This month, in sponsorship with Helping Hands Humane Society, we'll be offering dog training classes here at TSCPL.  Whether you've got a new puppy or an adult dog, these classes offer something for every pet owner.  For more information on these fun and free classes, click here.  We're also featuring an adoptable cat and dog each week this month.  These wonderful critters are waiting for caring...

Young Jonathan Kaufmann would always remember his mother’s peals of hysterical laughter when the three blocks of ice were placed near the stove to thaw; the blocks of ice, after all, encased his dead brothers who froze to death after wandering lost for hours in blinding snow and frigid temperatures.  As David Laskin vividly describes in The Children’s Blizzard, the tragedy of the Kaufmann family...

I just discovered the wonderful Eat This, Not That book series by Men's Health Editor-in-chief David Zinczenko and Matt Goulding. These small square books feature full color glossy pages. Each 2-page spread features one page of "Eat This" recommendations and a contrasting "Not That" page of foods to avoid in a given situation. Themes include eating at Applebee's or Arby's, choosing chinese food...

The Metropolitan Opera started live HD video broadcasts last year.  This year a Topeka movie theater has joined the growing number of theaters playing these broadcasts.  They have been successful with good attendance at theaters in Kansas City, Lawrence, as well as Topeka.  If you love opera or even think you would hate it, I urge you to try one broadcast at least.   The experience is unique and...

Yep! And you can see it in action here (and in the Sabatini Gallery) in our recent Special Collections video of Roll Your Own by artist Dolph Smith.

The New York Times has published a list of great illustrated children’s books from 2008.

Have you read any of these yet with your children? (or on your own!)

Check out these titles from our library, or add a comment to contribute your own “best” book recommendations to the list.

A River of Words: The Story of William Carlos Williams. By Jen Bryant. Illustrated by Melissa Sweet.

We...

Aspiring movie makers met to learn trick and tips of making movies from Washburn University Professor David Pownell and Curriculum Research Center librarian Heather Smith-Collins.  Students learned the difference in copyright and creative commons. Under Pownell's tutelage teens learned about tricks in filming and editiong their masterpieces. 

Teens interested in joining a technology club should contact the library at ya@tscpl.org.