Thursday, December 29, 2011
Okee Dokee Brothers at Library Story Time in February
"They have great lyrics. They're like the Pixar of music. Good for kids but good for adults." - Sally Leitch Shoreview, MN
“They engaged the entire crowd, kids and adults alike. The music is nice to listen to, even as an adult. I bought two CDs and catch myself listening to them even when my son is not around!" - Mom at The Overture Center's Kids in the Rotunda Series (Madison, WI)
"Shel Silverstein meets Woody Guthrie and they make a PB&J sandwich." - John Van Rooy
"The Okee Dokee Brothers - a jam band for the diaper crowd." - Kristina Ortega
"The Okee Dokee Brothers address issues of communication, cognitive, motor, emotional, and social skills in a fun, interactive, uplifting, and inspirational way." - Roberta S. Kagin, Dir. of Music Therapy, Augsburg College
"They're like the Wiggles, only cool." - Owen, Age 5
"Joe and Justin were engaging, professional, enthusiastic, and showed great interest in the site and children. I would highly recommend them to anyone!" – Shelley Steingraeber, Discover Club, St. Paul Public Schools.
This program is made possible by the Minnesota's arts and cultural heritage fund.For more information call the library at 879-1531.
Friday, November 18, 2011
Browser the Cat comes to Cloquet
In 2002, when Browser was nine months old, library staff took him in, and he has been living at the library ever since. When the library moved to its current location, the kids who helped move the books also moved Browser!
Browser’s goal is to visit as many libraries in Minnesota as possible. Afterward, he will journey across the USA and eventually around the world. If you would like to track his progress, go to Browser’s Facebook page or blog site (www.facebook.com/browser.cat or http://library-cat.blogspot.com
Friday, November 4, 2011
Historic Schools of Carlton County
Ms. Hanson's book, … and the snows came up to here … Schools of Carlton County-Minnesota, provides descriptions of 120 schools and includes 190 black-and-white photographs and maps. It was recently published by Dovetailed Press LLC.
Friday, October 28, 2011
Documentary: Carl Gawboy
"The Grocer's Son"
Antoine is a 30-year unmarried man making a living in Lyon when he is summoned home to his family's village to help with the family grocery business. The film chronicles the tensions with his family and his increasing feelings for a young woman from Lyon who accompanies him, all set against the beauty of the Alps of southeastern France.
In French with subtitles. For mature audiences.
Monday, October 24, 2011
Halloween Fright Film
Monday, October 17, 2011
Artists’ reception and open house, Nov. 1, 4:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.
An artists’ reception and open house will be held at the Cloquet Public Library, Tuesday, November 1, from 4:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m., celebrating the completion of a sculpture by Sean Elmquist, commissioned by the Cloquet Public Library with a grant from the Minnesota Legacy Amendment funds appropriated to the Arrowhead Library System. In addition to the sculpture, the library has also received a donation of rock art from local artist, Bryan Schaap.
The sculpture evokes the power of reading and its ability to transform words into material reality- with a connection to the location. The iconography used in the sculpture: the pages of a book, a tree, a fish, a cloud, the St. Louis River- represent Cloquet, the region, and its ties to reading. The scroll-like forms extend from the Library’s sign as pages of a book, representing the act of reading and the texts contained in the library, and also the area’s ties to paper-making. The “pages” support and present the symbols, evoking the written word’s ability to manifest itself in reality- and to conjure images.
The tree, fish, river and cloud represent the natural beauty of the area, but each symbol contains its own meaning. The tree reflects the area’s forests, as well as its forestry traditions- the tree is also what books are made of. The cloud evokes nature while simultaneously representing thought and imagination. The river spanning the pages is the St. Louis, the main artery of Cloquet, but can also be seen as a “river of knowledge”- with the fish swimming in it a metaphor for the reader.
The sculpture is made from acrylic sheets that are bent, cut, and painted, and then attached to the site by a welded steel framework. Acrylic was chosen for its translucency, and will lend a more nuanced, visually interesting experience than opaque materials such as steel or wood might. Acrylic is also incredibly strong and lightweight, so it will still be structurally sound and long-lasting, but will also be moveable if any construction or expansion of the library is needed.
Bryan Schaap has etched designs into a couple of boulders that greet people as they enter the library. Bryan came up with the idea as a way to help divert the water runoff from the roof and make something attractive in that place. One boulder has a set of children’s hands and the other is a turtle.
Monday, October 10, 2011
Ghost Hunters at the Library
We're hearing that a number of locations around Cloquet may be haunted--maybe even the library! Come and find out what's really going bump in the night.
Author Connie Claire Szarke
Szarke grew up in southwestern Minnesota, amid small towns, farms,lakes, and prairies. She graduated from St. Cloud State University and the University of Minnesota and was a teacher at Chaska Senior High School for 30 years. Delicate Armor is her debut novel. Her fiction, non-fiction, and poetry have appeared in numerous publications, including Stories Teachers Tell, Lake Country Journal Magazine, Community Connections, and The Minnesota Project.
Set in the Upper Midwest, Delicate Armor is the coming-of-age story of Callie Lindstrom, a cheeky eight-year old who shares a special bond with her father after the loss of his infant son. Delicate Armor is about lost time, the tenacity of the human spirit, a father-daughter relationship, and the feisty narrator’s emerging consciousness as she passes from young girl to self-possessed woman.
Thursday, September 29, 2011
Vampires, Witches & Ghosts
Strange phenomena and manifestations occur as tales of mediums, murderers, and mayhem are recounted. Do the dead actually return? Classic and contemporary books on the supernatural are examined, from the Minnesota Road Guide to Haunted Locations to Elizabeth Kostova's The Historian. Can the characters that populate these books come back to "life"?
The program also features a display of artifacts gathered from around the world. A mummified finger bearing a very special ring, a Ouija board said to be possessed by its original owners, and an "Inquisitor’s Box" used to detect the blood of a witch are just a few of the relics haunting this show. Relics that may be touched by audience members … and, just maybe, audience members will be touched by these relics!
Audience level: Not for children under 12 years of age.
Saturday, September 10, 2011
Many Faces of Lyme Disease
Mr. Grier comes from a research background of vaccine development and immunological methods of detecting infections. He will explain how the Lyme bacterium can enter the brain quickly and easily. Join us as we look at evidence of sequestered brain infections and Lyme disease.
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
French Comedy "My Best Friend" Screens Tuesday Night
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
Fall book sale set for September 24
Browse through hundreds of books gathered through donations or discards from the library. Conditions range from next-to-new to fair. The event is sponsored by the Friends of the Library. For more information, call 879-1531.
Monday, August 29, 2011
Help Commemorate the 10th Anniversary of September 11
If you have a story to tell or simply wish to share your thoughts about 9/11, please join us in observing the 10th anniversary by writing a few lines of your personal thoughts. Brief comments of up to a paragraph in length are encouraged. A selection of patrons' submissions will be displayed in the library.
Please submit your written comment to the front desk, by e-mail, or post to our Facebook or Twitter pages, by Thursday, September 8. Include your name and contact information. Those comments selected for the display will be identified by the writer's initials only.
Above is an artist's rendition of the memorial currently under construction at the site of the former World Trade Center towers (click to enlarge photo).
Friday, August 26, 2011
Fall story times at the library
Fall Story Times at the Cloquet Public Library begin after Labor Day. Preschool (ages 3-5) Story Times are at 10 a.m., Wednesdays, September 7 to November 30. LapSit (ages 0-2) Story Times are at 10 a.m., Thursdays, September 8 to December 1.
Join us for stories, songs, play and good times. For more information, call 879-1531.
Friday, July 29, 2011
Norway's "Troubled Water" Film Screening
Our international film series continues on Tuesday evening, August 9, at 6:30 p.m., with a 2008 film from Norway. One of Norway's rising young actors, Pål Sverre Valheim Hagen, gives an outstanding performance as Jan, a musically gifted but troubled young man recently released from prison for a crime he committed as a teenager resulting in the death of a child. The film examines the ripple effects of the child's death and Jan's search for redemption. Also notable among the cast is Denmark's famous Trine Dyrholm as the child's mother.
As one viewer commented to Film Movement's distributors, " WOW! Such a powerful film. This film is truly 'flawless.' Great performances, incredible cinematography... and the music... Beautiful. [Director] Erik Poppe is a true master."
The film is in Norwegian with English subtitles. Co-sponsored by Cloquet's Sons of Norway Heimsyn Lodge, who will be serving refreshments. A discussion guide to the film will be available.
Monday, July 11, 2011
Minnesota's Roadside Geology
Are you planning on driving around the state this summer? Perhaps a trip up the North Shore with a stop at Gooseberry Falls? Your enjoyment of the Arrowhead region's best-known waterfall will be enhanced when you learn that the rushing water is falling over three ancient lava flows. Learn other surprising geological facts about the state, such as why shark's teeth can be found on the Iron Range, where volcanoes were once active in the state, and how the Mississippi River was formed.
Professor emeritus of geology at UMD Richard Ojakangas will talk about Minnesota geological formations on Tuesday evening, July 19, at 6:30 p.m. Ojakangas's most recent book, Roadside Geology of Minnesota, part of the popular "Roadside Geology" series, serves as the basis for his PowerPoint slide presentation.
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
International Film: Mother of Mine, July 12
“For as long as I’ve lived and worked with films I have wanted to tell the story of war children and the exceptional phenomenon where the totally different histories of the Second World War in Finland and in Sweden converge. Naturally it’s impossible to tell 70,000 unique stories in one film. Through the fictive framework we can, however, capture something universal in the feelings of exclusion and rootlessness that we associate with the experiences of the war children. The themes are strongly relevant to any child who has been separated from his/her parents, to anyone for whom growing up has generally been hard due to the secrets they carry in their heart."
- Klaus Härö, director, Äideistä Parhain ("Mother of Mine").
During World War II, 70,000 Finnish children were sent by their families to live in Sweden and elsewhere in Scandinavia as the Soviet Union prepared to attack Finland. Mother of Mine tells this story in microcosm through the eyes of one boy, whose father is killed on Finland's front line of defense and whose mother sends him to Sweden for safety. His rejection by his Swedish host mother upon his arrival is followed by his own mother's plan to leave him in Sweden. Although reconciliation occurs, the painful experience of the war years marks his reflections on his early life. The film was winner at the Palm Springs International Film Festival and the Cairo International Film Festival, as well as having screened at the Toronto and Seattle international film festivals.
The film will screen at the library on our 55" Samsung widescreen TV in the large meeting room on Tuesday evening, July 12, at 6:30 p.m. Cloquet's Sons of Norway Heimsyn Lodge is co-sponsoring the screening and will be serving refreshments. Join us early for conversation and refreshments.
Kids' Stuff Presents Dazzling Dave
Kids will love his high energy, and his freestyle performance. Each show lasts about 30 to 45 minutes, followed by a question-and-answer session. The show is best for school-age children, but younger audiences will enjoy it as well. After the program, Dazzling Dave will have yo-yos for sale.
Check out Dazzling Dave's website: http://www.dazzlingdave.com/index.html
Dazzling Dave is sponsored by Arrowhead Library System Kids' Stuff and the Cloquet Public Library. If you need a sign language interpreter, please contact the Arrowhead Library System two weeks before show.
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
"Alaska" Filmmaker to Attend July 14 Screening
San Francisco Filmmaker Joan Juster will introduce her film Alaska Far Away at the library on Thursday, July 14, at 6 p.m. The film chronicles the lives of northern Minnesotans and Wisconsinites who pioneered settlement of Alaska’s Matanuska Colony as part of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's "New Deal" economic recovery program during the Great Depression. It was also one of the largest scale socialist experiments in U.S. history. The film is narrated by television veteran Peter Coyote. Ms. Juster will also introduce a segment from her accompanying film Where the River Matanuska Flows, which shows northern Minnesota's connection with the project through recent interviews. More than 200 struggling farm families were resettled in the region, which ultimately helped fuel the expansion of Palmer, Alaska, home to Republican Sarah Palin. A question-and-answer session will follow the screening. The event is free and open to the public.
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
African drums travel to the library
A great multi-generational program, performers will teach specific rhythms, dancing and drum techniques, featuring the dress and cultural protocols of West Africa. Between drumming and song, the program will include stories and history about Ghana and other African tribal cultures.
The event is part of the Library’s summer program, “One World, Many Stories,” sponsored by the Arrowhead Library System. For more information, call 879-1531.
Thursday, June 9, 2011
International Film Series Debuts Tuesday, June 21
Every year dozens of movies from other countries escape the detection of American audiences. Many of them have won awards from prestigious film festivals around the world. The library is taking steps to address this oversight with its new foreign film series. Once a month, a recent movie will be shown that hasn’t appeared in our local theaters or has been otherwise unavailable.
Our premiere screening is on the first day of summer, Tuesday, June 21, at 6:30 p.m. The film selected is Academy Awarding winning director Jane Campion’s Bright Star, an intimate look at the last three years in the life of English Romantic poet John Keats and his relationship with a young woman of higher social standing, Fanny Brawne. One of the most influential poets of all time, Keats was inspired in his life and art by Fanny, though friends and family on both sides tried to keep them apart. Keats perished from tuberculosis at age 25.
The series continues with the Finnish-Swedish Mother of Mine, scheduled for July 12, and the award-winning Norwegian film Troubled Water, which will screen on August 9. More films are planned for fall.
Movies will be shown on our 55” widescreen Samsung TV in the large meeting room. Join us a few minutes early for coffee and conversation.
Computer Classes Continue with Special Topics
Seeking: Teen Advisory Board
Teen Summer Writing Contest
Choose any book, fiction or non-fiction, published in the past year (any book with a copyright date of 2010 or 2011). Write a personal essay of 1-2 pages (250-500 words) explaining “What this book means to me.” You might want to address how the book’s subject affects you, or has expanded your horizons, or how you relate to a character.
Submit a printed copy of your essay to the library’s front desk by August 22. Be sure to include your name, phone number, and last grade completed.
One winner will be chosen from middle school and one from high school age groups. Writers of the best essay will receive a $30 gift certificate to Wal-Mart. Winners will be announced in the fall issue of the library’s newsletter.
Questions? Call 879-1531
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
Meyerson joins summer spotlight
Meyerson plays a wide variety of musical styles, including folk, swing, pop, rock, and blues. Her song selection includes originals, many genres, old standards, and, of course, children’s music. Kids love to sing and dance with Robi. For more information, call 879-1531.
Monday, May 23, 2011
Dark Tales for Teens
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
Harp adventures kicks off summer fun
The program is free of charge and open to the public.
The program, based on the book, Harp Mouse Adventures, will introduce the inner workings of harps and provide an opportunity to play one and enjoy music from many nations following the travels of Harp Mouse. The author of the book is Diane E. Dunn.
Cotruvo’s appearance is part of the Library’s program of summer activities for youth. This year’s theme is “One World, Many Stories.” Children will travel the globe exploring places from Oceania to Russia through stories, crafts, music, games and other activities.
The Library’s Summer Reading Challenge is open to young people, preschool through young adult, with programs, prizes, story hours and special events. Additional performances will include African Drums, Dazzling Dave and his Yoyos and popular musician Robi Meyerson. All children are eligible to participate in the summer reading challenge. Preschoolers will receive credit for books read aloud to them.
Registration officially begins on Mon., June 6. To participate, children fill out a Reading Log by listing books or pages read and present it to the children’s librarian for credit. Incentives will be awarded as readers make progress.
Story Times for preschool (ages 3-5) children will be at 10 a.m., Wednesdays, June 15 through August 3. LapSit Story Times (ages 0-2) will be at 10 a.m., Thursdays, June 16 through August 4.
Tween and teens will learn the basics of Haiku (a form of Japanese poetry with three phrases) writing through imaginative exercises, games and fun examples during a two-day workshop at 1 p.m., Thursday, June 16 and 23. Interested youth must preregister by calling the library before the class begins.
This year, children will answer the question, “Where’s Jacques?” as they search weekly for the roving yet cuddly polar bear puppet. An end-of-the-summer drawing will determine who takes Jacques home. Children can also look forward to weekly scavenger hunts. For more information, call the Library at 879-1531.
Thursday, April 28, 2011
News to Me: Journalist and Minnesota Book Award-winning Author Laurie Hertzel
Irreverent and insightful, Ms. Hertzel’s story vividly captures the changes taking place in the male-dominated world of journalism in the early '70s and society at large. Her journalistic endeavors covered the Twin Ports area up to the Iron Range and ultimately to the Soviet Union during the Gorbachev era. In Duluth’s sister city of Petrozavodsk, she met American-born Finns who had come as children with their parents to build a worker’s paradise under Stalin. The dream became a nightmare for many Finnish-Americans as they fell under suspicion and were rounded up at night for clandestine execution under Stalin’s purges.
Despite this grim and touching subject matter in later chapters of the book, Ms. Hertzel’s authorial voice from the first page shows her overwhelmingly humorous take on life. She is heir to James Thurber in her comic vision and to Mark Twain in her ironic observations of society and people.
In addition to her journalistic writing, Ms. Hertzel has also been the recipient of the Thomas Wolfe award in short fiction.
Copies of News to Me will be available for purchase after the reading.
This program is supported by the Minnesota Book Awards through a grant from the Minnesota Department of Education – State Library Services and the Minnesota Library Foundation. The Minnesota Book Awards is a project of The Friends of the Saint Paul Public Library, in partnership with the Saint Paul Public Library and the City of Saint Paul. For more information on the Minnesota Book Awards, visit http://www.thefriends.org/.
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Author of Boo Boo Bear's Mission to speak
Folk Dance traditions at the library
Thursday, April 7, 2011
Friends of Library Spring Book Sale
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Workshop in Digital Photography
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Wanted! Minnesota Crime Wave
"Minnesota Crime Wave" members are Ellen Hart, Carl Brookins and William Kent Krueger. Hart is author of the "Jane Lawless" mystery series, which features a culinary detective (Hart is also a trained chef). Her newest book in the series is Cruel Ever After, which was published last December.
Brookins is a former academic--and an avid sailor--who has authored three mystery series. The "Tanner-Whitney" series features a married pair of sailing sleuths. Devil’s Island is his latest mystery.
William Kent Krueger writes the "Cork O'Connor" mystery series, set in the Northwoods and featuring a protagonist who is part Ojibwe and part Irish. His stories often deal with the clash of cultures. Krueger’s latest Cork O’Connor book is Vermilion Drift.
The authors will have their books for sale and will autograph copies. The event is free and open to the public.
“Minnesota Crime Wave” is sponsored by the Arrowhead Library System, the Minnesota Library Legacy Fund, and the Cloquet Public Library. The program is funded by Minnesota’s Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund.
Friday, March 11, 2011
One Book, One Community Read for 2011 is Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford
Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet is an extraordinary story of commitment and enduring hope. Author Jamie Ford depicts the heartwarming friendship between Henry Lee and Keiko Okabe, a Chinese American boy and a Japanese American girl—both American citizens—whose ethnic backgrounds impact their destinies in drastically different ways during World War II. When the United States government orders all persons of Japanese ancestry to evacuate their homes and submit to voluntary internment, Keiko and her family are forced to leave Seattle and live in an internment camp in rural Idaho. In Keiko’s absence, Henry must come to terms with what it means to be Chinese, an obedient son, a trustworthy friend, and a loyal American.
One Book, One Community events in Cloquet:
The Best of Jazz from the 1930s and '40s
Thursday, April 7, 2011 6:30 p.m.
Encore Performing Arts Center and Gallery, 2035 S. Hwy 33, Cloquet
Check out free tickets at the library to hear Twin Cities jazz singer Christine Rosholt and her band celebrate the best of jazz from the 1930s and '40s.
Funded by the Minnesota Regional Public Library System (MRPLS) and the Minnesota Historical Society (MHS) made possible by MRPLS’s Arts and Cultural Heritage Funds.
Brown Bag Lunch with Jamie Ford
Thursday, April 14, 11:30 a.m.
Cloquet Public Library
Bring your lunch and listen to Jamie Ford talk about his book, The Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet. The Friends of the Cloquet Public Library will provide dessert and refreshments.
Funded in part by Minnesota's Arts & Cultural Heritage Fund, Friends of the Cloquet Public Library, Friends of the Duluth Public Library, Duluth Library Foundation, and Arrowhead Reading Council.
Friday, March 4, 2011
Basic computer classes at library
Monday, February 14, 2011
Read Across America at the Library
The National Education Association's "Read Across America" event is now in its 14th year, motivating children to read and helping them to master basic skills. Join the thousands of schools, libraries and community centers across the country participating in the worthwhile event, bringing together kids and books and you.
The event is in honor of the hugely popular children's author Dr. Seuss whose birthday is in March. Like all of our programs at the library, "Read Across America" is free of charge and open to the public.
Thursday, January 6, 2011
Gail Johnson's Last Supper (Break) 01/06/11
Draw Cartoons with illustrator Chris Monroe
Monday, January 3, 2011
Winter Story Times at the Library
LapSit Story Times (ages 0-2) will be at 10 a.m., Thursdays, beginning Jan. 13 through March 31.
Join us for stories, songs, play and good times. For more information, call Lissie at 879-1531.