Come see your toddlers sing and act out their favorite nursery rhymes while our puppets lead the way.  Parents are encouraged to sing and dance with their young children.   This fun evening with your toddler will take place at Ascension Parish Library in Donaldsonville on Tuesday, October 15, 2019 at 4:30 PM.  For more information please call the library at 473-8052.

A special book talk with co-authors of Fragile Grounds:  Louisiana’s Endangered Cemeteries, Jessica H. Schexnayder and Mary H. Manhein, will take place at Ascension Parish Library in Gonzales on Tuesday, October 15, at 6:00 PM.  Fragile Grounds compiles stories and photographs of endangered cemeteries throughout Louisiana’s coastal zone and beyond, and highlights the state’s vibrant diversity by showing its unique burial customs and traditions, while also identifying the urgent need for ongoing documentation of cultural elements at risk.

Jessica H. Schexnayder is a Louisiana native and is passionate about documenting the people, history, and culture of south Louisiana.  Her writing and photography have been featured by the Louisiana State Archives, Louisiana Cultural Vistas, Country Roads, Heart of Louisiana, and Inside New Orleans.  Mary H. Manhein is the retired director of the Forensic Anthropology and Computer Enhancement Services (FACES) Laboratory at LSU.  She is the author of The Bone Lady: Life as a Forensic Anthropologist; Trail of Bones: More Cases from the Files of a Forensic Anthropologist; Bone Remains: Cold Cases in Forensic Anthropology; and the mystery novel Floating Souls: The Canal Murders.

Following the presentation, there will be a reception and book signing.  For more information or to register, call 647-3955.

On January 18, 1919, some of the most powerful people in the world meet in Paris, France to begin the long, complicated negotiations that would officially mark the end of the First World War.   www.history.com

Ascension Parish Library in Gonzales hosts a four-week reading and discussion series on the aftermath of World War I.  This series offers the reading public an opportunity to examine this conflict’s aftermath in detail and to understand the impact World War I had on human lives and the economic, social, and political pressures put on the countries involved. 

Dr. Karl Roider, Alumni Professor Emeritus of Louisiana State University, leads four sessions with open discussions supported by the text, Paris 1919: Six Months that Changed the World by Margaret MacMillan.  Paris 1919 is an historical narrative about the six months of negotiations that took place at the Paris Peace Conference following WWI.  MacMillan gives a dramatic and intimate view of the engaging history made when peacemakers from around the world converged on Paris to shape world peace.

The series, Aftermath of World War I, meets Tuesdays starting November 5 and concluding on November 26, at 6:00 PM.  Participation in the series is limited.  Readers, who are interested in committing to the four-week program, must register in advance, either in person or by calling the library at 647-3955.  Every reader receives a copy of Paris 1919: Six Months that Changed the World by Margaret MacMillan to check out, so a current library card will be needed.  Registration begins on Tuesday, October 15.