@ your library (R) ......by Paige Turner December 30, 2004 Keep Reading Alive in 2005! The twice weekly Children's Story Hours are a wonderful way to get young children interested in books and "keep reading alive in 2005." As an example, our recent Christmas Story Hour was a huge success and well attended by the little folks in the community. A big thank you to the following volunteers who worked so hard to make it fun: Chyna Lepley, Ana Danielson and Paula Herranen. Also, a big thank you to Santa and his elf, Stephanie. For those of you who have outgown Story Hour, start your new year with a resolution to read more books. And what better place to begin than @ your library (R). We get new books weekly -- children's books, second childhood books, grownup books, reference books, fiction, nonfiction. Here are just a few of the latest arrivals: "Twisted" by Jonathan Kellerman "Dragon Rider" by Cornelia Funke "Tale of Dog Giovanni" by John Gravdahl "Book of Dead Days" by M. Sedgwick "Double Shot" by Diane Davison "Ordinary Wolves" by Seth Kantner "Rope Eater" by Ben Jones "Magic Seeds" by V. S. Naipul "Sharing Good Times" by Jimmy Carter "Hope in Hell; Inside the World of Doctors Without Borders" "Rising Fire; Volcanoes and Our Inner Lives" by John Calderazzo "This Place in the Snow" by Rebecca Bond "I, Doko; The Tale of a Basket" by Ed Young "Dangerous Planet; Natural Disasters that Changed History" by Bryn Barnard Last but not least, a wonderful new reference book -- "Nations of the World; A Political, Economic & Business Handbook" -- has just been added to our collection. This book profiles every nation and self-governing territory around the world in an easy-to-access, single-volume format. It offers tremendous insight into the conditions and social and economic climates of 230 nations, from those constantly in the headlines to those that seldom make news. Included are updates on Afghanistan's interim government, the unexpected counter-insurgency campaign in Bhutan, Italy's longest (three years) serving government in its post-war history, and events leading up to and following terrorist attacks in Spain. This book is in alphabetical order, and included for each country is a country overview, map, key facts, key indicators and risk assessment. Also included are country profiles with special advice to visitors to countries that are in political crisis. A business directory rounds out the scope of the book. There is contact information for travel information as well as chambers of commerce and other organizations. The book is incredibly comprehensive, from hours of bank service in Chile to oil refining capacity in France to what side of the road people drive on in Pakistan (the left). Want to know something about a country and can't seem to find it on Google? Come in and take a look at this book! Did you know that all of the Mono County Libraries have free Internet access? Did you know that our Mammoth Lakes Library now has wireless access? And did you know that if you have a library card, it will work at any of the branches? For more information about all seven Mono County branches, as well as lots of other interesting "stuff", visit our website at www.monocolibraries.org. Happy New Year everyone, and we'll see you back here @ your library (R) on Monday, January 3. TRIVIA QUESTION OF THE WEEK: We all read the "news" paper. Do you know how the word "news" was coined? ANSWER TO LAST WEEK'S QUESTION: Originally, parents hung Animal Crackers boxes from Christmas trees as ornamental presents. We all enjoyed Animal Crackers as kids, and even as adults, but can you name the 17 animal characters found in each box? They include a bear (sitting and standing), a bison, a camel, a cougar, an elephant, a giraffe, a gorilla, a hippopotamus, a hyena, a kangaroo, a lion, a monkey, a rhinoceros, a seal, a sheep, a tiger and a zebra.