We’re looking forward to the best Gingerbread Construction Contest ever. As always, we want the emphasis to be on the fun you have making the entry–and as you can see from the categories, we expect most of the entrants will be kids–but we’d also love to display some traditional, over-the-top work of the adult bakers we know are out there. So, this year we’ve tweaked the categories a bit to encourage more adult entrants.

This year the winning adult (18 and older) entry will be selected by a panel of experts instead of by the voting public. Bring us your beauties and let us enjoy them for a few days before your reserve them for family and friends. Perhaps you’ll take home a fancy Best of Show award to enhance your display!

The categories for 2007 are:
1. Design built from a kit
2. Original design built by one person, 8 or younger
3. Original design built by one person, ages 9-12
4. Original design built by one person, ages 13-17
5. Original design built by two or more persons
6. Original design built by one person, ages 18 and older

Rules and other information:
–You may make any structure you choose.
–All building materials should be edible.
–No registration is required.
–Voting by the public will take place December 8-12.
–A panel of experts will select the winner of the adult category.
–Winners will be announced Dec. 13.
–A $25 gift card will be awarded to the winner of each category.
–Entries displayed until Dec. 17.

Entries will be accepted December 4, 5 & 6 from 9:00 a.m. until 7:30 p.m

Gertrude Bell: Queen of the Desert, Shaper of Nations, by Georgina Howell (920 BELL, on the new books shelf). Dixie loved this book! I believe she could imagine herself doing what Gertrude Bell did. Bell, who lived from 1868-1926, transcended the mores that bound Victorian women to become an archaeologist, cartographer, linguist, photographer, and legendary mountaineer. During World War I she became the British military’s expert on Mesopotamia, and it was through her efforts that the fledgling state of Iraq emerged at the end of the war. Known as the female Lawrence of Arabia, her profound knowledge of the Middle Eastern desert is still valuable today.

Scorpion Down: Sunk by the Soviets, Buried by the Pentagon: The Untold Story of the USS Scorpion, by Ed Offley (359.9383 OFFL, on the new books shelf). This is another book that Dixie just couldn’t say enough good things about. I wondered about her intense interest in a naval story—and learned after her death that her first husband, who died very young and suddenly, was in the Navy.

Scorpion Down is the thoroughly researched story of an incident that could have triggered World War III. The Navy’s official account of the sinking of the nuclear submarine U.S.S. Scorpion on May 22, 1968, was that it was an “inexplicable accident.” Author Offley convincingly writes that the sub was torpedoed by the Soviets in retaliation for the sinking in the Pacific, just ten weeks earlier, of the Soviet missile sub K-129 by the U.S. At the time, the story was buried by both governments in an effort to keep the Cold War from turning hot. Offley’s account is dramatic and very readable.

Maisie Dobbs by Jacqueline Winspear (F WINS). Set in post-World War I, Maisie Dobbs is a young woman who launches a career as a private investigator. Her fist case, on the surface about infidelity, leads her backward to the war and a deeper understanding of its horror. This is Winspear’s first novel and Maisie is an appealing and compassionate character.

Our reference librarian, Suzette Davidson, and local historian, Ralph Love, receive many questions about genealogy. Both are well qualified to help you, but the library’s print and archival resources are mostly limited to central Texas. That doesn’t matter as much as it once did. As anyone who dabbles in family history soon realizes, information that you once had to drive hundreds or thousands of miles to see, now is available on the Internet. Finding it isn’t always easy, though, nor is knowing whether your source is reliable.

Besides our regular staff, the library is fortunate to have Jim Minson, a volunteer who is an experienced genealogist and, best of all, is willing to share his knowledge with you for free. During November Jim is offering two classes that you should consider attending if you are beginning to work on your family history. On November 6 and 7, from 10 a.m. until 12:30 p.m., he will teach Basic Genealogy in the library classroom. This is a two-session class that covers where to begin, how to organize your research, where and how to look for information, how to document your sources, and pitfalls to avoid. The class is limited to twelve persons and you may register either in person at the library’s reference desk on the second floor, or by calling 930-3627 during our regular hours.

The following week, on November 13 and 14, Jim will teach another two-session course, Genealogy on the Internet. This class, which also will be limited to twelve persons, has some prerequisites: basic computer/Internet experience, and knowledge of how to use Internet Explorer. Those prerequisites aren’t too tough, but please understand that you can’t take this class if you know nothing about using a computer. The class meets from 10 to 12:30 both days, in the library classroom. Again, you may register in person at the library’s reference desk, or by phone at 930-3627 during regular library hours.

Get some friends together and come to the library to watch a movie! Richard Groves, our adult services librarian, is showing “seasonal” movies for the next couple of months. On the second Tuesday and third Thursday afternoon each month, he’ll provide a couple of hours of relaxing fun—treats included. No discussion to follow, no heavy social issues, just a pleasant afternoon.

On Tuesday, November 6 (Election Day), from 1:00 to 3:00, he’s showing My Fellow Americans, starring James Garner and Jack Lemmon, star in a comedy with a host of other faces that you’re sure to recognize. Two former Presidents are framed in a scandal by the current President and pursued by armed agents. The two squabbling political foes plunge into a desperate and delightfully frantic search for the evidence that will establish their innocence. As they scramble through the real America, they get an unexpected crash course in how their policies affected the citizens.

Then, on Thursday, November 15, from 4:00 – 6:00, you can enjoy Richard’s Thanksgiving choice—Pieces of April. This Thanksgiving comedy of errors was the 2003 directorial debut of Dan in Real Life director/writer Peter Hedges. April Burns (Katie Holmes) invites her dysfunctional family from suburban Pennsylvania to her apartment in a sketchy part of Manhattan for Thanksgiving dinner and to meet her new boyfriend.

While we were closed for inventory, a very hard-working group of women painted all of the white walls in the children’s room. The colors were chosen to compliment the colors in the rainforest murals and also to blend with the accent colors that have been used in the rest of the library. The staff thinks the room looks much more appealing and “finished.” Our most sincere thanks to Laura Snyder, Tina Spencer, Dena Osterman, Debbie Abe, and Elizabeth Ragan, who was assisted by her daughters Caitlyn and Chloe. You did a beautiful job!