Eight Things You Should Know Before You Buy a Daily Deal

Information from the USA.gov team:

Frugalistas looking to snag a bargain on a massage or a fancy dinner at new restaurant can spend a lot of time browsing daily deal sites. While these sites provide the opportunity to try new businesses at a discounted price, shoppers need to be sure they read the fine print on their deals and understand the sites’ terms of service agreements to avoid complications when they redeem their deal vouchers.

These tips from USA.gov will help you better understand the daily deal sites so you can shop safely and enjoy the deals you purchase.

• Check the expiration and black-out dates: Most daily deals have expiration dates. Plan accordingly so you use your voucher before the deal expires. Make sure you check for blackout dates too. Some of the popular vacation deals can only be redeemed during certain times of the year.
• Do your research: Spend five or ten minutes reading reviews of the product or service you're thinking about purchasing. If the company has a lot of bad reviews, you may want to skip the purchase, no matter how great the deal seems to be.
• Understand how you can use the deal: Some deals you can use more than once until the entire amount of the deal is gone, but other coupons you have to use all at once. In general, you can't combine a daily deal with another coupon or promotion. Read the conditions of your specific deal before you buy. If you’ve read the fine print, but still don’t understand everything,ask questions before you buy. Many of the daily deal sites have a frequently asked questions section or an area of the site where they handle questions about specific deals.
• Verify which locations accept your voucher: Some deals for chains are only valid at certain stores. Check to make sure the location closest to you is one of the participating stores or else you might have to go out of your way to use the deal.
• Know when your credit card will be charged: Some sites won't charge you until after a certain number of deals have been purchased; other sites will charge you immediately or at the close of a business day. After you purchase a deal, keep an eye on your credit card statement to make sure you are charged correctly.
• Check the site's refund policy: Some sites will refund your money if you are disappointed in a deal. Others will refund your money if a merchant goes out of business before your deal's expiration date. Some won't refund your money at all. Make sure you understand and are comfortable with a site's refund rules before you make a purchase.
• Know whom to contact with problems: In most cases, the daily deal sites can't help you solve problems with the company you bought the deal from. You will need to work with the company directly. If you have an issue, stay calm and state exactly what happened and how you would like the situation to be resolved. You can use the tips from the USA.gov sample complaint letter to help fix the problem.

The Next Decade by George Friedman

George Friedman founder and CEO of STATFOR, a publisher of worldwide geopolitical intelligence, shares some of his insights about Iran, Russia, Germany, China, Latin America and the US role in history and the next 10 years. Available at Hibbing Public Library, other Arrowhead Libraries and in electronic format.

Z Puppets at Library!

Street performer Chris Griffith and playwright Shari Aronson started Z Puppets Rosenschnoz in 1998 with some fluorescent paint, a $3 pack of ping pong balls, and inspiration and imagination.  Today, they have fifteen original productions and also bring their workshops to thousands of audiences across the country.

Z Puppets’ performances include a unique blend of live music, zealous humor and hand-crafted puppets.  They will be bringing this extraordinary family experience to story time at the Library on Tuesday, December 13^th at 10:00 a.m.

Everyone is welcome to this free program that is funded by Arrowhead Library System, the Minnesota Library Legacy Fund, and the Hibbing Library.

Santa Will Be At The Annual Yuletide Festival

We all know that Santa Claus lives at the North Pole with his magical elves and his flying reindeer.  He makes a list of children throughout the world, keeps track of their behavior and what they have asked to receive on Christmas morning.  The elves work feverishly in the North Pole workshop to make all the toys and the reindeer condition themselves for a marathon flight.  Then on one single night, Santa visits all of the homes in the world and delivers presents. 

Once again Santa is taking time from his busy schedule to spend a couple of hours with all the families that attend the library’s annual Yuletide Festival on Tuesday, December 6^th.  He will be arriving about 6:00 p.m.  There will be a holiday story and song by the fireplace and then Santa will spend time talking to each child that has something to tell him.

Please join us for our annual holiday celebration.  In addition to Santa’s visit, there will be a holiday craft area, the Hibbing City Band will be performing, the Literacy Action Center will be giving away books to children, and the Friends of the Library will be serving refreshments.

New Nonfiction

Learning to Breathe: My yearlong Quest to Bring Calm to My Life by Priscilla Warner

One woman's journey to find peace from her panic attacks.

Attack on Pearl Harbor: Strategy, Combat, Myths, Deceptions by Alan D. Zimm

Evaluation of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor from the Japanese point of view.

You are Not so Smart by David McRaney

Psychology says that you have no idea why you act the way you do.

Book Give Away at the Yuletide Festival

Bring the kids to the Yuletide Festival and have them pick out a free book to take home.  The Literacy Action Center and the book-give-away is another event that has been part of the library’s holiday celebration for many years.

The Literacy Action Center office is located in the basement of the Hibbing Public Library.  It is a program of the Hibbing school district through the Community Education Department.

The Center:
•Provides free, confidential and private tutoring to adults who wish to improve their reading, and writing skills.
•Provides tutoring for people in which English is a second language.
•Works with other community education programs for GED testing and preparation.

It also promotes reading by putting books in the hands of children through book give-aways.  Funding for the books is provided by United Way of N.E. MN, Minnesota Community Foundation, Northland Foundation, Hibbing/Chisholm Rotary, and Security State Bank.

The annual Yuletide Festival will be on Tuesday, December 6^th from 6:00 until 7:30 p.m.

Trout Caviar: Recipes from a Northern Forager by Brett Laidlaw

The author grew up in Eden Prairie, Minnesota and spent time each summer on Lake Brereton in eastern Manitoba: “I can recall so clearly all the sensations of cleaning the fish we caught, an activity which took place in late morning in the cool shade of the pines beside the cabin, on a wooden table covered with newspapers in the yard of packed dirt with a patina of pine needles. I recall the smell of the fish, kept on a stringer in the lake until we were ready to clean them. They smelled … lakey, not fishy, not bad at all, but fresh and watery. When I’m lucky enough to find supremely fresh fish today, I’ll take a good whiff and think, Ah, it smells like Lake Brereton.”

Brett Laidlaw wants to share with the reader his interest in natural foods while finding those foods in the wild, local gardens or the market. Check out the recipes and try a few including: Summer Lake Trout Chowder, Trout Caviar and Apple Blackberry Galette. Find the book in the new book section: 641.302 LAIDLAW

100 Famous Novels with Catchy First Lines

Snoopy, in the Peanuts comic strip by Charles M. Schulz, often started his novel with this line: "It was a dark and stormy night."
The opening lines of a novel can prove crucial. From Dickens' A Tale of Two Cities to Melville's Moby Dick, often the opening sentence or two of a book will become the most frequently quoted and iconic passage from the entire novel. From American Book Review.

The Ranker Website list 100 famous novels with catchy first lines.

What favorite first lines do you remember?

New Movies at the Library

Cars 2

Lightning McQueen competes in the World Grand Prix to determine the world's fastest car.

Judy Moody and the Not Bummer Summer

Family comedy based on the best selling book series.

Transformers: Dark of the Moon

Shia LaBeouf and the AUTOBOTS must fight the DECEPTICONS to defend the world from evil.

Captain America: the First Avenger

Captain America leads the fight for freeom from the Red Skull and HYDRA organization.

Everything Must Go

Will Ferrell moves himself and all his possessons to his front yard.

Fast Five

Vin Diesel and Paul Walker lead a reunion of all stars from every chapter of the movie franchise.

Hibbing City Band Will Play at Annual Yuletide Festival

Everyone is invited to the library on Tuesday, December 6th for a holiday performance by the Hibbing City Band. The musical selections will begin about 6:15 p.m.

The City Band, once known as the Hibbing Municipal Concert Band, has a long and interesting history. Their background is documented in a graduate research paper, written in 1972 by Arthur M. Hill. “A History of the Hibbing Municipal Concert Band” is available at the front desk of the library.
According to Mr. Hill the first band rehearsals began in 1897, “but progress was slow because of the calloused hands of the men and the difficulty of getting to rehearsals”. The members persevered and in the following years the numbers grew, they elected a director, and even purchased uniforms. The name changed a few times until in 1903 it was changed back to the Hibbing City Band.
In the early 1900s the band began furnishing the music for the town’s Fourth of July celebrations. There is record that the band won competitive honors over the years. They were even invited to play at the State Fair in both 1915 and 1916. The band’s tradition of providing the community with wonderful summer concerts began as early as 1916.
The Hibbing City Band is truly a wonderful tradition in our community. They have graciously played for the Yuletide Festival at the library for many years and we hope will continue to perform for many more. So please join the library staff and the Friends of the Hibbing Public Library on December 6th for some wonderful music.

How to: Many websites and so little time

Websites that offer how to instructions are abundant: How To Do Things, Ehow, Instructibles, and You Tube all give directions and can make you an expert in no time. Need help learning how to knit, paint, tile floors? All information can be found on a handy website. After reading through the instructions, you will quickly know if the thing you are attempting is beyond your abilities and best left to the professionals. What projects have you attempted and had success or decided hiring someone would be a better idea? Write in and let us know.
The library also has sections on woodworking, quilting, knitting, crocheting, painting, house and car repair and many other "do it yourself" projects.

Nightwoods by Charles Frazier

Charles Frazier, author of Cold Mountain, has put out his third novel titled Nightwoods.  Nightwoods is set in the Appalachian  mountains of North Carolina in the 1960's.  Luce is a woman with a dark past who has taken a job as caretaker of an old abandoned lodge.  Her solitude is interrupted when her murdered sister's two children come to live with her.  The children have witnessed their mother's murder and it is evident that trauma lies at the root of their dysfunction.  The children do not speak, blankly stare and are fascinated with lighting fires.  Bud, the kid's alcoholic and violent step-dad has been acquitted of Lily's murder.  Things get messy when he appears back into their lives.  Suspense mounts in a dramatic manner as Bud's path begins to converge with Luce and the children. 

Zero Day by David Baldacci

John Pullar, U. S. Army Criminal Investigator, is sent to investigate the murder of an Army colonel and his family in West Virginia coal country. Pullar, married to the Army, comes from a military family with a retired general for a father and a brother in a military jail for treason. 

Pullar, along with Sergeant Samantha Cole, from the local sheriff’s department, soon realize that they are on to something that threatens national security. With time running out, and bodies piling up, they must link the coal mining industry to an old bunker built in the 1950s to save the local community.

David Baldacci has another hit with Zero Day. He has a website: www.davidbaldacci.com

David and his wife are cofounders of the Wish You Well Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting literacy across America: www.wishyouwellfoundation.org

Killing Lincoln: the shocking assasination that changed America forever by Bill O'Reilly and Martin Dugard



Bill O'Reilly and Martin Dugard write in a historical account that reads like fiction of the events surrounding the assassination and tracking of the killer John Wilkes Booth and accomplices.

Fall Festival on PBS

Friday nights on PBS

H.M.S. Pinafore: Oct. 14

AMERICAN MASTERS Pearl Jam Twenty: Oct. 21

GREAT PERFORMANCES Miami City Ballet: Oct. 28

Give me the Banjo: Nov. 4

AMERICAN MASTERS Bill T. Jones: Nov. 11

Women Who Rock: Nov. 18

GREAT PERFORMANCES Il Postino: Nov. 25

GREAT PERFORMANCES Andrea Bocelli: Dec. 2

GREAT PERFORMANCES The Little Mermaid: Dec. 16

Check out the display of music with bookmarks at the front gate of the library.

Masterpiece Mystery on PBS

Hercule Poirot
David Suchet plays the suave Belgian detective. In Three Act Tragedy, a cocktail party is the scene of a crime, while in The Clocks, multiple frozen clocks factor into a murder. Agatha Christie’s detective Poirot investigates a death at a festive event turned foul in Hallowe'en Party.

Miss Marple
Julia McKenzie plays Agatha Christie's detective with a gentle smile and probing mind in The Pale Horse. Miss Marple's old friend is found murdered, and when she receives a list of names sent by the victim before his death, Miss Marple seeks justice.

Zen
What does an honest cop do when his bosses are on the side of the lawbreakers? Outwitting prosecutors, politicians, mobsters, kidnappers and killers, Detective Aurelio Zen brings justice to modern-day Italy. Rufus Sewell stars as Zen, based on the books of Michael Dibdin.

Inspector Lewis
Kevin Whately and Laurence Fox play Inspector Lewis and DS Hathaway in four Oxford University-based whodunits, which have them solving cases at an all-female college, investigating the poisoning of a bishop, looking into a clinical trial and examining a sinister blackmail plot. Inspector Lewis is the spinoff from the Inspector Morse series by Colin Dexter.

Jackson Brodie
Set amidst the iconic landscapes of modern Edinburgh, Case Histories brings the delightful jigsaw puzzles of Kate Atkinson's bestselling novels and the complexity of her hero Jackson Brodie, played by Jason Isaacs (Harry Potter) to life.  (from the PBS website)

Books and some movies based on the PBS Masterpiece Mystery series are available in the library and by interlibrary loan.

Window Exhibits at the Library

The window display at the entrance of the library is available for use by community organizations. Library exhibits serve to make the public aware of the informational, educational and cultural resources of the community. The exhibits may direct the public's attention to the materials and services of the library itself, to the work of talented individuals, or to ideas expressed by community organizations.

All exhibits are scheduled for two week time periods. Call the library at 362-5959 to reserve the window display for your organization.

The front window display is currently being used by the North Star Hospice.  North Star Hospice was organized in 1984 as a licensed hospice provider.  In 2003 North Star Hospice affiliated with Fairview Range Regional Health Service.  Hospice is a special program designed to enhance the quality of life in people whose life expectancy is limited.

 The Hospice has a volunteer program and also always accepts memorial donations.  Check out the informational display in the library’s entrance and go to their web site at http://www.range.fairview.org/services/hospice.

BOO BOO BEAR'S MISSION

"Boo Boo Bear's Mission" by Mary Linda Sather is a heartwarming story about a beloved teddy bear on an imporatnt mission.
Young Shea Leigh's dad has been deployed to Iraq with the Air National Guard. To help her dad feel less lonely while he is away from his family, Shea Leigh sends Boo Boo Bear to him in a care package. Boo Boo tours the base with Dad, embarks on a jet fighter flight and fulfills an important mission—to carry a family's love until they can be together again.

This title is available through interlibrary loan. You may also click the link below for more information on this title and author.

http://www.boo-boo-bears-mission.net/index.html

Great Books Reading Club

Members of last year’s Great Books Reading Club are currently reorganizing.  One of the issues that need to be decided is if they will stay with the Great Books format or choose more contemporary reading selections.  The group is also looking for a new leader/moderator.  If you are interested in joining a book club please call the library at 362-5959 or email hibbingpl@arrowhead.lib.mn.us and leave your name and phone number.  Also indicate which format you would prefer.  This will help with the decisions.