Now you can rate and review books

Do you ever see books in the catalog that look intriguing, and you wish you had someone's feedback on whether it's a page-turner or a snoozefest? Do you wish you could recommend books that are great?

Now, you'll be able to rate books and write reviews within the online library catalog. Once you click on the Write a Review link, you can register, login or write a review anonymously. You can rate the item from 1 to 5, and even say whether you'd recommend it to a friend.

WCCLS has acquired software which works with the online library catalog to provide an interactive forum for patrons to write and post book reviews and read reviews from library patrons around the world. Starred ratings and reviews, and the ability to write reviews, will appear directly in the online library catalog, making it easy for patrons to view and post reviews.

Check it out! Look up your favorite book in the WCCLS online catalog, and give it a try. Or, check out the reviews on Alice Sebold's The Lovely Bones.

North Plains' One Book One Community

North Plains Public Library is presenting its Third Annual One Book One Community reading event from Saturday, January 30, 2010 til the end of February.

The Kickoff event takes place at the North Plains Public Library on Saturday, January 30, 2010, at 6:30 PM.  This year's book selection is Three Cups of Tea by Greg  Mortenson, founder of Pennies for Peace, the Central Asia Institute, and builder of schools in Pakistan and Afghanistan. 

During the kickoff event, more than eighty copies of the book will be distributed free of charge on a first come, first serve basis. Registered participants will receive a special gift and learn about scheduled February events, inspired by Dr. Greg's book.  There will also be a sampling of Central Asian cuisine and music.   

There are a number of programs and activities throughout the month of February, such as discussions, a children's program, talks from Professor Zia Yamayee and Salma Ahmed, a Pakistani Bhangra Dance Performance, a talk about mountains & mountaineering, and, a book discussion.

For more information, see http://nplibrary.org/.

North Plains Public Library is located at 31334 NW Commercial St in downtown North Plains.

2/17: Cornelius hosts "Birds, Bees and Butterflies"

Cornelius Public Library asks: do you want to attract beneficial wildlife to your garden?

Then come by the library Wednesday, February 17 at 5:30 to hear Birds, Bees, and Butterflies, a talk presented by a natural gardening specialist from Metro.

Metro's experts are ready to talk tips and share gardening tricks at this talk. This program includes a visual presentation, discussion, hands-on learning and free publications for all participants.

Learn more about the plants you need. You want some that provide nectar and pollen, and others that feed local insects. Native plants that fruit or bloom are especially nice, and tend to attract native butterflies, birds, and bees.

This is the first of new monthly adult programs on different topics!

Cornelius Public Library is located at 1355 N Barlow Street in downtown Cornelius.

2/21: Environmental Warnings Talk at Hillsboro Main

On February 21 at 2:00 p.m., OSU professor emeritus Richard Clinton will facilitate a free and open conversation at the Hillsboro Main Library. Slow Learners: Two Hundred Years of Unheeded Warnings will explore three questions:

• Why have we largely ignored urgent environmental warnings?
• What will it take to make us heed them?
• What would be required of us if we did take them seriously?

Why have cogent, compelling warnings—that exponential population growth must be stopped, that faith in technology to solve our problems is misplaced, that consumer culture cannot bring satisfaction—been ignored for more than two centuries?

This program is part of the Oregon Humanities Conversation Project, offering statewide opportunities for interactive, facilitated civic dialogue.

Hillsboro Main Library is located at 2850 NE Brookwood Parkway, north of Cornell & Airport Roads.

2/6: Food, Inc. Documentary Screening at Hillsboro Main

Hillsboro Main Library will show Food, Inc., on Saturday, February 6, at 1 p.m. This movie is rated PG.

See the Oscar-nominated documentary that's generating lots of buzz about the way we eat. This film "lifts the veil on our nation's food industry, exposing how our nation's food supply is now controlled by a handful of corporations that often put profits ahead of consumer health, the livelihood of the American farmer, the safety of workers and our own environment. Reveals surprising—and often shocking truths—about what we eat, how it's produced and who we have become as a nation."

More information about the film is available at www.foodincmovie.com. Unable to attend the screening? The library has copies available to reserve.

Hillsboro Main Library is located at 2850 NE Brookwood Parkway, north of Cornell Rd, and south of Dawson Creek Drive.

2/13-14: Charlotte's Web at Beaverton

Charlotte's Web is the story of Wilbur, the pig, who is raised by a farmer's daughter, and who finds a friend in Charlotte, the spider.

Beaverton City Library and Beaverton Arts Commission are pleased to host three performances of Charlotte's Web over Valentines' Day weekend.

Portland Festival Ballet will be performing Charlotte's Web. The cast includes Tricia DuBay, Trevor Buck, Greg Mansfield, Drumlin Brooke, Niti Solomon, and Jemi Mansfield will be reading the title role as Charlotte. Four professional actors from Portland round-off the cast include James Montgomery, Janet Penner, Louise Stinson, and the role of Wilbur is read by Jeffrey Watson.

Tickets are only $10.00 and $5.00 for children under the age of 10. You can purchase your tickets by calling 503-245-5269. The performances will be held at the Beaverton City Library on Saturday Feb.13th at 11am and 2pm with the final performance held on Feb.14th at 2pm.

Beaverton City Library is located at 12375 SW Fifth St. at Hall Blvd.

2/3,10,17,24: SmallTalk: Learning Sign Language Workshop at Tualatin

Wednesdays in February, 10:00–11:00 AM

Tualatin Public Library

18878 SW Martinazzi Ave

Tualatin Public Library will be offering Sign with Your Baby workshops on Wednesday mornings in February.

These workshops are designed to be an enjoyable way for you to spend time with your baby and other parents while you develop an introductory vocabulary in American Sign Language (ASL). You will learn how to incorporate Sign Language into your routine communication with your baby so that he or she can learn to use Signs to communicate specific wants and needs. This class is developed for parents with children 0-24 months of age.

Local author, Dawn Prochovnic, will be presenting these workshops. Prochovnic, creator of Small Talk Workshops, is a certified Sign2Me presenter. Her programs are known for being lively and interactive. Be prepared to participate by singing and signing along!

Monday: Some libraries open, others not open

Monday, February 15 is Presidents Day.

Some WCCLS Libraries are closed for the holiday:

• Beaverton City Library
• Garden Home Community Library
• Hillsboro Main Library
• Hillsboro Shute Park Branch
• North Plains Public Library
• West Slope Community Library

Some WCCLS Libraries are open Monday, February 15:

• Banks Public Library
• Cedar Mill Community Library
• Cedar Mill Community Library at Bethany
• Cornelius Public Library
• Forest Grove City Library
• Sherwood Public Library
• Tigard Public Library
• Tualatin Public Library

Looking for something to do on Presidents Day? May we suggest:

• The Second Edition Clearance Sale at Cedar Mill Community Library
• Internet for Beginners at Cedar Mill Community Library or Cedar Mill Community Library Bethany
• Digital Photography for Beginners class at Cedar Mill Community Library
• Getting Started with Computers at Tigard Public Library
• or, see a live Bald Eagle from the Oregon Zoo at Cornelius Public Library

2/6: Modern Friendship discussed at Sherwood

Courtney Campbell

Friendship is a important relationship in human life and society. Some of us have friends we have known for many years while others make new and intimate friends throughout our lives.

There are different kinds of friendships as well, including, as Aristotle noted some twenty-five centuries ago, friendships of pleasure, utility, and virtue. Some people call anyone with whom they have regular contact a friend, while others reserve the term for a very particular kind of relationship.

Has the idea of friendship changed in contemporary society, especially given the role that social networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace play in creating and maintaining friendships today?

Lani Roberts

This is the focus of "Friend Me? Notions of Friendship in a Changing World," a free conversation with Oregon State University professors Courtney Campbell and Lani Roberts on Saturday, February 6 at 2:00 p.m. at the Sherwood Public Library (22560 SW Pine St., Sherwood, OR 97140). This program is hosted by the Library and sponsored by Oregon Humanities (formerly Oregon Council for the Humanities).

Campbell is Hundere Chair in Religion and Culture and professor of philosophy at Oregon State University. His primary teaching and research interests focus on ethical issues in medicine, concepts of peace and war, theories of death and dying, and comparative religious ethics.

Roberts is a fifth-generation Oregonian who grew up near The Dalles in a house her great-great-grandfather built in 1868. She has been teaching philosophy at Oregon State University since 1989.

Through the Conversation Project program, Oregon Humanities (OH) offers statewide opportunities for civic dialogue and humanities learning with an emphasis on discussing contemporary issues through interactive, facilitated conversations. Oregon Humanities is an independent, nonprofit affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities that believes in the power of ideas and insights to transform communities. More information about OH's programs and publications, which include the Conversation Project: A New Chautauqua, Think & Drink, Humanity in Perspective, Teacher Institutes, Summer Honors Symposium, Public Program Grants, and Oregon Humanities magazine, can be found at oregonhumanities.org.

For more information about this free community discussion, please contact the Sherwood Public Library at 503-625-6688.

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2/6: Love Your Library Silent Auction

The Tualatin Library Foundation presents "Novel Destinations—Your Passport to Adventure", a unique silent auction extravaganza full of adventure. This exciting event will explore of the sights, sounds, smells and tastes of national and international destinations—and offer some unique items focused on travel, book and reading themes, as well as the classic auction items and some amazing surprises.

The hallmark of the fundraiser will be a Valentine package raffle that is valued at over $1000.00

This second annual event (held during February—Love Your Library month) will be at the Tualatin Public Library, Saturday, February 06, 2010 from 6:30–9:00 pm. A limited number of tickets are available at $20.00 per person and can be purchased from Foundation Board members or online.

Chairman Brenda Bajdek-Slomski is actively seeking donations and volunteers. For further information, contact Brenda at 503-679-8590 or email.

Tualatin Public Library is located at 18878 SW Martinazzi Ave, between Boones Ferry Rd and Nyberg Street.

January's Featured Resource — Mango Languages

If your goals include travel, international business, or just learning to speak the language of your neighbor, you may want to try our new resource, Mango Languages. Mango uses real-life situations and conversations to teach a new language. You'll learn more than grammar, vocabulary and conjugation; you'll learn how to communicate. Twelve language courses, including Spanish, ESL for Spanish speakers, Japanese, French, German, Italian, Greek, Russian, and Mandarin Chinese.

Check out the Mango Languages with your WCCLS library card handy.

2/4: So You Want to Become a General Contractor?

Have you ever wondered what you'd need to do to become a general contractor? Find out at Hillsboro Main Library, Thursday, Feb. 4th 2010, 7:00 PM.

It's an opportunity to find the answers to some of your questions about becoming a licensed contractor, and also to find out if the projects you occasionally like to work on for some spare change even require a contractor's license.

Topics include:

• Which contractor-type activities are regulated by the State of Oregon?
• What are the educational requirements necessary along with Bonding and Liability Insurance necessary to obtain a General Contractor’s License?
• What is the overall process and how much time does it take to get a General Contractor's License from start to finish?
• How much does it cost to get a General Contractor's License?

Hillsboro Main Library is located at 2850 NE Brookwood Parkway, just south of Dawson Creek Drive.

1/30: Tigard Reads 2010 Kickoff Event

Celebrate Tigard Public Library's third annual community reading program with the sounds and tastes of the 1930s. The kickoff takes place Saturday, January 30th, from 1–2:30 PM.

The Wanderers, a local folk duo, will perform Woody Guthrie songs from the Dust Bowl, Columbia River Bonneville Dam Administration and some of his children's tunes. Join in a community sing-along of This Land is Your Land and sample popular party foods from the 1920s and 1930s.

The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck is the featured selection for adults and teens in high school. The first 250 people may pick up a free copy. Copies are also available at the library in English and Spanish.

Copies of Woody Guthrie, Poet of the People by Bonnie Christensen will be given to the first 25 families with children in grade 3 or younger, and A Long Way From Chicago by Richard Peck will be given to the first 25 readers in grades 4–9.

More information is available about 2010 Tigard Reads Events.

Tigard Public Library is located at 13500 SW Hall Blvd north of Bonita Rd.

1/27-28: Cornelius hosts job-search seminars

WorkSource Oregon will present a free employment workshop on Wednesday, Jan. 27 and Thursday, Jan. 28 at Cornelius Public Library.

The workshop will cover online resources for job seekers looking to connect with employers, and job training, and printouts will be available.

The Jan. 27 seminar will be given in English, while the Jan. 28 session will be presented in Spanish. Both workshops start at 5:30 p.m.

For event questions or directions, call the library at 503-357-4093.

Cornelius Public Library is located at 1355 N. Barlow St., next to the fire station.

¿Busca Trabajo?
1/28/2010, 5:30–6:00PM - Cornelius Public Library
Entérese acerca de recursos para conectarse con empleadores, trabajos, y entrenamientos.

WorkSource Oregon compartirá maneras para mejorar su búsqueda de trabajo.

¡GRATIS!
¡Encuentre su próximo trabajo o entrenamiento para un trabajo mejor!

Jueves, 28 enero, 5:30pm

Dentro de la Biblioteca Pública de Cornelius, 1355 N. Barlow St., junto a la estación de bomberos

1/21 & 2/18: Stick Buddies at Beaverton

Looking for the chance to knit or crochet? Come, spend some time after-school knitting and crocheting with your favorite grown-up.

Beaverton City Library is offering Stick Buddies, a craft circle for grades 2–5 and accompanying adults. It takes place Thursdays, January 21 and February 18 at 3:30 PM–4:30 PM.

The January Stick Buddies will take place in the Library Conference Room on the first floor; February's will be in the Administrative Conference Room on the second floor.

Registration is required: call (503) 350-3600 to register or for more information.

Beaverton City Library is located at 12375 SW Fifth St. at Hall Blvd.

1/24: Parallel Play: A New Writers' Group at Hillsboro Main Library

Join the new writers' group called "Parallel Play." The group will meet on the fourth Sundays of each month (except April) from 2 to 4 p.m. at Hillsboro Main Library.

Award-winning poet and Portland Community College instructor Marie Buckley will lead a new monthly drop-in opportunity for writers.

The first meeting of Parallel Play will be at the Main Library on Sunday, January 24 from 2 to 4 p.m. The intent is to provide a time and place for writers to gather together and practice their craft alongside one another.

Registration is not required to participate. For more information, see http://www.hillsboro.plinkit.org/news-events/lib-news/new-writers-group-at-hillsboro-main-library.html/.

Hillsboro Main Library is located at 2850 NE Brookwood Parkway, just south of Dawson Creek Drive.

1/27: Teen Authors Panel @ Beaverton City Library

On Wednesday, January 27 from 7:00 - 8:30 PM, Beaverton City Library is proud to present a teen authors panel. The panel takes place in the auditorium.
Meet five local, published authors in one place! Hear them talk about their works, the writing process and getting published! Authors will be available for book sales and signing in Meeting Rooms A & B following the discussion! No registration is required. Visiting authors will be:

• Lisa Schroeder (I Heart You, You Haunt Me, Chasing Brooklyn, and Far From You)
• L.K. Madigan (Flash Burnout)
• Christine Fletcher (Ten Cents A Dance, Tallulah Falls)
• April Henry (Torched, Shock Point, and Face of Betrayal)
• Laini Taylor (National Book Award Finalist! Blackbringer, Silksinger, and Lips Touch Three Times)

Call (503) 350-4001 or for more information.

Beaverton City Library is located at 12375 SW Fifth St. at Hall Blvd.