The American Kennel Club named 2012's most popular breeds. Is your dog on the list? Don't forget to watch the Westminster Dog Show on February 12.

Civil rights activist Rosa Parks was born on February 4, 1913 in Tuskegee, Alabama. On December 1, 1955 she refused to obey a bus driver's order to give up her seat  to a white passenger, setting off the Montgomery Bus Boycott. This became one of the defining moments of the Civil Rights Movement leading to nationwide efforts to end segregation of public facilities. She eventually moved to Detroit where she lived until her death in 2005.

Citizen soldier: a life of Harry S. Truman by Aida D. Donald

Detroit City is the place to be: the afterlife of an American metropolis by Mark Binelli

Do the movies have a future? by David Denby

The eve of destruction: how 1965 transformed America by James T. Patterson

American Experience: The Abolitionists by Artist Not Provided — Men and women, black and white, Northerners and Southerners, poor and wealthy, these passionate anti-slavery activists fought  in the most important civil rights crusade in American history. Part of the PBS series American Experience.

Africans in America [videodisc]: America's journey through slavery by produced for PBS by WGBH Boston — The story of slavery's birth in the early 1660s through the onset of thr Civil War. Narrated by Academy Award nominee Angela Bassett.

The information [sound recording]: [a history, a theory, a flood] by James Gleick

Ten-gallon war: the NFL's Cowboys, the AFL's Texans, and the feud for Dallas's pro football future by John Eisenberg

The racketeer [Large Print] by John Grisham

Mr. and Mrs. Prince: how an extraordinary eighteenth- century family moved out of slavery and into legend by Gretchen Holbrook Gerzina; researched with Anthony Gerzina

Black mutiny: the revolt on the schooner Amistad by William A. Owens

On her own ground: the life and times of Madam C.J.

Valentine's Day is the perfect time to snuggle up with a big box of chocolates and a good book. And we can help you with the book part of that equation. From February 1st through Valentine's Day visit the Help Desk and pick up a Blind Date Book. Because your Valentine's Day should be filled with romance, surprises and fun, the Blind Date Books are wrapped up in paper. You won't know what you've picked until you check it out.

Awards season is upon us and here are your 2013 Coretta Scott King Author and Illustrator Awards:

Author Award:
"Hand in Hand: Ten Black Men Who Changed America" by Andrea Davis Pinkney

Author Honor Books:
"Each Kindness" by Jacqueline Woodson

"No Crystal Stair:  A Documentary Novel of the Life and Work of Lewis Michaux, Harlem Bookseller" by Vonda Micheaux Nelson

Illustrator Award:
"I, Too, Am America" illustrated by Bryan Collier

Illustrator Honor Books:
"H.O.R.S.E." illustrated by Christopher Myers

Forty years ago, on Januuary 27, 1973 the Paris Peace Accords were signed - ending the Vietnam War. During the long conflict, the United States suffered over 58,000 soldiers killed and approximately 153, 000 wounded, as well as 1,943 missing in action.

A bright shining lie: John Paul Vann and America in Vietnam by Neil Sheehan

Ending the Vietnam War: a history of America's involvement in and extrication from the Vietnam War by Henry Kissinger

According to a September 2012 study by Pew Internet of older adults who are online, 50% of adults ages 50-64 report being active on a social networking site. An even more substantial increase in social media use this year were older adults ages 65 and older, which reported being active on sites like Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest. More so than in 2011, 34% of seniors are now using social networking sites which was up from 26% in 2010.

Computers for seniors for dummie [Large print] by Nancy Muir

Using the internet safely for seniors for dummies [Large print] by Linda Criddle and Nancy Muir

On Thursday, February 14 at Noon we will be discussing:

Lives like loaded guns: Emily Dickinson and her family's feuds by Lyndall Gordon — In 1882, Emily Dickinson's brother Austin began a passionate love affair with Mabel Todd, a young Amherst faculty wife, setting in motion a series of events that would forever change the lives of the Dickinson family. The feud that erupted as a result has continued for over a century. Lyndall Gordon, tells the riveting story of the Dickinsons, and reveals Emily as a very different woman from the pale, lovelorn recluse that exists in the popular imagination. Gordon digs deep into the life and work of Emily Dickinson, to reveal the secret behind the poet's insistent seclusion, and presents a woman beyond her time who found love, spiritual sustenance, and immortality all on her own terms. An enthralling story of creative genius, filled with illicit passion and betrayal.

165 years ago, on January 24, 1848, gold was discovered at Sutter's Mill setting off the California Gold Rush. People began flocking to the state later that year, but the majority didn't arrive until the next year — hence the term "forty-niners." All told, the news drew some 300,000 people from all over the world (Latin America, Europe, Australia and China) between the years 1849 and 1855, to seek their fortune in California.

The age of gold: the California Gold Rush and the new American dream by H.W.

Trying to keep to that New Years' resolution to eat healthier? Try drinking healthier with our books on making juices and smoothies.

Today we honor the life of Martin Luther King Jr., the civil rights leader who would have turned 84 this year. A federal holiday to honor King, who was assassinated in April 1968, was first observed in 1986. Congress also designated it a national day of service in 1994.

Books

April 4, 1968: Martin Luther King Jr.'s death and transformation of America by Michael Eric Dyson

At Canaan's edge: America in the King years 1965-68 by Taylor Branch

The NFL playoffs are in full swing and Super Bowl 47 is right around the corner. While you're waiting, catch up on some of the lives of some of the sport's greatest players and coaches — both past and present:

Moving the chains: Tom Brady and the pursuit of everything by Charles P. Pierce

Namath: a biography by Mark Kriegel

On January 8, 1815, during the War of 1812, British forces suffered more than 2,000 casualties in their attack on New Orleans. The defending U.S. forces were led by General Andrew Jackson who became a national hero as a result. Ironically, neither side knew that the war had already ended two weeks before with the signing of the Treaty of Ghent.

The Battle of New Orleans by Robert V. Remini

Elvis Presley was born on January 8, 1935 in Tupelo, Mississippi. He would have turned 78 this year. A multi-dimensional performer, Elvis' diverse talents are on display in the many recordings and movies that he left behind:

Careless love: the unmaking of Elvis Presley by Peter Guralnick

The Colonel: the extraordinary story of Colonel Tom Parker and Elvis Presley by Alanna Nash

The North American International Automobile Show, known as the Detroit Auto Show around here, opens to the public on Monday, January 19. The first Detroit Auto Show was held in 1907. What began as a local show is now international in scope.

The car: the evolution of the beautiful machine by Rod Green

Merrily we roll along [videodisc]: The early days of the automobile by NBC News Productions

Motorcars of the classic era by Michael Furman

The road to grace [large print]: the third journal of the walk series by Richard Paul Evans

What doesn't kill you [large print] by Iris Johansen

The beginner's goodbye [large print] by Anne Tyler

The hunter [large print]: a novel by John Lescroart

President Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863. It declared "that all persons held as slaves" within the rebellious states "are, and henceforward shall be free." Every advance of Union troops into the Confederacy expanded former slaves' freedom. Additionally, the Proclamation allowed black men into the military, and by the end of the Civil War almost 200,000 black soldiers and sailors had joined and fought for the Union cause.

Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation: the end of slavery in America by Allen C. Guelzo