"Who's got game?!" @ Freedom

Over two dozen eager gaming enthusiasts turned out for Freedom Regional's 1st ever Adult Gaming event. Alienware laptops were networked together with a WWII game - Call of Duty 2, a racing game - Need for Speed: Most Wanted, and an NFL football game - Madden '07. A couple Xboxes were also being used for some multi-player action with Soul Caliber too. The new conference room is working well for programming and provided ample space for multiple gaming areas to be set up. PLCMC staff William Nation, David Sniffin, Nathan Cook, Natalie Mikysa battled FRL's own Johnny Davis in a heated game of Apples to Apples. Shawn Krizanik and Mark Englebrecht provided technical support for all the gamers. One of Freedom's Teen Advisory Council (TAC) members won a gift card to Best Buy. All in all it was a successful evening and we're looking forward to offering this event again in April. Special thanks to Martin House downtown at Main for bringing FRL into the rotation for this innovative grant-funded program.

To view more pics go to flickr and search for Adult Gaming Event and/or Freedom Regional Library

Michael Lambert

Get ready for Black History Month! (February)

In preparation for those needing to and wanting to know about African-American history, here are some sites that you may find helpful.

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/aaworld - PBS, in conjunction with NPR, offers teacher lesson plans, reference room articles highlighting key issues of the African-American experience.

http://www.toptags.com/aama - African-American history resource offering biographies, folk tales, historical documents and events, and issues in the news.

http://www.biography.com/black_history - learn about the lives of 25,000 famous African-Americans.

http://ucblibraries.colorado.edu/govpubs/us/blackhistory.htm - links that include African-American almanacs, biographical information, history, literature, online exhibits, etc.

http://www.infoplease.com/spot/bhm1.html - offers Education, History and Timelines, and links to information on 500 Notable African- Americans.

http://inventors.about.com/library/blblackinventors.htm - biographies of selected African-American inventors with additional links to other inventor resources.

http://www.gale.com/free_resources/bhm/links - links to many excellent Web sites on specific topics and general African American history.

http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/african/intro.html - online exhibit covers areas of Colonization, Abolition, ex-slave narratives, as well as a link to authors and the Federal Writers’ Project.

Kwanzaa Celebration

A week ago today, I witnessed my first Kwanzaa celebration here at Freedom Regional Library. The program began at 7pm--to give you an idea of how successful everything was, some of our staff did not leave the library until 10:30! I stayed until 9:30, and I was just hanging out.

I found the entire celebration enjoyable. There was a nice mix of speaking and dancing. Ahmad Daniels and Charles Jones provided a wealth of cultural and historical context for the holiday, including personal anecdotes. I learned a great deal, not just about Kwanzaa, but of unfamiliar perspectives on civil rights history.

Dancers from the YMCA and Second Calvary performed during the celebration, and everyone clapped along to the thundering beat of drums. Trina Brown, sister of our own Dot Siler, blessed us all with her poetry and singing. When the festivities were concluded, we enjoyed some excellent soul food provided by Mert's Heart & Soul Restaurant, accompanied by Starbucks coffee. I'm impressed with how well Mert's can prepare greens--no easy task.

It was the first Kwanzaa for many of us. We got to see what the holiday was about, and have some fun in the process.

Johnny Davis