Film Nights at the Library

In September, the Main Branch of Massanutten Regional Library in downtown Harrisonburg will be holding a special film night. The first event will be Tuesday, September 30 at 6:30 and the program will continue through November with a different film each month. All films are award winning independent films. The program will be led by Dr. Robert Hoskins, Professor Emeritus, from James Madison University whose interests are in Graham Greene, 20th Century British Novels, and Film Studies.

     We encourage everyone to stop by our lobby display and discover a new movie or relive their favorite moments from a classic. Movies are magical experiences; they have the ability to convey emotions through images and sound.  Viewers are temporarily transported from normal life to an intimate world and are able to get lost in the drama and action, but then are able to return, safe and sound, at the conclusion of the film.

   This September we invite you to join us for Jens Lien’s The Bothersome Man. This Norwegian film follows forty something Andreas as he arrives in a new city with no memory of how he got there. As Andreas settles into the routine of life, he begins to realize that the town, the inhabitants, and their experiences are devoid of any type of emotion. Andreas attempts to flee the city but cannot. Soon Andreas finds a friend and a mysterious crack in a wall where music and light pour through, and Andreas becomes obsessed with finding the source and escaping the city. The Bothersome Man looks at the nightmare of a life without emotion—a contemporary horror-film but without the violence, scare tactics, and gore.

Massanutten Regional Library will be offering a free viewing of The Bothersome Man on Tuesday, September 30 at 6:30. We invite you to join us and hope you look forward to the upcoming films that will be shown on October 28 and November 18. Upcoming times and films will be announced shortly!
For more information contact Jon Hilbert @ 434-4475 x125

Terror Finance in Demons of Gadara

Terror Finance

Demons of Gadara[i]

A Fictional Thriller

By John A. Cassara

             At the Main Library at 1:00pm, on Monday, February 10^th, John A. Cassara will talk about his novel Demons of Gadara.  The intent of this article is to preview the geography of and terror-finance terminology in this novel.  Most of us are aware of some of the tactics used in the United States’ “War on Terror,” but few of us probably understand how the “enemy” finances its side of the war.  Previously, Cassara published two technical books on the subject intended for law enforcement and intelligence entities and policy makers.  In Demons of Gadara the author puts the conflict in human terms in an effort to reach and inform a larger public audience on terror financing.  To trace terrorist activity, as in most criminal activity, the mantra is “follow the money or value trail.”  Succinctly, without money (and per terrorist episode, the amount may not be that great), there would be few terrorist acts. 

Dean King to Speak at MRL

Tales from History of Adventure and Survival

Dean King, the well-regarded author of narrative historical non-fiction, is speaking at the Main Branch of the Massanutten Regional Library on Thursday, November 7th at 7:00pm.  A Richmond native, he was born in 1962 and graduated from the University of North Carolina and New York University.  As a post graduate, King spent ten years in New York City mostly writing for up-scale magazines and other periodicals.

As American as Apple Pie

“As American as apple pie.” There’s a reason we’ve had this saying for so long; it’s because it’s true. Americans cannot hold claim to inventing pie in general, but we can take full tribute for the invention of sweet pies—fruit, custard, anything without meat. Back in Ancient Greece, where almost everything in our society started, they made spiced meat pies. These pies sometimes had figs in them for added flavor, but there is no record of anyone making a fruit pie. These meat pies made their way through Europe to England and then came over to America on the Mayflower. When the colonists became revolutionaries, they also became revolutionary bakers. Looking for a way to get food on the run, the revolutionaries made small, hand held fruit pies (McDonalds, anyone?).[1]

Henry P. Deyerle

On October 3rd at 7 pm the Massanutten Regional Library Main Branch presents the first of its four weekly Deyerle lectures.  The theme of this year’s series is art and artisans of the Shenandoah Valley.  This is a fitting topic for us to recognize Dr. Henry P. Deyerle.  His interest  in and acquisition of 18^th and 19^th century Americana domestic artifacts made in the eastern United States was well known.   His passion also raised awareness of the work of Shenandoah Valley artisans during these centuries. 

Master Gardeners to Return to MRL

Central Shenandoah Valley Master Gardeners Help the Library

                The Master Gardeners of the Central Shenandoah Valley are ready to help you and the Library.  From September 12 – 28^th at various time in the Lobby of the Main Library in Harrisonburg, the  Master Gardeners will answer your landscaping and planting questions and take your order for bulbs.  Proceeds from the sales will be contributed to the Massanutten Regional Library.  Bulbs can be purchased at any of MRL’s seven locations and also ordered on-line until October 25 at http://www.flowerpowerfundraising.com/i/t/382853/Y032c9etG4wk.   
Consumers can also link to the bulb catalog from MRL’s website at www.mrlib.org.   

Poet Laureates of Virginia

True beauty is never fleeting, which is why poetry

demands thoughtful reading - as well as the gift of time.[i]

On Saturday, September 21 at 1 pm the Massanutten Regional Library’s Main Branch is offering a public program featuring Sofia Starnes, the current Poet Laureate of Virginia.  Virginians and the Commonwealth, one of a few states to so honor poets, have a long history of providing encouragement, community, and support for poets and for those who enjoy reading poetry.   The umbrella for local poets and poetry readers is the Poetry Society of Virginia, established in 1923 and in its 90^th year.  

Master Gardeners Help the Library

            

The snows are gone; the soil is turned; now what to plant in the garden?- Gladiolus, Lilies, Dahlias!  The Master Gardeners of the Central Shenandoah Valley are ready to help you and the Library.  From Tuesday April 2 through Monday April 15 in the Lobby of the Main Library in Harrisonburg, the  Master Gardeners will answer your landscaping and planting questions and take your order for bulbs.  Proceeds from the sales will be contributed to the Massanutten Regional Library.  Call the Library at 540.434.4475, ext. 129  or check the Massanutten Regional Library website (www.mrlib.org) for the specific hours of this program. 

               

CVSMG is a local volunteer group sponsored by the Virginia Cooperative Extension.  They provide gardening education and information to local home and property owners. Ask the gardeners to help you plan and plant a cutting garden, a long season of colors, or a species or color-planned beds while you make your selections.  They may be able to help you with your critter and pest problems. They have two telephone  help lines:  Augusta County-- 540-245-5184 and Rockingham County-540-564-3080.  They provide hands-on “Greenery, Herb, and Flower Arranging” workshops.  They sponsor the Thomas Harrison Middle School After School Gardening Club and help with community gardens.  Come to the Main Library and meet these wonderful Master Gardeners.

               

  If you are interested in becoming a candidate for the Program, talk to these gardeners or go to the  organization’s  website   www.csvmga.org.  They describe the program as a, “training program for volunteer educators who are interested in spreading the good word about best agricultural practices.”

                We encourage you to stop by the Library to order plants and see what this community organization can do for you.  Happy Gardeneing!!!

Digital Learning Day

February 6, 2013, is Digital Learning Day in the Commonwealth of Virginia. “This event is part of a national campaign designed to celebrate innovative teaching and highlight practices that make learning more personalized and engaging for students; explore how digital learning can provide all students with the opportunities they deserve; and build the skills students need to succeed in college, career, and life.”[1] Libraries promote each patron’s ability to participate in life-long learning. As life-long learners we are all students who can benefit from digital learning through digital literacy skills.

The King James Bible

“Great and manifold were the blessings when God made James the King of England”¹

In 2011, the four hundredth anniversary of the completion of the King James Bible was celebrated and continues to be commemorated with a forty-stop travelling exhibition. From January 26th to February 21st the exhibit Manifold Greatness: The Creation and Afterlife of the King James Bible will be at Eastern Mennonite University’s Sadie A. Hartzler Library and is open to the public. The exhibit was organized by the Folger Shakespeare Library, Washington, D.C., and the American Library Association Public Programs Office. It is based on an exhibition of the same name developed by the Folger Shakespeare Library and the Bodleian Library, University of Oxford, with assistance from the Harry Ransom Center of the University of Texas. The traveling exhibition was made possible by a major grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities.

What's a Lyceum?

Massanutten Regional Library Presents:

Lunchtime Lyceum Begins Jan. 23^rd

—but what’s a lyceum?

ly·ce·um (lahy-see-uh m) n.
1. A hall in which public lectures, concerts, and similar programs are presented.
2. An organization sponsoring public programs and entertainment.

chautauqua (SHəˈtôkwə) n.
(Social Science / Education) (in the US, formerly) a summer school or educational meeting held in the summer named after Chautauqua, the Iroquois name of a lake in New York near which such a school was first held.[i]

Throughout history, from Plato to our modern Think Tanks, people have shared their love of learning. Aristotle is attributed with the first “lyceum” --the gymnasium where he held his lectures.

In America, the lyceum venue began with the Transcendentalists in New England. Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau endorsed the movement and often gave speeches in Massachusetts. As the Civil War dawned, the movement faded, but the name has remained synonymous with intellectual exchanges.

More than BOOOOOKS!!

Halloween is just around the corner and we thought we would share a story about a ghost here at Massanutten Regional Library (MRL). This story was shared with us by Lisa Ha who is the tour guide for the Haunted Harrisonburg Walking Tours.

Seven or eight years ago after the library had closed for the day, a former employee was walking through the building. Everyone had left and he was alone. He entered the Law Library in the back of the old part of the library. There he saw a young man in his twenties looking at the shelves of law books. The gentleman seemed out of place, he was dressed in outdated clothing, including an argyle sweater and an old fashioned driving cap.