Fall / Winter 2019 Issue No. 3

the Follow us on: BCPL Bulletin A Newsletter from the Broome County Public Library

Library Hours: Monday-Thursday 9am-8pm Friday & Saturday 9am-5pm

Food for Fines ... pg 3

A Reader's Dilemma ... pg 6

Book Sale Dates ... pg 8

Library Programs ... pg 10 HAPPENINGS AT BCPL

Early Voting For the first time, New Yorkers were able to vote early for the November 5, 2019 general election, no reason or excuse needed. The Broome County Public Library was chosen as one of the three early voting sites in Broome County. For nine days leading up to the election, from October 26 to November 3, all residents of Broome County were able to vote in the Library's Decker Room. We were happy to work with the Board of Elections to offer this convenience to the community.

Grant Applications We have also been busy applying for a variety of grants. The Youth Services Librarian submitted a grant request through the Four County Library system, who received funds from the New York State Library's Family Literacy grant. We also applied for a New York State Construction grant, and very recently the Friends of the Broome County Public Library submitted a grant request on our behalf to Tioga Downs for accessibility upgrades.

Holiday Book Swap The Books & Beans Book Club will do a holiday book swap on December 19, 6-7:30, at Little Venice. Bring a new or used wrapped book; new members are welcome, but registration is required. Call 778-3829. Books being discussed at the December meeting will be The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde and The Bookish Life of Nina Hill by Abbi Waxman.

Yoga @ the Library The Library's Yoga program continues to do very well, both attendance and enthusiasm among the participants remains high. Beginner's yoga is offered every Tuesday evening, 5:30 to 6:30 in the Exhibit Room for most of the year. We will, however, be taking a break for the holidays. Last session before the break will be November 19th, resuming again in January. No registration required. Wear loose clothing and bring a yoga mat (we do have a limited supply to lend out).

I love my library and I read the newsletter.

Present this coupon at the Circulation Desk and receive $1 off any fine*

*Applies to overdue fines only, no lost materials. Valid only at the Broome County Public Library. One certificate per person per newsletter.

Expiration Date 12/31/19 Tis the season ... FOOD FOR FINES DONATE FOOD, REDUCE YOUR FINES During the month of December, donate one non-perishable, unexpired food item and receive $1.00 in fine forgiveness.

*Does not apply to fees from lost materials

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Have you tried HOOPLA? Hot Tips F R O M A B O O K I E

The Land of Wolves by Craig Johnson

The Land of Wolves is the 15th book in Craig Johnson’s Longmire series. If you have seen the television show that is based on these books, then you know that the series is set in northern 's Absaroka County where is Sheriff. This book begins with the carcass of a dead sheep found in the Big Horn Mountains, and quickly becomes the investigation into the suicide or murder of a dead shepherd with a connection to a powerful family of Basque ranchers. Walt, still recovering from the injuries he sustained in Mexico retrieving his kidnapped daughter, must follow the twists and turns of the case, as a renegade wolf stirs up hysteria among the population of Absaroka County, pitting ranchers against environmentalists. As with all the books in this series, the land itself is an integral part of the story, in both its beauty and its challenges.

This series tends to have a wide appeal because it does such a A puurrfectly good successful job at catering to different reading tastes, combining intelligent and thoughtful writing, interesting plots, and lots of way to spend a action for those who enjoy it. Everyone will, of course, have their favorites. For example, I really enjoyed The Star, cold, snowy day. for it's exploration of Walt's backstory, whereas a friend much preferred The Depth of Winter, a much more action oriented story where Walt travels across the border to retrieve his kidnapped daughter from the leader of a Mexican drug cartel.

I look forward to reading this series every year, and with a strong and intelligent lead character that I really enjoy, a darn good story, and strong supporting characters, this book did not let me down.

by Jennifer Keysor Public Services Librarian A Readers Dilemma ...

I’m not a huge reader, but I certainly do read. I pulled a book off the shelf recently thinking I recognized the author as someone who I’d read before and liked, John Irving. I just finished “A Widow for One Year.” And yes, I enjoyed it. I followed Ruth Cole as she twisted and turned through life. I was uncomfortable at times, I laughed out loud and I cried. But, now what? I’m lost. I have now started three new books and none of them has captivated my attention in quite the same way. Do I go back to the author whose style I enjoy? Do I find something in the same genre? What do I call that anyway? I think I’ll ask a librarian.

A Few Suggestions ...

Finding that next book you really love can be tricky. However, being able to identify another book that you enjoyed can be a good starting point. The first thing to do is to figure out exactly what appealed to you in the previous book. For example, did you really love the setting? A particular character? The way the author used language? The pace of the book? Or was it the fact that the book was a mystery or a romance or some other category of fiction? The number of books out there can be overwhelming, and answering these questions can help you narrow down the potential pool to a more manageable number.

Fiction Genres Knowing what genre you enjoy can be a very good place to begin, but what exactly is a genre? When people talk about fiction, they often divide it in half. A book will be either popular, or genre fiction, or literary fiction. A genre is simply a way to divide popular fiction into smaller categories or subsets. These categories can then be divided again into even smaller categories within the genre. So lets say you like romance stories; romance is the genre, but that does not mean you enjoy every romance ever written. Maybe you really like contemporary romances set in the modern day, but you just hate historical romances. Or perhaps romantic suspense or paranormal romances are more your speed.

Genre fiction as a whole usually follows a certain structure; it is generally plot-driven, written around a loose formula, and is meant to be entertaining. Fiction that falls under this category is most often divided into mystery, romance, thrillers, suspense, fantasy, science fiction, horror, historical fiction, Christian fiction, and westerns . Books can and do contain a mix of different genres and elements, but there will always be more emphasis on one. For example, suspense and romantic suspense vary in that in romantic suspense the emphasis is on the romantic relationship between the two main characters, while the suspense part of the plot is secondary. In books that fall under the suspense category, the element of suspense will be what drives the story, with the relationships among the characters having less importance. Knowing what genre, or mix of genres, appeal to you can tell you which authors you might like. The Library provides lists of authors

Continued on the next page ... organized around different genres to help you get started. Ask at either the Reference Desk or the Circulation Desk.

Geography, etc. Genres are an excellent place to start, but there are a couple of other elements that might appeal to readers. For example, if the setting of the book was something you really enjoyed, then one option would be to look for other fiction books set in the same geographic area. You then have the choice of looking for novels within the same genre or branching out into different kinds of fiction. You might even want to consider reading a non-fiction book about the history of that area.

The pace of a book can also vary. Some books move at a very leisurely pace, while others, most often thrillers or suspense novels pick up speed as they go and drive the reader towards the resolution of the story. These books usually have shorter chapters, with less descriptive language.

If it was a particular character or characters that you enjoyed, than maybe character driven books appeal to you and you might look for other books that are more character focused. And this brings us to literary fiction. While genre fiction can include stories with interesting and well-written characters, this particular element is more often associated with literary fiction.

Literary Fiction Literary fiction is harder to categorize, but if it's the beauty of the language or the well written characters or the more leisurely pace of a particular book that appeals to you, literary fiction might be worth exploring. In literary fiction there are no rules on subject matter and the storytelling can be more creative; the trade off on this is that because it often pushes boundaries, it can also be difficult or uncomfortable to read. It is often character focused, although it can still have page turning plots, and it is more likely to have a unique perspective. The paragraphs are usually more dense and the language more descriptive. These are the books that also tend to win awards.

If you think you might enjoy literary fiction, a good place to find suggestions is the annual list published near the end of each year by the New York Times, called the 100 Notable Books. The list for 2019 should come out sometime in late November. This list will include both fiction and non-fiction selections.

Further Resources

Book Page (available at the front desk) Select Reads (www.bclibrary.info): Sign-up to receive monthly online newsletters with lists of book selections. Customize your own list in Find Authors to be alerted whenever a favorite author newest book has been to the Library’s collection. Goodreads (www.goodreads.com) New York Times Bestseller Lists New York Times Book Review PBS Book Club (www.pbs.org/newshour/tag/book-club)

by Jennifer Keysor Public Services Librarian F R I E N D S O F T H E L I B R A R Y BOOK SALE Dates for the coming year ...

2019 November 9 December 14

The Friends is an organization building a new partnership 2020 between the library and the community by contributing January 25 services that enhance community March 14 access for all people

May 9 All sales run 9:00 to 2:00 in Their purpose:

the Decker Room and Public To maintain an association of

June 27 persons interested in books Lounge at the library. and libraries. August 15 Adult hardcover: $1.00 To promote an informed September 19 interest in the Broome County Adult paperbacks: $.50 Public Library, its services, November 14 Children's hardcover: $.50 facilities, and needs. Children's paperbacks: $.25 December 12 To receive, administer, and DVDs: $1.00 dispose of gifts for the promotion of the objectives of the Broome County Public Bag sale from 2:15 to 3:00. Library. $2 per bag. Contact the Friends by phone at (607) 778-6403 or email at All books and media in the [email protected] gift shop will be half-price during book sales. Or visit our website: www.bclibrary.info/bcplfriends BCPL Hosts the My Lai Exhibit This exhibit used the 50th Anniversary of the breaking of the story in the press of the My Lai (pronounced Me-lie) Massacre to explore the human costs of war and the need to work for peace and justice.

The My Lai Memorial Exhibit is a project of Chicago Veterans for Peace, and honors the Vietnamese people who died as a result of our political and military actions in their country during the Vietnam War.

Sponsored by Peace Action of Broome and Veterans for Peace. For more information, call 607-239-9605 or email [email protected]

November 7 10:00-8:00 November 8 10:00-5:00 November 9 10:00-2:00 Weekly Beginner Weekly Programs at the Library Yoga Classes: Every Meditation Tuesday Group: Meets by Sherry Kowalski Head of Information Services Department 5:30-6:30, now through every the end of November Wednesday, 19th. Picks up again 6:00-7:00. The Library offers many ongoing on the same schedule in January. programs and events:

All the programs we offer are free to attend. We can offer our programs for free because of the Hungry Ear: Last Knitting Group: fundraising efforts of The Friends of Broome Monday of the each Meets the third County Public Library. month, 5:30-6:30. Tuesday of each No meetings in month, 5:30-7:30. To find more information about our events, you December and No meeting in may follow us on Facebook and Twitter or check January. November. out our Library Calendar on our webpage, www.bclibrary.info/events.

Coloring Club for Sound Bath Books and Beans Book Club: Meets Adults: Meets every Immersions: Book Club: Meets at the first Thursday Wednesday, 5:30- Meets the first and local restaurants on the of each month from 7:30. third Wednesday of third or fourth Thursday 6:00-7:30. each month, 6:10- of each month from 7:30. 6:00-7:30. No meeting in November.

The Origins and Meaning of Thanksgiving Thursday, November 21, 6:00 - 7:30 Writers’ Group: Power of Meets the second Meditation: Meets The Origins of Christmas Saturday of the second and Thursday, December 12, 6:00 - 7:30 each month, 10:00- fourth Thursday of 12:00. November, 6:30- Both these presentations will be given by Dr. 7:30. 2020 dates Timothy P. Bridgman, a published Professional not yet set. Historian and Reference Librarian at the Broome County Public Library. Registration is required: to sign up, please call 607-778-6451 or stop by the Reference desk. Board Game Night Healing Play for Adults: Meets Shop: Meets The Thanksgiving presentation will focus on the the second and January 9, January origins of the American holiday of Thanksgiving, fourth Wednesday 23, February 6, and how it came to be celebrated, and its original of each month, February 20 at significance for those who celebrated it. 5:30-7:30. 5:30-7:00. Kelsey Kathleen Jan Cara

Jacie

Lucy Librarians Read Nancy

(some of the titles we are reading ...) Jennifer

Michelle Kevin Tim

Sherry After finding a videographer, and THE MAKING OF A here it must be said that we are very grateful to Andrew Livermore VIDEO AD for both his work as the On January 17th, I went to a Partnership and Outreach workshop in Sidney. videographer and his conceptual There, we were told about applying for a grant to reach our unreached contributions, we started populations. I decided to try for it and applied for a grant to create a brainstorming ideas. The final commercial that describes all that our library has to offer, with the intention decision was to go with the basic of putting it on Facebook and YouTube. idea of a young girl and her family coming to the library and seeing We received $350 for the commercial in late February. My dream was to all the wonderful things we have to show the many things that our library has to offer the community, such as offer. our programs, our collection, the downloadable options, and so much more. I wanted people to realize that we aren’t just a place full of musty, dusty Next we moved on to filming. The books; that we have so much more. first thing to be filmed was drone footage within the library. It was really neat to watch him do this. At one point, he flew the drone over the DVDs in the adult area, and the air from the propellers blew all the DVDs off the top shelf. It was COLOR wild to see them just fall off as if a ghost had pushed them. He then PRINTING brought in his daughter and filmed NOW AVAILABLE her going to programs, getting a library card, and checking out books. With the purchase of two

new printers, we are We are now at a point where excited to be able to offer everything has been filmed except color printing. It is the home scene, which will be available at both the done in the next few days. Andy printers, and the cost will

be $.50 per page. Black

and white printing will remain the same at $.15 is very enthusiastic about it all and hopes to have it done very soon. per page. My hope is to work out the final details and preview the video in the next To print in color, you will month. Once this has been done, we will work with Andy in getting it need to change the printer uploaded to the Library’s Facebook page and to YouTube. It would be option from the default of neat to have it “premier” in January – fresh new year, fresh new idea. Main Floor to Main Floor - Color. All the steps after It has been an interesting process, and we hope you enjoy the results. that will remain the same.

Please ask us if you have by Michelle Ford any questions. Youth Services Librarian Sewing Machines Available at the Library

Quilters and crafters, mending mothers and creative creatures alike, will now love the library a little more. We recently added a third sewing machine to our collection, bringing us up to a Singer, a Brother, and a Kenmore.

Apartment dwellers fear not we can help you sew your fantasies. There are several crafty librarians on staff able to teach the art of machine sewing, and books on the topic also available. All you need to do is bring your pattern, your thread, and your fabric. We have an iron and an ironing board large clean tables perfect for cutting out a pattern and a work light to help you see what you are sewing. Contact Information Library Use

Broome County Public Library • www.bclibrary.info Free use of public Internet computers with library card. Free wireless access available. Information/Reference: 778-6451 [email protected] Black & white printing from computers 15¢ per page. Renewals, Overdue items, or Bills: 778-6454 Color printing from computers 50¢ per page. Youth Services: 778-6456 [email protected] Photocopier: 25¢ per page. Local History: 778-3572 [email protected] Faxing: $2.00 for first page, $1.00 every page after. Meeting Rooms: 778-6400, Ext. 5 Free document scanning; bring a flash drive to save General email: [email protected] materials.

Broome County Public Library • www.bclibrary.info • 185 Court Street • Binghamton, NY 13901