Programs/Events

Gail Swenson - Book Sale Chair
Gail Swenson

Annual Book Sale

The 2012 Ellis Memorial Library Annual Book Sale & Silent Auction will take place Saturday, February 4 (9am-5pm) and Sunday, February 5 (9am-3pm) in the Port Aransas Civic Center.

Donations for the sale may be dropped off at the library during regular hours. Books, DVDs, VHS tapes, audio cassettes, CDs in good condition are welcome. All proceeds benefit the library.

Your support is appreciated.


Silent Auction Books

Jacques Cousteau the Ocean World / Jacques Cousteau

Scottish Symphony / Introduction by David Attenborough; photographs by Michael Ruetz

Encyclopedia of Herbs and Their Uses / Deni Brown

The Mustangs / J. Frank Dobie; illustrated by Charles Banks Wilson [First Edition]

Forest: a National Audubon Society Book / Tim Fitzharris

The White House: Its Historic Furnishings and First Families / Betty C. Monkman

The Ultimate Encyclopedia of Wine, Beer, Spirits and Liqueurs / Stuart Walton & Brian Glover

The Arnold Lobel Book of Mother Goose: A Treasury of More Than 300 Classic Nursery Rhymes

Bidding is now taking place in the Library. Bidding will end in the Civic Center on Sunday, February 5, 2012 at 2 P.M.

Gerry Wettersten
Book Sale 2011 - Gerry Wettersten

Book Discussion

Date: Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Time: 6:30 PM
Place: Library
Discussion Leader: Joyce Williams

"Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet," Jamie Ford

In the 1980s, a middle-aged Henry Lee encounters a crowd gathered outside the Panama Hotel in Seattle. The new owner is displaying some of the remarkable finds recently discovered in the hotel’s basement—the abandoned belongings of some 37 Japanese families interned by the government during World War II. These forgotten remnants instantly transport Henry to the 1940s, when, as a young Chinese American scholarship student at Rainier Elementary, he befriended Keiko Okabe, a Japanese American classmate.

Amid the chaos of blackouts, curfews, and FBI raids, Henry and Keiko forged a bond of friendship—and first love—that transcended the prejudices of their Old World ancestors. But after Keiko and her family were swept up in the evacuations to the internment camps, she and Henry were left clinging to the hope that the war would one day end and that they would be able to see one another again.

As Henry searches through the items in the Panama Hotel for vestiges of Keiko and her family, including an extremely rare jazz record of the performer Oscar Holden, he is aided by his son, Marty, and Marty’s fiancée, Samantha. Through his conversations with Marty, Henry finds himself revisiting his childhood: his intractable conflicts with his father, a Chinese nationalist who refused to accept the innocence of Japanese Americans in his neighborhood; his own struggle to accept his identity as a Chinese American; and the choices he made years ago that prevented him from fulfilling his promises to Keiko.

If you would like to reserve a copy of this book please contact a staff member at the circulation desk

Texas Reading Club
Pete Hartje and Kelly Bloomfield
Pete & Kelly Hartje -- Mark Creighton

Book Sale Volunteers
Book Sale Volunteers

Cheryl Campbell
Cheryl Campbell

Saturday Morning Story Time 10:30 AM - 11:00 AM
Story Time

Thursday & Saturday

10:30 AM - 11:00 AM
Picturing America

Marilyn Cook & Kathy Caldwell
Picturing America

“Great art speaks powerfully, inspires us to think new thoughts, and connects us to our past.”

Picturing America, an exciting new initiative from the National Endowment for the Humanities, brings masterpieces of American art into classrooms and libraries nationwide. Through this innovative program, students and citizens gain a deeper appreciation of our country’s history and character through the study and understanding of its art.

A set is currently on display through a grant won by the Bill Ellis Memorial Library. Visitors will get the chance to view 40 high-quality reproductions of notable American art on view in our public library for our community and visitors to enjoy. This grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities gives our community the opportunity to learn about our nation’s history and culture through our nation’s artistic heritage—our paintings, sculpture, architecture, fine crafts and photography.
 
 
 
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