Out of the Dust is a series of poems that tell the story of fourteen year old Billie Jo and her family living in Oklahoma in the mid-1930s, during the dust bowl.  Billie Jo’s dad is a wheat farmer who hasn’t had a decent crop in three years.  There is a drought and money and food are short.  Billie Jo is a pianist and makes some money on the side playing piano, but when an accident ruins her hands, and grasshoppers eat the rest of the wheat, her family is left with nothing.

This book is heartbreaking and beautiful.  While the desperation of the dust bowl is evident, the kindness and goodness of the characters is unmistakable.  Out of the Dust shows not only the physical hardship of the Great Depression, but also the emotional cost of the extreme poverty experienced by hardworking farmers and the hope and perseverance that characterizes Billie Jo’s family.  The series of poems suck you in and tell a story that is a fast paced read.  Billie Jo is a great character and her voice is authentic, both in terms of the story she tells and her perspective as a teenager living through a difficult time.  I highly recommend it, and so does our staff-- enough that it has been chosen as a One Book, One Community selection for Darien in 2010. 

One Book, One Community is a season-long series of events that encourages everyone in town to read the same book and come together to explore the themes.

Buy the Cullens' house!

Sorry....Edward not included.

See our tips when you check in!

From the Darien post office to your grocery store of choice to, of course, the Darien Library, there's a lot of places you visit in a day.  What if you recorded - checked in - where you went daily on your mobile phone and what if you were given points for those visits?  Sounds like the making of an interesting game...

That's the exact premise behind the online game foursquare!

Play along with your fellow community members to see what places are of interest in the area.  When you check in other folks may have left tips for you at different locations - called venues.  The library staff has put together a nice list of things to check out while in the library at our venue on foursquare.

The more you check in, the more points you get.  Check in enough times and become mayor of that location!  If you become mayor of Darien Library please stop by the Welcome Desk and speak to Erica Leone to claim your very own Darien Library tote bag (a $25 dollar value)!

One bag per mayor please :)