Did You Know?

Every Sunday afternoon and Wednesday evening, the Garland County Library shows movies for free in the Gordonelle Williams Hall Auditorium. Enjoy titles from the new releases to classics while eating complimentary popcorn (drinks are allowed, as well). The movies are shown on a large screen with surround sound. Some of the selections are available for checkout. We try to choose movies of literary or cinematic importance. Don't miss out!

Here's a list of the next two months of movies (a more detailed list can be found here):

September:

Wednesday, September 2nd, 5:00
Reservoir Dogs
(1992, 1 hr 39 min)

Sunday, September 6th, 1:00
Watchmen
(2009, 2 hrs 43 min)

Wednesday, September 9th, 5:00
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
(1998, 2 hrs 8 min)

Sunday, September 13th, 1:00
Scent of a Woman
(1992, 2 hrs 17 min)

Wednesday, September 16th, 5:00
The Rules of Attraction
(2002, 1 hr 50 min)

Sunday, September 20th, 1:00
American Psycho
(2000, 1 hr 40 min)

Wednesday, September 23rd, 5:00
Misery
(1990, 1 hr 47 min)

Sunday, September 27th, 1:00
Stand By Me
(1986, 1 hr 27 min)

Wednesday, September 30th, 5:00
Full Metal Jacket
(1987, 1 hr 56 min)

October: Halloween Horror Specials

Sunday, October 3rd, 1:00
Frankenstein/The Invisible Man
(1931/1933, 2hrs 22 min)

Wednesday, October 7th, 4:00
House of Wax/It Came From Outer Space
(1953/1953, 2hrs 50 min)

Sunday, October 10th, 1:00
Creature From the Black Lagoon/Invasion of the Body Snatchers
(1954/1956, 2hrs 39 min)

Wednesday, October 14th, 4:00
Carnival of Souls/Night of the Living Dead
(1962/1968, 2hrs 59 min)

Sunday, October 17th, 1:00
The Birds
(1963, 1 hr, 59 min)

Wednesday, October 21st, 5:00
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre
(1974, 1 hr 24 min)

Sunday, October 24th, 1:00
The Exorcist
(1973, 2 hrs, 1 min)

Wednesday, October 28th, 5:00
The Blair Witch Project
(1999, 1 hr 26 min)

Sunday, October 31st, 1:00
The Shining
(1980, 2hrs)

November will be a celebration of all things Cohen Brothers and December's list is packed full of 2009 summer blockbusters. Come check it out!

The Grapes of Wrath

We'll show John Ford's The Grapes of Wrath (1940) on Sunday, August 23, at 2:00 p.m. Paula Redding, a teacher at Hot Springs High School, will present the film. Henry Fonda stars at Tom Joad, a member of a poor Oklahoma family forced off their land during the Great Depression. The film won two Academy Awards-- Ford for best director, and Jane Darwell for best supporting actress as the long suffering matriarch, Ma Joad. Even though Fonda didn't win, many critics agree that he gives one of his finest performances.

The film is based on John Steinbeck's 1939 novel, which won him the Pulitzer Prize. A copy of the novel will be awarded to a lucky attendee of Sunday's presentation.

Garland County Staff Staff Movie Recommendations

The GCL staff would like to recommend the following movies:
(click the title to view/reserve the book)

Adam E: Devil's Playground

Adam W: Ghostbusters

America: King Corn

Belinda: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Brittany: Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist

Cheryl: Anne of Green Gables

Danny: Groundhog Day

Donna: The Green Mile

Greg: Small Change

Jacob: Antwone Fisher

Jessica: Love*Com

John W: Slumdog Millionaire

Justin: Throne of Blood

Karen: The Last Waltz

Kim: The Dirty Dozen

Melissa K: The Wrestler

Melissa M: Ratatouille

Michael: Schizopolis

Rani: Fried Green Tomatoes

Rayna: Spirited Away

Sue: Gran Torino

Tony: Amelie

Trent: Gladiator

Walt: Dinner Rush

Yetty: The Notebook

Story Pit We Hardly Knew Ye

Today the Story Pit in the Children's Library was filled with concrete. Countless stories have been read to thousands of children over its 14 year lifespan. Our award-winning Children's Librarian, Tiffany Hough, and the Children's library staff such as Kasey, Katie, Jill, Grace, Becky, and even the adult library staff including Donna, Belinda and Danny have read stories from the pit. Even Santa Claus has told a story or two, and many, many programs have taken place there.

It will be missed!

Below is the progression of the concrete phase. Before it was poured, it was filled with gravel and covered with mesh.

(click images to enlarge)















The carpet and safety bars were removed. Gravel, tarp, and mesh were laid.















The chute was rigged through the window.















Concrete pouring at work.















Joe at work.















The concrete covers the mesh.















A little more to go...















The concrete is spread and smoothed.

We'd like to thank our patrons for their patience during this ensuing peroid of commotion. We guarantee it will be worth the wait! Please come in and check out the progress. Glass doors from the inside now give everyone a view into the workspace, and it is very impressive.

Summer Reading Recap

"There is a temperate zone in the mind, between luxurious indolence and exacting work; and it is to this region, just between laziness and labor, that summer reading belongs." ~Henry Ward Beecher

Our Summer Reading Programs ended last week. We'd like to thank all who participated and congratulate the winners of the weekly drawings.

By far, the most voracious summer readers were the children. The Children's Library enrolled 711 young readers who logged a record-breaking total of over 11, 000 reading hours! The kids celebrated their hard work with an End of Summer party. Even though we'd like to think that reading is its own reward, as an additional treat in recognition of their efforts, the kids were allowed to paint our Miss Kasey from head to toe in acrylic paint. Last year, Miss Tiffany ate a bug. There was no bug eating this year.

Our teen readers also racked up some impressive numbers. We had 27 readers who wrote 147 reviews. Popular teen reads included the Twilight series and the 39 Clues series. Some of our teens were especially ambitions and reviewed The Great Gatsby and My Antonia.

We had 34 adult readers who wrote 282 reviews. The books ranged from The Arabian Nights to Yoga Beats the Blues. Stephenie Meyer and Janet Evanovich were both popular with our summer readers.

If you'd like to look over our readers' reviews, they are all available at the library. Even if you didn't participate in the Reading Program this year, we'd still love to hear your reviews and recommendations, so please leave your comments below.