Library offers ‘Family History During the Holidays’ genealogy class

ASHEBORO – Get tips for collecting genealogical information in “Family History during the Holidays,” 7 p.m. Thursday, November 14 at the Asheboro Public Library and repeated at 1:30 p.m. Thursday, November 21, at the Asheboro Senior Center.

The class, taught by Kendra Lyons of the library’s Randolph Room, will focus on recording family stories, interviewing relatives, family history gifts and decorations.

It’s free and the public is invited.

The library is located at 201 Worth Street. The Asheboro Senior Center is located at 347 W. Salisbury St.

For further information, call 336-318-6815.

Food writer Sheri Castle to explore Southern cooking and culture in Asheboro library talk

Sheri Castle
(photo: Sharon Brody)

ASHEBORO – Blending storytelling, humor and culinary expertise, award-winning food writer Sheri Castle will share stories about Southern cuisine and its cultural impact at 7 p.m. Wednesday, November 13, at the Asheboro Public Library.

              

Her appearance is sponsored by the Friends of the Library. It’s free and the public is invited.

Castle, author of The New Southern Garden Cookbook among more than a dozen other cookbooks, will tell stories and reflect on the roles that food traditions play in Southern families, lives, history and culture.

A contributing editor for Southern Living magazine who writes regularly for a number of magazines and newspapers, Castle is the subject of five short documentaries on Southern food produced by A Spoken Dish, a storytelling project of the Southern Foodways Alliance. She also is a popular speaker and demo chef at culinary events across the South and is asked to cook on television from time to time.

Her cooking classes garner a loyal following. One journalist observed, “Sheri Castle is one of the most brilliant recipe developers I know, a terrific writer, and her cooking classes are equal parts crucial info and laugh-until-you-drop trenchant observation.” Her colleagues say she has one of the best palates in the industry.

A native of Watauga County, Castle now lives in Fearington Village. She says she is fueled by her beloved Appalachian Mountains, farmers’ markets, excellent bourbon, and the pursuit of the right word.

Friends of the Library Cake-Off

Anyone who wants to get in on the culinary action can bake a cake and enter the first ever Friends of the Library Cake-Off.

Cakes will be juried by three local bakers at the Sheri Castle event, and cash prizes will be awarded. Criteria will include taste, appearance and ease of preparation.

To enter, pick up an entry form at the Asheboro library or visit www.randolphlibrary.org/cakeoff.

The library is located at 201 Worth Street. For further information, call 336-318-6803.

Classical guitarist Jeff Bianchi to return to Asheboro library

Jeff Bianchi

ASHEBORO – Performing musical works spanning from Europe to South America, classical guitarist Jeff Bianchi will appear at the Asheboro Public Library at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, November 5.

Bianchi’s concert, sponsored by the Friends of the Library, is free and the public is invited.

Bianchi’s repertoire will include music from 18th century Germany and pieces from 20th century Argentina.

Born in Williamston, New York, Bianchi began performing at weddings and cafes while still in his teens. The attention he received playing concerts throughout western New York led to appearances in prestigious guitar festivals.

From 2005-2007, he toured with country acts Young Guns and Chace Roberts. He began solo classical tours in 2009, and has performed throughout the southeast, Texas and the mountain west.

He has performed at the Asheboro library twice previously.

He lives in Lanier Harbor near Buford, Ga., where his time is solely devoted to his music.

The library is located at 201 Worth Street. For further information, call 336-318-6803.

Randolph library launches mobile app

ASHEBORO – Users of the Randolph County Public Library can now search the library catalog, place holds, download ebooks and more on their phones and tablets with the library’s new mobile app.

The app is available for both Apple and Android devices – just search for “Randolph library” in your app store.

“A library’s job is not just to have books and other material available for the public, but to enable people to find that material quickly and easily,” says Library Director Ross Holt. “With more and more people relying on their phones and tablets or iPads, the mobile app meets them where they are and gives them immediate access to the library.”

In addition to typical uses like searching for books or DVDs and placing holds, and downloading electronic materials, the app also links to new arrivals, library hours and locations, and online resources.

The app also makes it quick and easy for users to check their library accounts to see when borrowed items are due, renew items and manage items on hold.

Users also can scan their library cards, or key in their library card number or REAL2 student IDs, and the app will generate a barcode that can be used to check out material at the library.

“Another neat feature is the capability to scan any book’s ISBN barcode, so if you’re at a bookstore and see a title you’re interested in, you can scan the code and the app will automatically tell you if the book is available at the library,” Holt says.

The app also includes a “book river” at the top that provides immediate links to best sellers and other top titles. It also enables users to communicate with the library to ask a question, suggest a purchase or reserve meeting space.

The app includes the collections of all seven libraries in the Randolph County Public Library system – Archdale, Asheboro, Franklinville, Liberty, Ramseur, Randleman and Seagrove.

For more information or assistance using the app, contact the library at 336-318-6803 or visit your local library.

Asheboro library begins in-house lending of laptop computers

ASHEBORO – Users of the Asheboro Public Library’s public computers now can take their work anywhere in the building and go online with free WIFI as the library begins lending laptops for in-house use.

Anyone with a library card in good standing or a student ID through the REAL2 program, and who is eligible under the library’s Internet use policy, can check out one of 10 laptops for the day, or for a set period of time if all the computers are in use and there’s a waiting list.

“In-house checkout of laptops will enable people to customize their library experience,” says Library Director Ross Holt.

Need a space to spread out documents while you’re online? Check out a laptop and take it to a study table.

Need a quiet place to study or write? Nestle at a café table by the window.

Need to do some work while watching your kids in the Children’s Room? Take along a computer.

Need to work in a small group? Take computers to a diner booth or a conference room.

Ordinarily use your phone or tablet with the library’s WIFI but have work that requires more intensive computer use? Borrow a laptop.

“The library offers all types of spaces for people to use. Now we’re enhancing the ways that people can use those spaces,” Holt says.

The laptops provide everything the library’s desktop computers offer, including Internet access, productivity programs like Word, Excel and Powerpoint, and even wireless printing.

If laptop lending at the Asheboro library proves a success, Holt says, it can be expanded to the six other branches of the Randolph County Public Library.

It’s also a test run for potential checkout of laptops to take home, Holt says. The library already loans mobile WIFI hotspots for use outside the library.

Laptops are available to anyone 16 and older who has agreed to the library’s Internet use policy, and those age 11-15 whose parents have authorized their use of the Internet at the library.

The Asheboro library is located at 201 Worth Street. For further information, call 336-318-6801.

Tickets available for library Friends studio tour with master potter Ben Owen III

Ben Owen III

ASHEBORO – Tickets are available now for a Friends of the Library “Studio Sip and Stroll” with renowned master potter Ben Owen III, 1-2:30 p.m. Wednesday, October 23.

The tour, open to 25 participants, is free but tickets are required. Tickets are available at the Asheboro Public Library Circulation Desk; there is a limit of two per person.

Owen will demonstrate some of the techniques he uses in creating pottery masterpieces that are in high demand all over the world. Following the demonstration, participants can stroll the retail gallery.

A light Southern tea will be served.

Owen’s studio is located at 105 Ben’s Place in Seagrove. Travel to the studio is on your own.

The Asheboro library is located at 201 Worth Street. For further information, call 336-318-6801.

Cooking class collaboration between Randolph library, Cooperative Extension, wins state award

Meghan Carter and Jeannie Leonard

ASHEBORO – A series of hands-on cooking classes sponsored by the Randolph County Public Library and Randolph County Cooperative Extension has won a statewide award.

The classes — five in the fall of 2016 and four in the fall of 2017 —  received the Community Partnership Award from the North Carolina Association of Family and Consumer Sciences.

Incorporating concepts from the Eat Smart, Move More, Weigh Less program, the classes covered such topics as canning, crockpot meals, stir-fry, soup, holiday appetizers, freezer meals, grilling, yeast bread making, and cooking with herbs. The library’s Head of Reference Meghan Carter organized the series with Family and Consumer Services Agent Jeannie Leonard, who taught them.

Sponsored by the library’s Margaret C. Taylor Culinary Arts Collection, the classes were offered at no cost to attendees.

Russia expert to explore Soviet WWII contribution in Asheboro library talk.

ASHEBORO – The Soviet Union’s contribution in World War II, and its influence on war crimes trials that followed, will be the topic of a talk by Dr. Thomas Earl Porter of  N.C. A & T University, 6:30 p.m. Monday, October 21, at the Asheboro Public Library.

    

The talk is free and the public is invited.

Porter, professor of Russian and Modern European History, and author of several books and more than 50 articles, will discuss the fate of Soviet POWs in Nazi Germany, as well as the legal groundwork and evidence collection undertaken by the Soviets for the Nuremberg war crimes trials. He also will touch on Soviet efforts to minimize the assault on Russian Jewry by the Germans, and share some little-known aspects of the ensuing cold war between the US and the USSR

The library is located at 201 Worth Street. For further information, call  336-318-6803