Who wouldn't want to "Own a day" at their library?

Brilliant idea for you to use at your library to raise some cash!  Contact us at foglblog@gmail.com for a details.

GALILEO, public libraries join to provide Mango Languages

GALILEO, the state's virtual library,
and Georgia Public Library Service
now offer residents free access to
Mango Languages suite of language-
learning resources through
their local public libraries.



Mango, can be accessed anywhere
with an Internet connection,
currently offers 63 foreign-language
courses for English speakers, as well
as 17 English-as-a-second-language
courses. All are taught completely in
the users native language, with each
lesson combining real-life situations
and audio from native speakers with
simple, clear instructions. The courses
are presented with an appreciation
for cultural nuance and real-world
application by focusing on the four
key elements of language learning:
vocabulary, pronunciation, grammar
and culture.



"Providing language learning
tools is just one of the many ways
that public libraries serve their local
communities," said Wendy Cornelisen,
assistant state librarian for
library innovation and collaboration.



For years, the local library has
been a go-to source for travel guides
and trip planners. Now that GALILEO
has added Mango, public libraries in
Georgia have even more of the
resources travelers need to prepare
for visits to other countries. "Being
able to say even just a few words in
the local language helps make travel
easier and more enjoyable,"
Cornelisen said, noting that Mango
will also help many Georgians better
speak the languages of commerce.



"According to the U.S. Census
Bureau, Georgia companies exported
nearly $39.4 billion in goods and
services to 211 countries and
territories in 2014," she explained.
"Companies in Georgia benefit from
employees who know more than one
language and are able to better
bridge cultures. Along with its
language-learning resources, Mango
also provides valuable cultural
insights that can help residents forge
new partnerships here and abroad.



"In addition, most students
applying to college need to take two
years of the same foreign language.
Since Mango is available around the
clock from any Internet-connected
device, students with a Georgia
library card will have new ways to
practice and improve skills in their
chosen language anytime."



To help residents get started,
GALILEO is offering webinars for
Georgia-based users. Details are
online at www.galileo.usg.edu. An
archived "All about Mango" webinar
is also available at
www.mangolanguages.com.





GALILEO, public libraries join to provide Mango Languages

FREE MONEY!!!

  Every year, FOGL offers the following awards, designed to support your friends groups activities, and to help fund your author appearances:

• FOGL AUTHOR APPEARANCE GRANT.  This $500 grant is in support of author appearances/events sponsored by local friends groups that are current FOGL members.  Proposals must be received by February 28, 2016.
• FOGL's 2016 "BEST FRIEND" AWARD.  We seek to recognize those who strengthen Georgia's libraries through their advocacy efforts.  To this end, the "Best Friend" award is presented to an exemplary library advocate at our annual membership meeting.  Deadline for nominations is December 31, 2015.
• FOGL's 2016 "FABULOUS FRIENDS" AWARD.  Similar in nature to the above, these outstanding nominees will have made a significant contribution to statewide advocacy efforts on behalf of Georgia's libraries, or will have substantially contributed to the development of their local library or libraries.  Deadline for nominations is also December 31, 2015.

As of today's date, we have yet to receive any applications for the above three awards.  Hence, your odds of winning are indeed considerable!  However, "you can't win if you don't play the game" as they say.  So please, when you're able, take a moment to review these opportunities and their applications at http://georgia-friends.org/.  While you're at our site, consider becoming a member!  It's hands down the least expensive professional organization out there to be involved with, for both individuals and group members.

Our mission is to support and develop your friends groups, and to build a grassroots network of local advocates who believe in the importance and power of our public libraries.  Thank you for your time and consideration.

Lunch and Listen in Lawrenceville

Fayette County Public Library Hosts Seven Georgia Women of Mystery at the Atlanta Sisters in Crime Salon

Fayette County Public Library Hosts Seven Georgia Women of Mystery at the
Atlanta Sisters in Crime Salon on Saturday, July 25 at 1:00 p.m.

FAYETTEVILLE, Ga. – (July 15, 2015) –  Seven Atlanta-area crime fiction writers are set to gather at the Fayette County Public Library on Saturday, July 25 at 1:00 p.m. for the “Atlanta Sisters in Crime Salon.” All published authors of various kinds of mystery, suspense, and thriller novels, the panel members will talk about their latest works, answer audience questions, and sell and sign books. Admission is free, and complimentary light refreshments will be served.

Stacy Allen is the author of “Expedition Indigo,” the first in a thriller series featuring Dr. Riley Cooper, a SCUBA-diving archaeologist. Currently serving as vice president of the Southeast Chapter of Mystery Writers of America, Allen is a certified Advanced Open Water Diver, with specialties in wreck diving and night diving. Her passion for adventure has taken her to over 60 countries.

Kathleen Delaney is the author of the Ellen McKenzie cozy mystery series. Set on California’s central coast, the five books have been praised by critics and loved by readers. Now she has a new series, the Mary McGill canine mysteries. The first in the series has been released in England to glowing reviews, and will be released in the United States August 1. A retired real estate broker and the mother of five grown children, Delaney now lives in Woodstock and writes (and reads) full-time.

Mary Anne Edwards is the author of the Charlie McClung series, traditional mysteries with a touch of romance. “Brilliant Disguise” and “A Good Girl,” the first two books in the series, were released last year. The third book, Criminal Kind, just came out last month. There will be seven more books in the series. A Texan by birth, Edwards now lives in Georgia with her husband of 34 years, having left the accounting world to write full-time.

Sharon Marchisello published her first novel, a suspenseful story of murder and Alzheimer’s titled “Going Home,” with Sunbury Press last year. Prior to that, she contributed the short story “The Ghost on Timber Way” to an anthology featuring Sisters in Crime members. She has also published a personal finance e-book, as well as numerous travel articles and corporate training manuals. Originally from Texas, Marchisello now lives in Peachtree City. Retired from a 27-year career with Delta Air Lines, she does volunteer work for the Fayette Humane Society.

Julia McDermott is the author of “Underwater,” a contemporary thriller set in Atlanta. It’s the story of Candace Morgan, a successful businesswoman who gets conned by her devious brother into funding a luxury home he promises to redo. When the housing market drops, the family plunges into a downward spiral of deceit and violence. She is currently at work on another thriller with tie-ins to “Underwater.” When not writing, she studies French, exercises, and stays busy as a wife and mother of four children.

Kerri Nelson is the author of the cozy Working Stiff Mysteries, with two titles in the series out so far. Nelson survived a 15-year career in the legal field and then took her passion for crime solving to the page, first taking a decade-long detour into the world of romance, where she penned 22 novels and novellas. An active member of both Sisters in Crime and International Thriller Writers, Nelson helps other authors achieve publication through mentoring and instruction, and works as a professional editor.

Fran Stewart is the author of seven cozy mystery books starring small-town Georgia librarian Biscuit McKee and her cat Marmalade, and the standalone mystery, “A Slaying Song Tonight.” Her new ScotShop Mystery Series begins with “A Wee Murder in My Shop,” featuring a modern-day Vermont shopkeeper and a 14th-century Scottish ghost. Stewart lives on the other side of Hog Mountain, northeast of Atlanta, and is a member of the National League of American Pen Women, Sisters in Crime, and Mystery Writers of America.

All seven authors are members of the Atlanta chapter of Sisters in Crime, an organization comprising 3600 members in 50 chapters worldwide, offering networking, advice and support to mystery authors. Sisters in Crime members are authors, readers, publishers, agents, booksellers and librarians, united by their affection for the mystery genre and their support of women who write mysteries. Sisters in Crime was founded by the author Sara Paretsky and a group of other women in 1986.

            The event is free and open to the public. Proceeds from the sale of books at the Atlanta Sisters in Crime Salon benefit the Friends of the Fayette County Public Library, the nonprofit group whose sponsorship makes this event possible, along with many other library programs and services throughout the year.

Passing of a friend to libraries...Denizil Pugh

"When I croak, when people come in to look through all my things, what will it say about my life?"

A little less than a year ago, Denzil Pugh wrote these words on his blog. After losing his mother, going through her things and facing his own mortality, he contemplated his legacy. We all want to leave our mark on the world, to be remembered.

Denzil will be remembered. It may not be world-wide or go down in the annuals of human history, but he left a legacy. Through his years of employment at the bookstores Chapter 11 and Borders, Denzil shared a love of books with hundreds of people. Customers and employees alike were impressed with his knowledge. There was nothing he loved more than connecting people with books that he thought they would enjoy. When Borders went out of business, he worked for Lifeway Christian Bookstores to stay around books. To further that connection, he began to volunteer with the Friends of the Nancy Guinn Library, where he was a valued member, and with the Friends of Georgia Libraries, a state-wide library advocacy group. Recently, he had relocated to Dallas, TX to work at the Brookhaven College bookstore.

Beyond his passion for books, Denzil was a sweet spirit with an impish sense of humor. He could make any conversation better (or worse) with a perfectly timed inappropriate comment. Even when things were difficult, he maintained an optimistic outlook. A friend referred to him as a “Tigger in a World of Eeeyores”, referencing Randy Pausch’s The Last Lecture. Denzil often referred to himself as Peter Pan, stating that he never wanted to grow up. He always maintained that childlike sense of wonder. He loved nature and hiking, and often felt most inspired walking alone on nature trails. He had an amazing work ethic, and wanted nothing more than to be appreciated and recognized for his talents and dedication. He was an amazing writer, with a unique and perceptive view of pop culture, world events, and cartoons. His work can still be read at: http://denzilpugh.blogspot.com/

We all want to leave a legacy. We want to think that the world is better for having us in it, and the truth is, very few of us are indispensable. If we passed on, the world would keep turning. But on May 12, the world stopped spinning for a bit. We lost one of the very best of us. Even if only a small percentage of people got to meet Denzil personally, his loss was felt. The world was better with him in it, and now those of us who were lucky enough to be his family and his friends owe it to him to be worthy of that legacy – to live life with a Tigger attitude, to work hard and keep dreaming, and to foster a love of literacy and literature in all we meet.

“I learned this, at least, by my experiment: that if one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours.” 
― Henry David Thoreau, Walden: Or, Life in the Woods