Former Detroit News reporter, Joel Thurtell, and former photographer, Patricia Beck, tell their tale of traveling up the Rouge River by canoe. The trip was an eye-opening experience of beauty, destruction, pollution and hope. Now in book form, their travels are documented for all to see. Won't you join us for this unique look at our environment and the good, bad and ugly that we have created over the years.
Sunday, May 2nd at 1:00PM in the Community Room.

It's time for the fourth annual Local Author Event. There are still a few slots open for local authors to share their stories and books with us on Thursday, May 13 at 7:00PM. Please contact Marcia at (734) 397-0999 x1079 if you are a published author and would like to participate. The authors will each be given a few minutes to speak and will then retire to their respective tables to sell their books and talk with fans.

I am pleased to announce that one of our librarians has been named a top librarian in Michigan! Anna Slaughter is the 2010 recipient of the Michigan Library Association's Frances H. Pletz Award for excellence in service to teens. I, along with her colleagues from the Children's, Tween, and Teen department and several members of her family, were on hand last night when the award was announced at the MLA conference in Kalamazoo.

CPL has been blessed with supportive patrons and an excellent staff. We are proud to have one of our own singled out for the wonderful work she does with teenagers in our community. Please join me in congratulating Anna on this accomplishment!

In a recent article by Donna Gordon Blankenship of the Associated Press, a third of Americans 14 and older — about 77 million people — use public library computers to look for jobs, connect with friends, do their homework and improve their lives, according to a new study released Thursday, March 25. The study was paid for by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and conducted by the University of Washington Information School. Study researchers were intrigued to find that people across all age and ethnic groups used library computers, said Michael Crandall, one of the principal authors of the study, from the University of Washington Information School.

Local television reporter Alysia Sofios was assigned to investigate the worst mass murder in the history of Fresno. The breaking news soon became something much more — a hope-filled relationship that changed the lives of the young reporter and the survivors of this unimaginable crime.
The Friends of the Canton, Plymouth, Northville and Novi libraries host their annual author luncheon at Fox Hills Country Club on Friday, May 7. Alysia Sofios, Canton born and bred, will share her amazing story and book, Where Hope Begins, as we enjoy a delicious lunch. Tickets now on sale at the library reception desk.

The Michigan State Police Forensic Lab presents its own version of CSI-style crime solving techniques, only this is the real thing! Trooper Nicole Bock, Forensic Scientist Guy Nutter and Laboratory Commander F/Lt. Charles Morden will present this fascinating look in conjunction with our popular Everyone's Reading program. The forensics tie in very nicely with Scott Turow's Presumed Innocent, the original courtroom thriller. Join us in the Community Room on Tuesday, March 16, at 7:00PM for a thrilling evening.

Gentlemen from UBS will help us through the new rules associated with IRAs and the conversion of them to Roth IRAs. Let's get prepared for our financial futures on Thursday, March 11 at 7:00PM in the Community Room. Come prepared with questions and Matt and Phil will have the answers!

Living abroad isn’t for everybody, but it just might be for you! It’s never too early to start collecting information that could change your life. Did you ever think of just picking up and moving to another country? Travel book publisher Moon has expanded their "Living Abroad", series. New volumes describe living in Panama, South Korea, Guatemala, China and Spain. Also the website "Living Abroad,"  offers free information, news and resources to help you on your way.

It's Oscar Night - will you be watching to see who wins? To find out more about the Academy Awards, check out one of the hundreds of items in CPL's collection. We've got official and unofficial histories, murder mysteries, red carpet fashion facts, and much more. You can also watch trailers for the nominated films online before the show airs tonight at 8:00PM.
Photo by netzkobold used by Creative Commons license.

Congratulations are in order for Canton Charter School student Siddharth Varanasi! A resident of Canton Township, Siddharth, 11, just won the Detroit News Spelling Bee this past weekend and will go on to compete in the Scripps National Spelling Bee this June! If you're interested in learning more about the kinds of words used in these competitions, check out the Scripps/Merriam-Webster study site or one of the library's many dictionaries! Happy spelling!

Presumed Innocent by Scott Turow is the 2010 Everyone's Reading selection. This novel defined the legal thriller genre and has an infamous surprise ending that most of us don't see coming. Everyone's Reading promotes community dialogue through the shared experience of reading the same book. Pick up a copy of Presumed Innocent at the Canton Public Library and join the discussion.
 
Author Scott Turow will make a special appearance at the Village Theater at Cherry Hill this evening at 7 PM.  A limited number of unclaimed tickets will be distributed on a first come, first served basis, in the theatre lobby beginning at 6 PM.

University of Michigan students and Ice Dancing couples are competing in the Olympics! One pair trains locally in Canton at the Arctic Edge and the other pair trains in Ann Arbor at The Cube. The University of Michigan has an article concerning them: Wolverines Garner Spots in Winter Olympics

The famously reclusive author J.D. Salinger has died at his New Hampshire home, his literary representative said in a statement. He was 91 years old. He was best known for his 1951 novel The Catcher in the Rye, as well as his reclusive nature. Salinger's other works included Nine stories and Franny and Zoey.

The Canton community will gather together for a special ceremonial pep rally on Tuesday, February 2 to honor the American Ice-Dancing Team of Meryl Davis and Charlie White and the Canadian Team of Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir as they depart to compete in the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, British Columbia.
The public is invited to pay tribute to these Olympic athletes from 5:30–7:00PM at the Summit on the Park, located at 46000 Summit Parkway in Canton, MI 48188. This FREE event will celebrate the achievements of these two ice-dancing teams who have spent months training in their quest for Olympic gold at Canton’s Arctic Edge Ice Arena, located at 46615 Michigan Avenue. Maia and Alex Shibutani, U.S. Junior Gold Medalists who train as well at Arctic Edge Ice Arena will also be in attendance.

Noted author J. D. Salinger died Jan. 27. Will new works be discovered and/or published? His New York Times obituary discusses the importance of this reclusive author's life and his contributions to American literature.

If you haven't already, you may want to check out what Time Inc. is calling Assignment Detroit, a year-long project with the intention of chronicling the life of the city of Detroit. It began in the Fall of 2009 and will continue until Fall 2010. The magazine has actually bought a house in Detroit and moved reporters and editors there from various magazines. Although the response has been mixed, you can follow the project via their blog, Detroit Blog, and view some videos about Detroit's economic plight including "How to Survive in Detroit?"
[Photo courtesy of eLibrary]

The United States Congress has approved a bill that will allow taxpayers to deduct recent contributions to the Haiti relief effort on their 2009 tax returns. To qualify the donation must be monetary and be made to a qualifying charity assisting in Haiti. For more details on how you can help visit the USAID website.

The Adult Contemporary Book Discussion Group meets the third Monday of each month in the library Conference Room. This self-directed group discusses contemporary fiction and non fiction at 7:00PM. There is no registration necessary. The 2010 book list was just published, so please join us for some fine reading:

R&B legend Teddy Pendergrass passed away earlier this week after a long illness. Pendergrass, 59, got his start singing gospel music in Philadelphia churches, and later became a drummer for a local group called the Cadillacs. After merging with another more well known group, Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes, he became their lead singer in 1970. He later left the group and struck out on a solo career after signing with Philadelphia International Records - where his next several albums went gold and platinum. During this time he received several Grammy nominations, Billboard's 1977 Pop Album New Artist Award, an American Music Award for best R&B performer of 1978, and awards from Ebony magazine and the NAACP. A tragic car accident in 1982 left him paralyzed from the waist down. He made a dramatic return to the stage at the Live Aid concert in 1985, and in 1998 he founded Teddy Pendergrass Alliance to aid people with spinal cord injuries.

The National Film Registry of The Library of Congress recently announced its list of inductees for 2009. Among the titles is Michael Jackson's 1983 video Thriller, which is the first music video to be named to the Registry. Established in 1989, it now contains 525 films selected for their enduring importance to United States culture. Also included among the list of 2009 entries are

• Dog Day Afternoon (1975)
• Jezebel (1938)
• Mrs. Miniver (1942)
• The Muppet Movie (1979)
• Once Upon a Time in the West (1968)
• Pillow Talk (1959)
• The Story of G.I. Joe (1945)

The complete list can be found here.