Closed Due to Weather

The Valley Community Library is closed today, Wednesday, January 28th due to the snow.

Superhero Party!

Are you a bird? A plane? A superhero? A super-reader? The Valley Community Library is hosting a Superheroes Party on Saturday, February 7th at 2 p.m. Come for facepainting and fun and test your Superpower skills! Registration is required. Please contact Karen Slachta (kslachta@albright.org) at 489-1765 for additional information.

Welcome Waggers!

The Welcome Waggers will be here Monday, February 9th, 2009!!

THERAPY DOGS INTERNATIONAL

Welcome Waggers are affiliated with TDI's "Children's Reading to Dogs Program". Therapy Dogs International, Inc. (TDI) is a volunteer group organized to provide qualified handlers and their therapy dogs for visitation in a variety of settings.

The "Children Reading to Dogs" program is one of TDI's newest services. Schools and Libraries are quickly discovering the value of Therapy Dogs. Once in school some children might have a little trouble learning how to read. Here is where we can be of help with our wonderful Therapy Dogs. Within the last four or five years our handlers have started visiting libraries with their Therapy Dogs. It is so much fun for the children to read to a patient Therapy Dog. What an incentive!

How does the Reading program work?

Libraries schedule reading hours for children and Therapy dogs. Children and dogs bond together over a shared story. Children's confidence and reading skills grow in a relaxing environment. It's that simple.

TDI dogs come in all shapes and sizes, real dogs with real personalities and real love to share. TDI's Reading Program is a wonderful opportunity for children to interact with and learn about dogs in a positive manner. "Children Reading to Dogs" is only one facet of the many TDI programs.

CABIN FEVER

Get Rid of The Blues!

Registration begins Monday, January 26th!

Cabin Fever: A Book Club for Adults runs from February 2, 2009 through February 28, 2009. Open to adults, ages 18 and up. Each adult who registers will receive a Lackawanna County Library bag containing 3 Quick Rate slips and other fun items. When you return each book, turn in your Quick Rate slip for that book. Use the colored slip for your third book read. This denotes completion of the book club. However, ask for more white slips if you would like to read more than 3 books.

Each Quick Rate card gives you a chance to win a special gift basket.

Patrons must read three (3) books to complete the program and a get a prize.

Author Book Signing

Valley Community Library, in conjunction with Avventura Press, will host a talk and book signing for Dr. John Lemoncelli’s release, A Mind of Its Own: Healing the Mind and Heart of the Parasite of Childhood Abuse, on Saturday, January 17th from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the Library’s Gino Merli room.

According to the publisher, “A Mind of Its Own was written for adults who were abused as children. Survivors often suffer from anxiety disorders, mood disorders, addictions, and complicated grief over the loss of their childhood.” Dr. Lemoncelli is Assistant Chair and Professor of the Psychology and Counseling Department of Marywood University, Scranton, PA. He specializes in the treatment of adult survivors of abuse, clinical practice training, spirituality and psychotherapy and ethics education. Refreshments will be served.

For additional information, please contact Laura Fonash, Adult Services/Public Relations Librarian at Valley Community Library at 489-1765 or lfonash@albright.org.

Notable Crime Novels

Looking for a Good Crime Novel?

The New York Times released their list of Notable Crime Fiction of 2008. Check it out by clicking here.

FILM CLUB

Enjoy classic films the third Wednesday of every month. Films will be shown in the Merli Room at 6pm.Wednesday, January 21, 2009
@ 6 p.m. in the Gino Merli Room:

Key Largo (1948)

John Huston (The Maltese Falcon) directed this smart thriller about a gangster (Edward G. Robinson) who holds a number of people hostage in a hotel in the Florida Keys during a tropical storm. Humphrey Bogart is the returning war veteran who takes on the villains, and Lauren Bacall is on hand as one of the people on the wrong end of Robinson's gun. Somewhat similar in tone to Howard Hawk's To Have and Have Not (which also featured Bogart and Bacall), this moody movie captures a certain despair offset by the bond between individuals united by common purpose. Clair Trevor won an Academy Award for her part as Robinson's alcoholic girlfriend. --Tom Keogh

PLEASE REGISTER AT THE CIRCULATION DESK IF YOU WISH YOU ATTEND.

Library Closed For Martin Luther King, Jr. Day

The Valley Community Library will be closed on Monday, January 19th, in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.

Scrapbooking on a Budget

Come join avid scrapbooker Kathy Sacco for a four-week scrapbooking course at Valley Community Library. Kathy has given workshops on scrapbooking with the Lackawanna County 4-H Club, Geneological Society Research, and Valley Community Library Youth Services, among many others.

Sessions will run Thursdays from 1 p.m.-3 p.m., starting January 15th. Beginners are welcome! Come share ideas and have fun.

• Experienced scrapbookers are welcome to bring photos and projects they are already working on.
• All scrapbookers are asked to bring their own sharp scissors.

Any questions? Call the Valley Community Library @ 489-1765.

Sock Puppet Craft!

Bring in one of those single socks of yours (clean please!) and we'll help you bring your creations to life! Also, so everyone keeps warm this winter, bring in a new pair of socks, mittens, gloves, or hat that the Library will donate to local charities. The craft session will take place Tuesday, January 20th during Homework Central @ 5-6 p.m. and Thursday, January 22nd during Book Buddies @ 6-7 p.m.

Celebrate the Inauguration and President's Day!

Stop by and check out the Inauguration and President’s Day Display in the Fiction section of the Valley Community Library

**We’ve selected a number of titles relevant to President’s Day—from presidential fiction, to biographies, to quizzes and humor. There’s also an Inauguration Quiz available. Test your presidential knowledge! Answers are available at the Circulation Desk.

**Heading to the Inauguration? Here’s some handy Web sites chock full of information: http://www.inauguration.dc.gov/index.asp

http://inaugural.senate.gov/history/daysevents/index.cfm

http://inaugural.senate.gov/2009/

**Want to celebrate President’s Day by visiting the home and/or birthplace of a President? Here are some local roadtrips: Grover Clevland’s Birthplace in Caldwell, New Jersey; Hyde Park, Home of FDR; Teddy Roosevelt’s Home at Sagamore Hill; James Buchanan’s Wheatland Estate in Lancaster; Dwight Eisenhower’s Estate.

CHILL OUT AND READ @ THE VALLEY COMMUNITY LIBRARY

Hey Kids! Chill out & read! @ The Valley Community Library. Fun for preschoolers to 6th grade. Get your Reading Log at the Library and keep track of how many minutes you read every day and you can register for fun events this winter at your Library!

Contact: Karen Slachta 489-1765 kslachta@albright.org

Location: Valley Community Library