New Feature Films Coming Soon

Want to put holds on the latest movies before they arrive? Click the titles for the link to the catalog. 

1.  Alvin and the Chipmunks Chipwrecked

2.  The Artist

3.  Contraband

4.  The Descendants

5.  The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

6.  Mission Impossible Ghost Protocol

7.  War Horse

8.  We Bought a Zoo 

Magazine Exchange

What happens to old magazines? They end up in the Magazine Exchange!  It is the perfect place to find vintage and specialty magazines, pictures for projects, something new to read, or a place to recycle magazines from home. The Exchange will be held February 25, 2012 from 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. at the Emily Fowler Central Library, 502 Oakland Street.  We may call it an “exchange” but you do not have to bring magazines to take some home.  Magazines left over after the event will be recycled as part of the effort to keep Denton green.

For more information please call Laura Douglas at (940) 349-8752, or e-mail Laura.Douglas@cityofdenton.com

 

For other news items on the City of Denton, visit our website at www.cityofdenton.com, go to Quick Information and click on Press Releases.

In The Weeds 2/20/12: Sam’s Own Jockey

     Welcome to “In The Weeds”, a new feature for the DPL blog where we’ll look at local history through our awesome archival assemblage here in the Special Collections Department at the Emily Fowler Library. What does “in the weeds” mean? For our purposes, my definition would be: “deeply distracted by details” or “overwhelmed with oddities”. To be in the weeds when you love History with a capitol “H” as I do, is not something to be feared. So, without further adooo…

 

 

A while back I mentioned that Denton County’s outlaw history will be mined for years to come. Well, time has come and I’m about to do some mining…   

 Last week we received an inquiry in the Special Collections Department here at the Emily Fowler Library for an image of the famous “Denton Mare”, Jenny, from a man who said his grandfather rode the horse for notorious Denton County outlaw Sam Bass. Unfortunately, no picture exists as far as we know, having consulted also with local historian Alec Williams whose family goes back to Denton’s earliest days.

 

What was the Denton Mare, you ask? Apparently, Sam Bass raced horses before he went into the outlaw business and the Mare was eventually sold. The man’s grandfather was one “John A. Hudson” and, although we could not find that picture of the Mare, we did find the following documents:

 

Death Certificate

 

 

 

Hudson Obit, 1936 DRC

You can read much more about The Denton Mare and Bass here , here and here. There is also a fictionalized account of Bass’ life entitled The Denton Mare. You will see in your research how involved he was in the lives of Sheriff Egan’s family (yes, the same at the Denton street) and other law enforcement officials in Denton and surrounding counties before he “went bad”.

 

     In my Bass research, I also discovered that he was immortalized in song:

A local performance can be seen here by a member of Denton band TrebucheT and a more traditional performance by the great Alan Lomax.

Missing Downton Abbey? We can help.

Although some claim that watching an episode of Downton Abbey counts as reading a book, some still enjoy the written word. And we are all set to help you through your Downton Abbey withdraws since series two has ended in the States.

The world of Downton Abbey 

A companion book to the popular British series about the aristocratic Crawley family and their servants offers insights into the story and characters and background information on British society in the early years of the twentieth century.

Parade’s End 

Fall of Giants

Follows the fates of five interrelated families–American, German, Russian, English, and Welsh–as they move through the dramas of the First World War, the Russian Revolution, and the struggle for women’s suffrage.

A Bitter Truth

A battlefield nurse during World War I, Bess Crawford, returning to London for a well-earned Christmas leave, finds her holiday fraught with mystery and murder when she agrees to help a bruised and battered woman return to her small village in Sussex.

The House at Riverton : a novel 

More by Julian Fellows

Past Imperfect

Wishing to track down a past girlfriend who claims he had fathered her child, the rich and dying Damian Baxter contacts an old friend from his days at Cambridge. The search takes the narrator back to 1960s London, where everything is changing–just not always quite as expected.

Snobs; a Novel

Gosford Park 

Drama set at the country estate of Sir William McCordle in 1932, showing the lives of upstairs guests and downstairs servants at a hunting party weekend when one of the group is murdered.

Sources:

Books on the Nightstand

Pinal County Reads

 

Dr. Seuss Birthday Party!

Join us at the North Branch Library to celebrate the birthday of beloved children’s author Dr. Seuss!  Watch the Guyer High School Speech Team perform The Wonderful World of Dr. Seuss.  Stay after the performance to play games, make Dr. Seuss-themed crafts, and eat delicious birthday cake.  The festivities start at 4 pm on Tuesday, February 28 at the North Branch Library, located at 3020 N. Locust.  This program is intended for children ages 6-10 and their families.

For more information, contact Dana Tucker, Public Services Librarian at 940.349.8715 or at dana.tucker@cityofdenton.com.

 

 

For other news items on the City of Denton, visit our website at www.cityofdenton.com, go to Quick Information and click on Press Releases.

 

Preschool Play and Read

Join us for a come-and-go program that offers children age-appropriate games, activities and crafts that assist in developing pre-reading skills.   Help your child’s early literacy skills while having fun as a family on Saturday, February 25 from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. at the North Branch Library, 3020 N. Locust St.  This program is for children ages 3-5 and their caregivers.

 

For more information, contact Dana Tucker, Public Services Librarian at 940.349.8715 or at dana.tucker@cityofdenton.com, or visit www.dentonlibrary.com.

 

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For other news items on the City of Denton, visit our Web site at www.cityofdenton.com, go to Quick Links and click on Press Releases.

Denton Public Library Closures

Hours at the Denton Public Library will be shortened during the week of February 19 as the library makes technology upgrades to improve customer service. The schedule changes are as follows.

 

On Thursday, February 23, the South Branch Library, located at 3228 Teasley Lane, will be closed. The Emily Fowler Central Library, located at 502 Oakland, and the North Branch Library, will remain open.

 

On Friday, February 24, all Denton Public Library Locations will be closed. Normal hours will resume on Saturday, February 25.

 

During the closures, library staff will begin implementing a major technology upgrade involving RFID (radio frequency identification.) By utilizing this technology, the library will be able to make returned items available to customers much faster. Books will literally be checked in the moment they are placed in a book drop. In addition, the technology will allow library staff to more efficiently monitor and manage library materials.

 

For more information, contact Eva Poole at 940-349-8750 or eva.poole@cityofdenton.com.

 

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For other news items on the City of Denton, visit our website at www.cityofdenton.com, go to Quick Links and click on Press Releases.

Drawn and Quarterly Selections

Do you love the work that Drawn and Quarterly is publishing? We do too! Here are some hi-lights from the collection. Click the cover for links to our catalog.

Reunion by Girard Pascal

Scenes from an impending marriage by Adrian Tomine

Black blizzard by Yoshihiro Tatsumi

Picture this by Lynda Barry

Cecil and Jordan by Gabrielle Bell

Gentleman Jim by Raymond Briggs

Wilson by Daniel Clowes

Make me a woman by Vanessa Davis

Burma Chronicles by Guy Delisle

365 Days a Diary Julie Doucet

Skitzy by Don Freeman

Hicksville by Dylan Horrocks

Catland Empire by Keith Jones

Red Snow by Susumu Katsumata

Onwards Towards our Noble Death by Shigeru Mizuki

Big questions, or, Asomatognosia : whose hand is it anyway by Anders Brekhus Nilsen

Mid-Life by Joe Ollman

Market Day by James Sturm

Mini-A-Kon V at the North Branch Library

artwork by Kristen McGuire

Anime lovers get ready to converge at the North Branch of the Denton Public Library, 3020 N. Locust, on February 18, 2012, from 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.  The 5^th installment of this spectacular event will be even bigger and better than its predecessors! The North Branch will be closed to the public and only open for Mini A–Kon V attendees and those needing free tax help from the VITA volunteers.

Get a taste of the A-Kon® experience right here in Denton.  Mini A-Kon V features an art show, an Ani Idol Concert, Iron Cosplay competition, a Cosplay Contest, POP Candy Girls – Para Para Dance Demo & Workshop, various voice actors from FUNimation, local artists, an All About Comics panel, anime showings, open gaming and tournaments in our video gaming room, role playing and board games, not to mention food trucks: Nammi Truck and sshami BBQ, so you don’t have to leave to get lunch or snacks!

The Denton Public Library would like to thank A-Kon®, DFWGames, FUNimation and all the artists and voice actors for their support in helping make Mini A-Kon V an awesome day for anime fans.

Although the North Branch will be closed to the public, the drive-thru window will be open allowing customers to pick up their holds.

For more details go to www.dentonlibrary.com and click on the Mini A-Kon V icon.

 

For more information, contact Juli Gonzalez at 940-349-8741 or juli.gonzalez@cityofdenton.com.

 

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For other news items on the City of Denton, visit our website at www.cityofdenton.com, go to Quick Information and click on Press Releases.

Family Book Club

Join us for the first meeting of the Family Book Club on Wednesday, February 29 at 7 p.m. at the North Branch Library, 3020 N. Locust St.  We will enjoy refreshments and discuss How to Steal a Dog by Barbara O’Connor, in which Georgina Hayes plots an elaborate scheme to steal a dog and reap the reward money to get her family out of their desperate financial situation.

Our Family Book Club will meet the fourth Wednesday of each month at 7 p.m. for a fun-filled discussion, refreshments and activities.  This monthly book club is for children ages 8-12 and their parents or accompanying adults.

 

For more information, contact Dana Tucker, Public Services Librarian at 940.349.8715 or at dana.tucker@cityofdenton.com, or visit www.dentonlibrary.com.

 

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For other news items on the City of Denton, visit our Web site at www.cityofdenton.com, go to Quick Links and click on Press Releases