November thoughts

November is here! It’s a month for Thanksgiving. November 11 was a day to thank our Veterans. Later this month, we celebrate Thanksgiving Day. We’ll close early (3 p.m.) on Wednesday, November 24, and reopen on Monday, November 29. Be sure to come in earlier that week and stock up on books to read over the holiday weekend!

In library land, it’s Picture Book Month. According to the American Library Association, Picture Book Month is an international literacy initiative that celebrates the print picture book in an increasingly digital age. We have many picture books in our Children’s Area!

Families with preschool children are invited to register for virtual Story Hour and pick up Fall craft kits they can use while watching our each video. Thanks to a generous gift from the Elks, we are also distributing KiwiCo fun STEM learning kits to children age 3-7.

On the public health front, November is also Alzheimer’s Disease Month and Diabetes Month. Do you need information about either of those diseases? Our library has books about coping with them, including cookbooks for people with diabetes. We can also refer you to other reliable resources about life with Diabetes or with Alzheimer’s.

Appropriately, our November “Speaking of Books” discussion book begins with a diagnosis of diabetes. It’s the memoir “My Beloved World” by Sonia Sotomayor, who has Type 1 diabetes. She does NOT write about being selected as the first Hispanic woman on the US Supreme Court, or her legal opinions. In fact, the memoir ends at the point in her life when she first became a judge. She tells the story of her life up to that point, growing up in New York City, her relationships with family and friends, the death of her father. We’ll discuss it on November 17 at 6:30 p.m.

Of course, November is well into football season. To celebrate, we have two new books featuring figures from Steelers past. First there’s Polamalu: The Story of Troy Polamalu, by Jim Wexell. Steelers fans: check out this biography of the Hall of Fame strong safety who spent his whole career playing for Pittsburgh. We also have Heart and Steel by Bill Cowher, the former Steelers head coach.

I do want to point out a new mystery series: Laurel Highlands Mysteries by Liz Milliron. When I learned that someone was writing a mystery series set in the Laurel Highlands, I couldn’t resist adding them to our collection. So far, there are four titles: Root of All Evil, Heaven Has No Rage, Broken Trust, and Harm Not the Earth.

In this month for Thanksgiving, we are especially thankful for all the wonderful people who use our library. We thank our supporters — those who donate funds or time and effort to help keep our library going.

We are thankful that we can continue to serve the residents of southern Somerset County as your Information Place!

The Library Lady