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.

Noodles, noodles, noodles!

The Liberal Memorial Library will be going noodles on Monday night, August 26, at 6:30 p.m.

The Library will be hosting its monthly Recipe Swap and the theme is, you guessed it, noodles! And because it’s noodles, we’re going to have a special presentation. How special? So special that we’ve brought someone all the way from China to come to Liberal and make his world-renowned famous noodles.

The talented Tian Feng Shan will grace us with his presence and noodle acumen. Tian will be making Chinese noodles from scratch. Watch as he combines the ingredients to make the dough and then the fun really begins. Like a magician, he stretches the dough again and again and before your very eyes, noodles are created.

And afterwards we’ll sample the strands of deliciousness!!

So come down and watch all the noodle fun this Monday!

***

The Liberal Memorial Library is offering another Family Place Library workshop.

The five-week program involves toddlers and their parents and caregivers; featuring local professionals who serve as resources for parents; emphasizing the role of parents as the first teachers of their children; facilitating early intervention; and teaching strategies for healthy child development and early literacy.

The five-week workshop begins on August 29 at 6:30 p.m. at the Library, running every Thursday through September 26.

Some of the local professionals who will be attending the program include Diane Hensley, the parent and family liaison for USD 480, Jan Nondorf, the executive director of PACT, Parents and Children Together and Susan Lukwago, a nutritionist with the Seward County Health Department, plus others.

The program is open and free to the public, but space is limited and registration is required. 

The Family Place Library workshop this past spring had over 15 families and 40 children attend.

The Family Place Library give parents and caregivers an additional place for children, between the ages of zero and five, to play, read and socialize with other children. Parents can interact with their kids through play, get answers to their parenting questions and meet other parents.

And remember, Family Place Library is fun and not just a workshop where parents come and listen. 

For more information about Family Place Library and the workshops, come down to the Library or call (620) 626-0180.

***

Attention! Attention! Calling all knitters and crocheters! The Liberal Memorial Library is once again “knitting” to raise awareness about normal infant crying and the dangers of shaking an infant.

The Library is participating in the CLICK for Babies: Period of PURPLE Crying Caps campaign, which invites knitters and crocheters to make purple colored baby caps.

 

This year, there will be a series of “knit ins” held Saturdays during September. The dates are September 7 and 21 from 9 a.m. to noon.

The public is invited to come and make baby caps. We’ll supply the yarn and serve snacks and refreshments.

The caps will be donated to Kansas Children’s Service League who will distribute them in November and December to new babies by hospitals and birthing centers across the state.

Last year, the Liberal Memorial Library donated close to 100 caps to the cause.

For more information about the CLICK for Babies campaign, including patterns for caps, guidelines and details about the national campaign are available at www.CLICKforbabies.org.

                                                            ***

Don’t forget that the Library has Tumblebooks, which are e-books with audio for kids.  Children can read along, or just have the book read to them.  All books play directly in your internet browser window, so there is no software or files to download to your computer. Additionally, Tumblebooks has been set up so that no login is required to access our account.

Just go to our website, lmlibrary.org, and click on the Tumblebooks icon.

There are no limits to how many books or other materials you use on Tumblebooks. 

Most materials will be for children elementary grades 2-3 and younger, though older students may enjoy access to classic stories like Anne of Green Gables or The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood.

Other options and materials:

• Reading comprehension quizzes and games (word searches, puzzles) for most books.  Some of these features do not yet work for mobile access, but that is coming soon. 
• Videos, most commonly associated with non-fiction books.  Example: Meet the Meerkat has a short video provided by National Geographic.  
• Language Learning section contains picture books translated into other languages.  There are currently books in Spanish, French, Chinese, and Russian. 
• Playlist feature--add multiple titles to a playlist for uninterrupted storytime on your computer! 

Parent/Child Workshop and Watch Party @ the Library

Summer vacation is over and it is time to hit the books again. The library is hosting two special programs that will be of interest to everyone in the community.

 Family Place Library Parent/Child Workshop

The first program is a parent/child workshop aimed at families with children who are between the ages of two and five. The five week program starts on August 29th and is held on Thursdays from 6:30 to 7:30 in the evening. The library held the same program in the spring, and the program is a lot of fun for kids (and the parents/grandparents/adults that accompany the kids got something out of the program too!).

The Family Place Library parent/child workshop has two main goals. The first is to get young children out of the house and to get them playing with their parents. Parents are a child’s first teacher and young children learn through playing. The second goal of the workshop is to connect parents with other parents from the community. Not only are parents supposed to mingle with each other and talk about the problems of parenting, but each week, there is a different community member who comes and interacts with parents to answer questions about child development, health issues, parenting and more.

If you have issues with a picky eater, sign up for this free workshop, because we have a nutritionist coming as a guest one week. If you have development issues in a small child, sign up for the program, because we have several different experts lined up that are trained in development issues that can give you information on where to go to get help. If you don’t have any issues, sign up and bring your children for free fun at the library. Registration is required, and parents don’t need a library card to sign up. The workshop is free and the library will have translators available to bridge any communication gaps.

Affordable Care Act Watch Party 

The second program at Liberal Memorial Library is a Watch Party giving an overview of the Affordable Care Act on Thursday, August 22nd from 7 to 8 in the evening. The State Library of Kansas in partnership with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) will present this webinar, which is the first of three. The other two watch parties will be held September 12th and September 26th at 7:00 p.m. No registration is required for this free event at the library.

Starting October 1, 2013, the Health Insurance Marketplace, sometimes known as the health insurance "exchange" will begin open enrollment. Coverage starts January 1, 2014. The Marketplace website, HealthCare.gov will be the primary tool for delivering information to Americans about their health coverage options. For Spanish speaking consumers, CuidadoDeSalud.gov is also available.

Health Insurance Marketplaces are where people and small businesses can shop for and buy private health insurance. Consumers will have the same health plan choices available to members of Congress. The marketplaces are not private insurance companies or government-run health plans.

With one application, consumers can find out if they qualify for health plans in the marketplace, and other programs like Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), tax credits, and cost-sharing reductions.

We hope to see you at the library for these events. For more information, stop by the library at 519 N. Kansas Avenue or give us a call at (620) 626-0180.

Catch a library program before the summer’s over!

The summer reading programs have wrapped up for the year. It was an astounding success! The adult program finished a week ago and we’re in the beginning stages of planning a Murder Mystery for the lucky individuals who received bingo's on their bingo cards.

Library staff has so far been out in the community twice this month.  First at the Five State Fair where we met a lot of patrons and non-patrons, a nice opportunity to showcase our services and secondly at  the Teacher Fair this past week welcoming the new teachers at USD 480 into the community.   We’ve been particularly excited over the fact that many new teachers have already stopped by the library to sign up for library cards before the fair!  It establishes a great connection for us particularly when they have projects and assignments for the kids throughout the school year. We love being prepared for requests from the kids particularly if we can get more materials into the library. We are most definitely here to provide extra resources!  I even have had the chance to get to know one of my new neighbors, a new fourth grade teacher. 

This week, kids (and adults alike) had a chance to learn about bike repair.  We had a few bikes that kids brought in and were shown how to fix all the ailments of their bicycles by Mr. Ed.  Some of us may also have learned how to pump bicycle tires.

Ms. Casandra, our children’s librarian, has a few programs in the works this month before the start of school.  There will be a program “Back-to-School with Amelia Bedelia” celebrating her 50th birthday this year. It’s a back to school event with crafts, fun, and stories, on Tuesday, August 13 at 6 p.m. Registration is required so call the library at 626-0180.  There will also be “Camping at the library” on Wednesday, August 14 at 2 p.m.  Come set up a tent, learn about camping, and tell scary stories.  Join the camp out!  Ms. Casandra will also be hosting Chess on Thursdays, August 15 at 2 p.m., Monday, August 19 at 6 p.m., and Monday, August 26 at 6 p.m.  Come beginners and advanced players!

And of course our much awaited adult programs!  Library and Lunch will be held on Tuesday, August 13 at noon for “Ladies Night” by Mary Kay Andrews.  Last month, we decided an end of the summer book was in order.  The novel follows Grace Stanton who finds herself locked out of her home, checking account, and her beloved blog after she catches her husband cheating and torpedoes his pricey sports car.  She starts attending court-mandated weekly therapy session with three other women and one man.  Their “divorce coach” starts acting suspiciously and they decide to start their own Wednesday “Ladies’ Night” sessions.  

The theme for this month’s Recipe Swap on Monday, August 26 at 6:30 p.m. is noodles!  My favorite food group in the form of homemade chicken noodle soup which my aunt made when my sister and I were growing up or lo-mein by far the best comfort food or my attempts at pierogi (they’re so noodley!) for which after years of experimenting I have found the perfect dough recipe.  Next on my personal list is tortellini.  In the meantime at this Recipe Swap, Mr. Tian will be demonstrating noodle-making at the library.  One of these days he will teach me how to make his Chinese dumplings.

So 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!