Happy Holidays

Happy Holidays everyone.
Here are our holiday hours:
CLOSED Monday-Wednesday December 24-26
Close at 5:30 Monday December 31
CLOSED Tuesday January 1

We will follow regular hours the rest of the time.

Teen Movie

We will be showing Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix this Tuesday, the 11th. That is the day it comes out on DVD. The movie starts at 5:30 and refreshments will be provided. It is free and open to all 6th through 12th graders.

Did You Hear?

The new Christopher Paolini book will be out on September 28, 2008. This is the sequel to Eragon and Eldest. He actually had so much stuff that there will be a fourth book in the series with that date to be determined later. We have both Eragon and Eldest at the library if you want to catch up before the new one comes out.

Teen Advisory Club

We will have the first meeting of the Teen Advisory Club on Sunday (December 2) at 3pm. Anyone in the 6th-12th grades is welcome to participate. We will choose the movies for January and February, discuss programs, and start thinking about a name for the group. Please come if you are able.

Happy Thanksgiving

The library will close at 5:30 on Wednesday the 21st and will be closed on Thursday the 22nd and Friday the 23rd for the holiday. We will go to regular hours on Saturday.

Trivia

We have the pop culture Jeopardy next Friday, the 16th, at 4pm. We will be showing Spiderman 3 on Saturday the 17th. Come join us for one or both of these fun programs!!!!

Teen Read Week

Teen Read Week begins this Sunday, the 14th. We will be celebrating the theme LOL @ Your Library by having Laugh Out Loud Comedies Throughout the Decades.

Tuesday - Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure from 6-8pm
Thursday - Clueless from 6-8pm
Saturday - Evan Almighty from 2-4pm

These are open to all 6th-12th graders and refreshments will be provided.

Please come and join us as we celebrate Teen Read Week.

Don't forget to vote for the Teen's Top Ten Books at:
www.ala.org/ala/yalsa/teenreading/teenstopten/teenstopten

Teen Chats

In honor of Teen Read Week, YALSA and Readergirlz will be hosting the 31 Flavorite Authors chats. There is a chat each night in October with a different teen author. All you have to do is join the Readergirlz forum on MySpace and join in on the chat at 8pm each night. For more information go to the Readergirlz site. The authors are:

Week One

October 1st: Meg Cabot

October 2nd: Tiffany Trent

October 3rd: Brent Hartinger

October 4th: Lorie Ann Grover

October 5th: K.L. Going

October 6th: Nikki Grimes

Week Two

October 7th: Ellen Hopkins

October 8th: Justina Chen Headley

October 9th: Chris Crutcher

October 10th: Ann Brashares

October 11th: Sarah Mlynowski

October 12th: Cecil Castellucci

October 13th: Kirby Larson

Week Three
October 14th: Tanya Lee Stone

October 15th: John Green

October 16th: Sara Zarr

October 17th: Deb Caletti

October 18th: Rachel Cohn

October 19th: Kirsten Miller

October 20th: Mitali Perkins

Week Four
October 21st: Sonya Sones

October 22nd: Lisa Yee

October 23rd: Carolyn Mackler

October 24th: E. Lockhart

October 25th: Janet Lee Carey

October 26th: Gaby Triana

October 27th: Lauren Myracle

Week Five
October 28th: Holly Black

October 29th: Cynthia Leitich Smith

October 30th: Dia Calhoun

October 31st: Stephenie Meyer (Special time: 9 PM PST/MIDNIGHT EST)

Good SAT site

We have a practice SAT in the Fall and Spring, but what can you do between those tests? A new website has been launched with study guides, test questions, and other materials. Check out this website by ProProfs.

www.proprofs.com/sat/

Useful College Website

The Department of Education College Opportunities Online (COOL) has launched a website to help search for colleges throughout the country. You can enter certain criteria to see what school would be the best fit for you. The information provided includes programs offered, cost, financial aid available, accreditation, and others. Use this site if you have not decided which college to attend.

The site is: collegenavigator.ed.gov

Teen's Top 10

Each year, to go along with Teen Read Week, the American Library Association has a Teen's Top Ten Books vote. Teens vote from a provided list for the books they think are the best. Any teen can vote by going to the website at the end of this blog. We will be having a movie marathon that week, but please take time to vote for your favorites. Voting begins October 14 and ends October 20. If you have not read these books, we do have them at the library to check out. The nominees are:

1. Firegirl by Tony Abbott
2. Clay by David Almond
3. Road of the Dead by Kevin Brooks
4. Secrets of My Hollywood Life by Jen Calonita
5. The Loud Silence of Francine Green by Karen Cushman
6. Just Listen by Sarah Dessen
7. How to Ruin a Summer Vacation by Simone Elkeles
8. In Search of Mockingbird by Loretta Ellsworth
9. The Christopher Killer by Alane Ferguson
10. What Happened to Cass McBride by Gail Giles
11. Hello, Groin by Beth Goobie
12. River Secrets by Shannon Hale
13. Shock Point by April Henry
14. Bad Kitty by Michele Jaffe
15. Born to Rock by Gordon Korman
16. New Moon by Stephanie Meyer
17. Kiki Strike: Inside the Shadow City by Kirsten Miller
18. Prom Anonymous by Blake Nelson
19. Maximum Ride: School’s Out-Forever by James Patterson
20. Life As We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer
21. Penelope Bailey Takes the Stage by Susanna Reich
22. All Hallows Eve (13 Stories) by Vivian Vande Velde
23. Skin by Adrienne Maria Vrettos
24. The Unresolved by T.K. Welsh
25. Flora Segunda: Being the Magickal Mishaps of a Girl of Spirit, Her Glass-Gazing Sidekick, Two Ominous Butlers (One Blue), a House with Eleven Thousand Rooms, and a Red Dog by Ysabeau S. Wilce

For more information about the Teen's Top 10, please visit
http://www.ala.org/ala/yalsa/teenreading/teenstopten/teenstopten.htm

Don't Forget

Programs begin this week. We will be having a craft day on Friday from 4-5. Refreshment will be provided and you can take home anything that you create. On Saturday, from 2-4:30, we will be showing the movie We Are Marshall. It will be in the main meeting room and refreshments will be provided. Come join us for both of these events.

Fall Programs

We will begin the fall programming in September. All movies and programs will be on the third week of the month.

In September, we will have the Clean Out the Closet Craft Day on the 21st from 4-5pm. You can make whatever you want out of the materials provided and take it home. On the 22nd, we will be showing the movie We Are Marshall from 2-4:30pm.

We will celebrate Teen Read Week in October. The theme this year is LOL @ Your Library so we will be showing comdies from different decades the week of the 14th through the 20th.
Tuesday, October 16 (6-8pm)-Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure(1989) Rated PG
Thursday, October 18 (6-8pm)-Clueless (1995) Rated PG-13
Saturday, October 20 (2-4:30pm)-Evan Almighty (2007) Rated PG

We will be having a trivia challenge in November. On the 16th, from 4-5, we will be having a pop culture challenge. On the 17th, we will be showing Spiderman 3 from 2-4:30.

Come join us for some or all of the programs. They are free and open to all 6th through 12th graders. Refreshments will be provided.

Books made into movies

Have you noticed that a lot of movies that have come out lately or in the near future are based on books? Here are few: (the library does have copies of these books)

The Bourne Ultimatum by Robert Ludlum
Stardust by Neil Gaiman
The Spiderwick Chronicles by Tony DiTerlizzi
The Golden Compass by Phillip Pullman

Come check out these books and see how they measure up to the movie.

FREE Practice SAT test

The library will be hosting a FREE Practice SAT test on Saturday, September 8. It is open for all 9th through 12th graders. It is a real test, but the scores will not count. See how you might do on the real thing without having to pay the fees. Registration is required. Please contact Julie at 413-7083 or teens@florencelibrary.org to register.

Vampire/Gothic series

If you like gothic/vampire series, especially those with romance, here are two series that you should look for.

Stephenie Meyer has written Twilight and New Moon. Both take place in Forks, Washington. A girl moves to live with her father. She becomes interested in a guy at school who seems to have something different about him. She finds out that he and his family are not the normal family. It is a good series, with the third book Eclipse, coming out next week.

Another series is the Blue Bloods series by Melissa de la Cruz. There are two titles right now, Blue Bloods and Masquerade. This story is set in New York and at a private school in the city. The students at the school find out something interesting about their families and ancestors. A true historical mystery plays a part in the storyline also.

We have each of these books at the library and will have the others once they are published. Come by and check out these great series.

Programs

There will be no teen programs in August. We will be using this time to plan for the Fall. Please let me know if there is anything you would like the library to have. There will be a Practice SAT test on September 8. Registration will begin mid-August.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

I just finished reading the book. I thought it was great and a wonderful way to end the series. I don't want to give away spoilers so I won't talk about story. What did you think?

The Count Down Begins

Only four more days until Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows comes out. Do you have your ticket yet?

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

Have you seen the movie yet? I went on Wednesday night. I thought it was great. It covered items in the book, but also kept the storyline simple so that those who hadn't read could follow along. I loved the lady who played Umbridge. She really made you want to hate her. My favorite is still Goblet of Fire, but this is now my second favorite. What did you think of the movie?

Only two more weeks left

We only have two more weeks of summer programming. The movies will be Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire on the 9th and The Bourne Supremacy on the 16. We will be having a CSI program on the 12th and our pizza party on the 19th. Remember that that one is by invitation only. Please come join us for the rest of the summer programs.

Week of July 4th

We will have programs this week. The movie Pride will be shown in the main meeting room tomorrow night at six. The movie Indiana Jones and Raiders of the Lost Ark will be shown in the Children's program room starting at three thirty on Thursday. Refreshments will be provided for both. Come join us for the movies this week.

Summer Programs

The movie this week is Ghost Rider. It will be Tuesday in the main meeting room at 6pm. We will have Mac Arnold, blues musician, lead the program for teens this Thursday at 3:30. He will talk about the history of the blues and play a few songs. We will have programs the week of the 4th. On the 3rd, we will show the movie Pride, about one of the first all African-American swimming teams. That will be at 6pm in the main meeting room. On the 5th, we will watch Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark. The teens chose this movie. It will start at 3:30 and be in the Children's program room. Come join us for these events.

Summer Programs

We have now completed two weeks of the summer reading programs. The storyteller and chinese painting programs were great. Don't forget that we have more programs to come. They are:
June 21-Craft Day
June 28-Blues music
July 5-Movie
July 12-CSI
Feel free to come to any of these programs.

The movies left for the summer are:
June 19-Daddy's Little Girls
June 26-Ghost Rider
July 3-Pride
July 10-Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
July 17-The Bourne Supremacy
Come to these movies on Tuesday nights also.

Don't forget to pick up your bag from the Children's area and write down all that you read. The required reading for school DOES count.
Hope to see you at the programs.

Don't Forget

Summer reading programs start next week. The movie, Music & Lyrics, is on Tuesday in the main meeting room. The first program will be storytelling on Thursday. See you there.

May Blockbusters

Have you noticed that there were three major blockbusters this May? Spiderman 3 came out on the 4th, Shrek 3 on the 18th, and Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End on the 24th. Of course, I had to see them the nights they came out. Spiderman and Pirates were better than the previous ones and Shrek was just as good. Have you seen any or all of these? What did you think? What movies are you looking forward to seeing this summer? Would you want me to show these when they come out on DVD? Let me know your thoughts.

Summer Movies

The list of movies for teens this summer is finally out. The movies will be on Tuesday nights at 6pm unless otherwise noted. Anyone sixth or seventh grader under the age of 13 must have a permission slip signed. You can register at the Reader's Advisory or Children's Desks. Let me know what you think of the choices. Here they are:
June 5-Music & Lyrics
June 12-The Messengers
June 19-Daddy's Little Girls
June 26-Ghost Rider
July 3-Pride
July 10-Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
July 17-The Bourne Supremacy

Come join us for fun, food, and movies.

Summer Reading

Registration for Summer Reading started yesterday and will go through the entire month. All programs are free and open to 6th through 12th graders. I think that we have a great summer planned and hope that you will come join in at the programs. If you have any requests for movies to be shown this summer, let me know.

Summer Reading Programs

We have finished programming for the school year. Registration for summer reading will begin next week, starting on May 1. We will be registering the entire month of May and programs will begin on June 7 at 3:30. There will also be teen movies on Tuesday nights, starting June 5, usually at 6pm. I have not gotten finalized the list of movies yet. If you have a request, please let me know. I hope that this will be a great summer.

April programs

We will have the final programs for the school year next week. On the 17th, the Teen Advisory Club will have Duct Tape Designs. Make whatever you want out of duct tape. It will be from 4:30-5:30. On the 19th, The teen movie will be Freedom Writers. It will be from 5:45 to 8. Both are free and open to all 6th-12th graders. Please feel free to come and join us.

Practice SAT

The practice SAT on Saturday was a success. 73 teens showed to take the test. I will not have a chance to have another test this semester, but hope to have one just before school starts next year. Let me know if you think it is a beneficial program. Would you come to one? What do I need to change about it?

Movies and Programs

I didn't have anyone come see the movie Casino Royale on the 22nd. Let me know what movies would interest you more. Also the gaming program was a success. Seventeen teens showed and got to play the Nintendo Wii. Would you like this to be a recurring program? The practice SAT is tomorrow. There are still spots available if you want to come. Meet outside the library at 8:45. There will be programs in April. I will blog about those later. Hope to see some of you there.

South Carolina Book Award Nominees

The South Carolina Association of School Librarians have made their list of the Young Adult Book Award winners for 2007-2008. We have most of them now and will have the rest soon. They will be in the front section of the YA stacks and have special stickers on the spine. Come check out these great books.

Practice SAT

We will be having another FREE practice SAT test. It will be on March 31. Registration is required and starts today. All 9th-12th graders are welcome. This will be a test, not strategy session. You will find out how it is to take the test while timed and what the questions are like. Please come and use this great resource.

Teen Movie Night

We will be having our teen movie night tomorrow night, February 22. It will be the movie The Prestige, rated PG-13. We will start at 5:45 because of the longer length. Please feel free to come and bring friends. Refeshments will be provided.

Library Closing

The library will be closed on Monday, February 19. We will have the Teen Advisory Club program on Tuesday the 20th and the movie on Thursday the 22nd. Details to follow.

Practice SAT

We will be having another practice SAT test in March. Details to come soon.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

It was just announced that Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows will be out on July 21. It is exciting. Six months is too far away. I can't believe that this will be the last book. It will be interesting to see how everything ends up. What do you think will happen? Let me know.

Teen Book Awards

Last week at the American Library Associations mid winter conference, the winners of the main book awards were announced. The teen book winners were:

Copper Sun by Sharon Draper (Coretta Scott King Award)
American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang (Printz Award)

Ten books were named for the Alex Award, which are adult books that will appeal to teens.
Many other books were honorable mentions. Please check the ALA/YALSA website at www.ala.org/yalsa .
There you will find all the nominees and winners.
We have or will have very soon all of these books at the library. Come and check out the award winners.

Teen Movie

We will be having a teen movie night tomorrow, Thursday January 18. We will be watching Step Up, which is rated PG-13. It will be from 6-8pm in the main meeting room. Anyone in the 6th-12th grades is invited. Refreshments will be provided. Please come and join us in watching this fun movie.

Hot Chocolate and Popcorn

Don't forget that we have programs next week. On Tuesday, there will be a popcorn and hot chocolate social. We will talk about what you want for the teens to do at the library. Please come to let me know what you want to do. Come drink, eat, and hang out with others your age.

Eragon the Movie

I finally saw the movie version of Eragon. I thought it was ok. Had I not read the book, I think that I would have liked the movie better. They cut out a lot of the book. I know that they had to do this but there were some things that needed to be kept. The movie was only about an hour and a half so it could have been a little longer and explained things. What did you think about it? Did you like the movie? Let me know.