Mooresville Public Library » MPL Blog

Looking For Our Blogs?

bill — Wed, 03 Apr 2013 15:59:44 +0000

Looking for our blogs? Visit our blogs web page (under SERVICES in the menu bar).

Our Latest Music Video

bill — Fri, 29 Mar 2013 20:43:50 +0000

Here’s our latest music video parody, featuring Suzanne Walker, MLS, former head of MPL youth services and now Children’s Services Consultant for the State of Indiana, along with MPL staff and volunteers. You can see how much fun it is to work at my Library!

Libraries and Old Dewey, by Suzanne Walker & MPL Staff & Volunteers

Music Performed by Theresa & Dave

(They’ll record your custom song at Fiverr.com)

(Instrumental played during the credits by iTunes)

The Great Flood of 1913

bill — Fri, 22 Mar 2013 01:32:33 +0000

In the last 20 years or so, we’ve had several “floods of the century” in Morgan County, Indiana. There was a horrific flood back in 2008, I recall.

One hundred years ago (on March 25), we had a huge flood around these parts. Thanks to Civil War veteran and local photographer/newspaper publisher J. P. Calvert, we have a photo or two, which my Library included in this nifty handout. Maybe we could embed a copy below.

TreasureTrove-OldWaverlyRoadCoveredBridge-Apr2008

Downtown Mooresville is situated high atop a hill (not a big hill, but still), so the “town proper” has never flooded. But folks living in the country surrounding the town–especially near either fork of the White Lick Creek–were not so fortunate. Take the interurban railway bridge, which was situated near today’s state road 67 bridge (just south of Kroger in Mooresville) across White Lick Creek:

Interurban Railway Bridge Collapse (March Flood, 1913) (Click Images to Enlarge)

Water is a powerful, destructive force, sometimes.

The Great Flood of 1913 resulted from heavy rainfall as multiple storms crossed the midwestern states. The ground was already saturated (or frozen) in many areas, causing rapid run-off that sent rivers bursting their banks throughout the state. Damage across Indiana reached at least $25 million (that’s in 1913 dollars, folks).

The Great Flood of 1913 forever changed many communities. We have more recently experienced similar disasters in Indiana, but that March flood a century ago echoes from the distant past. Few eyewitnesses remain. We should record their memories before they are gone forever. These are historic events on the grand stage, and we should preserve the information for future generations.

Cypress Resume

bill — Thu, 10 Jan 2013 21:50:25 +0000

Click the images below to create your own customized resume and cover letter. Land your dream job with this easy-to-use online resume and cover letter writing tool.

Yoga @ MPL Every Monday

bill — Tue, 01 Jan 2013 11:00:00 +0000

Every Monday (beginning January 14, 2013) from 6:30-7:30 p.m., join Donna McFarland from the Barbara B. Jordan YMCA for yoga at the library. Unwind while getting some terrific exercise. Fitness has never been so relaxing. Visit our online calendar to register.

Need Tax Forms?

bill — Wed, 19 Dec 2012 04:13:47 +0000

There will be fewer free printed copies of federal and state tax forms for the 2012 tax year (i.e., the tax returns people file in 2013), so patrons should be prepared to visit the governmental websites from which they may print copies of tax forms. Click the links below:

Federal Tax Forms: Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Website

Indiana State Tax Forms: Indiana Department of Revenue Website

THE Classic Alien Invasion Tale

bill — Mon, 17 Dec 2012 22:43:07 +0000

During the mid- to late-1890s, H. G. Wells was becoming a popular “scientific romance” fiction writer with several novels under his belt. Each posited scientific themes but quickly diverted readers into fantastic scenarios with extraordinary plot devices. Time travel, invisibility, interplanetary warfare, biological mutation–outrageous stuff for Victorian English readers (or even European or American audiences). But Wells was a social, political, and economic commentator. What later became classified as his science fiction work was originally intended to reflect existing (or developing) social, political, and economic problems at home and abroad.

There has been a return to “invasion sci-fi” in the last decade, including another movie remake of H. G. Wells’ The War of the Worlds (1898). Our book trailer summarizes the initial plot.

MPL Book Trailer #167

The War of the Worlds, by H. G. Wells

The War of the Worlds allowed Wells to explore real-life issues such as escalating imperialism, increasingly destructive weapons of warfare, overpopulation, evolution, and social conflicts between the technologically-advanced nations against their would-be (or existing) colonial “primitive cultures.” ”Primitive” and “advanced” were always technologically-driven descriptions that wealthier European countries (like England) were keen to apply–”advanced” and “modern” to themselves, but “primitive” to those societies whose natural resources were ripe for exploitation by the wealthier, militant, technologically gifted states. That, in a nutshell, is the plot to War of the Worlds, except that Martians invade Earth to subjugate even its most “advanced” cultures. It is a metaphor for Wells’ commentary about social justice, governmental autonomy, and liberty.

What makes this book particularly remarkable is Wells’ powerfully descriptive prose. He takes pains to identify places in England affected by the invaders. You get a real sense of being where the action is. It is terrifying but strangely familiar, when counterpointed against geographically well-known territory (at least for Wells’ English readers of a century ago).

The narrative style of 19th century fiction, with its overly elaborate phrasings and quaint perspectives, may seem dated 114 years after the novel was first published. Still, Wells was a world-class wordsmith of the highest order, and the pages will simply fly past as you race to discover what happens next.

If you like classic science fiction, then Wells is a must-read. Jules Verne is another. You just can’t go wrong when such gifted, imaginative authors are at the helm.

The Most Dangerous Game

bill — Thu, 06 Dec 2012 09:47:08 +0000

We have a book trailer showcasing The Most Dangerous Game, by Richard Connell. This is a terrifying adventure tale in which a big-game hunter finds himself as human prey to a depraved hunter, General Zaroff. The story has been anthologized in high school and college literature anthologies for decades, and although it’s not a mystery, it is a thriller.