Join us this Sunday, September 27 from 2-3:30 pm for fun with LEGOS. Use our LEGOS to create a masterpiece for display in the library.

For ages 4 and up. FREE!

This program will be repeated on November 15 at the same time. 

Check out these books about LEGOS from ELPL:
Cool Cars and Trucks, by Sean Kinney.

Join us at Dublin Square Tuesday, October 13th at 6:30pm for our first session of Books on Tap.  Books on Tap is a new book group that combines good books, food, drink and conversation in a laid back atmosphere.  October 13th the group will be discussing When you are engulfed in flames by David Sedaris.  Not a beer drinker?  Come anyway - there'll be snacks & other beverages to choose from.

Books on Tap will also meet November 10th to discuss Zeitoun by Dave Eggers.

Check elpl.org or Goodreads.com or follow us on twitter for more updates.

Back by popular demand!  Hurry! Space is limited.

Join us for a special reading time with a trained therapy dog. Each session will last 10 minutes. Bring your own book or choose one at the library.

Ages 5 and up. 

The Help is Kathryn Stockett's New York Times bestselling debut, taking place in 1962 Mississippi where 22-year-old Skeeter has just graduated from college and returned home. She takes a job at the local newspaper writing an advice column for homemakers, but she knows she is cut out for more. Her mother, however, would just as soon Skeeter get married and settle down. Skeeter decides to write a book describing how the African American "help" are treated in her town by their white employers.

Fall StoryTime and BabyTime begin the week of September 14.

StoryTime is for children ages 2-5 and features stories, rhymes, puppets and a craft. Here are the days and times:

Tuesdays 10:30-11:15 am OR 6:30-7:15 pm
Thursdays, 1:30-2:15 pm
Fridays, 10:30-11:15 am

Please note: Parents/caregivers of 2-year-olds must remain in the story time room. All other adults must remain in the library. Will not meet on Oct. 15 or 30, or during Thanksgiving week. No registration required.

The 2009 Hugo Awards, science fiction's most prestigious award, were announced earlier this month. The big winner for best novel this year is Neil Gaiman's, The Graveyard Book, which is also the 2009 Newbery Award Winner.

For a list of all this year's winners visit www.hugoawards.org.

Here are some great web sites to help you find good books for your children.

Kidsreads.com
Part of The Book Report Network, a group of websites that share book reviews, compelling features, in-depth author profiles and interviews, excerpts of the hottest new releases, literary games and contests, and more with readers every week.

About.com: Children's Books
Lots of ads, but still good. You can sign up for Elizabeth Kennedy's (a journalist and educator) email newsletter.

Reading is Fundamental

Eric Cash is 35 years old, still living on the Lower East Side in New York City, still working in a restaurant, and he still hasn't made it big as a screenwriter. Not at all what he expected to be doing at this age. Then an evening out with a new young co-worker, Ike Marcus, turns to tragedy as Ike is gunned down in front of him. Author Richard Price explores the repercussions of this seemingly random shooting. The reader gets to know Detective Matty Clark; his partner, Yolanda; Ike's grief-stricken father Billy; the teenage shooter, Tristan; and more. The ending is not a shock, but the trip there is a fascinating one.

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.

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

Loup Garron is the daughter of a genetically engenered "wolf man" on the run from the government.  Born of a poor mother inside of a demilitarized zone, she is soon orphaned and her older brother is unable to take care of her.  All her life she must keep her super genetic body and power a secret, however, her friends in the orphanage find out, and together they create Santa Olivia, the super heroine fighting for the rights of the under-privileged.  And when her brother is killed in a boxing accident, she must find a way out.

Jacqueline Carey delivers a fantastic superhero novel.

Would you like a chance to win $1,500 toward your child's college education?  Then participate in the "Get Creative @ Saving for College" program offered through the East Lansing Public Library. 

Simply fill out an entry card and return it to the reference desk.  Six contest winners will be chosen from participating libraries throughout the state.

Entries must be postmarked by August 21, 2009 and contest winners will be announced by September 30.  Visit the reference desk for an entry card and visit www.misaves.com/library for more information.

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.