Vegetarians and Vampires

For those who have been following the tremendously popular Twilight series, the notion of "Vegetarian Vampires" will not be new.

This month, as part of Monster Month and in preparation for the release of the Twilight movie in November, the Indiana Blood Center will be holding a blood drive at the Rensselaer Library on Saturday, Oct. 25 from noon-4 p.m.

If you are able to donate, and meet the eligibility requirements for donating, we would love to see you there. (Ask any Twilighter, Carlisle Would Approve.) Donors can ask for a special Twilight-themed button to mark their donation.

Coincidentally, the month of October is also Vegetarian Awareness Month, and the USDA is partnering with the Centers for Disease Control to promote vegetable-rich diets as an option for controlling obesity and heart disease.

Stop by your library today and check out our many vegetarian and vegan cookbooks. Learn a new recipe your whole family will fall in love with.

Green community

Being environmentally friendly isn't just the right thing to do, but it can also save your business money.

That was the message last night at the Rensselaer Library. As part of the Going Green Initiative that continues at the library next month, students from Mike Feagans' Marketing 2 class at RCHS talked about the Footprint Program hosted by the Greater Rensselaer Chamber of Commerce.

The students will be talking to the Rensselaer Rotary next week and visiting area businesses soon to talk more about this program, which recognizes businesses for going green and gives simple steps to become a business with a smaller environmental footprint.

Most of the changes are simple for businesses to make, said chamber representative Tracy Mark.

"Some businesses can't turn off all their computers at night, because they may be on a network, but just turning off the monitors and printers can make a difference."

Using rechargeable batteries, energy saver light bulbs and filtered water rather than bottled water are some of the basic steps. Another step Feagans encourages his students to adopt is to buy a reusable coffee mug instead of using paper or plastic cups.

"One of these you can use over and over again forever," said Cody Lintner, one of the students who spoke about the program.

Feagans said 16 businesses have already joined the program, pledging to make a commitment to become a greener business.

For more about the Footprint program, contact the Chamber of Commerce at (219) 866-8223.

Also be sure to check out the last installment of the Going Green Initiative on October 28: “Recycling 101…the Basics.”

Safe Routes to School

Back-to-school time may not mean bicycle time for many families in the modern age, but any time is a good time to think about bicycle safety.

The State of Indiana has provided an online Bicycle Safety Activity Kit (English) / (Spanish) for parents and kids to explore and go over the rules of the road.

The kit is part of the state's Safe Routes To School program, part of a national effort to get more kids active before and after school.

A video, "Why Safe Routes Matters," explains the reasons behind this effort, including better alertness in school, stemming the national obesity epidemic, and reducing pollution and traffic caused by parents rushing their children to schools each morning.

It is interesting to see how even in our own communities, we can be thinking about better opportunities for our children to play healthy and safe.

About an Author - Danielle Steel

One of the interesting things about working surrounded by popular reading material is to watch what goes off the shelf and what flies off them.

Romance author Danielle Steel, who just released her 75th novel, is a perennial favorite among readers around the world.

Sometimes, with all the other options and distractions out there, you wonder what could make readers so loyal to a writer, a series and a literary formula.

In this engaging interview from CNN, Steel talks about "Rogue," her latest book, which has come out not just to expected fan approval but to mild critical buzz.

It is an unexpectedly telling look at an author who has carved a firm place in the world of modern reading.

JCPL around the world

Time is running out on our 2008 Summer Photo contest. The rules are simple, take a photo of you using a JCPL item anywhere in the world this summer and you are entered in a drawing for prizes.

We have some great entries, but would love to see more. Prizes will be given out for photo taken farthest away and for most creative photo.

Show us what you can do!

Check out our contest rules.

Check out our flickr page

See where the entries came in from on our contest Google Map.

Zombies in Jasper County

We couldn't help commenting on the movie being filmed this week at the Ritz Cinema in Rensselaer. The cinema website has a little bit of information about it, and some Rensselaer Library employees (who went over on their lunch to be extras) may be part of a scene, but the best part has been watching the zombies milling around aimlessly on our otherwise sunny and calm streets.

We can't wait to see the finished project when it comes out!

Butterflies at the Library

In honor of this year's summer reading theme, "Catch the Reading Bug," our branches became involved with butterfly gardens over the summer. A particular joy for the Rensselaer branch was the seven caterpillars we received from a local parsley patch and nurtured in July until they emerged today as Black Swallowtail butterflies.

We're very excited about our new and hungry babies, as with all the insects we have been able to watch and share their tender days with.


We invite you to stop in and check them out before they are gone, out to finish their days in the summer sun!