Hi!  This is Rachel Malay, director at the Port Library in Beloit.   For the next few weeks, I’ll be reviewing some books that, while a few years old, are new to the Port Library’s shelves.

Spring is just around the corner, which gets many a handyman (and woman!) itching to improve their surroundings.  If you’re planning on repairing, improving, or constructing a deck on your home, the library has several books to instruct and inspire.  Two older titles recently added to the collection are How to Design & Build Decks & Patios by Ortho Books, and How to Build Decks by Sunset Books.  (Only the Sunset Books version is pictured above.) Both have full color photographs and illustrations to help the builder along.  Because these are older titles, a review of local regulations and permits may be necessary and don’t forget to check out the latest building materials when gathering supplies.

The book published by Ortho Books is a little more complete in scope, covering the philosophy of creating an outdoor space, providing a short historical narrative of outdoor spaces.  At the end of the book is a chapter on paving your yard space beyond a deck or boardwalk.  The deck building book published by Sunset Books covers the information in more of a checklist style, with a few workpages that can be copied from the book for patron use.  This book goes from start to finish in a practical style.

These books will not appear on the new shelves since they weren’t published recently.  To find them you can check our online catalog, or ask a librarian.  These will be in the non-fiction section with other books on home improvement and do-it-yourself projects.  We always encourage our patrons to browse – our books are free to check out, so take as many as you want!  For easy returns, don’t forget our in-wall book and media drop, accessible on the outside of the building.

You can get the books reviewed here and more great titles to watch, read, listen to, or play with at the Port Library at 1718 N. Hersey in Beloit, on the North Campus.  This is director Rachel Malay, saying “Thanks for checking us out!”


How to Design & Build Decks & Patios by Robert Iacopi for Ortho Books.
ISBN: 0917102789
Illustrated.

How to Build Decks by Sunset Books.
ISBN: 0376010746
96 pages, illustrated.

Hi!  This is Rachel Malay, director at the Port Library in Beloit. For the next few weeks, I’ll be reviewing some books that, while a few years old, are new to the Port Library’s shelves.

Not every book at the library is a thick, dense novel.  Sometimes a reader just wants a short read, or a bit of encouragement.  The library offers many shorter stories and magazines for those with little time to read.  If you’re looking for a book you can pick up for 3 minutes at a time, receive a bit of encouragement, and move on to the next activity, why not try this title now available for check out?

Mini Moments with Angels features forty short anecdotes about encounters with angels or thoughts on the existence of angels.  On each page is a story, and then a quote and Bible verse relating to the narrative.  The author (or collector of the stories), Robert Strand, is quick to point out in his introduction that this slim volume is not meant to encourage worship of angels, but merely encourage and uplift the reader.  Indeed, most of the stories focus on the human experience (however ephemeral) but aren't credited and end very quickly after they begin.  A few footnotes at the end credit other sources the reader may want to consult for expanded stories with angels.

This book will not appear on the new shelves since it wasn't published recently.  To find it you can check our online catalog, or ask a librarian.  It will be in the non-fiction section with other books on faith and religion.  We always encourage our patrons to browse – our books are free to check out, so take as many as you want!  For easy returns, don’t forget our in-wall book and media drop, accessible on the outside of the building.

            You can get the book reviewed here and more great titles to watch, read, listen to, or play with at the Port Library at 1718 N. Hersey in Beloit, on the North Campus.   The library would like to welcome its newest future reader and congratulate our youth services librarian, Andrea Weidenhaft, on the birth of her first child.  This is director Rachel Malay, saying “Thanks for checking us out!”


Mini Moments with Angels collected by Robert Strand
ISBN: 0892213248
112 pages, adult non-fiction 

Hi!  This is Rachel Malay, director at the Port Library in Beloit.  

Actor Benedict Cumberbatch has recently been discovered by Hollywood, but before landing several American movie roles, he played a very well-known British character on television: Sherlock Holmes.  Martin Freeman (most recently seen as Bilbo Baggins in movie The Hobbit) stars as his faithful and long-suffering partner John Watson.  Cumberbatch’s characterization of Holmes was in the BBC television series simply titled Sherlock.  There were seven episodes filmed in two series, broadcast in 2010 and 2012.  Sherlock, as the TV series, updates the period setting of London into modern-day London with Sherlock using text messages and Watson keeping a blog.  Popular Holmes stories are revisited in episodes such as the Hound of the Baskervilles and A Study in Pink (instead of scarlet).  The series was popular enough that a third season is planned, but filming in Britain won’t begin until later this month.  Season two ended on a cliffhanger with the classic Holmes story of Reichenbach Fall, so fans are definitely interested in seeing the series pick up again!  If you are interested and want to catch up before more episodes are broadcast, come pick up seasons one and two at the library!

Our DVDs circulate a week at a time, and don’t forget we now have a media slot next to our after-hours book drop.  So, if the library is closed you can avoid any late fees by returning DVDs, CDs and videocassettes in the media slot.

You can get the book reviewed here and more great titles to watch, read, listen to, or play with at the Port Library at 1718 N. Hersey in Beloit, on the North Campus. This is director Rachel Malay, saying “Thanks for checking us out!”

Sherlock: Series 1 & Sherlock: Series 2.
Series 1: 2 discs, 270 minutes.  Series 2: 2 discs, 266 minutes.
DVD collection.

Hi!  This is Rachel Malay, director at the Port Library in Beloit. The library purchased some new DVDs and they've recently become available for check out.

Say Downton Abbey, and fans of the TV series will instantly know what you’re talking about.  Originally a BBC production and shown as a Masterpiece Series on PBS, the now wildly popular show is in its third season.  The library now has season one and two on DVD.  Series one features only 7 episodes, while season two has 8 episodes. 

Downton Abbey’s story line is fairly simple to sum up: the show features the residents of an upper-class British household in Edwardian England, starting right before the break out of World War I.  Where the show gets interesting is in the relationship between the Abbey’s upper-class family and the downstairs servants, and the dramas that unfold on every level of the house.  

Season One starts with the matriarch Dowager Countess of Grantham (played by Dame Maggie Smith) dealing with the unsettling news that the long-assumed heir to the manor has passed away.  The next heir is not the Dowager’s son, Lord Grantham, but a distant cousin.  But before Lord Grantham can deal with future manor residents, he must first contend with his scandalous daughter Lady Mary.  

Meanwhile, below stairs scheming and mischief among the servants disrupt daily life, while some servants begin to plan a life away from the manor as the social upheaval and technical progress of the times appear at Downtown Abbey’s doorstep.  

Season two continues to chronicle the lives of those at the Abbey, even as World War I has officially started.  Series three of the show is now showing on PBS, and the BBC has committed to film series four.  Meanwhile, the existing show has won scores of awards, including Golden Globes, and is nominated for more.  

Our DVDs circulate a week at a time, and don’t forget we now have a media slot next to our after-hours book drop.  So, if the library is closed you can avoid any late fees by returning DVDs, CDs and videocassettes in the media slot.

You can get the DVD reviewed here and more great titles to watch, read, listen to, or play with at the Port Library at 1718 N. Hersey in Beloit, on the North Campus. This is director Rachel Malay, saying “Thanks for checking us out!”

Downton Abbey: Series 1 & 2 
6 discs (2 volumes), 908 minutes
DVD collection