Samantha Thomason

Each year we celebrate National Poetry Month in April with our Teen Poetry Contest.

Teens in grades 7-12 from Fredericksburg, Stafford, Spotsylvania, and Westmoreland, are invited to submit up to three originial poems. Out-of-region library cardholders may also enter.

The winners are chosen (anonymously) by University of Mary Washington professor and Pulitzer Prize winning poet, Claudia Emerson.

Entries are accepted online between April 1 - 15.
Winners are selected from participants in grades 7-9 and grades 10-12.

Winners are awarded prizes and invited to read work at Teen Poetry Night at Headquarters Library: Thursday, April 29, 2010, 7:30-9:00

We had 122 poems from 57 poets this year! Here are the winners ...

Hennen's American Public Library Rankings (the HAPLR Index) recently ranked the CRRL fifth nationally and first in the state of Virginia amongst libraries serving 250,000 to 500,000 people. This ranking underscores the CRRL's cost-effective use of tax dollars in the provision of quality library service.

This year marks the 10th edition of the HAPLR Index, and the CRRL has been rated a Top Ten Library in five of those editions.

The 2010 HAPLR ratings are based on data collected from nearly 8,000 public libraries and focus on a library's circulation, checkouts, visits, staffing levels, funding and reference desk questions.

Interested in Mah Jong? A group is forming that will gather at Snow on Tuesday afternoons to play simplified Mah Jong.

Instruction will be provided.  No experience necessary!

Please contact Snow branch manager Martha Hutzel, 540-507-7565, mhutzel@crrl.org if you are interested.

Gale/Cengage Learning, the publisher of the following databases, is offering library visitors free access during National Library Week:

Career Transitions — a new electronic resource offering a comprehensive guide to career change

Global Issues in Context — this online resource offers global news and perspectives on issues and events of international importance

GREENR (Global Reference on the Environment, Energy, and Natural Resources) — a new electronic resource offering authoritative reference content on the environment, energy, economic development and natural resources

Grzimek’s Animal Life — an interactive, media-rich online resource, with information on more than 4,000 species

Archives Unbound — a vast new resource of topically-focused, cross-searchable digital collections of historical documents

Check them out and contact us if you would like to see any added to the CRRL database collection.

National Library Week is April 11-17, and this year's honorary chair is author Neil Gaiman, recent winner of the Newbery Medal for The Graveyard Book. Not only is Neil Gaiman a gifted storyteller, he's also a great advocate for America's libraries. He's a frequent blogger (journal.neilgaiman.com) and very active on Twitter (twitter.com/neilhimself). He also has a web site targeting younger readers, www.mousecircus.com. See our catalog for Neil's works like Coraline, Neverwhere, Anansi Boys, and many more.

Check out this great interview at home with Neil Gaiman. Did you know Neil Gaiman's first book was a biography of the 80's band Duran Duran?!

Celebrate with these National Library Week happenings:

Food for Fines - Monday, April 12 - Sunday, April 18:
Help local families in need and get a break on your fines. Find out more.

Celebrate National Library Workers Day - Tuesday, April 13:
Want to make our day? Just tell a library employee how much you love the library!

The Friends of the Central Rappahannock Regional Library present Music on the Library Steps ...

Headquarters Library, Mondays in June, July, & August - 7:00-8:00pm

Bring a lawn chair, a blanket, a picnic supper. In case of rain concerts move into the library theater.

Don't miss our huge semi-annual book sale at Headquarters, coming up Saturday, April 17 - Wednesday, April 21.

An amazing selection of books, cassettes, DVDs, albums, children's titles and so much more! You won’t be disappointed! Come early for best selection. Open during regular Library hours.

Preview Party: Friday, April 16, 7-9pm, for Friends of the Library
Join or update your membership at the door - a single membership is only $5, and a family is only $10!

Branch book sales:

Porter:
Friday, April 2 - Wednesday, April 7
Friday, May 7 - Wednesday, May 12

Salem Church:
Friday, April 16 - Thursday, April 22
Friday, May 21- Thursday, May 27

Snow:
Lobby Book Sale: All day, every day!

See our book sales page for more information.

This interview airs beginning March 10.
The Salem Church Branch of the Central Rappahannock Regional Library completed an expansion project in early 2009, that creates wonderful new spaces to serve patrons of all ages. Debby Klein visits Branch Manager Barbara Davison to see the finished project, learn how this was accomplished, and find out what to expect in services and programs.

This interview airs beginning Wednesday, March 3.
Eagle Village is moving toward completion at great speed. Debby Klein meets with Jeff Rountree, CEO of the UMW Foundation, to follow the progress of the project and view an Eagle Landing apartment.

Find out more about CRRL Presents.

Paintings by Edward Russell are on display in the Atrium Gallery through February.

The paintings in this exhibit were rendered in watercolor and gouache. Most of the scenes were found near Fredericksburg. Other locations include Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Montana.

Mr. Russell retired from the US Government in 1983 after serving thirty three years as Director-Curator, US Army Engineer Museum, Fort Belvoir, Virginia.