We are less than a week away from Thanksgiving Day so I thought I would count down 10 things I am thankful for about my library.

10. The Twitter feed that gives me interesting quotes, facts and heads up on library events.

9. The variety of programs that I can attend. (I personally like the musical programs, the new movie series and that the teens are developing some of their own programs.)

8. The DCPL Facebook page (I feel more connected to my community and love seeing some of the dialogue.)

7. The downloadable eAudiobooks some of which can be found in MP3 format. (Check out NetLibrary using GALILEO).  eAudiobooks are only available from outside the library buildings.

6. The number of electronic resources that are available to me for free as a member of the Library. (Check out the Reference Database page.)

5. The e-mail pre-notification that I get when my material is almost due.

4. The variety of movies that are available on DVD.

3. The hold request system. It is great to think of a book, go to the computer, place a request and have the item sent to my current branch. (It usually takes very little time if the item is in. My home library-not this county- takes usually several weeks even with the book on the shelf.)

2.  The wi-fi that is becoming available to more branches. (It works perfectly with my iPod touch and I can surf on my lunch hour.)

1. The variety of books available for my reading pleasure. If the library does not have it, I can suggest that they consider buying a copy for the system or I can use the Interlibrary Loan service to borrow the book from another library system.

What are you thankful about your library? Would you rank my top ten list differently?

The thought of it sounds delightful but the cost brings me down–quickly. The library has the perfect solution for a night of family fun: dinner and a movie.  Several libraries offer recent blockbuster films.  All you have to bring is the family and a blanket and/or lawn chairs to sit on and of course, dinner.  You can even wear your pajamas . The kids will eat it up. And you won’t have to shell out for tickets and popcorn. (Although you can bring your own if you like!)

Upcoming movies include Bedtime Stories at the Chamblee Library on Tuesday, October 13 from 5-7PM.   Covington offers Teen Movie Day on Monday, October 12 from 1PM-3PM and Family Movie Night on Monday October 19 from 6PM-7:30PM.  Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa will be playing at the Wesley Chapel-WCB Library also on Monday, October 19 from 6PM-8PM.  The Gresham Library will show the holiday classic, A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving on Tuesday November 24 from 6PM-6:30PM.  Check the online calendar for additional film screenings and more details.

The DeKalb County Public Library system is participating in the Metro Atlanta Solar System (MASS) project. Chris Dupree, a professor of astronomy and director of the Bradley Observatory at Agnes Scott College, created this project.

The MASS project is a scale model of the solar system. The sun is located at the Bradley Observatory plaza at Agnes Scott. The Decatur Library represents the earth. The project uses the same scale for both the planetary size and their distances from the Sun. The scale of the model is approximately 1:150,000,000. Want to know where the other locations are and more about the project? Check out this link to Agnes Scott’s web page.

Interested in learning more about the solar system?

The library has several books about the solar system. We even have the Complete Idiot’s Guide to Astronomy written by Chris Dupree.

Here are a few more you might want to check out.

Lives of the Planets: A natural history of the solar system by R.M. Corfield

The Planets by Dava Sobel

Infinite Worlds: an illustrated voyage to planets beyond our sun. by Ray Villard

The big S you see on DCPL programming is for Seniors.  Yes, the library has programs geared towards senior patrons (though you don’t have to be a senior to attend).

We offer everything from Healthy Living programs to Senior Movie Times. Here is a sampling:

• come test your knowledge of trivia at the Chamblee Library
• come knit with us, on the second and fourth Thursdays of every month, except for holidays
• come discuss a book, we have book discussion groups at many different branches
• want to learn about what classes the Georgia Perimeter College has to offer?  Denise Rixter gives you the details
• learn how to use the computer
• map out your ancestry in one of our genealogy workshops, every third Thursday of the month, except for holidays.

Here is a list of all our senior programs.

We usually recommend a book to someone because we like the story or the setting or because it’s funny, etc. The other night a patron recommended an audiobook to me because the reader was really good.  Ed Sala’s reading of James Lee Burke’s White Doves at Morning was so compelling that this gentleman had come to the library to find more. The Library includes the name of audiobook readers in the catalog, making it easy to search for a favorite performer:

From the catalog page, select Sound/Video. From the first search box, select Audiobook Word(s) from the menu. In the second search box, enter the performer’s name.

AudioFile, a magazine devoted to audiobooks, has a Golden Voices list if you’re interested in finding more recommended readers or you might like one of Stephen King’s 10 favorite audiobooks.  I personally recommend Flo Gibson’s reading of Persuasion by Jane Austen.  On the page, Austen is amusing to me; but read aloud she is truly funny, with a wicked sense of humor and great timing.  Have you got a favorite audiobook reader?

Know a child who loves to read? Give them a library book for their birthday by donating to the DeKalb Library Foundation. You can mark a special occasion by having a book plate with their name on it placed in a book purchased for their favorite library. The book plates can also celebrate anniversaries, retirements, weddings or a new baby.  A plate can be in honor of or in memory of a special person. An acknowledgement card is sent to the honoree, noting the occasion and your name.

The first bookplates were also pasted into donated books. In 1480, Brother Hildebrand of Biberach donated his books, accompanied by bookplates, to his monastery. Old bookplates are sought after by collectors and scholars for the beauty of their designs and the information they provide as to the provenance of a book.

What’s provenance? It means knowing the history or origin of an object. Future readers will check your book out from the library and know who made their reading possible. It’s a great gift for any bookworms you might know and a great way to support the Library!

Donation forms are available at your local library or on our website.

Take two knitting needles, a skein of yarn and thou and what have you got? Hopefully a sweater, a scarf or at the very least – a pot holder. I am less than the very least. I cannot seem to get the hang of knitting.

Three of my more than patient co-workers, a knitting store and a few books with huge pictures cannot seem to get my needles and yarn going in the right direction to make anything more than some impressive knots. Not the knits that I was striving for.

I just wanted to join the ranks of the fifty-three million women who know how to knit or crochet (another dismal failure). This is an impressive fifty-one percent increase in the past ten years.

Plus, I wanted to join celebrity knitters like Madonna, Cameron Diaz and Julia Roberts. In fact, Julia is set to star in an upcoming movie about knitting called The Friday Night Knitting Club. (Also a book you can check out of the library.)

I longed to whip through patterns in Stitch and Bitch by Debbie Stoller or even Knitgrrl by Shannon Okey although I am much too old to check it out.

Knitting is so cool that it has blogs like www.yarnharlot.com. Or www.ravelry.com which is like Facebook for knitters with nearly 400,000 members.  I give up, I am turning in my needles (and crochet hook) for something like ?????

With school starting back today, homework is not far behind for the students of DeKalb County. How many times as a parent have you had your child come to you early in the evening and say  “I have an assignment due tomorrow morning, and I need to go to the Library!” I know my first thoughts are I don’t want to go out now.  My second thought is usually, the library will be closing shortly or is already closed.

We have a variety of electronic resources that may help you or your child with homework from home. They can be found on our Reference Database page.  For elementary and lower middle school children, many of the resources can be found on our Children’s page. You will need your DeKalb County library card number and your personal identification number (PIN) to access these resources. (The PIN is a 4 digit number.)

For general research help, we have online encyclopedias such as Groliers and Britannica. For social studies homework, there is Grolier’s Passport, Sirs Researcher, Student Resource Center for middle school and younger. For high school or older students, we also have CQ Researcher available.  For Science homework, there is Student Resource Center, Encyclopedia of Animals, and the National Science Digital Library  (available through GALILEO).  For literature homework, there is Literature Criticisms Online and Literature Resources from GALE.

Although the Learning Express Library is listed under test preparation, this resource has several tutorials, tests and diagnostic tests that can help with homework. For instance, they have practice and diagnostic tests for reading comprehension, a variety of math for all levels and vocabulary for high school students. This resource also has a few courses available such as Middle School Writing Courses, and some basic math courses.

Searching for newspaper or journal articles? We have a couple of resources for this type of research. The easiest way to search is to go to GALILEO.  (It will ask you for your library card and PIN numbers and then give you the current password. You will then type in the password to proceed.)  If you click on the search button and type in your keywords, it will search for relevant articles.  These are just a sampling of electronic resources that you have available at your fingertips from home.  Feel free to browse our database page or GALILEO.  If you need specific help on where to start your search, don’t forget to use our Email A Librarian service. It can be found under the Research tab on our home page.  Be sure to select “I need help finding information.”

Doesn’t it sound cool and mysterious?  DCPL Unshelved is a precision drill team that pushes library carts.The ten members (from our many different library branches) put on sparkly silver newsboy caps, matching t-shirts, black pants and their dancing shoes.

Performing movements like the Flying Geese and Shooting Star make for a lively performance. The crowd was in awe at the team’s debut for the fourth of July in Decatur’s Pied Piper Parade.  See the YouTube clip below for a video of their performance.

The songs they push to are “We Are Family” by Sister Sledge, “Electric Avenue” by Eddy Grant, “We Will Rock You” by Queen and more upbeat lively numbers.

If you want to see DCPL Unshelved for yourself, the team will be performing as part of the August 15 Dunwoody festivities for the dedication of their newly renovated library, at the end of the morning program, which begins at 10:00. Or check out the Decatur Book Festival. You’ll be glad you did! Who knew library carts could be so versatile?

for ice cream.  Creamy, yummy, good for the tummy – July is National Ice Cream Month. Americans have been celebrating National Ice Cream Month since 1984 when President Ronald Regan designated it as a special occasion.

In fact, the third Sunday in July is National Ice Cream Day (July 19th this year.) President Reagan felt that since ninety percent of the nation’s population enjoys eating ice cream, we should celebrate!

The International Ice Cream Association (IICA) encourages celebrating because ice cream sales account for twenty billion dollars in sales each year and provides thousands of jobs. Nine percent of all milk produced is used in making ice cream. (I bet some kids wish they could have an ice cream cone instead of a glass of milk.)

Whether you like the fancy stuff or plain vanilla (the most popular flavor.), there’s something out there for you. If you were interested in making your own, check out Ice Cream by Pippa Cuthbert and Lindsay Cameron Wilson. (641.862 Cuth) or Ice Cream and frozen desserts by Peggy Fallon, (641.862 Fall.)

That’s the scoop on National Ice Cream Month. Be sure and have a sundae on Sunday, July 19th.