4-H Enrollment

Grant County 4-H is taking enrollment forms for new members.  4-H is a youth organization that provides boys and girls with fun learning experiences to help them grow and develop to their fullest potential.  4-H seeks to develop the total youth through real-life experiences . . . learning by doing.

4-H is open to all youth in grades 3-12 regardless of where they live.  There is also a Mini 4-H program for children in grades 1 and 2.  The deadline for submitting your registration is March 1, 2012.

Stop by the library to pick up your forms.

National Archives

Did you know that most requested photograph from the National Archives is the picture below taken in the White House of President Richard Nixon's meeting with Elvis Presley in 1970?

The National Archives has opened up huge amounts of documents on its website for public viewing.  In addition to offering such functions as ancestry searching and military document searching, the National Archives site also has online exhibits dealing such topics as Discovering the Civil War and The Deadly Virus.

Also of interest is the Archives' Digital Vaults.  A portal into the heart of the National Archives, the Digital Vaults uses visual records such as documents, photographs, and popular media, and illustrates how these materials can come together in unexpected ways to tell the story of our country.  A good example is the next image of President Nixon's resignation letter submitted three days after releasing tapes that implicated himself in the Watergate cover-up.

Visit the National Archives Here 

Visit the National Archives Online Exhibits Here

New to the Shelves!

New materials are continually being added to the shelves.  Hopefully in this blog we can give you a preview of what's new so keep checking back for more!

Private London

James Patterson is one of the world's best-known and best-selling authors. He returns with Private London, a book in the series centering around Jack Morgan. Morgan is the head of the world's most exclusive detective agency. After Hannah Shapiro is kidnapped in London, all the resources Private has to offer are being used by Dan Carter, head of Private's London office, to track her down. As time progresses with no word from the kidnappers, the pressure mounts for Carter to find her before it's too late.

Real Steel (rated PG-13)

Real Steel is a future-set story in which robot boxing is a popular sport.  Hugh Jackman plays a struggling promoter who thinks he has found a champion in a discarded robot.  During his hopeful rise to the top, he discovers he has an 11-year-old son who wants to know his father. (from imdb.com)

Money Management Tips Website

Regardless of your situation, the start of a new year is a great time to create new money management habits. The Federal Trade Commission has a website that can help you do just that. Money Matters provides information on basic money management, debt, and how to avoid scams. For people for whom budgeting can be a challenge, the website provides good tips on how to create – and stick to – a budget. The site also has tips on saving money and even on how to watch what you spend. It is a fact of American life that many people are in debt, whether it’s due to credit cards, student loans, or a mortgage. Money Matters also has tips on how to deal with this. Not only do they offer basic information about what different situations may be, but they also tell you different ways to deal with your problem. Finally, be sure to check out Scam Watch. In the course of trying to manage your money or get out of debt, you may find yourself the victim of a scam. Unfortunately, many scam artists target the people who are already in trouble. The website has information on the different types of scams, how you can identify them if you get solicited, and what to do if you get taken.

Free Movie Night at the Methodist Church

The Van Buren United Methodist Church is holding their Free Family Movie Night on Saturday, January 21 at 6:30 p.m. in their Fellowship Hall. Free popcorn and drinks will be provided.

The movie to be shown this Saturday is Mr. Popper's Penguins. Starring Jim Carrey, the movie is about the life of a businessman and how his life begins to change after he inherits six penguins. As he transforms his apartment into a winter wonderland, his professional side starts to unravel, but his relationship with his children is most importantly impacted.

Come join the fun Saturday night!

Something New We Are Starting

Thank you for stopping by the Van Buren Public Library's new blog!  In an effort to communicate better with our patrons and residents of Van Buren Township I feel this might be a good way to bring us together.  I hope that we can provide a variety of content, updated on a frequent basis, that will help you, the patron or community member, get to know what we have to offer.  I hope that eventually this can not only promote library "news" but also be a place of sharing of community events.

Please bookmark this page or sign up for the email service . . . We would love to see you around a lot here!  Stop by often and check out our progress on this site and what is new at VBPL!