Celebrate Poetry @your Library

Pocatello’s Marshall Public Library celebrates National Poetry Month in April with a Poetry Wall displaying original work from local poets.

The Poetry Wall is on display on the second floor. The Bonneville Community Senior Center’s Creative Writing Group is honored this year with an entire panel devoted to their members’ writing. This group has been meeting for over 30 years and the skill of the members is apparent in their poems. Local poets of all ages have submitted work to be displayed and the talent of our local writers is amazing to see!

You may still participate in this year’s Poetry Wall. Please mail or bring your work to the following address:

Poetry Wall c/o Amy Campbell Marshall Public Library 113 South Garfield Pocatello, ID 83204 232-9266 (fax)

For more information, call Amy at 232-1263 ext. 106.

Amy Campbell, Reference Librarian

13th Annual Poetry Wall

Marshall Public Library is calling for submissions for the 13th annual Poetry Wall!

All local poets of all ages are invited to submit one original poem or one page of original poetry for inclusion in the Poetry Wall. Entries are accepted throughout March and April.

The poetry will be displayed in April in celebration of National Poetry Month. All entries become property of Marshall Public Library and are added to the library collection. Individuals, creative writing groups, and classes are encouraged to submit their poems.

You may drop off your entries on the second floor at the Reference Desk or you may mail your entries to the following address:

Poetry Wall c/o Amy Campbell Marshall Public Library 113 South Garfield Pocatello, Idaho 83204 232-9266 (fax)

For more information, please call Amy at 232-1263 ext. 106.

Amy Campbell, Reference Librarian

John’s Short Reviews of Long Books

Going Clear: Scientology, Hollywood, & the Prison of Belief by Lawrence Wright

This book reads like bad fiction. It’s well written. It’s just that I would have trouble believing the actions and choices of the people in the stories if they were characters in a novel. It’s all true, however. The Church of Scientology is a litigious organization and the author, Lawrence Wright, has been very careful only to use sources that he can document. Highly recommended.

Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier

This book was published in the 1990s. It concerns a wounded soldier who journeys to his love and his home, deserting the Confederate Army once he is sufficiently recovered to leave the hospital. I just read it recently for the first time and am reviewing it because it is the best fictional work on the Civil War, and one of the best works of fiction overall, that I have ever read. It shares its framework in some ways with the Odyssey and looms just as mythically large. The language is beautiful.

John Bickelhaupt, Reference Librarian

Check In @your Library During Teen Tech Week

Check In @ your Library during Teen Tech Week March 10-16 as we celebrate all things “tech” that your library has to offer from computers to databases to CDs and DVDs...and even e-books!

There will be a display of “Old Tech” stuff and a list of five challenges to complete to be entered into a drawing for free books and jump drives.

Follow me for updates on twitter @kayalib and on the YA Blog yanewsmpl.blogspot.com or just come in and pick up a paper copy of the questions for the daily challenges. This is open to youth in grades 6-12. Each correctly answered question will give you one entry into the drawing to be held on Monday, March 18.

From 4:30-6:30 on Monday, March 25, we will sponsor a READ poster workshop! Have you ever wanted to be a celebrity? Here’s your chance to use GIMP (a free photo-editing program) to edit a photo and use our software to put yourself in a READ poster.

For more information about this and other Teen programs, contact Kath Ann at 232-1263 ext. 111.

Kath Ann Hendricks,Young Adult Librarian

Book Awards Announced

The recent ALA Media Awards have been announced. Not only do wehave a new Newbery Award for outstanding contribution to children’s literature but we also have a young adult title which has won the Michael W. Printz Award (I call it the Newbery for teens).

The Newbery Winner is: The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate

The story of Ivan, a silverback gorilla told from Ivan's point of view, is a charming, soul searching, and inspirational book about a real gorilla that once lived in a circus themed mall in Washington State.

It is written in short sentences and paragraphs because, as Ivan puts it, "Humans waste words. They toss them like banana peels and leave them to rot. Everyone knows that the peels are the best part."

This book will appeal to children and animal lovers alike.

The Michael W. Printz Award is: In Darkness by Nick Lake

15-year old gangster Shorty finds himself trapped in a collapsed hospital after the 2010 Haitian earthquake. To maintain his somewhat tenuous sanity, he speaks his life story to the darkness surrounding him. As he weakens and faces the truth that his rescue may never come, hallucinations parallel with visions of Haitian rebel leader Toussaint L'Ouverture who led a slave revolt and helped force Napoleon and the French out of Haiti two hundred years ago.

Shorty describes his life coming of age in the poorest of slums in a world where daily violence sometimes leads to unexpected humanity.

Both of these books are available for checkout at Marshall Public Library. Many other books have won awards and you can find a complete list at www.yalsa.ala.org.

Kath Ann Hendricks, Young Adult Librarian

Free Tax Help from the AARP

Confused about your taxes? Having trouble filing? Help is here for you at your Library!

Volunteers from the American Association of Retired People who have received training from the IRS and the Idaho State Tax Commission staff this program. They are ready to assist you in the electronic filing of your Federal and state tax returns. And it’s absolutely free!

This program is focused on the low-income or elderly but is open to everyone. Starting on Monday, February 4, the volunteers will be here every Monday evening from 5-8:30pm and every Tuesday and Thursday from 10am to 3 pm. No appointments will be taken and it is first come, first served.

Bring the following (if necessary) with you:

Valid picture ID and social security cards or a document from SSA with your name and SSN

Social Security cards for dependents

Form W-2 from each employer

Form 1099-INT or 1099-DIV (to report interest and dividends)

SSA-1099 or RRB-1099 (to report social security and railroad retirement)

1099-R (to report pension income)

List of your medical, taxes, interest, contributions, and miscellaneous expenses (to itemize your deductions)

Copy of last year’s tax return

Child and disabled dependent care

Finally Home!

After 16 years away from Marshall Public Library, Becca Hyde has accepted the position of Early Childhood Librarian--and she couldn’t be happier! In the 80s and 90s, she worked in both Circulation and Children’s Services presenting storytimes, giving library tours, and many other librarian duties.

The years of her absence were quite full with raising her darling (most of the time) children, volunteering in schools, managing the Portneuf Valley Farmers Market with her husband, Joe, and recently being the choir accompanist for three choirs at Pocatello High School. However, there was always a dream and a hope of coming back to work at Marshall Public Library with the best team of devoted workers anywhere.

And so she is thrilled to be back and once again reading stories. The new Family Storytime, which is held every Tuesday evening at 6pm, is something Becca is excited to add to her storytime duties. She hopes that many families who cannot attend in the day will want to try it out, especially as it is for families with children of all ages. Becca is not alone in knowing that regardless of how crazy and sometimes disheartening life can be, if you have a good book to read then it’s a great day!