to maintain the historic light station. The eligible entity to which the historic light station is conveyed must make the station available for education, park, recreation, cultural or historic preservation purposes for the general public at reasonable times and under reasonable conditions.”

It begs the question, what is reasonable? If you would like to sign a petition that seeks to reinstate less restrictive, perhaps more reasonable, public access to Big Red, sign here.

Bedbugs, Paranoia, Catatonia . . . Oh My!

2013-05-10T09:03:00.000-04:00

Brain on Fire
by Susannah Cahalan

Imagine you see tiny bug bites on your left forearm. There has been a bedbug scare in your community and you begin to fear that the little critters have invaded your home. No worries . . . you call an exterminator and take care of the nuisance. (Even though perhaps there never really were any bugs or bites in the first place.) But then stranger things begin to happen to you. Things that are not easily fixed. Happenings that eventually land you in a hospital, or perhaps a mental institution. Hallucinations and paranoia grip your otherwise rational mind. Your body begins to betray you. Words drift, lost in a sea of confusion. Headaches plague you. You may even be housing a teratoma – a tumor, usually benign, potentially sporting teeth, hair, eyes, even limbs! Further degeneration results in seizures, zombie-link posturing, violence, even catatonia – you're near the brink of death!

The aforementioned symptoms are not taken from the script of a sci-fi movie, but are descriptions of some of the things that actually happened to journalist Susannah Cahalan in 2009, one of the first patients to be diagnosed with Anti-NMDA Receptor Encephalitis. A fascinating and informative read that is not for the faint of heart, Brain on Fire: My Month of Madness vividly chronicles the course of this disease that almost took her life, verbally painting an intense portrait of the events that finally led to her diagnosis and treatment. Brain on Fire is well-written (Cahalan is a journalist by trade), interesting, and worth the time it may take a reader to work through the medical jargon that Cahalan presents and breaks down for us. Her book also asks intriguing questions about the origins of this autoimmune disease, leading many to wonder just how long it’s been plaguing humans. Have we been misdiagnosing it under the guise of false labels such as schizophrenia? Autism? Even demonic possession? Are there people rotting away in mental institutions with wrong diagnoses that perhaps could be cured with steroids and other therapies to treat brain inflammation?

For further information on Anti-NMDA Receptor Autoimmune Encephalitis, check out these links to scholarly articles by some of the doctors instrumental in researching and bringing to light this particularly tragic form of brain disease.

Post your own thoughts and reviews of Cahalan's book and Anti-NMDA Receptor Encephalitis here, on our blog, for other readers to peruse and comment upon. And, ahem, don't let those bedbugs bite . . . .

Read with Kids this Summer!

2013-05-08T09:21:00.001-04:00

Do you like to read with kids? Check out our 8-week Reading Buddies program for the summer!

We pair teens or adults with young readers, they meet weekly, and enjoy books together! What could be better?? It’s great fun for all involved and it keeps the kids practicing their reading skills through the summer.

There are always loads of children who sign up for this but we would like to tap into more “big” buddies. We have even added an evening session for those of you that work days. We don’t like turning youngsters away!

There is one required orientation session to show you some techniques to use as a reading partner. Teens can pick up an application for this program in the Teen Department at the Main Library or at the North Side Branch. Teen applications are due by May 24. Adults can sign up on our website here beginning May 13.

If you are interested in similar opportunities throughout the year you may want to consider becoming a Literacy Hero. We begin our next training sessions on May 14. Sign up here.

Lost in the Stacks

2013-05-07T18:29:00.002-04:00

Wish You Well by David Baldacci

Most of David Baldacci’s books are legal thrillers and in my opinion are very good ones, but one of his books, Wish You Well, is quite different. Based in Virginia, where the author grew up, the story begins when 12 year old Lou Cardinal and her 8 year old brother Oscar are in a car accident which takes their father’s life and leaves their mother in a catatonic state. They are relocated from New York City to the mountains where they live with their great-grandmother, Louisa Mae Cardinal. In their new home they have no electricity or running water – a much different life than they had before. Their great-great-grandmother helps take care of their invalid mother, and the family adjusts to life in the mountains. Towards the end of the novel a greedy corporation gets involved in the story and the book becomes more like his others with a courtroom battle.

I think I like this book so much because it reminds me of some of my other favorites – To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, A Painted House by John Grisham, and even the Laura Ingalls Wilder books I read when I was a child. It is a beautiful coming-of-age novel by a great author.

All Things Gatsby

2013-05-07T10:32:00.004-04:00

Into the Valley of Celebrity Bookclubs rides Stephen Colbert--but with his own twist, of course....

The Colbert Report
Get More: Colbert Report Full Episodes,Indecision Political Humor,Video Archive

After the obligatory furniture-leveling jokes, this sounds pretty cool: the discussion led by Jennifer Egan (author of A Visit from the Goon Squad) and an interview with director of the new movie, Baz Luhrmann, makes me think there might be a little more traction to the C-Oh-lbert Bookclub than fodder to aim at Oprah. (But, you know, that would be okay, too.)

Anywho, there are precious few days left before the Leonardo DiCaprio film releases on May 10 (yay!), but in the meantime, consider also the new Brilliance Audiobook release: The Great Gatsby, as read by Jake Gyllenhaal. (We don't have it at the library yet, so for now, you'll have to suffice with the preview below.)

Who knew alienation was so timeless?

Happy reading, listening, and watching!

Where's the Carousel??

2013-05-02T17:53:00.000-04:00

The carousel's new location.

If you visit the Children's Area and wonder what happened to the carousel, fear not! It has just been relocated, as has everything else in the department!

We have moved everything around and it looks great! We now have an area, away from the stairs, for toddlers to look at board books and play with puzzles. And the parenting collection is conveniently located in the same area.

The carousel is now surrounded by picture books. This has been a popular place, for several generations, for young ones to sit and enjoy books.

We have a study area with tables and chairs for the older kids. Our comics are located there too - just in case they need a break from the serious stuff!

If you are having troubles finding anything be sure to ask. We will be happy to show you around!

The room looks so open and cheery! Stop by and take a look!

Our new look! So bright and open!

Tulip Time at the Library!

2013-04-29T12:58:00.001-04:00

With Tulip Time comes our Herrick District Library Precision Cart Team! They have been practicing so keep an eye out for them in Wednesday’s parade next week. Librarians do like to have fun!

The library is also partnering with the Holland Museum this year to bring you two story and craft programs! “Tulip Time Tales” will be performed at the Library and at the Holland Armory. See our website here for dates and times.

Herrick Children's department will be at Kinderplaats again this year! To fit with our Summer Reading theme, Dig Into Books!, children will have the opportunity to dig for golden nuggets and other small treasures.

Hope to see your familiar faces as we are out and about the community the next couple of weeks. Give us a shout and a wave!

You Can Be a Hero!

2013-04-29T12:51:00.000-04:00

One of the best parts of my job is working with our Literacy Heroes, volunteers who go out into the community and read with children at schools, after-school programs, here at the library as Reading Buddies, and in other community organizations. They’re a great group, dedicated to spending time reading with children each week and making a huge impact on young minds. As coordinator of this group, I hear not only about children who have increased their reading skills and gained self-confidence, but also from the Literacy Heroes and the fun they are having in this rewarding work!

The longer I work as the Literacy Heroes facilitator, the more need I see for volunteers. Some children, struggling with reading, simply need someone to take an interest. Others may have gotten aboard the learning boat a little late and need help catching up. Whatever the reason, they could use an encouraging adult in their lives.

If you’d like an ongoing volunteer experience please consider becoming a Literacy Hero! We will train you on everything you need to know over the course of two orientation meetings. Sign-up is available on our website here, or feel free to contact me if you have questions at 616-355-3729 or ejenkins@herrickdl.org.

Attention Book Groups

2013-04-23T15:47:00.001-04:00

In the second half of the nineteenth century, no place on earth was as mysterious, foreboding, dangerous or downright deadly than the Nile River. Those daring to brave the frontier were heroes in their own time and names like David Livingstone and Sir Henry Morton Stanley were topics of dinner conversation.

Alan Moore chronicled this era in his classic history The White Nile. The New York Herald Tribune called it "A vivid chronicle, stirring, exciting, important...Endlessly fascinating. A superb drama of adventurers whose like can never be seen again."

Call the Reference Desk today at 355-3720 to reserve The White Nile for your next book club meeting!

And the Pulitzer Goes To.....

2013-04-15T20:09:00.001-04:00

The literary fiction readers of the world can breathe a collective sign of relief this evening: the Pulitzer Prizes were announced today and (joy!) a fiction prize was awarded this year. The prize went to Adam Johnson for his experimental--possibly romantic, maybe a little bit political and kinda' navel-gazing--title The Orphan Master's Son. And if my description seems a bit vague, well, there's a good reason: while almost all of the major review sources were overwhelmingly positive about it, each one seems to focus on a different aspect of the work. The reading public's response was underwhelming, but the Pulitzer will inevitably mean a rebirth.

Other notable titles include the history winner, Fredrik Logevall's Embers of War: The Fall of an Empire and the Making of America's Vietnam, and for general non-fiction, Gilbert King's Devil in the Grove: T hurgood Marshall, the Groveland Boys, and the Dawn of a New America.

For the complete list of winners, check out the Pulitzer Prize website and give the Reference Desk a call if you need help getting a hold of the titles you find most interesting!

Happy Reading!

Attention Book Groups

2013-04-09T17:51:00.000-04:00

Mrs. Lincoln's Dressmaker by Jennifer Chiaverini

Here is a historical fiction selection for your book group. New York Times bestselling author Jennifer Chiaverini describes the extraordinary friendship between Mary Todd Lincoln and Elizabeth Hobbs Keckley, a former slave who won her freedom by the skill of her needle, and the friendship of the First Lady by her devotion. In later years Elizabeth wrote a book about her life with Mrs. Lincoln, Behind the Scenes: Thirty Years a Slave and Four Years in the White House. Upon its publication, Keckley's memoir created a scandal that compelled Mary Todd Lincoln to sever all ties with her, but in the decades since, Keckley's story has languished in the archives. In this impeccably researched, engrossing novel, Chiaverini brings history to life in rich, moving style.

Marilyn Brown Remembered

2013-04-09T09:01:00.001-04:00

Celebrate art, life, and children this Saturday morning at 11:00 a.m. at Herrick District Library. An art work titled “The Windows” will be dedicated in memory of former children’s librarian Marilyn Brown.

Marilyn was employed by Herrick District Library for over 33 years before she died in May of 2011. She was responsible for planning and overseeing all children’s and teen programs at Herrick, as well as the selection of all children’s materials, and the supervision of staff.

Adam Dahlstrom, the artist, is a graduate of Grand Valley State University. The memorial is made possible by the board of Herrick District Library through the library endowment. Pictured here is the original artist's rendering which helped a selection committee to choose Dahlstrom's piece. Visit the upper level of the main library to view the finished product during the dedication or any time afterward.

The event will take place in the Children’s Area on the upper level of the main library located at 300 S. River Ave.

Write Your Family History

2013-04-03T15:45:00.000-04:00

Ever pondered writing your memoir? Do you have a great personal story to tell but don't know how to get started?

On Tuesday, April 16 Michigan author Mardi Link will present "Write Your Family History", a program designed to help you craft personal essays or memoirs. Mardi will offer various strategies to help get you writing! Join us from 6:30 - 8:30 pm in the Hazel B. Hayes Auditorium on the lower level at Herrick District Library.

E-Reading for the Computer-Bound

2013-03-26T17:54:00.001-04:00

Bless you, Flavorwire!
Finding free e-reading material can be a challenge--especially for those of us unwilling to commit a device. I don't mind scouring the web, digging around for e-stories, but the challenge of finding a story in its entirity? By a current author? That can maddening. But this week, Flavorwire did the digging and published a ready-made list of short stories available (for free!!) on the web.
See this??? It's the happiest website you're going to see this week, starting off with the title story of George Saunders' new book Tenth of December. (Did I mention that has a hold list?)
The list of authors is stunning and the stories? Well, there's no waiting...
Happy Reading!

Attention Book Groups

2013-03-06T17:30:00.001-05:00

The Story of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroblewski, one of Oprah's Book Club choices, is Herrick's latest Book Group to Go Bag. A tale reminiscent of "Hamlet" that also celebrates the alliance between humans and dogs follows speech-disabled Wisconsin youth Edgar, who bonds with three yearling canines and struggles to prove that his sinister uncle is responsible for his father's death. (Description from Novelist)

Attention Book Groups

2013-03-05T13:47:00.002-05:00

M. L. Stedman's popular debut novel, The Light Between Oceans, is now available as a book group to go bag. Following is the description: "A novel set on a remote Australian island, where a childless couple live quietly running a lighthouse, until a boat carrying a baby washes ashore"--.

Next Up for O'Reilly

2013-02-23T12:37:00.001-05:00

When you've got a theme that works for you, you might as well run with it, right? So sayeth Bill O'Reilly and Martin Dugard, co-authors of the wildly popular Killing Lincoln and Killing Kennedy. But where do you go from telling the detailed assassination stories of two of the most popular figures in American history?

Answer: turn to world history.

Earlier this week, at the end of his show The O'Reilly Factor, Bill O'Reilly announced that he and Dugard had collaborated for on a third title, Killing Jesus. According to O'Reilly, "My co-author and I have uncovered some amazing things about the execution of Jesus of Nazareth and how it all tied into Roman power."

The book is scheduled for release on September 24 of this year.

Happy Reading!

iPad Boot Camp for Beginner's is back!

2013-02-21T17:01:00.000-05:00

New iPad for Christmas?
Ready for some tips & tricks?
Like the hands-on learning approach?

Head to the iPad Beginner's Boot Camp with your iPad on Monday, March 4, 2013 where Bill Badran, from BandA Tech Solutions, will put you through the paces of how-to's and optimization tips for your iPad. No registration required. Join us in the Hazel Hayes Auditorium on the lower level.