Use the St. Louis County Law Library

In tough times, people try to do quite a few things for themselves, including legal work. The services provided by open-to-the-public, county law libraries are profiled in a great article in the Star Tribune. 

The St. Louis County law library is in Duluth and there is a self-help center in the Hibbing courthouse.  Go to the county's website for complete information and hours.

The Black Cat by Martha Grimes

Superintendent Richard Jury is back in the 22nd book in the series tracking the killer of women working for an escort service. Jury’s friend, Melrose Plant, is drafted to get information from an escort company by employing one of the escorts with amusing results. As always, the antics of children and animals contribute to the general mayhem of crime solving. Other favorite characters introduced in previous books are back and add the feeling of visiting with old friends.
For more information on Martha Grimes and her books, see her website at: http://www.marthagrimes.com/

80 Years of Nancy Drew

Nancy Drew, plucky detective, has been around entertaining young women for 80 years with the entrance of her first book, The Secret of the Old Clock, by Carolyn Keene, the pen name for several ghost writers.
According to USA Today: If Nancy Drew — still an amateur detective after all these years — aged like the rest of us, she'd be 98.
A new anniversary copy of the first edition will be released on April 29.

Split Rock Lighthouse celebrates its 100th birthday in 2010

A mighty and fatal 1905 gale over western Lake Superior spurred the construction of Split Rock Lighthouse overlooking one of the world’s most dangerous stretches of water. On July 31, 1910, after five years of arduous labor constructing the edifice atop a 130-foot sheer rock cliff, the now world-famous North Shore landmark first sent its powerful beam out across the water.
The Minnesota Historical Society is getting ready to celebrate the centennial of Split Rock Lighthouse in 2010.
Restored to its early-20th century splendor, it is one of America’s best-preserved lighthouses. Special activities and events will be offered throughout the year, along with the popular destination’s regular programming.
More than 120,000 visitors a year tour the lighthouse and keeper’s home, climb the lighthouse tower to see the original, still operational French bivalve lens, and take their own shots of one of the most photographed sites in the country. "For many who visit Split Rock Lighthouse this is their first view of Lake Superior," says Lee Radzak, the historic site's manager and modern-day keeper. "Seeing the endless horizon from the top of the lighthouse and the great ships far out on the sparkling water, just as the early keepers saw them, is an experience many people never forget." (from the Split Rock Lighthouse website.)

Show your library card and get free tickets to visit Split Rock Lighthouse.

Poetry and Music on Wednesday

Ross & Bart                                                               

Children's Room

3:00 - 4:00 p.m.

Wednesday, April 28, 2010

As a poetry-and-music duo, The Sutter Brothers have performed all over Minnesota and beyond—from Sandstone’s Quarry Days to the International Poetry Forum in Pittsburgh, from the Big Top Chautauqua in Bayfield, Wisconsin, to the Fitzgerald Theatre in St. Paul. Ross is known for his rich baritone voice and mastery of an impressive array of instruments: guitar, button accordion, mountain dulcimer, and Irish drum. He has appeared on A Prairie Home Companion and at The Winnipeg Folk Festival. The author of six books, Bart has won the Minnesota Book Award three times and was named the first Poet Laureate of Duluth. Though Ross and Bart have established individual reputations, when they perform as a pair, their work has the kind of counterpoint and easy intimacy unique to sibling acts. A blend of original poetry and traditional folk music, their show draws on their small-town roots and Swedish-American heritage. The Sutter Brothers have performed at the American Swedish Institute and were recently featured in the film Pretty Much 100% Scandinavian.

Magic Mama

Time: April 30 at 3:00pm
Place: Hibbing Public Library Children's room

MAGIC MAMA performs ORGANIC HIP HOP and World Beats for the Whole Family. Through her music, MAGIC MAMA delivers an empowering and hope-filled message of love and respect for all and inspires creative thinking and Earth-friendly actions.

"Magic Mama's songs are perfect for children, yet offer much for adults to enjoy as well."
~ Loralee Petersen, Director, Withee Public Library

Biography Readers Will Like the Story About This Hollywood Legend

Star: How Warren Beatty Seduced America

by Peter Biskind

Published 2010

Warren Beatty is one of the most famous Hollywood playboys.  However, he was also an incredible actor.  This biography is a fair, respectful, portrayal of the man, his background and beliefs, and his work.

Publishers Weekly 11/23/2009 says:




"In his refreshing biography, Biskind ("Easy Riders, Raging Bulls") examines Beatty's dual and often dueling status as Hollywood legend and notorious womanizer without letting either subsume the other... Beatty had a hand in some of New Hollywood's most important films. But Biskind does not gloss over the fact that Beatty has not had a box office hit since 1990's "Dick Tracy", nor does he ignore the string of flops that have deflated the actor's career ("Ishtar", "Bugsy", "Love Affair", etc.). Yet his respect for Beatty never dwindles, and readers are left with a complicated portrait of a complicated man, arguably a great actor of his generation." "(Jan. 5)" Copyright 2009 Reed Business Information.

This title is currently on the New Nonfiction shelf at the library (791.4302 BISKI).

The Spellmans Strike Again by Lisa Lutz

Part mystery, all comedy¸ The Spellmans Strike Again, is the 4th book in the Spellman series. The reader will enjoy the antics of the Spellman family of detectives.

Rae, the youngest, set to graduate from high school, researches pro bono cases part time for her brother’s girlfriend Maggie, a lawyer, while scamming rides and blackmailing family and friends.

Isobel enjoys being the rebel in the family by drinking too much and driving her parents crazy by dating the wrong guys. She is also trying to get a case of murder overturned with the added bonus of destroying the reputation of the rival detective agency.

David, oldest brother and ex-lawyer, is currently finding himself with his new girlfriend (see above.)

Last, but not least, are the parents, Olivia and Albert, who try to control their children out of love – or so they keep insisting.

For more on Lisa Lutz: http://www.lisalutz.com/

Celebrate Art and Culture With the Library

The Arrowhead Library System is offering a day tour to The Museum of Russian Art and The Minneapolis Institute of Art on June 5, 2010. Your bus trip includes round trip deluxe restroom equipped motor coach service departing from the Virginia Public Library, and admission to the two museums. Flyers with registration information are available at the Hibbing Public Library.
Free museum passes are also still available at the library. Bring in your library card and check out passes to places like the Great Lakes Aquarium, Duluth Depot, and the Judy Garland Museum. A recent addition is a pass to the Lake County Historical Society Museums. This pass gives you free admission to the D & IR Depot Museum, Two Harbors Light Station, 3M Museum, and the Edna G. Tugboat Tour.



This project was funded in part or in whole with money from the vote of the people of Minnesota on November 4, 2008 which dedicated funding to preserve Minnesota’s arts and cultural heritage.

The God of the Hive by Laurie R. King

Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes are back, fleeing from criminals, shady government officials, and Scotland Yard while trying to keep their charges alive and safe. Using The Times Agony column to communicate with each other, they attempt to establish a link with Mycroft Holmes, an intelligence operative for England, and find that Mycroft Homes has been taken in for questioning by Inspector Lestrade and warrants are out for the arrest of Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes. Fleeing with her granddaughter, Estelle, Mary reestablishes contact with the pilot, Javitz, whom you meet at the end of The Language of Bees. They board the plane and while in the air narrowly escape assassins. Javitz, unfortunately, is shot while flying the plane and they make an unscheduled crash landing on an estate where they are taken in by an unlikely hermit.

Sherlock Holmes fleeing with his newly found son, Damian Adler, gets assistance from the sea and charters a boat to Holland. Damian Adler, wounded by a religious fanatic who wanted to kidnap his daughter, Estelle, is a well known artist and the son of Irene Adler, with whom Sherlock Holmes once had a liaison.

The God of the Hive takes up where The Language of Bees ended in August 1924. Suspenseful with plenty of action, read the books in order for a satisfying conclusion to this 2 part series. Read more about Laurie R. King here: http://www.laurierking.com/
Book excerpts, a Holmes and Russell Timeline, and interviews make this an important addition to the 10 book series.

New in the kid's room

Spilling Ink by Anne Mazer and Ellen Potter

Two fine writers put their heads together and come up with an equally fine guide to their craft for beginners. Avoiding traditional chapters, the coauthors address issues by turns in short personal takes. Mazer speaks to beginnings, for example, while Potter tackles endings; and both have diverting things to say about everything that happens in between, whether it’s the narrative voice or (eek) writer’s block. Always agreeable, practical, and commonsensical in their approach, the two are also refreshingly permissive (“it’s fine to break rules”), though they add the caveat that rule breakage should come from a knowledge of said rules and a good reason for breaking them. Their text is enlivened with sidebar features, personal anecdotes, and suggestions to readers for exercising their new skills (happily these aren’t called “Exercises” but, instead, “I Dare You”). Such devices, along with the authors’ unfailing good humor, will go a long way to convincing their audience that writing can actually be fun! A notion that is nicely underscored by Phelan’s engaging and always appealing illustrations. Grades 5-9. (from Booklist)

Brown Bag Lunch

Join Master Gardener, Donna Stuntebeck, your friends, and neighbors at noon on Thursday, April 22, 2010 in the library auditorium.

Barbara Kingsolver's book will be the topic of discussion along with the current food industry and how you can feel safer about what you eat and feed your family.

What do you think about procuring as much food as possible from your own backyard garden and local farms and Farmer's Markets?

What some reviewers have said:

Kirkus Reviews

"With some assistance from her husband, Steven, and 19-year-old daughter, Camille, Kingsolver elegantly chronicles a year of back-to-the-land living with her family in Appalachia...Readers frustrated with the unhealthy, artificial food chain will take heart and inspiration here."

Publishers Weekly
Starred Review."Kingsolver takes the genre to a new literary level; a well-paced narrative and the apparent ease of the beautiful prose makes the pages fly."

Booklist
"Writing with her usual sharp eye for irony, she urges readers to follow her example and reconnect with their food’s source."

A discussion guide is available at the library. 

Book Review: A River in the Sky by Elizabeth Peters

Amelia Peabody Emerson and family head to Palestine in this 18th book in the Emerson family and friends saga. A departure from their usual trip to Egypt: Author Elizabeth Peters takes the story back to an event in 1910 before World War I which revolves around the search for the Ark of the Covenant by both Britain and Germany. The Emersons are sent by the war office in England to keep holy relics out of the hands of the enemy and prevent a holy war.

Elizabeth Peters has an extensive website about the Amelia Peabody series: http://www.ameliapeabody.com/
complete with maps and timelines. The timeline starts with the first book, “The Crocodile on the Sandbank”, 1884-85 where Amelia Peabody makes her first trip to Egypt, finds a career and true love with archaeologist Radcliffe Emerson and currently ends with “The Children of the Storm”, 1919-20.

Book Review: Murder in Paradise by Alanna Knight

Inspector Faro reflects back on one of his first cases in this 17th book in the series. While chasing a thief and murderer from Edinburgh to Kent in Southern England, Inspector Faro runs into old school friend, Erland Flett, engaged soon to be married. Invited to the wedding and to stay at Red House, an artists’ community, Inspector Faro happily accepts the invitation where he can secretly observe the small village close to where the criminal MacHeath was last captured before he escaped from the local police.

All matches are not made in heaven when Erland’s fiancé turns out to be Madeleine Smith, tried but not convicted of poisoning her lover with arsenic. Will Inspector Faro catch the criminal MacHeath before he kills again? Will Madeleine try to poison her fiancé? Inspector Faro is on the case. Author Alanna Knight is currently celebrating 40 years since the publication of her first book. Read more about Ms. Knight and her mystery series here: http://www.alannaknight.com/

Dylan Days Art Exhibition 2010 for Grades K - 12

Students artists in grades Kindergarten through Grade 12 are welcome to enter work inspired by Bob Dylan, his life and lyrics.

All media are welcome:  drawings no larger than 11x17 inches in pencil, charcoal, colored pencil, or other media; paintings in water color, acrylic, oil, pastel; sculpture; collage, etc.

All art work must be delivered to the library between May 1 - 10 during library hours.

The items will be displayed at the library through Dylan Days at the end of May.  There will be two pieces chosen (one in the 12 and under category and one in the 13-17 age category) to be reproduced as postcards.  The postcards will be sold at the library as a fundraiser for the Friends of the Hibbing Public Library.

More details and the entry form are available at the library.

Draw/Write/Scribble/Doodle

In honor of National Library week, you get a chance to tell us your favorite thing about the library!

Stop by the kid's room, grab a crayon (or lots of crayons) and express yourself on the big sheet of paper near the non-fiction books.  You can draw a picture, write a poem or story, tell us your name, whatever you want.  We want to know what you love about your library.

The paper will be out till the end of this week (April 12-16), then hung up for all to see.  Don't miss out!

New in the kid's room

Ratfink by Marcia Thornton Jones

Logan knows that “fifth-graders are mean,” so he is determined not to let anyone at school find out about his forgetful, embarrassing grandpa, who has moved in with Logan’s family. What if his classmates spot Grandpa singing nursery rhymes or wandering around naked? Then new student Emily “the Snot” Scott gets ahold of a mortifying picture that Grandpa took of Logan, and she threatens to send it to everyone at school—unless Logan finds out the secret his best friend, Malik, has been keeping. Is Logan a ratfink? Will he give up Malik to save himself from being humiliated? Told with rapid dialogue, this novel’s gripping conflicts about loyalty, betrayal, and kindness are never simplistic, and the standoffs with family, friends, and enemies are realistic and dramatic. Jones shows that in addition to his annoyance, Logan also feels deep affection for Grandpa, who comes up with some great ideas that make Logan popular, as well as sharp insights about why Emily acts mean. Even the ending, in which Logan feels mixed about his revenge against Emily, is subtle. Hilarious and heartbreaking, this novel adds depth and complexity to the usual triumph-over-the-bullies story.  From Booklist.

Planning your summer vacation? Visit Hannibal, Missouri

Samuel Clemens, better known as Mark Twain, grew up in Hannibal, Missouri and wrote many novels including the well known The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. On the Mississippi River, Hannibal welcomed 300,000 visitors last year including 60,000 to the Mark Twain Boyhood Home and Museum. Before travelling, check out and read the books written by Mark Twain from the library. We also have movie versions of The Adventures of Huck Finn available.
Read the article in USAToday: http://www.usatoday.com/travel/destinations/2010-04-04-hannibal-mark-twain_N.htm

Website of the week: ReadWriteWeb

ReadWriteWeb is a top ten blog and the number one information technology blog in the world. ReadWriteWeb is known for offering some of the most insightful commentary available about each day's Internet industry news.
ReadWriteWeb was founded on April 20, 2003 by Richard MacManus and is now one of the most widely read and respected blogs in the world. Our readers are smart, tech savvy, engaged, decision makers. 46% have 'significant input' or "make final information technology purchase decisions." As one advertiser put it, "The real users of the Web read ReadWriteWeb." From ReadWriteWeb.

Read about the new Ipad in this article: IPad: The First Real Family Computer www.readwriteweb.com/archives/ipad_the_first_real_family_computer.php

April is National Poetry Month

A number of programs are being sponsored by the Arrowhead Library System, the Spirit Lake Poetry Series, and area public libraries this month.  Celebrate arts and culture and take in one of the following events:

Ciao Restaurant at Side Lake - April 22nd - 6:35 p.m. - Francine Sterle Poetry and Art
Hibbing Public Library - April 28th - 3:00 p.m. - Poetry and Music by Bart and Ross
Weber Hall, UMD, Duluth - May 4th - 7:00 p.m. - Readings by Robery Bly, Minnesota Poet Laureate

Check the poster on the library's bulletin board for more events.

There is no admission charge for these programs.  This project is funded in part or in whole with money from the vote of the people of Minnesota on November 4, 2008, which dedicated funding to preserve Minnesota's arts and cultural heritage.

Have board books?

If you have board books in good condition, the children's collection can use them.  The current selection of board books is aging and needs to be weeded, so any donations would be gratefully accepted. 

Thanks!

Website of the week: Hulu

New shows like "Castle" and "Psych" or old classics like "the Addams Family" and "Magnum P.I. are available to watch. Find shows by clicking on Browse T.V.  Classic movies: "Of Mice and Men" and "The 39 Steps" in their entirety as well as newer movies and documentaries can be viewed.   All shows and movies are free.
Watch your favorite movies and television shows here: http://www.hulu.com/

Youth audio: not just for kids!

As summer approaches, many of our patrons may be looking forward to some long car trips.  Long-time library users know that listening to audio books is a great way to pass the time, but few adults know of the great titles available in the kid's room.  Below is a list of well-reviewed titles that are also perfect for long trips.  Happy motoring!

Stoneheart trilogy by Charlie Fletcher
Harry Potter series by JK Rowling
Chronicles of Narnia by CS Lewis
Prydain Chronicles by Lloyd Alexander
Redwall series by Brian Jacques
Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket
Icemark Chronicles by Stuart Hill
Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants series by Ann Brashares

Donate Life

The library's window display for April 5th through the 16th is being presented by LifeSource.  LifeSource is the non-profit organization that manages organ and tissue donation in Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, and part of western Wisconsin.

For information on "Donate Life Minnestoa" check out the display window next week and visit the the organizations website at http://www.donatelifemidwest.org/mn/.