TUESDAY 3/9: Artists Roundtable – ‘So You Want to Write a Book?’
March 8, 2010 by Gina Caceci · 1 Comment
“So You Want to Write a Book?” is the subject of the Artists’ Roundtable meeting Tuesday, March 9, at 7 p.m. at ArtSpace Falls Church, 410 S. Maple Avenue.
Hosted by Falls Church Arts, the Roundtable will feature local author Kathleen McCleary, who will speak to questions such as:
- “What does it take to write a book?
- How do you decide on a topic?
- What can you do to be inspired to continue when writer’s block strikes?”
McCleary is currently working on her second novel. Her first book, House and Home, was published in 2008. She has worked at the New York Times, USA Weekend, the Washington Post, Good Housekeeping, More, Health, Martha Stewart Living, and Ladies Home Journal, and was also a columnist for HGTV.com.
The FCA Artists’ Roundtable meeting is free and open to everyone. See www.FallsChurchArts.org for more information.
Cash Prizes for Young People’s Poetry Contest
March 3, 2010 by Falls Church Times Staff · Leave a Comment
March 3, 2010
For its third annual poetry contest, the Mary Riley Styles Public Library is broadening the playing field and ramping up the prize possibilities in hopes of attracting more participants.
Young people between the ages of 10 and 18 are invited to submit an original poem for the possibility of winning one of four cash prizes. A panel of judges made up of local poets and poetry enthusiasts will select four winners from each of two age categories (10-13, and 14-18). First place winners will receive $50, second place $35, third place $25, and honorable mention $10. Prizes are being provided by the Mary Riley Styles Public Library Foundation.
Entries are due by March 24th. Entries can be submitted by hand, by mail or by email. Winners will be awarded their prize money at a poetry read aloud event taking place at the library on Wednesday, April 14th at 7:00 p.m. The library is located at 120 N. Virginia Avenue in Falls Church. For more information and contest rules call the youth services department at (703) 248-5034.
March at the Library: Irish Music, Stories & Song
March 1, 2010 by Falls Church Times Staff · Leave a Comment
March 1, 2010
This month the Mary Riley Styles Public Library features consummate Irish musician Karen Ashbrook, accompanied by Beth and Jay Benforado. They will perform Wednesday, March 10 at 7:00 p.m. The tunes will be interspersed with story telling, instrument sharing, and a sing-along.
Storyteller Gary Lloyd will spin tales of Giants and Leprachauns on Wednesday, March 3 at 7 p.m.
Reader’s Theater will offer a production of Peter Pan on Sunday, March 21 at 2 p.m.
March also features the Third Annual Young People’s Poetry Contest. Deadline for entries is Wednesday, March 24.
The month’s book discussions include:
1776 by David McCullough
Thursday 03/04 @ 7:30 p.m.
Emily Post: Daughter of the Gilded Age Mistress of America’s Manners
by Laura Claridge
Tuesday 03/16 @ 10:30 a.m.
The Secret Sharer by Joseph Conrad
Tuesday 03/23 @ 7:00 p.m.
The schedule for these and all other events is available in the library’s newsletter.
February at the Library
February 2, 2010 by Falls Church Times Staff · Leave a Comment
February at the Mary Riley Styles Public Library features a pre-shool reading program and many other interesting events. The month’s book discussions include:
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
Thursday 02/04 @ 7:30 PM
An Enemy of the People by Henrik Ibsen
Tuesday 02/09 @ 7:00 PM
The Value of Science by Henri Poincare
Tuesday 02/23 @ 7:00 PM
The schedule for these and all other events is available in the library’s newsletter.
Winter Reading Program for Preschoolers at Library
January 30, 2010 by Falls Church Times Staff · Leave a Comment
Of course, you’ve heard of the Summer Reading Program at the library. It encourages school age children to keep up their reading over the summer holidays. It is well documented that children who participate do better in school.
This year, Mary Riley Styles Public Library is offering something new. A Winter Reading Program especially for preschoolers. The program is intended to encourage parents and caregivers to read with their little ones. Current research shows a direct correlation between language development and reading readiness to the amount a child is read to from birth.
The Winter Reading Program will use reading records and sticker sheets to encourage reading during the month of February. Books read at library story hours will count towards the total number of books read. The library has special story events planned in addition to its regular story times to further encourage participation.
Program registration begins the first week of February. The program will end the first week in March, with a week of celebrations planned for all participants.
The library is located at 120 North Virginia Ave in Falls Church. Call youth services at (703) 248-5034 for more information.
WEDNESDAY 1/27: Twilight Club for Teens at Library
January 24, 2010 by Falls Church Times Staff · Leave a Comment
Are you with Team Edward, or Team Jacob? Whoever you prefer, come defend your favorite Twilight character at the first meeting of the Mary Riley Styles Public Library Twilight Club. Fans will meet Wednesday, January 27, at 7:30 p.m. in the conference room at the library. Future meetings will be held the last Wednesday of each month.
This is a totally teen-run club open to anyone 11 to 18 years of age. Register by calling the youth services desk at 703-248-5034. The library is located at 120 N. Virginia Ave in Falls Church.
January at the Library
January 5, 2010 by Falls Church Times Staff · Leave a Comment
New Catalog - The Library is switching to a new library catalog on Wednesday, January 20! Installation, expected to take 1-2 days, will occur on Tuesday, January 19. During the installation, the library will be closed and remote (online) access to the catalog will be down most of January 18 and may experience periodic interruptions on January 19.
The new catalog, supplied by a well respected company serving libraries as small as Portsmouth (NH) Public Library and as large as New York Public Library, will provide users with simplified searching (think Google!), clearer presentation of information, and several enhanced features.
Fine Amnesty - To celebrate the New Year and the new library catalog (see above), the Library is offering a Fine Amnesty Week beginning Monday, January 11, and running through Sunday, January 17. All items that are overdue and returned during that time will have their fines forgiven. Fines for previously overdue items and fees for lost or damaged items, however, will not be removed from patron records.
Paperless Notification - As part of the City’s FY2010 mid-year budget cuts, the library will be switching to paperless (i.e. email) notification of overdues and holds/reserves. Patrons already receiving email notification will not be affected by this change. Individuals who do not currently have email addresses listed in their accounts, however, will no longer receive overdue notices after December 31, 2009. They will still be notified – but by telephone, not by mail — when holds/reserves become available.
Book Discussions - This month’s discussions include The Devil in the White City, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, and The Grapes of Wrath.
The schedule for these and all other events is available in the library’s newsletter.
Library Going Paperless in January
December 30, 2009 by Special to the Falls Church Times · Leave a Comment
The Falls Church City library will begin the New Year with changes to improve efficiency, save money, and assist library visitors. The City’s Mary Riley Styles Public Library is located at 120 N. Virginia Ave.
The library is going paperless beginning January 1, and will no longer send overdue or reserve notices via U.S. mail. Overdue notices and reserve alerts will be sent via e-mail addresses that patrons have provided to the library. For reserve notices, if patrons have not provided the library with an e-mail address, they will be called when an item is ready to pick up. Patrons are encouraged to provide an up-to-date e-mail address to the library so that they can continue to receive timely notices. Please note that all e-mail addresses are confidential and not given out to third parties.
The library will be implementing a new integrated library computer system beginning Wednesday, January 20. This new system will have far more capability that the current one. During the migration time, some disruption of service may occur while data is loaded from the old system to the new one. This will affect remote access to the online catalog and patron accounts during a brief span of time on January 18 and 19.
In preparation for the new computer system, the library will offer a Fine Amnesty Week Monday, January 11 through Sunday, January 17. All items that are overdue and returned during that time will have their fines forgiven. Fines for previously overdue items and fees for lost or damaged items will not be removed from patron records.
The library will open at 1 p.m. on Friday, January 8, instead of in the morning. The library will be closed in the morning for staff training on the new library system.
The library will be closed on Monday, January 18, in observance of the Martin Luther King holiday and closed on Tuesday, January 19, while final data migration occurs for the new library system. Regular operating hours will be observed (9 a.m. to 9 p.m.) on Wednesday, January 20.
