Date: Saturday, January 16 - Sunday, January 24, 2010
Location: Cobo Center
The NAIAS is one of the premier international auto shows in the world and the public show is where you get to see it all. This year the show features more than 700 vehicles, representing the most innovative designs in the world, with over 30 of those being worldwide introductions. Don't miss it for the world.

Katherine Paterson has been named the National Ambassador for Young People's Literature for 2010-2011. An award-winning author of books for youth, Paterson takes over for Jon Scieszka who was the first person named to this ambassadorship. We have many of Paterson's amazing books, including Newbery-winner Bridge to Terabithia.

A federal grand jury in Detroit has indicted Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab in the failed Christmas Day terrorist attack on an Detroit-bound airliner. Following is a TSA (Transportation Security Administration) guidance for passengers on heightened security measures in place following this incidence.

Bolt (voices of John Travolta, Miley Cyrus) Super-dog Bolt is the star of a hit TV show whose life is filled with adventure, danger and intrigue. When he is accidentally shipped to New York City and separated from Penney, his beloved co-star and owner, Bolt immediately springs into action to save her from the forces of evil.

Coraline (voices of Dakota Fanning, Teri Hatcher) A young girl walks through a secret door that she has found in her new home and discovers an alternate version of her life. Based on the book by Neil Gaiman.

Happy Holidays! The Friends of the Canton Public Library is a group of citizens interested in supporting the ideals of the library through the sales of memberships and used books in Secondhand Prose Used Book Shop. The shop is located next to the Internet Lab. The Friends support programs, art enhancements, special collections, the library endowment fund and much more. You can help...

• Become a member (before December 31 for a Michigan tax credit)
• Donate used books to Secondhand Prose [call (734) 397-0999 x1031 for details]
• Buy books for the booklovers on your list (great bargains on great books)
• Volunteer for the book crew (email pattyjenkins1914@comcast.net)

or visit the Friends' page for more details.

Make this your priority stop when looking for information on Detroit.
This information portal is all about Detroit and its surrounding communities. Local news items, jobs, special reports and obituaries are also included.

It is the season to get a deal on your Illinois winter getaway with exceptional rates and packages. From decorated mansions and festive zoos to miniature trains and giant snow sculptures, Illinois offers a variety of events to experience the magic of the season. To enjoy mile after magnificant mile of family fun click on the link below.  For further information on the state of Illinois and the great city of Chicago also browse in our travel section.

Opening in the Detroit area tomorrow, the film Invictus tells the inspiring true story of how newly elected South African president Nelson Mandela joined forces with the captain of South Africa’s rugby team, to help unite their country. Knowing that his nation remained racially divided - as well as economically - in the wake of apartheid, Mandela and team captain Francois Pienaar used the universal language of sport to rally South Africa’s underdog rugby team to an unlikely run to the World Cup Championship

Forbes has issued its first set of four and five star awards for hotels, and restaurants as the new brand name for what was formerly known as the Mobil Travel Guide. The awards were given out under the Mobil brand for more than 50 years. The ratings are based on evaluations of more than 500 attributes. For a complete list of winners go to http://www.forbestravelguide.com..

November 11 is our nationwide observance of Veterans Day, originally called Armistice Day, to honor our U.S. veterans for their patriotism, love of country, military service, and sacrifice for the common good.

In addition to thanking all of the veterans you know, join the community at the Village Theater at Cherry Hill, which will host a Salute to Service for all area veterans, their families, and supporters this evening at 7:00; doors open at 6:00. This event is sponsored by the Canton Veterans Memorial Association and Canton Township, and is free and open to the public. The Michigan Military Moms will also be on-site collecting items for service men and women who are currently serving our country overseas.

The new book "World Heritage Sites", is a treasure trove of information. Readers will be impressed with this all encompassing testament to world culture. It describes 878 sites from 141 countries which the United Nations has designated as culturally or enviromentally important to the world. "World Heritage List", has proved to be a valuable tool in the battle to preserve much of the world's cultural and natural heritage. Its strict criteria results in only the world's most spectacular and extraordinary sites making it onto the list. The list has been publicly available online at http://whc.unesco.org but never in a book format like this.

November is American Diabetes month. 24 million children and adults in the United States live with Diabetes. 57 million Americans are at risk for type 2 Diabetes. American Diabetes Association is launching a national movement to Stop Diabetes. Learn more about this by visiting stopdiabetes.com

The legendary TV personality Soupy Sales passed away this past week at age 83 after a long illness. Anybody who grew up in the Detroit area in the 50s and 60s certainly remembers his zany television program Lunch with Soupy which began airing on WXYZ-TV (Channel 7) in 1953. White Fang and Black Tooth were two of the more memorable characters from that show. And don't forget about the pies! Sales himself once estimated that he took about 9,000 pies to the face during his long career.

Bouchercon 2010 is a memory now. Named in honor of the late Anthony Boucher — mystery writer, mystery critic and mystery fan — this largest world mystery convention met in San Francisco and has been dubbed "Bouchercon by the Bay." Bouchercon emphasizes the best in mystery fiction by providing the setting for the presentation the Macavity Awards, the Barry Awards, the Shamus Awards, Bouchercon’s own Anthony Awards, and the Crimespree and Derringer awards. Carol Thomas' Mystery Series Examiner column has a complete list of the nominees and awards.

Bouchercon 2011 — Spirits of St. Louis will meet September 15-18 in St. Louis, Missouri.

[Logo: Private Eye Writers of America 2010]

We regret that the speaker for Thursday night's program, You Oughta Be in Pictures, has cancelled. Mr. Droz, from the Michigan Film Office, assures us that all the pertinent information is available on their website.

Don't you just love chasing after the spirits? For website links to information on haunted houses in Westland, Wayne, Canton, Plymouth, Ann Arbor, Detroit and other areas, see this Haunted Houses website. For an alphabetical city list of haunted sites in Michigan that explains why each is haunted, see Shadowlands Haunted Places Index. Check out the parapsychology section of our library for researching spooky phenomena. Have fun ghostbusting this Halloween!

The wind turbine pictured here is one of 32 harnessing clean electricity on Harvest Wind Farm in Elkton, MI. (I took this photo during a summer trip to the Thumb Area.) Michigan Wind 1, with 46 turbines, is another wind farm located just north of Elkton in Ubly, MI. Major energy companies like DTE and Consumers Energy are tapping into these and other wind farms in Michigan to supply electric power to their customers. Combined, both wind farms generate about 122 megawatts of electricity — enough to power roughly 35,000 homes.

Wind, solar and geothermal are among the most promising methods to generate clean, renewable energy. You can learn more about a clean energy future by reading Hot, Flat and Crowded, by Thomas Friedman, best-selling author and Pulitzer-prize winning columnist from The New York Times.

At its September Budget Hearing, the Library Board of Trustees approved the library's 2010 budget (attached), levying a reduced millage rate of 1.4980 mills to generate total revenue of $5.2 million.  This is a reduction of about $600,000 compared to our 2009 budget, and a reduction of about $1.2 million compared to our 2008 budget.  While cuts had to be made to balance the budget as required by law, the Library Board also directed the administration team to preserve our 7-day operation and maintain our 72 hours of library service per week.  I am pleased to report that we've achieved these goals without permanently cutting library hours or having to enforce furlough days or layoffs.

These necessary cuts are a result of several factors, which all fall under the umbrella of "the recession:" 

Every Monday morning, my email contains a special book. The email book club sends out a few pages every day in email. By the end of the week, you have read two to three chapters of a new book. You can then decide whether you want to check it out at the library or purchase it. It's a great way to discover new authors and genres. There are twelve categories from which to choose - pick one or all of them, including fiction, audio, romance, teen, good news, thrillers, classics and more. Your only requirement is an email account. The next Monday, it starts all over again with new books. What a great idea! This service is sponsored by the Friends of the Canton Public Library and is free to our patrons. Just log onto our web site at www.cantonpl.org, go to the column on the left and click on services. Next, click on book clubs and scroll down to email book club.

First Step offers free advice to victims of domestic violence. In light of recent events in the community, it was time to invite First Step to share their expertise and helpful hands with the women of our community. If you are feeling alone, afraid, hopeless, First Step and speaker Judith Barr can help. Please join us on October 29th at 2pm in the Purple Room. No registration is needed.