Tag Archives: public library

Communication, General, Public

Libraries can be mysterious places…

Avon Lake Public Library

“Someone has been hiding empty A.1. steak sauce bottles throughout the Avon Lake Public Library and no one knows why.

Dan Cotton, the library’s page supervisor, said 28 of the 10-ounce bottles have turned up since he found the first one Jan. 11 hidden among the library’s newspapers.

No one has been spotted hiding the bottles, but it’s become almost a game among library staff to locate the bottles, which are typically left lying on their sides behind books on the shelf.

“It became something everyone wanted to find,” Cotton said.

The library’s security guard and pages, who shelve the books, have found most of the dark glass containers among the magazines, the fiction section, the children’s section and elsewhere. Although the bottles appear at random, the most popular location seems to be in the nonfiction section, Cotton said.

“We mapped the first 12 to see if we could find a pattern, but we couldn’t find a discernible pattern,” Cotton said.

Jill Ralston, the library’s public relations and marketing coordinator, said there doesn’t appear to be any malicious intent from whoever the culprit is. The labels have been removed and the bottles have been thoroughly cleaned.”

(read the rest of this library mystery article here!)

Check this out:, CMLE, General, Visits

Visiting the Milaca Community Library

Visiting the Milaca library is like stopping by a friend’s house, one who has comfy chairs, cool art, and lots of cool books and material! The library had a lot of patrons who clearly agreed with this idea, as patrons were all over the library and apparently enjoying the facility. This kind of community library, clearly connecting with patron needs, is always a valuable asset to any community!

One of the highlights of the library is the center of the library, with a recessed art displays. This art is a visual representation of the early history of the area, and schools can sometimes bring students by at just the right time in their study of local history to actually see this visual display! The murals were created by Deborah Morrison Vriesen in 2007. The funding came from the Milaca Friends of the Library, and a grant from the East Central Arts Council. This kind of community art in a library is a valuable way to convey information in a visual format – all part of our mission to share information with our communities!

book-display
Misty’s book recommendations!

And of course, as in all libraries, there are also paper books available on the shelves! This display is set up to help people looking for a new read or some new directions in theme, to find something that will be interesting to them. Misty is our recommender here, and I’m putting a couple of these onto my own to-read list – thanks!

Continue reading Visiting the Milaca Community Library →

General, Public, School Media Specialist

ALA, Google launch “Libraries Ready to Code”

Backlit_keyboard“Ready to Code” will distill and share best practices—empowering more libraries to better prepare young people of all backgrounds with the computational thinking skills necessary for participation in the 21st century economy.”

Libraries have always been a place for community members to come together in pursuit of knowledge. Today, they are playing an increasingly important role in the development of young people’s computer skills.

The American Library Association (ALA) and Google, Inc. are coming together in an attempt to increase access to Computer Science (CS) learning for kids and young people. The project named “Libraries Ready to Code” pays attention to the opportunities offered at libraries for underrepresented groups of young people to expand their CS skills. They will monitor these opportunities through a mixture of interviews, focus groups, and site visits. They are hoping to find out just how much coding and computer learning takes place at libraries. That way they will be able to tailor their programs to be even more helpful to the kids, students, and young people who are in need of these increasingly relevant skills.

To learn more and read the press release, read here.

Image credit: http://tinyurl.com/zfs426q licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0
Public

Action Guide to re-envision your public library

AspenlogoAccording to the Aspen Institute Dialogue on Public Libraries (DPL) “Public libraries have the DNA needed to thrive in this new information-rich, knowledge-based society.”

In 2014, their important work was documented in the report, Rising to the Challenge: Re-Envisioning Public Libraries. A new action guide has been created with resources for “convening a community dialogue”. Libraries can use this as a tool to help them work with their communities to set a new vision for their public library.

The Action Guide for Re-Envisioning Your Public Library

 

Academic, General, Public, School Media Specialist, Special

GRRL Offers Read Down Your Fines Week

Please pass this information along to the young people in your life who may have fines at one of the Great River Regional public libraries. Let’s help each and every child take full advantage of their local public library through this special one-week offer! 

 GRRLSubject: Library Brings Back Read Down Fines Week April 14 to 19

St. Cloud, MN, April 2014: Following the success of Read Down Your Fines weeks in 2013, Great River Regional Library (GRRL) will repeat the effort April 14-19 in recognition of National Library Week.

During Read Down Your Fines week, teens and juveniles who have accumulated fines on their library accounts may read at the library to reduce the amount they owe. Fifteen minutes of reading wipes out $1 in fines. The first Read Down Your Fines week took place in June 2013, when 173 minor cardholders took part. Another 145 took part during a second Read Down Your Fines week in October.

Library staff like to see a busy children’s area and teen space. They believe it is in the best interest of all young people that they be able to take full advantage of library services. Read Down Your Fines provides a measure of compromise and forgiveness for those who have not always been able to return materials promptly for the use of others.

“Young people aren’t always to blame when items are returned late,” said Beth Ringsmuth Stolpman, Patron Services Specialist. “Sometimes another family member checks out materials on their card, and sometimes they don’t have transportation available to get to the library. Even if they have been forgetful or irresponsible, they’re kids and we need to remember that.” Read Down Your Fines is only available to those 16 and younger, and it only applies to fines accumulated for late returns, not to charges for lost or damaged materials.

Individuals who want to take advantage of Read Down Your Fines can speak to staff at their library. In the case of very young children with fines on their cards, parents may read down the child’s fines by reading to them in the library. The program is supported by public donations and will be available at all 32 GRRL locations. Young people who want to take part should speak with library staff as local procedures may vary. Individuals who wish to donate to Read Down Your Fines may do so through the library’s website, www.griver.org/support-library.

GRRL provides library services at 32 public libraries in Benton, Morrison, Sherburne, Stearns, Todd and Wright Counties. It provides Central Minnesota residents with nearly 1 million books, CDs and DVDs, 250 public computers, programming and information services.

Contact: Beth Ringsmuth Stolpman

Patron Services Specialist, GRRL, 320-650-2510