The Kingston Public Library is sponsoring a month long exhibit highlighting the city's African-American history. A series of four exhibits will be displayed involving local families, church, school, and civic acticivites. The Library invites everyone to come by and see the exhibit and experience a moment of our history.

Famed anthropologist and forensic scientist, Dr. William Bass will be the featured speaker at the Kingston Community Center on Friday, March 6 at 7 pm. The program is being sponsored by the Kingston Public Library Board.

If you are interested in purchasing an autographed copy of Dr. Bass’s latest fiction release, The Devil’s Bones ($25.00) please call Diana Cash at the Kingston Public Library (865-376-9905) to reserve your copy.  There will be a limited number of copies available. Proceeds from the sale of the books will go toward the library’s building fund.

The program is free to all. We encourage you to arrive early as there are no reserve seats available for this program. For more information about the program you can contract Diana Cash at the Kingston Public Library at 865-376-9905 or email Libraryk@bellsouth.net.

Kingston Public Library will hold a Gingerbread House Contest for:

1. Children aged 5 years thru 17 years and

2. Adults 18 years and over on December 5, 2007.

The houses will be on display beginning December 3, 2007. Cash prizes and/or gift certificates will be awarded. Contest rules and other information may be obtained by calling the Library at 376‐9905. You may pick up an entry form and a copy of the Official Rules at the following locations: Kingston Public Library, Kingston Municipal Building, Kingston Community Center, ORNL Federal Credit Union, or visit us on the Web at www.kpltn.org or the Kingston City Web site at www.kingstontn.org

Download Official Contest Rules and Entry Form Here.

I didn't set out to start a company—I was simply reading my mail. As my friends and I turned 50, we all got the famous "join AARP letter". We all had the same reaction: "Join the organization formerly known as the American Association of Retired People? I'm not old enough." Technically, of course, we were old enough. But retirement simply isn't in the picture yet. So I began talking with my friends and colleagues about what kind of group we would join.

Read more here.

Why does this modern, Internet-driven world need the services of librarians, those folks who wait patiently behind the reference desks in towns all over the country and most of the world? Read more here.

CHICAGO - The Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA), the fastest-growing division of the American Library Association (ALA), invites all teens to get out the vote for Teen Read Week™, October 14–20, 2007. Teens can vote for their favorite books in the annual Teens’ Top Ten poll at www.ala.org/teenstopten or visit www.ala.org/teenread to vote for next year’s Teen Read Week theme.

Read more here.

January 11, 2007 (Evanston, ILL) – Public libraries build a community’s capacity for economic activity and resiliency, says a new study from the Urban Institute.   Making Cities Stronger: Public Library Contributions to Local Economic Development adds to the body of research pointing to a shift in the role of public libraries -- from a passive, recreational reading and research institution to an active economic development agent, addressing such pressing urban issues as literacy, workforce training, small business vitality and community quality of life.  The study was commissioned by the Urban Libraries Council (ULC) and funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation.

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CHICAGO - The Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), a division of the American Library Association (ALA), has launched an ALSC blog at http://www.alsc.ala.org/blog/. The blog provides a venue for coverage and interactive discussion of time sensitive news in children’s librarianship, current issues in the field, programs, conferences, initiatives, resources and activities of interest to ALSC members and those interested in children’s librarianship.

Read more here.