Great speeches

You can both read and listen to the best American political rhetoric of the 20th Century at American Rhetoric's Top 100 Speeches. The site contains "an index to and substantial database of full text transcriptions of the 100 most significant American political speeches of the 20th century, according to a list compiled by Professors Stephen E. Lucas and Martin J. Medhurst. 137 leading scholars of American public address were asked to recommend speeches on the basis of social and political impact, and rhetorical artistry." Worth a read and a listen!

New at the library

Did Marco Polo really reach China? Explorers Denis Belliveau and Francis O'Donnell set out to answer that question by retracing Polo's steps. The resulting book, In the Footsteps of Marco Polo, is a "richly illustrated companion volume to the public television film [that] chronicles the remarkable two-year expedition of explorers Denis Belliveau and Francis O'Donnell as they sought the answer to this controversial 700-year-old question. With Polo's book, The Travels of Marco Polo, as their guide, they journeyed over 25,000 miles becoming the first to retrace his entire path by land and sea without resorting to helicopters or airplanes." Check it out!

Author Dianne Gray to visit library

Speaking at the library Saturday, Feb. 28 at 10am as part of the Friends of the Library's Hot Reads program will be writer Dianne Gray. She is the author of Tomorrow the River, 2007 winner of the Minnesota Book Award for Children's Literature. Refreshments and prizes will be served!

New CDs

Among the latest music CDs to arrive at the library are:

Songs of Joy and Peace by Yo-Yo Ma




Fearless by Taylor Swift





A Little Bit Longer by The Jonas Brothers






Modern Guilt by Beck



One Kind Favor by B.B. King

Recovery.gov

The recent passage of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (aka the stimulus bill) will soon lead to the disbursement of huge amounts of money. The federal government has launched a website - Recovery.gov - to enable taxpayers to see just where the money is going. According to information on the site, "[v]ery soon, the different agencies -- such as the Departments of Education; Health and Human Services; and Energy -- will decide who will receive award grants and contracts. Sometimes the money will go to a state government; other times, the funds will go directly to a school, hospital, contractor, or other organization. Agencies will then deliver that information to the Recovery.gov team. We will subsequently make the information available on Recovery.gov, and you will be able to track where the money is going. You'll be able to search by state or even by Congressional district; you'll be able to look up names of Federal contractors or other recipients of Federal dollars; and you'll be able to send in comments, thoughts, ideas, questions, and any responses you have to what you find."

Beach party!

Join our children's librarian Pat this Saturday at 9:00 am for a Beach Party! There will be stories, songs, rhymes and a take home craft! There's nothing gnarly about it - strictly primo and you don't have to worry about getting a sand facial or a Neptune cocktail (translation help found here). The party is intended for preschool through 1st graders, but older brothers and sisters are welcome. It's free and no registration is required. You can even come in your beach clothes if you want to!

Finding work

If you want help finding work, the library is a great place to start. We have the tools you'll need: Internet access, word processing software and printers, materials on job hunting and resume preparation, materials on improving your skills, and more. A good place to start is our web page on employment. We're here to help - give us a try!

New DVDs

Newly arrived at the library:

Why Shakespeare? (documentary in which various famous actors explain what Shakespeare has meant to them)

Hancock (rotten Tomatoes rating 39%)






I Am Legend (rotten Tomatoes rating 69%)




Muse of Fire (documentary on the writings of soldiers of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars)

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (rotten Tomatoes rating 76%)

"Setting out for the university in Arkhangelsk to investigate the authenticity of a recently discovered ancient artifact, researcher Daniel St. Clair and his frosty colleague, Em Hayward, go missing in the wake of a series of otherworldly mishaps, a situation that prompts Daniel's lost love, Rosa, to set out to rescue him." Award winning Australian author Kim Wilkins "blends dark urban fantasy with adventure/intrigue in a story that combines Russian myth and modern sensibilities" in her new work The Veil of Gold. Publishers Weekly says "[a]dult fairy tales don't come any better than this." Check it out!

India

A trip to India seems a wonderful idea during a Minnesota February - but for those who can't afford it, the next best thing just might be the gorgeous new coffee table book India, from DK Publishing. Wonderful for students, armchair travelers and those looking to learn more about the world's largest democracy!

What President Obama is reading

Our new President is, by all accounts, quite a reader. Interested in what he's reading (and has read) as well as his favorite books? Check out the Reader's Advisor for the answers!

The most popular author you've never heard of

According to an analysis published at Bookseller.com, the third most popular author internationally in 2008 was Swedish writer Stieg Larsson. Though he died in 2004 shortly after delivering the manuscripts for his Millenium trilogy, all three of the books have become international bestsellers. Now the first book in the trilogy, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, is available in the United States. The Washington Post said the book "has been a huge bestseller in Europe and will be one here if readers are looking for an intelligent, ingeniously plotted, utterly engrossing thriller that is variously a serial-killer saga, a search for a missing person and an informed glimpse into the worlds of journalism and business." Check it out!

Join our children's librarian Laura this Saturday at 9:00 am for a Home on the Range Party - all cowboys and cowgirls are invited! There will be stories, songs, rhymes and a take home craft! The party is intended for preschool through 1st graders, but older brothers and sisters are welcome. It's free and no registration is required!