On Valentine's Day -- Sunday, February 14, 2010, 4:00-9:00 p.m. -- Dublin Square Irish Pub will donate 10% of their profits to the East Lansing Library.

Join us -- treat your own sweetheart to a bite and a brew and help the library at the same time.  We're looking forward to seeing you there!

Dublin Square Irish Pub is located at 327 Abbot Road in East Lansing. 

Booklist is where librarians go to read reviews.  Booklist has announced their Editor's Choices selections for the best books of 2009.  You're sure to find the very best reading on these lists.  Check them out!

Booklist Editors' Choices 2009

The Michigan Notable Books for 2010 were recently announced by the Library of Michigan.

Up to twenty of the most notable books, either written by a Michigan resident or about Michigan or the Great Lakes, are selected each year. The selected books are honored in the year after their publication or copyright date.   Each title speaks to our state's rich cultural, historical, and literary heritage and proves without a doubt that some of the greatest stories are found in the Great Lakes State.

Michigan is rich in good writers and the Library of Michigan is proud to honor and celebrate this wonderful literary heritage each year with a "Night for Notables" event and with the annual grant-funded authors' tour to libraries throughout the state (to be announced later).

National Cyber Security Alliance
Federal Trade Commission
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Whether it's Simone Weil or Simone de Beauvoir...    Whether it's John Mayer or John Tyler...   Whether it's Marilyn Monroe or Marilyn Manson...

Biographical information is at your fingertips for over 380,000 people--from throughout history, around the world, and across all disciplines and subject areas--in the Biography Resource Center. 

Whatever the depth of knowledge you need, it's here.  Brief summary biographies give you "just the facts, ma'am."   In-depth biographies provide overviews of the person's life and
 

This year's One Book, One Community focuses on "The Soloist," a New York Times best seller, written by Steve Lopez, award-winning journalist and Los Angeles columnist.  The book was also made into a recently released, feature film starring Jamie Foxx and Robert Downey, Jr.

"The Soloist" is the true story of Los Angeles Times columnist Steve Lopez's fascination with Nathaniel Anthony Ayers, a Julliard trained musician who is homeless and playing Beethoven on a two-string violin in a noisy traffic tunnel.

Did you know ... East Lansing has been a "Tree City USA" community for 22 years?  The natural beauty of our city is evident every day ... and this month the library focuses on our green bounty with a display dedicated to all things "trees."  Come and enjoy!

While August is a great month to delight in the wonder of trees, it's also National Back to School Month!  Start the annual ritual with a trip to the library.  Browse the back-to-school display for plenty of fun and chockful-of-info books (and more) for kids, parents, ... and even teachers! 

Did you know there's an auto mechanic 'on duty' 24/7 at the library?

Whether you're fixing up your first car, keeping the family chariot running smoothly, or renovating a classic, ELPL has the ChiltonLibrary.com auto repair database that can help get you rolling!

The Chilton Car Care manuals in print have a decades-long reputation for being the reliable and trusted resource for complete and detailed automotive information.  Now, the online Chilton database puts the same trustworthy information at your fingertips. 

To access ChiltonLibrary.com, click on the Research tab at the top of the page, then choose ChiltonLibrary.com from the alphabetical list of databases.  You will need to enter your library card number.

Lazy days are here at last!

Come browse our displays for backyard, lakeside, and beach reading ideas.  One display features vacation reading and listening ideas for all ages.  Another display features "Debut Fiction," first books by new authors who have drawn critical attention.  And, of course, our on-going Summer Reading Club display beckons you to grab a list of suggested readings and enter the weekly drawings for wonderful prizes. 

Lemonade in hand, hammock at ready ... feed your passion for the Great American Pastime during these long summer afternoons by delving into one of these recent baseball biographies.

The Rocket That Fell to Earth: Roger Clemens and the rage for baseball immortality, by Jeff Pearlman.  Clemens is fierce and hard-nosed, one of baseball's best pitchers, but deeply flawed.  The Boston Globe says this book "develops a stark, unsparing picture of Clemens's life that surpasses anything that's come before."

Satchel: the life and times of an American legend, by Larry Tye.  Leroy "Satchel" Paige could have been the star to break baseball's color line but Jackie Robinson got the first crack.  It's taken this long, says Publishers Weekly, to get the definitive biography of this black showman-athlete, one of the finest pitchers ever, who finally was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1971.

A-Rod: the many lives of Alex Rodriquez, by Selena Roberts.  Roberts captures one of baseball's greatest players as a tragic figure in pinstripes: the man once considered the clean exception of the steroid generation is revealed as an unmistakable product of its greed and dissolution.

Straw: finding my way, by Darryl Strawberry.  Strawberry was dubbed "The Black Ted Williams," but he faced many personal challenges, including drug use, tax evasion, solicitation, and allegations of domestic violence. Strawberry tells his own story of finding redemption.

Yogi Berra: eternal Yankee, by Allen Barra.  "One of America’s most insightful and precise sports writers artfully separates the myth from the reality of the iconic Yogi," in this gripping biography of the legendary Hall-of-Famer and one of the most quotable figures in American culture. (David Maraniss).  "One of the best baseball books of the year," says Library Journal.

Reading List

Summer's here and what better time to think about the health of you and your family?  The Health and Wellness Resource Center database is your one-stop source for quality information.

Find out how to deal with summer's sunburn, mosquito bites, and heat dehydration.  Look up a specific drug and the symptoms it treats.  Or search by symptom and find out what drugs treat those symptoms.  Find a medical term confusing?  Look it up in the dictionary section.  Then stay up to date on health and medical issues in "Topics in the News." 

The Health and Wellness Resource Center is available in the alphabetical list of databases under the Research tab at the top of the page.

For guidelines on evaluating any health information on the internet, check out MedlinePlus: Evaluating Health Information.

Ah, June!  Summer's just around the corner.  Time to explore food, music, books, festivals, and more.  Displays in the library during June will get you in the mood ... we're featuring jazz, astronomy, audiobooks, and summer reading.

East Lansing's Summer Solstice Jazz Festival is June 19-20.  Check out the festival's website for all the fine vibes (and even how to volunteer).  Check out the library display for books, recordings, and more to keep the groove goin'.

When you hit the road this summer to discover more festival fun, take along a book-on-cd or a Playaway (a pre-loaded digital audio book player) to make the miles go easier.  June is Audio Book Month and the library's selection is amazing.  Fiction, mysteries, sci fi, history, classics, humor, and more!  Jodi Picoult, Michael Connelly, Elmore Leonard, David Sedaris, Barack Obama, and more!  Come check out our display for choice selections.

The whole year of 2009 is the International Year of Astronomy ... and what better month than June to read about the stars and do some stargazing yourself.  So, come in, check out the display, and keep on lookin' up!