GCL to Introduce Sleuther Mystery Book Club

Get out your magnifying glasses and deer stalkers because the Garland County Library is starting a new mystery  book club.  The Sleuthers will convene the third Saturday of each month at 10 a.m., beginning January 21st, to discuss classic and contemporary mysteries. Our first case is a classic: Raymond Chandler's The Big Sleep, one of the finest detective novels ever and a masterpiece of hard boiled fiction.  We will sift the book for clues (or clews as I like to say, but I'm an unapologetic, dyed in the wool Anglophile) in our discussion, watch the 1948 film version with Bogey and Bacall, have a snack, and get to know our fellow detectives.  Space is limited.  To find out how you can be a Sleuther, call the library at 623-4161 or 922-4483.

Bingo

       Versions of Bingo have been played around the world since the year 1530. The game was first recorded as an Italian gamed called “Lo Giuoco del Lotto d’Italia,” meaning an Italian lotto. France, in the eighteenth century, added playing cards, tokens and verbal commands to their version of the game. By the nineteenth century, Germany had taken the game to use as an educational tool to teach children to spell and use basic math. In the 1920’s Hugh J. Ward introduced modern bingo to America in the Pittsburgh and Pennsylvania areas through traveling carnivals. He later went on to copyright the word “bingo” and publish an official rule book in 1933. Around Atlanta in late 1929, Edwin Lowe took what he learned of the game to New York where he taught his friends to play. They used bean markers, rubber stamps and cardboard game pieces just has Ward had. Lowe later commercialized the game by selling two versions, a 12-card set for $1.00 and a 24-card set for $2.00. By the 1940’s Bingo was being played throughout America.


      Bingo is usually played on a 5x5 cardboard game piece with the letters BINGO printed across the five vertical columns. Each column spans a specific number of letters and the center space is usually marked “free.” The numbers called out are randomly drawn and a bean or similar marker is used to cover the corresponding number on the game board. A bingo happens in various ways depending on the individual game. Some games require only one number to be matched while others require an entire board to be covered.

      The Garland County Library offers its own version of bingo. “Bingo for Books” is hosted library employee Amber Thomas. Amber has her own set of rules and a variety of prizes. One round of bingo goes on until three different people have won a book from the prize cart or a $5 gift card to Books-A-Million. Special bingo is won when a specific pattern chosen by the caller is covered. The prize for a special bingo is a $25 gift card to Books-A-Million. Books from the prize card include new releases from authors such as: Danielle Steel, Tami Hoag, David Baldacci, Ken Follett, James Patterson, Jodi Picoult, Stephenie Meyer, Khaled Hosseini and many others.

Register now for Bingo for Books held January 9th, from 2:00 to 3:30.

Holiday Kindle Giveaway Sweepstakes

The Garland County Library will make the holiday season more cheery for five lucky readers.  At a Holiday Party at the library, 1427 Malvern Ave., on Wednesday, December 21^st from 9:30-11 am, random drawings will be held to give away five Amazon Kindle e-readers. 

            “Since we’ve started offering ebook downloads through our website, the questions we’ve fielded about ebook readers have increased tremendously,” Karen Covey of the library said.  “Since this is the season of giving, we thought Kindles would make great gifts for our patrons.”

            Drawing slips for the Kindle giveaway will be available at the library starting Wednesday, December 14^th.  “You can put in as many slips as you like,” Covey said, “but we’re limiting the winners to one per household in order to spread the holiday cheer around.  We hope that people will come to our party, have some cider and snacks, and possibly be a winner.  You don’t have to attend the party to win, however.”

            The party and prizes are both sponsored by the Friends of the Garland County Library.  For more information, call the library at 623-4161 or 922-4483.

GCL Book Cart Drill Team Takes Home Trophy

The Garland County Library's book cart drill team, Santa's Little Shelvers, was awarded a trophy for their performance in Monday night's Downtown Christmas Parade.  The silver cup, for "Most Decorated Non-Float," was awarded at a ceremony at the Arlington Hotel Tuesday, December 6th.  Santa's Little Shelvers consist of Katie Allen, Brittany Chavez, Jill Henson, Tiffany Hough, Erin Louton, and Greg Wallace.  They are coached by Karen "Fancy Hands" Covey.  In addition to the team, the shelvers were accompanied by candy throwers Donna Rusher, Brook Olsen, Melissa Morgan, and John Wells.  Kim Hillison provided hay and transportation.  "It was cold and wet out there," Karen Covey said, "but we proved that Santa's Shelvers are the best book cart drill team in town."  Santa's Little Shelvers are sponsored by the Friends of the Garland County Library.

70th anniversary of Pearl Harbor

"December 7th 1941, a date which will live in infamy." -President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

70 years ago, the Imperial Japanese Navy launched a surprise attack on the US Naval Base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. This event forced the United States, which had adopted a doctrine of isolationism, to declare war and thus enter into the fray of World War II. The United States Congress declared war against Japan the next day, changing the entire course of human history.

The attack on Pearl Harbor was a profound moment in American history, one that touched the lives of each and every American, and still does today. The library will host a discussion of these events and how they impacted the lives of the people of Garland County on December 7th at 12 noon. The discussion, titled "The Impact of World War II on Hot Springs" will be led by historian Liz Robbins of the Garland County Historical Society and will include a vintage home movie taken in downtown Hot Springs in 1944, offering a rare glimpse into what life was like then.

Later that night at 6 pm, the library will host a USO Concert with Shirley Chauvin and her band. Chauvin will be playing popular music of the day including jazz and swing. Registration is required for both programs, so call or come by the library: 1427 Malvern Ave. Hot Springs, AR 71901 - (501)623-4161 or (501)922-4483.