Upgrade your computer skills

Need a refresher or do you regularly describe yourself as "computer illiterate"? Time to give our free computer classes a go. We will increasing our class offerings as of May to include our round of Basic courses normally taught on Monday evening to be repeated on Wednesday evenings at the same time/same station, 6-7 in the classroom.
If you would like to join us for classes in computer fundamentals, beginning word processing, email basics and internet searching give us a call and reserve a spot. We'd love to help increase your comfort level when it comes to computers... and it's all free.
See our website for a full listing of our classes at http://www.missoulapubliiclibrary.org/classes#Computer Classes

Word Woman

Welcome to another fun-filled episode of Word Woman's Weekly Work-Out! What can I say? It's almost May already! It hardly seems possible that this year is going by so quickly. And the last Word of the Week for April is:

Truculent: 1. feeling or displaying ferocity : cruel, savage 2. deadly, destructive 3. scathingly harsh : vitriolic 4. aggressively self-assertive : belligerent

-- "Truculent", http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/truculent , 4/6/11.

Example: The truculent behavior of Tina's outdoor cat was of great concern to the neighbors who owned small dogs.

Become Someone Else

Some clever marketing from Mint Vinetu, a used bookstore in Lithuania.

You can check out a few more here.

Happy Easter, y'all

We'll be closed Sunday, but we'll be back to our regular 10-9 schedule on Monday. In the meantime, here's the latest episode of Simon's Cat for you to watch.

Celebrate Earth Day @ your library!

Submitted by Megan McFarlane in

• Green Living

Planning to celebrate Earth Day today, but not sure what you can do to be “greener?” The solution could be a trip the library, your community’s original renewable resource.
In addition to offering books on topics like organic gardens, water conservation and renewable forms of energy, your library and libraries across the country are doing their part when it comes to reducing, reusing and recycling.
Here are just a few things that libraries are doing this Earth Day.

In celebration of “Earth Day @ your library,” the Atlanta-Fulton (Ga.) Public Library System reminds library users of new “green” innovations available through the library. In addition to promoting “recyclables” like books, DVDs and CDs, the library encourages users to conserve gas by using its OverDrive database to download audiobooks and e-books at home.
Leading up to the Earth Day, the Warren-Newport Public Library District of Gurnee, Ill., has encouraged library users to “Take the Earth Day Challenge @ your library.” Library users submit their own “recipes” for creating “green” cleaning supplies using household items like vinegar and baking soda that have less of an environmental impact then traditional cleaning agents. Entrants will get a chance to win a bucket of green cleaning supplies.
For “Earth Day 2011 @ your library,” the East Hampton (N.Y.) Public Library will collaborate with East Hampton Public Works and the Northeast Resource Recovery Association (NRRA) to sell backyard compost bins and rain barrels to library users.
For each compost bin and rain barrel sold, the library will receive $2.  The library will use those proceeds to purchase books about eco-friendly topics.
The Quarryville (Pa.) Library will promote Earth Day to a new generation of library users and environmentalists. “Earth Day @ your library” programming will include the planting of a children’s garden, a used book sale, recyclable crafts and a presentation on learning how to recycle.

Heads UP! Our Website to be DOWN!

The Missoula Public Library Website www.MissoulaPublicLibrary.org will be inaccessible from Friday, April 22 at 4:00 p.m. until Monday morning, April 25, as we move to a new Website. We apologize for the inconvenience.  PLEASE NOTE: You may use http://mymontanalibrary.org/ to access the catalog, download audio and eBooks, and access our databases while the Website is down. Thank you for your understanding. And check out our cool new Website next week!

National Library Week revisited

We hope you enjoyed our activities, displays and contests during National Library Week. Here is a video just to cap it all off. Created by the American Library Association I know that the quotes contained in here express the feelings of so many in our community. http://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/al_focus/national-library-week-2011-quotes-about-libraries ... and here are a few more...

Libraries: The medicine chest of the soul. ~Library at Thebes, inscription over the door

We may sit in our library and yet be in all quarters of the earth. ~John Lubbock

I have always imagined that Paradise will be a kind of library. ~Jorge Luis Borges

The Frenchtown Branch is closed for the rest of the day

The power is out at our Frenchtown Branch so the library is closed for the day. We apologize for the inconvenience.

Word Woman

Welcome to another thrilling installment of Word Woman's Weekly Work-Out! This week's word is dedicated to Word Woman's hard-working co-worker, though whether or not the word may accurately be applied to her is matter of speculation:

Vociferous: (adjective)

marked by or given to vehement outcry

-- “vociferous”, http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/vociferous , 3/30/11.

Example: Annie's co-workers were at a loss to understand her vociferous objections to painting the walls of the staffroom pea-soup green.

The Help - the movie

It's been one of our hottest book chat kits and will be coming to theaters on August 12 as a movie. Deadline.com reports that Dreamworks has released a trailer of the movie based on Stockett's best selling movie at www.youtube.com/user/DreamWorksthehelp. If you haven't had a chance to read it yet you might want to check it out from the library.

How to Steal Like an Artist

It's been a little while since I last posted on the art and craft of writing fiction. The link I want to share this time has been making the rounds on the internet lately. I was a little skeptical at first to read it, because I'd never heard of Austin Kleon, but it's actually quite good. Some of the advice won't speak to everyone, but you're probably going to find something to inspire you here. Hope you enjoy.

http://www.austinkleon.com/2011/03/30/how-to-steal-like-an-artist-and-9-other-things-nobody-told-me/

The writing workshop is still going strong here at the public library and anyone is invited to attend. If you've been meaning to stop in, there's no time like the present. Please join us on the first Saturdays of each month at 10 a.m. in the Boardroom.

Image courtesy of Austin Kleon

Teddy Bear Sleepover at Missoula Public Library

The Teddy bears and other friends had a wonderful time at the
library's first Teddy bear sleepover.

Yesterday afternoon children and their bedtime friends met in the library, for bedtime stories and a snack.

Then the children headed off for home and their furry friends spent the night.

Boy did they have fun.

Tea Parties

Having fun with Ellie

Books

Playing in the castle

And just plan hanging around.

Thanks to all of the boys and girls who allowed their friends to spend the night. We look forward to doing it again!

Treasure Hunt for the Treasure State

Day 7 of the Treasure Hunt for the Treasure State

Last day of the hunt! You're doing great! Go to our online databases and find the answer to these final questions.

Saturday, April 16, 2011

Elementary: Who did Tecumsah fight for in the War of 1812?

Middle School: What was Montana's first state park?

High School: When is the rainy season in Zambia?

Adult: When was the original Columbia Gardens pavilion destroyed by fire?

Have fun and remember to post your answers at your State Library's website.

Treasure Hunt for the Treasure State

Day 6 of the Treasure Hunt for the Treasure State

Friday, April 15, 2011

Elementary

What are three of the six factors that determine weather conditions?

• Air temperature, air pressure, and amount and kind of cloud cover
• Wind, season, humidity
• Where you are, what season it is, and what time of day it is
• Number of buildings, amount of asphalt, and air temperatureiddle School

Middle School

Why was Wilma Rudolph’s Olympic achievement of winning three gold medals in track and field so impressive?

• She was 30 years old at the time.
• She had the flu during the Olympics.
• She had a sprained ankle, but ran anyway.
• She contracted polio as a child and had to have years of physical therapy.

High School

What is considered the foundation of all other sciences?

• Earth Science
• Study of mathematics
• Physics
• Chemistry

Adult

Who was Gary Cooper's mother?

• Alice Louise Brazier
• Helen Carter
• Veronica Balfe
• Lynda Quincy

Have fun and remember to post your answers at your State Library's website.

Treasure Hunt for the Treasure State

Here are the questions for Thursday, April 14, 2011.

Elementary

What was the first wildlife management area in Montana?

• Amelia Island
• Badlands
• Horseshoe Lake
• Judith River Game Range

Middle School

Where can you find Fringed Sagewort?

• The Yukon Territory in Northern Canada
• Montane Forest
• Intermountain Grassland
• Southern regions of the United States including the South Carolina, Georgia area

High School

Who was Joe Lewis?

• Baseball player for New York Yankees
• Basketball player for Celtics
• Baseball player for Chicago Cubs
• Heavyweight boxing champion

Adult

Where did Annie Lazzari live in 1937?

• Kalispell
• Meaderville
• Great Falls

Have fun and post your answers at your State Library's website.

Word Woman

Welcome to another wild and wonderful episode of Word Woman's Weekly Work-Out! Those who follow astronomical events with interest may be aware that last month's full moon was the perigee moon. What does that mean? Read on:

Perigee:

Perigee comes from the Greek words peri ("around" or "near") and geo ("earth").

The full moon of March 19th coincided with the point in the moon's orbit that is nearest the Earth, causing the moon to appear unusually large.

This "perigee moon" occurs because the moon's orbit is oval in shape, bringing the moon closer to the Earth on one side than on the other. A full moon on the opposite end of the elliptical orbit – the "apogee" side – would be 50,000 km farther from the Earth and appear 14% smaller than a full moon on the perigee side.

"perigee", http://www.merriam-webster.com/trend-watch/2011/03/24/3/29/2011

Example: The perigee moon rose huge and beautiful in the clear night sky.