February is Black History Month (BHM). As we celebrate the rich culture and pride of African Americans and their impact on American history, Brooklyn Public Library is pleased to offer these and other great programs:

Silent Choices- A Documentary Film Screening
Introduction to Genealogy
Brooklyn Sings, Brooklyn Swings: Barbara King 
Celebrate Black History Month: Rhythm & Sound in Theater 

For more information about these or other BHM programs, check us out here. 

Today's guest blogger is Richard Reyes-Gavilan, Director of Central Library.

Another February 2 is upon us, and with it we mark the passing of winter’s official midway point. For those of us already looking toward spring, we spend at least a fleeting moment celebrating the presentations of Punxsutawney Phil and Staten Island Chuck—our nation’s unfailing rodent prognosticators. As for me, and others like me who frequent the library’s Language and Literature Division, we of course spend the day celebrating James Joyce’s birthday.

Joyceans everywhere know that today marks the author’s 128th birthday. Some folks say—and I don’t disagree—that beyond writing the best English-language novel of all time (the demanding but surprisingly accessible Ulysses), Joyce is responsible for the best English-language short story of all time (“The Dead,” collected in Dubliners). For those who are more visually oriented, John Huston’s spot-on 1987 film adaptation of the story was just re-released on DVD after an irritatingly long period of unavailability.

Central Library also holds an impressive collection of works about Joyce. I’d rank Richard Ellmann’s fascinating biography James Joyce among the greatest literary biographies of the 20th century. If you’d rather jump right into Ulysses, but want some help getting over the bumpy parts, try Harry Blamire’s New Bloomsday Book, a terrific page-by-page guide for the uninitiated.

Finally, for those who couldn’t care less about James Joyce and thought this post was going to be about groundhogs, you’re in luck. You can always check out Bill Murray’s Groundhog Day—an underappreciated classic and certainly some of the actor’s best early work.

Last week was a tough one for writers and readers. We lost the famous reclusive author J. D. Salinger, and activist/writer Howard Zinn. I've been a fan of Salinger’s unique and captivating writing since (like so many) discovering The Catcher in the Rye when I was a teenager. His collection, Nine Stories, which contains the cryptic and beautiful “A Perfect Day for Bananafish,” has a depth and staying power that makes it effecting long into adulthood.

Howard Zinn, who grew up in Brooklyn, was still busy writing and working as an activist at 87, and had just produced a major project, the film The People Speak, featuring well-known actors and performers.

We also lost two other prolific authors, Louis Achincloss and Robert Parker. Achincloss was the author of more than 60 books who also happened to be a full-time Wall Street lawyer. His frequent subjects were the corruption and goings-on in New York City’s upper class. If you are a crime and mystery fan, you are probably familiar with Robert Parker. The author of several series featuring private i’s such as Spenser (made into the TV series Spenser for Hire) and Jesse Stone, passed away in his Cambridge home at the age of 77.

These authors will be missed, but we can take some comfort in knowing their work lives on for us to enjoy. Check out their books at your local library.

You have them now! It’s going to be quite a weekend at your library. Check out some of what’s going on across the borough:

Mizik pou Ayiti (Music for Haiti)

Friday, Jan 29, 6 PM

Central Library, Dweck Center

Come to this concert and help support Haiti. For a suggested donation of $20, you can enjoy music by the Altino Brothers, Buyu Ambroise (Blues in Red Band), Markus Schwartz (Tanbou Nan Lakou Brooklyn) and others.

African-Atlantic Genealogical Society Workshop     

Saturday, Jan 30, 1 PM

Macon Library 

Get an early start on Black History Month. Trace your family tree with help from the newly chartered African-Atlantic Genealogical Society (AAGS).

MoMA: Contemporary Mexican Artist Gabriel Orozco

Saturday, Jan 30, 4 PM

Central Library, Dweck Center

Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) lecturer Angela Garcia presents the varied career of Orozco. Attendees can receive a family pass to MoMA for up to five people.

Sesame Street Family Day

Sunday, Jan 31, 1 – 4:30 PM

Kings Highway Library

Free fun for everyone! Enjoy crafts, stories, a screening of Elmo in Grouchland, prizes and the chance to take a picture with Walkaround Cookie Monster.

Gastropolis: Finding Your Food "Voice"

Sunday, Jan 31, 1:30 PM

Central Library, Dweck Center

Gastropolis editor Jonathan Deutsch leads a panel discussion on the ways in which food conveys meaning and aspects of New York Cultural identities.

There’s plenty more where those came from. Visit our website to find out what else you can do.

Anyone who is a fan of the children’s and young adult book scene looks forward to the first weeks of January, when, along with the Golden Globes and NFL playoffs (Go, Jets!), we anticipate the American Library Association’s Youth Media Awards.

The most recognizable and renowned of these book medals are the Newbery (awarded to the best writing in an American book for children under the age of 14) and the Caldecott (awarded to the best American picture book for children). In 2000, the Michael L. Printz medal was introduced for young adult titles.

Every year, in the days before the awards are officially announced, Brooklyn Public Library holds Mock Caldecott, Mock Newbery, and Mock Printz events. Children’s and young adult librarians from all over the borough meet and pore over a slate of books and vote on the most deserving ones. Intense discussion of the titles’ literary and artistic merits is the order of the day--giving us a small taste of what the real Caldecott, Newbery, and Printz committees go through. After the medals are awarded, we compare our predictions to the actual winners. Think of it as Fantasy Football for librarians!

Here are the mock and official winners.

BPL Mock Caldecott:

The Lion and the Mouse by Jerry Pinkney

Honor Books: 

The Curious Garden by author/illustrator Peter Brown

Moonshot: The Flight of Apollo 11 by Brian Floca 

Official 2010 Caldecott Winner:

The Lion and the Mouse

Honor Books:

All the World by Liz Garton Scanlon, illustrated by Marla Frazee

Red Sings from Treetops: A Year in Color by Joyce Sidman, illustrated by Pamela Zagarenski

BPL Mock Newbery Award:

When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead

Honor Books:

Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice by Philip Hoose

The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate by Jacqueline Kelly

Official 2010 Newbery Winner:

When You Reach Me

Honor Books:

Claudette Colvin and The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate, plus

Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin and

The Mostly True Adventures of Homer P. Figg by Rodman Philbrick

BPL Mock Printz Winner:

Charles and Emma: The Darwins’ Leap of Faith by Deborah Heiligman

Honor Books:

Hate List by Jennifer Brown

Fire by Kristin Cashore

Official 2010 Printz Winner:

Going Bovine by Libba Bray

Honor Books:

Charles and Emma: The Darwins’ Leap of Faith

Tales of the Madman Underground: (An Historical Romance 1973) by John Barnes

Punkzilla by Adam Rapp

The Monstrumologist by Rick Yancey

Guest blogger Catherine Skrzypek is a Children’s Librarian at Central Library. She would be most interested in serving on a American Library Association Caldecott award committee.