I don't know about you but I sure have been enjoying these cool spring mornings we've been having this week. Soon, however, the heat will be on and that means one thing: summer! 

As the school year winds down, we here at the Aldine Library are busily preparing for the Summer Reading Program that will commence in June. During the summer, we need volunteers from the community to help us out with the many activities that will be going on. 

Teens, are you at least 15? Do you need volunteer hours for school? Adults, would you like to help out the library? Then step up to the plate and fill out a volunteer application form!

Hey everyone! Join us as we celebrate Asian Pacific Heritage Month by watching a movie that blends soothing music with beautiful imagery of China. The video was filmed in and around the following cities and locations: Beijing, Chengdu, Guiyang, Guilin, Yangshuo, Xingping, Yangai, Nanjing, Huangshan Mountain and Hefei.

We'll gather in the Meeting Room at 4 PM on Thursday, May 10th to watch the film. Refreshments will be served. See you then!

As you know, the color printer has been out of order at the Aldine Library. We apologize for the inconvenience this may have caused you. Rest assured, we are taking action and are ordering the necessary parts to get the color printer up and running again. Thanks for your patience! 

Our teens entered the Storytube contest with a video promoting the book The Missing Girl. Please vote for them. They're in the 14-18 age group. http://www.storytubes.info/drupal/node/59
 

Do you have any superstitious habits? Do you make a mental note to not step on a crack or walk under a ladder?

The Aldine Library's beloved mural is in need of repairs once again. Nearly a year ago, the Museum of Cultural Arts, Houston came out to the branch to patch up areas of the mural that needed attention. A few weeks ago, we noticed that pieces of tile had fallen off once more. We are again working with the folks at the Museum of Cultural Arts to fix the mural. We'll have it repaired as soon as we can. We hope that by providing additional caulking and taking other measures we will have a more permanent fix to the problem.

Visitors to the Aldine Library may have noticed plywood covering one our windows in the YA section. Our window was shattered by a stray soccer ball in February. A new window has been ordered and we'll have it replaced as soon as possible. Thanks for your patience!

The Aldine Library's Read Across America Day on 3/8/12 featured two door prize drawings. One family of triplets had two lucky winners. The siblings took home a Dr. Seuss backpack and blanket after the celebration.
 

Spring is here. What better way to express the change in seasons than in a poem? 

The poet Dylan Thomas evokes images of the seasons in his Collected Poems:

"Symbols are selected from the years'

Slow rounding of the four seasons' coasts,

In autumn teach three seasons' fires

And four birds' notes."

In addressing spring, Dylan writes "Here in this spring, stars float along the void; I should learn spring by the cuckooing. . ."

Happy Spring to you!

Aldine Library celebrated Read Across America Day at Bilingual Storytime on Thursday, March 8th. The children enjoyed games, crafts, and the Dr. Seuss book "Ten Apples Up on Top." Read Across America Day is an annual events that fosters reading practices and celebrates the birthday of the famous Dr Seuss.