Books Alive! directors Adrienne and Jim Perine are looking for talented young artists between the ages of 8 and 13 to create artwork for their children's theatre project.

The artwork being sought will be a unique interpretation of a folk tale character, and will be used in this season's play, Fractured!

Admission forms are at the circulation desk of the library, attached to a copy of the tale, Lighting the Way. Applicants will create a sketch based on the tale, and will be selected based on their skill and unique depiction.

Those chosen will join Marion Suarez-Schenck from Story Book Farm Art School for six free drawing and painting workshops, Mondays and Thursdays from 4-5:30 p.m. Jan. 23 to Feb. 9 in the community room of the Town Hall. Entries must be in by Jan. 16! Good luck to all!

 Enterprise, the electronic catalog patrons can access from home or at the library, is in the process of becoming more user-friendly.

Whereas previously patrons may have seen a movie they were searching for described as "Physical Video Media" (and may have rightly wondered - what is that?), now media types are listed as DVD, Blu-Ray, or VHS. 

Search limits are also being added to the drop-down box on the homescreen of the catalog, so that users will be able to narrow the scope of their search from the start. So far searches can be narrowed by library and DVDs (so if you're looking for, say, the movie version of The Help at Wallkill, you can put those restrictions in place at the start of your search instead of hunting down a list all the books, DVDs, and Blu-Rays with that title at every library in the system). Eventually it's hoped that more limits can be added to the search feature of the catalog, thereby making your ordering process quicker and easier!

Please note also that if you're logged in to the electronic catalog here at the library, you do need to log out once you're done. Otherwise your account information will remain on the screen and may cause confusion when another patron goes to order something.

Those who are still having problems with the catalog are encouraged to let us know at the circulation desk. We are keeping track of the various complaints people have had with the system, in an effort to pass those along to the powers that be, who can then (hopefully) fix them!

 Young people ages 9-11 and their parents are invited to a brainstorming session from 6:30-7:30 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 26, for Book Talk, a book club inspired by the Together Program.

This past fall's Together Program, wherein parents and their children read books together and analyzed them at a weekly meeting, was such a success we wanted to offer a similar experience. This brainstorming session will be a review of what worked during Together and what we might want to change. Future meeting dates and times, food, and childcare issues will also be discussed.

For more information, please contact library director Mary Lou Carolan at 895-3707.

 Author and artist Hope Ives Mauran will be at the library Feb. 28 to discuss and sign copies of her books, which include Where the Wisdom Lies: A Message from Nature's Small Creatures and Be the Second Coming: A Guidebook to the Embodiment of the Christ Within.

Mauran's artwork will also be on the display at the library beginning in March.

Mauran defines herself as a translator of wisdom from other dimensions. Her spiritual view of life has expanded her description of "the environment" to include the interior landscapes of ourselves.

Her books will be on sale for $12 and $10. Her artwork can be found at www.hopeivesmauran.com.

Mauran isn't the only writer scheduled to make an appearance at the library this year - popular novelist Lynn Austin is also set to speak at the library in the coming months!

And art lovers, take note - currently Anne Thompson's gorgeous pottery is on display throughout the first floor of the library. The high school's student art show will be featured next, throughout the entire month of February. 

 HeritageQuest Online will appeal to the genealogy lovers in every household, and can be accessed free with your library card through the Ulster County InfoPortal!

You can find your ancestors through a variety of sources with HeritageQuest, including Revolutionary War records, local and family histories, the Census, and more. Start building your family tree or just satisfy that urge to find out a little more about your great-grandparents. 

HeritageQuest is just one of the great sites available at no cost through the Ulster County InfoPortal, which can be found by clicking on the Online Research Tools section of the Wallkill Public Library website.

 Sometimes, a person has an idea that blossoms and grows for a little while and then reaches its full potential and meets a natural demise. I thought our Books Alive! children's theatre project was one of those ideas. It began as a great concept in 2004 and grew and thrived and then it became too much work for me after assuming the directorship, and I thought the project would just end.

Enter Adrienne and Jim Perine, two English and drama teachers who retired to Wallkill from Queens. As luck would have it, they were looking to bring the dramatic arts to the hamlet and were having rouble finding interest until Mirna Abada, from Elsie's Restaurant, told them about the library and suggested they contact me.

Three years later, Books Alive! is into its seventh season and has evolved into something I not only didn't dream of, but didn't dream was possible! I wandered into the younger kids' practice session this past Wednesday and was amazed at what I saw. Twenty-six children, broken up into small groups, performing small bits of fairy tale stories. Laughing, thinking, smiling, wondering....all incredibly engaged. Not one kid misbehaving or looking bored. No electronic devices anywhere in reach. Yet, the children were happy and involved, using their imaginations (remember what those are?) to create scenes and to brainstorm their presentation together.

The added benefit was their ability to learn techniques from two pros who volunteer hours of their time each week to bring their expertise to this next generation. Your children! Your bright and beautiful kids who are full of energy and light and loving the process of learning by doing, of finding their voice, of reveling in the act of thinking, creating, and just...being free. Fairy tales do come true!