Audio Books at the Library

The library has just added 14 new Louis L'Amour, two Clive Cussler, two Nicholas Sparks and one Dean Koontz audio books to the collection. These audio books on CD were donated by Kathy Harris. The audio book collection has both CDs and tapes, although audio tapes are being phased out slowly. If you have a car trip to make, an exercise routine, just want to shut out the noise, come take a look at the audio book collection at the Arthur Johnson Memorial Library

Raton Science Cafe to Meet August , 2010, at 7:00 p.m., Prospecting in Utah

Have you ever planned a trip using only information on the Internet? Your regular host did this for a Father's Day vacation to visit his daughter in Ogden, Utah; and they planned a side trip to Moab to prospect for uranium. Some 100 lbs. of ore were found. It was worth only $30.00, but the fun was priceless.
Sixty slides will be present in about as many minutes. You will share in the excitement of exploration, discovery, and in learning how the uranium prospecting boom exploded in Moab during the early 1950s. You will also learn about how to prospect, minerals (uranium in particular), geology, teacher workshops, radiation, and the history of Charles Steen and his impact in the region. Did you know that prospectors found a fossilized tree and a fossilized dinosaur, both
made of high-grade uranium ore?

The AJML/Longellow After School Program books available for checkout.

The Arthur Johnson Memorial Library has published two volumes of the "My Story" competition entries from the contest sponsored by the library for the After School Program elementary students. Each student entered an original story with original illustrations for judging. Dennie Gum, assistant librarian, has bound copies of each entry in two volumes that are available for checkout at the library. Congratulations to all the students who participated. You are now published!

Library Advisory Board Meeting

The Library Advisory Board will meet on Wednesday, May 12, 2010, at 5:30 P.M. This meeting is open to the public.

The library will be closed on these scheduled holidays

New Year's Day Friday, January 1st
Martin Luther King Day Monday, January 18th,
President's Day Monday, February 15th
Good Friday Friday, April 2nd
Memorial Day Monday, May 31
Independence Day Monday, July 5th
Labor Day Monday, September 6th
Veteran's Day Thursday, November 11th
Thanksgiving Thursday, November 25th
Day after Thanksgiving Friday, November 26th
Christmas Friday, December 24th
Christmas Saturday, December 25th
New Year's Day Friday, December 31st
New Year's Day Saturday, January 1st, 2011

"Defending Our World" - from asteroids and comets.

Do you watch disaster movies? If so, you have probably seen "Armaggedon", starring Bruce Willis. In a last ditch effort to save us all from a planet killing collision with an asteroid, NASA sends two space shuttles loaded with drilling equipment and an atomic bomb to see if they can destroy the asteroid. Guess what. That is not as far fetched as you might think.
The January/February 2010 issue of "Planetary Report" focuses on collisions between Earth and asteroids, both past and future. According to the articles, it's only a matter of time before another asteroid hits the planet, and this time it wouldn't be just the dinosaurs that vanish. In 2036 "we now face the potential for another detected collision. In 2029, asteroid Apophis (270 meters in diameter) will pass withing 40,000 kilometers (24,800 miles) of Earth. . .In 2036, Apophis will make another close approach, and this time it could hit our planet (the current probability of impact is 1 in 250,000)."
Those odds make it more likely that this particular asteroid will hit Earth than that any one of us will win the big one in the lottery. And of course there are many more NEO (near earth objects) than have been spotted.
So are there any plans for either destroying or deflecting this or any other asteroid? And whose responsibility is it to see that a known threat is deflected? This issue of "Planetary Report" is available at the library for checkout. Come and find out what those who study these matters have on their minds.

Raton Science Cafe

The Raton Science Cafe will meet May 13, 2010, at 7:00 P.M. in the meeting room of the Arthur Johnson Memorial Library. One of the following DVD videos will be shown:

• The FBI Files (Discovery Channel)
  

• The Universe (History Channel)

• Dreams of Flight (Smithsonian Air/Space Museum)

• IMAX Space Station (Lockheed-Martin & NASA)

Regular attendees have also received a CD-ROM, a summary and review of Dr. Michael Kaku's 1995 book about String Theory. Attendees can have a brief roundtable discussion of his book if there are questions. This book, "Hyperspace - A Scientific Odyssey Through Parallel Universes, Time Warps, and the 10th Dimension", is available for checkout at the library.

Used books for sale!

The Friends of the Library host "The Corner", inside the front door of the library. Here you will find used books for sale. Paperbacks are a quarter, hardback books vary in price from 25 cents to $1.50. Come stock up on reading so you are never without a good book!

Pop Bottle People!

Come see the Pop Bottle People Biographies done by Mrs. Pafford's 5th grade class. They are on display in the juvenile section of the library, inside the front door. This year's class did a wonderful job of researching and portraying historical figures.

Memorial Book Program

The Arthur Johnson Memorial Library sponsors the Memorial Book Program. This program has been in effect for decades and has added many wonderful materials to the collection in memory of many loved ones. Individuals may give any amount of money in memory of someone. The materials selected can be chosen by the family members, the library, or the person donating the book. Occasionally materials themselves are donated, if first approved by the librarian. (This avoids donations of materials already held by the library.) The book or material may be paid for at the time of the request, or paid for when the book or material is purchased by the library and in the collection. At the time of the request or donation, the library sends a card to the family member specified by the donor, informing them that a book has been donated in memory of their loved one. This type of donation lasts for years and benefits the many patrons who use the library.