Cole Library invites all members of the Cornell community to attend its annual Independent Film Festival on Thursday, Nov. 19, 2009, starting at 6:00pm on the second floor of Cole Library.

Cole Library’s annual Independent Film Festival showcases three films from the library’s Film Movement DVD collection, a subscription service that delivers a new, award-winning independent film each month.  At this year’s festival, we’ll be showing three films that represent some of the best of our collection, Men at Work, showing at 6:00 pm, Under the Bombs, showing at 7:45 pm, and The Grocer’s Son, showing at 9:30 pm.  Detailed synopses for all films are located below.

In a very short time, the Independent Film Festival has become one of the most anticipated and enjoyable events put on by Cole Library.  While this speaks to the quality of the films that have been shown, a key factor in the success of the Independent Film Festival has been the gusto with which the Cornell community has embraced the festival atmosphere.  Last year, we had around 80 enthusiastic audience members, many staying for all three films.  While seating is provided, many audience members bring their own blankets, pillows, bean bags, or whatever else they’d like to make themselves feel at home.  Think of it as movie night for you and 80 of your closest friends.

Admission is free.  As is all the popcorn, soda, chai, and shortbread you can eat.  Door prizes will be given away in between each of the films.

Questions about any of the films can be addressed to Shawn Doyle, sdoyle@cornellcollege.edu.

Film synopses and showtimes:

Men at Work, showing at 6:00 pm, tells the hilarious story of four old friends who, driving back from a failed skiing trip, encounter a strange and enormous rock. The men’s frivolous attempt to dislodge the rock gradually disintegrates into a tale of betrayal, defeat and renewed hope. The heroes of the film are doctors, engineers and businessmen in the throes of mid-life crises. Their middleclass problems and the absurd phallic rock venture gives rise to great humor.

Under the Bombs, showing at 7:45 pm, is set during a cease-fire in the Lebanon-Israel conflict of 2006.  A Christian taxi driver brings an untraditional Shiite woman from Beirut to the heart of the conflict in the country’s south.  While they scour the rubble of local towns for her son, who was sent to live with her traditional family while she was staying with her husband in Dubai, they discover that despite their very different backgrounds they have much in common.  And during their trip through the desolate countryside, the two travelers develop a deep bond as a response to the death striking all around them.

The film was shot entirely on location during the summer of 2006, in the middle of the ruins of war-torn Lebanon. Aractingi, the filmmaker, only hired two professional actors, the rest are real refugees, journalists, soldiers, etc…, playing themselves.

The Grocer’s Son, showing at 9:00 pm, tells the story of thirty-year-old Antoine, who is forced to leave the city to return to his family in Provence.  His father is sick, so he must assume the lifestyle he thought he had shed—driving the family grocery cart from hamlet to hamlet, delivering supplies to the few remaining inhabitants.  Accompanied by Claire, a friend from Paris whom he has a secret crush on, Antoine gradually warms up to his experience in the country and his encounters with the villagers, who initially seem stubborn and gruff, but ultimately prove to be funny and endearing.  Ultimately, this surprise French box-office hit is about the coming-of-age of a man re-discovering life and love in the countryside.

Students, faculty, staff, and other interested parties are invited to the science and destruction of the Menger Sponge currently on display in Cole Library. The Menger Sponge—a three-dimensional fractal formed by successively removing the middles of cubes—is constructed out of pieces of paper the size of business cards, with over 65,000 individual pieces of paper. Built in May 2006 by members of the Math Club, the Menger Sponge is now showing signs of old age. As the sponge is too large to fit through the doors of Cole Library, and repair would involve essentially rebuilding it from the ground up, the sponge has graciously willed its body to science and charity. The department of physics will demonstrate how to measure the moment of inertia of the Menger Sponge on Friday, Nov. 6, at 3:30 p.m. in Cole Library. At the completion of the science, anyone interested in taking a wack at the spinning sponge may do so by making a contribution to Cole Library. Contact Jim Freeman with questions.

To renew online, go to the library Web site at cornellcollege.edu/library/.

* Click on “My Library Account” on the right side of the screen.
* Enter your library barcode number and last name.
* Scroll down to see “Items checked out. Renew them here, but only one renewal per item is allowed.”
* Check the box in front of items you want to renew.
* Click on “Renew checked items.”
* Click on “Check boxes by titles then click here to renew; confirm new due dates”
* VERY IMPORTANT:  Scroll back to the titles to see the new status and ensure that the renewal went through.  The system will not allow a renewal if the item has already been renewed or if another patron is waiting for that item.
* For assistance call 895-4271 or 895-4122.

Cole Library hours change when Cornell College classes begin on Monday, Aug. 31.

Regular hours
Sunday -  noon to midnight
Monday through Thursday – 8 a.m.  to midnight
Friday – 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Saturday  – 10 a.m.  to 4:30 p.m.

Block break hours
Wednesday through Friday 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Saturday -10 a.m.  to 4:30 p.m.
Sunday  – noon to 4:30 p.m.

For more information on the Cornell schedule and to locate block breaks, click here for the master calendar.

Cole Library hours are also posted at the first- and third-floor building entrances.

Eulenspiegel Puppet Theatre performs  “Hormiguita, the Musical Ant” on Tuesday, June 9, at 10 a.m. on the second floor of Cole Library in Mount Vernon and at 2 p.m. in Heritage Hall above the Lisbon Public Library.  Questions? Contact Cathy Boggs at 895-4262.

For more information about Eulenspiegel Puppet Theatre go to http://www.puppetspuppets.com.

All movies start at 10 a.m. in room 108. Questions? Call Cathy Boggs at 895-4262.
June 8 – The Tale of Despereaux
June 15 – Bolt
June 22 – Bedtime Stories
June 29 – Mary Poppins
July 6 – Wall-e
July 13 – Cars
July 20 – Chitty, Chitty, Bang, Bang
July 27 – Kung Fu Panda
August 3 – Surf’s Up

In celebration of Be Creative @Your Library, Cole Library is hosting Wednesday morning workshops from 10 a.m.-noon for ages 8+. Each workshop focuses on different art elements. Due to the complexity of each workshop, enrollment is limited to 12 participants. In June participants work with fiber arts. Each child must commit to all three Wednesdays because they build upon each other. To register, call 895-4271.

June 10 – dyeing wool roving
June 17 – spinning the roving into yarn
June 24 – knitting the yarn
July 1 – Kamishibai Storytelling Theatre
July 8 – beading brojects
July 15 – painting with Mark Benesh
July 22 – rubber stamping
July 29 – sewing a wheat doll

The favorites are in from Children’s Book Week. Ferdinand had two votes; otherwise, Cole patrons all have their very own favorites. Thanks to everyone who participated.

Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day by Judith Viorst, illustrated by Ray Cruz
The Animals of Farmer Jones (Big Little Golden Book), illustrated by Richard Scarry
Are You My Mother? by P.D. Eastman
Bad Case of Stripes by David Shannon
Bark, George by Jules Feiffer
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs by Judi Barrett, illustrated by Ron Barrett.
Corduroy written and illustrated by Don Freeman
Dog and Bear stories by Laura Vaccaro Seeger
Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss
Harry, the Dirty Dog by Gene Zion, illustrated by Margaret Bloy Graham.
Laurie and the Yellow Curtains (Easy Reader) by Sara Asheron, illustrated by Isabel Dawson
Little Pea by Amy Krouse Rosenthal, illustrated by Jen Corace
Little Green Witch by Barbara Barbieri McGrath, illustrated by Martha G. Alexander
Llama Llama Mad at Mama by Anna Dewdney.
The Lorax by Dr. Seuss.
Love You Forever written by Robert Munsch, illustrated by Sheila McGraw.
The Napping House by Audrey Wood, illustrated by Don Wood.
The Paper Bag Princess by Robert N. Munsch, illustrations by Michael Martchenko.
A Parable About the King by Beth Moore, illustrated by Beverly Warren
Runaway Bunny by Margaret Wise Brown, illustrated by Clement Hurd
**The Story of Ferdinand by Munro Leaf, illustrated by Robert Lawson
Tuesday by David Weisner
Wendel and Sophie by Kevin Henkes
Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak
Young Fu of the Young Fu of the Upper Yangtze (chapter book) by Elizabeth Foreman Lewis, illustrated by William Low.

Treat your child or your inner child this week to some time with The Cat in the Hat, Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day, or Miss Nelson is Missing. One Cole librarian recently commented that this is a golden age in children’s literature. Take a look at the display on third floor of Cole Library – you may agree. Hopefully you will see a picture book that is an old friend or find a new story that intrigues you. Sector 7 was new to me.  Cloud people? Why not?

Children’s Book Week was first proposed in 1913 with the idea that reading children’s books can change lives. We want to know your favorite picture book, or one of your favorites. Post your favorite on the Cole Library Discussion Board on Facebook or at the display on third floor. The Cole favorites will be announced on the library blog next Tuesday.

News about the swine flu outbreak is everywhere. The Cornell Student Health Service recently posted a statement about the situation and suggested ways to keep healthy. There is also a link for the Center for Disease Control to keep track of the latest developments on the outbreak by subscribing to RSS feeds, e-mail updates, and Twitter.

Cole Library offers additional ways to keep up with this situation, investigate the history of epidemics and plagues, learn about efforts to find vaccines, etc. Click here to reach the library page for access to these databases:
•    Cole Library Online Catalog – find books in Cole Library using terms such as epidemiology, plagues, infectious diseases, communicable diseases.
•    Credo Reference – an online source which provides full-text access to more than 300 reference books, as well as audio and video clips, images, and maps.  Provides good definitions as a basis for further understanding.
•    Electronic Resources – check  databases such as *Academic Search Premier, CINAHL with Full Text, *Health Source Consumer Ed, Health Source Nursing/Academic Ed. for articles on research on swine flu and other diseases. Or, check out Newsbank & *Newspaper Source which offer access to regional and national newspaper articles. (Starred items are available off-campus to Mount Vernon library card holders.)

If you encounter difficulty, call a reference librarian at 895-4122 for assistance.