EBR Library kicks off MLK birthday observances

Come to the East Baton Rouge Parish Library Eden Park branch, 5131 Greenwell Springs Road, and decorate the bulletin board with Martin’s Big Words.

Martin Luther King’s big words come from a book titled Martin’s Big Words: The Life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. by Doreen Rappaport. Children ages 7-11 will assist in placing Martin’s big words and big pictures on the bulletin board, as the book is read, to celebrate King’s birthday, at 3 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 12. For more information, call [phone].

Celebrate history at the Zachary Branch, 1900 Church Street, as local historian Betty Tucker of the Zachary Historic Village Museum presents a program on the settlement of the Plains and the growth of the Zachary community at 2 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 14.

Tucker will begin with a discussion of Gov. C.C. Claiborne raising the first American flag in Baton Rouge as Louisiana became the 18th state in the union. Also participating will be Museum Director Jean Byers. The Zachary Historic Village Museum will also feature various exhibits at the Zachary Branch throughout January in conjunction with this program.

For more information, call [phone].

The East Baton Rouge Parish Library System has access to one of the best genealogy tools available for this generation — Ancestry.com Library Edition — and it’s free. Cassandra Fedrick, genealogy librarian, and the genealogy staff will lead a basic how-to class at the Bluebonnet Regional branch, 9200 Bluebonnet Blvd., at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 14. Participants can learn the following: three methods for effective searching, three ways to keep you on track, five strategy tools, seven ways to spell a name and a review of the Louisiana resources on ALE. Registration is required. For more information or to register, call [phone]. If you can’t make it, check out the library’s Genealogy InfoGuide at http://www.ebrpl.com.

John O’Neill from the Centenary State Historic Site will present and discuss children’s games from the past at the Greenwell Springs Road Regional branch, 11300 Greenwell Springs Road, at 11 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 14. O’Neill will introduce 1800s Victorian games to children ages 6-11.

After the presentation, children can enjoy playing the games and blasting into the past. For more information, call the library.

The African-American Read-In will take place in February, and the East Baton Rouge Library wants you to participate.

To find out how, contact your local branch’s Children’s Room or call [phone].

Book clubs:

• Mystery Lovers Book Club will meet at noon Tuesday, Jan. 10, at the Main Library, 7711 Goodwood Blvd.
• Children ages 6 and up are invited to come to the Choose Your Own Adventure Book Club at the Pride-Chaneyville branch, 13600 Pride-Port Hudson Road, where they can help decide what will happen next. At the 10:30 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 14 meeting, members will be reading the book Choose Your Own Adventure: Your Very Own Robot by R.A. Montgomery. For more information or to register, call [phone].

Livingston Parish Library

• Livingston Book Club will meet 10:30 a.m.-noon Thursday, Jan. 12, at the Main branch, 13986 Florida Blvd., Livingston.
• Sunny Side Up Inspirational Book Club will meet 10 a.m.-11 a.m. Thursday, Jan. 12, at the Watson branch, 36581 Outback Road in Denham Springs.

W. Feliciana Parish Library

Readers’ Advisory Group will meet at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 12, at the library, 11865 Ferdinand St. in St. Francisville. Patrons are invited to read advance copies of books provided by publishers to advise staff on collection development. For information, call Glenna Fallin at [phone].

Lafayette Public Library

SciFi/Fantasy Book Club will meet 6:30-7:45 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 10, at The South Regional Library, 6101 Johnston St. in Lafayette.

Members will discuss Flatland by Edwin A. Abbott.

Armstrong to speak

AJ Chapter, P.E.O., will meet at 11:45 a.m. Friday, Jan. 13, in the home of Susan Chenevert, 12003 Foxshire Court.

Guest speaker will be Annabelle Armstrong, author of Historic Neighborhoods of Baton Rouge.

Signings

Kresley Cole, author of Lothaire, will sign copies of her book 5-7 p.m. Friday, Jan. 13, at Garden District Book Shop, 2727 Prytania St. in New Orleans.

Elton Foster, author of Cleopatra Alexandra and Other Adventures in Verse, will read from and sign copies of his book 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 14, at Maple Street Book Shop, 7523 Maple St. in New Orleans.

Jan Bozarth, author of The Fairy Godmother Academy #5: Sumi’s Book, will sign copies of her book at 1 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 14, at Octavia Books, 513 Octavia St. in New Orleans.

Items for Book Events were provided by East Baton Rouge Parish Library, Livingston Parish Library, West Feliciana Parish Library and Lafayette Public Library.