K-9 Bo Visits for a Special Story Time

"Can I pet your dog?"

It wasn't the first question the kids asked when Mentor Police Officer Bill Mackey and his K-9 Bo visited for a special story time Tuesday at Mentor Public Library. But it was the question everyone wanted to ask.

With all due respect Officer Mackey and our own Kim Sidorick (who read the kids "Officer Buckle and Gloria,") Bo was the headliner Tuesday night.

Luka Rajic dressed as a police officer for the story time with Bo and Officer Mackey.)

And the answer was, yes. Of course they could pet Bo. A few lucky kids even got to play a quick impromptu game of fetch with him.

Bo's a hard-working police dogs. He can sniff out drugs and fugitives; but he's also a four-legged, fuzzy ambassador for the police department.

Whenever Mackey and Bo are out and about, kids (and grownups) ask if they can pet Bo; and Mackey never minds. (As long as they ask first. Bo's a nice dog, but you still don't want to surprise a K-9.)

Lily Mahony pets Bo during story time.

Generalizations are dangerous things. If we say "every kid loves dogs," you'll find the child who doesn't. But can we agree that a lot of kids love dogs?

Police dogs. Firetruck dogs. Big dogs. Little dogs. Dogs of moderate size.

Pretty much any dog of even temperament is going to be a hit with a quorum of kids.

That's why we host Paws to Read, which helps shy readers get more comfortable by pairing them with therapy dogs.

It's so wonderful to watch the kids become more confident readers during a Paws to Read session. The dogs put them at ease and allow them to accomplish what they've been able to do all along.

By the same token, a police officer - or any new adult, for that matter - can be intimidating to a kid. But everyone is a lot more approachable when they have a dog with them.

And Bo made a wonderful icebreaker Tuesday night!

So thanks to Mackey, Bo and the Mentor Police Department. While we don't want to speak for everyone, we're pretty sure the kids had a great time.

They got to pet Bo, after all.

Sweet Jazz at Mentor Public Library

No 1,000-word monologues today. Just some music.

The Four Clarinets performed Monday night at the Mentor Public Library Main Branch. They played jazz standards like "Girl from Ipanema," "I'll Take Romance," "Jitterbug Waltz" and "Try a Little Tenderness."

(Yeah, "Try a Little Tenderness" was a jazz standard before Otis Redding funked it up.)

The Four Clarinets also talked about the history or jazz and basics of jazz improvisation. If you missed the show, I've embedded a video of them breaking down the blues. It gives you a taste -- but I'll be honest -- it's not a substitute for being there.

If you love jazz, feel free to drop by Mentor Public Library and check out some of our hundreds of CDs. You can also use your library card to download a lot of great jazz music on Freegal or stream it on Hoopla.

We have a lot of books on jazz too, if you're a reader. (And if you're reading a library blog, then we bet you are.)

Mentor Library offers streaming movies, music and audiobooks with Hoopla

If you like streaming services like NetFlix, YouTube or Spotify, then Mentor Public Library just signed up for a service that should make you very happy.

It's called Hoopla, and it allows patrons to stream more than 300,000 movies, TV episodes, audiobooks and music albums to their smartphones, tablets and computers.

It's also free and lets you borrow media without even setting foot in a library.

All you need is a library card to use it.

Hoopla is fantastic with several smartphones and tablets and is compatible with:

• any iPhone 3G or newer
• iPad 2 or newer
• iPad mini 
• iPod Touch 4 or newer
• any Android 4.0 and above. 

To use Hoopla, you need only download its app from the Apple or Android store.

If you prefer to stream onto your computer, you can visit www.hoopladigital.com and the site offers all the same videos, music and audiobooks as the app. The Hoopla web site is compatible with browsers Chrome, Safari, Firefox and Internet Explorer.

Once the app is downloaded (or you're on the Hoopla web site,) you only need to provide an email address and your library card number. Then you can browse and borrow from Hoopla’s extensive library and watch or listen wherever they are.

If any of that sounded confusing, MPL Librarian Mary Pelton made a video that walks you through the sign-up process.

On Hoopla, you can borrow a video for three days, a music album for seven and an audiobook for 21 days.

Using cloud computing, you can even borrow titles with your home computer, begin watching on a tablet and resume watching with your smartphone – anywhere there’s an Internet connection.

If you are going somewhere without an Internet connection, then you can download a title using the Hoopla app and watch or listen to it later. (For DRM reasons, downloading is only available on the app – not on Internet browsers.)

MPL patrons can borrow up to five items per month using Hoopla.

In addition to Hoopla, Mentor Public Library also offers several other digital services. You can stream independent films from festivals around the globe using IndieFlix, you can download mp3s using Freegal, borrow eBooks and eAudiobooks using OverDrive, take online classes with Learn4Life or borrow digital versions of magazines using Zinio.

You also have access to dozens of databases with information on topics from auto repair to local history to case law.

And -- once again, it should be noted -- all of these services are free with a Mentor Public Library card.

Get Hep to the Jive with a Jazz Show at Mentor Library

Louis Armstrong had a line, "If you have to ask what jazz is, you'll never know."

Far be it from me to disagree with Pops, but everybody from dilettantes to Charlie Parker had to start somewhere.

I started at the library. As a kid, I used to borrow stacks of CDs and cassette tapes -- Duke Ellington, Thelonious Monk, Sarah Vaughn, Arturo Sandoval, Parker, Herbie Hancock, Charles Mingus and, of course, Armstrong. (Yeah, cassettes -- that gives you a sense of how old I am.)

I was introduced to most of my favorite jazz artists at the library.

But I never got to hear them play live at the library.

Jazz lovers (and those with just a passing interest in the genre) can enjoy the music firsthand this Monday at our Main Branch.

The Four Clarinets will perform jazz tunes from the 1920s through 1950s from 6:30 to 7:45 in the Garfield Room as part of our Monday University series.

They'll play their own arrangements of standards like "I'll Take Romance," "Jitterbug Waltz," "One Note Samba" and more. They'll also give historical anecdotes on the music and explain the basics of jazz improvisation.

The program is free and open to the public -- kids and adults. However, we do ask that you register for it beforehand. You can do so on our website or by calling the Mentor Public Library at (440) 255-8811.

By the way, jazz lovers, have you tried Freegal yet? It's a program that allows you to legally download mp3s of your favorite artists for free. And you can keep the mp3s forever. Play them on your iPod, burn them to CD, record them to cassette (if they still make those) -- whatever you want to do. They're yours.

Freegal's library includes John Coltrane, Abdullah Ibrahim, Jerome Kern, Monk, Ella Fitzgerald, Wynton Marsalis and a lot more.

And it's free with a Mentor Public Library card. Check it out.

Healthy Food Substitutions with Lake County General Health District

Cori Kitaura of the Lake County General Health District visited the library Wednesday to talk about some of the ways people can get healthier by changing some of their cooking habits.

She didn’t say that you could never have a steak or cake again. After all, almost any food is OK as an occasional treat. Instead, she made some recommendations that modify your favorite foods and make them healthier.

For example, fried chicken is delicious, but so is roasted or steamed chicken; and the latter options have fewer calories and less fat than their fried counterpart.

You can also eat healthier by remembering to cut excess fat off of meat, removing the skin from chicken, or rinsing canned vegetables – which tend to be bathed in salt – before you cook and eat them.

Cori also suggested some substitutions that can make some of your favorite recipes healthier. While they will taste a little different, they’ll still be delicious – and a lot better for you.

Her tips include:

• using applesauce, prune puree, mashed bananas or avocados, or even black beans as a substitute for butter, margarine, oil, shortening or other solid fats while baking. (A note: If you do this, you may need to reduce the baking time by about 25 percent. The substitutions cook faster than solid fats.)
• instead of canned vegetables, use frozen vegetables without sauces.
• substituting low- or no-fat dairy products for their whole- or full-fat counterparts. (Exception: while fat-free plain yogurt can sometimes be used as a substitute for sour cream, bear in mind that yogurt isn't heat stable so you can't really cook with it.)
• swapping in pureed fruit or no-sugar-added applesauce for syrup.
• reducing the amount of sugar in the baked goods you make by anywhere between a fourth and third. Cinnamon, vanilla and almond extract also can add sweetness without adding sugar. (You don't want to remove all the sugar from yeast breads because the sugar provides food for the yeast.)
• eating romaine lettuce, endive or baby spinach instead of the nutrient-devoid iceberg lettuce.
• using whole grain, brown rice, wild rice, whole cornmeal (not degermed,) whole barley, bulgur, kasha, quinoa or whole-wheat couscous instead of white rice or enriched grains.

More healthy tips are available at the Cleveland Food Bank website.

Speaking of Cleveland Food Bank, Mentor Public Library is participating with the Ohio Association of Foodbanks and organizations all around the state for Feed Ohio 2013.

Throught Sept. 11, you can donate nonperishable food items at any MPL branch and they will go to a local food pantries.

For more information on events and programs at Mentor Public Library, visit www.mentorpl.org.

Mentor Police K-9 Is Visiting Library for Special Story Time

Kids can meet Mentor Police K-9 Bo and his partner, Officer Bill Mackey, during a special story time 7 p.m. Sept. 10 at Mentor Public Library’s Main Branch.

Bo is the one with fur.

Bo is a 3-year-old German shepherd who joined the department in May 2012. He lives with Mackey’s family. He's also pretty adorable.

This program is a great way to introduce kids to their local police department. A police officer – or any new adult, for that matter – can be intimidating to a child. But everyone is a lot more approachable when they have a dog with them.

I'll take it a step farther. When you're a kid, dogs make almost everything better. (That's why we do Paws to Read.)

During the program, kids will listen to librarians’ favorite dog stories and Mackey will tell stories about Bo. Kids can also make a craft or even check out a police cruiser.

Bo often helps the Mentor Police Department by helping to sniff out suspects, drugs or missing people. But he also serves as a de facto ambassador for the department whenever he's out and about.

This special story time is open to children of all ages. It’s free and open to the public.

However, parents are asked to register their children beforehand. They can do so by visiting the Mentor Public Library's website or by calling the library at (440) 255-8811 ext. 221.

Why You Should Have a Library Card

All a library card needs to be good is a little exercise.

September is Library Card Sign-Up Month. And I encourage anybody who doesn't have a library card to get one. But just as important, if you already have a library card -- use it.

A card gives you access to the more than 200,000 books, audiobooks, CDs, DVDs and video games in the Mentor Public Library's collection.

But that's just a fraction of what your library card allows you to do.

You can take online classes with Learn4Life. (The classes include everything from computer programming to English as a second language to fiction writing. It's worth a look.)

You can download eBooks and eAudiobooks with OverDrive and digital magazines with Zinio.

You can download free music and even music videos from Freegal -- more than 7 million songs are available from more than 28,000 record labels, including Sony. And once you download a mp3 or mp4, you can keep it forever. Put it on your iPod, listen to it from on your phone, burn it to a CD, whatever you want. It's yours.

You can stream thousands of independent films via IndieFlix and soon you'll be able to stream even more movies, music and audiobooks to your mobile devices and computer via Hoopla.

You can still borrow books, movies and music from libraries all around the state using OhioLINK.

And your card also gives you access to dozens of databases with information on topics from auto repair to local history to case law.

Most importantly, a library card -- and everything that comes with it -- is free.

So how do you sign up for a Mentor Public Library card?

It's easy. You can do it at our circulation desk.

Adults, you're going to need a current photo ID, such as an Ohio Driver’s License or State of Ohio ID card, with your current address. If your photo ID doesn't have your current address, a personal check, utility bill, envelope or post card with a recent postmark showing your current address will do.

Meanwhile, kids need their guardian's signature to get a card. Adults assume responsibility for their children's borrowing privileges.

One quick note: If you're not an Ohio resident, you must give a $10 deposit to get a card. You will receive the deposit back once you produce an Ohio form of photo ID. Or, if you aren't moving to Ohio, you will receive your deposit back when all materials and the library card are returned.

You can also get a temporary card online that allows you to place up to five holds on items in the Mentor Public Library catalog.

If you have any questions, visit any of the Mentor Public Library's branches and you'll find people eager to help you get your library card.

And, if you already have a card, get out there and give it a workout.

For more information on Mentor Public Library and its services, visit www.mentorpl.org.