Message to the community from Luren E. Dickinson:

Create your own story” is the National Library Week theme for 2011 with Honorary Chair John Grisham who actually got his start as one of the best selling authors of all times by doing book talks at public libraries, in the region of the South where he lived, and selling books from the trunk of his car. The Shaker Library would like to help you “create your own story” during the month of April as we partner with a variety of community groups to help them perform, tell and paint their stories!

Maybe a little music will inspire you to take that next step in becoming a performer? If so, stop by the Main Library on Sunday, April 3, for our “Latin Jam with Shari Hunter and Friends” from 2 to 3 p.m. You will be celebrating National Jazz Month while enjoying keyboardist George Pearson, bass player Clarence Smith, drummer Robert Booker, xylophonist Lem Adams, and percussionist Anthony Taylor interpret the sounds and rhythms of today’s Latin Jazz.

Perhaps poetry is more your style and you have aspirations to write some verse? Then come celebrate National Poetry Month by attending northeast Ohio’s longest running poetry series, “Poetry Back in the Woods,” at the Bertram Woods Branch on Tuesday, April 5, from 7 to 8:30 p.m. You will have the chance to enjoy poetry read by regional poets Clarissa Jakobsons, Max Stark and Lou Suarez.

Is working with your hands, more your style? If so, you can learn or improve your abilities by attending one of our regular “Knit Night” programs on Thursday, April 7, from 7 to 8:30 at Bertram Woods. Or if you are thinking about a springtime renovation, register for “Planning Your Home Rehab Project” on Tuesday, April 19, from 7 to 8 p.m. as the Shaker Library partners with the City’s Landmark Commission and the Cleveland Restoration Society at the Main Library to help answer your home repair questions.

Would you rather do a little reading? We have all sorts of books to check out, but this month features Friends of the Shaker Library’s Spring Book Sale. Get involved with the Friends by becoming a member, which will allow you to attend the special Friends Preview Night Sale on Thursday, April 14, from 4 to 8 p.m. Members of the general public may begin expanding their personal libraries for prices as low as fifty cents a book from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, April 15 and 16. And books are only $3 a bagful for paperbacks and $5 for hardbacks on Sunday, April 17, from 1 to 3 p.m.

Could politics be your interest? Then you will not want to miss “Not Your Mother’s Politics: An Intergenerational Discussion” on Thursday, April 21, from 7 to 9 p.m. with registration and coffee at 6:30 p.m. at the Main Library. This collaborative program is sponsored by the Library and the League of Women Voters of Shaker Heights and Case Western Reserve University’s Flora Stone Mather Center for Women. The program will be moderated by Ann Klotz, Head of Laurel School, and Dr. Karen Beckwith, Chair of the CWRU Department of Political Science and Flora Stone Mather Professor will begin the discussion. Participants are encouraged to bring women from different generations. <p>

Finally, we will be ending the month by showcasing artwork of Shaker Heights High School students with the opening reception for “Art Exposed II” on Friday, April 29, from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Main Library. You just might be inspired to “paint your own story” at the library!

Luren E. Dickinson, Director
dickinson@shakerlibrary.org