Movie Monday, July 12, to feature Dear John

Sparks fly between a soldier home on leave and a conservative college woman in Dear John, the Asheboro Public Library’s Movie Monday for Adults, 2 p.m. July 12.

Channing Tatum play the soldier, who reenlists after the September 11 attacks instead of returning home to his new girlfriend, played by Amanda Seyfried. Time and distance begin to take a toll on the young lovers.

The romantic drama is based on the novel by Nicholas Sparks.

The movie is free and the public is invited; refreshments will be served. Find out more here, or call 318-6801.

Grant to help library promote literacy for English language learners

The Randolph County Public Library will expand services for low-literacy English language learners with a $5,000 grant from the American Library Association funded by the Dollar General Literacy Foundation.

The library was one of 70 in the nation and seven in North Carolina to receive an American Dream Starts @ your library grant. The funding will support an initiative focusing on Spanish speaking adults who have a low literacy level in their native language, and seek to help them learn English while increasing literacy in both languages.

The effort, called Lenguaje y Lectura @ your library, gets underway this summer. The aim is to provide a sustained, hands-on, verbal and visual learning experience for participants.

Participants will practice English using the ESL/Spanish module of the library’s Mango Languages online resource, and in doing so build computer literacy skills along with language and reading skills.

In addition to online learning, participants will join with volunteers and each other in conversation and learning games, and will be provided workbooks and picture dictionaries to keep.

Activities for children also will be provided so that families can participate without worrying about child care, and some activities will include the whole family. One emphasis of the program will be assisting parents to help their children succeed in school.

Community partners assisting with advice, volunteers and material selection include the Latino Coalition of Randolph County, Asheboro Parents as Teachers, Franklinville-Ramseur Parents as Teachers, Randolph Community College Basic Skills/ESL, Asheboro City Schools ELL Department and the Randolph County Schools ESL Parent Advocate.

For further information about the program, or to join or volunteer, contact Veronica Gutierrez, vgutierrez@randolphlibrary.org or 318-6843.

“Set Sail” with Amazing Teacher Steve Somers at Randleman library

Ahoy, mates! “Set Sail” for high seas adventure with Captain Steve Somers and his friends as they take kids on an amazing voyage in search of good character at 10:30 a.m. Thursday, July 1, at the Randleman Public Library.

The adventure is free, and all children and their parents are invited.

Somers, a.k.a. Amazing Teacher, will help kids discover the importance of making wise choices while learning about values such as trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, caring and citizenship. Participants enjoy magic tricks, drama, puppets, stories, and music while connecting with good character traits.

By the end of the programs, kids discover one "real" benefit to positive character development:friendship.

Based in High Point, Somers’ Amazing Teacher project creates and delivers educationally significant assembly and library programs that motivate children to read.

His appearance at the Randleman library is part of “Make a Splash: Read!”, the Randolph County Public Library’s Summer Reading Program. For more information, call the library at 498-3141.

The library also will show the movie Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs at 4 p.m. the same day. The movie is free and the public is invited.

Find about more about Somers at here.

July newsletter

Posted! Summer Reading schedule for July and information about upcoming community reading of Three Cups of Tea.

It's "Lego Mania!" for teens, tweens at Asheboro library

“Lego Mania!” returns to the Asheboro Public Library at 3 p.m. Wednesday, June 30, as teens and tweens ages 10-18 are invited to compete in a Lego building contest.

The competition is free and the Legos will be provided. Prizes will be awarded in multiple categories, such as tallest and most creative, and for younger and older age groups.

Refreshments also will be provided. Registration is required; call 318-6803 or visit the library to sign up.

The event is part of the library’s Teen Summer Reading Program “Make Waves at your library,” and is supported by the Friends of the Library.

For all the Summer Reading program events, go here.

Asheboro library’s Family Movie Friday features princess, frog

A modern twist on The Princess and the Frog highlights Family Movie Friday, 7 p.m. June 25, at the Asheboro Public Library.

Set in New Orleans’ French Quarter, Disney’s hand-drawn animated version of the classic tale involves a beautiful girl named Tina who finds a frog prince desperately wanting to be human again, and with a fateful kiss, leads them on a hilarious adventure through the mystical bayous of Louisiana.

The movie is free and the public is invited. Refreshments will be served.

Family Movie Fridays are part of “Make A Splash: Read!”, The Randolph County Public Library’s Summer Reading Program. Go here for the full schedule of summer movies, and here for all the Summer Reading Program events.

Things get complicated on Asheboro library’s Movie Monday

A romantic triangle is at the heart of the star-studded It’s Complicated, the Asheboro Public Library’s Movie Monday for Adults, 2 p.m. June 28.

The comedy stars Meryl Streep as a woman who rekindles her relationship with her now-remarried ex-husband (Alec Baldwin), becoming the “other woman.” When another man (Steve Martin) also falls for her, things get very complicated indeed.

The movie is free and the public is invited; refreshments will be served. Find our more here, or call 318-6801.

Asheboro library to host Wii Wednesdays for teens, tweens

Tweens and teens ages 10 to 18 are invited to play Wii games and compete against their peers for a fun afternoon of video gaming on Wii Wednesday, 3 p.m. June 23 at the Asheboro Public Library.

The free gaming event is first in a series of Wii Wednesdays, also scheduled for July 21 and August 4.

Games will include: Wii Sports, Wii Resort Sports, Band Hero and Super Mario Brothers. Board games will also be available.

Registration is required; please visit the Asheboro Reference Desk to sign-up or call 318-6803. The Wii, games and other equipment are provided by the Friends of the Library.

Libraries screen feature films as summer gets underway

Four libraries will screen movies as “Make A Splash: Read!”, the Randolph County Public Library Summer Reading Program, gets underway.

The movies are free and the public is invited; refreshments are served.

The Archdale Public Library will show Flipper, the classic tale of a boy who befriends a dolphin, at 1:30 p.m. Thursday, June 10.

It’s raining food as the Asheboro Public Library’s Family Movie Friday features Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, 7 p.m. June 11.

Sherlock Holmes investigates during the Asheboro library’s Teen Movie Monday at 2 p.m. June 14. Robert Downey Jr. plays the famous sleuth and Jude Law his sidekick, Dr. Watson.

Free Willy: Escape to Pirate’s Cove comes to two libraries, with showings at Seagrove at 7 p.m. Tuesday, June 15, and Randleman at 4 p.m. Thursday, June 17.

Go here for the full schedule of summer movies, and here for all the Summer Reading Program events.

Blackbeard the Pirate to kick off library Summer Reading Program, “Make a Splash: Read!”

Avast! Heave to as Blackbeard the Pirate – a.k.a. performer Ben Cherry – kicks off “Make a Splash: Read!”, the Randolph County Public Library’s Summer Reading Program, with visits to all seven libraries during the week of June 14.

The performances are free and the public is invited.

Veteran actor Cherry gives a well researched, spellbinding rendition of the infamous pirate’s life featuring costumes and authentic props. His able First Mate Dee Gee shares information about famous female pirates.

They have brought Blackbeard to life for over 400 schools, museums and youth groups and have become mainstays at nautical festivals such as Seafair in Seattle, Harborfest in Norfolk and Pirate Week in Grand Cayman.

Blackbeard will appear at the libraries as follows:

Asheboro: 7 p.m. Tuesday, June 15.
Archdale: 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, June 16.
Franklinville: 2 p.m. Thursday, June 17.
Liberty: 11 a.m. Tuesday, June 15.
Ramseur: 10:30 a.m. Thursday, June 17 (at the Ramseur Municipal Building).
Randleman: 2 p.m. Wednesday, June 16.
Seagrove: 1 p.m. Tuesday, June 15.

Blackbeard’s appearances are the first of some 130 summer events at the libraries including storytimes, performances, movies, hands-on activities and more. All are designed to inspire kids to keep reading over the summer.

There are programs and opportunities for teens and adults, too. For complete Summer Reading schedules and details, go here or visit any of the libraries.

For more information, call 318-6804.

The Summer Reading Program is made possible by the Friends of the Library and by a North Carolina Arts Council Grassroots Arts Grant via the Randolph Arts Guild.

Library invites children, teens and adults to “Make A Splash: Read!” this summer

The seven branches of the Randolph County Public Library will offer almost 130 storytimes, performances, movies, hands-on projects and other special events June 14 through August 7 for children, teens and adults as part of “Make a Splash: Read!”, the 2010 Summer Reading Program.

And all for free.

Originally intended to keep children reading while out of school (studies show that kids who read over the summer do better in school the next year), the Summer Reading Program has expanded to include teens, who can “Makes Waves at Your Library,” and adults, who are invited to “Water Your Mind.” Children who sign up to participate at any library will receive reading rewards based on the number of books, hours or pages they read.

“Make a Splash” kicks off during the week of June 14 with appearances at each library by Blackbeard the Pirate, a.k.a. performer Ben Cherry. In July, magical storyteller Mark Daniel, a crowd-pleaser every year, returns.

The summer culminates with a pool party on July 30.

Each library will host one or more weekly programs. The Asheboro library will hold four weekly storytimes – for school age children, families, toddlers and all ages – along with Wednesday morning and afternoon programs for school age children, and a film time for children on Tuesdays.

The Archdale, Asheboro, Randleman and Seagrove libraries will screen popular movies for families, and the Archdale and Asheboro libraries also will show movies for teens.

Special visitors will include Ronald McDonald at Asheboro, Asheboro, Liberty, Randleman and Seagrove; martial artists at Asheboro, Randleman and Seagrove; mad scientist Dr. K Boom at Archdale, Asheboro Copperheads at Liberty and storytellers everywhere.

Other programs will include Deep River Pipes and Drums at Archdale, “Ocean Adventures” at Ramseur, “Discover the Mystery of the Coral Reef” in Randleman, and “Dive into a Story” in Liberty. Also on tap: hands-on activities such as outdoor safe cooking, “stained glass” and “octopus” crafts, and water conservation sessions.

While kids are making a splash, teens can make waves at the Asheboro library during Wii Wednesdays, Lego Mania, Bottle Cap Art and Teen Movie Mondays. At the Archdale library, they can take babysitting and self defense courses, learn jewelry craft, and register to be eligible in drawings for two Walmart gift certificates.

Randleman teens can enter checkout receipts showing books they have read into two drawings for Books-A-Million gift certificates.

Adults can enter drawings of their own in Randleman. In Asheboro, they can turn in a form for each book they read or audiobook to which they listen, and stand a chance in drawings for prizes, and also submit brief reviews that might make it into the library’s newspaper column.

The library also offers three reading and discussion groups that will continue to meet over the summer: Asheboro Reads (afternoon), the Luna Book Club (evening), and the Liberty Book Club.

For complete Summer Reading schedules and details, go here, or visit any of the libraries. For more information, call 318-6804.

The Summer Reading Program is made possible by the Friends of the Library and by a North Carolina Arts Council Grassroots Arts Grant via the Randolph Arts Guild.