Library Log 8/27/09

Kieran’s Notes from the back room :

An awesome thing happened today. A fellow, who would like to remain anonymous, came in and donated $1000 for a new computer for the teens and a download station. Ok, now I see you reading along and saying, ‘blah, blah blah, teen computer, blah blah download station …Download station?? Honey, what’s a download station??” Well, the idea was to provide a very fast, easily plugged into computer for folks to hook their Ipods, mp3’s, SD media cards, and who knows what. We want you to have cutting-edge tech ability here at the library, and we also want to make sure all sorts of formats of information are available to the community. If the best information on beekeeping comes from a book, scroll, mp3 audio file, wma, or zip, we want you to be able to access the information. It is the information that is important; the only time the format of the information becomes important is when you cannot access it. While the teens are getting a new computer here at the library, I hear the Senior Center is looking for a computer. If you can help out the Senior Center get all high tech, give Cid a call at the library. We want to have the whole town getting it done techy style! If you need a class for learning some basic computer skills, give Robin a call at the library, and she can sign you up for some classes. If you know you really want to be able to use the new whatever-it-is at the library to download the latest whatever-you-want, let me know and will see if we can accommodate you. You can also stop by the back room anytime and we can talk tech!

Library Log 8/20/09

From Gypsy’s Corner:

The pool is closed and the RE-2 kids started back at school today; so as far as I’m concerned summer is officially over. It certainly was an eventful summer; what with all the changes around the library and town events. Between the record number of summer reading and other program participants and the wild weather there wasn’t a dull moment (not to mention the bear on the loose and the ladybug infestation!). Although we’ll have a little less teen and tourist traffic during the day, we will still have lots for the whole community to do. Now that she’s had a little time to recover from the Summer Reading Program, Robin Hohn will launch into her first year leading the preschoolers in our weekly story hour. She will be a new face for some of the parents and little ones but I promise you she is full of energy and wonderful ideas to keep the preschool crowd busy and having fun here at the library throughout the school year. The weekly Teen Group will start next week with Robin as well, so be sure to tell all the middle school aged kids in your life that we’ll be here for them every Wednesday at 2:15 with snacks and activities. And finally, we have Mary Campbell who is spearheading the new home-school resource program. In making sure that we serve all our youth in their educational endeavors by supporting their teachers, we are building our collection of resources that are available to our home-school families. Stop in and see her and the new display in the corner back near the reference section to see what she’s up to. She will be glad to meet you and fill you in on this new program and how it can help you connect with other home-schooling families. I hope you all had a good summer and, and as usual, please feel free to stop in and see me anytime.

Kieran’s notes from the back room :

The program, ‘Overcoming Procrastination’ will be held Tuesday September 22nd. The class is by reservation only, so call Cid soon – don’t put it off! If September 22nd is too far in the future for you, you can step back to the past with us on Tuesday, September 1st. We will be showing the film Cat Ballou, the 1965 Western/Comedy filmed at Buckskin Joe’s in Canon City. We are hoping to get you in the spirit for Pioneer Day. Ahh, Pioneer Day – watch the parade, enjoy the booths at the park, drink a root beer float… yup, the pioneering spirit. If you want to see more about the pioneers of this area, check out our Colorado section of books. Lots of local information and history ready for you to peruse. When you are in here checking out the pioneers, come by the back room and say hi, I am always glad to see you!

Library Log 8/13/09

Kieran’s note from the back room :

When I was in Chicago at the big library conference, I saw a booth from a company called Film Movement. They gave me a free DVD for stopping by their booth and some information on what they offer. I thought it was a good idea and brought it up with the boss on my return. She agreed and we signed up. Film Movement will send us a feature length, award winning, independent film and a short film every month. Right after we signed up, I read about Film Movement in a blog by Roger Ebert, the award winning American film critic for the Chicago Sun-Times and television’s Ebert & Roeper at the Movies. (I remember him as the thumbs up/thumbs down guy with the late Gene Siskel.) He gave Film Movement a thumbs up. Ebert’s essay singles out Film Movement as one of the exciting new ways in which independent film are being made available to a broad audience. So what does this mean to you? Well, you can be a part of the broad audience. Film Movement sends us the DVD often a month before the film releases to select theaters. We are going to show it and then put it on the shelf for check out. So you can watch critically acclaimed award-winning independent and foreign films in the comfort of your own library or home (and with less expensive popcorn!) The film I got for free at their booth is called ‘The Grocer’s Son’, and comes with a short film called, ‘One Weekend a Month.’ The short is 12 minutes long and had me choked up. (One phone call really can change your life!) The feature was great. It is a French film with subtitles and some awesome acting and beautiful cinematography. It is on the shelves ready for you to take home. After the first of the year we will show some of the films here at the library! Yup indeed with free popcorn too! Stop by the back room next time you are in the library and say, ‘Hi’. We can talk movies!

Library Log 8/6/09

Kieran’s Notes from the back room :

Calling all artist…calling all artists… Cid is looking for a few local artists to show their work here at the library. It is a pretty cool little gig. Your art is displayed for a month and we hold a little reception for you, right here at the library. Kinda neat. If you aren’t ready to show your work off to all of us, come to the library for some artistic inspiration. We have a nice collection of art books that you can checkout. We sure have been getting some nice rains lately, haven’t we? Books on a rainy day can be nice; all snuggled up inside and dry, but books and water don’t mix. I was reading about a library in Louisville, Kentucky. They had seven inches of rain in 75 minutes, devastating the main branch of the Louisville Free Public Library, and causing an estimated $5 million in damage. 50,000 books and other items were lost. I bring this up for several reasons (not the least of which is I was just reading about it). See, I read about this library on quite a few different librarian information sites. All of which gave information on how to help the Louisville Library out with financial and book donations. It got me thinking about how neat it is when folks rally around something or someone who needs extra help. Then I got to thinking about how blessed this library is with people who donate and volunteer. So much of what we do wouldn’t have happened as easily nor quickly if it wasn’t for the generous folks around here. I guess that is one of the reasons I am so excited about the Friends of the Library group that is forming. (Woopie! We are going to have Friends!) I think it was in the play “The Matchmaker”, by Thornton Wilder, where Dolly says, “Money is like manure; it’s not worth a thing unless it’s spread around encouraging young things to grow.” Encouraging young things to grow is a big part of the library, and it is getting bigger and better. Mary is developing a Homeschool Resource Center. Yup, gallons of information and Mary to help you and the young ones make sense of it all. When you visit the library, make sure to come to the back room for your pat on the back because you deserve it.