3D CHESS SET MADE RIGHT HERE IN THE LIBRARY!

At a recent 3D Printing Workshop presented at Level Up in the Library, participants designed and printed a chess set. From their imaginations to realization, it is almost magical what you can do at your Library!

If you would like to have a match using the new 3D-printed chess set, go to Level Up and check out the set for up to two hours at a time. You can play anywhere inside the Library, but the chess set may not be removed from the premises. 

For more in-depth instruction, check out these great video tutorials* on LinkedIn Learning:

• Learn 3D Printing
• Tinkercad: Modeling Custom Designs for 3D Printing
• Designing a Replacement Part Using 3D Printing
• Use Sketchup for 3D Printing
• Using 3D Printing Software
• Fusion 360 Essential Training

*Valid Monroe County Public Library card required to set up a LinkedIn Learning account.

Despite being over four hundred years old—alive in the time of Shakespeare—Tom Hazard (one of his many non de plumes) is still learning how to live life.

Recently, he relocated to London, and became a history teacher in a secondary school. While lecturing about Elizabethan England or Mussolini during World War II, Tom gets tripped on things he actually saw, versus things he should only be familiar about through books. The students notice and look at him quizzically.

Tom and a few of the other characters in this wild romp of a novel suffer from Anageria, a disease that slows down aging to an incredible degree, and protects the person from many contagious illnesses. This is not all for the good. For instance, Tom marries once, to the beautiful and intelligent fruit-seller, Rose. As she grows older, Tom starts to look more like the age of her son, and the neighbors start talking, believing in witchcraft or evil magic.  The family is forced to separate. They move to France, and the same thing happens but now the angry neighbors threaten their daughter, Marion.

The book bounces back and forth between time periods: now and Suffolk, England; 1599, France, and Australia, now; Tahiti in the 1700s and Sri Lanka, now; New York in the 1890s and Paris in the roaring 20s. Tom meets Shakespeare, Scott Fitzgerald and his wife, Zelda, as well as Captain Cook.

Despite all the peregrinations of time and place, the reader can follow the story line easily because the lonely, lost voice of Tom connects everything. As a middle-aged man, he suffers from wracking headaches—too many memories—another person with his disease tells him. What keeps him going is the search for his daughter who reportedly has Anageria too, although he has not seen her since she was a child.

In 1891, in New York City, Tom meets Hendrich, president of the Albatross Society, a group set up to protect people with the same condition as Tom. The Alba president also searches for Marion, or so he says.  Every seven years or so, he arranges paperwork and jobs so that Tom can begin a new life.

In New York, he introduces Tom to hot dogs and the music of Tchaikovsky. He also gives Tom the main rules of the society, “No falling in love. No staying in love. No daydreaming of love.”

Of course, love comes knocking in London by Camille, the French teacher. Read to see what path Tom chooses: the protection of the Society or the love and possible heartbreak provided by another human.

The book brims with wisdom, angst, adventure, and good storytelling.  Deeply-drawn characters make the story highly believable. One named Omai surfed in Tahiti  in the 18^th century, and still rides the waves a couple of centuries later.  For summer escape fiction that will keep surprise and intrigue you, try this wonderful novel.

Thanks to WFHB Community Radio for featuring VITAL volunteer Mary DePew recently on their Activate! news program. Mary’s herculean volunteer efforts in VITAL have directly impacted the lives of nearly 100 English language learners locally.

Ask anybody: between our vision of an inclusive, engaged community and the value we place on respect and service, the Library's the friendliest place in town. Just recently, in fact, we got the attention of Dementia Friendly Indiana, an organization dedicated to improving the lives of people living with dementia, for the work we do to welcome and support this audience.

Now, with DFI's help, the Downtown Library is certified as a Dementia Friendly Location in Bloomington by IU Health. As part of the certification process, Library Staff has received special training in how to best serve people affected by Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia. Together with the free programs like the Caregiver University series we offer regularly in partnership with IU Health's Alzheimer's Resource Service, our new certification means the Library's not just extra-friendly: we're that much more accessible to all members of our community.

Learn more about the Library's commitment to accessibility and equitable access on our Accessibility Services page.