Healthcare.gov Marketplace

On Thursday we had our last watch party for the Healthcare.gov Marketplace, which was a demonstration of website itself. But don’t worry if you missed the series of webinars about the Healthcare.gov Marketplace and the Affordable Care Act. All of the sessions are archived at http://www.kslib.info/calendar/archives.html along with slides from the presentations. For more information about libraries and the Affordable Care Act, including helpful links to various government agencies, visit www.kslib.info/aca.

Interlibrary Loan

You might have noticed that our Interlibrary Loan procedures have changed a bit in the last couple of weeks. Instead of requesting loans from other libraries online through our library catalog, now patrons go to a separate catalog at http://ill.lmlibrary.org or http://illverso.lmlibrary.org depending on preference.

The switch over isn’t quite complete yet, but soon we hope our patrons will be able to login to this new catalog using their Liberal Memorial Library card number and password. For the time being however, patrons can browse and place Interlibrary loan requests but cannot login or track them and will just have to fill in their information (name, library card number, and phone number) again with each request. For the older interface, http://illverso.lmlibrary.org, if a patron just hits enter at the login screen without typing in anything, they can browse and place Interlibrary loans.

As always, patrons can still log in to our own library catalog, http://catalog.lmlibrary.org, using their library card number and password. Once logged in, they can use it to search for and place holds on library items, renew their checked out items, search the databases, including magazine, health, and encyclopedia databases, check the status of their account, and update their contact information. The same library card number and password can be used to access the library’s patron computers and to use the Self-Check station.

Database Spotlight

There are quite a few useful and informative databases included in the statewide collection, (http://www.kslib.info/librarians/eor.html), made available to all Kansas residents free of charge by the State Library of Kansas and by a grant from the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services. One of most useful is the Auto Repair Reference Center.

The Auto Repair Reference Center (ARRC) is a collection of automobile repair reference information that contains repair and maintenance information on most major manufacturers of domestic and imported vehicles.

You can select your model of car by simply filling in the year, make, and model drop-downs.

You’ll then find step-by-step, repair-oriented information for all areas of your vehicle, technical service bulletins and recall information on your vehicle, electrical wiring diagrams, and a full list of specifications for your vehicle. You’ll be able to determine the time it takes to do a repair and estimate the cost of the repair, and for the advanced DIYer, there is diagnostic troubleshooting based on symptoms and ODBII codes.

Finding the Next Must-Read Book for Your Child

What happens when your child reaches the end of a favorite series, only to find out that the next book doesn’t come out for another six months? There are several solutions for getting a kid excited about new books, whether they are in a series or not.

Choose something from your childhood days. Your child may laugh at why you thought the Babysitter’s Club was such a good series or why you thought Encyclopedia Brown was so clever (and why he only charged ten cents an hour for his fee), but suggesting a book that you enjoyed at that age and then talking about it is a way to share your childhood and connect with a child. Your child may tease you forever for the story being totally unbelievable or corny, but after rereading it, you probably will agree with them.

Look at the Junior Book Finder on the library’s website. Choose a category and find book recommendations. Because there are so many different categories, at least one of them will strike a chord with a young reader. Categories include: books set in the past, funny books, books with dragons (and books with about every other type of monster), animals and books under a hundred pages. If you read a really good book that fits into one of the categories and it isn’t on the Book Finder, tell us and we can add it. We are adding more and more books every week, so keep checking back. The Book Finder is at www. http://lmlibrary.org/kids/jfbookfinder/finder.asp

Check out more than you need. Sometimes a book just isn’t all that great. If it’s all that your child has and you only go to the library once a week, then they are going to be bored, and dread the twenty minutes every night spent reading before going to bed. Check out a few books instead of just one, so that it can be abandoned it if it isn’t any good.

Check out a book sight unseen. Some people really believe that you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover. Want the chance to see whether or not it will work? At the library, we have books for children that are covered in paper. All the information that you get about the book is the recommended age level and a few key words. For example, one of the books on my desk right now is for kids in grades two to five with three hints: 1) kung fu, worms and chocolate-covered scorpions; 2) a shrinking kid; and 3) funny. Kids can only take the book out of the wrapping after they check it out. Who doesn’t like unwrapping a present?

Get a recommendation from a librarian. I don’t know when the last time was that I read a book that wasn’t either a kid’s book or a young adult book. I also spend a lot of time talking to kids about books. If you want a recommendation, just ask! Just be prepared to carry home more books than you planned on checking out. If your child is looking for a book set in the 1960s, I’d recommend The Wednesday Wars by Gary D. Schmidt. Want a dark book? Then you should read Splendors and Glooms by Laura Amy Schlitz. Unless, you wanted a funny dark book… Then check out A Tale Dark and Grimm by Adam Gidwitz. Want a book about ADHD? The Joey Pigza series by Jack Gantos is phenomenal. If you come in wanting “a good book”, I’ll either recommend Wonderstruck by Brian Selznick, Confetti Girl by Diana Lopez or Moon over Manifest by Clare Vanderpool. Chances are pretty good that the Liberal Memorial Library has a book for every child.

Thirty Ways to Use Your Library Card

September is National Library Card Sign Up month. What do you have in your wallet? A library card? You should! It gives you access to many services and books.  The American Library Association releases a yearly “ways to use your  library card” list. Let's explore some of the great ways you can use your library card and library services:

- Download an e-book.  Your library is where you can get e-books and other digital content. Download now – ask your librarian how! Through 3M Cloud Library that is accessible on our website, check out the titles that are available for download.

- Not sure how to download an e-book on your new device?  A librarian can show you how. Take a workshop on how to use your e-reader or other gadgets.  Doreen, our tech usually hosts a workshop on e-readers every season.

- Use a computer to finish a school project. Over 62 percent of libraries report they are the only provider of free public computer and Internet access in their communities.

- Use free Wi-Fi. Almost 91 percent of public library outlets offer wireless Internet access.

- Learn the secrets of using the computer. Nancy, one of our circulation clerks teaches weekly computer classes in the morning.

- Learn check mate: attend a library game night. Casandra, our children’s librarian hosts chess on Mondays in September and we have Teen Gaming and Dungeons and Dragons monthly. Dungeons and Dragons will be held on Thursday, September 12 at 4 p.m. and Teen Gaming on Tuesday, September 24 at 4 p.m.

- Take the kids to a free movie or pick up a DVD to watch together at home... or get a movie for free from your library's website. There’s usually a movie night every month!

- Save money while spending quality time: plan a family afternoon at place that’s free - the library!

- Attend preschool story hour with your child. Story Fun is held on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays at 11:15 a.m. and Wednesdays at 9:30 a.m.

- Librarians are early literacy experts... The library is in our second round of Family Place workshops this month for children ages birth to five years. It’s a chance for parents to mingle and chat with each other and our weekly specialist. They’re held on Thursdays at 6:30 p.m. Also, we have a brand new AWE Early Literacy Station in the children’s area particularly geared for those two to eight. It’s a touch screen with lots of educational materials.  The kids love it!

- ...that can put your child on the path to becoming a baby Einstein.

- Launch your future: Get free assistance with job searches, resume writing and interviewing tips...

- ...or become an entrepreneur. Learn how to write a business plan. Check out a book to do so!

- Get help with homework.

- Research your term paper.

- Explore new opportunities and research technical schools, community colleges and universities.

- Get ready for the SAT with online test-prep services.  We have a lot of online resources!

- Check out your favorite graphic novel.

- Trek to another planet in a Sci-Fi novel.

- Talk mysteries with people who like mysteries, too, at a library book club. Library and Lunch meets every second Tuesday of the month at 12 p.m. and Book Chat meets every third Thursday of the month at 6:30 p.m.!

- Learn a new language with books or online language-learning software. Talk like a pirate, eh? Try out Mango Languages offered through the State Library of Kansas.

- Empower yourself. Check out a book on auto repair or learn how to change a flat tire.

- Borrow or download an audio book for your next road trip or commute.

- Find a new hobby.  So many choices!

- Enjoy a concert. This fall we're excited to have events with the Swingin’ Jazz Band, Bell Choir, and the Redskin Singers.

- Enroll your child in a summer reading program.

- Learn new knitting techniques and get new patterns. Lots of books in the library collection on this one plus we’re clicking away every other Saturday this month for the Click for Babies campaign led by the Kansas Children's Service League.  We’ll be having Knit In’s on Saturday, September 7 and September 21 at 9 a.m.

- Join your Friends group. The library will be aiming to bring back our Friends group this fall at a special Kansas Humanities Council speaker event in October at an off-site location. Interested? Let us know!

- Take a cooking class. We don’t have cooking classes yet; we do have the next best thing: Recipe Swap every last Monday of the month at 6:30 p.m. where we do have noodle demonstrations and all around fun.

- Find a quiet spot, curl up with a good book and enjoy.

For the latest library programming take a peek at the library website or grab a newsletter from the circulation desk. Stay tuned and connected through our social media pages.  If you have any questions or suggestions about books or programs don’t hesitate to ask.  See you at the library this month!

Sign up for a Library Card at the Liberal Memorial Library

September is National Library Card Sign-up month.
Come down to the Liberal Memorial Library and sign up for a card today. It’s easy and free!

Here’s information on library policies and how to get a library card.

Liberal Memorial Library’s collection includes more than 77,000 items: books, audio books, DVDs, magazines, music CDs, reference materials, and puppets, through the Kansas Library Card.

Library cards are free to all residents of Kansas. Out-of-state residents are also eligible.

All library patrons over the age of 18 MUST present a government-issued form of identification and a utility bill.

Library cards are sent through the United States Postal Service to library patrons and should arrive within one week of application.

A patron cannot check out items until they receive their card in the mail.

Children are entitled to the same check out privileges as adults. They must have a parent or guardian present to get a library card. This parent or guardian will be held responsible for the safe return of all library property and any fines or fees that are accrued.

The staff asks that parents or guardians monitor the appropriateness of library materials that their children borrow. The library staff is not responsible for making that judgment as individual families have different ways of deciding what is suitable for their children.

All materials in the library may be checked out for two weeks, except for DVDs which may be checked out for one week.

All library patrons must have their own library card to check out materials.

In an effort to circulate as many materials as possible a patron is limited to no more than 15 items: which may include four DVDs, six audio CDs (including audio CD books and music CDs), six magazines, one e-reader, and four interlibrary loan items.

Overdue items are $.10 per day except for DVDs which are $1 per day.

Materials may be renewed in person, by telephone, or online.

Most materials may be renewed twice unless another patron has reserved the item.
DVDs, pre-literacy kits, and items that have placed in the New York Times Bestsellers cannot be renewed.

A request for renewal of interlibrary loan materials must be made three days before the due date or they may not be subject to renewal.

*SEPTEMBER ACTIVITIES*
Knitting sessions for Click for Babies: Saturdays on September 7 and 21 at 9 a.m.

Chess: Mondays in September 9, 16, 23, 30 at 6 p.m.

Affordable Care Act Watch Parties: Thursdays on September 12 and 26 at 7 p.m.

Family Place Library Workshops: Thursdays September 5, 12, 19 and 26 at 6:30 p.m.

Library and Lunch: Tuesday, September 10 at 12 p.m.

Dungeons & Dragons: Tuesday, September 10 at 4 p.m.

Spanish story time on Tuesday, September 10 at 6:00 p.m.

Mexican Independence Day Carnival: Saturday, September 14 at 11 a.m.

Teen Gaming: Tuesday, September 24 at 4 p.m.

Book Chat: Thursday, September 19 at 6:30 p.m.

Recipe Swap: Monday, September 30 at 6:30 p.m.

For more information on these events, you can contact the Library at (620) 626-0180 or visit the website at www.lmlibrary.org.