Kansas Reads to Preschoolers is Here!

 Preparations are now complete for the celebration of the 8^th annual Kansas Reads to Preschoolers event.  Daycares and preschool settings will be hearing the story Lola Loves Stories by Anna McQuinn as library staffers tour Liberal making visits this week.

 Youngsters who come to the library for our special story times on Thursday will also hear the story along with taking part in some other fun activities, including a drawing for a copy of the book.  Even if you have never taken part in story time prior to November 15, please plan to join us.  The age groups and times are as follow: Infants birth through 18 months meet at 9:15; toddlers ages 19 months through 35 months meet at 9:55; preschoolers ages 3 to 5 meet from 10:30 to 11:15.  Story time sessions for the younger two groups last 20 minutes. 

 A wonderful time was had by all who attended our Fancy Nancy and the Posh Puppy dress-up party.  The young attendees looked ‘ magnifique’, as Fancy Nancy would say.  Watch our website or in-library publicity for upcoming fun events for children. 

On your next trip to the library, check out our tribute to veterans in the north alcove.  Even though today is Veterans’ Day, the display will remain in place for a couple of weeks.  Another thing to check out is our new circulation desk.  Installed just last week, staff members are still moving into drawers and cupboards and getting used to the new feel of things.  So far, everyone seems really pleased.

The glass display case in the hall is now housing one of the library’s 27 pre-literacy kits which were made possible about 9 years ago by a special populations grant.  These kits are designed to help parents, grandparents, and other significant adults work with children in learning or in reinforcing skills needed when they start kindergarten.  Housed in clear, plastic backpacks, these kits contain books and manipulatives centered around fun topics for little ones.  The kits also include a notebook offering suggestions on how to use the kit.   The notebook and many of the books featured in the kit are provided in Spanish as well as in English.   Parents, grandparents, and caregivers have lots of great ideas themselves, so the notebook acts as a jumping off point to get started with the kit.  In the Youth Pages tab across the top of the library web page, select kid’s corner then scroll down on the left to see a description of each of the kits or stop by the library and look at the binder that features each kit.   Besides being educational, the kits are a lot of fun!!

Some patrons may not be aware that the library purchases all the nominated books for the William Allen White award annually.  This award is the Kansas state award in children’s literature.  Kansas school children get the opportunity to vote for the winner in one of two categories: grades 3 to 5 and grades 6 to 8.  In order to vote, a student has to have read at least two titles from one or the other of the lists.  These are always excellent reading as attested to by the fact that lots of adults also try to read through the titles before the award is announced.  The authors of the nominated books must confirm that they will attend the award ceremony should their book win.  This year there was a bit of a problem getting confirmations due to so many publishing companies being located on the east coast in the path of Hurricane Sandy.  The event organizers have promised an official final list by November 12.  The bookmark list that is located with the display of these books on the ledge by the Children’s Desk may be altered after the twelfth.  Please ask if you need assistance in locating the books. 

 In conclusion, if you failed to call the library to line up a visit to your home daycare, it’s not too late to give us a call.  Have a happy Veterans’ Day and we’ll see you at Memorial Library!

Upcoming events week of November 11

Monday, November 12 – Friday November 16 KANSAS READS TO PRESCHOOLERS

Tuesday, November 13          

 10 a.m.            Wii for Adults

10 a.m.            Beginning Computer (call for reservation)

  Noon                Library & Lunch.  If you are interested in the Dust Bowl years, the featured
                         book is The Worst Hard Time by Timothy Egan.

Wednesday, November 14    

 9:30                 Spanish Beginning Computer (call for reservation)

Thursday, November 15  

  9:15                 Lapsit Story time

  9:55                 Toddle-in Story time

   10:30               Preschool Story time

4:30                 Chess – beginners & experienced players welcome

 6:30                 Book Chat – come discuss the new books you are reading.

                                                                 

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

 

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!

Earth Day and Coming Events

April always seems like a whirlwind of activity!  Some of the library staff just returned from the Kansas Library Association’s annual conference.  Lots of good information is always presented to guide library staffers in ultimately providing the best service for our patrons. 

National Library Week has come and gone.  The theme this year was You Belong @ Your Library.  The emphasis was on all the varied things libraries provide for patrons with a wide range of interests.  The week kicked off with a cookie and lemonade reception on Monday, the 9^th.  Patrons were invited to put their names into a drawing for neat prizes in the children’s, teen, and adult categories.  If you were called as a prize winner, be sure to stop by the library and pick up your prize. 

The final sessions of spring story time took place on Thursday, the 19^th.  The next group of story times begins with the start of summer reading the week of May 29.  Speaking of summer reading, something new is available this year for attendees of our program.  In order to speed up the sign up process, which begins the week of May 21, patrons have two options.  They can either stop by the library for the forms necessary to enroll their children in the summer program OR they can go to our website at www.lmlibrary.org, click on Youth Pages, then Kids’ Corner, then Summer Reading and the forms will be available to print out.  In fact, it is set up that you can fill them out before printing them out.  Then all you need to do is stop by during sign up week with the completed forms and we’ll get your children enrolled.  This should make sign up a much more pleasant experience.  Should you have any questions, please call the Children’s Desk at 626-0180, ext 4. 

Today is Earth Day.  Second graders in our district got to start celebrating early with a special program on Monday, April 16, provided through the partnering of Liberal Parks & Rec, Natural Resource Conservation Service, Seward County Conservation District, and Memorial Library.  Educator Tarra Tyson and docents Joe and Connie from the Lee Richardson Zoo presented a program about how our conservation practices here impact wildlife in other parts of the world.  They brought along boa constrictors, desert tortoises, and chinchillas.  The students not only got to see the animals but got to touch them as well. 

It’s always impressive how well behaved these second graders are even when they become excited about seeing the animals.  The second grade teachers are to be commended for guiding their students in the proper behavior out in public. 

In honor of Earth Day, here are a few resources available in the library.  Two popular book characters are featured in Earth Day stories.  Mercer Mayer’s Little Critter presents It’s Earth Day and the ever-popular Jane O’Connor character Fancy Nancy stars in Every Day is Earth Day.    Diane de Groat, who is famous for her ‘catchy’ titles, has penned Ants in Your Pants and Worms in Your Plants, another fiction offering.   Wilma Gore and David F. Marx have each written non-fiction books about Earth Day with the title Earth Day.  The 333.7 section in the Children’s Library will net a plethora of various titles having to do with the conservation of our many resources.  Another non-fiction title is Recycle this book :  100 top children's book authors tell you how to go green edited by Dan Gutman  who is also the author of Honus and Me, The Kid Who Ran for President, and the My Weird School series, among others.  The book offers simple things that anyone can do.  Gutman points out that if enough people do these simple things, it will make an impact.   So check out these and other titles and see how you can join others in making that impact.  Have a happy Earth Day.  See you at Memorial Library!

Kansas Reads to Preschoolers

Hope all our readers remembered to turn their clocks back and got an extra hour of sleep. Or maybe you put that hour to use in another way. Some people are more sensitive than others to changes such as this, but everyone is sure to notice the difference around suppertime tonight when darkness descends.

If you missed our Geek Day Carnival on the 29th, you missed out on a good time. In spite of chilly temps and a brisk south wind, it was a great event. The kids enjoyed the games, Poppa D clown, the popcorn, and, of course, the balloons. Parents, grandparents, and other adults enjoyed visiting with library staff, getting geek info, and writing on our geek board. Musical entertainment was provided by Watson's Warriors, and it really added to the festivities. There were lots of great volunteers who helped out wherever needed. A big 'thank you' to each and every one of you!

And now it's time to move on to November activities. November 13 through 19 is Kansas Reads to Preschoolers week, a statewide effort to read to as many preschoolers as possible. The intent is to raise awareness of the importance of early literacy in the lives of young children. This is the seventh year for this event, which has seen a great selection of titles, personal appearances by some of the authors, and wonderful companion activities. This year is no exception, as the chosen book is Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin, Jr. This rollicking alphabet book is sure to please preschoolers everywhere. A bit about its author - Bill Martin, Jr. (1916-2004) has been called "America's favorite children's book author." Born and raised in Hiawatha, he experienced difficulty reading until he attended Kansas State Teacher's College at Emporia (now Emporia State University). There he memorized poems an instructor read aloud, then related the words to what was on the page. After graduation, Martin taught English and journalism at Newton and St. John, Kansas. Martin continued as an educator, became a school principal in Illinois, and earned a doctorate in early childhood education. He then moved to New York to join publisher Holt, Rinehart and Winston as editor-in-chief of the school division and developer of innovative reading programs. In 1972 Martin became a full-time writer, eventually publishing over 300 books. (taken from Kansas Center for the Book website, Martin biography).

During Kansas Reads to Preschoolers week, the library provides both in-library and outside of the library programs. The special in-library story time for Kansas Reads to Preschoolers will take place at 9:15 a.m. on Thursday, November 17. For those outside programs, preschools and larger daycares throughout Liberal are visited by library staff members who present the featured story. The smaller in-home daycares are the ones that are sometimes most difficult to connect with. This is where our readers can help out.

If you operate a home daycare, please phone the library so that a visit to your facility can be arranged during that week. If you know someone who operates a home daycare, please encourage them to give the library a call at 626-0180, ext 4. It's great that Liberal joins in reaching out to so many little ones and in making a good showing for the state-wide tally, making a statement of the importance of early literacy.

The November 17 story time session will be the final one in this series. The next set of storytimes will begin December 8. Be sure to check the library's website or pick up a monthly events newsletter at our circulation desk to get all the latest on activities in the library. The month of December will be bringing some fun events for youngsters.

Recently we received a generous donation from the Seward County Conservation District earmarked for books on soil. We are acquiring those titles. Those now on the shelf include: Growing and Eating Green -- Careers in Farming, Producing, and Marketing Food by Ruth Owen; Different Kinds of Soil by Molly Aloian; How is Soil Made? by Heather L. Montgomery; Soil Erosion and How to Prevent It by Natalie Hyde; and Micro Life in Soil also by Natalie Hyde.

Growing and Eating Green is part of a series called Green-Collar Careers. As is typical of many information books for youngsters these days, this book contains, in addition to the main text, additional little boxes of information. Chapter 1 is entitled The Future is Green and includes push pin 'attached' information on various careers. In addition, terms such as organic and fair trade are defined in other boxes. Other boxed items include information about caged hens and about mad cow disease and vCJD. The back of the book provides both a glossary and a page of websites for further information.

The other four titles listed above are part of a series entitled Everybody Digs Soil. The publisher describes this series by stating, "Soil is second only to oceans as the most important living area on planet Earth. This amazing series goes under ground to show children how soil is as important as the atmosphere in sustaining life on Earth and keeping global warming under control. Kid-friendly examples and fun activities help young readers understand complex processes." So, if your child 'digs' soil, come on in and check out these great titles! See you at Memorial Library!

Anti-bullying Awareness Month

October greetings from the Children's Library! The month is moving along swiftly. If you have been in the library recently, you have probably seen staff members in Geek tee shirts. Or if you've attended an around-town activity lately, the library may have been there with their geek booth. If you haven't been in recently or seen our booth around town, you might be a little unclear about all this geeking. Do not be dismayed, your chance to say, "Oh, I see!" is coming. On Saturday, October 29, Memorial Library is hosting an official geek day in our parking lot and on our lawn from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. The community is invited to come on out, enjoy some carnival-type games, have a snack, maybe win a prize in our giveaway, and find out what geek is all about. Because our entire staff is helping with this event, the library will not be open that day. Just drop off your due materials in the book drop and we'll get them checked in.

Storytimes have resumed on Thursday mornings. If you know someone who would like to take part, just have them give us a call, check our website, or stop by the library for the schedule. New little ones, and accompanying adults, are always welcome. This session lasts through November 17.

October is Anti-bullying Awareness Month. Bullying seems to have become more prevalent in our society. There are certainly more opportunities to bully in this day and age with cyber bullying offering another avenue. The library has a number of resources for both children and teens, as well as for parents. These titles include Bullying and Me by Ouisie Shapiro and Smart Kid's Guide to Online Bullying by David Jakubiak , both from the children's non-fiction collection. For teens, Dealing with Bullying by Alexa Gordon Murphy and Odd Girl Speaks Out - girls write about bullies, cliques, popularity, and jealousy, by Rachel Simmons. From Barbara Coloroso, The Bully, the Bullied, and the Bystander - from Preschool to High School: How parents and teachers can help break the cycle of violence. In addition, if you search our card catalog, you will find a number of fiction stories about children overcoming bullies.

The Children's Television Network has joined the anti-bullying campaign as well. Here's what the site has to say about their recent offerings on the topic. "Big Bird, Elmo, Abby and the rest of the Sesame Street gang address the important issue of bullying in a special episode, 'The Good Birds Club,'which aired on PBS on October 17. Bullying has been identified as a major concern by schools across the U.S. with 56% of students having personally witnessed some type of bullying in school. Sesame Street's anti-bullying episode hopes to educate young viewers about bullying and encourage preventative actions to combat aggressive behavior. The episode is part of a larger Sesame Street anti-bullying campaign including:

• Two new additional episodes addressing other bullying-related social-emotional issues.
• A robust parenting topics page at www.sesamestreet.org/bullying providing caregivers with videos, anti-bullying tips and "view and do" activities for children designed to promote healthy friendships as well as respect and understanding of each other's differences.
• A special 5-part video series Happy To Be Me: An Anti-Bullying Discussion with experts in the fields of child psychology, advocacy, education and health, delivering important messages for parents and children.
• The full street story of 'The Good Birds Club' will be available online for parents to watch with their children.

The new episodes will introduce young children to the ongoing issue of bullying and teach them the pro-social skills necessary to prevent and address this critical problem."

If this is a topic you are further interested in, Families Together is hosting a conference on November 12 in Wichita which is open to the public. Here is what they say about that conference, "Students who are bullied show more physical symptoms, such as headaches or stomach aches, and mental health issues, such as depression and anxiety, than other students. Families Together is proud to welcome Su Ellen Fried, co-author of Banishing Bullying Behavior and nationally renowned Anti-Bullying Advocate, and Dr. Charles Smith, author of Raising Courageous Kids to the 2011 FINDING SOLUTIONS conference. Dr. Smith and Ms. Fried will tackle this serious issue on what our children maybe facing everyday."To sign up, contact Families Together at 316-945-7747 or go to http://www.familiestogetherinc.org/ then click on dropdown "our events" and select 'statewide conferences'.

Join us for Geek Day on October 29 and we'll see you at Memorial Library!

Curious George Wartime Escape

August is here and thoughts are turning to the start of another school year. Summer activities have wound to a close at the library with the final event for summer reading--the tee shirt claim. Readers who reached their goal were not only able to come and pick up their tee shirts on August 4 in the late afternoon, but were treated to an ice cream sundae of their own construction as well. Good work, all you diligent readers! Remember, if you were unable to come to claim your shirt on August 4, you will need to pick it up by August 20, or call the library to make other arrangements.

On the 9th, the library hosted Kansas State University Children's Literature professor Joe Sutliff Sanders who was brought to Liberal in conjunction with the Wartime Escape exhibit currently at the Mid America Air Museum. Sutliff Sanders presented a wonderful, informative program focusing on World War II conditions in France at the time of the German invasion helping those in attendance to better understand the climate under which the German born Jewish Reys, creators of the popular Curious George books, escaped from Paris, and eventually from Europe. Sutliff Sanders was keynote speaker that evening at the Mid America Air Museum for a Chamber After Hours event. The library is excited to partner with the Air Museum on this project, which was made possible, in part, by a grant from the Kansas Humanities Council.

The library has planned additional activities to go along with the Air Museum exhibit which include two days designated for Read with Curious George. Youngsters may come between the hours of 3:30 and 5:30 on Tuesday, August 23, and Thursday, August 25, and read with our large Curious George plush. We will have a number of Curious George titles available. Any youngster taking part will get their name entered into our drawing for a Curious George plush and book combination. In addition, there will be tickets to the museum exhibit given away.

On Tuesday evening, August 30, a bi-lingual Curious George story time will take place in the Children's Library at 6:30 p.m. The regular story time on Thursday, September 1, at 9:15 a.m. will have the Curious George theme. On Saturday, September 10, a video session will take place at 10 a.m. in the Cooper Clark Room. This will feature short stories from the PBS Curious George program and will last approximately 90 minutes. Children under 8 must be accompanied by an adult. Museum tickets and a chance to enter the drawing will also be available at these events, which are open to anyone interested.

The library has purchased additional Curious George books for our collection. These include some bi-lingual titles and some Spanish titles. Several of the DVDs which are produced by the PBS Curious George series were also purchased. For patrons interested in the book which parallels the exhibit, it is entitled The Journey that Saved Curious George by Louise Borden, with illustrations by Allan Drummond. This book can be found in the Children's Library. Another recent addition to our collection is the biography entitled H. A. Rey by Cari Meister. This is a simpler written, smaller book which contains a glossary and suggested websites in the back.

As Sutliff Sanders mentioned in his presentation, there are a lot of children's books which deal with the holocaust that help children to better understand it. One book which he shared is entitled The Grand Mosque of Paris: A Story of How Muslims Saved Jews During the Holocaust by Karen Gray Ruelle. This book is on the current list of nominated titles for the William Allen White Award in the third through fifth grade category. Here's a description which the WAW Committee provided:

"During the Nazi occupation of Paris, no Jew was safe from arrest and deportation to a concentration camp. Few Parisians were willing to risk their own lives to help. Yet many Jews found refuge in an unlikely place, the sprawling complex of the Grand Mosque of Paris. Not just a place of worship, but also a community center, this hive of activity was an ideal temporary hiding place for escaped prisoners of war and Jews of all ages, including children."

The library owns both of these titles, as well as many others about World War II and the holocaust. They are well worth checking out.

Story times begin again August 18. This is a fun time for little ones. It not only exposes them to early literacy skill building but also gives them socialization time. It's a good time for parents, grandparents, and caregivers to connect as well. Check with the library for a schedule of times and age groups or go to our website at lmlibrary.org.

For those of you with a special place in your heart for Winnie the Pooh, he will be turning 90 on August 21. If you would like to send him a birthday card, here is the link

http://www.nypl.org/blog/2011/06/29/winnie-the-pooh-birthday

Even though you may be bustling around to get children ready for the start of school, don't forget that the library has great resources for both academic and leisure reading. Stop by frequently. See you at Memorial Library!

Summer Events

Summer Reading 2011 has now gone into the history books here at Memorial Library. Readers have turned in their logs and the tee shirt order has been submitted. High readers were rewarded with Grif Golf and a picnic this past Tuesday. Everyone who attended had a fun (but rather warm) time out in the sun, but then got to eat their fill of pizza in the nice, shady picnic area. Our high readers are to be commended. It takes at least 35 hours of reading in the five weeks of summer reading to get into the club. As a whole, Summer Reading 2011 was very successful. Well over 450 young people took part, with 3,522 hours of total reading time turned in between the children and the teens.

The only thing that remains is for everyone to claim their tee shirts, which will take place on Thursday, August 4, from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. If your child earned a tee shirt, please mark that date on your calendar. It is truly a shame to have children work for their tee shirts then not have them claimed.

Doing cooperative projects with other agencies is one of the fun things about this job and a great one is coming up. As was mentioned in this column space last Sunday, Mid America Air Museum is bringing an exhibit called Wartime Escape from Exhibits USA to their facility from July 27 to September 23. The library is planning some interesting programs in conjunction with the exhibit. The exhibit tells the story of Curious George creators H.A. and Margret Rey and their escape from Paris just as the Nazi invasion was taking place during WW II.

The Children's department is planning programming to showcase Curious George and will host special programming as well. A complete schedule will be available in the near future. All the events are made possible by a grant from the Kansas Humanities Council.

Once summer reading is completed, planning for fall begins once again. Our storytimes will start on Thursday, August 18. The various ages of little ones will return to their previous groupings: Lapsit storytime is for children birth to 19 months; Toddle In storytime is for children 19 months to 3 years, and preschool time is for children 3 to 5. The session times are just going to be tweaked slightly. Preschool time still begins at 9:15 and ends at 10:00, but toddler time is moving up by five minutes to start at 10:15 and end at 10:35. Lapsit time will then begin at 10:50 and end at 11:10. Storytimes are grouped into six sessions, followed by a break of two weeks before the next session begins. Schedules for the first session are now available both in the library and on our website. Be sure you stop in and sign your little one up.

A lot of parents and grandparents have been in this summer wanting to start their children reading or wanting to know what we have for young readers. Our easy reader collection used to be shelved in the center of our easy books. Since the installation of our bins for easy books, the easy reader collection has moved. It is now located on the west side of the first set of north-south running shelving. A lot of the books have the reading level right on the spine, making it fairly easy for someone who has a little time to invest to locate the level of books they are looking for. However, using the card catalog could prove to be a more efficient way.

Once in front of the card catalog screen, click the 'advanced search' button. This allows movement to the center column and changing of the blue word location from 'Liberal Memorial Library' to either 'Children's Area' or even, in this case, 'Easy Reader Books'. Once you have done that, type in 'I can read'. If you want a specific reading level, you can type in 'level 1, for instance following the 'I can read'. For those who are in search of the very first readers, type in 'My first I can read'. Library staff members are happy to assist patrons in locating materials or with any questions they may have. There are a lot of great titles in this section, with new titles arriving regularly. Stop in and check out what we have. See you at Memorial Library!