Wednesday, September 26, 2012

From Page to Screen -- Life of Pi

I admit to skepticism, but the trailer does look pretty cool.

Release date is November 21st--need the book yet?

Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Tuesday, September 18, 2012

iPad Beginners Boot Camp Returns

Monday, October 22, 2012  6-8pm

We are pleased to bring back Bill Badran from BandA tech solutions for an evening session of the popular iPad Beginners Boot Camp.  Bring your iPad and roll up your sleeves for a work session full of beginning how-to's and optimization tips.  No registration required.  Join us in the Hazel Hayes Auditorium on the lower level.




Monday, September 17, 2012

Genealogy Program

Join us in the auditorium for a genealogy program with Michigan historian Karen Krugman on Saturday, October 6.

At 10 am she will present a workshop on Researching There When You Are Here -- how to research ancestral records in other areas of the state or nation without leaving Michigan.

At 2 pm she will present So Your Female Ancestor Has No Surname, which will help you research the female ancestors in your family who are sometimes difficult to find.


Thursday, September 13, 2012

Google Cloud for Everyone

Put the cloud to work for you.  Learn how to use Google Docs/Drive to store and access documents such as résumés, reading lists, contacts, and more from any computer with Internet access.  Meet in the Hazel B. Hayes Auditorium, lower level. 
Monday, October 8 ~ 6:30pm or
Wednesday, October 10 ~ 9:30am

Link Up with Linked In

Expand your options by expanding your network!  Timothy Haines will demonstrate one of the most popular networking tools in today's workplace, http://www.linkedin.comMeet in the Hazel B. Hayes Auditorium, lower level.

Monday, October 1 ~ 6:30pm or 
Wednesday, October 3 ~ 9:30am

Native Plant Know-how

Want to attract wildlife with native plants?  Wondering which plants are native to Michigan?  Wish you knew more about how to use them in your landscaping?  Vern Stephens, owner of Designs by Nature, is coming to Herrick to share his expertise in native plants.  

Tuesday, September 25 ~ 7-8:30pm
Meet in the Hazel B. Hayes Auditorium, lower level, at the main library on River Ave.

Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Five Week Program Series on Career Change

Updating my resume usually seems about as fun to me as visiting the dentist or getting a tetanus booster.  One of those things I just have to do, but never really like to do. On a similar note, planning one's next career move is a task that most people find slightly anxiety producing.  Lots of books have been written on career related subjects, and many websites offer career advice.  The information available on the topic can seem almost overwhelming to digest. 

Thankfully, Herrick District Library is here to help.   Since most of us, in almost every career field, need to think about our careers from time to time, we've put together a five week series of job search programs with something for everyone.  Just starting to think about putting together a resume?  Check out the "Word Processing for Resumes" workshops offered this week in the computer lab at the main library.  Need to further develop your professional network?  Try the "Link Up with LinkedIn" workshop for information on starting or maximizing your LinkedIn.com account.  Need a place to store and access portfolios, job search related documents, or just information in general?  Visit the "Google Cloud for Everyone" sessions.

Need some advice or just some ideas to chew on?  Nationally recognized master career counselor Ken Soper will present two sessions at the main library on Monday, 9/17 and Monday, 9/24 on the topics "Changing Careers" and "How People Find Work".  The presentations will cover issues like assessing one's strengths, researching industry trends, networking, and changing career fields.  Ken's advice will apply to everyone from the unemployed job seeker to the professional considering his or her next career move.

So stop by and check out one or more of the programs in our five week series.  While it might not be a barrel of laughs, it will be good for you. It should help inform, clarify, and simplify at least one component of your career planning. Trust us - you'll be glad you came.

More information on the series may be found at http://bit.ly/HDLJobs.  Questions?  Call the main library at 616.355.3100 and ask for the reference desk.   

Thursday, September 6, 2012

Got Plans for the Fall?

Browsing through a slideshow from USA Today, I realized something...  I'm going to be really stinkin' busy this fall.
No kidding.  Take a glance through the list...  Here's a few highlights:
In case you haven't heard, J.K. Rowling's first outing since Harry Potter, Casual Vacancy, is due out September 27.
Bob Woodward's next, The Price of Politics, will be available on September 11.
The latest Jack Reacher novel from Lee Child is also due out on September 11, A Wanted Man.
Ken Follett's sequel to Fall of Giants is also headed our way--Winter of the World comes out on September 18.
And you get the idea...
But the fact is, there's more. Junot Diaz, Michael Chabon, Neil Young, Penny Marshall (admit it--you loved Laverne and Shirley as much as I did and probably want to read her biography as much as I do)....  That should take us through the end of September, but October and November?  Equally impressive outlooks.  I'll be catching up until January.
Give the Reference Desk a call for help placing holds!
Happy Reading!


Attention Book Groups

Do you like Historical Fiction?  How about Romance?  If you like these genres, you might like The Shoemaker's Wife by Adriana Trigiani.  It tells the story of two star-crossed lovers, Enza and Ciro, who meet, separate and meet again after many years.  It is set in the years preceding and during World War I.




Available as a Book Group to Go Bag.


Wednesday, September 5, 2012

Attention Book Groups

Defending Jacob tells the story of Andy Barber, an assistant district attorney who has practiced for over twenty years in a suburban county in Massachusetts.  A shocking crime happens in the town, and his fourteen-year old son is charged with the murder of a fellow student.


Available as a Book Group to Go Bag

Some Teasers are Just Plain Mean...

So, you know how promotions run rampant right before a big release of a book or a movie?
Check this out.
It's a teaser clip of an interview between J.K. Rowling and Daniel Radcliffe, talking about Harry Potter and a particular visit that Rowling made to the set.  Here's the really mean part: it's only a minute and a half, and the full interview?  Only available on the Harry Potter Wizard's Collection set...available September 7.
Mean.  Just plain mean.

50 Shades of Withdrawl?

Most popular question I've been getting at the Reference Desk lately: I loved 50 Shades of Grey--what else can I read like it?

A big thanks is due to the good people at USA Today, who have conveniently supplied us with this article including titles of several current and past bestselling erotica novels. Love it or hate it, erotica seems to be a reblossoming genre that has rapidly overtaken the vampire craze. (Fair warning: some of the titles mentioned are available only through Amazon as Kindle books--but as for the rest?  Call the Reference Desk to place a hold.)

As long as I'm on the 50 Shades topic, here's another article you might want to take a look at: the world according to the husband of E.L. James, Meet Mr. Fifty Shades.

Happy (or something) Reading!