105 E. Magnolia Ave. Daytona Beach, FL  32114

Friends of the Library Suggestion Box

March 2010 Newsletter

FRIENDS CALENDAR FOR SPRING 2010

• March 26 (Friday) – The 29th Annual Author Luncheon featuring author Lucia St. Clair Robson. 

• March 27 (Saturday) – Friends of the Dickerson Library hold their luncheon.

• April 29 (Thursday) – Skip Lowery will present “The Medium is the Mess,” with comments on communication today and the new technologies.  (See story page 1).

• May 19 (Wednesday) – The Annual Meeting of Friends of the Library.  The board will meet at 3PM, with the annual meeting, including election of officers, to begin at 4PM, in the auditorium at City Island.

Be sure to catch all the movie possibilities at the City Island Library.  Checkout page 6 with films for the family, for youth, and for adults, including many current titles.

Skip Lowery

Retired Professor of Humanities Daytona State College
Topic: “ The Medium Is The Mess”
Thursday, April 29, 2010, 2:00 P.M.
Volusia County Library Center Auditorium, City Island

Skip Lowery is a retired public school and college teacher who currently serves as adjunct professor of the Humanities at Daytona State College. This is the basic description provided by Skip. However, those who have known him for many years would tell you that Skip is indeed a modern Renaissance man. Yes, he has been a teacher of Humanities, Speech, English and other subjects as well, but he is also recognized as an actor, an author, and a photographer.
    As an actor, Skip has regularly appeared in productions at both Daytona State College and the Daytona Beach Playhouse. Most recently he appeared in the college’s production of “Romeo and Juliet.” Skip was also the title actor in his own play, “Mark Twain: Stormfield Days,” produced at the Sands Theater in Deland and in staged readings at the Asolo Theater in Sarasota and at the Daytona Playhouse.
   As a writer, poet, and photographer, Skip’s work has been widely recognized. His poetry has appeared in various publications, including the “Wallace Stevens Journal;”  his articles have been published in dozens of local and national magazines; and his award winning photographs displayed at EPCOT.
    Skip’s talents for observation and story telling seem to spring naturally from his early boyhood.  Skip’s family moved to Ormond Beach when he was eight years old. Though he did some moving about during college, he would soon return to the area that is still home to him. In recent years he wrote about his boyhood in Ormond Beach. Part of these recollections, entitled Ormond Boy, appeared in the Halifax Historical Society’s Halifax Herald.
    After graduating from high school, Skip enrolled in a new college in town and would join his fellow classmates in the first class to graduate from Daytona Beach Junior College (1960). He would later study in Mexico City; then it was on to Florida State University for his B.A. and west to Nebraska for an M.A. However, it was his English professor Charles Weingartner at DBJC who introduced Skip to the ideas of Marshall McLuhan, the Canadian author of such books as The Mechanical Bride and Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man (from which the phrase, “The Medium is the Message” arose).
      The topic for Skip’s library presentation, “The Medium Is The Mess” originated from his early introduction to the ideas of McLuhan and to the books of NY University professor Neil Postman. McLuhan and Postman were each concerned with the effects new technologies have on individuals and, vis-a-vis, society as a whole. Although Skip does not by any means think himself an expert on the topic—he’s not sure anyone can be—he has a deep interest in what the introduction of new media have done to human cultures in the past and what the recent explosion in communication devices may be doing to us today. He wonders what McLuhan would say about cell phones, or Twitter, for example.
Because Skip assumes that audience members will already have ideas of their own about media technology, he looks forward to questions and comments after the conclusion of the speech. 

LUCIA ST. CLAIR ROBSON, ACCLAIMED HISTORICAL NOVELIST

FEATURED AT THE 29TH ANNUAL AUTHOR LUNCHEON
 FRIDAY, MARCH 26, 2010
AT THE HALIFAX RIVER YACHT CLUB, DAYTONA BEACH

The title of Lucia St. Clair Robson’s presentation is “Predicting the Past.” “A heap of chutzpah is required to presume to speak for the dead,” she remarked. “But I am a proselytizer of history.” 
A graduate of Florida State University  in 1962 with a master’s degrees in Library Science, Robson worked for several years as a public librarian in Annapolis, Maryland before the publication of her first book.  Ride the Wind, about the Oklahoma Comanches won the Golden Spur Award in 1982 from Western Writers of America. 
Since then she has published eight novels, three more of these concerning native Americans: a Florida work, Light a Distant Fire, which invites us into the lives of the Seminoles and their charismatic leader Osceola; Walk in My Soul, about the Cherokees and Sam Houston’s involvement with them; and Ghost Warrior, which paints a picture of Apache life in New Mexico.
Two of Robson’s novels are set in the American revolutionary period, which she especially loves: Mary’s Land and Shadow Patriots” released in 2005.
Her latest, “Last Train from Cuernavaca,” about the Mexican Revolution, may be published by the time she visits us. Copies of several of her books will be available for sale and signing by the author.
 A flyer with full information about Robson and the luncheon will be mailed out a few weeks before the event. For further information, check Robson’s website: www.luciastclairrobson.com.

ONE DOLLAR CAN STILL MAKE YOU A WINNER

Tickets are now on sale for this year’s Author Luncheon Raffle.  There are four possible prizes to win.
Artist Gary Bobcik presents three of his paintings: a colorful piece with a sea life theme, a pastel of flowers, and a scene with white birch and deer.  Each painting is distinctly different and appealing. 
The fourth prize is an entertainment package that includes a DVD player donated by Neil Harrington, our representative on the County Library Board, and some special DVDs and snacks with all beautifully and cleverly assembled by Friends member Claudette Genereux. 
Drop by the library to view the prizes in the foyer near the Reference Desk. and then purchase your tickets at the Circulation Desk.  Drawings for the prizes will be at the Author Luncheon on March 26.  You need not be present to win.  
Our special thanks to Gary Bobcik and to Neil Harrington for their generous gifts to our Spring Raffle event.

PROGRAM AD SPACE CURRENTLY AVAILABLE

Friends of the Volusia County Library Center at City Island are in the process of selling ads for this year’s luncheon program. This is a great way to put your business out front to a very captive audience who will be encouraged to patronize the supporters listed in the booklet. Last year’s program was circulated to almost 200 people. Ad sizes and rates are as follows:

Full page $80

Half page $60

Quarter page $40

Business card size $25

Deadline for inclusion in the program is Wednesday, March 17. For further information, contact Friends President Carol Ritzinger at 386-257-9870 or at creepy35@aol.com.

Compiled by Dena Rebozo, Librarian I at City Island library

While Haiti is much in the news these days, your City Island Library Center has a special display on the country featuring renowned Haitian writer Edwidge Danticat and colorful Haitian art.

Author Edwidge Danticat (pronounced Ed-weedj Dan-ti-kah) enriches not only our understanding of Haitian culture but the unbreakable, rallying spirit of its people.  Danticat opens a portal with unflinchingly violent glimpses into her native culture.  Rape.  Massacre. Torture.  With particular emphasis on the women of Haiti, Danticat poetically distills the human experience.  What remains is its untarnishable essence, a potent moonshine of grace.

Currently on display and available for checkout are her works of fiction and non-fiction including titles for children.  For a complete listing of her writings (including plays and edited works), awards, and literary honors, go to her author entry in Books & Authors, an online Gale publication just a click away at volusialibrary.org under eResources.   

While at the library, enjoy the colorful Haitian metal art created with hammer and chisel on loan from Primitive Expressions Imports.  World-renowned Haitian oil-drum art begins with re-purposing malleable oil drums (used as cargo containers for fruits and vegetables shipped between the islands when not full of oil).  With its rise in popularity and the limited supply of oil drums, Haitian artisans have taken to importing sheet metal from Miami according to the owner of Primitive Expressions, a specialty shop at the Daytona Beach Flea Market (corner of C2-G2) featuring a fun, tropical array of Haitian metal art and Indonesian wood carvings.
 

Text savvy?  Text messaging, a popular trend in the Haitian relief effort, is picking up steam.  Make a “micro-donation” of five or ten dollars (appearing on your cell phone bill) to your favorite charity.  Pick up a bookmark on display to learn more and practice texting today!

FOR HIGHSCHOOLERS:
DO YOU WORRY ABOUT THOSE SAT, ACT, AND PSAT TESTS

There is help for students online to improve test scores through Recorded Books’ ePrep from the Volusia County Library. With a valid library card ePrep students take timed practice tests, have them graded online and then watch a video review. The service tracks student progress, guides remedial efforts, and encourages vocabulary building. Parents can track student progress non-intrusively. These tests can also be of help to anyone needing to brush up on their math, reading, vocabulary, or science skills. Check it out at www.volusialibrary.org.
 

There are two video seminars coming up that give an overview of ePrep. See below for access. Topics covered in the 45-minute seminars include creating user accounts, setting up calendars and parent accounts, using ePrep’s features, and best practices for studying for SAT, ACT, and PSAT.

Monday, March 22, from 7:00PM to 7:45PM:
https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/7157120837,

Monday, April 19, from 7:00PM to 7:45PM:
https://www2.gototmeeting.com/register/5812215072

J.D. (Jerome David) Salinger 1919-2010

Warrior Writer Recluse

J.D. Salinger indeed led an amazing and unvarnished life. By 32 he not only had penned his most famous work Catcher in the Rye but was part and parcel of events that affected the world as we know it. A United States Army draftee in 1942, Salinger, writing and publishing all the while, went on to earn five battle stars. He was in Austria and Poland on the eve of their invasions by the Nazis. He landed on Utah Beach at Normandy on D-Day. He fought in the Battle of the Bulge. He was in Paris on the day of its liberation where he happened to meet then war correspondent Ernest Hemingway. Bearing witness to Nazi brutality at Dachau, the second concentration camp to be liberated by Allied forces, he took part in the invasion and occupation of Germany fighting through the Rhineland, Württemberg, and Bavaria. At 32 he turned his back on the world. The year was 1951, the year Catcher in the Rye was published. Since 1965 Salinger published nothing.

Source: Dead Caufields. Retrieved from http://www.deadcaulfields.com/DCHome.html

Movies at City Island

March 5. “Time Traveler’s Wife.” Director, Robert Schwentke. Drama/Romance/Sci Fi. About a Chicago librarian with a gene that causes him to involuntarily time travel, and the complications it creates for his marriage. Starring Michelle Nolden and Alex Fereis. Filmed in Chicago and Ontario, Canada. Rated PG-13, 107 minutes.

March 12. “Black Dynamite.” Director, Scott Sanders. Action/Comedy. About 1970s African American action legend Black Dynamite. Starring Michael Jai White, Arsenio Hall, Tammy Davidson. Rated R. 90 minutes.
 

March 19. “The Informant.” Director, Steven Soderbergh. Comedy/Crime/Drama/Thriller. The U.S. government decides to go after an agribusiness giant with a price-fixing accusation. A true story that parallels a mixture of “A Beautiful Mind” and “The Insider.” Starring Matt Damon, Lucas McHugh Carroll, Eddie Jamison. Rated  R. 108 minutes.

March 26. “2012.” Director, Roland Emmerich. Action/ Adventure/Drama/Sci-Fi/Thriller. An epic adventure about a global cataclysm that brings an end to the world and tells of the heroic struggle of the survivors. Starring John Cusack, Amanda Peet, Chiwetel Ejiofer, Thandie Newton. Rated PG-13. 158 minutes.

April 2. Library closed for Easter weekend.

April 9. “Up in the Air.” Director, Jason Reitman. Comedy/Drama/Romance. Traveling around the country firing people, Ryan Bingham leads an empty life out of a suitcase, until his company unexpectedly grounds him, having hired a young woman to do the work through video conferencing. Their encounters have major consequences for both of them. Starring George Clooney, Vera Farmiga, Anna Kendrick. Rated R. 109 minutes.

April 16. “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire.” Director, Lee Daniels.Drama. In Harlem, an overweight, illiterate teen who is pregnant with her second child is invited to enroll in an alternative school in hopes that her life can lead in a new direction. Starring Gabourey Sidibe, Mo’Nique. Rated R. 110 minutes.

April 23. “Brothers.” Director. Jim Sheridan. Drama/Thriller/War. A young man comforts his older brother’s wife and children after the brother goes missing in Afghanistan. Starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Natalie Portman, Toby Maguire. Rated  R. 104 minutes. 

April 30. “Sherlock Holmes.” Director Guy Ritchie. Action/Adventure/Crime/Mystery/Thriller. Detective Sherlock Holmes and his stalwart partner Watson engage in a battle of wits and brawn with a nemesis whose plot is a threat to all of England.” Starring Robert Downey, Jr., Jude Law, Rachel McAdams. Filmed in England. Rated PG-13. 128 minutes.
 

May 7. “An Education.” Director Lone Scherfig. Drama. A coming-of-age story about a teenage girl in 1960s suburban London, and how her life changes with the arrival of a playboy nearly twice her age. Starring Corey Mulligan, Olivia Williams, Alfred Molina, Peter Sarsgaard. Filmed in London, England. Rated PG-13. 95 minutes.

YOUNG ADULT MOVIES

will all be shown in the Children's Auditorium on Saturdays at 2 PM.

March 13. “Cirque Du Freak: Vampire’s Assistant.” (PG-13. 109 min), in the Ages 13 to 19

March 27. “Ponyo.” (G- 90 min). In the Adult North Auditorium, as space allows. (The North Auditorium can hold about 40 people.) Ages 10 and up, including adults.

April 10. “New Moon.”  (PG-13. 130 min). In the whole Adult Auditorium.  Ages 13 and up, including adults. Note time change: 2:30 P.M.

May 1. “Planet 51.” (PG. 91 min). In the Adult North Auditorium, as space allows. Ages 10 and up, including adults.

May 15. “Hobbitt,” 1977. (NR. 90 min). In the Adult North Auditorium, as space allows. Ages 10 and up, including adults. 

FAMILY MOVIES

are offered on Sundays at 2 PM. in the Children's Auditorium
Children and their parents or caregivers are most welcome. Adults may bring snacks and drink.
March 7.   “Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs” (PG-90 min)
March 14.  “Darby O’Gill and the Little People” (G- 91 min)
March 21.  “Tinker Bell and the Lost Treasure” (G-76 min)
March 28.  “Neverending Story.” (PG-102 min).
April 4.      No movie. Library closed for Easter.
April 11.    “Where the Wild Things Are.” (PG-101 min)
April 18.    “Planet 51.” (PG-91 min)
April 25.    “The Muppet Movie.” (G-95 min)
May 2.       “The Princess and the Frog.” (G-98 min)
May 9.       “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.” (G-144 min)
May 16.     “Curious George 2: Follow That Monkey.” (G-81 min)
May 23.     “Happily N’Ever After 2: Snow White.” (NR-70 min)
May 30.     “Dark Crystal.” (PG-93 min)
June 6.       “Lego:the Adventures of Clutch Powers.” (NR-82 min)
June 13.     “Free Willy 4: Escape from Pirates Cove.” (G-101 min)
June 20.     “Ponyo.” (G-103 min

ATTENTION  DIABETICS!!!

Stephanie Santarsiero, representing South East Diabetics, will be in the Board Room of the City Island library on the last Sunday of each month from 1:00 to 2:30 P.M. The next scheduled date is Sunday, March 28.

Stephanie will provide information about diabetic footwear as well as information on services offered by Medicare to seniors with diabetes. Seniors are entitled to receive, without charge, one pair of diabetic shoes, as well as diabetic testing meters.

Stephanie will help people with sizing of these special shoes. She will also offer tips regarding diet and other lifestyle choices for diabetics.

FRIENDS OF THE DICKERSON LIBRARY SPONSOR AUTHOR LUNCHEON EVELYN BETHUNE, FEATURED AT EVENT

  Evelyn Bethune, granddaughter of Dr. Mary McCloud Bethune, will be featured at the Friends of the John H. Dickerson Library Author Luncheon to be held on Saturday, March 27, in the Graduate Seminar Room of the Civic Engagement Center of Bethune Cookman University.

The center is located at 740 W. International Speedway Blvd., Daytona Beach. Ticket price is $20.00. Social Time begins at 11:30 AM, and the Luncheon is at 12:00 Noon.

Tickets can be purchased at the Dickerson Library. Reservations can be made by calling the Library at 386-239-6478.  

Online language-learning NOT the old fashioned way!
Introducing Mango….

Learn anywhere — at the library, a coffee shop, or even home in bed.  All you need is an internet connection and a library card. Take a quick crash course or focus on long-term mastery. All lessons are designed by native-speaking language instructors many at the university level. 

With Mango’s intuitive language construction you will create dialogue on impulse. Phonetic spellings and personal voice comparison with a native speaker will have you enunciating exquisitely. Navigate around awkward faux pas with enlightening cultural notes slipped into lessons.

Ready to Mango? Choose from 22 languages from all corners of the globe. Wait!  Know someone who needs to learn English?  Mango offers 14 unique ESL (English as a Second Language) programs such as ;, English for Arabic speakers, and , English for Greek speakers.
 
Mango’s cultural notes are my favorite part.  Did you know…..

Pashto (pronounced POSH-toe), the official language of Afghanistan, is spoken by the Pashtoons, an ethnic group known for their practice of Pashtoonwalay, an ancient code of conduct and honor.

In Urdu (pronounced ER-dew) “excuse me” is not used as a stand-alone phrase.  If while making your way across a crowded floor, you utter “excuse me,” a sudden hush may befall the room with all ears at attention awaiting an anticipated speech, question, or comment.              

Occupied for over three centuries, the Philippines were heavily influenced by the Spanish. “Kamusta” (kah-MOO-sta) meaning “How are you?” in Tagalog (pronounced tag-AH-log) is a direct carry-over from the Spanish “Como está?”

I recently attended a Mango webinar.  During the Q&A session, I had to know, “Why is it called Mango?"  Mango, turns out, is a “hybridized” term of Japanese origin derived from man meaning "ten thousand or the infinite" and go meaning "languages."  Who’s ready to Mango?