News

07 18, 2019

The Battle of Gettysburg

By admin|2023-06-12T17:24:14-04:00July 18, 2019|

About a third of the soldiers who fought in Gettysburg became casualties during three pivotal days of the US Civil War.

Todd Arrington, site manager of James A. Garfield National Historic Site and a Gettysburg native, talks about the history, strategies, and people involved in the battle.

He also explains why Gettysburg became the scene of the Civil War’s bloodiest battle. (It has nothing to do with shoes.)

5 things you didn’t know about the Gettysburg Address

Our Civil War series continues at noon on Wednesday, Aug. 14, at our Main Branch. We’ll discuss the Siege of Atlanta. As always, the talk is free and open to all.

By the way, if you’re interested in Civil War history, several talks in our Civil War series can be viewed online in their entirety, including:

07 4, 2019

Rock the Bears!

By admin|2019-07-04T06:00:57-04:00July 4, 2019|

Rock the Bears this summer in Mentor!

You may have noticed this star-spangled sculpture standing outside of our Main Branch.

Her name is Ursa Major and she’s part of a citywide public-art display called Mentor Rocks the Bears!

You can find Ursa Major and nine other bears (designed and painted by local artists) this summer throughout the city of Mentor.

The bears include:

Terre Bear by Beth Gregerson at the Matchworks Building
Carmine Bearanda by Leslie Edwards Humez at the Mentor Senior Center
Love Me Tender by H. Mara Armijo at the City of Mentor’s Amphitheater
King of the Marsh by Cat Swartz at Eleanor Garfield Park
Can’t Bear a Day without Honey by Cyndi M. Konopka at the Mentor Ice Arena
Woodland Bear by Tracy Parson at Wildwood Cultural Center
Majestic Bear by Dorothy Geisart at Blackbrook Golf Course
Real Heroes Don’t Wear Capes by Joan Milligan at the Mentor Fire Station
20 Bears by Britta Franz at Edward Walsh Park
Ursa Major by Lauren Heuer at our Main Branch

Mentor Rock the Bears is sponsored by the Mentor’s Community Arts Commission.

By the way, a gala will be held on September 14 and all bears will be auctioned with proceeds benefiting future public art displays in Mentor.

07 1, 2019

The Untold Stories of Mentor, Ohio, with Thomas Matowitz

By admin|2019-07-01T06:00:03-04:00July 1, 2019|

Thomas Matowitz, the author and local historian who literally wrote the book one Mentor, Ohio, returned to the library to share some of his best stories.

Matowitz is the perfect person to discuss prominent Mentor families like the Garfields, landmarks like the Wildwood Estate, and more. But he also has a mindful of spectacular Mentor stories that nearly nobody else knows, including:

Mentor’s only Congressional Medal of Honor recipient
the most fatal day in Mentor’s history
the tale of the WWII pilot from Mentor who is buried in Normandy.

For more from Matowitz:

Speaking of history, you can also join us for our 200th anniversary party at 6 p.m. on Friday, July 12, on our Main Branch lawn. Help make a community mosaic of Mentor with Gail Christofferson of Animal House Glass.

Also, Tom Todd, the Amazing One Man Band, will perform from 6 to 7 pm. Bring your lawn chairs or blankets, sit back and enjoy a little bit of Jimmy Buffett. We will also have cake and contests. All are welcome and no registration is required for our party.

06 30, 2019

WorldCat: For those hard-to-find items

By admin|2019-06-30T06:00:02-04:00June 30, 2019|

There are more than 12 million items in CLEVNET, but no library consortium (no matter how big) has everything.

So we’ve joined WorldCat to bring you those hard-to-find books, movies, and CDs. With thousands of libraries around the world participating, WorldCat is the planet’s largest network of library content.

Here’s how it works: If you’re looking for an item that’s not in CLEVNET, you can contact one of our librarians. We will search for it in the WorldCat catalog.

If we can find it, we’ll order it for you. When it arrives, you get the item for three weeks. (Sorry, no renewals.)

One caveat: Some WorldCat libraries charge to borrow things. Whenever possible, we’ll try to get your item from a library that lets you borrow it for free. However, if we can’t, the patron pays the other library’s fee. If there is a charge, we’ll check with you before we order the item to make sure you still want to get it.

Three more details:

The overdue fee for WorldCat items is $5 per day.
Patrons can only have five WorldCat items out at any given time.
If a WorldCat item is requested but not picked up, there will be a $5 charge to the patron.

06 19, 2019

Juneteenth: The Historical Significance of June 19

By admin|2019-06-19T06:00:23-04:00June 19, 2019|

Juneteenth is an American holiday that commemorates the announcement of the abolition of slavery in Texas on June 19, 1865. But it’s come to have a broader meaning, celebrating the freedom of all black slaves.

The date became even more important when the Civil Rights Act was passed on June 19, 1964.

But that’s just the iceberg’s tip. By coincidence, several momentous events in American Civil Rights history have occurred on or near June 19. As part of James A. Garfield National Historic Site‘s Civil War series, Site Manager Todd Arrington leads us on a time-traipsing tour of these memorable Juneteenths.

Our Civil War series continues at noon on Wednesday, July 10, at our Main Branch. We’ll discuss the Battle of Gettysburg. As always, the talk is free and open to all.

By the way, if you’re interested in Civil War history, several talks in our Civil War series can be viewed online in their entirety, including:

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