The Adult Summer Reading Program is Starting Its Engine

"Race Into Reading (Or Why Should The Little Readers Have All the Fun?)"is the theme of the Crawfordsville District Public Library's summer reading program for adults that starts June First. The Youth Department is using a similar theme so the building is bedecked in snazzy black and white. Adults will race their cars by reading different kinds of books labeled along their racetrack. The champion will be crowned in the Winner's Circle August 31st, receiving the drawing's big prize. The track is already posted on the south circulation wall. These three months promise to be both fun and mind-expanding for all. Here are the final new May mysteries. "A Death in Vienna" by Frank Tallis is set in the 1902 Austro-Hungarian Empire's days, introducing a young physician who uses psychoanalysis to combine intuitive examination and hard evidence in crime solutions. The same author's "Vienna Blood" takes us to the same place at the same time when a serial killer leaves cross-like symbols with his victims. In "An Incomplete Revenge" by Jacqueline Winspear, her World War I aftermath character Maisie Dobbs investigates a potential land purchase in Kent, England, and finds evidence of criminality . "The Redbreast" by Jo Nesbo finds detective Harry Hole monitoring neo-Nazi activities in Oslo when members of the nation's government willingly collaborated with Nazi Germany. "The Likeness" by Tana French features returning Dublin Murder squad detective Cassie Maddox who finds that a certain victim is her "double". "The Return" is Hakan Nesser's Inspector Van Veeteren mystery about a nearly perfect murder. Parnell Hall's "Hitman" a Stanley Hastings story features the "unlikeliest private eye in New York City". New Dilbert volumes by Scott Adam have arrived. These are clever graphic books, meaning written in cartoon form. Number 6 is "It's Obvious You Won't Survive By Your Wits Alone". No. !0 is entitled "Seven Years of Highly Defective People" which is the author's guided tour of the evolution of Delbert featuring comic strips from previous Dilbert books. No. 12 is called "Journey to Cubeville (Population: You)". No. 14 is "Dilbert Gives You the Business" as a lawyer, entrepreneur, secretary, intern, programmer, accountant, and as other professional workers. The other arrivals are "It's Not Funny If I Have to Explain It", "What Would Wally Do?", and "What Do You Call A Sociopath In A Cubicle?". The other new graphic book is "Reflections" the Fifteenth Anniversary collection of Cathy cartoons by Cathy Guisewite. Some readers favor commentaries. "A Tolerable Anarchy" by Jedediah Purdy is described (upside down on the cover) as "rebels, reactionaries, and the making of American freedom". "Stealing MySpace" is Julia Angwin's treatise on the battle to control the most popular website in America. Peter Singer's advice on acting now to end world poverty is called "The Life You Can Save". How common sense can rescue American foreign policy is discussed in Leslie Gelb's "Power Rules". Next are books about animals. In "American Buffalo" Steven Rinella contemplates the 14,000 years of hunting in North America and the place of this animal in the American experience, after learning that there were 40 million at the time of the Revolutionary War. It's a total study of this lost icon. "Deer World" by Ontario wildlife photographer Dave Taylor follows the calendar year viewing species of the deer world, namely wolves, foxes, cottontails, beaver, and moose.

Barbie's 50th Birthday

Guess who is 50?

Barbie!

The new upstairs display at the Crawfordsville Library celebrates the doll Barbie's 50th Anniversary.

Library staff members Janet Palin, Debbie Barry, and Dellie Craig gathered up family favorites. Janet's daughter Paula McLain is sharing her six holiday Barbies, Christmas gifts from Mom, the favorite one showing Barbie in a ball gown of gold lame. Debbie shows her 1958 Ken, his amazingly preserved sailor suit and original bathing suit, and her vintage blond Barbie in a shiny black formal. Dellie's contribution is a "Crystal Barbie" with brilliants on her bodice, purchased in Japan in the early '80s while her husband Roger was stationed at Yokota Air Base. But besides these, you'll spy many more gems like her famous Jeep, and a suitcase box allowing you to peek at her inside a roadster on one side and on an airplane on the other.

See it now on the 2nd floor!

Preview Shelf -- Library Display Celebrates Barbie's 50th Birthday

The new upstairs display at the Crawfordsville Library celebrates the doll Barbie's 50th Anniversary. Library staff members Janet Palin, Debbie Barry, and Dellie Craig gathered up family favorites. Janet's daughter Paula McLain is sharing her six holiday Barbies, Christmas gifts from Mom, the favorite one showing Barbie in a ball gown of gold lame. Debbie shows her 1958 Ken, his amazingly preserved sailor suit and original bathing suit, and her vintage blond Barbie in a shiny black formal. Dellie's contribution is a "Crystal Barbie" with brilliants on her bodice, purchased in Japan in the early '80s while her husband Roger was stationed at Yokota Air Base. But besides these, you'll spy many more gems like her famous Jeep, and a suitcase box allowing you to peek at her inside a roadster on one side and on an airplane on the other. Here's some new nonfiction to borrow. Notes of a Christian exile called "American Babylon" by Richard Neuhaus (1936-2009) discusses the well known phrase "in but not of the world" and the ways in which the sentiment holds particularly true in America today. ."Christ & Culture Revisited" by D. A. Carson considers the same subject, showing how Christians must maintain a balancing act as our culture departs from its Judeo-Christian roots. Kevin Vanhoozer's "Theological Interpretation of the Old Testament" is a book-by-book survey, discussing each one in turn explaining its history, interpretations, and major ideas. "Basilica" by R. A. Scotti tells the story of the building of St. Peter's in Rome, and describes that turbulent century including the "splendor and the scandal". "Troublesome Young Men" is Lynne Olson's report of the rebels who brought Winston Churchill to power and helped save England. "Forever Green" is Chuck Leavell's history of the American Forest, pointing out that wood is one of our most critical resources that must be wisely used and conscientiously renewed. "Billions of Missing Links" by Geoffrey Simmons, looks at the mysteries evolution can't explain, "from the blue whale to the virus, from the macro to the micro, current scientific evidence "revealing Darwin's most fatal flaw - "the missing links in the story of chance development of life." "Space Missions" edited by Jim Winchester, covers the history of space flight and the individuals involved from Sputnik to SpaceShip One. "Seeing in the Dark" by Timothy Ferris explains how amateur astronomers are discovering the wonders of the universe.Sandra Lee's "Semi-Homemade Money Saving Meals" offers dishes that taste like they're made from scratch. Kathleen Daelemans' "Getting Thin and Loving Food" comes from the Food Network with her recipes; "Your body is your temple. You wanna live there or in a warehouse?" "A Year Along the Garden Path" is given in month-by-month ideas by Ann Lovejoy with pictures by Mark Lovejoy. "A Jury of Her Peers" by Elaine Showalter is a history of American women writers from Anne Bradstreet to Annie Proulx (from 1650 to 2000).Oprah Winfrey's text about the movie "Journey to Beloved" is accompanied by photographs by Ken Regan. "The Gamble" by Thomas Ricks reviews General David Petraeus' direction of the American military adventure in Iraq from 2006-2008, using hundreds of hours of exclusive interviews with top officers and special on-the-ground reportage.

Genealogy Club Meeting, May 12

The Genealogy Club of Montgomery County, Indiana Corp, will meet at 7:00 pm, May 12, 2009 for a presentation entitled "A Place for Everything and Everything in its Place," by Betty Warren, Genealogist, Indianapolis, IN.

This program will be held at the Crawfordsville District Public Library on the Lower Level in the Donnelley Room.

The public is invited. Call: (765) 362-2242 Ext 4 for more information.

In the Gallery: May 2009

The Month of May Brings Dynamic Duo to the Gallery

During the month of May, the walls of the Library's Gallery will be bursting with new and joyful watercolors, pastel and acrylic intuitions from the brush and palette knife of Lafayette Indiana's well known artist Jim Mailloux. In the Gallery's Display Cases, accompanying this exquisite wall art, you will find the most dazzling Personal Expressions fresh from the ever-blooming imagination of Frankfort's multi-talented artist Nancy Fullerton. What delight this exhibit will bring to your life, if you let it! As a young high school student, Jim Mailloux back-grounded himself in many forms of art, but didn't paint for 30 years! Imagine a talent like his being dormant for that long! Twelve years ago, Jim's talent burst forth with new passion when he began painting in watercolor. Recently he began working with pastels and in acrylics with a palette knife. During an art class taught by Denise Goldschmidt, Jim learned to see and feel colors and details in nature with a whole new eye. He began seeing subtle reflected colors in shadows – not just dull shades of gray as he did previously. Jim learned that painting a brown paper bag can be one of the best exercises in the acute observation of texture, color and line. Jim is exploring the use of color to express his own feelings about a subject even if that color is not what he saw at first glance. He relishes feeling free to use these exaggerated or made-up color combinations to express his natural instincts. To avoid getting in a rut, Jim often experiments with new materials and techniques. In this way he hopes to keep his work fresh and to have more options to create the desired effect. His background inspiration comes from working with flowers, nature, and living a rural lifestyle. Painting in watercolor using yupo paper, a synthetic slick paper, forces Jim to forget the details thereby creating a more interesting loose watery effect in his work. Painted in clear bright colors, his large florals have a Georgia O'Keeffe feel, while his acrylics feel more impressionistic, especially those of Turkey Run State Park and area waterways. If you are interested in taking a watercolor class from Jim in Lafayette, please call 765-477-7741 or 765-404-5057. What an experience that would be -- learning from the best!

Nancy Fullerton is one of the most eclectic and talented artists I have ever met. She isn't afraid to try anything. It always turns out well even if not like her first vision. She is filled with joy and that joy permeates her work. Growing up in the midst of a multi-talented family has played an extremely important role in Nancy's creative life. Her maternal grandmother taught her to knit at age seven. Catching on quickly and loving the process, Nancy is still enjoys knitting and is always looking for that new idea she can experiment with. Her paternal grandmother was a successful artist in her own right. Since Nancy was the first grandchild, she posed for many portraits while listening to her grandmother's constant discussions about art and color. Her mother was a fantastic seamstress. When Nancy became good enough to sew for her, she felt like "She had finally arrived"! In 1950, Nancy graduated from Purdue University with a degree in Industrial Personnel. In 1952 she married Bill Fullerton and together they raised two very handsome sons, Bush and Brad. Even though Bill didn't always quite understand her passion for the arts, he was still very supportive. When Nancy turned sixty, she took her first class at the Sievers School of Fiber Arts on Washington Island, Wisconsin. That was her introduction to Wearable Art. She hasn't missed a summer class at Sievers in the past twenty-two years. While there, Nancy took classes in Beadwork from Diane Fitzgerald, Lois and Diane Ericson taught her about Wearable Art and the Philosophy of a Happy Life. She follows these teachers and others around the country always learning and meeting wonderfully creative students doing the same thing as she. Now we understand more fully how Nancy has found the courage to listen to her own drummer and follow her very own personal star.

The sun might be out, or maybe it isn't, but the light in the gallery never dims. It patiently waits to share the light and savor the color of beauty.