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

If you forgot about the Decatur Electronics Recycling Day, there’s no need to worry–due to bad weather over the weekend, the event was rescheduled for late April.  Recycling Day is held outdoors, and the weekend weather presented a safety hazard for volunteers.

Electronics Recycling Day has been rescheduled for Saturday, April 25, 2009 from 9 a.m. – 1 p.m. in the Decatur High School parking lot.  Visit www.decaturga.com for a list of electronic items that may be recycled and more details about the event. You may also call 404-377-5571 for information.

THIS Saturday, October 25, 9 a.m.-1 p.m. at the Decatur High School Parking Lot (Corner of N. McDonough Street and Howard Avenue), come recycle your cell phones, televisions, and other electronic components.

For the first time at this event, TV’s will be recycled for a minimal fee of $10 cash only per TV set with exact change. There is no charge to recycle other items.  For more information, please visit the City of Decatur Website.

The Decatur branch has an ongoing program called Musical Bookings. The Friends of the Decatur Library provide the money for this program. Over the years, many people who have attended have heard a wide variety of music. They are always held on a Thursday night from 7 p.m. until 8:30 p.m.

This Thursday, October 23rd  is our next program. It will feature the  group Peavine Creek. They play old-time music for contra dancing and square dancing and were featured on the “Mountain Music and Medicine” show aired on Georgia Public Television in March 2008.

To check out additional upcoming bookings, please check out our calendar under events, musical.  While you are waiting for our next booking, enjoy the video that someone made while attending the performance of the band Recess Monkey.

This weekend, literary folks across the metro area will have an awesome chance to catch sight of celebrity authors. The third annual Decatur Book Festival will kick off on Friday night with a keynote speech by Billy Collins, a former United States poet laureate; tickets are required for this event, but are available free at Agnes Scott College’s box office and several local bookstores. There will be 250 national and local authors speaking around Decatur. These authors include Pearl Cleage, Eric Jerome Dickey, Emily Giffin, Kathy Reichs, Karin Slaughter and Haywood Smith. If you have children, fear not! This is a completely family friendly event. There will be a children’s parade Saturday morning with beloved costumed characters and a marching band. There will be many authors for children and teens reading from and speaking about their work, including John Bemelmans Marciano (the grandson of the author of Madeline), Chris Raschka, and Doreen Cronin.

Eoin Colfer, the mastermind behind the Artemis Fowl series, will be stopping at the Decatur Library next Tuesday, July 29, at 4:00 pm. All the way from Ireland, Mr. Colfer is touring the United States with his “Fairies, Fiends and Flatulence” tour. The show promises to be hilarious for everyone in the family!

Mr. Colfer will be signing copies of his newest Artemis Fowl adventure, The Time Paradox, after the show. And, don’t worry if you haven’t already picked up a copy, books will be for sale at the event.

Thank you to the Georgia Center for the Book and Little Shop of Stories for this awesome opportunity!

If you want to stay into the evening, the Georgia Center for the Book and Mingei World Arts will be hosting local favorites Carmen Deedy and John McCutcheon at 7:15 pm at the Decatur Library. Their performances will benefit the building of a library in a small Mexican community. It should be an entertaining evening of superb storytelling and folk singing.