This week’s column was submitted Lalu Palamattam, of Reference Services at the Des Plaines Public Library. Indian dance is a very distinct art.  It is a form of expression, with a truly unique history. The movements are elegant and meaningful. The costumes are gorgeous and colorful. Come, watch, and move to the rhythm of India at 7 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 5 at the Des Plaines Public Library. The students of Anjali Nrutha Kalalayam will perform and teach Indian dance adavu (steps). A traditional classical style dance will be followed by a teaching session. You may check out the different style …

This week’s column was submitted Joel Sawyer, of Readers Services at the Des Plaines Public Library. A Game of Thrones HBO miniseries has cast a spotlight on George R.R. Martin’s epic fantasy masterpiece A Song of Ice and Fire. He also released the latest book of the series (after six years!) this summer: A Dance with Dragons. Demand for these books is rightfully high, but here some other series to check out after (or before) reading George R.R. Martin: The First and Second Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever by Stephen R. Donaldson Thomas Covenant is a writer who has contracted …

This week’s column was submitted by Courtney Schade of the Des Plaines Public Library. On Nov. 23 the movie Hugo hits theaters. This movie, like so many others coming out of Hollywood these days, is based on a children’s novel, the Caldecott Award winning The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick. It isn’t often that a novel receives a Caldecott Award, the award reserved for excellence in illustrations that is usually bestowed upon a picture book, but then again, this is no ordinary book. In addition to the movie coming to theaters, Brian’s second illustrated novel, Wonderstruck, was …

This week’s column was submitted by David Whittingham of the Des Plaines Public Library. Sometimes I wonder if the world is getting more messed up these days. We hear about all these horrific crimes. Are they happening more and more, or do we just hear more about them? I think there is a tendency, as we grow older, to think the world was cleaner and more innocent in our younger days. When I was a kid I walked to and from school every day. Sometimes I hitchhiked. Today I drive my son to school. Then I wait until he’s safe inside the school building. Then I exhale. Earlier: Jeanette Winterson’s…

This week’s column was submitted by Michelle Meyer-Edley, reference librarian. As the holiday season approaches, are you feeling overwhelmed by the number of gifts you need to buy and how much it will all cost? No worries! Here at the Des Plaines Public Library we can help you make the best decisions when making purchases and help save money too! The library’s website has an entire section devoted to savvy shopping. We even subscribe to Consumer Reports online so you can make wise and informed decisions. Take a look at our consumer Information page to access this and other helpful resources. …

This week’s submission comes from Stephanie Spetter, head of Youth Serivces at the Des Plaines Public Library. Put Saturday, Oct. 29 on your family calendar right now. The Des Plaines Public Library is hosting two great activities that your entire family will enjoy. The Des Plaines Park District presents a Halloween Hoopla craft program in our second floor Storytime Room from 1-3 p.m. Come join in the hands-on activity of making a fun Halloween craft to take home for your Halloween weekend home décor. Earlier: Checking out eBooks at the library. Then, at 3 p.m., make your way to the first …

This week’s column was submitted by Cathy Friedman, eLibrarian in Reference Services at the Des Plaines Public Library. The Des Plaines Public Library has been talking about eBooks for more than 10 years. Most definitely the subject has ramped up in the last year given the explosion of devices. In some form or another the library has provided access to digital books through a computer or through a device for a long time. This is mentioned not only to highlight the public library's role in adopting emerging technologies that promote access to information, but also to take a moment to remember …

Having trouble choosing between public, private or home-based education for your family? Has the new school year raised questions about a student's learning style? The Des Plaines Public Library offers printed, internet-based and in-person resources for these and other questions relating to education. The next in-person program will be at 7 p.m. Oct. 10. Educator and tutor Kathy Wentz will explain ideas to reach a wide variety of learning styles in home-based education with various media formats. Earlier: A review of Jeanette Winterson’s ‘Lighthousekeeping.’ This free program requires …

There is something dark inside every human being—a twisted attraction to the macabre. We cannot help but slow down ever so slightly as we pass a gnarled car wreck. We cannot help but congregate in large audiences around a structure, which has caught fire, and watch with morbid fixation as it burns to the ground. We live in a society of ambulance chasers and so many police-procedural television dramas, which chronicle the deeds of the very worst sort of person. There are a small number of people among us who have taken full possession of this innate human darkness. They are writers like Chuck …

Calling all future engineers, scientists and even mad scientists!  The Annual Family Science Expo returns to the Des Plaines Public Library for a third year on Saturday September 24 from Noon – 4 p.m., promising an afternoon of free family science and engineering fun! This free open-house is geared to kids in grades 2 – 8 and their parents, but all ages will have a great time.  Kids can: See how Working Bikes Cooperative uses old, unwanted bicycles to generate power to run a stereo, fountain, lamp, blender, and more! Check out “bots” created by Chibots, the Chicago Area Robotics Group. …

Experience the elegance and passion of Spanish dance, music and culture when the Ensemble Español appears at the Des Plaines Public Library on Sunday, September 25, 2011 at 2:00 p.m.  Founded in 1976 by artistic director Dame Libby Komaiko, the Ensemble Español is internationally recognized as the premier center for Spanish dance in America.   The company will present Spain’s Dancing Rhythms. This vibrant program was designed for schools and community organizations and is both entertaining and educational. Wearing beautiful, authentic costumes the artists will perform dances in the classical…

If Jack Reacher and Mitch Rapp got in a fistfight, who’d win? I posed that question several years ago in our library blog and it has been one of our most commented posts. Jack Reacher is the retired military cop gone hobo in Lee Child’s popular series. Mitch Rapp is the secret CIA counter-terrorism agent featured in Vince Flynn’s thrillers. In the books, both men are huge, unrelenting, clever and heroic.  I don’t know how one would determine who is tougher. But I’d cheer for Reacher since he’s the more likeable guy. Ironically, they have just cast Tom Cruise to play Reacher (who is supposedly…

The first day of kindergarten is approaching quickly and for many children the first day of school, particularly the first day of kindergarten, is a cause of anxiety. Here are a few books to read with your soon-to-be kindergartner that may help ease them into the hustle and bustle of school. Ready for Kindergarten, Stinky Face? by Lisa McCourt A mother reassures her son when he imagines increasingly silly things that might go wrong on his first day of kindergarten. Is Your Buffalo Ready for Kindergarten? by Audrey Shehyn Vernick Although kindergarten provides unique challenges for a young …

For those who want a heads up on the newest books to hit the library’s shelves or just want to find a good book to read, the Des Plaines Public Library now offers NextReads, a free online newsletter service. Related: Commuter Specials: Audiobooks That Deliver Inspiration In About An Hour Next Reads aims to connect readers with books that match their particular reading tastes. Subscribers to the service may choose what newsletters they wish to receive by email or RSS feed from a list that includes Biography and Memoir, History and Current Events, Kids’ Books, Romance, Thrillers and Suspense, …

A long, long time ago, Aristotle said, "We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then is not an act, but a habit." These days, though, it can seem like all you do is go through the motions. Day-to-day rote activities eat up so much time, and trying to improve yourself can feel like just another entry on an endless to-do list. While there may not be a short cut to a better you, there are ways to work smarter to get what you want. Related: Collect Your Midsummer Knight's Read Rewards At Des Plaines Library Multi-task: use your commute time. At the library we've got short, single CD audiobooks …

We are counting down to the final days of “A Midsummer Knight’s Read” here at the Des Plaines Public Library. We have had a royally good time this summer, exploring medieval literature, history, science, art, and theater. Sunday, July 31 is your last chance to check in and earn your reading rewards. Our beautiful “A Midsummer Knight’s Read” t-shirts are the WHAT-TO-WEAR item as we head into the back-to-school season. Many thanks to the wonderful sponsors who helped make this Summer Reading Club such great fun: The Friends of the Des Plaines Public Library Millennium Bank Buona Beef Gameworks …

Des Plaines Public Library offers free test proctoring to the public. This service is open to anyone, not strictly Des Plaines residents. A library card is not required to take a proctored test. What is proctoring? It’s an arrangement between the test-taker and the library for that person to take certain tests – such as for college, employment or a professional license – here at the library. Earlier: Doc Watch at the Des Plaines Public Library All requests for proctoring go to Reference Librarian Bob Blanchard. The test-taker should contact Bob at least five days before he or she wants to …

Documentary films rack in a minuscule amount of theater box office receipts compared to feature films, but those that do make it to the big screen are worthy, and  usually have garnered lots of praise.  Seems that as soon as the word is out though, the film is ending its run at the local theater.   If you have missed them, be sure to check out some of 2010's most popular documentaries on DVD at the Des Plaines Public Library. Inside Job offers a riveting look at the global financial collapse of 2008 - 2009 with a focus on the greed and power of Wall Street. Director, writer Charles Ferguson, …

Calling all parents of kids ages 2-5… ”Wild Times” is a program of rhyme, rhythm, and movement that features a different musical style each week. You can shake a tail feather or boogie down and sing along to some songs you probably already know, and maybe some that are new to you. “Wild Times” is an opportunity for an adult and child to have a rockin’ good time together! “Wild Times” meets on Wednesdays at 10 a.m. or at 10:45 a.m., now until July 27. Each session is open to the first 40 people to arrive and receive an admission ticket at the 2nd floor information desk. Ticket distribution …

Erik Larson’s newest book, In the Garden of Beasts: Love Terror and the American Family in Hitler’s Berlin provides a new perspective of the early days of Nazi power in Berlin in 1933-34: that of the American ambassador to Germany, William E. Dodd. Using a similar formula as in his prior works, among them The Devil in the White City, Larson focuses on the fastidious Dodd and his brassy daughter Martha and weaves their individual stories together into a seamless narrative that reads almost like fiction. This tandem might seem more mundane than that of a visionary architect and a murderous …