Library News
Readers interested in books with a pure Michigan connection can sample the Library’s collection of 2011 Michigan Notable Books, including Reimagining Detroit: Opportunities for Redefining an American City. Author John Gallagher will talk about his book on Wednesday, May 4 at 7:00 PM in the Library’s Friends Auditorium.
In remembrance of the 150th anniversary of the outbreak of the Civil War and to coincide with our April Civil War programs, we have created a Civil War exhibit featuring items from a special collection donated to ROPL in May of 1966 by Ralzemond Drake Parker. Mr. Parker was the son of Royal Oak pioneers, Ralzemond A. and Sarah Drake Parker.
If you want to educate yourself about making smart, safe investment choices, take advantage of a series of free workshops offered by experts from the state of Michigan’s Office of Financial and Insurance Regulation. The department offers unbiased, non-commercial information as part of its Investor Education Program.
Libraries for many years have crossed local boundaries and shared resources through cooperative lending agreements with other libraries. Royal Oak Public Library is part of a library cooperative, The Library Network (TLN), which includes 65 libraries in four counties of southeastern Michigan. When you place a hold for a book from our eLibrary shared catalog, the book may arrive here from Oakland, Wayne, Livingston, or Washtenaw County, delivered by the TLN trucks that make daily delivery runs. If you cannot find a book within TLN, the MelCat system allows you to request interloans from libraries all over Michigan. When you visit other libraries in TLN, your ROPL card is honored by those libraries. By sharing our resources, we can connect our card holders to more materials than one single library can afford to purchase and house.
The Royal Oak Public Library's services continue to be highly valued by the community in these trying economic times. The Library is open six days a week, 60 hours a week, providing a variety of services to more than 30,000 ROPL library cardholders who check out more than 400,000 items a year. The Library hosted more than 550 programs attended by 16,000 people. Library usage has increased significantly over the past several years and continues to grow.
Do you need a copy of your birth certificate? Are you applying for a marriage license? Or maybe you need to get property, mortgages, deed or lien records? Don’t have time to go to the county offices in Pontiac? Avoid the drive time and standing-in-line time by ordering these records online. The Oakland County Clerk & Register of Deed’s Office has made it much easier to order these and other documents online and to have them delivered to your home.
The Library CARD (Convenience & Access to Records and Documents) Program is a joint effort with more than 25 Oakland County libraries, including Royal Oak Public Library, to assist their patrons in accessing many public records overseen by the County Clerk’s office. If you need more information about this program, stop by the adult reference desk to pick up a brochure, or ask the reference librarian for assistance.
The Royal Oak Public Library is very excited about establishing a butterfly-friendly garden on their grounds to provide educational opportunities and enjoyment for the community.
Documents
What exactly is a butterfly garden?
A butterfly garden is a haven or sanctuary that includes plants that are inviting to butterflies. A butterfly garden contains plants that meet the butterfly's needs during all four life stages: the egg; caterpillar; chrysalis; and adult. A butterfly garden includes plants necessary for butterflies to lay their eggs (host plants) and plants that will provide nourishment for the butterflies (nectar plants).
Meet the Author: Steve Luxenberg. On Thursday, April 15, Steve Luxenberg will discuss his book Annie’s Ghosts: A Journey Into A Family Secret. Described as part detective story, part social history, and part memoir, the book revolves around his mother’s decision to hide the existence of a disabled sister, Annie. Luxenberg, a Washington Post editor and Detroit native, pieces together the story of his mother’s motivations, his aunt’s unknown life, and the times in which the two women lived. His search takes him to imperial Russia and Depression-era Detroit, through the Holocaust in the Ukraine and the Philippine war zone, and back to the large mental institutions where Annie and many others were lost to memory.
We have been answering your email questions for some time. Now we added a "chat" or "instant message" service to our website. If you are on your computer or another browser enabled device, and have a quick question for us, just look for the green Online button in the right column of www.ropl.org. You are promised a real-time response from our professional library staff. If for some reason we are not available and you see the red Offline, don't hesitate to e-mail your question to us. We will respond as soon as possible. And as always, let us know what you think.
ROPL is now accepting credit card payment for overdue fines, replacement fees, auditorium rentals, and the sale of ear buds, computer discs and other equipment. Cards bearing the Visa or MasterCard logo are accepted.
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