New resources to be thankful for at the library

By Edward Hirst  Rowan Public Library

We have a lot to be thankful for this time of year. Something else the citizens of North Carolina and Rowan County have to be thankful for is NC LIVE. The cooperative library service recently announced their resource lineup for the next three years.

NC LIVE provides a twelve-fold return on investment for libraries of all types across the state of North Carolina. Their $3.6 million budget leveraged access to resources for N.C. communities worth $42.1 million. All NC LIVE resources are available 24/7 from anywhere with access to the internet by library patrons, students and educators.

Mango Languages is a new resource for NC LIVE. Mango offers access to 60 foreign language courses and 17 English courses taught completely in the user’s native language. Mango can be accessed at the library, remotely, or even on-the-go with apps for iPhone, Android, Kindle and Nook.

Cypress Resume, an online tool that helps library members to create a professional resume in just a few minutes. Its easy-to-use format assures you won’t spend hours trying to perfect your document — all the hard work is done for you. Simply plug in your basic information and Cypress Resume creates a perfectly formatted document to help you land that dream job.

SIRS Discoverer is a general reference database for elementary and middle school learners, researchers and educators, covering curriculum areas and content sets such as reading, language arts, current events, science, social studies, history, health and technology. SIRS Discoverer provides editorially-selected, indexed, and curated materials from over 2,100 newspapers, magazines, and websites offering guided research for young researchers.

AutoMate is a car repair resource for the most common maintenance and repair operations for your automobile. Automate has information available for more than 38,000 domestic and imported cars, light trucks, vans and SUVs. The information is categorized by year, make, model, sub-model and engine, leading to vehicle-specific results.

Testing & Education Reference Center from Gale provides standardized test preparation for library patrons. It is also possible to research college programs from more than 4,000 accredited colleges and universities.

Access these resources by visiting rowanpubliclibrary.org.

Being Thankful

by Paul Birkhead  Rowan Public Library

      In this season of giving thanks, I would like to add some of the things I am personally thankful for.  I am thankful for this great nation I was blessed to be born in and the state of North Carolina that has been my home for the past twenty years.  I am thankful for Rowan County and the Commissioners who support my employer, Rowan Public Library, in its mission to inform, educate, and entertain.

      I am also thankful for the blessings of food and all the wonderful ways in which to prepare it.  Along those lines, please consider checking out these new books at the library.  Christopher Kimball's Milk Street is a collection of recipes from one of America’s greatest home cooks.  You may know Christopher Kimball from his previous endeavors, such as the founder of Cooks Magazine (later renamed Cooks Illustrated) and host of the popular cooking show, America’s Test Kitchen.  Another title to investigate is Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat: Mastering the Elements of Good Cooking by Samin Nosrat.  This book explains kitchen science in a thoughtful and sometimes humorous way.  As you read, you’ll be learning cooking basics that will boost your confidence in the kitchen.  Perhaps there is a dish that was popular in your family years ago and no one remembers how it was made.  Check out Betty Crocker's Lost Recipes: Beloved Vintage Recipes for Today's Kitchen.  Betty Crocker, the fictional cook of General Mills, has been around for almost one hundred years.  Countless cookbooks have been published in her trusted name and your mother or grandmother probably owned one or several of them.  Inside this volume, recipes that may have fallen out of fashion over the years are reintroduced (with a little tweaking for the modern palate) to today’s cooks.

      I am also thankful for loved ones and for all the ways they touch our lives.  If you have young children or grandchildren, consider bringing them to story time at the library.  Some of the best storytellers I’ve ever heard are employed by Rowan Public Library.  Over the years, these librarians have instilled a love of reading into thousands of children, some of whom now bring children of their own.  If you have a teenager, the library also serves them with a variety of fun and engaging programs.  Perhaps you are caring for an aging parent.  The library has many resources on that subject including, Eldercare 101 and Caring for a Loved One with Dementia.  And we can’t forget about our pets.  Whether you’re raising chickens or goats or have a more traditional animal such as a dog or cat, you can find several books and DVDs on how to care for them and celebrating their relationships with us.  One new title I’m interested in is Walking with Peety: the Dog Who Saved My Life, about a man and his rescue dog who change each others lives for the better.

      I am also thankful for veterans.  I appreciate the sacrifices that members of America’s armed forces have made, and continue to make, to keep our nation free.  Rowan Public Library is hosting screenings of each of the ten episodes in Ken Burns’ new documentary about the Vietnam War.  Each week a new episode is shown on Wednesdays and Saturdays through December.  There is also related programming during this time and local veterans photograph and memorabilia displays throughout the library.

      These are just some of the things I’m thankful for.  Stop by Rowan Public Library during this season and perhaps discover or celebrate some of your own.

Cozy Reads for Chilly Weather

 By Abigail Hardison Rowan Public Library

Fall is the season where we enjoy feeling the chills every once in a while. The hot and seemingly endless summer has passed, and it’s not so cold yet that we remember why we hated winter. This is the perfect time to dig out thick socks and sweatpants, put on a pot of tea, and curl up with a fun story that will keep you interested, but won’t necessarily keep you up with nightmares. The genre of cozy mysteries is very popular. They have all the compelling intrigue of a police procedural, but you can be reasonably assured that everything will be mostly ok at the end, and you’ll meet some amusing and memorable characters along the way.

Cozy mysteries are known for having non-traditional sleuths, and Sherlock Holmes and Miss Marple are among the inspirations for the genre, though Mr. Holmes was certainly more official in his investigative duties by working with the police. Often they are average folks: retired busy-bodies, small town bakers, precocious adolescents, or friendly booksellers; normal people who find themselves confronted with the vagaries of life and death, and the desire to see justice done.

One of the popular trends in cozy mysteries is the exploration of these non-traditional sleuths throughout history. Author Deanna Raybourn has written more than one series in this vein, and introduced her latest heroine, Veronica Speedwell, a Victorian adventuress and butterfly collector, in the 2015 title “A Curious Beginning”. If you like an established series with lots of titles, then you can sink your teeth into Victoria Thompson’s Gaslight Mystery Series set in Gilded Age New York City with her midwife sleuth Sarah Brandt. Another curious lady dedicated to uncovering the truth is author Peter Tremayne’s Sister Fidelma, a seventh century nun in Ireland.

Unconventional ladies aren’t the only ones catching the killer red-handed. Rowan Public Library has four titles in Ruth Downie’s Medicus Investigation series which follows down-on-his-luck Roman Army doctor in ancient Britain. The long-running Brother Cadfael series by Ellis Peters features a medieval monk who uses his life experiences in the Crusades to solve murders. Another popular yet unlikely gumshoe is Shirley Rousseau Murphy’s Joe Grey, who is, believe it or not, a cat.

Whether you want your cozy mystery with a side of history, a side of humor, or a side of…side dishes (many food-themed cozy mystery series include recipes), we have you covered at RPL. You will be looking forward to those dreary and damp fall days so you can cozy up to a crackling fireplace and enjoy the season from the comfort of your favorite chair.

Tumultuous Times

by Gretchen Beilfuss Witt Rowan Public Library

Approaching Veterans Day, many contemplate those service personnel that gave their time, their health and sometimes their lives for the sake of others.  RPL is hosting the Ken Burns documentary special on the Vietnam War, screening episodes on Wednesdays and Saturdays through December.  There are also local veterans photograph and memorabilia displays throughout the library evoking thought specifically about the Vietnam War.  With these daily reminders of a time in American History that is confusing and only recently being openly discussed, the library provides resources that inform, reminisce and celebrate.
For a short, well-written introduction to the history of the complicated chain of events that led to the Vietnam War, pick up "The Origins of Conflict in the Vietnam War" in the YA series Vietnam War.   With myriad pictures and QR codes that bring up YouTube videos of news and war footage, it is an excellent way to absorb the convoluted reasons why the US ends up in the war that was eventually so divisive.   Those of us who were young or not yet born during the Vietnam War may not realize that the origins of the war go back to the mid-1800s and colonialism. 
For more in-depth information about the war, take a look at the new Smithsonian "The Vietnam War:  The Definitive Illustrated History."  This treasure trove provides timelines back to 1959 along with maps, short bios of important figures, a look at weapons and gear from the many factions involved in the fighting.  The book examines the differing groups of Vietnamese, including the mountain tribes of Vietnam, the Montagnards, and their relationship with the Green Berets.   Separate sections include the importance of air power, the experience of the African American soldier, general chemical warfare, and specific battles.   The authors look at the effects of the war on Laos and Cambodia, the North and South Vietnamese, the Americans as well as a providing a section examining the aftermath of the war and the future of the area into the 21st Century.
"Enduring Vietnam" by James Wright, while containing an overview of the war itself, is poignant for the stories of soldiers, nurses, chaplains and crew members woven into the text.   Wright points out ways in which this war was different from previous wars.  There was no "safe" ground, land that would stay under the control of the US, to bury soldiers even temporarily, so most where shipped home.   Information about troops, political scenarios back in the US, and food production in Vietnam for the army, are mixed in with stories of soldiers.  Moving accounts of nurses who held dying soldiers or the marine who sang Swing Low, Sweet Chariot as his friends carried him toward transport knowing he would not make it, are shared.  The reader learns not all servicemen were reluctant to go to Vietnam; nine young men from a town in Arizona volunteered for the marines together; six of them died.  The unsung heroes are remembered here.
"Tears of a Warrior" by Janet and Anthony [Tony] Seahorn shares the experiences of a combat Vietnam veteran (Tony) who has PTSD and how his family had to learn to cope with his combat experience.  The book is designed both to explain PTSD and assist others.  The initial section of the book shares Seahorn's time in Vietnam with further sections describing how PTSD affects others, coping and existing in relationships and developing support systems. 
For more on detailed experiences there are many other resources "Legend" by Eric Blehm about the rescue of a Special forces team from behind enemy lines, Bowden's "Hue 1968" about the turning point for the Americans in the Vietnam War or Albracht and Wolf's "Abandoned in Hell" relating the five-day siege fought by Americans and Montagnard soldiers for Firebase Kate in 1969 and finally the accompanying book for Ken Burns "The Vietnam War" documentary.