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Join us Thursday, Dec. 16 6:30 p.m. for Cross Cultural Cinema’s screening of the Israeli film Jaffa, in the Central Library Auditorium.

Reuven’s Garage is a family-run business in the heart of the seaside town Jaffa. The employees include Reuven’s beautiful daughter Mali, his belligerent son Meir, a Palestinian mechanic Hassan and his son Toufik. Unbeknownst to the others, Mali and Toufik have been in love for years, and she is now pregnant with his child. Fearing the reactions of their parents, the two lovers plan to elope. However, tension builds between Toufik and the outwardly prejudiced Meir, boiling over to a shocking event that will change everyone’s lives. Directed by Keren Yedaya, Hebrew with English subtitles, 105 min.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fpLzbMFYXNk?fs=1]

Discoveries in the Stacks is the Westover Branch Library’s occasional exploration of our collection, delving into areas that you may not have visited.

• Cook up an egg-citing meal straight out of Dr. Seuss with Green Eggs & Ham Cookbook. J641.5 BRENN
• …or conjure up a few of the dishes served at Hogwarts with the Unofficial Harry Potter Cookbook. J641.5942 BUCHO
• Fans of the Food Network can try a recipe from Emeril’s There’s a Chef in My Family, J641.5 LAGAS; or Paula Deen’s My First Cookbook, J641.5 DEEN.
• Mollie Katzen, author of the classic Moosewood Cookbook, has written a series of children’s cookbooks. The recipes in Pretend Soup are paired with illustrated directions that can be “read” by pre-readers. J641.5 KATZE
• The Jumbo Vegetarian Cookbook is filled with scrumptious recipies, and child friendly directions. J641.5636 GILLI
• And, for an international flair try the Easy Menu Ethnic Cookbook series offering fare from dozens of countries from Cooking the Australian Way to Cooking the West African Way. Each book is interspersed with information about that particular country. The variety of country offerings are found in and around J641.5

These are just a few selections from our collection of children’s cookbooks.

Cook up a new family tradition on a chilly day, and make something delicious to eat with your family. We’ll see you next time in another part of the stacks!

 
This winter the Cherrydale Branch Library exhibits “Across China and Tibet,” a collection of recent photographs taken by Greg Embree. 

Embree is a long time resident of the Cherrydale neighborhood, and a volunteer at the Cherrydale Library. He and his wife Suzanne traveled through China and Tibet in October 2010.

The photos will be on display through April 1, 2011.

Do you love cookies?

Join us at the Columbia Pike Branch Library on Saturday, Dec. 18 at 2:00 p.m. for COOKIE stories , COOKIE activities, COOKIE crafts, and COOKIES!

All ages are welcome and no registration is required.

New movie formats keep replacing old ones. So what to do with movies in the 16 mm film format?

When Columbia Pike’s Youth Services Librarian began moving her puppets and craft supplies to a storage area more convenient to her office space she found reels and reels of children’s filmstrips hidden behind rolls of butcher paper. Before deciding to dispose of them she recruited local artist/librarian/social media maven Alexandra Zealand to consider re-purposing them into art.

Alexandra created these whimsical sculptures from reels of filmstrips of the books Abel’s Island, The Witch Who was Afraid of Witches, and From the mixed-up files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, and they now hang above the children’s DVD collection at the Columbia Pike Branch Library.

Come check out the quirky yet lovely recycled artwork.

Thank you Alexandra!

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QCnK0VzLJQM?fs=1]

Join us at Central Library on Monday, Dec. 13 from 3:00 – 4:30 pm, for a presentation by Father Joseph Mindling, on Qumran and the Dead Sea Scrolls. 

Phylactery Scroll – Library of Congress image

Father Joseph Mindling is the chairman of the Department of Sacred Scripture at the Washington Theological Union, and a member of the Capuchin Order of St. Francis. He will speak on the discovery as well as the historical, archeological, religious and literary significance of what are known as the Dead Sea Scrolls, and their association with the ancient Jewish Essene Community at Qumran in the Jordan Valley.

This is a free program, co-sponsored by the Arlington Learning in Retirement Institute.

Want to give a gift they’ll love for years? Try books!

• For Kids – Our children’s librarians share their favorite books to give to kids on From Tots to Tweens – everything from picture books for the littlest readers, to chapter books for older readers.
• For Teens – Shopping for a Teen? The TATAL has a list of our Young Adult gift book suggestions.
• For Adults – And for the adult who’s always looking for something new (but really wants something along the lines of that last great book she read), you’ll find read-alike suggestions on Novelist.

No matter what you’re celebrating, books make great gifts!

 
Does the branch manager at the Aurora Hills Branch Library seem familiar? 

If you’re a long-time resident of the neighborhood, you might recognize him from his first job with Arlington Libraries – Neil began as a Young Adult librarian at Aurora Hills almost 30 years ago, when he was right out of library school. Since then, Neil has worked as the Library’s Outreach Services manager, and as branch manager at the Detention Center, Westover and Cherrydale.

And when not working with the Aurora Hills community, Neil enjoys collecting music from between the World Wars.

November garden photos

Have you walked by Central Library’s AFAC vegetable garden recently, and thought, “I wonder what’s going on now?” The answer is, a lot!

During November Don Weber (our volunteer from USDA) got the last of the summer crops harvested. All of the bamboo has been removed, and will turned into wood mulch, and the irrigation equipment has been stored for the winter.

Don and Puwen Lee (of AFAC) have also cleared and seeded the main garden with a cover crop of crimson clover and triticale (wheat x rye hybrid), and planted garlic near the kale. Remaining herbs include sage, oregano, thyme, a beleaguered rosemary, chives, and garlic chives. Some of the thai basil has also been left in the garden, as an index of whether frost has finally arrived to our fairly warm location. They also seeded a variety of cover crops on the strip between the parking lot and the tennis courts. It is a bit late in the year, but as the weather has continued to be warm, there is a chance for decent growth. Cover crops enrich the soil by adding organic matter and capturing nutrients which might otherwise be lost to erosion or groundwater, and adding nitrogen in the case of legumes like clover. Watch for labels arriving soon, identifying the cover crops.

Starting in February and March, watch for public workshops on seed-starting and cold frames. The garden will get an early start with cold-hardy plantings such as peas in March, and seedlings such as broccoli and bok choy in April. All this, and the garden won’t even be a year old by then!