The server issue that led to the catalog, account information, and public computers being unavailable yesterday has been resolved. All systems should be functioning normally again.

If you have any questions or issues with your library account due to the unexpected downtime yesterday, please talk to a staff member at your local branch or call our Patron Services Department at 616-784-2007.

We appreciate your patience and apologize for any inconvenience caused by this issue.

All KDL branches have power and are open regular hours today!

It’s party time! Celebrate with Katie L. the elephant as she cuts the ribbon and welcomes you to KDLville, KDL’s new early literacy play space. Families with children ages 6 and under are invited to have fun with crafts, games, balloon animals, face painting, and a dance party. And what’s a party without dessert? Come enjoy a piece of our special KDLville cake!

KDLville is an interactive early literacy learning center where young children and their caregivers can play, grow, and read. The spaces will contain a variety of fun, developmentally appropriate activities that focus on different skills that will help children get ready to read.  Some examples might include a puppet theater, a play grocery store, a train table, pre-writing games, etc.  The activities will be rotated so patrons will get fresh experiences every couple of months. Promotional materials that contain caregiver education on reading readiness will also be provided in the play spaces.

KDLville Ribbon-Cutting Parties will be held:
Tuesday, September 28, 9:30 AM – East Grand Rapids Branch
Wednesday, September 29, 10:00 AM – Walker Branch
Thursday, September 30, 10:30 AM – Wyoming Branch

Come and celebrate with us!

People of all ages are invited to learn the secrets of art and science from the clouds and local Art Prize artist Jenn Gregory. Look Up! will be held at 6:30 PM on Monday, September 27 at the Krause Memorial branch. Come paint, draw, create clouds, and hear how Jenn got the inspiration for her piece “Look Up.” This program is sponsored by the Friends of the Krause Memorial Library.

Jenn Gregory is an artist from Rockford, MI. In August 2009, she began her “year in the clouds.” Every day she watches and paints clouds, which led to the creation of “Look Up.” The viewer enters the piece by walking on eight concrete clouds, each containing either the word “look” or the word “up.” When gazing upward, the viewer will see an 8 foot by 6 foot cloud hanging 12 feet above the ground. Mirrored tiles are attached to the underside of the cloud and will reflect the beauty around the piece.

We hope you can come to this program and be inspired!

The Codes, Secrets, and Adventure: A 39 Clues Party that was scheduled to take place on Thursday, September 23 at the Tyrone Township branch has been postponed. The program will now take place at 6:30 pm on Thursday, November 18.

We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.

KDL is very excited to announce our participation in Feeding Body & Mind at this year’s Novel Experience featuring David Baldacci. Feeding Body & Mind, established by David Baldacci, collects new and used books to distribute to recipients of Feeding America emergency food assistance, thus helping to feed both the body and the mind. Feeding Body & Mind is a project of Feeding America and the Wish You Well Foundation, which supports family literacy.

KDL will accept donations of new or gently used books at our Novel Experience event taking place at 7:30 PM on Tuesday, September 28 at the Forest Hills Fine Arts Center.  The books collected will be distributed by Feeding America West Michigan Food Bank (formerly known as West Michigan Gleaners) through their area food pantries. 

Please consider donating to this valuable cause!

Jane Heiss recently retired as Branch Manager of the Caledonia Township branch of KDL. A Community Open House will be held from 9:30 am to 5:00 pm on Thursday, September 30 at the Caledonia Library. Stop by to wish Jane a fond farewell!

Jane began working for Kent District Library in 1987 as a Library Assistant at the Byron Township branch. She has been the Branch Manager of the Caledonia branch since 1992.

“I have enjoyed working for the library for all these years and look forward to pursuing new activities in the future,” said Jane. She plans to continue supporting the library as a member of the Caledonia Friends of the Library group.

Please join us in thanking Jane for her many years of dedicated service and wishing her well in her retirement!

Have you ever been reading a book and wondered if the author was still alive?  Wouldn’t it be nice if there was a website to check?  Well there is!  The website is called Dead or Alive and it can help answer your question!

If you know the name of the author (or famous person) you are looking for, there is a search box at the top of the page. Additionally, there are links along the left side where you can sort the list by Field, then click on the arrow by Literature.  This will give you a list of the people related to literature with either a skull or a smiley face by their name.  If the person has passed, there will also be a date of death and age at death.  If you click on the name of a person, you can usually find out how they died.

You can also sort the list (on the left side of the screen) by the Cause of Death.   I find this list very interesting, but there are not a lot of details.  For example, I know only one person died in a construction accident but nothing else about the accident.  Some of the listings have links to additional information, usually to Wikipedia.

Hopefully this will help you with your morbid curiosity!

Several Kent District Library branches will present Codes, Secrets, and Adventure: A 39 Clues Party. Children ages six and up are invited to come uncover secrets, solve codes and mysteries, and enjoy activities related to the popular book series 39 Clues.

Schedule:
Thursday, September 30, 3:30 PM – Caledonia Township branch
Tuesday, October 5, 4:00 PM – Spencer Township branch
Monday, October 11, 6:30 PM – Gaines Township branch
Wednesday, October 13, 6:00 PM – Alpine Township branch
Thursday, October 21, 4:00 PM – Comstock Park branch
Saturday, October 23, 1:00 PM – Walker branch 
* Monday, November 1, 6:30 PM – Grandville branch
Saturday, November 6, 10:30 AM – Alto branch
Saturday, November 6, 2:00 PM – Kentwood branch
Monday, November 8, 5:30 PM – Wyoming branch
Tuesday, November 9, 6:30 PM – Krause Memorial branch
* Saturday, November 13, 11:00 AM – Byron Township branch
* Saturday, November 13, 2:00 PM – Plainfield Township branch
Thursday, November 18, 6:30 PM – Tyrone Township branch
Saturday, November 20, 10:30 AM – Sand Lake / Nelson Township branch
* Wednesday, November 24, 2:00 PM – Cascade Township branch

* Registration is required and participation is limited.

Read The 39 Clues books to follow Amy Cahill and her brother Dan as they travel the world to hunt for the Clues. Each of the books reveals important information about the Cahills and unlocks one Clue!

The 10th annual National Book Festival, organized and sponsored by the Library of Congress, will be held from 10:00 am to 5:30 pm on Saturday, September 25, at the National Mall in Washington, D.C. President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama are honorary chairs for the event. The festival, a celebration of the joy of reading for all ages, is free and open to the public.

To learn more about the festival and the featured authors, visit the National Book Festival website. For those of us who can’t make it to Washington, D.C. in person, be sure to check out the Author Audio Podcasts and Video Webcasts to participate in the festival virtually!