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Our Favorites in 2006
The Adult Services Department of Stow-Munroe Falls Public Library has compiled a booklet of the books they enjoyed most in 2006. Titles include fiction and non-fiction, young adult, mysteries and more. Pick up a free booklet at the Adult Information Desk. You may discover a new favorite author!

Evening Book Discussions
The evening book discussion group with Amy Garrett meets the fourth Thursday of the month through April 2007 at 7:00 p.m. Books are available at the Adult Information Desk prior to the discussion date.

• February 22 - Flags of our Fathers by James Bradley
• March 22 - Two Minute Rule by Robert Crais
• April 26 - Marley and Me by John Grogan

Daytime Book Discussions
The daytime book discussion groups with Chris Caccamo meets the second Friday of the month through May 2007 at either 10:00 a.m. or 2:00 p.m. Books are available at the Adult Information Desk prior to the discussion date.

• March 9 - All Creatures Great and Small by James Herriot
• April 13 - Lunch at the Piccadilly by Clyde Edgerton
• May 11 - The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

Need to Use a Computer? Call ahead and reserve one!
Computers with Internet Access, located in the Adult Services Department of the library are always in great demand. If you are planning a trip to the library to use the computer, please call ahead and make a reservation. There may NOT be one available if you don't make a reservation! Computer time can be reserved up to one week in advance. Staff at the Adult Information Desk can schedule you for up to two hours of time once per day, Monday through Saturday and up to one hour of time on Sunday. Don't be disappointed! Call ahead! To make an appointment, call the Adult Services Department at 330-688-3295.

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.

New Computer Class Signup Procedure
You no longer have to sign up for computer classes weeks ahead of time! Instead, we will have numbered tickets for each class at the Adult Information Desk. On the day of the class, starting one half-hour before class time, the tickets will be given out on a first-come, first-served basis.

Classes will start at 10:00 a.m., 2:30 p.m., or 7:00 p.m. Ticket release times will be 9:30 a.m., 2:00 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. respectively.

Students should have their Stow-Munroe Falls Public Library cards available when they come for their tickets.

The classroom has eleven seats at computers and an additional three seats without a computer. If all eleven "computer" seats are taken, three "non-computer" tickets will go to the next three students.This change is to prevent students from being closed out of classes on the first day of registrations. We hope that this new system will make it easier for out students to get the classes they want.

Chess Club
Play chess against a variety of opponents and learn new moves on Tuesday, February 20. Peer Instruction is from 6:30 to 7:00 p.m., game play is from 7:00 to 8:30 p.m. Chess Club is for elementary and high school students age 5 and older who are familiar with the basic rules of chess. Snacks are provided. Registration is not required.

Anime Club
The next meeting of the Anime Club for ages 12 to 18 will be Saturday, March 10 from 1:30 to 4:30 p.m. Join other otaku (anime fans) to talk about your favorite series, characters, villains and anything else anime-related. Snacks provided.Registration is not required.

Please go to the Teen Services web page at www.smfpl.org./TS.htm for information about current Teen activities. To see photos of Teen events go to www.smfpl.org/tsphotos.htm.

Family Movie Night Rescheduled
The Family Movie Night program for all ages which was cancelled on Feb. 14 due to the weather has been rescheduled for Friday, February 23 at 6:30 p.m. Special "Spike the Turtle" movie passes will be handed out at 5:30 p.m. The movie will begin promptly at 6:30 p.m. There will be no admittance after 6:30 p.m. The program will last approximately 1 hour and 15 minutes. Contact the Children's Department for more information.

Storybook Theatre
Children of all ages can come to the library for an early showing of the family movie night film on Friday, February 23 at 10 a.m. This special showing during Storybook Theatre will last approximately 75 minutes. Contact the Children's Department for more information.

Please call 330-688-3295 or 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!

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The fiber art of Cuyahoga Falls resident Ted Maringer will be on display in the Corner Gallery throughout February. Throughout the years, Ted has worked with many different mediums, from photography to clay. Most recently, he has worked with Tyvek, a fiber created by DuPont. He has worked with fiber art for the past 12 years. The piece below is called "Red Circle Study One".

Janet Howard's "heart" collection will be on exhibit in the glass display cases throughout February.

All exhibits may be viewed during regular library hours.

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The Stow-Munroe Falls Library Foundation is a nonprofit organization which encourages voluntary financial support for the Stow-Munroe Falls Public Library. This support is used to help meet both the present and future needs of the patrons of the library. The purposes of the corporation include focusing public attention on library services, facilities, and needs in the Stow-Munroe Falls area; to stimulate and encourage the gifts of funds, books, desirable collections, endowments, and bequests to the library; and to receive, hold, manage, use, and dispose of funds and properties of all kinds, whether given absolutely or in trust, for the benefit of the Stow-Munroe Falls Public Library. Donors may make an online contribution to the Foundation by credit card or PayPal. Click www.smfpl.org/paypal.htm to donate online.

The next meeting of the Stow-Munroe Falls Public Library Foundation is Tuesday, March 13 at 5 p.m. at the library. The public is invited to attend.

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The Friends of the Library 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.

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.

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This month's quilt was made in 2006 by Kendal Taylor for her cousin. The memory blanket features pictures of the cousin's grandchildren, candlewick designs and handquilting. It will be on display over the front check-out desk throughout February.

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     It's smaller than an iPod and makes cassette and CD audio books seem like ancient technologies. It's the Playaway and its new at Stow-Munroe Falls Public Library! A Playaway is a self-playing digital audio book that comes pre-loaded on a small storage device. There are currently 54 titles available. The selection includes fiction, non-fiction, mysteries, young adult and children's books and more. You may check out two titles for two weeks and they are renewable. You be able to purchase ear-buds for listing to the Playaways at the Main Circulation Desk, the Adult Information Desk or in the Children's Department. You can also use your own headphones or ear-buds. Playaways are simple to operate, can be worn around your neck or stuck in your pocket for cumbersome-free listening. Take one to the gym or with you when you walk or go shopping

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February's staff pick is Because They Hate: A Survivor of Islamic Terror Warns America by Brigitte Gabriel, recommended by Assistant Head of Circulation, Barbara Campbell.

Brigitte Gabriel is a Christian survivor of the vicious civil war between Lebanese Christians and Muslims in the 1970s. This is her personal story about a difficult childhood in Lebanon, surviving by living in a tiny bomb shelter with her elderly parents. She recalls a tiny, filthy, dank, dark closet-sized room with bombs and missiles falling day and night, and fetching water down the road in terror as snipers picked off townsfolk at random. Ms. Gabriel's personal account of her experiences with terrorism is riveting, compelling and spellbinding.

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

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By Chris Caccamo, Adult Services Associate.

The African-American Civil Rights Movement (1955-1968) were events and reform movements in the United States aimed at abolishing public and private acts of racial discrimination against African Americans, a time in history remembered most during Black History Month each February.

Some excellent documentaries on the Civil Rights Movement available at the library include Voices of Civil Rights (323.092 V8893), the Eyes on the Prize video series (323.1109 Ey97) and The Untold Story of Emmett Louis Till (323.1196 Un618). Feature films on discrimination and on the Civil Rights Movement include The Color Purple, Rosewood, Cry Freedom, To Kill a Mockingbird, Mississippi Burning, and Ghosts of Mississippi.

In this same spirit, the library owns several classic films about individuals who stand up for what they believe is right, against authority or overwhelming public opinion. These films include 12 Angry Men, Mr. Smith Goes To Washington, Judgment at Nuremberg, Norma Rae, The Caine Mutiny and A Man For All Seasons.

All of these films are available in the Adult Audiovisual Department. Check one out today!

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The website for the month of February is for How to Do Things at www.howtodothings.com

Spring is just around the corner! If you were hoping to design a flower garden, plant a lawn, organize your garage, build a deck or fix your old car, but you just don't know how to get started, this is the website for you! The site includes tons of information on subjects such as Home and Garden, Pets and Animals, Sports and Recreation, Computers, Automotives, Food and Drink and much more. Not only can you get an answer to your question, but you can submit information on subjects you know a lot about and help out others. Give it a try!

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