New Voting Machines
The Summit County Board of Elections will be demonstrating new voting machines Tuesday, April 25 from 3:30 to 8:30 p.m. and Saturday, April 29 from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. at Stow-Munroe Falls Public Library. Look for them at the Questions and Directions Desk in the lobby of the library.

Friends Annual Meeting
The Friends of the Stow-Munroe Falls Public Library will hold their annual meeting Tuesday, May 16 at 2:00 p.m. Damaris Peters Pike will be appearing as Dolores Hope, wife of American legend Bob Hope. Dolores, a successful singer in her own right, will sing songs from the first half of the twentieth centruy and chat informally about Bob's rise from vaudeville to Hollywood and his amazing contribution to the military.

Damaras Peters Pike has portrayed "Women of Note" in ten states and France, in such venues as Cleveland's Cain Park and New York's Chatauqua Institution. Each of these original, one-person dramas includes music from the life of the character as well as humor and inspiration.

Please call 330-688-3295 before May 12 to register for this special meeting. Refreshments will be served and officers elected and installed. All Friends' members and guests are welcome. Registration is limited.

BACK TO TOP

New titles are arriving daily at Stow-Munroe Falls Public Library. Some of the new titles this month are:

BACK TO TOP

Annual Needlework Show
The Best of Show and Judges' Choice awards in the 32nd annual Friends of the Stow-Munroe Falls Needlework Show were awarded to Stow resident Debbie Shives for her quilt (pictured at right).

Judges Choice awards also went to Blythe Keys of Sagamore Hills for her counted cross stitch on linen piece and to Richard Hardesty of Kent for his hand-woven rug. Popular Choice winners (a three-way tie of quilts) were Jeanne Neville (Monster quilt), Janice Kiser (yellow whole-cloth wallhanging), and Carol Archer (white quilt with blue and yellow stars). Winner of the fabric and needlework supplies from Thymbles in Smithville was Ann Brown.

To see more entries from the Needlework Show, click here.

BACK TO TOP

Forthcoming Books
Pick up a copy of the "Forthcoming Book Releases" flyer at the Circulation Desk. Listed are books by prominent authors which are scheduled for release in spring and summer of 2006. Stow-Munroe Falls Public Library will purchase the titles as soon as they are released.

Evening Book Discussions
The evening book discussion group with Amy Garrett meets the fourth Thursday of the month at 7:00 p.m. September through April.

Copies of the books will be available approximately four to five weeks before the date of discussion and will be held at the Information Desk. If we do not own enough copies of a book, we will try to Interlibrary Loan the material. Please call Amy Garrett at 330-688-3295 for more information.

Morning Book Discussions
The morning book discussion group with Chris Caccamo meets the second Friday of the month at 10:00 a.m. Sign up is not required. Please call Chris at 330-688-3295 if you have any questions.

Computer Use
Computers for use by adult and teen patrons are in very high demand! This is a reminder that you may reserve a computer ahead of time. Just call the Information Desk at 330-688-3295 to reserve a computer for a one-hour time limit. Computers may be reserved up to one week in advance. All adult patron computers are now available by reservation only.

Computer Training
The library offers classes for beginning computer users and more advanced users. They include Introduction to Computers, Introduction to the Internet, and training in Microsoft Word and Microsoft Excel. Classes are offered both day and evening at no charge. The class calendar can be viewed at www.smfpl.org/calendar.htm. The class schedule for May will be released Monday, April 24. Please call 330-688-3295 if you have any questions.

Computer Volunteer
Computer volunteer Tom Labbe is available to help patrons with computer questions during the following hours: Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 1:00 - 2:30. He is available at the Adult Information Desk.

Local History
The Local History Room is looking for "a few good people." Volunteers are needed to staff the Room on afternoons or evenings once a week. The Local History Room is a unique resource for the community, providing access to Stow's 200-year history via books, maps, news clippings, photo albums and more. Volunteers will welcome visitors and help them find information, as well as perform tasks to further organize the collection. If you are at least 18 and like to sleuth out the occasional mystery, please call Bridget Anthony at 330-688-3295.

Please go to the Teen Services web page at www.smfpl.org./TS.htm for information about current Teen activities.

Please go to the Children's Department web page at www.smfpl.org/CS.htm for further information about Children's activities and programs.

Pick 5 Bestsellers Club
How would you like to automatically be placed on the reserve list for five of your favorite popular authors? Join our Bestsellers Club and that's exactly what will happen! Just pick up a form at the Circulation Desk and join over 300 satisfied members. Are you already a member, but would like to change an author or two? Ask for an "add/delete" form at the circulation desk. It's just that easy!

Honorees
Arabica gift certificates have been awarded to the following patrons visiting Stow-Munroe Falls Public Library recently: Toby Thompson, the 150,000th checkout of 2006, Marlene Evans, the 4,000th window checkout of 2006, Teresa Good, the 5,000th window checkout, Sarah Hazel, the 6,000th window checkout, Alexander Simpson, the 1,000th new registration, and Cheryl Wallace, the tenth Bestseller's Club sign-up for 2006. Congratulations!

Cardholders have their privileges at Stow-Munroe Falls Public Library!

BACK TO TOP

Corner Gallery
The Corner Gallery features the works of photographer Chris Jordan April 6th through 30th. Chris caught the photography bug in high school, when she became the photographer for the local newspaper, the Oberlin News-Tribune in Oberlin, Ohio. Her photos have since been featured in commercial offices, newspapers, business publications, and album covers, as well as the homes of many satisfied clients. Her photo "Patriot Couple" has recently been published in the on-line version of Parade Magazine. To view the Chris Jordan Studios website go to www.cljstudios.com.

BACK TO TOP

The Friends, one of the largest organizations in Stow, is a citizen support group for Library services and activities. They sponsor booksales as well as the annual Needlework Show and other activities. Friends meet the third Tuesday of every month (except December and July) at 2:00 p.m. in the upstairs meeting room. Friends membership is currently at 450 members.

If you are interested in joining Stow-Munroe Falls Public Library Friends of the Library you may call the library at 330-688-3295 for further information, or you may go to the Friends page on the library website (www.smfpl.org/friends.htm) for an online application.

BACK TO TOP

BACK TO TOP

     Spring is a great time of year to spruce up your living space. If you are looking for books on home decorating you will find them in the 747 section of the library. 750 Great Ideas For Decorating on a Budget: Transform Your Home Inside & Out, from the editors of Country Living Magazine, text by Ray Furse, Budget Living: Home Cheap Home: A Room-by-Room Guide to Great Decorating: 500 Ideas, from the editors of Budget Living Magazine, Mary Gilliatt's Home Comforts With Style: A Decorating Guide For Today's Living, by Mary Gilliatt, Cottage Comfort: Country-Cottage Style Decorating, Entertaining, Gardening, and Quilting Inspirations For Creating All the Comforts of Home by Lynette Jensen are some of the titles in that section.

    Books on sewing for the home, such as Do-It-Yourself Fabric Decor: Pillows, Window Treatments, and Slipcovers For Your Home and Home Decor for Beginners, both from Creative Publishing International, are located in the 646 area. Another section to look in is 698 where you will find books such as Papering and Painting: The Essential Guide to Home Decorating by Julian Cassell and Peter Parham, Debbie Travis' Decorating Solutions: More Than 65 Paint and Plaster Finishes for Every Room in Your Home by Debbie Travis and Barbara Dingle and Decorative Painting For the Home: Creating Exciting Effects With Water-Based Paints by Lee Andre & David Lipe. Videos and DVDs on home decorating are located near the Information Desk.

     Magazines and websites also contain ideas for decorating your home. Better Homes and Gardens, House Beautiful, Metropolitan Home, Martha Stewart Living, and Traditional Home, located in the magazine area near the front windows of the library, are all available for check-out. About.com at http://interiordec.about.com offers lots of tips and advice for home decorators.Get Decorating at www.getdecorating.com offers free photos of thousands of interior and exterior design ideas. More features are available for a membership fee. Rental Decorating Digest at www.rentaldecorating.com is a site with ideas for those living in smaller spaces, such as apartments and dorm rooms. Many of its articles on topics such as organizing, painting, and window treatments are applicable to homeowners also.

BACK TO TOP

April's staff pick is Blue Smoke by Nora Roberts, highly recommended by Head of Circulation Barb Richards. Set aside a block of time to read this one because you're not going to want to put it down! Nora Roberts is an excellent storyteller. Her books are always well-written and grab your attention from the first chapter. This is the story of a female arson investigator who chooses this profession because of an event in her childhood. Romance and suspense combine to keep you turning the pages until the "explosive" climax.

Place a hold on this book by going to the library's online catalog at http://www.smfpl.org/catalog.htm.

BACK TO TOP

Website for the month of April is the Red Tape Chronicles at www.redtape.msnbc.com. This website is actually a blog posted by Bob Sullivan, MSNBC technology correspondent. Sullivan covers internet scams and consumer fraud issues and is the winner of several journalism awards for his coverage of online crime. Red Tape Chronicles features the latest information on scams and frauds, as well as links to archived articles. There are also links to MSNBC's technology and security websites. Readers may post their own comments to this blog.

BACK TO TOP