Variety of Things for Patrons at Your Library

Some exciting things are happening here at the library!  Last week staff attended a training session for a new early literacy concept called 6 by 6 Ready to Read.  The library also applied for a grant to help update our parenting collection, which has found its way once again to the children’s side of the library in the non-fiction section.  Watch for more news on these exciting ventures in the weeks to come. 

 If you haven’t come to one of our NASA sessions, be sure to check the schedule for more information on the upcoming programs. The next program in the series will take place on Monday, September 24, at 4 p.m. when a speaker from the Kansas Cosmosphere will be presenting “Living in Space” in the Cooper Clark Room and will address such things as what an orbit is and how it is achieved, what micro-gravity is and how it affects human physiology and function, and how an astronaut spends a typical day in space.   This is a great opportunity to hear a Cosmosphere program without having to leave Liberal.  Plan to join us at 4 p.m. on Monday.

 Some of the new books to recently arrive are now in our non-fiction section.  Learn to Speak Fashion – A Guide to Creating,Showcasing & Promoting Your Style by Laura deCarufel  provides the interested young person with information on every aspect of fashion from creating to modeling to photography to marketing.  The author is very down to earth, shares her opinions, and uses lots of examples from her own experiences.

 Nature’sPatchwork Quilt – Understanding Habitats is by Mary Miche’ with wonderful illustrations by Consie Powell.  This book explains several different habitats and their occupants and how the existence within the habitat fits together like a patchwork quilt.  Terms such as adaptation, interdependency, and biodiversity are explained in easily understood terms.  Age range is listed as 4 to 10, lending itself well to some parent and child time with lots of discussion about the various smaller pictures in each spread.

 Note on the schedule below that our story times will take place on September 27.  That day will mark the end of the first session of story times for the school year.  Though we normally take a two-week break between sessions, this next session will be the exception.  We will only break for one week and resume story times on October 11.  Check the library’s website or in-house postings for the complete schedule, or stop by either the circulation desk or children’s desk for a printed copy. 

 The library is seeking national political campaign buttons and other small memorabilia from past elections to place in the glass display case in our hallway for the month of October up through the election in November.  If you have any items you would be willing to loan, please phone 626-0180, ext 4 or stop by the library.  Make sure the person who accepts your loaned items catalogs them and gets your name and phone number to insure their safe return. 

 Another thing the library is seeking are names of daycare providers who cannot bring the children in their care to the library for our special celebration of Kansas Reads to Preschoolers the week of November 12 and would be interested in lining up a home visit from a library staff member to share the selected story.  If you know someone in this situation, please have her call the library to get on the schedule. 


Check out what’s going on below, and we’ll see you at Memorial Library!

Happenings at Your Library the week of September 24

Sept 24         4 p.m.          “Living in Space” presented by KS Cosmosphere

Sept 27         9:15             Infant Storytime

                   9:55             Toddler Storytime

                   10:15            Preschool Storytime

Sept 27         4:00             Teen Gaming

 

Saunter into the library this September!

The kids are back in school.  Autumn is slowly approaching. The library has a lot of activities planned for September.

Teens looking for activities after school can stop by the library on Thursdays. Chess classes run every two weeks.  They will be held on Thursday, September 6 and 20 from 4:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.  Teen Gaming will be on Thursday, September 13 and 27 from 4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.  for video games, board games, and card games.  Snacks and refreshments will be served.

The library will be holding a Knit In on Saturday, September 8 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. for the Kansas Children's Service League Period of PURPLE Crying. Come and knit purple baby caps for newborns across the state.  The library's goal is 100 hats! Purple skeins and light refreshments will be provided. The gals at the circulation desk are furiously working on their hats through looming.  It is remarkably similar to knitting.  Some of us are trying our hand at it for the first time and bring our mistakes for our master expert Debbie to fix until we learn how to fix them ourselves.

Our weekly NASA program for middle schoolers will commence on Monday, September 10 at 4 p.m. with Space Rocks! A Giant Meteorite Board Game where students assume the roles of meteorites and learn about meteors, meteoroids, and meteorites competing to get to Antarctica! On Monday, September 24, a speaker from the Cosmosphere will be at the library for a Life in Space program detailing what an orbit is and how it is achieved, what micro-gravity is and how it affects human physiology and function and how an astronaut spends a typical day in space…  still harboring dreams of becoming an astronaut.

We will be hosting a Mexican Independence Day Carnival at the library in Cooper Park on Saturday, September 15 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Entertaining activities will include: raffles, bingo for books, musical chairs, soda toss, basketball toss, piñatas, chicken chuck, fishing, kissing booth, fortune telling, tortilla toss, beauty salon, and many more! 

The Library and Lunch gang is growing!  The next meeting will be on Tuesday, September 11 at noon.  The book “Gone Girl” by Gillian Flynn will be discussed.  A husband comes home and discovers his wife missing… Trying to avoid spoilers from patrons at the circulation desk until my copy comes in utilizing a lot of shushing.  The book has been making its rounds on the New York Times Bestseller list. 

The Gardening Club meets every third Tuesday of the month.  The next meeting will be on Thursday, September 18 at 6:30 p.m.  Discover what autumn and winter plants and activities are in store for the group.

Book Chat will be held on Thursday, September 20 at 6:00 p.m.  Come down to discuss what books you are currently reading and discover what new books have hit the shelves!

Out in the community, the library will have a booth at the Duck Races on Saturday, September 22. So before you get a duck, stop by the booth and say hello!

The final stages of programs are in the works for a lot of excitement for all age groups this coming fall so stay tuned!

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 question or suggestions about books or programs don’t hesitate to ask.  See you at the library this coming month!

Storytimes for Little Ones Begin this Week

School will have already started when this column reaches you.  For those of you with children, that means changing gears in your household from the pace of summer to a more set routine.  Here at the library the official end of summer programming came with our summer reading tee shirt claim which took place on Friday, August 10.  Youngsters who had earned shirts came to pick them up and enjoyed ice cream sundaes as well.  Those who were unable to claim their shirts last Friday will need to pick them up by August 25. 

If you didn’t come to  Bettman & Halpin Acoustic Duo at the library on the 7^th, you missed out on a great concert.  Watch our website for the next concert event.

 Fall programming at the library always means the start of our story times for little ones.  This year a change has been made in the schedule.  The day is still Thursday, but now the Lapsit Storytime will start off the morning.  It will begin at 9:15 and end at 9:35.  This age group is birth to 19 months.  Toddle-In Storytime, for children 19 months up to age 3, will begin at 9:55 and end at 10:15.  Our 3 to 5 year old Preschoolers will have the final slot, which begins at 10:30 and goes until 11:15.  Dates for the story times are August 23, 30, and September 6, 13, 20, and 27.  Patrons may call ahead to sign their child up, or may do it at the first session.  If you have never been to story time, why not give it a try?


The Southwest Kansas Library System, of which Memorial Library is a part, will be launching a new early literacy initiative next week entitled 6 x 6 Ready to Read.  It involves six skills that children should know in order to be ready to read at about age six.  Since parents are a child’s first and best teachers, there is valuable information in 6 by 6 for them.   Be watching for forthcoming information about this program.

For you older youngsters, see if you are familiar with the following authors and illustrators who are celebrating their birthdays this week.  Ogden Nash, author of The Tale of Custard the Dragon, whose birthday is the 19^th; On the 20^th, Margaret Bloy Graham, illustrator of the Harry the Dirty Dog books, and Belinda Hurmence, author of A Girl Called Boy.  Claudia Mills and Arthur Yorinks have birthdays the 21^st.  Mills authored Mason Dixon: Fourth Grade Disasters.  Yorinks is probably best known for Hey, Al, winner of the 1987 Caldecott Medal.  Moving on to August 23, children’s science topic author, Melvin Berger will celebrate.  Ian Falconer who is both author and illustrator of the Olivia titles shares August 25 with Charles Ghigna, author of early reader books like Mice Are Nice, and Lane Smith, illustrator of Jon Scieszka’s  hilarious book The True Story of the Three Little Pigs.        Why not come on down to the library and check out one of these titles, don your party hat, and celebrate the author’s and/or illustrator’s special day?

The Library will be continuing with its journey into outer space in September and October. Learn about the wonders of space and NASA programming at the Library through a series of fun and educational events, which will include speakers, demonstrations, and activities.  Watch the Library’s web page and in-house postings for further details. 

Speaking of NASA, there is a lot of excitement surrounding the Mars Rover Curiosity.  Fifteen- year- old Kansas high school sophomore Clara Ma is responsible for the name ‘Curiosity’.  If you would like to follow the progress of Curiosity, check it out at www.nasa.gov.  That site also contains some interactive things for young people.  If you scroll down, there is a section entitled Participate, following your curiosity.  It contains educational games, landing videos, and much more.   

 Don’t forget to pick up your summer reading shirt and plan to attend our NASA activities in September and October.  See you at Memorial Library!

Rocket into the library in August

The summer reading programs have winded down this month.  Adults have two more days to get their tickets into the library for drawings.  The High Readers Party was a bowling feat. Participants in the Murder Mystery say it was a smashing success.  Our last event of the summer will be on Friday, August 10 where those individuals who earned t-shirts and certificates can pick them up beginning at 2 p.m. lasting till 3:30 p.m. They can be claimed any time after that as well.

In the month of July, the library hosted a weekly space-themed film.  The library received a NASA Summer of Innovation Mini-Grant this month from the National Space Grant Foundation with the plan to continue this theme with a six-week program during the fall (from September through October) to educate on the wonders of NASA.  The weekly sessions will be geared toward middle school aged children.  During this period, we will be presenting programs and activities that will incorporate aspects of the NASA Summer of Innovation modules.

Sessions in store during the fall will include Mars vs. Earth where we will compare the two planets showing the physical differences and similarities between the planets and taking a look at the lore between the two planets in popular culture.  What is the fascination with Mars?  Discussion will be focused on the events of NASA and its mission to Mars, in particular the Mars Rover Curiosity.

A Space Food program will also be held.  We will make Asteroid Potatoes and examine foods that were taken into outer space such as Tang and Freeze dried food. Nutritional value and the physical demands of eating in space will be examined.

Space Rocks! Meteorite Game will spark curiosity about the universe and reinforce a better understanding of the origins of meteors, meteoroids, and meteorites.  To discover why space does indeed rock!

The library will have a speaker from the Kansas Cosmosphere and Space Center in Hutchinson. By focusing on the human story of space exploration, they will entertain and educate as they present.  We anticipate that the program will enlighten and have a positive effect in our community.

In other news, the next Library and Lunch will be held on Tuesday, August 14 at noon. ”Lone Wolf” by Jodi Picoult will be discussed.

The library will have an award-winning acoustic duo Stephanie Bettman and Luke Halpin on Tuesday, August 7 from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.  They create a “fully acoustic, delightfully eclectic sound that is far greater than the sum of it[s] parts.  Together they weave a spell that takes the audience from up tempo down home fiddlin’, to soulful sorrowful ballds, to super hooky folk/pop. You’ll be hooked from the first fiddle line to the last sweet harmony.”

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!