MAGAZINE SUBSCRIPTION DRIVE IN FULL SWING

Earlier this summer, we alerted our wonderful patrons that due to budget cuts our magazine subscriptions were not being renewed. We asked your help and you have reponded well beyond our expectations. As of September 1, we have new subs for Consumer Reports, Consumer Reports On Health, Sports Illustrated for Kids, Discover for Kids, The Nation, ESPN and National Geographic, Atlantic Monthly and Sports Illustrated, among others. Other patrons are passing along current issues of their magazines once read. In this way, we have, with only slight delay, such magazines as Glamour, Harpers, Newsweek, Kiplingers and Bon Appetit to mention only a few.

Of course, there is always room for more magazine subs or pass-alongs for such titles as the New Yorker, Family Circle, Ebony, Rolling Stone or GQ, among others. One patron would love to read either the Sunday Washington Post or Weekend New York Times. Both are expensive but if a few patrons decided to pool their resources, we could offers these patrons a day or so at home alone with the paper, to be kept in the archives for months thereafter at the library. If that sounds inviting to anyone, please contact Jo Tavener at 412-731-2300 or at swissvalelibrary@gmail.com.

So,a bushful of thanks to our wonderful patrons! See you all at the Book & Bake Sale October 21-24. Pam and Donna's knitted wonders will also be on display! Look for a future blog for more details or come to the library! Volunteers welcome.

New Additions to Our Collection on Display

About 4 times a year, the Post Gazette provides the libraries of Allegheny County with review copies sent the Gazette on a regular basis. Last Friday we picked out 75 books from the latest selection. Our non- fiction pickings range from books on Art and Politics to Dog Whispering and Adolescent Boys, and onto a romp through the 1960s with Mad Men. One of my all-time favorites is Places for the Spirit, a book of traditional African American Gardens that testifies to the inventiveness, whimsy and imagination of folks with very few resources at their finger tips. We also have a host of new fiction by first time as well as renown authors. A few memoirs, action thrillers and historical writings – Gilded Youth: Three Lives in France’s Belle Epoque is my choice – complete the list. They are on display for the rest of September so come in and try on one for size!

FUNNY STORIES AROUND THE LIBRARY

Miss Bonnie has a host of funny stories about the kids of the children's Program. Here's one of them. There is another doorway in the Children's Room. In front of it stands a small bookcase. One day when Bonnie was reading to the Preschoolers, a little boy noticed the door. Looking from the door that leads to the hallway and then back to this other door, so mysteriously blocked by a bookcase, he asked if a monster lived in there and that was why no one could go inside. Miss Bonnie was sorely tempted but instead, gave the child a comforting answer.

One day a boy about 8 years old asked Miss Bonnie for a magic book. She brought out one after the other; none suited the child. He said, "I mean a real magic book. I want to make my brother disappear." Miss Bonnie told the child to picture his brother and close his eyes. "Now picture someone you really like alot." The child did so and puff went his brother. "Now whenever you want to, you can use your own magic to get rid of him," Miss Bonnie said. The child could be seen shutting his eyes real tight whenever his brother came into view.

PLEASE USE THE COMMENT BOX TO TELL OTHER FUNNY OR ODD OR ABSURD STORIES OF WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO YOU, YOUR FRIENDS OR YOU CHILDREN. LET'S LAUGH TOGETHER!

ANOTHER BAKE AND BOOK SALE BY THE FRIENDS OF SWISSVALE LIBRARY

It's offical. The next Bake and Book Sale will be held Thursday, April 15, 4-8 p.m.; Friday, April 15, 10-4 p.m.; Saturday, April 17, 9-Noon; $2.00 Bag Sale Saturday Noon-2 p.m. Our last BakE and book Sale was held around Christmas time. The Library became a happy whirl of activity. Bakers baked night and day while knitters knitted till their fingers were worn. Then, everyone came together for three days of fun and hard work. So ably led by Sharon Ramsey, President of The Friends, enough funds were raised to sponsor this summer's reading program, created and led by Miss Bonnie, the Children's Librarian.

What would we do without The Friends. They have bought funiture for the library, especially for the Young Adult Area where so many adults find a quiet space to plug in their computers and spend the day online. Two new rugs were also bought to replace threadbare carpets as well as books, DVDs, and a staff refrigerator!

This past Christmas saw fierce competition between the bakers with Sharon taking the lead. "Size matters," she said, "along with chocolate, nuts and fruit fillings." The cookie that had the hardest time was the Ginger Man. All agreed that though they were delicious, folks just didn't like to eat men made of ginger. "Next time we'll make them out of money," Ginny said. And kudos to a friendly patron who donated $5.00to give cookies to the kids who lurk around the computers day after day.

The Friends of the Library wanted to give Swissvale Library the gift of a cat like Dewey, the Library Cat of Minnesota. However, they were afraid of the director. Bruce Egli, who loves cats so much he hangs the following sign in his office, "Cats, not enough recipes!"

WIZZARD TOURNAMENT

The Wizard Tournament begins tonight and continues on for 4 more Saturdays in January (Jan. 2, 9, 16,23 & 30). They begin at 7 pm and last for about two hours. WIZARD is a card game -- easy to learn, but challenging to play -- suitable for ages 10 on up to adults. The first 18 people who show up each Saturday evening can play. No registration necessary in advance. Come when you please. Everyone recieves a small prize when you come but the person with the highest cumulative score for the 5 weeks wins a gift card to Applebee's. Refreshments will be provided.

AND PLEASE, if you have comments to share or stories to tell about the tournament evening, please tell us all in the comment box located at the bottom of the WIZZARD posting!

WOMEN'S HEALTH CENTER

Introducing our Women's Health Corner, located by the new acquisitions, both fiction and non-fiction to the left as you enter the Library. The Women's Health Center features the latest information on women's health. Health databases usually fall into one of two categories: either they provide medical advice from the professional point of view or medical advice from a popular consumer point of view. n Those these data bases are very helpful, they are often difficult to navigate or set with the context of profitability. There are, however, a number of newsletters from highly rated medical schools, like Harvard and Duke, that put out the most cutting-edge information based on the needs and common concerns of women. They try to span the divide between doctors and patients, anticipate questions we all would ask the doctor if we had thought of it in time and provide a forum for feedback. We think you will find the information the most current, the most informative and the most easy to comprehend. If you know of a women's health newsletter that you think we should add to the collection, please leave a note here on the blog or contact Jo Tavener at the library.