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 The Cobb County Public Library System (CCPLS) is honoring the contributions and lasting legacies of African Americans throughout history with several events during January and February. All events are free and open to the public.
The highlight of the library system’s celebration will be the second-annual African American History Month Gala on Saturday, February 11 at 2 pm at the Central Library. This informal event will feature performances by the Zion Liturgical Dancers, the AL Burruss Unity Drummers, the South Cobb High School Steppers, saxophonist Ravan Durr, and special readings by Mrs. Deane Bonner. This event is appropriate for all ages. For more information, please call Thelma Glover, event coordinator and Associate Director, at (770) 528-2335. The Central Library is located at 266 Roswell Street in downtown Marietta.
Other events for adults include the following:
January 31: African American Genealogy Presentation. 6:30 pm, Central Library (266 Roswell Street, Marietta). Carolyn Crawford, head of the CCPLS’ Georgia Room, will highlight specific tools for researching genealogy, including online databases and local resources. For more information, please call (770) 528-2333.
February 2: Author Visit: Shelia P. Moses. 3:30 pm, Vinings Library (4290 Paces Ferry Road, Atlanta). Ms. Moses will discuss her background and how she researched and wrote several of her historical fiction novels for young readers. She will also take questions from the audience and do a book-signing. Books will be for sale through the Friends of the Library, which is also sponsoring the event. For more information, please call (770) 801-5330.
February 6: Film Screening: The Help. 5:30 pm, Central Library (266 Roswell Street, Marietta). PG-13, 146 minutes. An aspiring author during the civil rights movement of the 1960s decides to write a book detailing the African-American maid’s point of view on the white families for which they work, and the hardships they go through on a daily basis. Film based on the book. Part of our Monday evening film series; future movies have also been scheduled on February 13, 20, and 27. For a full title list, please visit http://www.cobbcat.org/african-american-history-month.
February 13: Author Visit: Alisha Thomas Morgan. 5:45 pm, Stratton Library (1100 Powder Springs Road, Marietta). Join us for a discussion of “No Apologies: Powerful Lessons in Life, Love, and Politics,” with author and State House Representative Alisha Thomas Morgan. For more information, please call (770) 528-2522.
Events specifically for children and families have also been planned and include:
February 3: African American History Month Story Time. 3:30 pm, South Cobb Regional Library (805 Clay Road, Mableton). Join us for stories, songs, and fun. For more information, please call (678) 398-5834.
February 4: Family Craft Program. 11 am, West Cobb Regional Library (1750 Dennis Kemp Lane, Kennesaw). Drop in for a fun craft; this week’s theme is African masks. On February 20 we’ll make Underground Railroad Quilt Squares. For more information, please call (770) 528-4699.
Begins February 4: Film Festival. 3:30 pm, West Cobb Regional Library (1750 Dennis Kemp Lane, Kennesaw). Each Saturday at 3:30 pm in February we’ll screen a different family-oriented movie. Bring your snack! Movie titles include: Daddy Day Care (2/4); Akeelah and the Bee (2/11); Michael Jackson’s This Is It (2/18); and The Princess and the Frog (2/25). For more information, please call (770) 528-4699.
February 22 and 29: Special Programs. 4:15 pm, East Cobb Library (4880 Lower Roswell Road, Marietta). We’ll have a special story time on February 22 and a series of short films on February 29 related to African American history. For more information, please call (770) 509-2730.
February 29: African American History Month Bingo. 3:30 pm, West Cobb Regional Library (1750 Dennis Kemp Lane, Kennesaw). School age children are invited to play games and win small prizes. For more information please call (770) 528-4699.
More information about these events can be found by visiting http://www.cobbcat.org/african-american-history-month or by calling Patty Latch, program coordinator, at (770) 528-2342.
Hi Kids! It’s me, Willard the Whistlepig! Did you know that February 2nd is Groundhog Day? Groundhog is another word for whistlepig. My family of groundhogs is getting ready to celebrate. Look at the picture of me and my sister Gertie with all of our cousins and my mom and dad. There are 11 kids in the family! Can you count all the little groundhogs in the picture? And here are some books to help you celebrate Groundhog Day. You can find them at your local Cobb County Library. Have fun reading!
Your Friend,
Willard
Brownie Groundhog and the February Fox by Susan Blackaby (2011)
Happy Groundhog Day! But when Brownie steps outside, there’s not even the slightest sign of spring-just her shadow, a frosty field, and a hungry fox who wants to munch her for lunch. Determined not to become a meal, Brownie finds a clever and tasty way to melt the ice and turn Fox into a friend…and make the wait for winter’s end a little warmer.
Substitute Groundhog by Pat Miller (2006)
It’s almost Groundhog Day! Everyone knows that Groundhog has an important job to do every February 2, but this year he’s not feeling well. Dr. Owl diagnoses him with the flu and orders two days of bed rest. But how will people know the weather forecast if Groundhog is down in his hole in bed?Then Groundhog has in idea’he can hire a substitute! Maybe Squirrel can be the substitute, or Eagle, or Bear. But at the subtitute auditions, Groundhog realizes that none of his friends is quite right for the job. Will he be able to find a substitute or will Groundhog Day be cancelled this year?
If you’re interested in learning more about Lunar New Year, visit the Cobb County Public Library System! We have books available for checkout and events scheduled in honor of this holiday, which is celebrated around the world.
A couple of books that you may enjoy include:
Bringing in the New Year by Grace Lin
 This exuberant story follows a Chinese American family as they prepare for the Lunar New Year. Each member of the family lends a hand as they sweep out the dust of the old year, hang decorations, and make dumplings. Then it’s time to put on new clothes and celebrate with family and friends. There will be fireworks and lion dancers, shining lanterns, and a great, long dragon parade to help bring in the Lunar New Year. And the dragon parade in our book is extra long–on a surprise fold-out page at the end of the story. Grace Lin’s artwork is a bright and gloriously patterned celebration in itself! And her story is tailor-made for reading aloud. - publisher summary
My First Chinese New Year by Karen Katz
 Chinese New Year is a time of new beginnings. Follow one little girl as she learns how to welcome the coming year and experience all the festivities surrounding it. This warm and lively introduction to a special holiday will make even the youngest child want to start a Chinese New Year tradition! – publisher summary
Join us for story times, special presentations, films, and more at our libraries. For more information and a full list of activities about Lunar New Year, please visit our Multicultural webpage. »
Last week we asked readers on Facebook and Twitter to tell us the best book they read in 2011. We promised we’d compile the list, and here it is. Is your favorite on here? Did we miss an important one? Let us know in the comments!
Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys
Un Lun Dun by China Mieville
11/22/63 by Stephen King
Replay by Ken Grimwood
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
Ready Player One by Ernest Cline
How the Dead Dream by Lydia Millet
Going Home by Jon Katz
Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
Swamplandia by Karen Russell
Embassytown by China Mieville
A wise man’s fear by Patrick Rothfuss
Beauty Queens by Libba Bray
The bride did what?! : etiquette for the wedding impaired by Martha A. Woodham
Explosive Eighteen by Janet Evanovich
Vertical Vegetables and Fruit: Creative Gardening Techniques for Growing Up in Small Spaces by Rhonda Massingham
Contribute to the discussion online! You can find it on Facebook or Twitter – just tweet using #cobbreads.
 When a book is turned into a movie, the question is always asked: which one is better? With the movie version of Jonathan Safran Foer’s book Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close being released later this month, we’ll have another opportunity to answer that question.
If you haven’t read EL&IC, here’s a summary, courtesy of the publisher:
Jonathan Safran Foer emerged as one of the most original writers of his generation with his best-selling debut novel, Everything Is Illuminated. Now, with humor, tenderness, and awe, he confronts the traumas of our recent history. What he discovers is solace in that most human quality, imagination.
Meet Oskar Schell, an inventor, Francophile, tambourine player, Shakespearean actor, jeweler, pacifist, correspondent with Stephen Hawking and Ringo Starr. He is nine years old. And he is on an urgent, secret search through the five boroughs of New York. His mission is to find the lock that fits a mysterious key belonging to his father, who died in the World Trade Center on 9/11.
 An inspired innocent, Oskar is alternately endearing, exasperating, and hilarious as he careens from Central Park to Coney Island to Harlem on his search. Along the way he is always dreaming up inventions to keep those he loves safe from harm. What about a birdseed shirt to let you fly away? What if you could actually hear everyone’s heartbeat? His goal is hopeful, but the past speaks a loud warning in stories of those who’ve lost loved ones before. As Oskar roams New York, he encounters a motley assortment of humanity who are all survivors in their own way. He befriends a 103-year-old war reporter, a tour guide who never leaves the Empire State Building, and lovers enraptured or scorned. Ultimately, Oskar ends his journey where it began, at his father’s grave. But now he is accompanied by the silent stranger who has been renting the spare room of his grandmother’s apartment. They are there to dig up his father’s empty coffin.
The movie, starring Tom Hanks, Sandra Bullock, and Thomas Horn, is being released in select theaters in the US on January 20th. It’s already received critical acclaim. Are you planning on seeing it? You can find more information about the film at http://extremelyloudandincrediblyclose.warnerbros.com. Let us know what you think!
 Please join us at the Cobb County Public Library System as we celebrate the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. For more information on any of these activities, please visit our Multicultural page or call (770) 528-2342.
And be sure to check out a book on Dr. King! You can find some by clicking here, or you can ask one of our staff members for help. Please note that we will be closed on January 16 in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.
 MARIETTA, GA – The Cobb County Public Library System is launching an informative healthy-living campaign in 2012, called “Discover Your Health at the Library.” The goal of the campaign is to provide opportunities for Cobb County residents to learn how they can have a healthier lifestyle.
According to Cobb & Douglas Public Health, a higher percentage of Cobb residents reported being overweight and to binge drinking than other Georgia residents; Georgia also has a higher percentage of obese children than other states in the nation (source). “The health challenges facing Cobb County are mainly preventable, and we’d like to highlight the resources available to help residents make healthy choices in 2012,” said library director Helen Poyer. “Our ‘Discover Your Health at the Library’ campaign is designed to do that.”
The campaign has several components, including monthly presentations and integration of healthy living tips on the library’s social media networks. Organizations scheduled to present at the library system include Life University, the Junior League of Cobb-Marietta, Cobb Senior Services, and Cobb & Douglas Public Health. A full schedule of the presentations and more information about the campaign can be found at http://www.cobbcat.org/health.
MARIETTA, GA – The Cobb County Public Library System has launched a new tool to help the public find government resources online: its e-gov webpage, available at http://www.cobbcat.org/egov. This webpage lists local, state, and federal government resources, including information on financial assistance and benefits; legal, health, and education information; and answers to frequently asked questions. This e-government tool was created as part of a national grant from The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), which was awarded to the American Library Association (ALA) and the Center for Library and Information Innovation (CLII) of the University of Maryland’s iSchool.
Public libraries, including the Cobb County Public Library System, are experiencing an increased demand for e-government assistance. In 2004, the Pew Research Center reported that approximately 97 million adult Americans interacted with the federal government online in 2003 (source), and this number is expected to be much higher today. “As government agencies have continued to digitize forms and services, the Cobb County Public Library System has experienced a tremendous growth in the demand for assistance with e-government resources,” said Jonathan McKeown, Associate Director for Central and Outreach Services. “This portion of our website is designed to help the average citizen of Cobb County find the government services they’re looking for.”
Future plans for the e-government initiative include online and in-person training, helpful publications and checklists, and additions to the webpage. More information about these e-government resources can be found by visiting http://www.cobbcat.org/egov.
Movie fans, get your popcorn ready and warm up that projector! We’ve ordered some new DVDs. (Okay, some of them aren’t “new” new – just new to us.) Which one are you looking forward to watching?
Here’s a list for you of the ones we’ve recently ordered. Click on the title of the one you’d like to place on reserve to get more information. Need assistance? Have questions? Give us a call during regular library hours and one of our staff members will be happy to help.
Happy movie-watching!
Temple Grandin
Super 8
The Searchers
The Change-Up
The Debt
Friends With Benefits
The Help
Larry Crowne
Pirates of the Caribbean- On Stranger Tides
Sarah’s Key
The Guard
Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark
I Don’t Know How She Does It
Margin Call
The Tempest
30 Minutes or Less
Hangover II
More than a Game
Paper Clips
DVD cover images courtesy of Amazon.com.
 Did you get a new eReader for the holidays? You might be wondering what you can – and can’t do – with it. At the library, we have a whole collection of eBooks for you to browse and download; you can find information all about our digital collection on our Digital Downloads page.
These digital downloads work a lot like our regular books: you need a valid library card number and PIN to check them out; you can only check out so many at a time (5); and there aren’t an unlimited number of copies. (If the one you’re looking for is checked out, you can put yourself on the holds list.) More information can be found on our website.
If you’re new to downloading eBooks, don’t worry. A lot of folks need help downloading a book the first time or two, and that’s okay: we’ve linked over to a few different how-to guides on our Digital Downloads page, and we’ve also listed a few frequently asked questions on our FAQ page.
If you’re just getting started and need a basic instructional overview, there’s a great article from the folks at Wired that explains how library eBooks work. Find it by clicking here. »
And, don’t forget: you can find information about your specific device online. So whether you’ve got the new Kindle Fire, or maybe a new Nook Color, or even an iPad, there’s information out there for you about how to download eBooks. Sometimes reading about your device will help answer your eBook questions.
If these links haven’t helped, the friendly Cobb County Public Library System staff members will be back in action on Wednesday, December 28 to help you with all of your eBook needs. Give us a call or send us an email and let us know how we can help.
Update: Somehow I forgot to mention our classes! Our helpful staff members are offering a class on downloading eBooks at select locations. Check our schedule for dates, times, and locations. – jh
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