Flooding in Owosso

Brutus and the library staff had a little more excitement than anyone really wanted this morning. Last night's rain caused some minor flooding in Owosso's Children's Department, and there was no access to water for either patrons or staff. Brutus had a good time, however, riding around on the wet-vac as the custodian tried to clean up the mess. He also enjoyed some extra attention from the staff as they tried to keep him (and everything else) dry. Everyone is hoping that the water will recede in time to open on Wednesday.

Writing Contest Awards

Last night Brutus attended the awards program for the Friends of the Library 3rd Grade Writing Contest at the Durand branch. Here he is shown with the students who received awards. Honorable Mention went to Shane Gardner, Kyle Godley, Joel Landeros, and Jacob Pickel. Winning Entry prizes were awarded to Julia Podsiadlik, Zackary Canfield, and Jared McGinnis.

Brutus was surprised to find out this is the 42nd year for the writing contest, and he figured out that it's six years old in dog years. He was disappointed there were not any stories about dogs but there was one story about cats, "The Cat Alphabet Book". He promised to not chew that book as long as he got a bite of one of the cookies that were served afterwards.

Edible Book Contest

Brutus was caught "red-pawed" sniffing around the Edible Book entries yesterday. Fortunately, he was caught before he had a chance to taste test any of the submissions. He had a difficult time deciding which were the best entries, especially in the Children's Book category. He did, however, finally decide that if he wanted to remain as the library's mascot he should vote for Steve's Egg and I creation as well as Margaret's version of the Thorn Birds. At least, that's what he told us; we'll never really know since he didn't leave any paw prints on his ballot.

He stayed around to hear Patty Pinner speak, and really enjoyed her talk. He hopes that she can come back again, especially if it means more food in the library. He was disappointed, however, when he had to let all the humans eat the cobblers and nothing was left for him.

Brutus @ the Spring Craft Program

Brutus had a fun time at the egg craft program during spring break. He helped the kids make all sorts of egg creatures including a duck, an alien, and even Edward the vampire from the Twilight books. Then he wanted to eat the eggs, but changed his mind when he saw the Brutus egg that Heather made for him. Brutus can't wait for more crafts during the children's summer reading program, "Great Creative @ the Library" which starts in June.

Spring Break Puppet Shows

Brutus had to join in on the fun and excitement of the Spring 2009 Puppet Shows. This week's show, Three Little Fish and the Big Bad Shark, is being performed through Thursday at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m.. Being a dog, Brutus just watched the fish; he didn't try to eat them like a cat might. While the puppet show was fun, he thought the treat (he could eat) at the end was the best part. He also enjoyed meeting some of the kids who attended.

Brutus Looks for Edible Book ideas

Brutus found out there will be an Edible Book Contest at the library in a couple of weeks. He was busy this morning sniffing out a title for his entry; his only request was that it be about a dog. Margaret had lots of ideas. Marley and Me could be used in the Adult Non-Fiction category or any of the Clifford or Carl books as a Children's Title. There were also lots of Adult fiction books to choose from : Kazan or Baree by Curwood, Jack London's Call of the Wild or White Fang, or any of Berenson's poodle mysteries. At first Brutus thought that he was supposed to eat the books, but this misconception was quickly corrected before he could do any damage; instead, he needs to create something which can be eaten based on a book. Brutus has until April 13 to make his selection and turn in his entry blank. Judging and the awards program will take place on April 16th.

Bedtime Story Hour

On Friday night Brutus attended the bedtime story hour at the Durand Memorial Branch where he got to meet lots of kids and other stuffed animals. They all enjoyed the stories told by Grandma Parks. After story hour they had milk and cookies. Brutus had trouble dunking his cookies in the milk with his paws, but he still had fun. He'll be back for the next bedtime story hour April 17 @ 7 p.m.

Nancy's Birthday

Brutus was very upset this morning when he learned that he had missed the celebration for Nancy's birthday last night. He has been whining in his box all morning. (To think that he missed the chance to have a piece of cake which would have turned his teeth black!) How old did they say she is? She's only 39!

Brutus Meets a new staff member

Brutus recently met the newest member of the Owosso Branch's staff. He had his picture taken with Andrew at the end of his first day working as a page, and Brutus had the opportunity to ride around on the re-shelving cart as Andrew learned how to put books away. It was much more difficult than Brutus thought--he needed to know his numbers (including fractions) as well as the alphabet! Andrew found the concepts much easier, so Brutus thinks he'll let him keep the job--plus, Brutus had a much harder time reaching some of the shelves (but being pushed around on the cart was fun).

Brutus at the Book Sale

Brutus recently helped Durand Branch pages Maggie and Heather set up for the Friends of the Library book sale. He found many good books to buy, including "Harry the Dirty Dog" and "Good Dog, Carl". He could not find "Marley and Me", but he's hoping it will be available in the next sale which will be held during Durand Railroad Days May 15 & 16.

Brutus Plays Rock Band

As part of the library's Teen Tech Week celebration, Brutus tried his paws at rock stardom, playing the drums and singing in Rock Band. He thinks he did better than any of the teens, but there is some debate on that score (especially the singing). He would like to see more kids join him every Wednesday after school for Wii Wednesdays!

Brutus Attends Story Hour

Brutus visited the Preschool Story Hour yesterday. He enjoyed meeting the kids (and they liked him) as well as hearing several stories about animals. He also liked the dragon on their rug--it was almost as good as a dog. However, the highlight of the program, for him, was the craft project. There's not much better than having your own dog! Brutus and the children made Dalmations to take home. He also hopes to have a chance to go to more story hours in the future.

Brutus Reads the Paper

Brutus was thrilled to see the front page news article about the library's preschool story hour. He has even asked if he can attend next week's program at 10:30 Tuesday morning. He was told that the stories will be about animals, and he hopes that Annie includes books about dogs. He also thinks that it will fun to meet the children.

Brutus Learns about the Internet

Today Brutus joined an Internet for Seniors class. The students loved meeting Brutus, and while he doesn't consider himself to be a senior, Brutus enjoyed both the students and the class. His favorite part was watching them look at his blog. (He thought he looked charming). The most difficult part for Brutus was learning to use the mouse--he realized why cats have sharp claws; it kept slipping out of his grasp. Soon he'll be using the Internet to find dog treats, more books about dogs, and maybe even a MySpace or Facebook page.

Brutus and Valentine's Day

Brutus attended the Valentine's craft program at the Durand Memorial Branch, but he was caught red pawed, or red handed, in the bag of candy. Since it was chocolate, he couldn't have any, but the kids who came to the program took some home.

Later Brutus watched his new friend Aubrey make a paper heart envelope to hold candy.
He was disappointed the envelope wouldn't hold doggie treats. He invited Aubrey to come back in the spring for another fun craft program.

Brutus Tours the Children's Department

Brutus was given a tour of the Children's Department in Owosso this afternoon by Natalie, our senior page. She helped him find books on training dogs. Brutus was impressed by her knowledge of the books which were available and how to find them. Someday he hopes to be able to help some of pages shelve books or read their shelves, but he still has a lot to learn about libraries.

Brutus Applies for a Library Card

Dogs aren't usually issued library cards, but after much discussion it was decided than an exception could be made for Brutus as the library mascot. As he filled out the forms and presented his ID (a dog license), a decision also had to be made as to whether or not he was eligible for an adult or a children's card. The final decision--since he was born during the Chinese Year of the Dog (2006) and the web calculators for changing dog years into human years make him over 14, he was given an adult card. Brutus hopes to find lots of dog books and stories about dogs to read in the next month. Margaret tried to introduce him to Lilian Braun's Cat Who series, but he prefers Laurien Berenson's Doggie Day Care and her other mysteries featuring poodles. The librarians fear that cats may never make Brutus' reading list.

Brutus Helps Promote the First Book Program

Brutus enjoyed seeing all the books which which the Shiawassee County Health Department will be giving out the kids who visit them. He learned that this is a joint project between the Shiawassee District Library, the County Health Department, and the morning and evening Owosso Kiwanis Clubs.

Brutus Attends a Board Meeting

Brutus met the library board at their January meeting. He found much of the discussion rather dull--what does a dog care about budgets, conferences, and reports? He was very happy to learn that there was food (and that the new Consumer Protection Act would not ban him from the library)!

Brutus Attends Staff Training Session

This morning Brutus attended an all staff training session. He learned about 2 new genealogy databases--CLIO (a digital library of local histories) and The New England Historical and Genealogical Societies database--as well as a website developed by the University of Michigan hosting digital copies of Michigan local histories and atlases. He also had fun completing a scavenger hunt which will be made available to the public in February. However, he wasn't allowed to share the chocolate prizes since chocolate can make dogs sick. Staff members, as well as Brutus, are looking forward to using some of their new skills with those doing genealogical research.