Thank You for a Great StoryWalk®

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The Aurora Public Library District would like to thank the following community partners for helping to host our first StoryWalk®!

The Dillsboro StoryWalk® was hosted by Dillsboro Community Park and the Town Manager, Susan Greco, graciously promoted it during their summer Munch-a-Lunch program.

The Aurora StoryWalk® included signs here at the Aurora Public Library, as well as the following parks and businesses:

The 1819 Boutique 
The Aurora Diner
Big Indian Woodworking
Bottom Line Services
Denmure Law Office
Distinctive Knits
Fusion Salon
Gabbard Riverfront Park
Gambles Furniture
Norwood Custom Glass
Plug’s Sweet Tooth
Second Time Around
Southeastern Indiana Art Guild
St. Elizabeth Heart & Vascular – Aurora
Wellington’s Ice Cream Palace

We would also like to thank Nancy Turner from Main Street Aurora for loaning us enormous scissors for our ribbon cutting events.

Stay tuned for another StoryWalk® opportunity in October 2022!

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Aurora Public Library District Presents: StoryWalk®!

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Please join the Aurora Public Library District in our StoryWalk® event between July 10 and July 24, 2022!  Take a walk at your leisure along Second Street in Aurora or around the Dillsboro Community Park in Dillsboro.  As you walk, you will encounter the pages of a picture book to read and questions to discuss.  Complete the story and scan a QR code with your smartphone or tablet to register for entries in the prize drawings for our Reading Moves You summer reading program.  Registration for summer reading is NOT required to earn prize entries!  Prizes will be drawn during the Summer Reading Sled Dog Finale on July 28, 2022.

The Aurora StoryWalk® will start outside the Aurora Public Library lower-level entrance and feature the book The Little Engine that Could, written by Watty Piper and reimagined by Dan Santat.  The Dillsboro StoryWalk® will begin by the soccer pavilion playground at Dillsboro Community Park and feature the book The Littlest Airplane, written by Brooke Hartman and illustrated by John Joseph.

The Little Engine That Could by Watty Piper, reimagined by Dan Santat      The Littlest Airplane by Brooke Hartman, illustrated by John Joseph

The StoryWalk® Project was created by Anne Ferguson of Montpelier, VT and developed in collaboration with the Kellogg-Hubbard Library.  StoryWalk® is a registered service mark owned by Ms. Ferguson.

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Published in Your Birth Year: 2021-2010

Welcome to a new series, “Published in Your Birth Year”!  We’ll be starting with 2021 and working backward in time, with each book being appropriate to the age of the reader born that year.  For this initial post, we’re covering the years from 2021 back to 2010, and subsequent posts will cover 10 years each.

2021
A Day On the Farm with The Very Hungry Caterpillar
by: Eric Carle

A Day On the Farm with The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle

2020
Wake Up, Let’s Play!
by: Marit Törnqvist

Wake Up, Let's Play! by Marit Törnqvist

2019
Hey Diddle Diddle: Touch and Trace Nursery Rhymes
by: Emily Bannister

Hey Diddle Diddle: Touch and Trace Nursery Rhymes by Emily Bannister

2018
Zoogie Boogie Fever!: An Animal Dance Book
by: Sujean Rim

Zoogie Boogie Fever!: An Animal Dance Book by Sujean Rim

2017
Imagine That!
by: Yasmeen Ismail

Imagine That! by Yasmeen Ismail

2016
A Tiger Tail: (Or What Happened to Anya On Her First Day of School)
by: Mike Boldt

A Tiger Tail: (Or What Happened to Anya On Her First Day of School) by Mike Boldt

2015
Pete the Cat’s Train Trip
by: James Dean

Pete the Cat’s Train Trip by James Dean

2014
Mr. Putter & Tabby Turn the Page
by: Cynthia Rylant

Mr. Putter & Tabby Turn the Page by Cynthia Rylant

2013
The Notebook of Doom: Attack of the Shadow Smashers
by: Troy Cummings

The Notebook of Doom: Attack of the Shadow Smashers by Troy Cummings

2012
Claws
by: Mike Grinti

Claws by Mike Grinti

2011
Peter Nimble and His Fantastic Eyes
by: Jonathan Auxier

Peter Nimble and His Fantastic Eyes by Jonathan Auxier

2010
Touch Blue
by: Cynthia Lord

Touch Blue by Cynthia Lord

You can place any of these books on hold through your online library account or by calling the library at (812) 926-0646 for APL or (812) 954-4151 for DPL.

Feed Your Brain About Feeding Your Body

Each March, the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics hosts National Nutrition Month® as a time to learn about healthy eating.  Throughout March 2022 at both the Aurora Public Library and Dillsboro Public Library, you can find displays of nutrition-related books in the juvenile non-fiction and easy books sections of our collection.  Here are just a few of the books you might find, which you can place on hold through your online library account or by calling the library at (812) 926-0646 for APL or (812) 954-4151 for DPL.

Juvenile Non-Fiction:

Going Vegetarian: A Healthy Guide to Making the Switch by Dana Meachen Rau  Powerful Protein by John Wood Eat Right: Your Guide to Maintaining a Healthy Diet by Allyson Valentine Schrier

Easy Books:

Showdown at the Food Pyramid by Rex Barron Eat Your Peas, Ivy Louise! by Leo Landry Let's Go Nuts!: Seeds We Eat by April Pulley Sayre

Let’s Get Crafty!

In 1994, the organization then known as the Craft & Hobby Association declared March to be National Craft Month.  In 2017, the organization rebranded to the Association for Creative Industries, and just last year they merged with the International Art Materials Association.  Despite the changes, National Craft Month is still going strong as a time for people to get creative with materials such as fabric and yarn…beads and jump rings…paper and paint…clay and glaze…or just plain found objects.

The adult, teen, and juvenile nonfiction areas at the Aurora Public Library District contain books on a variety of crafts from knitting to origami to pottery to rubber band looms, and everything in between.  Throughout March 2022, a selection of craft books is on display in the upper level of the Aurora Public Library.  You can also search our Online Catalog for the craft of your choice and place items on hold, stop in at either the Aurora Public Library or Dillsboro Public Library to browse the nonfiction sections (arts & crafts are in the 700s in the Dewey Decimal System), or request books we do not own through the Interlibrary Loan Form.

Here is a small sample of the craft books you can find at APLD:

Quillwork: the Craft of Paper Filigree by Janet and Alex D'Amato Steampunk Emporium: Creating Fantastical Jewelry, Devices and Oddments from Assorted Cogs, Gears and Other Curios by Jema Hewitt Mason-Dixon Knitting Outside the Lines: Patterns, Stories, Pictures, True Confessions, Tricky Bits, Whole New Worlds, and Familiar Ones, Too by Kay Gardiner & Ann Shayne

 

Loom Magic!: 25 Awesome, Never-Before-Seen Designs for an Amazing Rainbow of Projects by John McCann & Becky Thomas Print Workshop: Hand-Printing Techniques and Truly Original Projects by Christine Schmidt DIY Guide to Tie Dye Style: the Basics & Way Beyond by Liz Welker & Sam Spendlove

 

Rockin' Crafts: Everything You Need to Become a Rock-Painting Craft Star! by Diana Fisher DIY Box Creations: Fun and Creative Projects to Make Out of Really Big Boxes! by Courtney Sanchez Crayola Create It Yourself: 52 Colorful DIY Craft Projects for Kids to Create Throughout the Year

 

Whether you’re learning a new skill or further developing an old one, we would love to see your crafts this month!  You can submit pictures to jamie@eapld.org to be posted to our Facebook page, Aurora Public Library District.

Vital Information About Vital Records

You may have several questions when reading the term “vital records”.  What is a vital record?  Why might I need to see one?  How do I get a copy if I do?

Vital records are documents pertaining to the birth, marriage, divorce, or death of an individual.  Typically, we think of these as government documents maintained at the county and/or state level, but they may also include documents maintained by organizations such as the individual’s church.  For now, let’s focus on the government records.

You may need a copy of a vital record in many situations, such as:

* Using a birth certificate to prove your identity when applying for a driver’s license or passport, enrolling in school, or getting married.

* Using a marriage license to change your marital status for health insurance or taxes, change your name on financial accounts and contracts, or make arrangements for property succession and child custody changes.

* Using a divorce decree to change your name, remove your spouse from joint contracts, or remarry.

* Using a death certificate to access life insurance and pensions, cancel financial accounts, transfer car and house titles, learn about medical conditions that run in your family, or many more reasons.

* Using any of these records to conduct genealogical research.

Government vital records are maintained at the county level, so you will need to know the county in which the birth, marriage, divorce, or death occurred.  Since the Aurora Public Library District is in Dearborn County, let’s use this county as an example.

The first step would be to find the correct office to contact.  Birth and death certificates in Dearborn County are maintained by the Vital Records section of the county’s Health Department.  This is often the source of records in other locations as well, so reaching information on how to request the records is usually as simple as doing a Google search for “Dearborn County Indiana Health Department”.  You can change the county and state names to the location in which you are interested.

In Dearborn County, marriage and divorce records are maintained by the Clerk of Courts, so a great search term would be “Dearborn County Indiana Clerk of Courts”.  In other counties, the sources for any of these records might be different, so you could also try combining the county and state names with some of the following terms: “Vital Records”, “Birth Certificates”, “Death Certificates”, “Marriage Licenses”, or “Divorce Decrees”.

When requesting any document, you will need to know how many copies you want and whether or not they need to be certified.  Certified copies are more expensive.  In some cases, such as proving someone’s death to settle their estate, it is more effective to order certified copies unless you are absolutely certain that the agency requesting proof of death does not require the death certificate to be certified.  There can be large delays if you find that you needed a certified copy and have to wait for more copies to be sent.  Statements from funeral directors across the United States indicate that the average number of death certificates needed is 10, and that a funeral director should be able to provide a checklist of all the possible assets the deceased person may have which will each require their own copy of the death certificate.

In the case of death certificates, there is often both a long form and a short form version, with the long form providing more personal details than the short form.  You will also need to verify whether the company requesting the documentation needs the long form or if the short form is sufficient.  Again in this instance, the long form is more expensive, but advisable if you are unsure which you need.

In order to request your own birth, marriage, or divorce records, you will need to provide proof of your identity.  Requesting any of these or a death certificate for someone other than yourself will also require proof of your relationship to that person, and there may be limits on what relationships are allowed to request the information.

When in doubt, calling to ask questions is a helpful approach, whether it is questions for a company about what type of proof they require, or questions for a government agency about the process of requesting the needed information.

Any of these government records can provide a wealth of information when researching your family’s genealogy, and many more records exist that can either corroborate that information, or provide information in the absence of more official documents.  One of the Aurora Public Library District’s buildings is the Local History Library @ The Depot, located at 510 Second Street in Aurora.  Staff there can provide further information on using records, both vital and otherwise, in genealogy research.  At the time of this writing, the Local History Library is open from 10 am to 6 pm on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and 10 am to 3 pm on the 3rd Saturday of each month.  Current hours can be found on the About page of the APLD website.

We also have both physical books and e-books with instructional materials about genealogical research.  You can find these items and place physical books on hold by searching for “genealogy” in our Online Catalog, or request other items we do not own through the Interlibrary Loan Form.

Discover Cincinnati

Cincinnati is Beautiful Mural

As the nearest major metropolitan area, many of our patrons have grown up thinking of Cincinnati as their second home.  We follow the wins and losses of the Cincinnati Reds and Cincinnati Bengals.  We shop and dine in Cincinnati, enjoy the arts in Cincinnati, and feel a little pride when someone from Cincinnati achieves success.  Yet, how much do we really know about the origins of this city we love like it’s our own?

The land on which Cincinnati now lies once belonged to a group we refer to as the Fort Ancient Culture, descendants of both the Adena Culture and Hopewell Culture.  Spanning from 1,000 to 1,750 CE, Fort Ancient was an egalitarian culture of hunters and farmers, with primary food sources including black bear, elk, white tail deer, beans, squash, and maize.  Their pottery was made with a coiling technique, and the main material used in tools was stone.

Fort Ancient artifacts have been found in a number of sites in what is now the Cincinnati area, including the Clough Creek and Sand Run Archaeological District (along the Little Miami River), the now-closed Turpin Site (less than 2 miles away and further east from the river), and the State Line Archaeological District (surrounding the Ohio/Indiana border by US 50).

Throughout most of the 1700s, the ancestors of the modern Miami and Shawnee Native American tribes lived on land that encompasses Cincinnati’s current borders.  In 1787, Benjamin Stites of New Jersey explored the newly formed Northwest Territory and advised his friend and former member of the Continental Congress, John Cleves Symmes, to purchase land there.  Symmes did his own exploration and was enticed by the land between the Great Miami and Little Miami Rivers.

Symmes returned home and formed a land development company called the Miami Company.  In August of 1788, he and his wealthy associates petitioned Congress to let them purchase the land he had scouted.  About 515 square miles were bought in what has been referred to as both the Symmes Purchase and the Miami Purchase, and the land makes up modern-day Hamilton, Butler, and Warren Counties.

Three settlements promptly arose in the region: Columbia, North Bend, and Losantiville.  As more European settlers filtered into the area, land conflicts arose between the settlers and the native tribes.  In January 1795, negotiations began for a treaty in which both parties ceded control of certain areas, while still allowing the Native Americans to hunt to the south and east of the boundary line and the Europeans to establish trading posts to the north and west.  This Treaty of Greeneville was signed on August 3, 1795 by the Miami and Shawnee tribes of the current Cincinnati area, along with the Chippewa, Delaware, Eel River, Kaskaskia, Kickapoo, Ottawa, Piankashaw, Potawatomi, Wea, and Wyandot tribes.

By the time of the Treaty of Greeneville, the central settlement of Losantiville had been called Cincinnati for five years.  Arthur St. Clair, governor of the Northwest Territory, renamed the settlement on January 4, 1790 after the Society of the Cincinnati, a fraternal, hereditary society celebrating the achievement of American independence.  The society, in turn, was named after Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus, a Roman who lived from about 519-430 BCE and temporarily was appointed as dictator to handle a war emergency.  Cincinnatus became a legendary figure of civic virtue, a dedication to the common welfare even at the expense of individual interests.

January displays at both the Aurora Public Library and Dillsboro Public Library feature photographs from and books about Cincinnati, where you can learn how the city was shaped from these early beginnings through the present day.  Some of the books available include:

The Bicentennial Guide to Greater Cincinnati: a Portrait of Two Hundred Years by Geoffrey J. Giglierano  Cincinnati On the Go: History of Mass Transit by Allen J. Singer  Lost Cincinnati by Jeff Suess

Cincinnati: Steeples, Streets, and Steps by Caroline Williams   Cincinnati Moments: a Celebration of Photographs from the Cincinnati Enquirer by Cliff Radel  Best Hikes Cincinnati: The Greatest Views, Wildlife, and Forest Strolls - Molloy, Johnny

The Big Pig Gig: Celebrating Pigs in the City, Cincinnati, Covington, Newport

You can place these books on hold by logging in to your online library account using your library card barcode and PIN, or by calling the library at (812) 926-0646 for Aurora or (812) 954-4151 for Dillsboro.

Where’s Waldo? and More Hidden Pictures

“Where’s Waldo?”  We’ve been hearing a lot of that question lately.  Waldo is a popular guy, and we often have to answer that he is out visiting with other patrons.

Waldo, our hero in the red-and-white striped shirt and hat, made his debut in September 1987 in the book Where’s Waldo?  Known by a variety of names throughout the world, such as Wally in many other English-speaking countries, Waldo is a creation of British illustrator, Martin Handford.  Over the course of seven primary books and numerous activity books, Waldo has traveled through time and space, visiting pirates and pyramids, film sets and fantasy worlds.

The collection at the Aurora Public Library District contains three Waldo books:

Where's Waldo? by Martin Handford Where's Waldo Now? by Martin Handford Where's Waldo?: The Fantastic Journey by Martin Handford

If you’d like to wait for Waldo to return, you can place any of these books on hold through your online library account, or request other books in the series through the Interlibrary Loan request form.  Both of these options can also be done by speaking with a staff member in person or by phone.

In the meantime, we also have several other series of hidden picture books that may interest you.  There are multiple books in each series at both the Aurora Public Library and the Dillsboro Public Library.  Here is a peek at some of the options:

The Spot It, Learn It! Series:

Loads of Letters!: A Spot-It, Learn-It Challenge by Sarah L. Schuette Tons of Numbers!: A Spot-It, Learn-It Challenge by Sarah L. Schuette

The Look and Find Series:

Look and Find: Disney Moana adapted by Emily Skwish; illustrated by Art Mawhinney Look and Find: Marvel The Amazing Spider-Man by Editors of Phoenix International Publications

The I Spy Series:

I Spy: A Book of Picture Riddles by Walter Wick and Jean Marzollo I Spy: Mystery: A Book of Picture Riddles by Walter Wick and Jean Marzollo

The Can You See What I See? Series:

Can You See What I See?: Picture Puzzles to Search and Solve by Walter Wick Can You See What I See?: Dinosaurs by Walter Wick

The Look-Alikes Series:

Look-Alikes by Joan Steiner Look-Alikes: Christmas by Joan Steiner

The Can-You-Find-It Series:

On the Farm: A Can-You-Find-It Book by Heidi E. Thompson Out in Space: A Can-You-Find-It Book by Karon Dubke

These hidden picture books will be on display in the children’s areas at both the Aurora Public Library and the Dillsboro Public Library throughout December 2021.  There also will be a hidden picture activity to participate in at each location – on the bulletin board in Aurora and on the wall in Dillsboro.  Happy hunting!