Our streaming Classical Music Library has just been updated with 179 new albums, including works from Vox Music, Bridge Records, Cantolopera, Mode Records, Newport Classic and more.

The new albums include:

• Young Brendel: The Vox Years
• Katie Zhukov: Six Profiles of Australian Women Composers
• Cowell: Dancing with Henry: New Discoveries in the Music of Henry Cowell
• Gerald Finley/Stephen Ralls: Songs of Travel
• Feldman: Late Works with Clarinet
• Laurence Lesser, Haesun Paik: Beethoven, The Complete Music for Piano and Cello

The Classical Music Library now includes 4,298 albums and 65,701 tracks, and continues to grow. Check out this list of all new content

If you haven’t already checked out our streaming music collection, now’s the time – all you need is your Library card! And subscribe to the Music Online Blog, so you’ll never miss a note.

On Saturday, October 30th the Aurora Highlands Civic Association hosted the second annual Boo Ha Ha at Virginia Highlands Park adjacent to the Aurora Hills Public Library.

The park was turned into a Halloween Carnival as children dressed in costume participated in a costume parade and costume contest with prizes donated by local businesses, snacked on Halloween treats, got their faces painted, and played in the bounce houses.

Visit the our photo gallery of the event and see all the fun!

On November 25th the Aurora Hills Librarians will celebrate the birthday of Marc Brown, author of the universally beloved children’s book and television character Arthur and his pals Francine, Buster, The Brain, Muffy, and Binky.

Celebrate with us by checking out one of the many books or videos featuring the adventures of all the citizens of Elwood City!

There are a lot of titles filling up our shelves with girls who kind of let life and guys happen to them.

We hate to lay the blame at the feet of any particular characters, (we’re not judging, Bells, really), but enough with the love triangles! We’re in the mood for something different. How about some books with girls who are making their own story? How about some titles where the girls aren’t focusing on stealing boys from one another or making other girls feel awful. (As The Readergirlz say, down with girl on girl violence!) Here are a few books where the girls are definitely driving their own stories and they are doing it with the support of… other ladies….
Read more on TATAL:

What kind of merit badges can boy scouts earn? Come check out the Boy Scout display at the Columbia Pike Branch Library, and you’ll find out!

The display celebrates 100 Years of Scouting from 1910 to 2010, and focuses on merit badges.

A Columbia Pike Library patron, local community member, and dedicated volunteer changes our display at the Walter Reed street entrance approximately every 2 months. He always does a fabulous job, using items from his own personal collection. So if you are used to coming and going via the parking lot side entrance, take a walk around to the street side entrance and check out the current display. There is always something fascinating to see!

This is a day when all the different types of gaming are celebrated nationally. We will be just one of more than 1,800 libraries and game stores participating in this years event, on Nov. 12 and 13!
Reed more on TATAL…

November 7 is “Celebrate Ivy and Bean Day.” The stories of these delightfully mismatched friends, written by Annie Barrows and illustrated by Sophie Blackall, have received starred reviews and are great for kids from grades 1-3. You can watch the author, teachers and students discussing the appeal of Ivy + Bean…

Read more on From Tots to Tweens:

** Information on repair schedule updated 11/23/10 **

The Aurora Hills Branch Library is about to get new protection from the elements.

Work on the roof at the Aurora Hills Center — comprised of the Library, a Department of Parks, Recreation & Cultural Resources community center, and the Fire Department’s former Station 5 (now used for storage) — will begin on Thursday, Nov. 18.

Work will continue for at least two months as the roof is replaced section by section. But Library patrons may not notice the activity literally above their heads because the “demolition” of each section will take place before public hours, and staging for equipment will be behind the building.

The $240,000 project will be overseen by the Department of Environmental Services. The Aurora Hills Center opened in 1978 and once also housed the County’s Visitor’s Information Center. This is the first time the County has installed a new roof at the Aurora Hills Center in decades.