Library

In this season of change, before the soft earth freezes over and winds blow away the last warm breath of summer, unlikely forces mix and stir and for a brief moment it becomes possible for the unseen to be seen. Where some see only fog and vapors, others see ghosts. For Mary Lintern, manager of the James A. Garfield National Historic Site, it’s a time to reflect on the legends of a doomed president and his interest in the dark arts. In her illustrated lecture, “Ghosts of the White House,” she uses Garfield’s fascination with the supernatural to shed light on the Age of Spiritualism that gripped the nation as it mourned 620,000 Civil War dead. Join her for this special presentation of Sunday with the Friends on Sunday, October 25 at 2:00 p.m. in the Lakewood Public Library Main Auditorium.

Presidentially, Ohio is known as the birthplace of men who leave this world with unfinished business. Of the eight executives who have died in office, four came from Ohio.  Despite the fact that Garfield was an ordained minister (the only member of the clergy to serve in the Oval Office) the twentieth president was driven to non-Christian spiritualism by an overwhelming desire to speak with his father—a man who died when Garfield was only a very small boy. Forbidden knowledge, of course, comes with a price. It was during a séance that Garfield had the first premonition of his own assassination.

Calling all elementary students! On Monday, September 8th, the Lakewood Public Library is kicking off its newest program, the Zone. “It’s going to be an awesome time,” says children’s librarian, Tracie Forfia. “If you’re in kindergarten through fifth grade, you won’t want to miss this...”

Are you looking for something fun and educational for your children to do this summer? Look no further than Lakewood Public Library’s Summer Reading Club! All ages of children can join the club, read great books and receive cool prizes. ...

“When I’m in my uniform, people are always assuming I’m a flight attendant,” says pilot and Lakewoodite Lynda Meeks. “Many people are surprised when I tell them that I am a professional pilot. Most people don’t know that women have been flying since 1910, and there are more and more girls getting their pilots’ licenses every day.”..

During the renovation of Main Library, the Friends of Lakewood Public Library have moved to Omni, the former Lake Erie Screw facility, at 13000 Athens Avenue.  The book sales will continue every sixth Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

July 21st 2007. This is a date of considerable significance, practically a holiday in the literary and publishing world and in the subculture of devotees to the stories of a boy wizard who would rise to the challenge of facing the Dark Lord. Yes, I’m referring to the hype, the mania, the phenomenon of Harry Potter. The release of the seventh book,Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is scheduled for 12:01 a.m. on July 21st. Reportedly, the publisher, Scholastic, Inc. had book handlers sign contracts of secrecy and limited handling of pre-release copies, posted security guards at printing plants, and secured shipments with steel chains. Any library or bookseller releasing books or information in advance would breach the contract which could result in a terminated relationship with Scholastic Publishing. While this detail adds some mystique to the release of the new book, it is hardly necessary…there are already 12 million copies in print!

With the Main Library shutting down from June 12 through July 9 while all your favorite books, movies and music are schlepped over to the new building and with musical concerts, movies, book clubs and lectures not scheduled to resume until the fall, what exactly is a library-based TV show to do with itself? If you’re What’s Going On at the Lakewood Public Library?, Lakewood’s five-year-old public access program with the self-explanatory name, you curl up with a good book and pretend it’s snowing outside.

When the Lakewood Public Library’s Children’s and Youth Services Department reopens on July 9th in the new addition, even our youngest patrons will be in awe of our new space. While it will ultimately house the department’s audio-visual collection, for the next several months, our space will contain not only children’s music, DVDs, and books on CD, but those books that we just couldn’t bear to pack away. How could we possibly decide what books were worthy of making the move with us? When decision-making time finally arrived, we were forced to make some difficult choices: What books would stay? Which ones will go? Ultimately, the collection we compiled meets the interests and needs of our patrons—the youth of Lakewood. Whether the books are perennial classics or part of a multi-million dollar series whose final installment will be released this July, our collection will continue to offer our patrons a variety of quality titles that are worth checking out.

As soon as the Lakewood Public Library’s new Technology Center opened—actually, since before the new Technology Center opened… In fact, even before the old Technology Center closed, everybody in Lakewood has been asking, “When will computer classes be back?” Actually, they’re already here...

SUNDAY, JUNE 1, 2008 FROM 12:00 P.M. TO 1:00 P.M. The Lakewood Public Library Board of Trustees cordially invites one and all to attend the official opening of the expanded and renovated Main Library. Designed by Robert A.M. Stern Architects, the new facility has nearly doubled the size of the Main Library from 55,000 to 93,000 square feet with room for greatly expanded children’s services and computer access, not to mention more books, movies, music, newspapers and magazines...

When playing jazz the term “playing in the pocket” refers to playing perfectly in time. It has also been described as an almost spiritual experience where musicians are taken to a place where they allow the music to take control. Find out what being in the pocket is all about when Duo in the Pocket performs for Lakewood Public Library’s “Sunday with the Friends” series on Sunday, May 4 at 2 p.m. in the auditorium. The program is free and open to the public...

Jungle Terry doesn’t take vacations. He has over one hundred animals requiring twice daily feedings, and your average pet sitter just isn’t up for the task. Get Jungle Terry talking about his job though (he’s an animal trainer, naturalist, educator, and entertainer all rolled into one) and you quickly realize he doesn’t exactly need a vacation. In fact, he seems barely able to contain his energy and enthusiasm for his work.

In 1897, Cleveland Public Library acquired 1,000 new children’s books for its collection. They developed a program which brought children into the library over the summer to read new books and to share their good finds with other children. In this same year, a librarian in Hartford, Connecticut invited children for book talks once a week during the summer, and the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh provided books to neighborhood playgrounds during the summer.

Have you ever seen a square bubble? Or a bubble so big two people fit inside? Get ready, because the Bubble Lady is coming to Lakewood Public Library with a show that’ll blow you away!

The self described “skinny, funky, white chocolate center” of SheLovesYouRecords, Robin Stone, will bring her energetic mix of acoustic pop and R&B to the Lakewood Public Library stage on September 28, at 2:00 p.m...

The Friends of Lakewood Public Library will hold the first book sale in the newly renovated Main Library Friends’ Book Sale Room located on the lower level at 15425 Detroit Avenue.

 

 

A preview for Friends will be held on June 5th from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Memberships may be purchased for $2 the evening of the preview. The public sale will be held on Saturday, June 7th from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m...

Twin sisters and two brothers pick, pluck and strum traditional American instruments, including fiddle, mandolin, guitar, bass, carpenter’s saw, banjo and dancing board for a heaping helping of old-time country music. Soaring voices in close harmony make them the Waxwings. On Sunday, April 27 at 2 p.m. come watch The Waxwings Old-Time Stringband perform for Lakewood Public Library’s “Sunday with the Friends” series at 2 p.m. in the auditorium on the lower level...

School’s out for the summer. All across the country, students are relaxing, playing sports, working summer jobs, and vacationing with their families. With summer comes summer reading assignments, required reading that students must complete before they begin school in the fall at their new grade level.

Many of the Lakewood Public Library’s Women in History website biographies are linked on such nationally recognized and accessed websites as the Encyclopedia Britannica and Wikipedia. Encyclopedia Britannica has named Women in History biographies as an official “iGuide site.”

Skip Blockbuster, Borders and Best Buy. Lakewood Public Library offers patrons free access to hundreds of movies, music CDs and audio books in the new Audio Visual Department.

From the popular blockbuster films, top hit music CDs and best-selling audio books, to foreign and independent movies and music from across the globe, the Library offers a wide variety of AV material.

And the collection is growing...

For several years, pirate speak has swept over popular culture like a tempest on the high seas. On Saturday, September 27, Lakewood Public Library joins in the fun when we welcome Capt'n Willie to the Multipurpose Room of the Main Library at 7 p.m. Instead of talking about exploits of pillaging the Carribean, this fair captain brings a message of education and stewardship over the Great Lakes...

The Sharp Student Academy returns to the Lakewood Public Library this fall with updated and expanded course offerings. Classes will be held in the new Learning Lab located in the Technology Center at Main Library...

Patrons of all ages of Lakewood Public Library have a truly special evening to anticipate on Saturday, April 26, 2008. Spring will be upon us, the renovation continues in its final phase of collection restoration and the Saturday Night Family Music and More Program will return from its long absence with a performance by one of Northeast Ohio’s most celebrated and beloved family entertainers and a Parents’ Choice Award recipient, Foster Brown...

Jared Potter Kirtland, Science Vs. Magic 

Lakewood Public Library and Lakewood Recreation Department are teaming up to present “Hoop Stories,” a program which will unite the body and mind by celebrating the sport of basketball through stories and activities...

Summer is just around the corner and with it come promises of warm nights, trips to the beach, baseball games and regular visits to the ice cream shop.

 

But summer is also the perfect time for you and your children to cool off at one of Lakewood Public Library’s summer programs. Although construction has forced programming at the Main Library to be put on hold, summer storytimes and family fun will be in full swing at the Madison Branch.

The Friends of the Lakewood Public Library, a volunteer organization that first formed in 1980, want to thank their many donors and let everyone know that they are gearing up for yet another sale to the public in November. I recently had the pleasure of sitting down with the Friends’ President of fifteen years, Paul Dimmick, for an update on the newest Friends’ events and plans. The Friends preview sale will be on November 20th, and the ½ off, $3.00 bag sale for the public will be on November 22nd...

Shannon Okey, multitalented celebrity of the fiber and craft world, will be at Lakewood Public Library on Tuesday, November 11 at 7 p.m. in the Main Library auditorium where she will discuss her book, How to Knit in the Woods. There will be books available for sale and signing at this free event...

If past turnout for train programs is any indicator, then hordes of railroad enthusiasts are sure to descend upon the New Lakewood Public Library Auditorium on Thursday, October 11

Members of the Cuyahoga County Coroner’s Office were at Lakewood Public Library two weeks ago to present an inside look at the duties of the coroner’s office. On Tuesday, February 10 at 7 p.m., Blythe Pavone and Noreen Kyle from the Cuyahoga County Coroner’s Office will return with Mark Lattimer from LifeBanc to discuss “Saving and Enhancing Lives through the Gift of Organ and Tissue Donation.” This free program will take place at 7 p.m. in the Main Library auditorium on the lower level.

The Cuyahoga County Coroner’s Office has set a precedent for other coroner’s jurisdictions in the country by giving an organ procurement organization full access to bodies for tissue donation. Noreen, Blythe and Mark will discuss the facts and myths that surround organ and tissue procurement and they will explain how the process works. The Cuyahoga County Coroner’s Office has partnered with LifeBanc and MOTTEP (Minority Organ Tissue Transplant Education Program) to help save and enhance lives as well as educate the public.

LifeBanc is the nonprofit organ and tissue recovery organization for Northeast Ohio. LifeBanc serves a population of over 4 million people and works with 80 hospitals in 20 counties. Because of improved surgical techniques and drug therapies, more lives are being saved by organ transplantation. But these improvements have caused waiting lists to grow at a rapid pace while the number of organ donors has not kept up with the increased need. As part of its continuing efforts to facilitate organ and tissue donation, LifeBanc has launched programs aimed at coroners and funeral homes in Northeast Ohio. LifeBanc even added a coroner/funeral service coordinator to its staff in 2001 who works with the 20 Coroners and Medical Examiner offices as well as the nearly 500 funeral homes of Northeast Ohio.

There are two ways to become an organ donor. One way is from brain death and the other is to be a donor after cardiac death. Less than 2% of the population ever meets brain death criteria. Many people want the option to donate and Donation after Cardiac Death gives individuals and their families another way to donate organs. This option also increases the number of organs available for the thousands of Ohioans who are currently awaiting life-saving transplants. People who are on a waiting list for organ and tissue transplants are not waiting for a cure to be discovered; they are waiting for the gift of life. Did you know that through organ and tissue donation you can save up to seven lives and improve the lives of as many as fifty others? By joining The Ohio Donor Registry you can ensure that your decision to become a donor is known and carried out.

Join Blythe Pavone, Noreen Kyle and Mark Lattimer on Tuesday, February 13 at 7 p.m. in the Main Library Auditorium to find out more information about how you can become an organ or tissue donor and help save lives!

What does it take to find a job in 2008? Good contacts, up-to-date skills, flawless resume, excellent interviewing techniques – those are the things that haven’t changed for decades.

What has changed? Most job hunters will now be required to use the internet for job applications and contacting employers. Even job seekers who have never used a computer personally or professionally find that computer skills are necessary to secure a position...

This month a new role-playing game for youth in grades five through eight which focuses on campaigning and winning an election began at Lakewood Public Library. Teams of students are transforming librarians into candidates for the fictitious office of President of the United Streets of Lakewood. They are creating political parties, platforms and focusing on a few city and library issues. Campaign posters are currently hanging in the Children’s and Youth Services Department. More information is available at http://www.lkwdpl.org/youth/election.html. Voting in the library and online is open to all and will run from October 30 through November 5...

Twice as Fun as TV with Only Half the Radiation!

If at any point in the foreseeable future utilizing one of the library's 66 (60 at the Main Branch, 6 at Madison) brand new free to use computers seems like a good idea, then coming into contact with the PC Reservation System is inevitable.

For those used to the old sign in sheet system, the change may be potentially frustrating at first, but the learning curve is tiny and certainly worth the effort. The PCRS (PC Reservation System) streamlines the process for patrons and staff alike. It is fully automated, allows for the option to sit at that computer which is preferable (instead of the library staff making assignments), and allows for more accuracy and fairness determining computer assignments when the room is full...

Sunday afternoons have long been the home of free entertainment at the Library. For over twenty years, the Friends of Lakewood Public Library have offered concerts, lectures and even a little drama nearly every Sunday at 2:00 p.m. But on Sunday, November 2 the Friends will try something they’ve never done before. They’ll show a free movie using the Library’s brilliant digital theater set-up—His Girl Friday (1940) starring Cary Grant and Rosalind Russell...

On Sunday, October 14, at 2:00 p.m., renowned blues harmonica player, singer and songwriter Wallace Coleman comes to the Lakewood auditorium stage.

Ours is an era of over exposure. No secret is safe, and nothing is sacred. Or so some people would have you believe.

Bob Durante is not one of those people. “Magic still is magic, and it really does exist in our real world,” he says. He should know. He’s been studying and performing magic for over thirty years. His apprenticeship began at the Yellow Barrel of Magic, a Cleveland magic shop where he worked in the 1970’s. He eventually left the Yellow Barrel to branch off on his own, forming Zap Entertainment with his wife, Sue. He performs as Zap the Wonder Chap; she’s the Bubble Lady. “My wife is the famous one in the family,” Durante says with a laugh, referring to the enormous popularity of her bubble act with the three to nine year old set.

Lakewood Public Library Foundation has appointed a Gala Committee, whose members have been hard at work in developing plans to celebrate the completion of the 40,000 square foot expansion of Main Library.

Are you ready to watch the fur fly? Take a trip to Gay Purr-ee with Duchess, Marie, Berlioz and Toulouse. C’est la vie, what have you got to lose! Enjoy this Disney romp with the whole family presented by the Family Music and More program at the Lakewood Public Library...

Summertime, and the music is elegant. Soprano Kathleen Bosl and Flautist Roberta Holliday will light up the Lakewood Public Library Auditorium on Sunday, August 3 with their musical ensemble, ELEGANCE...

Yes, reading does change lives. Twenty years ago, when librarian Rebecca McFarland was working for Rocky River Public Library, one of her job duties was giving book talks. Rebecca picked up a copy of Max Allan Collin’s novel, The Dark City, a fictional account of Eliot Ness’s arrival in Cleveland. Since reading that book, Rebecca has become an internationally recognized expert on the life and times of Eliot Ness.

For a few years Lakewood Public Library has offered Open Office on patron computer desktops as an alternative to Microsoft Office.

Make the library a part of your family weekend time with programs featuring stories, activities, music and crafts for children. Our staff will provide materials and ideas for families wishing to continue reading and storytelling at home. The programs are free and there is no need to register in advance. Choose the day and time most convenient for you.

The public’s response to the interior color scheme at the new Lakewood Public Library building has been extremely positive. Many visitors have expressed fascination with the vibrant palette that begins right inside the doors.

Serious stitchers and readers will be pleased to know that Lakewood Public Library hosts a book club devoted to multitasking. The third Tuesday of almost every month Knit and Lit, a combination book club and stitchery group, meets to share their latest projects and to discuss everything from the classics to modern literature.

Vivify yourself with  expeditiousness—the first ever Lakewood Public Library Spelling Bee is coming! All youth in 4th through 8th grade are invited to experience the ardor and exhilaration, blunders and bloopers, triumphs and disappointments of a competitive spelling bee. 

More than 170,000 soldiers clashed at Battle of Gettysburg—7,000 died immediately while another 33,000 cried out for medical treatment in the aftermath. Civil War storyteller Harold George recounts the handling of the dead and the ceremonies held over them in a program entitled Dead Soldiers at Gettysburg. It takes place on Sunday, February 8 at 2:00 p.m. in the Lakewood Public Library Main Auditorium. The program is based on the book of the same name, his latest. Autographed copies will be available for sale at the event.

This multimedia lecture, performed in period uniform, shows modern audiences how death was handled before and after the war. Other topics will include how casualties were handled at Gettysburg and what state-of-the-art embalming techniques were in vogue at the time. Maps of the battlefield will reveal where the dead were originally buried. Then Mr. George will recount the reburial procedures observed by both the Union and the Confederacy.

The days are getting shorter, the air is getting crisper, and the fresh smell of pencils and paper waft through the air as schools open their doors for another year teaching young minds. It is also the time when the library kicks off its fall story time season. Cuddle up with your little ones and listen to stories, share songs and visit with friends.

While the public’s reception to the new library has been immensely positive, seeing the beauty and civic scale of the design by Robert A.M. Stern Architects, there several limitations and transitional aspects due to the phasing of the project that may detract from an initial impression of the design and functionality of the program.

Paul Stringer is always writing. “I’ve got about a hundred notebooks back at my apartment,” declares Stringer, unfurling a poem on notepaper in honor of a friend’s deceased mother.