‘Held in the Heartland’ Exhibit Coming in October

By KATHY McGILBERRY

October at McAlester Public Library is much like an oversized, prize-winning pumpkin at the county fair—full to bursting. So let’s grab our knives and start carving into the meat of it all.

The big event on the adult/family calendar this month is a special exhibit from the Traces Museum of St. Paul, Minnesota. “Held in the Heartland” will arrive Saturday, Oct. 24 via a specially-fitted bus called a “Bus-eum.” Docent Irving Kellman drives the vehicle and leads tours of the exhibit, which gives little-known information about the 660 Prisoner of War Camps in the U.S. during World War II.

As many of you know, McAlester was home to one of those camps, so the history is especially relevant here. Make plans now to stop by the library on Oct. 24 to tour the exhibit. Learn more about Camp McAlester and the other Oklahoma and Heartland Prisoner of War installations.

If you pick up our calendars of events, you know that October is Class Reunion Month, Domestic Violence Awareness Month, and Spinach Lovers Month. But most importantly for our purposes, October is “Teen Read Month,” and Teen Librarian Sarah DiLorenzo has many special activities scheduled.

Young readers in grades 6-12 may check out books and enter to win a giant Halloween prize bag of books and candy. All the rules are available from Sarah, or at the front desk, and the drawing will be held Oct. 31.

Other special teen activities include: Beatles Week Oct. 5-9, when teens will watch a Beatles-inspired movie and play the new Beatles version of “Rock Band” at Friday Game Time.

Teen readers will have a booth at the Oct. 16 Mac Town Skate Fest. Adult volunteers are needed to donate baked goods for the booth.

Also, on Oct. 26, teens will have a Halloween Cupcake Decorating workshop. Pre-registration is required.

Children’s activities in October include the regular Lapsits and Story Times, every Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively. And “Family Fun Night” on Oct. 20 will round out the activities for the younger set.

Computer Tech Anthony Smart has scheduled another month’s worth of beginning internet classes. These classes will meet every Wednesday at 4 p.m. Call ahead to register, as spaces are limited.

Right now, the big display space near the front desk is taken up by a comprehensive, boffo exhibit on Banned Books Week, put together by the creative and talented Christopher Elliott. Christopher tells us that a big, scary Halloween display will follow, and we shudder in delighted anticipation.

The “Symbols” display in the lobby coincided with the release of Dan Brown’s “The Lost Symbol.” Look for that space to soon feature a look at the history of the McAlester Prisoner of War camp. Local history buff Steve Adams donated many of the materials used to create the display.

The “Staff Picks” display currently features Nathan Forrest’s choices. Forrest also maintains the “Shelf of the Week” display in the New Books section. Right now, his display features insect culture. He’s named it “Pet Fish and Pet Bees.” Take a regular look at this display—it’s unusual!

For example, for the past couple of months the displays have featured: perception, emotions and drives in the “Madness and Mad Thoughts” display; standard, Anglo-Saxon and variant grammar, called “Language Flowers;” economics, titled simple “$$$;” and mathematics, titled “Odds Are.”  What will be next? Odds are it will be clever, and singularly creative.

To conclude our monthly news, here’s a rundown of all the adult activities for the month:

Thursday, Oct. 1—Bodacious Bookies meet from 1-3 p.m. in the Conference Room to discuss Anne Rice’s “The Witching Hour.”

Friday, Oct. 2—We end “Banned Books Week” with screenings of three movies based on banned books. Screening times are 9:30 for a Steinbeck classic featuring Lenny and George; Noon for the Jack London classic from the wild; and 2:30 p.m. for the sweeping wartime drama by James Jones that saw Burt Lancaster and Deborah Kerr getting sand in their swimsuits.

Saturday, Oct. 10—Second Saturday Cinema features one of the funniest movies of all time. Steve Martin, Martin Short and Chevy Chase star as three buddies who battle the dastardly El Guapo. The fun begins at 2 p.m. There will be free popcorn and a prize drawing at the always family-friendly event.

Monday, Oct. 12—See the 2009 Best Picture Oscar winner at Arthouse Theater. It’s scheduled for 6 p.m. in the Whiteacre Room West. The movie is rated R.

Thursday, Oct. 15—The library will be closed as the staff of the Southeastern Public Library System of Oklahoma meets for annual training. However, we’ll open the doors at 6 p.m. so the participants in the “Let’s Talk About It, Oklahoma” program can meet to discuss Toni Morrison’s “The Bluest Eye.” Caroline Larsen will lead the presentation.

Monday, Oct. 19—The regular first run independent film screening has a special date in October. “Gigante” begins at 6 p.m. The film comes to us from Uruguay and tells the story of Jara, a shy 35-year-old security guard on the night shift of a supermarket. He develops an obsession with Julia, a 25-year-old cleaning woman. He watches her on the store’s security cameras, and grows more and more smitten. Jara’s life becomes a series of routines and rituals around Julia, but eventually he finds himself at a crossroad and must decide whether to give up his obsession or confront it.

Tuesday, Oct. 20—Tom Crowl is scheduled to present a program to the noon meeting of Friends of Library. His program will preview the “Held in the Heartland” exhibit. Family Fun Night follows at 5:30, when Children’s Librarian Anita Ross partners with the Choctaw Nation to host a night of family activities, complete with refreshments. Then at 6:30 p.m., it’s the regular monthly meeting of the Night Readers. This month, they examine James Patterson’s “Sundays at Tiffany’s.”

Saturday, Oct. 24—The Bus-eum will be parked in the upper parking lot at the library. Tours will run all day from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Don’t forget to stop by and see “Held in the Heartland.” Students may pick up tokens at the front desk to turn in to teachers. County teachers are being asked to offer extra credit for attendance at the exhibit.

Thursday, Oct. 29—Kenneth Hada will present a “Let’s Talk About It, Oklahoma” program on Alice Walker’s “Meridian,” beginning at 6 p.m. Free refreshments and a door prize at this event.

Friday, Oct. 30—It’s not quite Halloween, but we’re dressing up anyway, since the holiday falls on Saturday this year. Stop by to see the costumes as McAlester Public Library employees don their special spooky duds!

Hey, Hey It’s The Staff Picks

Library Aide Linda Haile recently took a rock ‘n rollin’ look through the stacks at McAlester Public Library and came up with a list of recommendations for the regular “staff picks” display.  Here are her choices and comments:

*”The Monkees” by Andrew Sandoval–This book covers the day-to-day activities of the Monkees, from filming the pilot to their musical endeavors. I liked this one because each of the band members added little anecdotes to it.

*”Lynyrd Skynyrd” by Gene Odom–A short biography of the Lynyrd Skynyrd band by the one of the members of the group.

*”Sex Money Kiss” by Gene Simmons–Insight into the man behind the myth. Whether you like him or not, he’s quite an interesting man who is both business- and family-oriented.

*”Slash” by Slash–Inside look at the guitarist for Guns ‘n Roses. It’s a real eye-opener and takes a realistic look at rock ‘n roll.

*”The Best of Kiss”–Five music videos from Kiss features all the members of the group.

*”Dressed to Kill,” Kiss–A remastered version of an early Kiss album.

*”Greatest Hits,” The Monkees–Hits from the TV series.

*”Urban Legends of Rock ‘n Roll” by Dale Sherman–Gives rumors and legends that ask the reader whether well-known stories are fact or fiction. Read it yourself and decide.

Regular Children’s Programming Resumes

IT'S CALLED LAPSIT but that doesn't mean participants always sit. Children's Librarian Anita Ross reads to toddlers during a recent "Lapsit" at McAlester Public Library. Ross is announcing the resumption of her normal weekday schedule now that the summer reading program has ended. Lapsit, for children three and under, meets every Tuesday. Groups and caregivers bring children at 10 a.m. A second Lapsit for families follows at 11:15. There is also a regular weekly Story Time for children three and over, which meets every Wednesday at 10 a.m.

Get on the Bus for Autumn Activities

By KATHY MCGILBERRY

Before we get into the many activities scheduled in September at McAlester Public Library, let’s make like Sandra Bullock in the movie “Speed” and jump the bus right into October.

Mark your calendars for Saturday, Oct. 24. That’s the day we’ll be hosting a special traveling exhibit called “Held in the Heartland.” The TRACES museum of St. Paul, Minnesota sends out several retrofitted buses called “bus-eums,” complete with exhibit panels, theaters, displays, texts, and a specially-trained driver/docent. Friends of the Library, along with BancFirst, Wal-Mart, and Pepsi Cola of McAlester, are sponsoring the stop here.

“Held in the Heartland” examines the World War II prisoner of war camps throughout the U.S. in the mid-1940s.  Many of you already know that McAlester was the site of one such camp, and once housed up to 2,000 German prisoners of war. Learn much more about this fascinating time when the bus stops here for an all-day event this fall.

Now, keeping the accelerator at nice steady 55 mph, let’s cruise through September.

As always, Anita Ross has Lapsit for children age three and younger on Tuesdays. Groups and caregivers bring children at 10 a.m., and family groups arrive for a second session at 11:15. Then every Wednesday, Miss Anita hosts Story Time for children age three and older. That begins at 10 a.m.

“Family Fun Night,” presented in conjunction with the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, resumes at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 15. “Trains” will be the subject, when families with small children meet to hear train stories and create a train whistle craft.

Teen activities in September feature movie screenings, game times, a Manga Club meeting, Teen Advisory Group meeting, and a book club discussion of “The Midnighters” by Scott Westerfield. See Teen Librarian Sarah DiLorenzo’s calendar to get all the details.

All right–keep your hands and arms inside the bus, remain seated, and don’t talk to the driver—we’re barreling through September with these adult and family activities:

Thursday, Sept. 3—Bodacious Bookies, 1-3 p.m., discussing “The Camel Club” by David Baldacci. Darlene Rising and Janice Saaranen always come up with a clever theme for the refreshments. What will they come up with this month? Saddle up your camel and ride on down to the library to find out.

Monday, Sept. 7—The library will be closed for Labor Day.

Wednesday, Sept. 9—Anthony Smart hosts the first of four beginning computer classes in September. All begin at 4 p.m. Check at the front desk for each week’s location. Other classes will be on Sept. 16, 23, and 30.

Thursday, Sept. 10—“Let’s Talk About It, Oklahoma” begins the fall season with the theme “Invisibility and Identity: The Search for Self in African-American Fiction.” Dr. Paul Lehman of the University of Central Oklahoma, a co-creator of this theme, will start us off with an in-depth look at “Invisible Man” by Ralph Ellison. Everything begins at 6 p.m. in the Whiteacre Room East. There will be refreshments, plus a door prize. If you haven’t already picked up your books, hurry! Only two sets now remain.

Saturday, Sept. 12—Second Saturday Cinema begins at 2 p.m., also in the Whiteacre East, and features a beautifully photographed retelling of the “Romeo and Juliet” tale by director Franco Zefirelli. It’s rated PG. Free popcorn and a prize drawing as always.

Monday, Sept. 14—Arthouse Theater features a Spike Lee movie, a critically-acclaimed look at the Million Man March and the men who participated. The movie stars Richard Belzer, Andre Braugher, Hill Harper, Bernie Mac, Isaiah Washington, Ossie Davis and Charles S. Dutton. It’s rated R for language, and begins at 6 p.m. in the Whiteacre East. Free popcorn as always.

Tuesday, Sept. 15—Friends of the Library resume their regular monthly meetings with a noon luncheon. Next is the aforementioned Family Fun Night at 5:30 p.m. Also on that day, the Night Readers meet at 6:30 p.m. in the Conference Room to discuss Sue Monk Kidd’s “The Secret Life of Bees.” (Night Readers had to throw it in reverse and take a slight detour due to the unavailability of one of their book choices. They’ll get back on their regular route in October with James Patterson’s “Sundays at Tiffany’s.”)

Thursday, Sept. 24—“Let’s Talk About It, Oklahoma” meets with Dr. Lewis Parkhill, who will lead us through an examination of Walter Mosley’s “Little Scarlet.” The book features Mosley’s reluctant detective Easy Rawlins, and takes place during the Watts riots of 1965. Activities begin at 6 p.m. Don’t forget the free refreshments and door prize.

Monday, Sept. 28—The first-run independent movie this month is “Somers Town.” The unrated film features two teenagers who forge an unlikely friendship over the course of one summer. The boys work odd jobs for an eccentric neighbor and compete for the attention of Maria, a beautiful young French waitress. It’s a comedy, and it begins at 6 p.m. in the Whiteacre East.

Wednesday, Sept. 30—At 2 p.m. in the Whiteacre East, we’ll have another of our free crafts workshops for adults. This month’s project is a collage. Participants who have pre-registered will have their choice of theme: harvest moon or angels. (Harvest Moon is Oct. 4 this year, by the way.)

And, although it’s technically not in September, we’ve already crashed the bus through to the next month anyway, so we’ll go ahead and tell you about a special day of movie screenings on Friday, Oct. 2. “Banned Books Week” runs from Sept. 26 through Oct. 3, and to mark the occasion, we’ll be screening three movies based on banned books. The books and the movie scheduoe: “Of Mice and Men” at 9:30 a.m., “Call of the Wild” at noon, and “From Here to Eternity” at 2 p.m. Please join us.