Yu-gi-oh! Tournament

Join us Saturday, January 5th from 1-5 p.m. as we kick off the first Yu-gi-oh! Tournament of 2008. Thanks to the Friends of Anderson Public Library for the prizes that will be handed out.

Just as a reminder:
There will be no playing for cards.
The library does not allow any trading.

Happy Holidays!

I hope everyone enjoys their break from school and the holidays that are coming up. Just a reminder that APL is closed on Monday, December 24th and Tuesday, December 25th for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

We are also closed Monday, December 31st and Tuesday, January 1st for New Year's Eve and New Year's Day.

Hope you enjoy the holidays and stop in to grab some great teen reads during your winter break!

Movie Night

Kick off the holiday season by coming to watch the movie Unaccompanied Minors at APL on
Thursday, December 20th at 6 p.m. in the Delaware Room. For a full description of the movie, check out the "What's Happening" page in the Teen Scene area of the APL website!

Hope to see you there!

New Reads for teens!

Hey, come check out the displays in the Teen Room. This month we are highlighting funny reads for teens, trust me there are some laugh out loud funny ones on display.

Also, we have been getting a ton of new teen books in, so there is now a display of just new teen books that have come in and I highly recommend taking a look.

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

Winter is finally here, whaddya think? I like to look at snow and ski in snow plus it puts in the holiday mood but I DO NOT like to drive in snow!!

Thanks for coming

I know this post is a few days (okay a whole week) after the D.I.Y. Craft night but I was away for Thanksgiving and just got back. Hope you all had a great Turkey Day and that you, like myself, had a lot to be thankful for on the day.

I also want to thank all the teens that came to our craft night and hope you had fun. If you did and want to do it again, we will be having a Holiday Edition of Craft Night on December 6th from 6-8:30 p.m. in the Delaware Room.

Do you like being crafty?

Then come to the D.I.Y Craft night for teens on November 20th! It is from 6-8:30 in the Delaware Room. We will be making Thanksgiving crafts. Hope to see you there:)!

Back to what month is it?

So I listed the various things that November is know for a few days ago, have you had a chance to look at the list? I want to point out one special thing that was on the list and that was that November is National Hunger Awareness Month.

I started thinking about this and wondered what are some things we could do to help those that don't have enough to eat. Well, a couple of ideas are donating to the local food pantry or volunteering at one.

Thanksgiving

It's just around the corner, right? I can't wait because it is one of my favorite holidays. I love gathering with family, eating great food and playing games. Then we top it off with doing some shopping that weekend!

What do you like about Thanksgiving? Family, pumpkin pie, football, shopping, parades, or even all of the above?

What month is it?

Okay, I know it's November but what I mean is what is this month called besides the obvious? Here's a list of all things we could celebrate this month:



National American Indian Heritage Month
National Novel Writing Month
Aviation Month
Good Nutrition Month
National Epilepsy Month
National Month of Me
Latin American Month
Hunger Awareness Month
National Peanut Butter Lover's Month
National National Month Awareness Month
National Diabetes Awareness Month
National Red Ribbon Month (anti-drunkdriving)
National Stamp Collecting Month
National Georgia Pecan Month
National Pepper Month
National Raisin Bread Month
Vegan Awareness Month
National Kelsey Month

Whooo, that's a lot right? Personally, as someone who loves Peanut Butter and I am going to use the excuse that it is National Peanut Butter Lover's Month to eat all the Peanut Butter I want! Hmmm, I wonder how it tastes on Raisin Bread since it is also National Raisin Bread Month??

Thank you to Ms. Hird's classes

The 7th graders that I visited today were terrific and a wonderful audience! I really enjoyed meeting with you and booktalking some of my favorite books that I hope you will enjoy as well. Here's a list of the books that I brought and I hope to see you all soon here at the library!



Fever, 1793 by Laurie Halse Anderson

Rules of the Road by Joan Bauer

Al Capone Does My Shirts by Gennifer Chodlenko

Things Not Seen by Andrew Clements

Whirligig by Paul Fleischman

Thief Lord by Cornelia Funke

Coraline by Neil Gaiman

Silent to the Bone by E.L. Konigsburg

Hidden Talents by David Lubar

Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli

Get ready Eastside Middle School!

I will be there on October 23rd to visit Ms. Hird's classes and can't wait!

Waiting for fall

Does anyone else find themselves missing fall? After all it is October but we have had more hot days than cool ones plus I love to watch the leaves change.

Some exciting upcoming programs

So do you ever find yourself bored and needing something to do, well there is always the library because in the month of October we have some fun programs that you should think about attending here@ APL.

To celebrate this year's Teen Read Week theme which is LOL @ your library, we are showing the very funny movie She's the Man starring Amanda Bynes on Tuesday, October 16th from 6-8:30 p.m.

On October 23rd, the monthly TAB meeting meets at 3:30 in the Carnegie Room. Remember this is your chance to help us decide what we can do for you!

Our last program in October is the DDR Tournament which is on Friday, October 26th from 1-5 in the afternoon, so come and test out your mad DDR skills. Thanks to the Friends of the Library for making prizes possible!

Read 'n' Feed with the author Carolyn Meyer

Well, last night's 2007 Read 'n' Feed was a great success and those who attended (thanks to all of you) had a wonderful time and I hope to see you at the next and for those who didn't come, well hope to see you at the next one as well.

Carolyn Meyer was a riot and really had a good time, as she talked mostly about her book: Mary, Bloody Mary but also about her two upcoming books as well. And I promise as soon as they are available APL will be buying them. I can't wait to read the next one which is about Mozart!

Ms. Meyer also complimented all of the Anderson teens that attended saying that we were a very good audience and that she was impressed! Thanks again for showing our visiting author what a wonderful place Anderson is!

Yu-gi-oh! Tournament

Thanks to all the teens who came to play in the Yu-gi-oh! Tournament that we had today. I had a blast meeting all of you and learning a little more about Yu-gi-oh! And a special kudos to my three teen judges: David, Connor and Kevin-you guys rock for guiding me through the tournament process. I hope everyone had fun and hope to see you all at the next one!

Are you ready for some Yu-Gi-Oh!?!?

If so, come to the library this Saturday, September 29th from 1-5 for the Yu-Gi-Oh! Tournament, check out the What's Happening page for all the details:

http://www.and.lib.in.us/teenscene/whatshappening/

See you there!

Ahoy, me mateys

and shiver me timbers! Did you know today is Talk Like a Pirate Day? Check out this website for more info: http://www.talklikeapirate.com/piratehome.html
Avast and take a look, ye lubbers! Hint: check out the website for a translation!

On the Eastside with Mrs. Kennedy's classes

Once again, I had the luck to venture out to one of the schools and book talk some great books. This time it was Eastside Middle School to Mrs. Kennedy's 8th grade classroom. I must say it was by far my most educational trip yet, I learned quite a bit about what you all like to do at the library and I hope to see you soon at one of the programs, especially the Read 'n' Feed! Here are the books we discussed in class:



Destiny of Linus Hoppe by Anne-Laure Bondoux

Mary, Bloody Mary by Carolyn Meyer

Code Orange by Caroline Cooney

Hidden Talents by David Lubar

Al Capone Does My Shirts by Gennifer Choldenko

Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli

Thief Lord by Cornelia Funke

Son of the Mob by Gordon Korman

Vampire High by Douglas Rees

Hope was Here by Joan Bauer

My visit to Northside Middle School & Mrs. Wildman's classroom

Thanks to Mrs. Wildman and her 7th and 8th grade Northsiders, you all were a blast and had some great questions, it kept me entertained. Hope to see you at the Read 'n' Feed on October 4th! Here are the books that I book talked:

Destiny of Linus Hoppe by Anne-Laure Bondoux

Mary, Bloody Mary by Carolyn Meyer

Code Orange by Caroline Cooney

Hidden Talents by David Lubar

Al Capone Does My Shirts by Gennifer Choldenko

Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli

Thief Lord by Cornelia Funke

Son of the Mob by Gordon Korman

Vampire High by Douglas Rees

Hope was Here by Joan Bauer

Thanks again and see you soon!

Thanks to Ms. Moulder's classes @ Southside

Today was my first day of doing book talks for the year and my first time at one of Anderson's middle schools. I must say I had a great time visiting Ms. Moulder's classroom and meeting so many students, who were terrific and hopefully I will see you either in the library or at one of the many great teen programs coming up, including the Read 'n' Feed! Here are the titles we covered:

Destiny of Linus Hoppe by Anne-Laure Bondoux

Mary, Bloody Mary by Carolyn Meyer

Code Orange by Caroline Cooney

Hidden Talents by David Lubar

Al Capone Does My Shirts by Gennifer Choldenko

Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli

Thief Lord by Cornelia Funke

Son of the Mob by Gordon Korman

Vampire High by Douglas Rees

Hope was Here by Joan Bauer

Thanks again for making me welcome at Southside and I look forward to more visits and seeing many of you here @APL!

It's that time of year again

when I am preparing to go and visit Eastside, Northside and Southside Middle Schools. Be on the lookout in your English classes for me as I come and talk about some great books that you should be reading and events just for you and other teens here @APL.

Survey Time

Now that summer's over:( What was your favorite part??

Let us know by taking the survey that will be in the top right hand corner. You have until September 6th to take the survey!

Oh, you can select more than one answer-FYI!!

Hello

I hope you all had a great summer and getting back into the groove of a new school year! In addition to new things at school, I wanted to introduce myself as the new Teen Services Librarian for APL. My name is Staci and I come from the Indianapolis Public Library system and am excited to be here in Anderson serving the teens! Stop into APL and the Information Services desk to say "hi".

I know I have some big shoes to fill because your past Teen Librarian, Beth Meyer, was awesome but don't worry she's filling me in on the likes and dislikes of the Anderson teen population. Although, Beth is no longer at the Main Branch of APL, she didn't go to far-she is the Branch Manager at the Lapel Branch, so if you are out that way, stop in and say "hey"!

Finally, here are 5 random facts about me:

1. My favorite color is blue.
2. My hometown is Monticello, IN aka Indiana Beach where there is more than corn in Indiana.
3. I have one younger brother.
4. One of my favorite authors is Chris Crutcher.
5. I love the TV show Heroes.

Rosie Winner and link to this year's nominees

And the Rosie winner for this past school year is....(drumroll please:)

Uglies by Scott Westerfeld

It was a close one with The Truth About Forever by Sarah Dessen coming in second by less than 39 points! So keep in mind that your votes do count when reading and voting for books on this year's lists, which you can now access via the link on the right side of the page or by clicking on this link below:

http://www.ilfonline.org/AIME/Rosie/0708annotations%20.pdf

Happy Reading!

Back to school

Well, for most of you this coming weekend will be your last one before school starts again on Monday! I hope you enjoy and be on the lookout for a new display in the Teen Room for reads with students coping and/or dealing with situations in a school setting. Enjoy!

A huge thank-you goes to...

...Mrs. Moulder and her awesome seventh graders! This was my final Anderson booktalk (boo-hoo!) and what a fabulous audience I had!! A special thanks to everyone who took a chance and hosted me to visit the past three years. I have had such a great time and learned so much (usually in the teachers' lounge!) The books I covered at South Side include:

Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne

What Happened to Cass McBride? by Gail Giles

Twilight by Stephenie Meyer

Life As We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer

Full Tilt by Neal Shusterman

Thanks again!! See you June 1st for Summer Reading!!

Thanks Ms. Hird!

Thanks goes out to Ms. Hird for inviting me to speak to the seventh graders--and a HUGE thank-you to all the seventh graders who made me feel welcome (and cracked me up!) These are some of the books we talked about:

Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson

The Rag and Bone Shop by Robert Cormier

Rash by Pete Hautman

Twilight by Stephenie Meyer

Full Tilt by Neal Shusterman

Thanks again and I'll see you June 1st!!

Thank you, Ms. Arnold!

I had so much fun with Ms. Arnold's sixth graders today! I learned a lot about them and myself (evidently, I'm elderly, according to Phillip) and had a blast. Thanks for the invitation! Here's a list of the titles I brought:

Fever, 1793 by Laurie Halse Anderson

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne

Catherine Called Birdy by Karen Cushman

Witness by Karen Hesse

Kissing Doorknobs by Terry Spencer Hesser

When Zachary Beaver Came to Town by Kimberly Willis Holt

Gossamer by Lois Lowry

An American Plague: the True and Terrifying Story of the Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1793 by Jim Murphy

Full Tilt by Neal Shusterman

Thanks again! I hope to see you all for Summer Reading!!

FYI, 13yo skool grl is nu US txt mssg chmpN

If you can understand the title of this post and can text like the wind, you could be the next Text Messaging Champion. Don't knock it...Morgan Pozgar, a thirteen year old super-texter, is now $25,000 richer because of her fast fingers and quick brain. Read more about it here. And for those of you that are...um...text "challenged," the title of this post is: For your information, a thirteen year old girl in the new United States Text Message Champion.

Thank you, Miss Goehring!

And a big thank you to all of her students--you were all very attentive and asked great questions! I had a fantastic time and hope to see you all again soon! Here's a list of the books I spoke about today:

Fever, 1793 by Laurie Halse Anderson

Catherine, Called Birdy by Karen Cushman

Witness by Karen Hesse

Gossamer by Lois Lowry

I, Dred Scott by Sheila P. Moses

An American Plague: the True and Terrifying Story of the Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1793 by Jim Murphy

Don't forget...

...the Anderson Public Library will be closed Sunday, April 8th, in honor of Easter. We will return to our normal business hours on Monday, April 9th. Have a nice weekend!

Make a Difference

Think you can't change the world? Two high school students are doing just that with their online project Dollars for Darfur. Here's a little information from the site:

"The people of Darfur need our help. In Darfur, hundreds of people a day are raped, starved and murdered by the Sudanese armed forces and a Sudanese government-backed militia known as the Janjaweed. At least 400,000 people have died and more than 2 million Darfurians have been left homeless. The United Nations Security Council authorized that peacekeepers be deployed to Darfur, but the Sudanese government has not yet allowed them entry. Meanwhile, the calculated campaign of displacement, starvation, rape, and mass slaughter continues."

Click to find out how you can help. Margaret Mead said, "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has." And you know what? She's right.

Don't look now, but it's NPM!

What the heck is "NPM?" National Poetry Month, of course! For the month of April, we will be celebrating the genius and talent behind poetry of all kinds! Want to find out more? Check out the website from the Academy of American Poets. Inspiration is a click away!


Personal note: my favorite poet in the universe is the uniquely wonderful Ogden Nash--check out some of his fantastic poems (found in the 811 section of the Main Library.)

Booktalks for Mrs. Freeman!

Thanks again for inviting me to North Side on this rainy spring day! I met a lot of fun sixth graders and here's a list of some of the books we covered:

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne

Rash by Pete Hautman

Life As We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer

Dead Connection by Charlie Price

Click Here (to find out how i survived seventh grade) by Denise Vega

I hope everyone had as much fun as I did!

Check Your Sources!

Has this ever happened to you? You have a massive paper about the War of 1812 (or some other historical event) and you need information--fast! You turn to your pal, the Internet, and find a ton of stuff from Wikipedia. But hold on there! Is the information you have even correct? More and more, teachers are seeing wrong information taken from the wikipedia entries that students find. Could you be one of them? It's possible...the only way to make sure is to get accurate, authoritative information from credible sources. Credible sources? If you need help finding those, call us at 641.2456 or check us out online! Your grade could be a stake if you don't...

My After School Fun!

Today, I had the pleasure of meeting some very unique personalities from Park Place:

B. is a Mr. Bossy-Pants

D. is a tad obsessed with Eminem

V...well, she's been keeping to herself and I can't tell you much.

But they're a hoot and I hope they visit us again soon!

Testing, testing

When it's time to sit down and tackle a big test, like the ACT or SAT, don't you wish you'd had some prep time? Maybe a practice test or two? Number2.com offers just that--for free! Don't want to go online? No problem--the Library has a number of books designed to help as well. Good luck!

Welcome to the First Annual Teen Tech Week!

The Young Adult Library Services Association is pleased to announce Teen Tech Week, a new celebration aimed at getting teens to use their libraries for the different technologies that are offered there, such as DVDs, databases, audiobooks, electronic games and more. In honor of the first annual Teen Tech Week, the Anderson Public Library and Tutor.com is offering free Live Homework Help and Ask-A-Librarian services for the next two weeks! Imagine getting instant assistance from the comfort of your computer. Check it out and let us know what you think. But hurry: this great deal ends March 17th. Instructional flyers will be available in the Teen Room.

And don't forget about more fun stuff happening this week for teens:

Tuesday, March 6th will see the comeback of our Teen Open Mic Night at 6:00PM. And Wednesday, March 7th, APL will be celebrating Teen Tech Week by creating iPod and cell phone covers from duct tape! Check our events calendar or call 641.2456 for more details.

Warning: Totally Graphic Content Ahead!

Have you ever browsed through the Anderson Public Library's extensive graphic novel collection? Wait...you want to know what a graphic novel is? You're not alone--simply put, graphic novels are novels that are written with text and illustrations rather than simply words. They are NOT picture books! They are so much more than that--don't believe me? Then come on down and see for yourself. We've even provided some comfy chairs for reading. See you there!

Thanks Mrs. Wildman!

A big thank you goes out to Mrs. Wildman at North Side Middle School--she and her seventh graders invited me to their classes for booktalk mania! Here are the titles I brought:

An Abundance of Katherines by John Green

Swallowing Stones by Joyce McDonald

Vampirates by Justin Somper

Uglies by Scott Westerfeld

The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier

Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson

Thanks again to everyone! I had a great time, blizzard or not!

Go Colts!!

Last night, our Indianapolis Colts won Super Bowl XLI, beating the Chicago Bears 29 to 17! To Coach Dungy and all the Colts (and their fans,) congratulations! For all of you who didn't get to watch the game--or the commercials--check out the links above!

Booktalks for East Side Middle School

Big thanks to Ms. Hird for inviting me to talk to her seventh graders. I learned all kinds of stuff from you guys! Here's a list of the titles that I talked about:

Click Here (to Find Out How I Survived the Seventh Grade) by Denise Vega

The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier

Swallowing Stones by Joyce Macdonald

Code Orange by Caroline Cooney

Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne

Thanks again--and to Garrett: there are worse things than ripping your pants, but I'm hard-pressed to find them. You win the prize!

The 2007 Printz Award Winners!

The Michael L. Printz Award is an award for a book that exemplifies literary excellence in young adult literature.This is selected annually by an award committee; up to four honor books may be chosen as well. This year, the committee chose a graphic novel as the winner! And wouldn't you know, the Library has several copies of it: American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang. The honor books, also in our Library, are:

The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation; volume 1: The Pox Party
by M.T. Anderson

An Abundance of Katherines by John Green (last year's winner)

Surrender by Sonya Hartnett

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak (second year for this author!)

Happy reading!

Do You Bleed Blue?

Last night's game against the New England Patriots sealed the deal: the Indianapolis Colts are going to the Super Bowl! Check out all the great resources the Library has to offer, from football rule books to histories of the Super Bowl to recipes for satisfying your Super Bowl party guests. Go Colts!

What's Happening Tonight

Don't forget, the Anderson Public Library is showing Material Girls tonight, starring Hilary and Haylie Duff. This film is rated PG and lasts 97 minutes. We'll be starting the film at 6:05PM in the Delaware Room on the third floor. Join the fun!

You Could Be Poet...

...and just not know it. How can you find out? Try some online magnetic poetry and get creative! You don't need to buy anything--just click and create! For more inspiration and genius, check out our extensive collection of poetry on the second mezzanine!

This year, I resolve...

...to try and stick with my resolutions! It's January 8th...how many of you are sticking to the plans you made on January 1st? Havene't made any? Need some ideas? Go online and get some inspiration! If that's not enough, come on down to the library and check out our New Year's display in the Teen Room!