The East Lansing Public Library recently received a matching grant of $750 from The Gerber Foundation. This was made possible in conjunction with a gift from a private donor and ELPL patron.

Did you know there are many organizations and corporations who will match your donation? Check with your employer or local civic organization to see if this is a way  you can help ELPL! For more information, contact Julie Pierce at jpierce@cityofeastlansing.com or call 351-2420, ext. 100.

Did you know that the Friends of the East Lansing Public Library have used books for sale every day? It's the best deal in town! Stop in the library and check out the Friendshop, where you'll find tons of used books at great prices. There's something for everyone - adult fiction, mysteries, history, gardening, music CDs, magazines, children's books, and much more. You'll pay a fraction of the price of brand new, and when you're done, you can donate them back to the library! And remember, all proceeds benefit the library.

Check out the Friends' web site for more information.

2010 is almost upon us, and you know what that means? Time to be counted! The U.S. Census is taken every 10 years and helps determine the following:

• Locations for schools, roads, hospitals, child-care and senior citizen centers, and more.
• Locations for supermarkets, shopping centers, new housing and other facilities.
• How many seats each state will have in the U.S. House of Representatives as well as the boundaries of legislative districts.

Remote access to the Morningstar.com database has been restored.  Remote patrons are those connecting from outside the Library or from the Library's wireless service.  The database had been unavailable remotely for the past 2-3 days.  Patrons who were unable to access Morningstar.com should be able to connect now.  If  you are still experiencing connection problems please contact the Library.

Thank you for your patience.

Does your child love to hear stories over and over?  Storyline is the service for you!!!  Each week a guest reader records a story that you can access by dialing 319-6915.  Stories change each Monday.  Different members of the community and staff from the East Lansing Public Library are our readers.  You can view a monthly calendar of our readers at the Children's Desk in the library.  Call as often as you like! 

Summer's here and what better time to think about the health of you and your family?  The Health and Wellness Resource Center database is your one-stop source for quality information.

Find out how to deal with summer's sunburn, mosquito bites, and heat dehydration.  Look up a specific drug and the symptoms it treats.  Or search by symptom and find out what drugs treat those symptoms.  Find a medical term confusing?  Look it up in the dictionary section.  Then stay up to date on health and medical issues in "Topics in the News." 

The Health and Wellness Resource Center is available in the alphabetical list of databases under the Research tab at the top of the page.

For guidelines on evaluating any health information on the internet, check out MedlinePlus: Evaluating Health Information.

Dial up StoryLine

Is your child bored? Squirming in the back seat of the car? Or maybe he or she can't fall asleep? Call 319-6915 to hear a story over the telephone! The stories change every week, and so does the storyteller. The library has volunteer storytellers who record a short (less than eleven minutes) story. Perfect for ages 2 and up. Let us know if you have suggestions of stories your child would like to hear.

Ah, June!  Summer's just around the corner.  Time to explore food, music, books, festivals, and more.  Displays in the library during June will get you in the mood ... we're featuring jazz, astronomy, audiobooks, and summer reading.

East Lansing's Summer Solstice Jazz Festival is June 19-20.  Check out the festival's website for all the fine vibes (and even how to volunteer).  Check out the library display for books, recordings, and more to keep the groove goin'.

When you hit the road this summer to discover more festival fun, take along a book-on-cd or a Playaway (a pre-loaded digital audio book player) to make the miles go easier.  June is Audio Book Month and the library's selection is amazing.  Fiction, mysteries, sci fi, history, classics, humor, and more!  Jodi Picoult, Michael Connelly, Elmore Leonard, David Sedaris, Barack Obama, and more!  Come check out our display for choice selections.

The whole year of 2009 is the International Year of Astronomy ... and what better month than June to read about the stars and do some stargazing yourself.  So, come in, check out the display, and keep on lookin' up!