Do you have questions regarding your computer, tablet, phone or smart watch? Paul Zimmerman can help you!
Stop by the Learning Commons between 5:00 – 7:00 pm to have all of your questions answered.
*CANCELLED* ERC Spring Science Series: Idaho Museum of Natural History
*THIS PROGRAM HAS BEEN CANCELLED* We may attempt to reschedule it for later in 2020.
The Environmental Resource Center’s 5th annual Spring Science Series offers exciting and interactive presentations on scientific topics ranging from plant and animal adaptations and life histories, to unique conservation strategies.
This week staff from the Idaho Museum of Natural History (IMNH) will present a Mammoth Murder Mystery! Virginia Jones of the IMNH will facilitate a crime scene investigation working to solve the murder mystery of a baby mammoth. Learn more about ice age animals and life on earth 10,000 years ago. IMNH is located on the Idaho State University Campus in Pocatello.
The presentation will be in the Children’s Library Treehouse room.
This program is offered in conjunction with the ERC’s Spring Exploration Series which brings presenters from across the Northwest to all 2nd and 3rd grade classrooms in Blaine County during the school day. This program is FREE, family-friendly and open to the public! Don’t miss your opportunity to learn about the natural world from visiting experts!
Book Group: Another Side of Twain
This discussion group, led by JoEllen Collins, will explore the life and works of Mark Twain, one of America’s best and most beloved writers. The group will explore some of the darker sides of Twain’s perspective, as well as questions of political correctness in the context of Twain’s era and how they fit into our picture of life today through a selection of Twain’s novels, short stories, and unfinished works.
The group will meet Thursday evenings, 6:00-8:00 p.m., April 23 to May 21 in the Program Studio (downstairs from the Children’s Library).
Attendees are asked to read Huckleberry Finn before the first class. During class, the group will read excerpts from Life on the Mississippi and other writings. Copies of these selections will be provided to attendees during the first class.
Syllabus:
April 23 – Introduction to Twain
April 30 – Huckleberry Finn
May 7 – Life on the Mississippi
May 14 – “The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg” and other satire
May 21 – Summary and introduction to The Mysterious Stranger
No registration is required. Drop-ins are welcome, but attendees are encouraged to attend as many of the classes as possible.
JoEllen Collins has spent her life in communication and as an English, ESL, and speech teacher at Santa Monica and Beverly Hills High Schools, Santa Monica College, the Peace Corps in Thailand, College of Southern Idaho, and the Sun Valley Community School. She has also taught adult classes in James Joyce and, recently, “The Poet in You” at The Community Library. Teaching great literature is a passion, and she is delighted to discuss a lesser known side of Mark Twain.
“Giving Done Right” with Phil Buchanan
In collaboration with the Spur Community Foundation, The Community Library welcomes Phil Buchanan for a special presentation on philanthropy. The presentation will be followed by a book signing, and copies of Buchanan’s book, Giving Done Right: Effective Philanthropy and Making Every Dollar Count, will be available for free to all attendees courtesy of the Spur Community Foundation.
Phil Buchanan, president of Center for Effective Philanthropy (CEP), is a passionate advocate for the importance of philanthropy and the nonprofit sector and deeply committed to the cause of helping foundations and individual donors to maximize their impact. Hired in 2001 as the organization’s first chief executive, Buchanan has led the growth of CEP into the leading provider of data and insight on philanthropic effectiveness. CEP has been widely credited with bringing the voices of stakeholders to funders and with contributing to an increased emphasis on key elements of effectiveness.
In addition to Giving Done Right, released in 2019, Buchanan is co-author of many CEP research reports, a columnist for The Chronicle of Philanthropy, and a frequent blogger for the CEP Blog. Phil is also co-founder of YouthTruth, an initiative of CEP’s designed to harness student perceptions to help educators and funders accelerate improvements in K–12 schools and classrooms. In 2016, he was named the Nonprofit Times “influencer of the year.” Phil serves on the boards of directors of Philanthropy Massachusetts and the National Council on Aging.
2020 Audacious Read: ULYSSES by James Joyce
Third Tuesday of Each Month | 3:00-4:00 p.m. | Program Studio (downstairs)
James Joyce’s Ulysses (1922) may be more talked about than read. It occupies an intimidating position within the literary canon as a byword for experimental modernism. Joyce helped to forge its reputation, mischievously claiming, “I’ve put in so many enigmas and puzzles that it will keep the professors busy for centuries arguing over what I meant, and that’s the only way of insuring one’s immortality.” Even Virginia Woolf, reading shortly after publication, found Ulysses a struggle, dismissing it as “diffuse,” “brackish,” and “pretentious.” Prestige is evident in its perennial placing in lists of “Great Books,” and echoed in its value to collectors. In 2009, a first edition sold at auction for £275,000, the highest sum ever achieved for a 20th-century novel. Yet its reputation for difficulty masks the extent to which Ulysses is warm, welcoming and witty, granting a uniquely intimate perspective on what it is to be human.
– Dr. Katherine Mullin
Reading Schedule
January 21 – Introduction and Episode 1, “Telemachus” (roughly pages 1-23)
February 18 – Episodes 2-6,“Nestor” | “Proteus” | “Calypso” | “The Lotus-Eaters” | “Hades” (roughly pages 24-111)
March 17 – Episodes 7-8, “Aeolus” | “Lestrygonians” (roughly pages 112-175)
April 21 – Episode 9, “Scylla & Charybdis” (roughly pages 176-209)
May 19 – Episodes 10-11, “Wandering Rocks” | “Sirens” (roughly pages 210-279)
June 16 – BLOOMSDAY! Episode 12, “Cyclops” (roughly pages 280-330)
July 21 – Episode 13, “Nausicaa” (roughly pages 331-365)
August 18 – Episode 14, “Oxen of the Sun” (roughly pages 366-407)
September 15 – Episode 15, “Circe” (roughly pages 408-565)
October 20 – Episode 16, “Eumaeus” (roughly pages 569-618)
November 17 – Episode 17, “Ithaca” (roughly pages 619-689)
December 15 – Episode 18, “Penelope” (roughly pages 690-732)
Resources
Recorded presentation by literary scholar Dr. Enda Duffy at The Community Library Lecture Hall on 7 December 2019: https://livestream.com/comlib/duffy
Free digital copy of Ulysses through Project Gutenberg: https://www.gutenberg.org/files/4300/4300-h/4300-h.htm#chap15
British Library online introduction to Ulysses: https://www.bl.uk/20th-century-literature/articles/an-introduction-to-ulysses
Online guide to Ulysses by Dr. Patrick Hastings: http://www.ulyssesguide.com/
The Community Library Contact
Jenny Emery Davidson
(208) 806-2620
Photo courtesy of LitHub.
*CANCELLED* ERC Spring Science Series: Veolia ESER Program – Weather Basics
*THIS PROGRAM HAS BEEN CANCELLED* We may attempt to reschedule it for later in 2020.
The Environmental Resource Center’s 5th annual Spring Science Series offers exciting and interactive presentations on scientific topics ranging from plant and animal adaptations and life histories, to unique conservation strategies.
This week of the Spring Science Series features Alana Jensen from the Veolia ESR Program. The ESR team is committed to furthering educational outreach relating to the environmental surveillance and wildlife use at the Idaho National Laboratory.
This presentation will share weather basics through exciting and interactive demonstrations.
The presentation will be in the Children’s Library Treehouse room.
This program is offered in conjunction with the ERC’s Spring Exploration Series which brings presenters from across the Northwest to all 2nd and 3rd grade classrooms in Blaine County during the school day. This program is FREE, family-friendly and open to the public! Don’t miss your opportunity to learn about the natural world from visiting experts!
