During the storytime break in December, you are invited to watch librarians Karen and Jane  tell two of their favorite stories, "The Christmas Cat", and "Christmas and the 3 Bears", online. Sit back, enjoy, and have a happy, healthy holiday.

As one book title suggests, "Winter is the Warmest Season" partly because it is a time for cozying up and reading together, maybe by the fireside.  To help you provide those warm holiday experiences, the Library is providing a Winter Family Reading Program kit.  The family reads, views and listens to library materials, creates something based on a book, visits the Library or the Library's e-branch.  Color in a state and write on the reading log.  When you color in all 50 states, the family gets a warm holiday present - a great book for reading aloud together.  More info  and downloadable materials on the Library's Kids Page.  Color in two states if you watch/read two books on Bookflix (at the bottom of the page) as part of your holiday - Giving Thanks:  A Native  American Good Morning Message and its partner Thanksgiving.  

Over the Thanksgiving holiday, please take a moment to raid your pantry or add an extra item to your grocery cart for donation to the local food bank.  To help with the effort to increase food donations, the public libraries in Monterey and Pacific Grove will be accepting non-perishable, unopened food items in lieu of payment for overdue fines throughout the month of December.  All food donations will be given to the Food Bank for Monterey County for distribution to families in need. 

The Monterey Public Library is located at 625 Pacific Street, Monterey, and the Pacific Grove Public Library is located at 550 Central Avenue, Pacific Grove.  For more information call 831.646.3747 or 831.648.576

Devil in the White City by Erik Larson This is a surprisingly  entertaining account of the events surrounding the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair, where a swampy lakeside area of Chicago was transformed into  a gleaming “White City” – a sparkling array of exhibition buildings, lighted promenades, splendid gardens, a lagoon with  boats and swans, and  venues for all manner of amazing sights and sounds, including exotic animals, hootchy- kootchy dancers, and new inventions and products, including phosphorescent lights,  Juicy Fruit gum, and the Ferris Wheel. 

By the mid-19^thcentury, Chicago was known mostly for its stockyards and slaughterhouses.  After the devastating fire of 1871, Chicago rebuilt very quickly, and by the time of the World’s Fair, it was the fastest growing place in America –and the 1893 World’s Fair was supposed to help launch Chicago’s reputation as a world class city. 
The design of the Fair brought together some of the most brilliant architects and engineers of the day, Daniel Burnham, Charles McKim, Frederick Law Olmstead, Louis Sullivan, and many others.  The reader sits in on the planning and building of the White City, and experiences the egos, the squabbles, the set- backs and the successes associated with this major undertaking.

Concurrent with the story of the 1893 World’s Fair, is an account of one H.H. Holmes , a deranged Chicago medical doctor and a charming swindler who built a hotel not far from the site of the White City, designed specifically for murder.  It featured its own gas chamber and crematorium.  Holmes was America’s first recorded serial killer, and although when he was finally caught, he confessed to only two murders, it is believed that he murdered at least 200 people.  

This is a fascinating slice of history, at once compelling and gruesome.  And, if you’re in a book group, this is a very discussible selection. 

As the world of digital publishing, reading, purchasing, and lending expands and changes, we're here to help you explore this reading landscape. Here's what we have in the works at the moment:

This Saturday, November 19th, from 1:00 -3:00 p.m. is another opportunity for Kindle users to receive a crash course in borrowing books from Monterey Public Library through our Northern California Digital Library. Brand-new Kindle owners can also learn a little more about their eBook Reader and compare notes with other Kindle users.

After the holidays we'll be offering our full scale Digital Books Show & Tell event for the second year. This event offers a chance for new and veteran digital readers to learn about great sources for searching, finding, and discovering material online. We'll also highlight the differences in the devices for those interested in comparing. So mark your calendars for Saturday, January 7th, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Even further ahead we're examining the idea of actually lending eBook Readers out to you! We're still evaluating options, but the idea is exciting. Other libaries have already implemented loaning programs. If you have any thoughts or feelings about this idea, feel free to comment here. We'll also be conducting a survey to get some more ideas in January.

This Saturday, from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m., marks MPL's 3rd Annual Games Fair. We will be celebrating National Gaming Day in Libraries along with over 1,200 other libraries. Many might wonder what games are doing in a place of learning, and why Libraries expend energy on promoting them.

I would answer that games are more than frivolous entertainment, and are a crucial part of our culture, both past and present. Games teach skills such as cooperation and perseverance, and are a form of social interaction that is immensely popular. Video games introduce players to new technologies, board games stress strategic thinking, and card games require ingenuity and creativity.

Games are also everywhere now. In 2008 a Pew Research Study showed that more than half of adults are regular video game players, and that number is only growing. The average age of a game-player is now 35 or more, meaning that video games aren't just for kids.

Are games a replacement for books? Of course not. Are they enjoyable and thought-provoking and a great way to make friends, like books? We think so.

So if you love games of any kind, or would like to know more about why people can't get enough of their favorite games, come play and learn at our 3rd Annual Games Fair. Bring your children, bring your parents, and most importantly bring your sense of fun.

Storytimes this week will be featuring stories about New York.   We'll be doing sidewalk games and sidewalk drawings in between the books.  Can you guess what the stories will be about?  Pigeons! Subways!  Tall buildings, and more! 
Watch a book online to get in the mood - Look at the bottom of the Kids Page for BookFlix and Tumblebooks.  Then look for Zoe and Sophia in New York, Subway Ride, Postcards from New York City, The Man Who Walked Between Two Towers and The Castle on Hester Street.

On Friday, November 18 at 4:00 p.m., MaryLee Sunseri will be taking kids 5 and up on a musical journey through the New England states. In variety show style we'll travel from Colonial America all the way to modern Broadway using songs, shadow play, & stories.
Free tickets will be available at 2:30 p.m. on the 18th. Come early, space is limited.
Ages 5 & up

How many times have you picked up a book in a bookstore or a friend's house and wondered whether or not you could get it from the Library? The Library Anywhere iPhone/iPad and Android apps can now scan the UPC barcode on the back of most books to search the Library catalog. Watch the video to see how it works!