Centre Daily Times

A Season of Change

Nathaniel — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 09:27:00 -0400

Ah, Spring. The season of renewed hope, spring cleaning, soccer, baseball, lacrosse, track, and libraries! Libraries? Wha - huh? There. I've said it. Spring is a FANTASTIC time to visit your local library. "But, dear Schlowdown-Blog-Writer, the weather is beautiful! We wanna be OUTSIDE!" Fair enough, gentle reader. Let me offer some arguments for utilizing a library in the springtime. 1) Do you Garden? Do you want to start? Do you want to try something different? Yup. We've got resources for that.2) Are your kids tired of playing Red Rover for the 1000th time? Hey! We have all sorts of places you can find new and exciting games as well as to explore the older versions (like Blindman's Bluff - what are the REAL rules?)3)Starting a new fitness routine? We have exercise DVDs and an extensive collection of music that can get you moving. 4) Planning a road trip? We offer a number of audiobooks that you can download (without setting foot in the library - but we'd love to see you here) and listen to while you drive, ride, run or bike. 5) Did you get an eReader for Christmas? Thinking you'll get one for Mother's Day? Father's Day? We're developing a very nice collection of eBooks that you can check out (please note: eBooks DON'T work on Kindles). 6) Of course, into each life a little rain must fall. And Spring is a very rainy season here in Happy Valley. So, when it rains, come down to the library and attend one of our many programs. Sign up for Summer Reading (it's not just for kids!), visit our gallery to get a glimpse of the talented artists we feature. There is so much to do, and so many ways we can help. Won't you let us? Drop by and ask one of our friendly staff members to lead you in the right direction.

The Stuff That Dreams Are Made Of

Nathaniel — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 10:26:00 -0500

Join us at the State Theatre this weekend to see the classic film version of The Maltese Falcon, starring Humphrey Bogart, Mary Astor, Peter Lorre and Sydney Greenstreet. Admission is only one dollar! It’s at 1 p.m. on Sunday the 21^st. Dr. Jim West, a distinguished English professor at Penn State will be introducing the film (in the style of Robert Osborne from Turner Classic Movies). We’ll also be announcing the winners of the Dashiell Hammett writing contest. Come and see who will win the $200 cash prize for the best Hammett-inspired writing. And there will be food! A reception will follow the movie and everyone is invited. How do the book and the film compare? Come and find out on Sunday.

Another chance to solve the crime

Nathaniel — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 10:16:00 -0500

Everyone seemed to have a great time at the murder mystery kickoff event! I didn’t know we had so many aspiring detectives in State College. Some of you really grilled our suspects to find the identity of the murderer. The Daily Collegian covered the event and wrote a nice article about it. If you couldn’t make the event at Schlow, you’ll have another chance to test your powers of deduction tomorrow at the Centre Hall Library. Drop in any time (Tuesday the 26^th) and you can investigate the clues to solve the murder. Intrigue awaits you!

Murder at the Kickoff Event!

Nathaniel — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 16:43:00 -0500

A murder has been committed-- are you ready to solve it?

This Thursday (the 21^st) at 7 p.m., Centre County Reads will kick off our 2010 program season with a murder mystery party at Schlow Centre Region Library. In honor of this year’s reading selection, The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett, you will have the chance to use your best detective skills to investigate the clues, interview the suspects and figure out the identity of the murderer. There will be food and prizes to encourage your inquiring mind.

The crime: A cranky, anti-teen, music librarian was somehow put in charge of organizing a battle of the bands concert at the library for high school students, even though she thinks that rock and roll was “a collection of loud vulgarities and as such the enemy of civilized culture.”

She’s found dead in the meeting room.

The suspects: Teen-aged musicians with discipline problems, a librarian scorned and left out of the planning committee, the young adult librarian who saw her great programming idea taken over by a “wicked witch,” and several other suspicious characters.

Join us on Thursday to figure out who-done-it!

Solve the Mystery of the Murdered Music Librarian @ Schlow

Nathaniel — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 10:12:00 -0500

Schlow library is soon to be a hot bed of CSI-like activity. Thursday, January 21st at 7:00 pm we're turning the library into a giant crime scene with an interactive murder mystery party. As a nod to this year's Centre County Reads pick, The Maltese Falcon, We're appealing to all of you who devour mystery books, movies or TV series like popcorn at a movie. Do you come to the end of a mystery and think, " I KNEW it! I was sure she was the one who did it?" Do you love to play Clue? Now you can live it at the library. Just go to schlowlibrary.org and sign up to be a part of what is rapidly becoming a tradition here at the library. It's free, there are prizes and FOOD! Don't miss out, and don't let the "perp" get away with this "heinous act of violence"! This program is appropriate for teenagers & adults, parents of younger children should use discretion.