Beauregard Parish Library is closed today, October 9, 2017, as the staff participates in customer service training. No items are due on closed days, and no fines accrue. If you do need to return something to the library, we have drops at all our locations.

All branches of the library will return to regular service hours tomorrow, October 10, 2017.

If you are one of those people who loves to cook and especially to try new recipes, the library is the place for you! We have all sorts of cookbooks, and we are always adding more. This week we received yet another fun cookbook to give aspiring cooks new and exciting recipes to try.

Check out: Half Baked Harvest Cookbook: Recipes From My Barn in the Mountains by Tieghan Gerard. The author grew up as one of seven children and says she started cooking at age 15 because her father took too long to make dinner. She soon realized how much she loved to cook and create her own takes on everyday dishes. She now writes a blog where millions of readers have fallen in love with her delicious dishes, stunning photography, and descriptions of life in the mountains.

This book contains many of her best recipes, each accompanied by a beautiful color photo of the dish. It is divided into sections including: Breakfast, Appetizers & Snacks, Pasta & Grains, Poultry & Pork, Seafood, Beef & Lamb, (Mostly) Meatless Meals, and Desserts.

This book can be found in the 641 section of our non-fiction books with all of the other cookbooks. Check it out and enjoy some happy eating.

All branches of the Beauregard Parish Library will be closed Monday, October 9, 2017 so the staff can participate in training to serve you better. While the library is closed, no items will be due, and no fines accrue.

Beauregard Parish Library will return to regular hours of operation on Tuesday, October 10, 2017.

Banned and Challenged Books Week is an American Library Association sponsored event to educate the public on books that have previously been banned or challenged in libraries, schools, and other countries. This year, it was held during the week of September 24-30, 2017. This year's Banned Books Week program was the Author’s Chair where students wrote essays expressing their opinion about whether books should be banned or not. Students who wanted to share their essay’s were able to from the author’s chair. We want to share our winner’s essay with you. Although our essay winner wished to remain anonymous, she granted permission to publish her work.

Books that Should or Should Not Be Banned

I think these books shouldn’t be banned like Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? That shouldn’t be banned because it is a children’s book and that the animals have to talk so kids can enjoy it and like it. For Winnie–the–Pooh’s ABC that should not be banned because it could teach kids their ABC’s and they will enjoy it. Harry Potter, I like watching the movies so I don’t know why it’s banned because the powers are cool.

Their are some books that are banned like for fighting and language. For kids they might not know it has bad language and they might tell their parents. That’s how books could get banned. Sometimes I read books and think some books shouldn’t be banned because I like certain books with drama but not bad drama.

We thank all students who participated in the Author’s Chair program during Banned and Challenged Books Week. The Beauregard Parish Library’s policy is that we do not ban books, we provide materials and allow our patrons the freedom to choose whether they read it or not. Enjoy reading!

In this third installment about requesting material from the library, we turn to the "Request an Item" button on the left side of the library's website.

This button leads to a form that lets you ask for just about anything you can dream of, even if you don't know exactly what it is. You can ask for a specific book, a magazine or just an article out of a magazine, or general information on a topic, whether its because something you're interested in, or if it's for a school project such as a science fair or research paper.

The value of this form is that it harnesses the power of the librarians and their research skills, as well as allowing for such things as the library purchasing copies of materials if enough people are interested in it, or the library getting copies via the InterLibrary Loan program. This means many more things are available than the library itself can hold.

And that is the last of the three ways you can request books online here on the library website. Enjoy using them to get what you need!

Need a suggestion for something sinister to read or watch from the library this weekend? Maybe you'd like to check out an eye-widening ebook or fiendish audiobook? Try some of our Spooktacular Staff Picks during the month of October to find what some of the other ghouls are enjoying.

We know that not every staff pick will appeal to every patron, but not to worry! If you need help selecting something, we have online tools like Book Browse and our Online Catalog, or you can ask one of our friendly staff members to help search for you.

The Skeleton Key [DVD]

Not everything is as it seems on the bayou. That is what Caroline finds out when she goes to work caring for Ben, an elderly man who has, according to his wife, suffered a stroke. Given a skeleton key of the large house they inhabit, Caroline discovers a room filled with the markings of hoodoo. Violet, Ben's seemingly distant wife, claims the items must've been left by previous occupants, but Caroline is not convinced. Watch "The Skeleton Key" to join her as she embarks on a treacherous journey of discovery that could be her own undoing.

If The Skeleton Key interests you, feel free to request or check it out. We'll be back next Thursday with a different spooktacular Staff Pick.

As we get closer to holidays that involve food and decorating, keep in mind that we have Zinio digital magazines that are available 24/7. Log in through the website or download the free app, and then checkout as many issues as you want. The following magazines are great places to start:

On October 3, 1990, after spending 45 years as a divided nation, Germany was reunited. This historic event is detailed in many of Beauregard Parish Library's resources, and here are three that yhou might find interesting.

The following video from Access Video on Demand tells a little about the momentous event:

For information on Germany as it is now, we suggest our online resource Global Road Warrior with its profiles of the world's different nations.

If your curiosity about Germany extends to the language, Beauregard Parish Library has excellent resources to help you speak with ease. You can use Mango Languages or Pronunciator for free 24/7 with your library card.

Halloween is Coming!

Time to start collecting your free Halloween songs. Freegal, the free music website paid for by your Beauregard Parish Library has many Halloween songs to choose from. Use your 5 free downloads for silly or scary songs. Make a playlist with your 3 free daily hours of commercial-free music streaming for your party. Or play scary sound effects for your trick-or-treaters. Freegal has old and new songs alike and you are sure to find music suitable for your audience.

From Halloween by Manheim Steamroller we have instrumental symthesizer music:

Or the rock inspired “Hall of the Mountain King”

Fans of best selling author Jan Karon have been eagerly awaiting the latest in her popular Mitford Series. We are happy to announce that To Be Where You Are arrived this week.

If you are not familiar with this long-running series, it began in 1994 with At Home in Mitford, which introduced readers to Father Tim and the residents of the fictional town of Mitford, North Carolina. We have followed these lovable characters through all sorts of troubles and triumphs, and their lives continue in this fourteenth volume.

Father Tim has finally come to terms with the fact that he is retired and does not need to have a full-time job to keep him busy. But just as he realizes this, he is given just that. Meanwhile, one of the beloved town characters has died, but which one? And Father Tim’s adopted son Dooley, now married and becoming a father to his own adopted son, faces a crisis that will devastate his bank account and impact his new vet practice. But the terrible wound in Dooley’s biological family may finally begin to heal following a miraculous game that breaks all the rules.

Readers should note that this series is best read in order, so you might want to consider catching up by checking out the others before reading this one. The library has these books available in print and ebook. A few are also available as audiobooks.

This week, we'd like to tell you about the second way of requesting things from the library.

The library uses the Overdrive service to provide our patrons with ebooks, downloadable audiobooks, and videos. It can easily be accessed from either the Topical Resources List (under Ebooks & Audiobooks), or from the Alphabetical Resource List. All you need is a Beauregard Parish Library card in good standing to check something out.

Once you've logged in, if the work you're looking for is not available, you can click the hold button, and when it becomes available, you will receive an e-mail to let you know. You can even recommend books that the Overdrive program will consider adding to its collection.

Next week, we discuss the method of making a request that is the most useful when you don't actually know exactly what it is you want!

Need a suggestion for something to read or watch from the library this weekend? Maybe you'd like to check out an ebook or audiobook? Try some of our Staff Picks, to find what some of the other people in our parish are enjoying.

We know that not every staff pick will appeal to every patron, but not to worry! If you need help selecting something, we have online tools like Book Browse and our Online Catalog, or you can ask one of our friendly staff members to help search for you.

When Calls the Heart [DVD]

My staff pick is the television series, When Calls the Heart. One of the main characters is Elizabeth Thatcher, a teacher in the rugged mining town of Hope Valley, in Canada. The town is aptly named because they seem to never lose hope regardless of the numerous obstacles they face and overcome. It is a very inspiring, family-friendly story. Since my degrees are in education, I enjoy positive movies and television episodes about teachers and school – regardless of their era.

If When Calls the Heart interests you, feel free to request or check it out. We'll be back next Thursday with a different Staff Pick.

We might have interruptions Friday evening

Our Internet provider has informed us of maintaince scheduled for Friday (Sep 29) evening. They do not believe it will have any impact beyond occasional slowdowns but if you can't get to our web or mail, just try later. If it isn't working again by Saturday morning we will open a trouble ticket and get it sorted out.

There is still time to sign up for the Libries Southwest Author Dinner! This year's program will be held on October 17, 2017 at Treasures of Marylin's. Louisiana State Librarian Rebecca Hamilton will receive the Lynda Carlberg Award for special individuals who have made contributions to libraries, and the guest author speaker is Curt Iles, a Beauregard Parish native who has published 11 books about rural Louisiana.

The deadline for registration is October 1, 2017, and the cost per person is $30.

Click Here for LSW Author Dinner Registration Form