MWAH!

Before signing off for the weekend, we wanted to let you know how much we appreciate you visiting our blog. We've gotten some great feedback and we'd love more! Let us know which features you enjoy seeing! Book of the Day? Coming Soon? Fun websites? How to Videos? Let us know what you'd like to see!

Middletown Public Library wants to give our AMAZING, WONDERFUL, BRILLIANT, AWESOME, and most importantly SUPPORTIVE patrons just what they need! So let us know!

Feel free to email us here at the blog or send an email to ChristinaWolfskehl@yahoo.com.

UPDATE

Remember a few weeks back when I talked about volunteering for a worthy cause? The Volunteer Center of Rhode Island and Rhode Island's AmeriCorps agency have merged to form the Rhode Island Service Alliance.

The Serve Rhode Island Volunteer Corps (Serve Corps) is a new initiative from Serve Rhode Island, whose mission is to ignite a new energy and interest in volunteerism in the Ocean State. The state's non-profit organizations are in need of help, and we are confident that Rhode Islanders will step up and answer this important call to service.

Sign up is quick and easy! Call (401) 421-6547 or go to the website. Remember: Together we can make a difference.

Featured Lists

Here's something new and very cool MPL has added our catalogue: FEATURED LISTS & CURRENT TOPICS. The featured lists are what we believe to be the best (and most popular) books and material in our catalogue. These lists include New York Times Bestseller List (Fiction & Nonfiction), the latest and greatest materials on Career Changes & Skills, and all the RI Teen Book Award Nominees from 2007-2009.

By clicking on these links you can find and request some of the best materials the library has to offer.

So take a peak around our catalogue and discover something wonderful!

Hours for Library and Bookstore

Since this is a common question we hear at the library, I thought I would post this:

Hours

Library:
Monday - Thursday: 9:30am-8:00pm
Friday - Saturday: 9:30am-5:00pm
Sunday: 1:00pm-5:00pm

Bookstore:
Tuesday: 1:00pm-5:00pm
Wednesday: 9:30am-11:30am
Thursday: 1:00pm-5:00pm
Satuday: 10:00am-4:00pm

COMING SOON! (On order NOW!)

The Mystic Arts of Erasing All Signs of Death by Charlie Huston

From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. Noir master Huston (The Shotgun Rule) should win himself a whole new audience with this bizarre and utterly grotesque stand-alone, told mostly through dialogue that highlights the author's uncanny ear for the spoken word. Former Los Angeles grade school teacher Web Goodhue, now a full-time slacker suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, falls into a job on a crime scene cleanup crew, scrubbing up the remains of the recently deceased. After the crew has finished cleaning up a messy suicide scene in Malibu, Web gets a phone call from the dead man's daughter, Soledad. She and her thug half-brother have another big mess on their hands that needs cleaning, on the QT. Unable to resist the beautiful Soledad, Web soon finds himself in way over his head. Huston, one of his generation's finest and hippest talents, shows in grisly detail what cleaning up after the dead entails. This one should appeal to Chuck Palahniuk fans as well as hard-boiled crime readers. (Jan.)

Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

RESERVE YOUR COPY TODAY!

Book of the Day!

Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris
Do you love the new HBO television series True Blood? The new season won't begin until later this year, so why not get your fill of Sookie Stackhouse and Vampire Bill by reading the books the show is based on.

Product Description
Sookie Stackhouse is just a small-time cocktail waitress in small-town Louisiana. Until the vampire of her dreams walks into her life-and one of her coworkers checks out....Maybe having a vampire for a boyfriend isn't such a bright idea. "A fun, fast, funny, and wonderfully intriguing blend of vampire and mystery that's hard to put down, and should not be missed." (Susan Sizemore)

Praise for Charlaine Harris:
"An author of rare talents." -- Publishers Weekly

"Harris writes neatly and with assurance." -- The New York Times Book Review

"One of the year's best." -- Science Fiction Chronicle

The 4-1-1 on 2-1-1

The United Way is helping Rhode Islanders get connected to the resources they need thanks to a new program called 2-1-1.

What is 2-1-1?
It's an easy to remember phone number and website linking users in need to available health and human service programs. From the single mother needing food for her children to the senior citizen looking for in-home care, United Way 2-1-1 in Rhode Island brings people and services together.

What will United Way 2-1-1 in Rhode Island do?
They deliver comprehensive information and referral services, free of charge and 24/7/365, to the public by telephone, through the Internet and in print publications, in any language.

What can services can they connect you with?
After-school programs, Alzheimer's resources, basic needs - food, shelter, child care/health services, consumer protection, counseling, crisis intervention, disability services, domestic violence programs, donating food, clothing, etc., emergency shelter, energy/utility assistance, family counseling, financial assistance, health care/insurance, HIV/AIDS testing, homelessness, housing or rent assistance, job training, legal assistance, mentoring opportunities, parenting education programs, problem gambling, senior services/elder care, substance abuse programs, suicide prevention, transportation assistance, veterans services, and volunteer opportunities.

So dial 2-1-1 on your phone or click here and start getting the information you need to help create a better tomorrow!

Update on Bubble Show for Kids

WOW! We have received an overwhelming response to Keith Michael Johnson's "The Secret World of Bubbles" show!!! Currently we are SOLD OUT!

But don't give up hope yet! MPL invites all ticket-less parents to call us on Tuesday and ask to be placed on a waiting list. (It's not unusual for previously requested tickets to be returned, so why not call and find out?)

For more information please contact Children's Librarian Barbara Camadeco at 846-1573.

February Vacation: Bubble Show for Kids!

The amazing Keith Michael Johnson is coming to our library! He'll be bringing his exciting show "The Secret World of Bubbles" to the Middletown Public Library on Wednesday, February 18th at 11am.

The show features bubble sculptures as big as bathtubs, bubbles that dance toward the ceiling, bubbles that act as boomerangs, and bubbles that create amazing tunnels around young volunteers. Want a sneak peek at the fun? Check out Mr. Johnson's wonderful and informative website.
Click here!

Mr. Johnson is trained as a clown and mine, and uses his theatrical talents to explain scientific principles such as matter, force, and pressure. He's also performed on Discovery TV as well as at schools, libraries and festivals throughout New England. The show is geared towards children in grades K-5.

Tickets are free, but get them NOW! Our last event SOLD OUT and we don't want you to miss this wonderful show! Please call 846-1573 to reserve your free tickets today!

COMING SOON! (On Order Now!)

P.S. I Loathe You: A Clique Novel by Lisi Harrison

Are you a big fan of the Gossip Girl series and looking for something new? Why not try the Clique novels. The Clique novels are a series of books that follow the adventures of Massie, Alicia, Dylan, Kristen and Claire as they try to navigate/dominate themselves through their trendy high school. This group makes the antic of Blair, Serena and Chuck look like child's play. You've been warned!

Product Description
Massie Block: When the Pretty Committee deems its boy-fast null and void, boy fever sweeps through BOCD. What better way to backhandspring into new crush Dempsey's heart-and make old crush Derrington jealous-than cheer for him on the soccer field? And just like that, Massie forms BOCD's first-ever cheerleading squad. But will Massie still have something to cheer about when Dempsey starts spending ah lot of time with LBR Layne Abeley? Give me an "E" for Ehmagawd!

Kristen Gregory: With Massie and her SBFF (secret best friend forever) Layne vying for the same boy, Kristen has to make a choice: A) the Pretty Committee, or B) the Witty Committee. And if she doesn't choose fast, she'll end up C) Committeeless.

Dylan Marvil: Is hiding something, and it's not just those peanut butter Luna bars stashed under her mattress. She's got a secret crush on Derrington-and it's no secret that he likes burpilicious redheads. . . .

Alicia Rivera: Prefers pliés to pom-poms, especially when Massie orders her to the bottom of the cheer-pyramid. Can Alicia accept her beta status, or is it time to become alpha of her own squad?

Claire Lyons: Now that she's back with Cam, Claire finally has her love life in order. But her friends are trading crushes like styling tips. Will the Pretty Committee survive the boy-swap intact, or is the Clique about to come apart at the seams?