Normal Memorial Library is slated to have a busy May as it prepares to bring in patrons during the spring and summer months.
The library gets personal as it offers visitors a chance to create custom jewelry in the form of living lockets from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Wednesday, May 22. Amanda Montague will host the Origami Owl Custom Jewelry Open House.
The jewelry is a new social selling business in the region. Lockets that are designed and created tell personal stories of each individual.
Patrons can come in and create a Living Locket with custom designed charms, which can express the stories of their lives and represent the things they love. Prices of lockets can range from $35 and up depending on the choices of lockets, chains, number of charms, and if a metal plate or dangle is added.
Library Director Sally Canfield said patrons can come in and design their individual lockets. The designs are then sent for manufacturing then mailed to customers’ homes.
“It really is a personal way of expression,” Canfield said.
There are five easy ways to create a locket. First a charm must be chosen to describe the person’s story, then a locket design is selected.
There are different varieties of chains for the person to chose from, and a hand stamped metal plate can be added for more charm. A dangle, some shaped in religious or non-religious forms, can be attached before the item is complete.
A taste of Asia is offered at the library all month as Ann Schang displays her collection of Lady Head Vases in the lobby showcase. The head vases were imported from Japan in the early 1950s to the 1970s.
Thousands of styles were created during this time, but the most popular depicted teenagers and ladies of sophistication. Vases of TV and movie personalities were created as well, including Jackie Kennedy, Lucille Ball, and Grace Kelly.
“Last month was our first theme for the lobby, and this month Ann Schang offered to bring in her collection,” Canfield said. “She is known for doing lots of artistic paintings, and has a nice collection of items.”
The last Story Time until fall will be offered for children between the ages of two and five, from 6:30 to 7 p.m. Monday, May 6.
Children between ages two and three are required to have a parent present. On May 6, Biscuit Love Mother’s Day by Alyssa Satin Capucilli will be featured, and a sticker picture craft session will follow.
On May 13, the book One Bean by Anne Rockwell will be the highlight with the craft session including a paper plant. On May 20, a Picnic in the Park closes out the spring Story Time season.
The library will offer the after school program, sponsored by Huntington Bank. Children from Kindergarten to first grade can come in from 3 to 3:45 p.m. Tuesdays while grades second through fourth come in on Thursdays also from 3 to 3:45 p.m.,
May 2 was a boys only day, with a pizza party celebration. A craft session is offered for children on May 7 and 9.
A play day is slated for the after school program on May 14 and 16. The after school program finale will offer a party for all visitors on May 21 and 23.
Canfield said the after school program will return next fall.
“This was the first time we had an after school program,” she said. “It was successful, so we will offer it again.”
The Thursdays @ 7 Book Club will meet on Thursday May 23 to discuss The Fixer Upper by Mary Kay Andrews. This will be the last book club until the fall.
The book’s central character, fledgling Washington lobbyist Dempsey Jo Killebrew, finds herself unemployed and homeless as her boss is caught in a political scandal. She reluctantly accepts her father’s offer to help turn Birdsong, the fading Victorian Mansion he inherited in Guthrie Georigia, into a real estate cash cow.
In reality, Birdsong turns out to be a moldering Pepto Bismol pink dump with duct-taped windows, and a driveway littered with junk. A distant relation also resides there claiming squatter’s rights.
Dempsey finds herself stuck in a small town where everyone seems to know her business, but she grits her teeth and begins her new journey back to the last place she expected to be: home.
Children will be offered a summer reading class starting on June 17 and continuing for six weeks. This summer’s theme, Dig Into Reading, will feature books and items about nocturnal animals.
“It will broken down into age groups,” Canfield said, adding t-shirts and bookmarks highlighting the summer theme are included in the program.
Times for the summer class will be announced shortly. Class will begin on Monday June 17 before shifting to a weekly Tuesday and Thursday schedule.
The library thanked many residents for their generosity. Brenda Metz donated books and a DVD while Verna Williams also donated a book.
A memorial was given by Dee and Earl Ferguson and by Tom and Kathy Fix, in memory of Glennis Ferguson.
The donation allowed the purchase of several books. They include: The Detroit Tigers: A Pictorial Celebration of the Greatest Players and Moments in Tigers History by William M. Anderson; Rocks Across the Pond: Lessons Learned. Stories Told by Richard and Kathy Verlander; Art of Winter: A Photographic Essay by Julie M. Covert; Sunrise, Sunset: Poetry just for the Joy of It by Nadine McLaughlin; and Mackinac Island, Michigan: Heaven on Earth by Michele Sheneman.
Family Fun Night is slated from 7 to 9 p.m. on Friday May 17. The movie Parental Guidance, rated PG, will be featured with popcorn, candy and drinks provided.
Pillows cushions or beanbag chairs are recommended in order to be comfortable while watching the movie. The library requests people who wish to attend to either call or sign up in person.
Three people were winners at the National Library Week celebration from April 15-19. A prize drawing and a guess the candy game were the highlights.
Jennifer Crowder won a Pizza Stop gift card while Laura Schaffner received a gift card from Cruisers. Aleisha Smak received a glass of candy.
New books are arriving this month. Pieces of Summer by Wanda Brunstetter, and Adoring Addie by Leslie Gould debuted on May 1. Pirate Alley by Stephen Coonts, Silken Prey by John Sandford, Robert Parker’s Wonderland by Ace Atkins, The Opehlia Cut by John Lescroart, Step of Faith by Richard Paul Evans and Dead, White and Blue by Carolyn Hart come out on May 7.
And the Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini debuts on May 13 while Ray of Light by Shelley Shepard Gray, and Inferno by Dan Brown are released on May 14.
Sea Glass Island by Sherryl Woods, Just One Kiss by Susan Mallery, Once Upon a Tower by Eloisa James, Deeply Odd by Dean Koontz and Zero Hour by Clive Cussler arrive on May 29.
Dan Brown’s Inferno will be offered on CD by May 14. A CD book of Step of Faith by Richard Paul Evans comes out on May 7 while And the Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini is released on May 13.
The library will be closed Monday May 27 to observe Memorial Day. To sign up for events or to ask questions, call Normal Memorial Library at 419-237-2115.
