This Saturday, July 11th at 1 p.m. the East Branch will screen the next installment of its monthly film series featuring a selection from the library’s online Criterion Collection Films database.  Enjoy AC and popcorn while viewing the film in the Community Room.

July's film is Breathless.  Director Jean-Luc Godard burst onto the film scene in 1960 with this jazzy, free form, and sexy homage to the American film genres that inspired him and helped to launch the French New Wave.

If you can't make it, put a copy of Breathless on hold for free with your MPL library card. 

**The Criterion Collection (streaming) is no longer available to our patrons. updated 2/1/17

We hope to see you there!

For more information on The Criterion Collection Films database click here.

"Live Aid at JFK Stadium, Philadelphia, PA" by Squelle via Wikimedia Commons

Do you remember Live Aid? On this day in 1985, dozens of the world's most popular musical artists performed in the largest benefit concert in history. Organized by rock singer Bob Geldof, who the previous year had organized the all-star benefit record "Do They Know It's Christmas?" the concert was performed on two stages on two continents - JFK Stadium in Philadelphia and Wembley Stadium in London - and broadcast all over the world. The concert was a reaction to the devastating strife and starvation occurring in Africa, particularly Ethiopia, and brought worldwide attention to the issue.

The performers that day were a mix of then-popular acts and legends. Bands and singers like Madonna, Duran Duran, Run-DMC, Dire Straits, U2, Billy Ocean, Bryan Adams, Sting, and Phil Collins (who played on both stages that same day!) played the top MTV hits. Superstars such as Elton John, Mick Jagger, Bob Dylan, Paul McCartney and the Beach Boys also turned in memorable performances. Reunions of the Who, Led Zeppelin, and Black Sabbath (with Ozzy Osbourne) were very exciting to see. The most famous performance of all, however, came from Queen. Freddie Mercury was in full command that day. It's a bracing performance to watch.

If you want to see Queen's performance, among many others, the Milwaukee County Public Library System has Live Aid DVDs available for borrowing. There is also a book on the event available for viewing in the Art, Music and Recreation Department at Central Library. If you sat in front of your TV that day taking in all of these performances, these materials will bring back fond memories.

Gavin Schmitt’s book The Milwaukee Mafia: Mobsters in the Heartland tells the story of Milwaukee’s chapter in the “American Mob Story” giving us much mystery and intrigue. The book covers the late 1800’s into the early decades of the 20th Century.  “The Milwaukee Mafia” not only delves into the Sicilian Mafiosi of the 3rd Ward and beyond but also how young Milwaukee treated her immigrant populations, her fledgling urban development, the American Dream, law enforcement and politics.  

The Mafia is known for their secrecy as well as their brutality and law enforcement definitely had its work cut out for it as it took on the monumental task of trying to pry open the mouths of tight-lipped citizens who not only denied knowledge of any/all criminal activity but that there even was a Mafia in existence, period.  The police got the runaround from almost everyone they spoke to, from the early vice days of counterfeiting to bootlegging to murder.  In order to stay alive or keep out of jail, mobsters and civilians alike kept quiet.  It’s no wonder so many crimes and murders went unsolved, the police force must have been beyond frustrated!  The Mafiosi had connections all over the Midwest so they were able to go into hiding if it was getting “too hot” to stay in Milwaukee.  Many of them were extradited back to Wisconsin to face charges, but usually beat the rap. 

Unfortunately, many of these great histories are being forgotten or relegated to pure myth, but thankfully, due in major part to Gavin Schmitt’s book, they are being revived and retold!  If you are looking to find out about Milwaukee’s darker side, read The Milwaukee Mafia: Mobsters in the Heartland; you won’t be disappointed!

Visit us at Central Library’s Krug Rare Books Room on Monday, July 13th at 6:30pm. Author Gavin Schmitt will be there to discuss his work and the book.  Click here for more information!  

Beth W @ Central

Come to Central Library tonight for a workshop presented by the American Civil Liberties Union of Wisconsin! Learn how to preserve your personal privacy while interacting in the online world of Social Media, games, and web forums. This program is absolutely free and requires no registration. Hope to see you there!

It’s the MPL Express at Silver Spring, and it has been in service for a little under a year now: a great shining silver box stocked full of books (and now DVDs!) ready for check out. It’s fully automated; you just need your library card and knowledge of your PIN code to check out the materials. While we think the machine is pretty intuitive, you can stop by this summer on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays between either from 11 am and 1 pm or 2 pm and 4 pm, and we’ll have staff on hand to show you how to utilize this great resource.

As a kid I received books as gifts and inside would be the date, and maybe a note about the occasion for the gift – and I LOVE opening these books up now and reminiscing about the person who gave me the book, and the book itself.  A quick perusal of my parents’ shelves led me to books that they had been gifted years ago; all with a story of their own.  So when I started The Book of Speculation by Erika Swyler I was captivated, because it’s about a librarian who is sent a mysterious old book, inscribed with his grandmother’s name. Also, there are circus performers and ‘coincidental’ drownings.

Simon Watson lives alone and has little interaction with family. His parents have passed…his mother by drowning. So, when he receives a package from an antiquarian bookseller and looks inside, he’s intrigued. It appears that a number of women in his family have drowned, all on July 24, going back to the early nineteenth century.

As Simon investigates this pattern, he finds they were all involved with the circus, and chapters alternate between his search and the story from the shows log. The log details the love affair of "Wild Boy" Amos and the mermaid Evangeline. Is there a curse on his family? Or is it just coincidence?

Suggested for readers who enjoyed The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern or Katharine Howe’s The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane. 

From Vito Guardalabene’s arrival from Italy until the days of controlling the Teamsters union and paying off public officials, Milwaukee was a city of Bullets, Blood and Beer. Gavin Schmitt’s The Milwaukee Mafia relies on previously unseen police reports, FBI investigative notes, coroner’s records, newspaper articles, family lore and more to bring to light an era of Milwaukee’s history that has been largely undocumented and shrouded in myth. This is not only a story of organized crime. It is also about immigration, the American Dream, urban planning, law enforcement, and politics, and how all these elements come together to form a solid narrative.

Gavin Schmitt has researched Wisconsin’s darker history for decades and has been published in a variety of magazines including Informer and HorrorHound. Mr. Schmitt lives in Neenah, Wisconsin.

Books will be available for sale by Boswell Books the night of the event.

Date: Monday, July 13, 2015

Time: 6:30 p.m.

Location: Central Library - Richard E. & Lucile Krug Rare Books Room, 814 W. Wisconsin Ave., 2nd floor

Story Time: This week at story time we will be featuring books about reptiles! And afterwards a fun, reptile craft. Story time is held weekly at 10:30 on Thursdays, for ages 2-5.

Weekly Entertainment Program:  Do you like snakes? What about other reptiles? Come to the Bay View Library and experience the beauty and wonder of the reptile world. See and feel for yourself that reptiles (including snakes) are not the evil, slimy creatures many think they are. All the animals are tame and have been ambassadors for at least two years. As part of our summer reading program, we have special presentations at 2:00 p.m. on Tuesdays, for ages 5-12.

"One-Two-Three-O'Clock, Four-O'Clock Rock..."

With those simple words, a music genre was born. On July 9, 1955, the song "Rock Around The Clock" as recorded by Bill Haley and His Comets became the first Rock and Roll song to hit the top of the Billboard music charts. It was a nice belated birthday present for Haley, who had just turned 30 and had been a working musician for over a decade at that point. He would have turned 90 today.

While Haley certainly didn't invent Rock and Roll, the ascendancy of this song is often marked as the beginning of the Rock and Roll Era. Teenagers turned away from the crooners and swooners who dominated the charts up to this point and embraced the "beat", the intoxicating rhythmic pulse of this seemingly new style. The world would never be the same.

Summer is a great time for rock and roll, whether "old-time" or modern. Come on in to MPL and find some great CDs to play, or check out Freegal for some free MP3 downloads and streaming. Hail, Hail Rock and Roll!

Most visitors to the library are of the human variety, but last Tuesday we welcomed some furry, feathered, and scaled friends when Ms. Kim stopped by with her amazing animals. Children and grownups alike had a great time learning about and getting close to this menagerie of unique creatures.

Two weeks ago, we hosted a different sort of “petting zoo,” when Saehee Chang brought a collection of beautiful Korean drums to the library. Ms. Chang encouraged young participants to be their wonderfully musical selves as they used their hands and special sticks to make some noise on these traditional instruments.

There’s more fun next Tuesday at 2:00 p.m. with Book Jacket Bingo. Come test your Super Reader skills while playing this bingo game based on contemporary children’s literature.

Make sure to check out our summer calendar of children's events and join us Tuesday afternoons throughout the summer for more free weekly entertainment for children and families at the East Branch Library.

Jul 7       Book Jacket Bingo
Jul 14     The Figureheads
Jul 21     Mind, Body and Soul Line Dancing
Jul 28     Café Goofe presented by Kidsplay
Aug 4     Illusionist Ardan James

The renovation continues to make progress and walls are now going up. We will be opening the newly renovated library later this year.

Don't forget you can still visit us at our temporary location in the Copper Kitchen banquet hall across the street to request and check out materials, sign up or get prizes for summer reading (for children, teens and adults) and use laptops. 

Milwaukee Public Library is hosting a series of workshops presented by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Wisconsin. On Tuesday evening, July 7th representatives from the Wisconsin ACLU will present "School Privacy Rights". What rights do students or parents have rights in school? This workshop explores issues surrounding student privacy, metal detectors, law enforcement, locker and backpack searches, phone searches, bullying and accountability. No registration is required, and both students and parents are welcome.

WHERE: Community Room, Bay View Library, 2566 S. Kinnickinnic Ave.
WHEN: Tuesday, July 7th from 5:30pm to 7:00pm

She was one of Time magazine’s 100 Most Influential People this year and was profiled in May on 60 Minutes and said she dreamed of becoming ABT’s principal dancer one day. That day has come. 

She published a children's picture book, Firebird, in which she encourages a young ballet student, with brown skin like her own, by telling her that she, too, had to learn basic steps and how to be graceful when she was starting out. And that some day, with practice and dedication, the little girl will become a firebird, too. Includes author's note about dancers who led her to find her voice.

Her autobiography, Life in Motion: An Unlikely Ballerina, documents her emotionally dynamic effort to become the third African-American soloist in the history of the American Ballet Theatre, describing the harsh family difficulties she overcame including her mother's highly publicized custody battle to halt her career.

Image by Flickr User J. Mark Bertrand

Has the wait list for Grey got you feeling blue? Are you bummed by your normal beach reading fare? Or maybe you’re just wildly jealous of all the Super Readers and their summer reading fun? The solution is simple: The Milwaukee Public Library Book Bingo for Adults!

That’s right,  in case you were not already aware, we’re actually letting the adults in on the summer reading fun this year. While you won’t be able to read your way to a free personal pizza like in the good old days,  you will be able to read your way towards entries in a drawing for other fabulous prizes. Of course, the drawing is just the icing on the cake, because the real reward of summer reading is the joy you get from reading. And in the case of the Summer Reading Bingo Cards (available at your local library branch), you’ll be encouraged to possibly branch out from your normal bedside books. If  you’re having trouble filling in a spot of one of the more unique spots on your bingo card, definitely check out the book lists on the Book Bingo page, there’s lots of suggestions for books with blue or red covers, one word titles, or numbers in the title.

So what are you waiting for? Stop by a library, get your Book Bingo Card, and read your way through the summer and get extra rewarded for doing so.

To view this gorgeous and rare item, please call the Art, Music and Recreation Department at 414-286-3071 and arrange a visit. 

Alice is represented as a girl jumping rope, though sometimes she is difficult to find in each of the scenes. The prints show dream-like landscapes with vivid colors evoking a disoriented state of being related to Alice’s adventure. 

Down the Rabbit Hole

The Queen’s Croquet Ground

All Milwaukee Public Libraries will be closed for Independence Day Friday, July 3rd through Sunday, July 5th. We'll resume normal hours Monday, July 6th. We hope you enjoy a safe holiday.

Titling your work The Smartest Book in the World opens yourself up for all sorts of pithy reviews and putdowns, yet Greg Proops (of Whose Line Is It Anyway? fame) did not shy away from such a grandiose move. The title comes from the author's venerable podcast, The Smartest Man in the World, where Proops waxes poetic on whatever topics catch his fancy that week, as well as answering questions from the audience. This same formula follows into this book, and while it perhaps loses a little in the transliteration, still manages to be wholly entertaining.

The Smartest Book in the World is a blunderbuss of facts and banter on a variety of topics, slickly written with Proops’ singular, esoteric style. Dashiell Hammett mixed smooth with Allen Ginsberg, seasoned with a liberal dash of acerbic wit, there is not another writer like Proops. What he has assembled is as electric as it is eclectic, jumping from his essential albums of punk to baseball to Julius Caesar then back to baseball again (and again). There is enough history to lend itself weight, enough opinion to make it interesting, and enough panache to make it not only readable, but a delight. Whether he is waxing on about Satchel Paige or taking the time give you the best cocktail recipes for his favorite vodka-flavored vodka drinks, he keeps you enraptured.

So whether you want to tell everyone you read The Smartest Book over the summer, wish to know exactly who would be what position on a baseball team of evil dictators, or just need some great movie recommendations, there is a little bit of everything in this book. If it sounds like something you'd enjoy, you shall. Check it out from your local library today.

It seems fitting that the end of Pride Month brings with it that a massive historical event for LGBTQ Americans. The U.S. Supreme Court's 5-4 decision in the landmark case of Obergefell vs. Hodges has effectively ended the limitation of marriage to opposite-sex couples in all 50 states. Now, same-sex couples across the land may apply for marriage licenses and receive the legal protections married couples have always had. June 26, 2015 will be a day long celebrated by gay rights activists and supporters as the culmination of many years of struggle and work.

So how did we get here? In the U.S., the question has been a large part of the political conversation for over thirty years. If you are interested in tracing the history of this issue, MPL has plenty of resources to offer. Writer Andrew Sullivan spent a large part of his public career advocating for SSM and is often credited as a major force in the movement. Other writers such as Dan Savage, Jonathan Rauch, Evan Wolfson and Maggie Gallagher (from the opposition side) have also spent considerable time discussing this topic. These authors and more can be found at your local MPL library or can be transferred to a library of your choice. No matter the issue, MPL offers a robust, balanced collection of books and other materials for you to keep yourself informed on the issues of the day.

Story Time:  This week start your  Fourth of July celebration early with Olivia the pig and other great book characters.  Join us for stories and songs and stay for a special Fourth of July craft. Story time takes place every Thursday at 10:30 am.  Ages 2 to 5.

Weekly Entertainment Program:  This Tuesday join us for Heroes of Science presented by Mad Science. Heroes don't always come in capes and boots- sometimes they wear lab coats.  Celebrate the many heroes of science and uncover the amazing things they discovered as their experiments are recreated right before your eyes!  Weekly Entertainment Programs take place every Tuesday at 2:00 pm at the Bay View Library. Ages 4 to 12. http://www.mpl.org/content/pdfs/kids_calendar_summer.pdf

http://milwaukee.madscience.org/

New Audiobooks!

June is Audiobook Month, and if you haven’t yet enjoyed one, we’ve got a couple reasons why you should give one a try.

Audiobooks are great for enjoying books while multitasking. An audiobook is the perfect companion to mundane tasks and an excellent way to fit reading into a busy schedule.  What better way to pass the time then with your favorite author?

Beyond a great story, audiobooks add an additional dimension of enjoyment through the dynamic reading by the narrator.

Audio book narration is a specialized skill. Different from other types of narration, the actor must voice all the characters, giving each a distinctive sound and attitude. He or she must keep each character separate and consistent so the listener can easily distinguish one from the next.

Dark Places by Gillian Flynn, read in part by Rebecca Lowman.  Finders Keepers by Stephen King, read by Will Patton.

A great narrator, much like a prolific author, can also help expand your reading into genres you normally would not read.  MPL Librarian Beth will listen to any book narrated by Rebecca Lowman, Will Patton, or Wil Wheaton (yes, Wesley Crusher), regardless of whether it is Young Adult, Romance, Non-Fiction, or Horror.  Beth's first ever audio book, Wil Wheaton reading Ready Player One by Ernest Cline, made her an audio book convert for life.

As You Wish, by Cary Elwes.  Ready Player One by Ernest Cline, read by Wil Wheaton.

Another great starting point for the audiophile newbie is the celebrity memoir, especially when that memoir is read by the author.  Hearing someone's story in their own words and voice is an unforgettable experience.  Recent favorites of Beth and Mia are Amy Poehler's Yes, Please and As You Wish : Inconceivable Tales from the Making of the Princess Bride, written and read by Cary Elwes.

If you don't have a favorite narrator yet, the library has thousands of audiobooks ready for you try. There are many ways to experience a narrated book: CD, MP3-CD, cassette, e-audiobook, or portable audiobook device. Discover one at your Milwaukee Public Library through CountyCat or OverDrive. 

Want to know more about how to access OverDrive on your device?  Visit the East Branch Library each Wednesday at 6pm for BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) to get started.

Let's get listening, and happy Audiobook Month!

Cheers!

Mia (Central Library) & Beth (East Branch)