Multnomah County Library Podcasts

Central Library hosted readings and presentations commemorating Oregon's late poet laureate on Sunday, January 25, 2009.Featured participants included: Jim Scheppke presents “William Stafford and the Oregon Poetry Collection.” Mr. Scheppke has been State Librarian of Oregon since 1991. Ellen Louise Hart and Holly Springfield present “Where the Right Word Again Begins Time”: William Stafford and Emily Dickinson. Ms. Hart writes about Emily Dickinson's manuscripts, and about prosody and the visual line in Dickinson's poetry and correspondences. Ms. Springfield is a meditation teacher, storyteller and independent student and teacher of Emily Dickinson’s poetry and founder of the Portland Chapter of the Emily Dickinson International Society (EDIS). Don Colburn is a health reporter for The Oregonian. Kirsten Rian was recently nominated for inclusion in the 2008 Best New Poets anthology. Joseph A. Soldati, host for the program, has published numerous poems and essays in a variety of literary journals and antholo

Learn what to do (and not do), non-verbally, to save yourself when working with volatile people and situations.Target Audience: Adults

  The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness. Todd Hewitt has spent his life listening to the Noise -- the thoughts of every living thing on the New World. But it's the day he hears nothing that changes everything.      

Jon Scieszka’s many books have won awards and sold over 11 million copies. Scieszka is also the founder of Guys Read, a nonprofit literacy organization. In 2008 the Library of Congress chose Jon Scieszka to be the first National Ambassador for Young People's Literature, a two-year position in which Scieszka’s mission is to get kids excited about reading. In his lecture, Scieszka talks about the cool stuff he has acquired since becoming an Ambassador, tells stories about his books and his childhood growing up as the second oldest of six brothers, and answers questions from kids in the audience.Date of Event: Monday, April 20, 2009Target Audience: Everybody

Dr. Frederick T. "Fritz” Fraunfelder, ophthalmologist, founding member of the Casey Eye Institute and author of Retirement Rx discusses the four phases of retirement and eight key traits for aging and retiring well. Consider taking Dr. Fraunfelder's “Retirement Docs" Quiz,” a self-assessment tool to predict how well you will do in retirement http://www.theretirementdocs.com/Quiz.htm.

Director candidates:  Vailey OehlkeListen to a presentation by Vailey Oehlke, a candidate for the position of Director of Libraries for Multnomah County.    Recorded on April 14, 2009 and moderated by Jana McClellan on behalf of Multnomah County Chair Ted Wheeler, the session includes a short presentation as well as a question and answer session with the audience.

Director candidates:  Christian KruseListen to a presentation by Christian Kruse, a candidate for the position of Director of Libraries for Multnomah County.    Recorded on April 14, 2009 and moderated by Jana McClellan on behalf of Multnomah County Chair Ted Wheeler, the session includes a short presentation as well as a question and answer session with the audience.

Director candidates:  Holly CarrollListen to a presentation by Holly Carroll, a candidate for the position of Director of Libraries for Multnomah County.    Recorded on April 14, 2009 and moderated by Jana McClellan on behalf of Multnomah County Chair Ted Wheeler, the session includes a short presentation as well as a question and answer session with the audience.

Portland has a love affair with books. Take an entertaining and informative "tour" of area bookstores, libraries, literary landmarks and authors led by popular local author Gabriel Boehmer.

Find out more about the foundations and history of Feng Shui, Chi flow and how to arrange your environment to enhance your life with speaker, Kirsten Havnaer.  Presented at Hollywood Library on October 7, 2007.

An evening with Randy Shaw, author of the new book Beyond the Fields: Cesar Chavez, the UFW, and the Struggle for Justice in the 21st Century . In "Beyond the Fields," Shaw reveals the untold story of how the spirit of "Sí Se Puede" that began with Cesar Chavez and the United Farm Workers in the 1960s still sets the course for today’s social justice movements. Shaw finds that the influence of Chavez and the UFW has ranged far and wide: in labor campaigns like Justice for Janitors, in the building of Latino political power, in the fight for environmental justice, in the growing national movement for immigrant rights, and even in Barack Obama’s presidential campaign. SEIU Executive Vice-President Eliseo Medina praises Shaw’s book as a "stirring account of how the UFW transformed people’s lives," and LeRoy Chatfield of the Farmworkers Documentation Project says it is a "must read" for former UFW volunteers.

Helen and Alison read a poem from the book Joyful Noise: Poems for Two Voices

Jean Johnson reads and presents no-fuss recipes from her book, Cooking Beyond Measure: How to Eat Well without Formal Recipes. Demonstrations included simple no-cook recipes — like sliced pears dipped in flax meal laced with cardamom, cottage cream and raspberries with homemade whole grain muesli, or roasted garlic on whole-grain bread.

A good plan provides clarity, increases motivation and includes an action strategy. Learn the key ingredients for creating a plan that will guide you toward success.

 Are you helping your parents downsize or move? The task of sorting through a lifetime's possessions can be physically and emotionally challenging. Explore new options, including senior move management and charitable giving. Bill Smith created a senior move management company, called Take Care Move Assistance, to serve the needs of the Portland senior community. Lorca Harrison is the owner of DoughNation, a service that helps clients donate and dispose of their possessions in an organized and sensitive way.

LeAnn Locher writes the popular Portland blog, LeLo in NoPo. She'll talk and share photos of her 3-year experience of creating and growing her blog, how it began as a personal journey and self exploration, and what she found along the way. Blogging creates connections to people, issues, cultures, and even social change, and has led to real-world connections, clients, and friends. She'll share a case study of blogging a topic that grew into a quick community action, with a flurry of news throughout the blogosphere and local media outlets. With writers now blogging and bloggers now writing, is there a place for the two to meet?

Kristian Williams, a journalist and a member of Rose City Copwatch, is the author of Our Enemies in Blue: Police and Power in America and American Methods: Torture and the Logic of Domination. Jules Boykoff teaches political science at Pacific University in Forest Grove and is the author of Beyond Bullets: The Suppression of Dissent in the United States. The authors discuss their books and answer questions from the audience.

Librarian Cathy Camper interviews children's author Dale E. Basye about his book Heck Where the Bad Kids Go, writing and future projects. Hear the Heck theme song too!

Leaders are most effective when they help others take action. Learn some coaching skills to help people find the clarity to move forward.

 Are you finding it difficult to talk to your parents about their care needs? Learn about community resources, websites and checklists that can help you help them. For this presentation, please download or link to Prepare to Care: A Planning Guide for Families, a handbook published by AARP: http://www.aarp.org/makeadifference/gettinghelp/articles/prepare_to_care.html Loriann McNeill is the Family Caregiver Support Program coordinator for Multnomah County Aging and Disability Services, and has extensive personal and professional experience in family caregiving. Questions? Contact Loriann McNeill at 503-988-3646 x26263