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Make It Our Biggest & Best Big Read Ever
Read the Same Book at the Same Time!
JAX READS!/NEA Big Read  Feb. 1 – March 11
 
The entire community is invited to read and join in activities and discussions centering around The Namesake by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Jhumpa Lahiri. The novel explores themes of immigration, different cultures, and the significance of people's names. It's a communitywide read only if you take part so share your story and let us know what you think! Look for a program at your neighborhood library. NEA Big Read is a program of the National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with Arts Midwest. Borrow the novel in book, audiobook, e-book or e-audiobook formats at your library. Find a list of events at jaxreads.org or pick up a booklet at any library. (Photo by Elena Seibert)
JAX READS!/NEA Big Read Event Highlights – February and March 
 
 • Feb. 4: Kickoff – From Abroad to America: Stories of Immigration and Cultural  
   Identity, 3 p.m., Main Library, Hicks Auditorium
 
 • Book Discussions, Movie Screenings, Dance Performances, Genealogy, Henna
 
 • What's in a Name? Who Am I? World Traveler. Find all events at jaxreads.org.
  
Save the Date – JAX READS!/NEA Big Read Grand Finale 
See and Hear The Namesake Film Director Mira Nair
Saturday, March 11, 1 p.m., Main Library, Hicks Auditorium
                                                                                                               
Join us for a presentation and interview with award-winning filmmaker Mira Nair. Nair's best known films include The Namesake, Queen of Katwe, Mississippi Masala, Monsoon Wedding and Salaam Bombay!, which was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. Check out movies directed by Nair at your library, and then join us for a great afternoon with Mira Nair. This program is free and open to the public.
In the Jax Makerspace ...
Kesha Art Exhibit Opening & Activities
Wednesday, Feb. 1, 5 – 8 p.m. during Art Walk
Main Library, Jax Makerspace Gallery
Kesha Exhibit runs through April 23

This one-of-a kind exhibit features the works of 14 black female artists and includes photography, videography, sculpture, textile art, 2-D art and more. Come to the opening to meet the artists, see the Nan Nkama Pan-African Drum and Dance Ensemble and enjoy poetry performances. February events that complement the exhibit include African dance classes, textile adventures and a woodcutting demonstration. Find out more about the Kesha exhibit, artists, and activities in the Jax Makerspace Gallery.
Authors, Movies, Martin & Mahalia and More!
Maya Angelou: And Still I Rise, Feb. 7 & 16, 6 p.m., Multiple Locations
Preview of the documentary airing on PBS American Masters. Celebrate the life and works of Maya Angelou. Learn how to write poetry with Hope at Hand.
 
Pride Book Club featuring Charlie E. Cobb, Jr., Feb. 11, 3 p.m., Main Library
Hear the author of This Nonviolent Stuff'll Get You Killed: How Guns Made the Civil Rights Movement Possible. Cobb was the first black staff writer for National Geographic Magazine and a founding member of the National Association of Black Journalists. He is an icon of the Civil Rights Movement as one of the organizers of Freedom Summer in Mississippi. Cobb will talk about his book and life experiences.

Get details and discover more Black History Month events at your library.
Did you pick up a free calendar?

The 2017 edition of the annual Jacksonville Black History Calendar highlights The Crisis in Black Education, and focuses on issues, strategies and programs that address a serious topic that affects every citizen. The calendar is full of historic dates and information for every day of the month. Pick up a calendar at any library location or at select Burger King restaurants while supplies last. Now, thanks to the library's digitization, you can access every edition of the Jacksonville Black History Calendar since 1989 to present in the library's Special Collections at bit.ly/jplbhc.
 
Get Your Kicks on #Read66
Are you reading your way to a healthy habit?

It's not too late to join Read 66 to earn cool prizes—and develop a healthy reading habit! If you're already reading, let us know how you're progressing by using #Read66 on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram. Get all the information you need about Read 66 and start tracking your reading today. Enjoy a party at the end of the Reading Challenge and join us for Jax Book Fest.
Author Events You'll "Love"
A Day of Romance Workshop by Local Authors
Saturday, Feb. 11, 11 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Pablo Creek Regional Library
 
Valentine's Day is just around the corner. Pamper yourself as eight published authors lead workshops on everything from publishing, writing a series, to researching topics, and a Q&A. It's free and fun, with prizes and refreshments. Learn more.
 
Jax Book Fest Is Coming Soon!
Saturday, March 25, 10 a.m. - 3 p.m., Main Library

Mark your calendar now for Jacksonville Public Library's inaugural Jax Book Fest. Enjoy local and national author and illustrator presentations, writers' workshops, children's activities such as face painting, balloons, the Jacksonville Zoo and more. You'll have a chance to buy books and meet authors.
Find out more.
Exhibits 
Free Exhibits: Anne Frank & Jewish Lawyers 
 
Anne Frank: Voices of Hope – A History for Today, is on display at the Museum of Science and History through Feb. 12. Admission is free during the exhibit date. To complement the exhibit,  Lawyers without Rights: Jewish Lawyers in Germany under the Third Reich, is on display at the Main Library through Feb. 4. See more tie-in library events. 
 
Lifelong Learning and Enrichment

Helpful & Engaging
 
• Free Tax Prep Help
• Lawyers in Libraries
• Great Decisions Discussions
• Small Business Workshop

 
See What's New 
You design it. We'll print it with our 3-D printer!

Design your own 3-D object from anywhere using 3-D modeling software that you choose, email your design to the library, and we'll print it for you for a small fee. Get details and procedures for sending in your 3-D printing request. And learn more about  3-D classes and new Certificate of Completion tracks.
Music at the Main Library

 
 
 
   Wednesday, Feb. 8, Noon, Main Library, Lounge @ 303 North
 
Come out for The Phil Morrison Trio featuring Joe Watts. The Phill Morrison Trio is more than just a standard jazz trio. Morrison's original songs and compositions written for Black History Month honor Martin Luther King Jr., Nelson Mandela, Maya Angelou, Dizzy Gillespie, Alain Locke and Nat King Cole. Bring your lunch and enjoy the music and the warm vibes.
 
Music at Main: Intermezzo Concert
Sunday, Feb. 12, 3 p.m., Main Library, Hicks Auditorium
 
This is piano like you've never heard before! Pianists Mimi Noda and Kyungju Lee will double your listening pleasure with Sonata for Piano 4-Hands and other classical selections. Read more. 
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Take Note
Construction Updates for Two Libraries

Highlands Regional Library will reopen on Monday, Feb. 6.
Murray Hill Branch Library will be closed Feb. 10 – 22 for upgrades. The book drop will also be closed. The library will reopen on Feb. 23. In the meantime, please use the nearby Willowbranch Branch Library.
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