Guilderland Library Notes for Wednesday, July 16, 2014

The only thing better than being in the stands on a summer evening watching a baseball game is watching the man who undoubtedly holds the world’s record for performing Casey at the Bat do it once again — and knowing that the man is none other than the director of your local library.

That’s right. The Valley Cats game at "The Joe" on Monday, July 21, is being held on Baseball Heritage Night/Guilderland Public Library Night, and will be preceded by GPL’s own director, Tim Wiles, doing his classic Mudville performance. The Casey recitation is in keeping with the historic theme of the evening. 

Wiles’s epic begins at 6:35 pm, sharp, prior to the game’s 7 p.m. start.  Don’t miss it, because the first 1,500 fans to arrive that evening will receive a bobblehead doll of local baseball hero, Johnny Evers, the Troy native who went on to stardom with the Chicago Cubs of “Tinker to Evers to Chance” fame, and who was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1946. 

Tickets to this game are discounted to only $5, but you have to buy them at the Guilderland Public Library.  Call 456-2400, ext. 110, or send an e-mail to admin@guilpl.org.  Order soon. There is a limited number of tickets.

 After the recitation, “The Mighty Casey” will be available in the stadium concourse for kids of all ages to pose for photos and get “Casey’s” autograph.

Please join us on July 21.  Play Ball!

Digital photo forum

Area photographers will gather at GPL on Thursday, July 17, at 7 p.m., to discuss work they are doing and to share information about how to improve their work. This is an open forum, with occasional special guest photographers. All are invited to bring their work to share and also their questions. Bring work on memory cards, USB drives, CDs. The group meets the 3rd Thursday of each month, except December and August.

Quilts

Anyone who has an appreciation of art and beauty must come to the library to see the display of extraordinary quilts that’s running through July.

These artistic creations – to call them quilts is unjust, and you don’t want to put them on your bed – is put on by the Capital Region Textile Artists, a group that takes fabric, thread, beads, paint, dyes, found objects, yarn, and anything else that strikes their fancy, to craft a three-dimensional artistic fantasy.

Some of the artists featured have exhibited nationally, while others are just beginning to find their voice in this medium; all share an abiding joy in creating and sharing their art.

Please stop by GPL and spend some time in the Helderberg Room enjoying the exhibit. Featured artists in this show are Helen Farnam, Barbara Quackenbush, Tina W. Raggio, Mary Reich, Nancy Schlegel, Lila Smith, and Sue Updike-Porter.

Read game show

The Fizz, Boom, Read Game Show, featuring Magicman Chris LaBarge, will be held on Tuesday, July 22, at 2 p.m., and it’s going to be a blast.

Magicman Chris blends the magic of science with the science of magic. Presented in a fun game-show format, you and your friends and other audience members will compete with each other while being amused and astounded.

 Kids, teens, and adults will enjoy this performance that will leave you all wondering: Is it science or is it magic?

No registration is required; just be there. 

Ink-ventions

Ink-ventions is a two-session creative writing program that will help young teens unlock their bursting-to-get-out writing talents. The first session is on Tuesday, July 22, at 3 p.m.; the second is on Thursday, July 31, at 3 p.m.

If you’re 13 through 16, this is the place to be. No pressure, just fun. You know you have an imagination; this program will encourage your creativity, inspire your imagination, and help you put your imaginings to paper.  Does speling count? No wey!

CSI

On Wednesday, July 23, at 6:45 p.m., the library’s Helderberg Room is all about Crime Lab Science, and if you’re a teen and love science – or are hooked on those CSI TV shows you need to be here.

Presented by staff from the Museum of Innovation and Science, this program will help you discover the technology used to uncover the world's criminal mysteries. You’ll get to put your newly learned detective skills to work to help unravel a criminal case.

Please call 456-2400, ext. 4 to let us know if you’re going to be part of the scene.

Genealogy on the Road

Guilderland's own genealogy enthusiasts will share some of their experiences using travel to research family history. The first in a series of programs – taking place on Thursday evening, July 24, at 7 p.m., at the library featuring travels made in the United States and parts of Canada.  Hear tales of visits to town and county clerks’ offices, cemeteries, and famed genealogical libraries. Revel in a story of how informal discussions led to amazing, serendipitous discoveries.

There will be time for questions and comments. We are preparing a similar program on European locations on Aug. 14, with other specific countries to follow in the future. Please register by calling 456-2400, ext. 2, or visit the library website at http://www.guilpl.org and click on the calendar link.

The following people will tell their stories:

— Larry and Suzanne Canell: Deerfield, Massachusetts;

— Michael Haley: Boston (New England Historic Genealogical Society); Salt Lake City, Utah (LDS Library);

— Robin Millan: Westchester County, adoption records;

— David Nerrow:  Connecticut;

— Anna Oles: Delaware County, NY; Hartford, Connecticut; Quebec; and

— Warren Sheldon: National Archives, Washington DC; New London, Conn.; Norwich, Ledyard, Troy and Albany, NY.

Teddy bear sleepover

What happens after the library closes for the night, for instance, on Friday night, July 25? Is it a quiet place of resting books, idle computers, and silent racks of DVDs and CDs, or is it a place of mischief, mayhem and madness? 

Your teddy bear could tell you. But only after it spends a night in the library.

 Join us for a Mad Scientist Teddy Bear sleepover, and leave your bear in our gentle care (we promise to make sure they’re all safe) so that it can find out what goes on after the doors are locked, the lights are off, and the library settles in for the night.

Drop your teddy or any other adventurous furry friend off by 3 p.m., on Friday, July 25. And, then be sure to pick up your furry friend before 4 p.m., on Saturday, July 26. You’ll be able to see pictures of their overnight adventures.

Family fun

Join the excitement on Saturday, July 26, as GPL holds its Annual Family Fun Day in the Community Literary Garden.

The fun starts at 11 a.m., when we have reading activities, games, and giveaways with Southpaw from the Tri-City Valley Cats.

And then at noon, the garden becomes the site of three hours of fun and games and loads of activities that will keep kids entertained. Back by popular demand is the Dunk Tank. Show your arm strength and play Dunk the Director (or his designated representative)!

Play spin art, test your strength with our purple dinosaur hammer game, draw designs on the windows with glass chalk, and, of course, enjoy snacks from the ever-popular SnoCone and popcorn machines.

There is so much more with prizes, including a Sunday Funday 4-pack of tickets to the Valley Cats’ Sunday, Aug. 3 game against the Batavia Muckdogs.

Library info

 The Guilderland Public Library is located at 2228 Western Ave. in Guilderland. Visit the library's website at www.guilpl.org. Check out the unofficial library updates at facebook.com/Guilderland.Library and follow the library on Twitter (@GuilderlandLib).