Complete your TicTacToe for prizes!

Have you been looking for a good non-fiction book to read to complete your form for Adult Summer Reading? If you like animals you'll probably enjoy Ever By My Side by Dr. Nick Trout. Think of vet Nick Trout as an updated, urban James Herriot. His first book, Tell Me Where It Hurts, takes you to Angell Animal Medical Center in Boston where he is a staff surgeon while this latest book is memoir about his growing up with animals. Both are filled with the joys and tribulations of owning pets and how pets make our lives richer. I listened to the books on CD (yes, they count on your forms) while traveling and truly enjoyed the behind the scenes look at veterinary medicine and how relationships with animals shape our lives.

Remember your TicTacToe entry forms for Adult Summer Reading are due by Monday, August 15. There are lots of great prizes this year and you can enter multiple times - every time you read three more books to complete a new form. Just drop the form off at the main desk at Socastee Library!
~Sharon

One World, Many Stories

Registration for our 2011 Summer Reading Program begins Thursday, June 2! Come by the library on or after June 2 to pick up a packet and register kids for the Program. More information about the Program:

Children Ages 5-11
Events Thursdays at 1:30PM - advance tickets required!

June 9 - Kickoff with Magician Tim Sonefelt
June 16 - Zelnick the Magician
June 23 - Bruce Weaver Puppets
June 30 - Sharks, Tails & Teeth with Ripley's Aquarium
July 7 - Horry County Fire Department
July 7 - Last day to turn in completed Reading Logs & get tickets for Awards Day
July 14 - Awards Day for children who turned in a completed Reading Log by July 7.

Reading Log for ages 5-11: Record and add up time spent reading. When you reach 10 hours or more, turn in your log by July 7 to receive a reading medal.


Children Ages 3 & 4
Events Tuesdays at 11:00AM

June 7 - Bird stories with Red Robin
June 14 - Cow stories with the Chick-fil-a cow
June 21 - Bat stories with Celebrations Theatre
June 28 - Police stories with Sgt. Kegler
July 5 - Bear stories with Ms. Kim & Ms. Ameka
July 5 - Last day to turn in completed Reading Logs & get tickets for Awards Day
July 12 - Library stories with Ms. Darby and Ms. Ameka; Awards Day

Reading Log for ages 0-4: Read or listen to stories. Parents may list titles and record time reading. When you reach 10 hours or more, turn in your log by July 5 to receive a reading certificate.


Teens Ages 12-17
Read for at least 10 hours and complete three book reports of one page each. Turn them in by Thursday, July 14 to get tickets to the Awards Day party on Thursday, July 21 at 1:30PM. Everyone who turns in the completed Reading Log and 3 book reports will receive a certificate and medal.

Other notes: for all ages, please print your name clearly in the reading logs and book reports, so that we know what to put on your certificate.

Also, due to overcrowding and safety concerns, all programs at 1:30 on Thursdays are ticketed events. Parents and caregivers may pick up tickets to the following week's program after they drop off their child at the program. Due to overcrowding, no strollers are permitted in the meeting room or hallway during the program.

Have questions? Call or email us as listed at the top of the page. Hope to see you in the library soon!

Going Somewhere?

Just in time for summer, we have some new books about travel and vacations. Try some of these books and who knows where you'll end up? Click the links below to see a title in our catalog:

• All aboard: the complete Noth American train travel guide -- Why take a train? Read this book to find out (and to find out how).




• The 100 best affordable vacations -- This book eschews traditional vacation hot spots in favor of interesting, out-of-the-way destinations. Sleep in a tree house in Oregon, hear cowboy poetry in Nevada, or learn to make jewelry in North Carolina.




• Finally, if, like me, you're not going anywhere this year, take a look at these travel books. Fodor's Amsterdam & the Netherlands, Lonely Planet's Discover New York City, and DK's Hawaii and Washington, D.C. feature beautiful full-color photographs on every page. Almost as good as being there!

-Alan

New Book Friday

Bossypants by Tina Fey -- Amazon calls this book "short, messy, and impossibly funny." It's part memoir, part comedy routine, and laugh-out-loud funny throughout. Visit the catalog to request a copy!

-Alan

Privacy in the news

It seems like a new story about privacy violations appears every day. We've found out that:

• Apple iPhones and iPads constantly track your location -- and then store the information on your device in a file anyone can easily open. (And it's not just Apple devices.)




• The information you post on Facebook is stored indefinitely and sold to advertisers. (Note: this article is from last year, but Facebook's privacy issues remain.)




• Even if you don't use Facebook or an iPhone, your personal information can become less than personal even after shopping at the grocery store.

Your information is out there in some quantity whether you like it or not. But the good news is that you have the ability to take charge of your own privacy. Visit privacyrevolution.org for more details.

And be sure to join us next Tuesday, May 3, at 6:00pm for a presentation on privacy today. It's necessary information if you use a computer, have a phone, work at a job, or have a bank account!
-Alan

New art exhibit by Peggy Thibodeau

We're pleased to present a new art exhibit by local artist Peggy Thibodeau in the non-fiction and periodicals area of the library. Peggy, also known as "the Sidewalk Chalk Prophet," has one artist's statement: "Oh, just whatever pleases!"

For more information about Peggy, visit http://www.peggyart.com/. For pictures of the exhibit (and of past exhibits), visit our www.facebook.com/socasteelibrary or www.flickr.com/socasteelibrary.

National Library Week-For the Mind, Body, & Soul

If you have stopped into any of our libraries over the past few days or have been visiting our blog, Facebook, or Twitter accounts, you know that we have been celebrating National Library Week. However, we are also celebrating another important event, National Volunteer Appreciation Week. It is during this special week that we get the opportunity to formally recognize the efforts provided by our volunteers in serving the library, its patrons and staff, and the Socastee community.

I'm sure you have heard that libraries have the power to transform. But, did you ever stop to think how volunteerism can transform the individual? Community service can be a beneficial and enriching experience in which one is able to pursue personal growth. Harriet Naylor once said that "...volunteering can be an exciting, growing, enjoyable experience. It is truly gratifying to serve a cause, practice one's ideals, work with people, solve problems, see benefits, and know one had a hand in them." Our many volunteers come from all walks of life; men and women, teenagers and adults, from lands abroad and native folks. Yet they are drawn to Socastee Library for one reason-to serve! From April 2010 to the present, our volunteers performed almost 5,000 hours of service carrying out such tasks as shelving, collating handouts, registering children for the Summer Reading Program, advocating on the library's behalf, shelf-reading, mending books, weeding the library gardens, and assisting in the Friends Gift Shop.

We extend genuine and heartfelt gratitude for all of our volunteers' efforts and dedication in helping create a true community library. Volunteers are truly an invaluable resource!

As we draw to the close of National Library Week and National Volunteer Appreciation Week, please keep in mind that "today's libraries can help you discover a new and exciting world," filled with great opportunities for the mind, body, and soul. To get you jump started, be sure to check out The 100 Best Vacations to Enrich Your Life and The 100 Best Worldwide Vacations to Enrich Your Life, both by Pam Grout. These handy guidebooks provide succinct descriptions about exciting "volunteer vacations" as well as resources for additional information.

"We've GOT to make noise in greater amounts! So, open your mouth, lad! For every voice counts!" ~Dr. Seuss's Horton Hears a Who

-Kim