Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas to all our family, patrons, and friends! Thanks for making this another great year with the Abbeville County Library System --

Remember, the libraries will be closed Saturday, December 22 through Wednesday, December 26. So stock up now with some great books, magazines, movies, and cds, and we'll see you again on the 27th!

Erskine Students 'learning to serve'

As part of a freshman seminar course on the history of reading, eight Erskine College students spent part of their semester learning about public libraries and volunteering their skills. They helped with children's programming, made suggestions for new music and film purchases, and took part in many of the events at the libraries. Last week, they shared their experiences with their peers at a presentation on campus, complete with photos, a scrapbook, and lots of good memories --

Lights, Camera . . . Christmas

For many folks, this Friday marks the start of the Christmas season. How about a Christmas film festival to help you get in the mood? Our Christmas movies include:

Christmas Classics:

A Christmas Carol
A Christmas Story
Miracle on 34th Street
Christmas in Connecticut
White Christmas
It's a Wonderful Life

Newer Releases:

Christmas with the Kranks
Elf
The Christmas Shoes
The Christmas Blessing

Children's Films:

How the Grinch Stole Christmas
The Twelve Dogs of Christmas
Mickey's Twice Upon a Christmas
The Polar Express

and lots more!

Calhoun Falls Library gets a new look

The Calhoun Falls library has been getting a new look -- thanks to the Calhoun Falls High School FFA and the Friends of the Abbeville Libraries. The Friends purchased benches, a fountain, bushes and plants to update the outside of the building. Here, the FFA students lend their expertise to planting, weeding, and making it all come together! These students have worked so hard all week -- and we truly appreciate all their labor! (Stay tuned -- we'll have photos of the finished product soon -- thanks to these students, it's going to look great!)

Great quotes from kids

At a recent storytime in Calhoun Falls, one 6 year old girl announced that if she were "boss of the library" she would "let everyone scream" in the building. This sparked much discussion around the storytime craft table:

One girl, age 8, said she would "read all the books -- and get on the computers, too!"

One boy, age 8, said he would "command people to get off the computers when their time is up -- and charge $10.00 for late books."

And my personal favorite, from a 7 year old girl:

"I would tell everyone to be quiet -- and buy books with cuss words."

Watch out -- those librarians of the future are going to be a hoot!

New in Large Print

Tired eyes love large print books. Here are some of our new titles in large print:

In Abbeville:

Countdown by Iris Johansen
Fool Me Once by Fern Michaels
The Wedding by Nicholas Sparks

In Calhoun Falls:

Impossible by Danielle Steel
No Place Like Home by Mary Higgins Clark

In Donalds:

The Innocent Man by John Grisham
Just Rewards by Barbara Taylor Bradford

These large print titles are just in and will be on the new bookshelf soon! Or put one on hold now, and we'll call you when it's ready for check out --

Harry Potter bookcart extravaganza

Monday night, teens from Abbeville County gathered to hang out at the library, show off their Halloween costumes, and decorate one of our library bookcarts. See below for their entry (a Harry Potter-themed cart) into a national contest. Come by the library to see the cart itself -- they really did a cool job!

Trick-out at the Library!

Trick-out
at the Library!

Monday, October 29, 2007
6:00-7:00
At the Abbeville County Library
201 S. Main Street
Abbeville


Teens ages 12 -18 can help trick out a library bookcart to enter a national contest!

Come in a costume if you want (trick yourself out!)

We'll have prizes and refreshments, too!

Friends reception at the Abbeville Library

The Friends of the Abbeville County Libraries met last night to visit at the annual reception. The topic most on everyone's minds: the property about to be purchased for the new headquarters building. We talked funding, square-footage, millage, and taxes -- and yes, of course, we managed to eat, too!

New, expanded hours in Abbeville!

The only thing better than spending a Saturday morning at the Abbeville Library? Spending Saturday afternoon there, too!

Beginning this Saturday, October 6, the Abbeville Library will no longer close at noon -- instead, we'll be open every Saturday until 3 pm! So come out and spend part of your weekend with us -- you'll be amazed at all your library has to offer!

Best,
Mary Eliz.

Have you heard?

James Patterson's 4th of July

Khaled Hosseini's The Kite Runner

Barbara Kingsolver's Animal, Vegetable, Miracle

Jonathan Kellerman's Gone

Sue Grafton's alphabet mysteries A through F

What do they all have in common? They are all now available as audiobooks on compact disc from you local library.

(You prefer to read these titles in the more traditional book form? Well, we've got those, too!)

New on the nonfiction shelf

You may have noticed that the Abbeville Library is sporting a new display bookshelf to highlight nonfiction. (Thank you, Friends of the Library!!)

so -- since every new bookshelf deserves some new books to go on it -- here are five new nonfiction works just added today:

Dead Certain: The Presidency of George W. Bush by Robert Draper

The Last Mrs. Astor: a New York Story by Frances Kiernan

The Prince of Darkness: 50 Years Reporting in Washington by Robert D. Novak

Brother, I'm Dying by Edwidge Danticat

and

Outrage by Dick Morris and Eileen McGann

Recent book reviews by our patrons

Take a look at what our patrons had to say about what they've been reading:

The Quickie by James Patterson was "a great read. As with any book by this author that I've read, it was a can't-put-down page turner." On a scale of 1 - 5, JP gives it a 4.

East of Eden by John Steinbeck is a "wonderful, powerful novel packed full of issues relating to the struggle of good versus evil. A great summer read." JB gives it a 5.

Maggie by Charles Martin "was the sequel to The Dead Don't Dance. Both books were very good. . . I can't wait to read the next one!" CH gives it a 5.

The concept of Ibid by Mark Dunn "is intriguing -- the text is lost and only the footnotes are published. Mark Dunn's Ella Minnow Pea is one of my favorite books, so I had high expectations of Ibid. Although packed with amusement, it was not as enjoyable to read as I had hoped." CB gives it a 4.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is "a world of fantasy come to life. The maturity of the characters is more pronounced. The Order of the Phoenix brings the world of Harry Potter to a whole new level." RH gives it a 5.

New Fiction

New today:
William Bernhardt's Strip Search

Liam Hearn's Heaven's Net is Wide

Kathy Reichs' Bones to Ashes

Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child's The Wheel of Darkness

See you soon at the new book display!

The end of summer was NEVER more fun!

The laughs, the giggles, the chuckles, and the "Wow!"s let you know that Saturday's visit from children's performer Mark Daniel was a BIG success! A special thanks to the Library Services and Technology Act Grant which brought Mark (and his rabbit, Mikey) to the library! The kids heard about some great books, made friends with a dinosaur, and yes, we ALL had a LOT of laughs! The summer finale might be over, but the reading -- and the fun -- will continue through the year! See you soon . . . at the library!

New books for a new week --

Nothing starts a week off better than new books at your library. Drop in and check out our latest additions:

Kate Christensen's novel The Great Man. Her name sounds familiar? That's because Christensen is also the author of The Epicure's Lament.

The Art of Power, a non-fiction work by Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh, author of Peace is Every Step.

Margaret Maron's new novel, Hard Row, is the newest of the mysteries featuring Deborah Knott.

And don't forget author Jacquelyn Mitchard's new novel, Still Summer. Many of you will be familiar with this author of The Deep End of the Ocean, A Theory of Relativity, The Breakdown Lane, The Most Wanted.

Ever wonder what librarians do for fun . . .??

It's too hot for anything serious . . . so just sit back and enjoy some crazy photos from the National Library Cart Drill Team competition -- where teams of librarians compete in choreographed drill exhibitions featuring, you guessed it, library carts! With nutty emcees Mo Willems (author of Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus) and Jon Scieszka (author of The Time Warp Series and The Stinky Cheese Man), you know it was a fun time!