New Non-Fiction Hitting the Shelves

Here is a selection of new non-fiction titles that have recently hit our shelves:

The Homemade Kitchen: Recipes for Cooking With Pleasure by Alana Chernila. Beautifully photographed cookbook that encompasses from scratch pantry items to dinner dishes.


Infectious Madness: The Surprising Science of How We "Catch" Mental Illness by Harriet A. Washington. Examines the connection between our bodies' affect on our brain and mental health.

My Old Dog: Rescued Pets with Remarkable Second Acts by Laura T.
Coffey. First off, how can you resist this book cover? You can't. And the inside is just as sweet. If you love animals, not just dogs, you'll enjoy this quick read.

Near and Distant Neighbors: A New History of Soviet Intelligence by Jonathan Haslam. "A uniquely comprehensive and rich account of the Soviet intelligence services," according to the book jacket. For the Russian history or spy enthusiasts among us.

Works Well with Others: An Outsider's Guide to Shaking Hands, Shutting Up, Handling Jerks, and Other Crucial Skills in Business That No One Ever Teaches You by Ross McCammon. Who couldn't use help with deciphering others?

Write Back Soon!: Adventures in Letter Writing by Karen Benke. This book celebrates hand-written letters with trivia, ways to help you begin anew with this lost art, tips and more.

Zahav: A World of Israeli Cooking by Michael Solomonov and Steven Cook. Packed with photos (including some how-to photos) this cookbook would help you expand your ethnic dish repertoire.

Stress Less

The library has the ability to create a space that is comfortable and safe and provides great resources to help connect people and ideas within the community. Enhancing the Fox River Valley Public Library District's community is one of the library's most important functions.How does our library do this? I have come to the conclusion, after my few short years as a professional librarian, this quest comes from within. The love and self-care we do each day contribute to how we take care the people around us. Especially, in today’s world we focus on flat screens, books, and other devices that only stimulate a portion of our brains and bodies in this vast wide world. We tend to forget to take care of ourselves by enticing our senses, meditating, stretching and moving our bodies, and relish in not only the joy but experience the ways in which we learn. 

What are ways you do self-care or self-nurturing on a daily/weekly/monthly/yearly basis?

Would your self-care improve if you were involved in a group to come up with ideas, share tips, and create an environment where self-care is something that is valued and emphasized?

Here are some things to do on a daily basis:

Meditate

Journal

Yoga

Walking

Bath

Read

Cup of Tea

Express yourself

Color

Vision Boards

For more self-care tips here is a website with more information:

http://www.elephantjournal.com/2014/09/radical-self-care-101/ 

Fox River Valley Public Library District is hosting a few free classes coming up in December, January, February focusing on self-care. Please register online or by phone. Space is limited. 

Celebrate Family History Month @ Your Library with Try-It! Illinois

Via Twisted Twigs on Gnarled Branches

October is Family History Month, don’t ya know, and starting your genealogy journey has never been easier thanks to Try-It! Illinois. The Illinois State Library, in collaboration with multiple e-resource providers, launched Try-It! Illinois in 2001 to give Illinois residents the opportunity to explore an extensive list of resources that aren’t always available to them otherwise. This year, the trial will run from October 1, 2015 through November 30, 2015. The trial includes a variety of genealogy and family history research tools including MyHeritage Library Edition and FOLD3 Library Edition. For more information on how to access the trial, stop by the Information Desk. Heck, you can even give us a call at (847) 428-3661.

In addition to resources already offered to Library patrons free of charge, access to these additional databases can make a world of difference for genealogists. For example, FOLD3 is a subscription-based service that provides users with access to US military records, including the stories, photos, and personal documents of men and women who served. During the trial, these military records are available to view free of charge. 

Getting Started on Your Family Tree

The easiest way to start researching your family history is by writing down what you already know on a pedigree chart. Start with yourself and work backwards. Fill in your parents, your grandparents, your great-grandparents and so on. Use a pencil so you can erase. When you are finished, it will be easy to tell which ancestors are missing. Record birthplaces and birth dates too as you will need these to locate records.

Brothers, sisters, parents, and other family members are valuable research tools. They might have new information to add to your chart, or at least be able to confirm what you’ve gathered so far. Again, keep in mind the importance of gathering dates and locations as you will need these in your future research. You will want to fill in a family group chart to keep track of who was married to whom and how many children they had. Family group charts and other useful forms, like the pedigree chart I mentioned above, can be found on Ancestry.

When you're ready to begin searching for vital and census records online, Ancestry is the best place to start. You can access Ancestry for free from the Library. Happy researching!

Via Twisted Twigs on Gnarled Branches