Continue reading »]]> Appomattox Regional Library System productions presents:

Red Carpet Oscars^® series at the Prince George Library

February 21st through February 24th at 4:00 pm

Get ready for the 84th annual Academy Awards  by watching  winning films from previous years and enjoying fresh popcorn at the Prince George Library. Movies will be shown at 4:00 pm Tuesday 2/21 through Friday 2/24.

Movies may be rated PG-13 or R, except for Friday 2/4 when we will be featuring a family film from 2008 which won the “Best Animated Feature” award.

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Aerial view of the City of Hopewell and the Hopewell Library. Image courtesy of Google Earth.

Become a globetrotter without ever leaving home. How, you ask? Google Earth is a virtual globe, map and geographical information program that makes it possible for you to explore almost any location: Paris, Rio, Tokyo, or your own front yard. Google uses images obtained from satellites, aerial photography, and GIS 3D globes to render high resolution displays. Google Earth is useful for a variety of day-to-day and nontraditional purposes. Teachers are adopting Google Earth in the classroom to teach students geographical themes. For those with some extra time and curiosity, they can explore the surfaces of the Moon and Mars. One can also search for directions using Google Earth based on street names, cities and establishments. Google Earth can function as a travel guide for a city by plotting the locations of gas stations, restaurants, museums, and other areas of public interest. As of October 2011 Google Earth has been downloaded more than a billion times. You can download the program for your home computer or smartphone for free at www.earth.google.com, the App Store, and the Android Market.

Continue reading »]]> Come by The Reader’s Friend Book Store during February for specials on gently used books. The Hopewell/Prince George Friends of the Library are reducing already low prices on a variety of genres to celebrate Library Lovers’ Month. The first week of February, most children’s books are only $.25 or 5/$1.00. Books on parenting will be ½ price. This will encourage parents to “snuggle with a book” and get involved with the Winter Reading Program. Specials on romance, mystery and other fiction and nonfiction will follow.

Here is the schedule for Library Lovers’ Month Specials:

• February 1 – 4 Children’s books $.25 or 5/$1.00; parenting books ½ price
• February 8 – 11 Romance ppb $.25 or 5/$1.00; Romance hard cover only $.50
• February 15-18 Books by Black authors and about Black culture will be ½ price
• February 22-25 Biographies and Memoirs will be ½ price
• February 29 – Mar 3 Mass market mysteries (Grisham, Patterson, etc) and
  Gardening books will be ½ price

Continue reading »]]> Calling all kids! Check out three ARLS locations to make a fun Valentine for someone you love! We’ll be making hand made cards AND a cute heart ornament or love bug craft! Stop by the the Prince George Library Thursday, February 9th at 4:00pm, the  McKenney Library Friday, February 10th at 4:30pm for the monthly “Cool Kids Club” meeting, or join us at the Hopewell Library Monday, February 13th at 4:30pm.

There’s plenty to share, so come to any event to make a one-of-a-kind gift. Don’t forget about our regular story times which will feature stories, songs and rhymes about Valentine’s Day the week of February 13th! There’s still plenty of time to join the Winter Reading Program for children ages birth to 5.  The program started January 9th and ends March 2nd!

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Photo courtesy of HowStuffWorks

From car engines to search engines, from cell phones to stem cells, and thousands of subjects in between, HowStuffWorks is the award-winning source of credible, unbiased, and easy-to-understand explanations of how the world actually works. No topic is too big or too small for their expert editorial staff to unmask … or for you to understand. In addition to comprehensive articles, helpful graphics and informative videos walk you through every topic clearly, simply and objectively. The premise is simple: Demystify the world and do it in a simple, clear-cut way that anyone can understand. On HowStuffWorks, you can also find consumer opinions and exclusive access to independent expert ratings and reviews from the trusted editors at Consumer Guide—all of the information you need to make a purchasing decisions—in just a few clicks.

Continue reading »]]> If you’re like me, you rely on Google every day for information. The Google search engine processes millions of searches daily, and every time a user searches, they start from the iconic Google homepage with its bright white screen and colorful logo. But did you know that a bright white screen requires more power to display than a black (or dark) screen? In 2007, a blogger proposed that a black version of Google could save 750 Megawatt-hours of energy each year. (A megawatt-hour is the equivalent of ten thousand 100 watt light bulbs burning continuously for one hour.) In response to the blogger’s proposal, Heap Media created Blackle, a “lights out” version of Google that uses the same search engine so you don’t have to sacrifice the quality or comfort of your searching style. I enjoy Blackle because it not only reminds me how important it is to make greener choices, but I find the black screen and muted text to be easier on my eyes. Blackle creators acknowledge that the energy savings are small, but, in time, they all add up.

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Children need to be physically active for at least thirty minutes a day. DayByDayVA.org features simple games and activities to help you get active with your child and have fun doing it! Photo courtesy DayByDayVA.org.

If your New Year’s resolution is to prepare your child for success in school, the Library of Virginia has a new online tool to help. DaybyDayVA.org is an online family literacy calendar, activity guide, and resources. Each day the website suggests brief and entertaining activities to develop early reading skills, an electronic picture book from the TumbleBook Library, and a short animated video for families to watch together. The site also provides links to other great online resources. For parents and other caring adults, there is information on health and safety, craft ideas, links to free eBooks for children. Coming soon are links to your community public library and family-friendly activities.

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Image courtesy of Andrew-Hyde, Creative Commons

Appomattox Regional Library System now allows you to search our catalog for eBooks for Kindle, Nook, tablets, and other portable devices available through Project Gutenberg. Search our catalog to see links to more than 400 eBook titles available now with more titles to come.

Getting started is easy:
1.  Go to www.arls.org.
2.  Search for “Project Gutenberg” (including the quotation marks) to view the complete list of eBooks, or search the catalog for what you want.
3.  Under Format options, select “eBook” (if available) and open the item’s catalog entry.
4.  Select “Click here to access a downloadable eBook”.

You will be automatically directed to Project Gutenberg, an online library of free eBooks. Project Gutenberg’s collection includes classic works and a variety of fiction and non-fiction in the public domain.

For help reading Project Gutenberg eBooks on your device, please see Project Gutenberg MobileReader Devices How-To.

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Join in the discussion: come to a book group meeting!

The Appomattox Regional Library System wants you to make a New Year’s resolution to read more and meet new people. To help you do this, ARLS is hosting monthly book groups at four of our locations. No matter where you live or work and no matter what interests you, the library is sure to have something you will enjoy!

To kick off this new year of book groups you are invited to discuss one of the most circulated books of 2011 at our newest library. Join us on Tuesday, January 10^th at 6 pm in the Prince George Library to discuss Room, by Emma Donoghue. This story of a 5 year-old boy and his mother who are held captive in an 11×11 foot room is gripping and shocking, but manages to remain hopeful.

Next, we invite you to come to the Hopewell Library on Thursday, January 19^th at 1 pm to share The Paris Wife, by Paula McLain. This book tells the story of Hadley who is introduced to a “beautiful boy” named Ernest Hemingway. After a whirlwind courtship the two marry and set off for Paris. Though the book is a work of fiction, it is based on the true story of Hemingway’s first wife of whom he once wrote “I wished I had died before I ever loved anyone but her.”

For those outside the tri-city area, book groups in Dinwiddie and Carson will also be meeting Thursday, January 19^th. Stop by the Carson Depot Library at 6 pm to talk about The Real Macaw, by Donna Andrews. This book (by a popular Virginia author) tells the story of Meg Langslow who hears an odd noise early one morning and discovers that her living room is filled with animals! Or come to the Dinwiddie Library at 7 pm to discuss Sharyn McCrumb’s The Ballad of Tom Dooley inspired by an 1866 murder made famous by The Kingston Trio’s 1958 song.

Finally, read one of our favorite books of the fall in Hopewell on January 31^st at 6:30 pm as librarian Chris Wiegard shares one of his top picks, The Language of Flowers, by Vanessa Diffenbaugh. In a recent review, Mr. Wiegard described this book as “disturbingly raw and powerful” as it tells the story of Victoria Jones, a young woman who has survived a miserable childhood in foster care and is thrown into the “real world” thoroughly unprepared.

Book groups are absolutely free to attend and require no registration. Each library location will host book groups each month all year long and welcomes you to attend as many you like. You can view a complete list of the 2012 book selections here.

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ARLS has a great new opportunity for teens interested in volunteering for the library.  Read a book on your reading level, write a book review, and earn 2 hours of volunteer time!  Start the process by completing a volunteer application that can be printed from our Volunteer page, then drop it off at your nearest ARLS location.    Don’t forget to like us on Facebook!