Appomattox Regional Library System

Sponsored by the Friends of the Library

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Volume 1 | Number 1

www.arls.org

LOCATIONS

Headquarters, Hopewell 804-861-0322 209 E. Cawson Street Hopewell, VA 23860

Burrowsville 757-866-0659 18701 James River Drive Disputanta, VA 23842

Carson Depot 434-246-2900 16101 Halligan Park Road Carson, VA 23830

Dinwiddie 804-469-9450 14103 Boydton Plank Road Dinwiddie, VA 23841

Disputanta 804-991-2403 10010 County Drive Disputanta, VA 23842

McKenney 804-478-4866 20707 First Street McKenney, VA 23872

Prince George 804-458-6329 x 3700 6605 Courts Drive Prince George, VA 23875

Rohoic 804-732-4119 7301 Boydton Plank Road Petersburg, VA 23803

Bookmobile 804-861-0322

BOARD OF TRUSTEESMary Benjamin, DinwiddieLibbie Dragoo, HopewellPat Hale, Prince GeorgeFran Halupka, HopewellPamela Tuggle, Prince GeorgeIsabel Vartanian, HopewellSharon Bonner Yates, Dinwiddie*2 appointments pending

MISSIONThe Appomattox Regional Library System willprovide services and programs to the communitiesit serves through support of life-long learning,general information, and the exchange of ideas with effective use of traditional library resources and emerging technology.

CONTENT AND ENDORSEMENT:The content of ARLS publications, classes, andevents does not necessarily reflect the views heldby the Library, nor does mention of companies ororganizations imply endorsement.

PHOTO/VIDEO RELEASE STATEMENT:By attending ARLS, or ARLS co-sponsoredclasses or events, at any location, the attendeeagrees that: ARLS shall have the unrestricted rightand license to use his or her image, likeness,name, voice, comment, or other proprietary orpublic rights, and that of any minor accompanyingattendee, in any broadcast, telecast, photograph,video, audio sound, audiovisual, and/or otherrecording taken in connection with the class, event, or other transmission, distribution, public performance, or reproduction, in whole or in part, of the class or event for all purposes, worldwide, in perpetuity, and in any and all media now orhereafter known, without compensation. ARLS isthe exclusive owner of all copyrights, and otherproprietary rights. The rights granted herein toARLS are assignable.

Discover Your Library from ScottLetter from the Director

Welcome to the the first issue of Appomattox Regional Library’s quarterly program guide,EXPLORE. This new publication will keep you up to date with what is happening in all of our libraries. We don’t want you to miss a thing.

This fall there are more authors visiting than ever before. From September through November you will have a great opportunity to meet authors, hear them describe their craft and ask nitty-gritty questions.

We are honored to have Pulitzer Prize winning author Tony Horwitz visit on September 19 at 7 p.m. He will introduce his latest novel Midnight Rising. It is the story of the insurrection at Harpers Ferry, West Virginia which contributed to the Civil War. My favorite book by Mr. Horwitz is Confederates in the Attic which describes his adventures of becoming a Civil War reenactor. It is a historic, ironic and sobering analysis of the conflict.

Paranormal activity will be buzzing when LB Taylor visits September 29 at 7 pm. He willshare his best ghost stories of Virginia. September 15 at 1 p.m. Sandra Parshall, awardwinning author of the Rachel Goddard Mysteries, will be here to make things very spookyleading up to October. Besides other authors, there will also be a presentation by the Tri-City Paranormal investigators who will discuss findings at the Beacon Theatre.

Our computer classes have undergone a complete retooling. Technology is rapidlyadvancing and our library users requested a change. We have responded with new classes and topics. From beginners to advanced we will help you get an edge on information tech.

Talk Like a Pirate Day is September 19: Enjoy the whimsy and help us pay homage toCaptain Jack Sparrow and jolly pirates of old. Buccaneers may accost you but treasure will abound.

Don’t miss your opportunity to sing, play, write, and read with your youngsters at our Babies, Toddlers, and Preschool story time. Starting September 10 and running through December 7, children and caregivers are invited to attend interactive learning activities at our many locations.

Teen Read Week, celebrated October 14-20, is just in time to practice your best zombiewalk for Halloween. Twihards get ready. Back by popular demand is the Twilight: BreakingDawn Part II Premiere Party at the Hopewell Library. The saga of star crossed vampirescontinues on November 13 from 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. in Hopewell.

Please enjoy this publication and give us your feedback. We especially look forward toserving you this fall and holiday season.

Scott FirestineDirector

FRIENDS OF THE LIBRARY CORNER

The Hopewell/Prince George Friends and the Friends of the Library, Dinwiddie invite you to join them as “Fun and Friend Raisers” for your local libraries. Share your love of books and reading. Join the Friends of the Library today! For more information, stop by your local branch, visit www.arls.org/support or contact Jan Rowley by email at jrowley@arls.org or by phone at (804) 458-6329 extension 2001.

Membership fees are $10 per year or $50 for a lifetime membership in the Friends of theLibrary, Dinwiddie. Basic membership fees for the Hopewell/PG Friends of the Library are$10 for an individual, $20 for a family, and $100 for a life membership.

October 13 2:00 p.m. Hopewell/Prince George Friends of the Library Bi-Annual Meeting:Open to the public. J. B. Stanley, also writing as Ellery Adams, will bring her “How to Plot A Mystery” Audience Appreciation event to the Hopewell Library.

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September 19 7:00 p.m. at Hopewell LibraryTony is a native of Washington, D.C., and a graduate of Brown University and Columbia University’s Graduate Schoolof Journalism. He worked for many years as a reporter, first in Indiana and then during a decade overseas in Australia,Europe, Africa, and the Middle East, mostly covering wars and conflicts as a foreign correspondent for The Wall StreetJournal. After returning to the U.S., he won the Pulitzer Prize for national reporting and worked as a staff writer for TheNew Yorker before becoming a full-time author.

Four of his books have been national and New York Times bestsellers: A Voyage Long and Strange, Blue Latitudes,Confederates in the Attic, and Baghdad Without A Map. His other work includes “Mississippi Wood,” a documentary onPBS about Southern loggers; “The Devil May Care,” a collection of fifty tales about intrepid Americans; and contributions to State by State: A Panoramic Portrait of America and The New Gilded Age: The New Yorker Looks at the Culture of Affluence. His latest novel, Midnight Rising, tells the electrifying tale of the daring insurrection at Harpers Ferry, Virginia, that put America on the path to Civil War.

Tony has also been a fellow at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University, and a visiting scholar at the John CarterBrown Library at Brown University. He lives with his wife, Geraldine Brooks, and their sons, Nathaniel and Bizu, on Martha’s Vineyard inMassachusetts.

Adult Programs

Featured Author: Tony Horwitz

Sandra ParshallSeptember 15 1:00 p.m.Prince George County Library

Sandra Parshall is the award-winning author of the Rachel Goddard Mysteries, a series about a veterinarian in a fictional Mason County, Virginia. The first book in this series, The Heat of the Moon, will be September’s Book Group selection in Prince George and so come to hear the author speak about her gripping and suspenseful stories.

Connie LapalloOctober 2 6:30 p.m.Prince George County Library

Connie Lapallo’s great-grandmother arrived inJamestown in 1609, but Ms. Lapallo found that very few historical books tell the story of women and children settlers. In 2006 she changed that with her book Dark Enough to See the Stars in a Jamestown Sky . Lapallo continues to bring hergreat-grandmother’s story to life in the second of this historical fiction series, When the Moon Has No More Silver .

LB TaylorSeptember 29 7 p.m.Dinwiddie Library

Local author L.B. Taylor Jr. opens haunting season with a presentation at Dinwiddie Branch Library. He has authored over fifty books on Virginia’s ghostly residents. He will discuss local haunting lore and his latest book, Monsters of Virginia.

Ellery AdamsOctober 13 2:00 p.m.Hopewell Library

Ellery Adams grew up on a beach near theLong Island Sound. Having spent her adult life in a series of landlocked towns, she

Bryant NevilleNovember 7 7:00 p.m. DinwiddieNovember 14 7:00 p.m. Rohoic

Bryant Neville will discuss his book How I Roll, which describes a life of adaptation, community support, and success. A lifelong resident of Dinwiddie County who became a quadriplegic at the age of seventeen, Neville’s story offers an example of overcoming adversity to live well and with thanks.

Book Groups These book groups are informal and friendly events. A cooperative book group encourages members to read books whichthey may not have chosen on their own. Book groups meet in libraries listed below on the day of the month and time indicated.

Carson Depot Library6:00 p.m. on 3rd Thursday

09/20 Seal Team Sixby Howard E. Wasdin

10/18 Walk Two Moonsby Sharon Creech

11/15 A Painted Houseby John Grisham

Dinwiddie Library7:00 p.m. on 3rd Thursday09/20 Miss Peregrine’s

Home for Peculiar Childrenby Ransom Riggs

10/18 The Night Circusby Erin Morgenstern

11/15 Brat Farrarby Josephine Tey

Hopewell Library1:00 p.m. on 3rd Thursday

09/20 Tortilla Flatby John Steinbeck

10/18 The Bride’s Houseby Sandra Dallas

11/15 The Yellow Houseby Patricia Falvey

Hopewell Library6:30 p.m. on last Tuesday

09/25 The Yellow House by Patricia Falvey

10/30 Tinkers by Paul Harding11/27 Shelter Me by Juliette Fay

Prince George Library6:00 p.m. on 2nd Tuesday

09/11 The Heat of the Moonby Sandra Parshall10/09 Zone One

by Colson Whitehead11/13 The Best Bad Luck I

Ever Had by Kristin Levine

ACCOMMODATIONS: Appropriate accommodations will be made at Appomattox Regional Library System (ARLS) sponsored events forindividuals with special needs, if requested at least one week in advance.

Howard OwenNovember 1 6:30 p.m.Prince George County Library

Fredericksburg, VA author Howard Owen hasbeen publishing stories for more than twodecades, including a short story in 2010’sRichmond Noir. His latest novel, Oregon Hill, tells the story of a Richmond reporter investigating a murder at VCU and has beenwell-reviewed nationally with Kirkus Reviews calling it “Southern literature as expected, with a touch of noir, and with a touch ofDennis Lehane’s Mystic River.”

cherishes her memories of open water, violent storms, and the smellof the sea. Ms. Adams has held many jobs including caterer, retailclerk, car salesperson, teacher, tutor and tech writer, all the whilepenning poems, children’s books, and novels. She now writes fulltimefrom her home in Short Pump.Her Books by the Bay Mysteries include: A Killer Plot, A DeadlyCliche, and The Last Word. She is now writing The Charmed Pie Shoppe Mysteries.

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Computer Classes

Holiday Open Houses Visit your local library to celebrate the holidays

with refreshments and entertainment!

Hopewell Library - December 13, 6:00 - 8:00 p.m. Get in the spirit with a holiday craft, movie, and refreshments!

Don’t miss the Ralph Jones Band at 7:00 p.m.

McKenney Library - December 1, 11:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.

Dinwiddie Library - December 7, 2:00 - 6:00 p.m. Hosted by Friends of the Library, Dinwiddie

Burrowsville Library - December 7, 7:00 - 9:00 p.m.

Prince George County Library - December 14, 4:00 - 6:00 p.m.

The computer classes below are held at the Hopewell Library. Registration is not required. For more information, call(804) 458-6329 extension 1005. One-on-one computer tutorials are available at the Prince George County Library.Please call (804) 458-6329 extension 3700 to schedule an appointment.

Beginner Computer Series:This series is for brand new users who have never used a computer or are just starting to learn how to use one. It will be assumed that studentsalready know how to type as this skill will NOT be covered. If you already know how to use a computer, you are too advanced for this series.

Sept. 4, 6:00 p.m. Overview of Computer Hardware & SoftwareSept. 11, 6:00 p.m. Navigating & Using Windows Operating SystemsSept. 18, 6:00 p.m. File Management

Beginner Internet Series:This series is for users who already feel comfortable on a computer in general, but would like to learn more about using the internet and email. Ifyou are a brand new computer user, please take the Beginner Computer Series before taking this one. It will be assumed that students alreadyhave basic computer skills when taking this course.

Oct. 2, 6:00 p.m. Intro to the InternetOct. 9, 6:00 p.m. Advanced Internet SearchingOct. 16, 6:00 p.m. Intro to Email

Office Software Series:This series is for users who already feel comfortable on a computer in general, but would like to learn more about office software programs. If youare a brand new computer user, please take the Beginner Computer Series before taking this one. It will be assumed that students already havebasic computer skills when taking this course.

Nov. 6, 6:00 p.m. Word ProcessingNov. 13, 6:00 p.m. SpreadsheetsNov. 20, 6:00 p.m. Slide Presentations

Special Events

Hopewell LibraryOctober 13 2:00 p.m. Hopewell/Prince George Friends of the Library Bi-Annual Meeting: Open to the public. Ellery Adams will discuss how to plota mystery novel and the Friends of the Library will provide refreshments and a door prize.

October 18 7:30 p.m. Tri-City Paranormal: Paranormal investigators discuss procedures and findings from local investigations, including ourvery own Beacon Theatre.

Southside From the Heart: Join our knitters and crocheters as they create items for local hospitals, nursing homes and shelters. Crafters of allages and skill levels are welcome.10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. : Sept 13th, Sept 27th, Oct. 11th, Oct25th, Nov 8th, Dec 13th, Dec 27th6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.: Sept 6th, Sept 20th, Oct 4th, Oct 18th, Nov 1st, Nov 15th, Dec 6th, Dec 20th

Prince George County LibraryOctober 25 6:00 p.m. Poetry, Prose, and Pizza: The Hopewell/Prince George Friends of the Library invite all to attend the 3rd Poetry, Prose, andPizza event in Prince George. Enjoy a slice of pizza from Luca’s Italian Restaurant before listening to the talented writers from our area or sharinga poem of your own.December 5 1:00 p.m. Ornament Craft: Learn to create a beautiful and unique paint-filled glass ornament to decorate your home with or give asa gift. All participants will leave with an ornament of their own!

Rohoic LibraryDecember 6 4:00 p.m. Ornament Craft: Learn to create a beautiful and unique paint-filled glass ornament to decorate your home with or give asa gift. All participants will leave with an ornament of their own!

Dinwiddie LibrarySouthside From the Heart: Join our knitters and crocheters as they create items for local hospitals, nursing homes and shelters. Crafters of allages and skill levels are welcome.1:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.: Sept 12th, Sep 26th, Oct 10th, Oct 24th, Nov 7th, Nov 21st, Dec 12th, Dec 26th

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All branches of the Appomattox Regional Library System will be closed:

September 3September 22 Hopewell Library will be closed. Other branches will observe regular hoursOctober 8November 12November 22 & 23December 24 & 25December 31: Close early at 6 p.m.

Library branches will reopen after New Year on Wednesday, January 2, 2013

Library Closings

Donations

The Appomattox Regional Library welcomes donations of gently used and new books. Alldonations will be evaluated according to the Library’s collection development policy. Items that cannot be added to the collection will be handled by the Friends of the library for redistribution to the community, sale, recycling or discard. Either way, your gift benefits the library and is greatly appreciated. All proceeds from the sale of donated materials will be used by the Friends to support the library.

The library cannot accept:

• Magazines (please recycle at community recycling locations) • Audio cassettes, video cassettes, record albums • Reader’s Digest Editions • Encyclopedias • Software • Textbooks older than 4 years • Non-Fiction items older than 5 years • Paperbacks older than 5 years • Moldy, discolored, stained, or malodorous items

Thank you for your assistance.The library requests that you bring your donations only during the first week of each month.

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Game Days at the Hopewell Library 3:00 - 5:00 p.m.September 8October 6November 3-International Games Day! Join us and gamers from around the world and get your game on!December 1

Talk Like a Pirate Day & Costumes-September 19 All Day/All ARLS BranchesAaarrrggg you ready for Talk Like A Pirate Day? Learn a new pirate phrase and join in on the fun!

Fantastic Fall CraftsOctober 23 4:30 - 5:30 p.m. at the Rohoic LibraryDrop in and decorate your own Fall bag or make a spooky mask!

Pumpkin Fun PartyOctober 30 4:30 - 5:30 p.m. at the Hopewell LibraryBYOP-Bring Your Own Pumpkin! Or, come early to choose a small pumpkin to decorate. We’ll provide all kinds offun decorations! Stay for refreshments too!

Thanksgiving CraftNovember 19 4:00 - 5:00 p.m. at the Prince George Library

Thanksgiving CraftNovember 20 4:30 - 5:30 p.m. at the Hopewell LibraryBe thankful and crafty this year! Join us to make a fun Tree of Thanks!

Holiday Craft & Open HouseDecember 13 6:00 - 8:00 p.m. at the Hopewell LibraryGet in the spirit with a holiday craft, movie, and refreshments! Don’t miss the Ralph Jones Band at 7:00 p.m.

Holiday CraftDecember 18 4:00 - 5:00 p.m. at the Prince George LibraryWith the holidays right around the corner, stop by to make a festive Holiday craft!

All Ages

Children and caregivers are invited to attend read, sing and rhyme with us at our weekly story time! Story time promotes brain and language development for children from birth to age 5. Children are introduced to early literacy skills that are essential for learning to read including print motivation, narrative skills, phonological awareness, vocabulary, letter knowledge, and print awareness. Remember: Sing, Talk, Play, Write, READ!

**Story Times will not be held on October 24 or the week of November 26-30.

Babies, Toddlers, & PreSchool (Birth to Pre-K)

Fall Story Time Series: September 10 - December 7Hopewell Library - Mondays at 10:30 a.m.Prince George Library - Wednesdays at 10:00 a.m.Dinwiddie Library - Wednesdays at 11:30 a.m.Carson Library - Fridays at 10:30 a.m.

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Kids (Grades K to 5)

Clever Canines Book Buddies at the Hopewell Library 2nd Thursdays (Monthly) 5:45-6:45 p.m. Children gain confidence in reading by reading aloud to therapy dogs! Join clever canines handlers and therapy dogs for a fun way to practice reading skills! The program is for students in grades 2-4. Sign up for a 15 minute reading slot from 5:45-6:45p.m. Registration Required. Call 804-458-6329 ext. 1005 to register.

Cool Kids Club at McKenney Library 2nd Fridays (Monthly) 4:30 p.m. Join us for crafts, games, refreshments, book discussions and more at the McKenney Library.

Tweens & Teens (Grades 6 to 12)

Cool Kids Club at McKenney Library 2nd Fridays (Monthly) 4:30 p.m. Join us for crafts, games, refreshments, book discussions and more at the McKenney Library.

Teen Read Week October 14 - 20 Celebrate reading just for the fun of it during Teen Read Week! This year’s theme is “It Came From the Library!” Join us for ghastly fun at these events: October 15 5:00-7:00 p.m. Ghouls & Gals Dance Party at the Prince George Library October 17 5:00-7:00 p.m. Ghouls & Gals Dance Party at the Hopewell Library

Twilight: Breaking Dawn Part 2 Premiere Party at the Hopewell Library November 13 5:00-6:30 p.m. Excited to see the Cullens take on the Volturi in the Breaking Dawn Part 2? Join us for games, trivia, crafts and refreshments! Registration required, email to register.teens@arls.org

Appomattox Regional Library System

Sponsored by the Friends of the Library

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