On Our Minds

Details: Published: 05 October 2010; Created: 05 October 2010; Last Updated: 05 October 2010; Hits: 4698

bookvolunteers To the Editor: On behalf of the Scarsdale Library Board of Trustees, I would like to express our appreciation to the volunteers and patrons who made this year's Friends of the Scarsdale Library book sale our most successful one yet.

We are so grateful to our dedicated group of volunteers who, under the leadership of Kathy Steves, spent hundreds of hours toiling in the library's basement to sort the thousands of donated books, and then staffed the nine-day sale.

We also thank the community for generously donating books, records and DVDs, and for showing up -- not only once but multiple times, in many cases -- to purchase from the enormous assortment available.

The Library relies upon the book sale proceeds to provide programs for children and adults and to pay for many other important projects. Your continued enthusiasm for the sale will help the Library remain a vital community resource for years to come.

Sara Werder
President, Scarsdale Library Board of Trustees
October 3, 2010

Details: Published: 28 September 2010; Created: 28 September 2010; Last Updated: 28 September 2010; Hits: 3963

The Scarsdale Public Library Teen Advisory Board will meet on Monday, October 4 at 7:00 PM. All high school students, who are residents of Scarsdale, are invited to attend and join the board. The meeting will include electing officers and committee chairs, getting updates on the Teen Space and the library's strategic plan, and a discussion of programs and activities. The meeting will be held in the Dickinson Room of the Scarsdale Public Library on Olmstead Road.

Elizabeth Bermel
Director, Scarsdale Public Library
(914) 722-1300
ebermel@wlsmail.org

The Greenburgh Public Library Board of Trustees is in the process of developing a long-range plan designed to ensure that the library delivers high-quality 21st century library service. As part of this process, they are soliciting opinions and ideas from community residents through two different mediums - focus groups and a survey. Whether or not you currently use the library, they would like your input.

The results of this survey and focus group meetings will be added to the GPL Long Range Plan which will guide your library into a successful future.

Focus Group Meetings will be held in October and November, and will be announced as they are scheduled.

The survey is now available on the library’s website. Take the online version by visiting www.greenburghlibrary.org and clicking on the survey link provided on the website. All answers will be confidential and automatically tallied. You should be able to finish it in about 10 minutes or less. The survey will remain online until mid November. All results will be posted on the website and included in the Long Range Plan.

Details: Written by Joanne Wallenstein; Published: 13 September 2010; Created: 13 September 2010; Last Updated: 13 September 2010; Hits: 4023

books1 You’ll find an abundance of books at the Scarsdale Library Book Sale this week….in fact, Ruth Kohn, President of the Friends of the Scarsdale Library estimates that there are 20,000 books, tapes, and cd’s for sale. The Scott Room is packed, with spillover into the library entryway and many more titles on tables outside.

Prices are very reasonable, ranging from .50-$3.00 for soft and hardcover books. In addition, the sale includes collectibles that range in price from $5-$100. Book dealers have been coming by every day and report that the prices for the collectible books are extremely fair.

And if those prices are not low enough, on Wednesday September 15 everything is half off and on Sunday, September 19 there will be a blow-out sale.

Book sale hours for the rest of the week are as follows:

Tuesday September 14: 11 am – 8 pm
Wednesday September 15: 11 am – 8 pm (half price)
Thursday September 16: 9 am – 5 pm (half price)
Friday September 17: 9 am – 4 pm (half price)
Saturday September 18: Library closed for Yom Kippur
Sunday September 19: 10 am – 4 pm (half price or less)

Thanks so much to the Friends of the Scarsdale Library for their herculean efforts.

Details: Published: 20 September 2010; Created: 20 September 2010; Last Updated: 20 September 2010; Hits: 3580

zeroes Friends of the Scarsdale Library are proud to present author Randall Lane who will speak on his bestseller, The Zeroes on Tuesday, October 5 at 8 pm in Scott Room.

What Liar’s Poker was for the 1980s, The Zeroes is to the first decade of the new century: an insider's memoir of a gilded era when Wall Street went insane-and took the rest of us down with it.

Randall Lane never set out to become a Wall Street power broker. But during the decade he calls "the Zeroes," he co-founded a small magazine company that put him near the white-hot center of the biggest boom in history. Almost by accident, a man who drove a beat-up Subaru and lived in a rented walk-up became the go-to guy for big shots with nine-figure incomes.

Lane's saga began with a simple idea: a glossy magazine exclusively for and about traders, which would treat them like rock stars and entice them to splurge on luxury goods. Trader Monthly was an instant hit around the world.

Before long, Wall Street's rich and powerful trusted Lane as a fellow insider-the guy who could turn an anonymous trader into a cover model and media darling. And the rest of the world sought him out as a way to tap into Wall Street's riches. As he emptied his bank account to help keep his little company afloat, he became a nexus for the absurd; traders who turned 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina into multi-million-dollar windfalls, Al Gore, John Travolta, Peter Max. corrupt Caribbean rulers, the mobsters from Goodfellas, and the Pope. Plus Lenny Dykstra, the retired baseball star turned market guru, whose rise and fall was a great metaphor for the decade. All played roles in Lane's surreal world.

Hear Randall Lane’s story, FREE at the Scarsdale Public Library on Tuesday October 5 at 8 pm.

Details: Published: 07 September 2010; Created: 07 September 2010; Last Updated: 07 September 2010; Hits: 4069

Bruce Degen, illustrator of the Magic School Bus series, will join Alyssa Capucilli, author of the Biscuit series, and dozens more children’s book authors and illustrators at Celebrate Children’s Book Day, a one-day gala devoted to children’s literature and filled with readings, demonstrations, magic, music, and book signings at Washington Irving’s Sunnyside on Sunday, Sept. 19 from 12 – 6 pm.

In all, more than 50 children’s book authors and illustrators will take part.

“It is amazing that little Tarrytown is home to one of the only events dedicated to Children’s book authors and illustrators,” said author Nick Bruel of Tarrytown. “No where else have I seen such a heavy concentration of luminaries in the children’s book world all gathered in one place. Every year I am astounded by the hundreds of people that attend.”

In addition to author appearances, costumed characters Clifford, the Big Red Dog, Bunnicula, Biscuit, and Franklin the Turtle, will be roaming the grounds. Magician Dikki Ellis will be performing pocket magic from 12:30-4:30pm. The creators and stars of the legendary children’s television show The Magic Garden, Carole Demas of Irvington and Paula Janis, will be performing from 4:30-5:30.

New faces to Book Day this year include: Michael Buckley author of The Sisters Grimm series, Bryan Collier illustrator of Dave the Potter, Gary Golio author of Jimi: Sounds Like a Rainbow, Diane Goode illustrator of But I Wanted a Baby Brother!, Victoria Kann author/illustrator of Pinkalicious , Steven Kroll author of The Tyrannosaurus Game, Matt McElligott, author/illustrator of Even Monsters Need Haircuts, and Lizzy Rockwell author/illustrator of Don’t Go Up Haunted Hill…or Else!

Returning favorites include many from Westchester County:

From Bedford Hills: Katie Davis, author of The Curse of Addy McMahon.
From Chappaqua: Jean Craighead George, author of My Side of the Mountain; Matt Van Fleet, author/illustrator of Heads; and Jean Van Leeuwen, author of the Amanda and Oliver Pig series; Barbara Dee, author of Solving Zoe.
From Croton: Jerry Pinkney, illustrator of The Lion and the Mouse; Gloria Pinkney, author of Back Home; Jerry Smath, illustrator of The Taming of Lola
From Hartsdale: Eric Velasquez, illustrator of Our Children Can Soar.
From Hastings: Alyssa Capucilli, author of the Biscuit series; Pat Schories, illustrator of the Biscuit series; Ed Young, illustrator of Moon Bear; Roni Schotter, author of Nothing Ever Happens on 90th Street; Dan Greenburg, author of The Secrets of Dripping Fang series; and J.C. Greenburg, author of Andrew Lost series.
From Irvington: Peter Sis, author/illustrator of The Dreamer.
From Katonah: Judy Blundell, author of 39 Clues.
From Mamaroneck: Charise Mericle Harper, author/illustrator of Just Grace series.
From Ossining: Susanna Reich, author of Painting the Wild Frontier; Gary Golio, author of Jimi; Sounds Like a Rainbow
From Scarsdale: Bernard Most, author/illustrator of Dinosaur Cousins.
From Tarrytown: Nick Bruel, author/illustrator of Bad Kitty
From White Plains: Howard Fine, illustrator of All Aboard the Dinotrain
From Yonkers: James Howe; author of Brontorina
From Yorktown: Marisabina Russo, author of The Bunnies Are Not in Their Beds.

Author and illustrator appearances, including readings and demonstrations, will be broken into 90-minute segments beginning at 12, 1:30, and 3. The full schedule of authors appears on www.hudsonvalley.org. Books by all of the attending writers and illustrators will be available for purchase and signing.

Food from Irvington-based Geordane’s will be available for picnickers.

The event is produced by Beth Vetare-Civitello and Susan Brandes and sponsored by Sunnyside Federal Savings and Loan of Irvington. The non-profit Historic Hudson Valley owns and operates Sunnyside, which is the romantic, picturesque homestead of Washington Irving, the author best known for The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Rip Van Winkle.

Admission to Sunnyside is $12 for adults; $10 for seniors; $6 for children 5-17; and free for children under 5 and HHV members. Tours of Irving’s house are included in the price of admission. Tickets can be purchased online: www.hudsonvalley.org. Washington Irving’s Sunnyside is at 89 West Sunnyside Lane in Tarrytown, one mile south of the Tappan Zee Bridge, off Route 9.