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Upcoming Events

Special Events:

ArtCards
Feb. 9 and Feb. 23 at 10:30 a.m. - Taylor Auditorium
Learn the art of rubber-stamping, embellishing and card-making from a pro. A $10 supply fee is payable at the beginning of each class and includes all the materials you'll need to make three projects. To preregister contact Christie at (903) 714-9466 or cdhdaughtery@suddenlink.net.

Big Read Events Click here for event information.

Symphony Stories
Monday, Feb. 1 - Thursday, Feb. 4 at 10:30 a.m. - Taylor Auditorium
Student musicians from Moore Middle School, the Brook Hill School, Grace Community High School and Tyler Youth Orchestra will perform. Symphony Stories is designed to introduce preschoolers to the music that will be played by the East Texas Symphony Orchestra at their Saturday, Feb. 6 Family Concert in Caldwell Auditorium. Co-sponsored by Women's Symphony League.

Great Decisions Discussion Groups
Feb. 10 - Apr. 7 - Wednesdays, Noon - 1:30 p.m. - Taylor Auditorium

Happy Birthday, Dr. Seuss!
March 2, 3, & 4 - 10:30 a.m. - Taylor Auditorium
Celebrate all things Seuss. For preschoolers and their families as well as childcare groups and classes.
Registration required for groups.

Meet a Musher²Saturday, March 6 - Taylor Auditorium
Karen Land and her sled dog Borage return to Tyler by popular demand to share stories of her Iditarod adventures and the mushing life.

Spring Book Sale
Friday and Saturday, March 12 and 13, 10 a.m. - 4 p.m.

Regularly-Scheduled Programs:

Read Aloud Crowd
Wednesdays and Thursdays at 10:30 a.m. - Storyroom
Begins Jan. 6
No registration required

DayCare StoryShare
Tuesdays at 10:30 a.m. - Storyroom
Begins Jan. 26
Registration required for groups of 5 or more

American Girl
10 a.m. to noon - Taylor Auditorium
Feb. 20 - Julie A girl living in 1970s America
No registration required

Club Read
Last Wednesday of the month - 10 a.m. in the Second Floor Atrium
Feb. 23 - The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
No registration required

Texas Writers Network
Second Sunday, 1:30 - 4 p.m. - Taylor Auditorium
Feb. 7 (Special date)

Club Read Texas Writers Network Big Read Great Decisions

The Big Read is an initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with the Institute of Museum and Library Services and Arts Midwest to revitalize the role of literature in American culture and bring the transformative power of literature into the lives of its citizens. The Big Read brings together partners across the country to encourage citizens to read for pleasure and enlightenment.

The Tyler Public Library was chosen by the National Endowment for the Arts for participation in the 2010 Big Read, and from February to June 2010 our community will celebrate John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath with a full calendar of events.

Would you or your church, organization or school like to host a book talk and book discussion about The Grapes of Wrath? We have many resources, such as free reading discussion guides, to help you get started. Call or email us for more information. (903) 593-7323 or Library Programs

Special Events:

The Big Read Dust-up - Please note revised starting time!
Free performance of readers theatre adaptation of The Grapes of Wrath.

Friday, Feb. 5 – 7:30 p.m. - Tyler Civic Theatre, 400 Rose Park Drive, Tyler (adjacent to Tyler Municipal Rose Garden)

Great Depression on the Silver Screen -
Free movie series that bring the 1930s to life (see details below)

Tuesdays, Feb. 2 – Feb. 23 – 6 p.m. - Taylor Auditorium – Tyler Public Library

Steinbeck Film Festival -
Free movie series featuring film versions of some of John Steinbeck’s classic tales
(see details below)

Thursdays, Feb. 4 – Mar. 25 – 6 p.m. – Taylor Auditorium – Tyler Public Library

Kid’s Film Festival –
Free afternoon of movies for kids set in the Great Depression (see details below)

Saturday, Feb. 20 – beginning at 12:30 p.m. – Taylor Auditorium – Tyler Public Library

Club Read Book Discussion Group – The Grapes of Wrath

Tuesday, Feb. 23 – 10 a.m. – Second Floor Atrium – Tyler Public Library - Free

John Steinbeck’s Birthday Party

Saturday, Feb. 27 - Details to be announced

The Big Read for Art’s Sake –
An afternoon of 1930s music and art by Tyler Museum of Art and musicians from the
East Texas Symphony Orchestra

Sunday, Mar. 7 – 2 p.m. – Tyler Museum of Art, 1300 S Mahon Ave, Tyler (by Tyler Junior College campus)

Exhibits:

Making Do: Quilts and Quilting in the Great Depression. Quilters Guild of East Texas.
Feb. 1 - March 31 - Display cases - Tyler Public Library

Photo exhibit from Humanities Texas -
Feb. 1 - March 31 - Lobby - Tyler Public Library

Striking in the depths of the Great Depression, the Dust Bowl blasted hopes and hard work of people in the Great Plains. For those who lived through it, the experience remains unmatched as an example of ecological calamity. Nowadays it is not easy for younger generations to comprehend what happened. But humanities resources can bridge the gap between generations and promote understanding of the pioneering will to prevail in the face of immutable laws of nature.

In the 1930s, photographers working for the Farm Security Administration (FSA) captured unforgettable images of human fortitude and despair in the face of calamity; Nebraska photographer Bill Ganzel set out in the late 1970s to find and re-photograph Dust Bowl survivors for a book and exhibition. This exhibit, abridged from the original by Humanities Texas and displayed in Sherman in 1999, combines the FSA photographs and Ganzel’s interviews to create an eloquent story of human fortitude. -- Humanities Texas website

Movie series:
Great Depression on the Silver Screen

Tuesdays, Feb. 2 – Mar. 23 – 6 p.m. – Taylor Auditorium – Tyler Public Library - Free

Feb. 2 – Paper Moon

Feb. 9 – The Shoot Horses, Don’t They?

Feb. 16 – The Great Debaters

Feb. 23 – O Brother, Where art Thou?

Steinbeck Film Festival

Thursdays, Feb. 4 – Mar. 25. – 6 p.m. - Taylor Auditorium – Tyler Public Library – Free

Feb. 4 – The Red Pony

Feb. 11 – East of Eden

Feb. 18 – Of Mice and Men

Feb. 25 – The Grapes of Wrath

Kid’s Film Festival

Saturday, Feb. 20 – 12:30 – 5:30 p.m. – Taylor Auditorium – Tyler Public Library – Free

12:30 p.m. – Kit Kittredge: An American Girl (G) 1 ¾ hour

2:20 p.m. – Under Western Stars (G) 1 hour

3:30 p.m. – The Journey of Natty Gann (PG) 1 ¾ hour

How to Get a Library Card Request to Buy Interlibrary Loan (ILL)

Please contact the Local History Desk if you have a question about genealogy, searching for your ancestors or the history of Tyler.

Ancestry Search database

The Ancestry database is licensed for use only in the Tyler Public Library building itself. No remote access is available to the public.

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Ask a Librarian

Can’t find what you’re looking for on our website? Then ask a librarian by emailing the Library Information Desk. You may also reach us at (903) 593-7323. Ask for Reference.