Winter Reading Challenge

Pipestone County Star 01-01-2015

The Winter Reading Program is fast approaching and I’d like to toss something else into the mix – a Winter Reading Challenge!  There are no prizes for this (I have star stickers if you want one), this is more for personal enjoyment. 

So this winter, when you are reading, read the following books instead of sticking to that one author you can’t get enough of (suggestions courtesy of Goodwill Librarian):

o   A classic romance

o   A book published this year

o   A book published the year you were born

o   A book written by someone under 30 years of age

o   A book with non-human characters

o   A nonfiction book

o   A book based on a true story

o   A Pulitzer Prize winner

o   A book that scares you

o   A book your mom loves

o   A book more than 100 years old

o   A book you were supposed to read in school but never did

o   A book set somewhere you want to visit

o   A book with bad reviews

o   A book set in high school

o   A book from the future

o   A graphic novel

o   A book by an author you’ve never heard of

o   A book you already own but have never read

o   A book that was originally written in another language

o   A book written by someone with your same initials

o   A banned book

o   A play

o   A book that became a movie

o   A book with a one word title

o   A book at the bottom of your reading list

o   A memoir

o   A book you can finish in a day

Of course, you don’t have to do them all, but it might be fun to try! Hope everyone had a great Christmas and a safe and fun New years!

Winter Weather:  We tend to follow the lead of Pipestone Area Schools.  If the school is closed, we will also be closed.  If the school closes early, we stay open for about a half hour afterwards to make sure all the kids can get picked up.  If the school has a two hour late start, we are not affected and will open at our regular time of 10 AM.

Holiday Hours: We’re into the season now for strange holiday hours and we’ve tried to make it easy.  We will be closed December 24 and 25 for Christmas and we will close at 5:00 PM on New Year’s Eve and closed on New Year’s Day.  Then we will return to regular hours!

PAFL Update:  The BOOKSALE is fast approaching!  You may drop off books at Meinders Library anytime now and the sale will be December 29-31, right after Christmas!  Pipestone Area Friends of the Library is looking for members – anyone who is a friend to Meinders Library is welcome to join!  The Friends group works hard to promote the library, raise money for projects, and organize their yearly book sale, in addition to the HUGE amount of support they provide throughout the year.  Call us for the date of the next meeting!

If you have questions or have a book you’d like to reserve or renew, please don’t hesitate to give us a call at (507) 825-6714.  The hours for Meinders Library are Monday through Thursday from 10 AM – 8 PM, and Friday and Saturday from 10 AM – 5 PM.  Meinders Community Library is located at 1401 7^th Street SW, on the south side of the high school.

Top Ten Places to Find Lost Books

Pipestone County Star 12-18-2014

Everybody, at one time or another, comes in to the library only to find there’s a book on their card they didn’t remember or can’t find, even me!  So to help with that, and because I needed something silly to write about, here is a list of places you might find a lost book.  Every single place is legitimate and lost books HAVE been found there, so leave no stone unturned!  None of these has ever happened to me (cough cough).

Number Ten Place to Find a Lost Book: In a purse

Probably not your purse, mind you, but you should check all those play purses that your children carry around.  Some of them feel the need to carry a book wherever they go, just in case they need one.  I don’t know ANY adults like this…(looks innocent).

Number Nine Place to Find a Lost Book: Under the front seat of your car

This one is an easy one. Somebody was reading in the back seat and set the book down when they got out at the gas station.  Whoops…feet accidentally shove it under the seat and it gets forgotten.  It’s a good place to look.  Pull out all the candy wrappers and plastic bottles while you’re down there.

Number Eight Place to Find a Lost Book: Under the mail that’s been there for weeks

Don’t act like you don’t know what I’m talking about.  There’s someplace in your house where you leave mail and forget about it.  The book might be under there….that electric bill you forgot to pay is in there, too.

Number Seven Place to Find a Lost Book: Behind the TV Cabinet

This works for books as well as DVDs – Maybe you set the book down to get the remote and didn’t notice that it fell behind the cabinet.  Or the DVD that your kids were watching?  It might be back there, too.   Many a lost thing has been found behind the TV cabinet – look out for the killer dust bunnies!

Number Six Place to Find a Lost Book: Holding up the furniture at a relative’s house

This only works for a big book.  Check with family that may have borrowed the book and see if any of the legs of their couch are broken.  Your book might have been used to prop up that couch…

Number Five Place to Find a Lost Book: Behind couch cushions

 Speaking of the couch – check behind the cushions.  You’ll probably find not only the book, but enough change to pay the fine, too!  And if you’re lucky, some unwrapped candies, loose peanuts, and broken matchbox cars.  Maybe that’s just my couch…

Number Four Place to Find a Lost Book: In the hamper

Sorting the laundry is always an adventure – you never know what you might find.  Though it may be covered in dirty socks or stuck in the arm of a sweater, your book might be in the hamper.  Or better yet, your child’s hamper, along with a stuffed animal they’ve been missing for days!

Number Three Place to Find a Lost Book: The garbage can

This goes along with the piles of unread mail and the papers your children being home from school.  I know, you want to save everything they do, but this is not possible, so you leave piles of them on the counter and when that gets unmanageable, you throw them away (I have not ever done this, I swear…).  Oops.  That library book was in the pile…If it’s covered with yesterday’s leftovers, we don’t want it back.

Number Two Place to Find a Lost Book: Behind the toilet

If you have a toilet you can’t see behind, make sure to check there.  My children will take books into the bathroom to read (who did they learn that from, I wonder) and those books occasionally get dropped and left behind.  Hopefully there’s no leak in the toilet and they don’t get wet!

And the Number One Place to Find a Lost Book: Between the bed and the wall.

Kids take their books to bed, there’s no doubting that.  Adults do it, too, sometimes, and frequently fall asleep reading.  The book falls out of their hands and the next time the bed is made, gets shoved alongside the mattress, against the wall or the headboard.  It’s not enough to make it fall to the floor under the bed, just enough to get it stuck.  Good place to look, trust me!

Hope you find those books, and I hope you have a FANTASTIC New Year!!

Winter Weather:  We tend to follow the lead of Pipestone Area Schools.  If the school is closed, we will also be closed.  If the school closes early, we stay open for about a half hour afterwards to make sure all the kids can get picked up.  If the school has a two hour late start, we are not affected and will open at our regular time of 10 AM.

Holiday Hours: We’re into the season now for strange holiday hours and we’ve tried to make it easy.  We will be closed December 24 and 25 for Christmas and we will close at 5:00 PM on New Year’s Eve and closed on New Year’s Day.  Then we will return to regular hours!

PAFL Update:  The BOOKSALE is fast approaching!  You may drop off books at Meinders Library anytime now and the sale will be December 29-31, right after Christmas!  Pipestone Area Friends of the Library is looking for members – anyone who is a friend to Meinders Library is welcome to join!  The Friends group works hard to promote the library, raise money for projects, and organize their yearly book sale, in addition to the HUGE amount of support they provide throughout the year.  Call us for the date of the next meeting!

If you have questions or have a book you’d like to reserve or renew, please don’t hesitate to give us a call at (507) 825-6714.  The hours for Meinders Library are Monday through Thursday from 10 AM – 8 PM, and Friday and Saturday from 10 AM – 5 PM.  Meinders Community Library is located at 1401 7^th Street SW, on the south side of the high school.

Holiday Shopping Part One

Pipestone County Star 11-18-2014

We’re so close to having to shop for Christmas.  Some of you have probably started already, others are putting it off until the last minute.  Regardless, if you have any book readers on your list, have I got some hot items for you!  Of course, we’d rather you checked these out from the library, but it’s always good if people are reading!

The Escape, David Baldacci (18)

This is the third installment of the John Puller series (Zero Day and The Forgotten are the first two).  John has an older brother, Robert, who was convicted of treason and sentenced to an unescapable military prison.  He then proceeds to do the unthinkable and actually escape.  Now Robert is the most wanted man in the United States and the government seems to think John has the best chance of bringing him in.  However, the more John tries to find Robert, the more he realizes someone else is looking, too, and may go to great lengths to make sure that Robert is never found – some secrets have to stay hidden at all cost.

The Job, Janet Evanovich (18)

Fox and O’Hare are at it again!  Paired up by the FBI, secretly, their job consists of catching the world’s most dangerous felons.  And they have one – who happens to love chocolate.  No one knows his name, what he looks like, or any other information, but Fox thinks he can get a lead.  They’ll also need all the help they can get – a Somali pirate, a narcissistic actor, a special effects artist, and O’Hare’s father Jack.  And if they can manage to pull it off and survive, so much the better!

The Mistletoe Promise, Richard Paul Evans (18)

It’s approaching the holiday season and Elise is dreading the coming frivolities.  Her husband cheated on her three years ago with her best friend and Elise is all alone.  Or is she? One day at the mall, she is approached by a man from her building who has an interesting proposition.  For the next eight weeks, up until Christmas, they should pretend to be a couple.  He has a contract and everything.  And Elise surprises herself by agreeing to the idea.  But what happens when things start getting a little more serious?  How many secrets can one couple have?

Betrayed, Lisa Scottoline (25)

This is a Rosato and Associates Novel and is probably the most intense thriller yet.  Judy Carrier, always the champion of the underdog, is the lead on a case that’s very close to home.  Her aunt’s housekeeper is found murdered and the circumstances are bizarre.  Judy finds herself struggling to cope with personal drama as well as solve the case – her best friend is planning a wedding, she doesn’t get along with her boss, and she’s not happy in her relationship.  And once she gets deeper into the case, she gets more than she bargained for as she is plunged into a world full of desperate people.  She’ll manage to find the strength in the end, but the cost will be extraordinarily high.

Never Judge a Lady by Her Cover, Sarah MacLean (25)

This is book four in the Rules of Scoundrels series and ties up the storyline.  If someone you know likes fun, historical romance, this series is a must.  In this fourth installment, MacLean tells a dashing tale of a woman with one persona in the public eye and quite a different one in the underground gaming society of London.  Will her identity finally be revealed and her secrets exposed? You’ll have to read to find out! A GREAT present for anyone who is a fan of sauciness.

Stay tuned for the next installment of the Holiday Shopping List.  Some authors have waited until December to release their new books and they can’t be missed! 

Upcoming Events: PAFL has their Annual Book Sale in December – right after Christmas.  From December 29-31, we’ll have books for sale in the library.  Stop in and see us!!

PAFL Update:  Pipestone Area Friends of the Library is looking for members – anyone who is a friend to Meinders Library is welcome to join!  The Friends group works hard to promote the library, raise money for projects, and organize their yearly book sale, in addition to the HUGE amount of support they provide throughout the year.  Call us for the date of the next meeting!

If you have questions or have a book you’d like to reserve or renew, please don’t hesitate to give us a call at (507) 825-6714.  The hours for Meinders Library are Monday through Thursday from 10 AM – 8 PM, and Friday and Saturday from 10 AM to 5 PM.  Meinders Community Library is located at 1401 7^th Street SW, on the south side of the high school.

Veteran's Day

Pipestone County Star 11-06-2014

I come from a line of veterans.  My grandfather, from Worthington, Minnesota, served in India during World War II as a veterinarian.  My father was a Marine, and though he didn’t serve during a war, he did his patriotic duty.  My husband was in the Army and served in Germany, then Iraq for Operation Desert Storm.  His parents, in turn, were both in the Air Force and met each other in the service.  Veterans Day is a day when we should recognize and celebrate the bravery and sacrifice that soldiers from all branches of the military have made for us.  Our soldiers come in all ages, in both sexes, all religions, and all colors.  They fought to keep our country free and democratic – to make us what we are today.  Make sure to thank them.

Veteran’s Day began as Armistice Day in 1919, the day Woodrow Wilson declared a national holiday to celebrate the end of the first World War.  Germany surrendered at 11 AM on November 11, 1918, so it was fitting that we should honor that day.  In remembrance, moments of silence are observed and many people, even then, wore red poppies to honor the battle fought among those flowers on Flanders Field, a particularly bloody battle in 1914.

In 1954, following the recovery from World War Two, Armistice Day became Veteran’s Day, to honor all the soldiers who have served our country, not just those from World War One.

The library has several movies that have been critically acclaimed for showing how it was for soldiers.  If they interest you, come in and check them out.

Band of Brothers (Vietnam)

This series originally aired on HBO and was hailed as one of the best war series ever made.  It was produced by Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg and the library has the complete, 10-part set.  There is also a disc that includes a documentary on the Easy Company and several other special features.

The Hurt Locker (Iraq – Kathryn Bigelow)

This movie follows an Explosive Ordinance Disposal team through a tour in Iraq and is one of the grittiest, most engrossing war movies I’ve seen in a long time.  It won for both Best Picture and Best Director in the 2010 Academy Awards.  I’ve never seen a movie that portrayed war as a drug, but Bigelow did an excellent job proving that for me.

The War (World War II – Ken Burns)

A quarter of this film centers on the community of Luverne, Minnesota, where the movie was originally screened.  This set contains all seven parts of the documentary, as well as numerous special features.  It lasts for 15 hours and took six years of work.  The object of the documentary was to show how to war affected those left at home and Burns uses four different towns in the United States to paint a picture of life during those years.

Flags of Our Fathers (World War II – Clint Eastwood)

This movie, directed by Academy Award Winner Clint Eastwood and nominated for Oscars itself, show the American side of the Battle of Iwo Jima. 

And if you don’t feel like watching a movie or the television, the library has a huge selection of books, both fiction and non-fiction, depicting the wars this country has fought.  I don’t have space to list them all, but here are two that may spark interest.

The Dardanelles Disaster by Dan Van Der Vat (World War I)

In 1915, the British Navy failed to capture Constantinople and through there, a sea route to Russia.  Van Der Vat is a naval military historian who writes that this failure not only prolonged the war, but led to the Russian Revolution and contributed to the destabilization in the Middle East.  The book is fascinating and enlightening and a must read for any military historian and others interested.

Soul Survivor by Bruce and Andrea Leininger(World War II – and the Present)

This book might be a bit beyond what would normally be considered war-related, but you’ll have to bear with me.  About a year ago, a young man appeared on Oprah with his parents, who had a very odd story to tell.  That story is chronicled in this book and gives rise to questions of reincarnation.  Was James Leininger a reincarnated World War II pilot?  As a toddler, James would say and do things that led his parents to an incredible discovery.

Unbroken, Laura Hillenbrand (World War II)

This is one of the most popular books in the library, and is an extraordinary story.  As a young man, Louis Zamperini was a juvenile delinquent who managed to channel himself into running and ran all the way to the Berlin Olympics.  When the war started, Zamperini became and airman.  One May afternoon, his life changed dramatically when his plane went down in the ocean.  Despite all odds, he survived on a life raft, but ahead of him lay thousands of miles of open ocean.  The book is amazing and definitely worth the read.

To all the veterans reading this article, I salute you.  My salute may not be as crisp as my husband’s, my father’s, or my grandfather’s, but I salute you just the same.  From infantryman to general, thank you for serving our country.  We would not be the America we are today without you.

PAFL Update:  Pipestone Area Friends of the Library is looking for members – anyone who is a friend to Meinders Library is welcome to join!  The Friends group works hard to promote the library, raise money for projects, and organize their yearly book sale, in addition to the HUGE amount of support they provide throughout the year.  Call for the date of their next meeting.

If you have questions or have a book you’d like to reserve or renew, please don’t hesitate to give us a call at (507) 825-6714.  The hours for Meinders Library are Monday through Thursday from 10 AM – 8 PM, and Friday and Saturday from 10 AM – 5 PM.  Meinders Community Library is located at 1401 7^th Street SW, on the south side of the high school.

New Inspirations

Pipestone County Star 10-09-2014

What is Inspirational Fiction?  Most commonly in the United States, the term refers to fiction that concentrates on the characters’ relationships with the Christian God and has become synonymous with Christian Fiction, though this is not always the case.

The definition of Christian Fiction is very simple - it has at its core biblically-based attitudes.  The books typically have a strong Christian theme with very little profanity, sexual content, or violence.  Christian fiction is often written in series to show that faith can grow over time and they have faith-based conflicts, a concentration on morality, and/or they post religious questions – with or without answers.

We usually try to order one or two new series every few months to keep our readers’ interest.  Over the past month or so, we have gotten the following series into the library:

The Dakota series, Lauraine Snelling

The titles in this series include Dakota Dawn, Dakota Dream, and Dakota Dusk.  There are two more (Dakota December and Dakota Destiny) in the series which will be ordered at a later date.  While this is not a new series, it is one that the library did not own and we felt it would add to the collection.  These books follow the lives of immigrant women moving to North Dakota, and centers around the lives people lead in the small community of Soldahl.  The stories are short, but full of life and the characters who people them will touch your heart.

Chronicles of the Kings, Lynn Austin

This series contains five titles: Gods and Kings, Song of Redemption, The Strength of His Hand, Faith of My Fathers, and Among the Gods.  The story begins with Hezekiah, the second son of King Ahaz, who encounters Yahweh as he struggles with his father’s obsession with the idol Molech.  The saga continues with Hezekiah growing into kingship, struggling with a barren wife (who makes an unforgivable pact with a foreign goddess), and then follows his descendants in their journey of faith.  And it is not an easy journey – there are many pitfalls along the way.  The story is involved and enjoyable, with historical detail that will intrigue the reader. 

Because the shelving section for inspirational fiction is not as large as some bigger libraries (we’re not the only ones with this problem), Meinders has started a rotation with a few other Plum Creek libraries.  We trade about twenty books at a time, including a few complete series, to ensure that our readers get a varied selection.  So far we have done one trade and it worked very well – there are only two books in the rotation left on the shelf!  Soon we will be trading again and will bring more books from different places in – hopefully ones that will open eyes to new authors and new series.

So in this time of gloominess, as summer slowly turns to fall, pick up an inspirational book and transport yourself somewhere more thoughtful and uplifting.

Upcoming Events: October 25^th is a FREE Bus trip to New Ulm, with the bus leaving at 7:15 AM from the overflow parking lot at the high school.  We will be visiting the Wanda Gag House, Schell’s Brewery, the Brown County Historical Society, and perhaps seeing the Glockenspiel before returning back to Pipestone around 5:30.  You must have a library card and you must be over 21.  Call – there may still be space!

PAFL Update:  Pipestone Area Friends of the Library is looking for members – anyone who is a friend to Meinders Library is welcome to join!  The Friends group works hard to promote the library, raise money for projects, and organize their yearly book sale, in addition to the HUGE amount of support they provide throughout the year.  Call us for the date of the next meeting!

If you have questions or have a book you’d like to reserve or renew, please don’t hesitate to give us a call at (507) 825-6714.  The hours for Meinders Library are Monday through Thursday from 10 AM – 8 PM, and Friday and Saturday from 10 AM to 5 PM.  Meinders Community Library is located at 1401 7^th Street SW, on the south side of the high school.

Fall Into Books

Pipestone County Star 10-23-2014

Autumn has arrived.  The colors have changed, the leaves have made heaps on our lawns.  Mornings are very crisp, evenings even more so, but the stars on clear nights are amazing.  Truth be told, this is my favorite time of year and I do look forward to it, even if I miss my garden.

Here are some books to help get you in the mood, though possibly not in the way you were expecting.  I don’t think any of these books necessarily involve the fall season, but they DO have “fall” in their title.  Oh, and one more catch – they’re all young adult.  Go ahead and read them, though.  We won’t tell everyone that you’re no longer a “young” adult.  We read them, too.

Before I Fall, Lauren Oliver

This is Oliver’s first book and is absolutely amazing.  Samantha Kingston is one of the most popular girls in school and Feburyar12, known as Cupid Day, should be the best day of the year.  Flowers, candy, everything that comes with being the girl at the top.  Or it SHOULD be the best day – Samantha dies in a terrible accident that night.  When she wakes up in the morning (yes, she wakes up), she begins to live that last day over again, learning that even the tiniest changes make a big impact in the outcome.  She proceeds to live that day over seven times.  You’ll have to read it to learn the end.

City of Fallen Angels, Cassandra Clare

This is book four of the Mortal Instruments series and I recommend reading the other three first.  However, this one is quite fun.  Clary is relieved now that the war is over between the Shadowhunters and the Downworlders.  She herself is training to become a Shadowhunter and she can finally refer to the love of her life as her “boyfriend.”  But all is not as peaceful as it seems and pretty soon, Clary becomes aware that something else is going on, something that might cause another war.  And it’s all her fault.

Falling Boy, Allison McGhee

Joseph was paralyzed in a mysterious accident and finds himself living in Minneapolis with his father, working at a bakery during a particularly hot summer.  He makes two good friends, Zap and Enzo, and through them begins to take another look at the events that caused him to end up in a wheelchair.  Enzo wants to believe that he’s a superhero.  Is he? What does it really mean to be a superhero?

Fall for Anything, Courtney Summers

Eddie Reeves loves her father very much.  That is, until he throws himself off a warehouse.  Eddie is left full of questions – Why?  Why did he do it? Why did he leave her and her mother like that? It isn’t long before she meets her father’s student, Culler, and the two develop a relationship that teeters on romantic, but is built from loss.  Together, they try to solve the questions that both of them have, but isn’t it sometimes better to leave some questions unanswered?

Fall of Five, Pittacus Lore

This is also the fourth book in a series that starts with I am Number Four.  At first, I thought this series would be a bit silly (there’s aliens), but it’s actually fantastic and I highly recommend it.  The group of young people known as the Garde are mostly reunited, but they do not have the power yet to overcome their arch enemies, the Mogadoriens.  They need more preparation and more time, which is possibly running out.  And then they get a signal in the form of a crop circle from Number Five.  They really need Five – it could be a tipping point.  But is the signal a trap?

Happy Fall, everyone!! It’s well under way and I hope that it’s treating you well.  Enjoy the season and make sure to eat things flavored with pumpkin.  That seems to be the thing to do this time of year.

Upcoming Events: October 25^th is a FREE Bus trip to New Ulm, with the bus leaving at 7:15 AM from the overflow parking lot at the high school.  We will be visiting the Wanda Gag House, Schell’s Brewery, the Brown County Historical Society, and perhaps seeing the Glockenspiel before returning back to Pipestone around 5:30.  You must have a library card and you must be over 21.  Call – there may still be space!

PAFL Update:  Pipestone Area Friends of the Library is looking for members – anyone who is a friend to Meinders Library is welcome to join!  The Friends group works hard to promote the library, raise money for projects, and organize their yearly book sale, in addition to the HUGE amount of support they provide throughout the year.  Call us for the date of the next meeting!

If you have questions or have a book you’d like to reserve or renew, please don’t hesitate to give us a call at (507) 825-6714.  The hours for Meinders Library are Monday through Thursday from 10 AM – 8 PM, and Friday and Saturday from 10 AM to 5 PM.  Meinders Community Library is located at 1401 7^th Street SW, on the south side of the high school.

Banned Books Week 2014

Banned Books Week is an annual event celebrating the freedom to read.  This year, the dates of Banned Books Week are from September 21^st until September 27^th and it highlights the value of free and open access to information.  Banned Books Week brings together the entire book community –- librarians, booksellers, publishers, journalists, teachers, and readers of all types –- in shared support of the freedom to seek and to express ideas, even those some consider unorthodox or unpopular.  

  

Banned Books Week was launched in 1982 in response to a sudden surge in the number of challenges to books in schools, bookstores and libraries. 

What is the difference between a challenge and banning?

A challenge is an attempt to remove or restrict materials, based upon the objections of a person or group.  A banning is the removal of those materials.  Challenges do not simply involve a person expressing a point of view; rather, they are an attempt to remove material from the curriculum or library, thereby restricting the access of others.  Due to the commitment of librarians, teachers, parents, students and other concerned citizens, most challenges are unsuccessful and most materials are retained in the school curriculum or library collection.

Why are books challenged?

Books usually are challenged with the best intentions—to protect others, frequently children, from difficult ideas and information.   Censorship can be subtle, almost imperceptible, as well as blatant and overt, but, nonetheless, harmful.  

Often challenges are motivated by a desire to protect children from “inappropriate” sexual content or “offensive” language. The following were the top three reasons cited for challenging materials as reported to the Office of Intellectual Freedom:

·         the material was considered to be "sexually explicit"

·         the material contained "offensive language"

·         the materials was "unsuited to any age group"

Although this is a commendable motivation, Free Access to Libraries for Minors, an interpretation of the Library Bill of Rights (ALA's basic policy concerning access to information) states that, “Librarians and governing bodies should maintain that parents—and only parents—have the right and the responsibility to restrict the access of their children—and only their children—to library resources.” Censorship by librarians of constitutionally protected speech, whether for protection or for any other reason, violates the First Amendment.

If we are to continue to protect our First Amendment, we would do well to keep in mind these words of Noam Chomsky:

“If we don't believe in freedom of expression for people we despise, we don't believe in it at all.”

Who Challenges Books?

Throughout history, more and different kinds of people and groups of all persuasions than you might first suppose, who, for all sorts of reasons, have attempted—and continue to attempt—to suppress anything that conflicts with or anyone who disagrees with their own beliefs.

According to the Challenges by Initiator, Institution, Type, and Year, parents challenge materials more often than any other group.

Top Ten Challenged books of 2013:

There were 307 challenges this year and the following books were the most “popular”

1.       Captain Underpants (series), Dav Pilkey

2.       The Bluest Eye, Tony Morrison

3.       The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, Sherman Alexie

4.       Fifty Shades of Grey, E.L. James

5.       The Hunger Games, Suzanne Collins

6.       A bad Boy Can Be Good For A Girl, Tanya Lee Stone

7.       Looking for Alaska, John Green

8.       The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Stephen Chbosky

9.       Bless Me, Ultima, Rudolfo, Anaya

10.   Bone (Series), Jeff Smith

If you would like to know the reasons for the challenges, come in to the library and we can show you on our Banned Books Flyer.  Or better yet, check one of them out and read it for yourself!!

Upcoming Events: Maurice Bickford will be presenting a talk on the Star Spangled Banner and how it has changed over the years on October 4^th at 2:00 PM.  Join us to learn about our flag!  Also, we will be taking a bus trip to New Ulm in October and it will be FREE to library patrons.  Keep your eyes peeled for more information.

PAFL Update:  Pipestone Area Friends of the Library is looking for members – anyone who is a friend to Meinders Library is welcome to join!  The Friends group works hard to promote the library, raise money for projects, and organize their yearly book sale, in addition to the HUGE amount of support they provide throughout the year.  Call us for the date of the next meeting!

If you have questions or have a book you’d like to reserve or renew, please don’t hesitate to give us a call at (507) 825-6714.  The hours for Meinders Library are Monday through Thursday from 10 AM – 8 PM, and Friday and Saturday from 10 AM to 5 PM.  Meinders Community Library is located at 1401 7^th Street SW, on the south side of the high school.

Labor Day

School starts the day after Labor Day.  Honestly, when I hear that, I think “Labor Day already?” and go back to whatever else I was doing.  I don’t think about what Labor Day actually stands for.  Do you?

Labor Day is a federal holiday meant to celebrate the achievements of American workers, both socially and economically.   The very first Labor Day was celebrated in New York City on Tuesday, September 5, 1882.  The Central Labor Union organized the holiday just for New York, with no other cities taking place.  They celebrated the holiday again the following year, keeping the date so the holiday fell on a Monday, giving workers a three day weekend.

In 1884, the City of New York declared that the first Monday in September would be known as Labor Day from then on out and the Central Labor Union encouraged other cities to follow suit.  In 1885, many of the industrial centers around the United States celebrated the date.  Since these first holidays were celebrated by municipal ordinance, the cities rallied to push the states to pass laws to recognize the holiday on a state level, instead of just city by city.  New York State was the first to have a bill before its lawmakers, but Oregon succeeded in passing its bill first on February 21, 1887.  By 1894, 23 states had followed in Oregon’s footsteps and on June 28 of 1894, Congress passed a law making Labor Day a federal holiday.

The first proposal for the holiday outlined a suggested celebration.  According to the proposal, towns were to have a street parade to “exhibit to the public the strength and esprit de corps of the trade and labor organizations of the community.”  That parade was to be followed by a festival for the pleasure and enjoyment of the working families.  This became the pattern for the celebration of Labor Day all over the country.

As cities grew larger and huge parades became more difficult to organize, some areas turned to televising speeches from leading union officials, educators, labor leaders, and industrialists to celebrate the holiday.  More recently, families have used Labor Day as a last hurrah before school starts, one last long weekend available before the kids have a daily schedule almost as demanding as their parents. 

Labor Day signifies the end of the summer for most people, and strangely enough, the end of a fashion season.  So, ladies, once Labor Day arrives, we can no longer wear white clothing.  Does anyone know why that is?  I’ve heard it’s because the Navy switches their uniforms from white to blue, but I can’t confirm that.  If anyone knows the origin of this tradition, give me a call at the library!

PAFL Update:  Pipestone Area Friends of the Library is looking for members – anyone who is a friend to Meinders Library is welcome to join!  The Friends group works hard to promote the library, raise money for projects, and organize their yearly book sale, in addition to the HUGE amount of support they provide throughout the year.  Call us for the date of the next meeting!

If you have questions or have a book you’d like to reserve or renew, please don’t hesitate to give us a call at (507) 825-6714.  The winter hours (starting September 2^nd) for Meinders Library are Monday through Thursday from 10 AM – 8 PM, and Friday and Saturday from 10 AM – 5 PM.  Meinders Community Library is located at 1401 7^th Street SW, on the south side of the high school.

Biographies of Interest

Who out there is an armchair adventurer?  Most of the time, I am, with a few exceptions.  I love to read travalogues and live vicariously through the adventures that other people experience.  But daily life can be its own adventure, especially for people who experience great hardship, dangerous or traumatic events, or simply those people whose culture is so vastly different from ours that it is difficult to comprehend. 

Here are a few biographies and autobiographies to get you started – there are extraordinary people in our world.  Some we will meet along the way, others we can read about in books, but the stories these people have to share with us will change the way you think of the world.

The Bite of the Mango, Mariatu Kamara with Susan McClelland

Kamara grew up in a small village in Sierra Leone, during a conflict that created hundreds of thousands of refugees.  In her small village, the rumors of rebel attacks were just that – no one had seen them first hand, no one believed they were really happening.  Until one day, when Kamara was 12 years old.  She set out for a neighboring village and she never arrived.  Heavily armed soldiers kidnapped her, tortured her, and cut off both her hands.  She survives, makes her way to Freetown, and becomes a beggar to keep herself alive.  Today she lives in Toronto, Canada, but it was a long road and her story shows just how resilient she is.

Hole in My Life, Jack Gantos

Gantos is an award-winning author of children’s books and lives with his wife in Massachusetts.   In this book, he tells readers about the biggest mistake of his life – the time when he needed adventure so he agreed to sail a yacht loaded with hasish from the Virgin Islands to New York City.  Once there, he was to sell the drugs but would retain ten thousand dollars for his trouble.  Unfortunately for Gantos, federal agents knew what was going on and busted him and his partners at the Chelsea Hotel.  Gantos servied six years in prison.  This is the story of those years and how his youth ended in the tiny cell and how the entire experience made him into the writer he is today.

The Other Side of the Sky, Farah Ahmedi  with Tamim Ansary

A childhood in Afghanistan is no picnic, much less for Farah Ahmedi.  As a child, she grew used to the sound of gunfire and the sight of falling bombs, even when they took her family from her.  Escaping death when she stepped on a landmine was one of only a handful of blessings that was bestowed upon her.  Finally it becomes too much for her to bear and she flees her beloved country to refugee camps in the mountains before making a journey to the United States.  Her tale is remarkable and inspiring, forcing us all to examine our own lives and the problems we are so sure we have, realizing they are nothing compared to some of what she suffered.

Rachel’s Tears: The Spiritual Journey of Columbine Martyr Rachel Scott, Beth Nimmo and Darrel Scott

There isn’t a lot of information I can give about this book without taking away something from the reading.  Rachel Scott was a very typical teenage girl, except for her strong faith in God.  She struggled, as many do, she learned, she believed in the depths of her heart.  And then, on the 20^th of April in 1999, she was shot and killed at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado.  This book uses her journals and the words of her parents to explore her life and give us a window into her faithful soul.

The Unwanted, Kien Nguyen

Nguyen is the son of a Vietnamese woman and an American man and spent his early childhood in Vietnam with his mother, the co-president of a bank.  His house was large, his mother threw parties, they had servants, everything a child could have ever wanted.  Until the night it changed.  Amidst the destruction of the old politicos, the family loses everything and Nguyen and his mother are forced to Saigon, into an apartment and a community where they don’t fit, especially Nguyen with his mixed blood.  A very emotional book, Nguyen does an excellent job pulling us into the desperation his life becomes before he manages to immigrate to the United States in 1985.

Warrior Princess, Princess Kasune Zulu with Belinda Collins

Princess Kasune Zulu began her life by the shores of Victoria Falls, living a very privileged life in Zambia.  Life was idyllic until a mystery ailment claimed the lives of her parents, her brother, and her baby sister.  The disease would become known as AIDS and it wasn’t until she turned 21 that Princess Kasune Zulu learned that she was also infected.  That realization took her from Zambia to the White House and the United Nations.  She has earned international acclaim for her work as an ambassador for vulnerable children and her passion for her work is unequaled.  Her life may be uncertain, but she is not wasting one single minute of it.

SRP Update: SRP activities are finished, but reading for prizes will continue until August 31 – we’ve got some great prizes, so keep reading!

PAFL Update:  Pipestone Area Friends of the Library is looking for members – anyone who is a friend to Meinders Library is welcome to join!  The Friends group works hard to promote the library, raise money for projects, and organize their yearly book sale, in addition to the HUGE amount of support they provide throughout the year.  Call for the date of their next meeting.

If you have questions or have a book you’d like to reserve or renew, please don’t hesitate to give us a call at (507) 825-6714.  The summer hours for Meinders Library (starting Memorial Day weekend) are Monday through Thursday from 10 AM – 8 PM, and Friday from 10 AM – 5 PM and Saturday from 10 AM - Noon.  Meinders Community Library is located at 1401 7^th Street SW, on the south side of the high school.

Family Friendly Audio

Pipestone County Star 07-17-2014

Ah, the joys of long family car trips.  Having just done one, it went much better than I expected, but I let my kids watch DVDs and I drive a mini-van, so there’s space.  But if you don’t have a DVD player or very much space?  Audio books are possibly the best way to go!  So here are a few choices that everyone in the family could listen to, kids and adults alike.  I have listened to all of these with my children (ages 8 and 9 now, though probably closer to 6 and 7 when we started books on tape), and I can vouch for all of them being a good listen.

Beyond the Spiderwick Chronicles: The Nixie’s Song (Book 1), by Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black

Two kids, thrown together by circumstance when their parents married.  And the girl brought a book with her, a book that is heavy and full of pictures of fairies, which everyone knows aren’t real, right? Think again, kid!  Once you know, and once THEY know you know, you can’t go back! Read by Andrew McCarthy, of brat pack fame.

Because of Winn-Dixie, by Kate DiCamillo

There is a supermarket in Florida named Winn-Dixie, and ten year old India decides to name the stray dog she’s adopted after the place where they met.  India has just moved to town and feels a little lost.  But before too long, India and her father, with some help from the dog, realize that life is so much more wonderful than they thought it was.  Read by Cherry Jones.

Millions, by Frank Cottrell Boyce

Damian Cunningham was certainly not expecting a bag filled with money to drop out of the sky at his feet.  He wasn’t expecting to be rich, but it all comes with a catch – he and his brother only have seventeen days in which they can spend the money before it isn’t even worth the paper it was printed on.  And that’s not all – the money was stolen and the men who stole it want it back.  Read by Simon Jones – a warning: the movie made me cry.

Harry Potter series, by JK Rowling

Though most people have read these books, I discovered that the audios are fantastic!  The reader, Jim Dale, does voices and is incredibly entertaining.  Plus, there’s seven of them and some of them have a LARGE number of discs, so this is something that can last a very long time.  Join Harry on his journey through schooling at the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and his quest to destroy Lord Voldemort.  These audiobooks are the best!

Geronimo Stilton series, by Geronimo Stilton

These books center around a mouse reporter and the crazy capers he gets up to, usually crazy adventures in far off places.  The stories are short and there are three in each volume.  These are great for younger children who can’t follow too intricate of a plotline.  Read by Edward Herrmann, they are sure to entertain.

A Series of Unfortunate Events (Series) by Lemony Snicket

These are multi-voice recordings, meaning there is more than one reader.  While the main narrator is Tim Curry, others read with him, portraying various characters.  These books come with a warning, that if you can’t handle “a tragic fire, a nefarious villain, itchy clothing, and cold porridge for breakfast,” you best find something else.   These books are humorous in a rather dark and gothic kind of way and are thoroughly enjoyable in audio.

SRP Update: The Summer Reading Program sign-up has started with weekly activity days starting June 17^th (Tuesday) at 2:00 PM.  Activities will continue on Tuesdays until the end of July.

PAFL Update:  Pipestone Area Friends of the Library is looking for members – anyone who is a friend to Meinders Library is welcome to join!  The Friends group works hard to promote the library, raise money for projects, and organize their yearly book sale, in addition to the HUGE amount of support they provide throughout the year.  Call for the date of their next meeting.

If you have questions or have a book you’d like to reserve or renew, please don’t hesitate to give us a call at (507) 825-6714.  The summer hours for Meinders Library (starting Memorial Day weekend) are Monday through Thursday from 10 AM – 8 PM, and Friday from 10 AM – 5 PM and Saturday from 10 AM - Noon.  Meinders Community Library is located at 1401 7^th Street SW, on the south side of the high school.

The Value of a Library

Pipestone County Star 06-19-2014

I grew up in Cedar Rapids, Iowa and when I was a child, I would take the city bus downtown to the library on afternoons when I had nothing better to do.  I would find books and sit in the stacks and read until it was time to go home and I was never happier.  I couldn’t imagine growing up without a public library.

With all the severe weather over the past few years, fires, hurricanes, flooding, many public libraries have been damaged and had to relocate or rebuild, causing them to be unavailable until construction or renovations are complete.

What would happen if you lost your public library?  What do you think you would have to pay for the services the library provides if you no longer had access to them? 

Let’s start with materials.  If you only check out one book every two weeks (we’ll assume it’s a hardcover fiction book), you are saving yourself somewhere in the neighborhood of $50 a month.  New, hardcover fiction is right around $25 a book if you purchase them from Barnes and Noble.  Amazon sometimes has them cheaper, but then you have to pay for shipping (unless you buy more than $35 at a time or are a Prime member).  If you come and read the magazines at the library rather than subscribing, you save approximately $1.50 per magazine that you read each month by not having a subscription to your home.  Videos are $3, roughly, if you check them out at the video store.  Let’s say you check out a movie to enjoy with the family each weekend – checking them out at the library saves $12 a month.  So if you use the library for books, magazines, and videos, you save about $70 a month, or $840 a year and I’m just getting started!

Do you like to listen to audio books?  If you purchase them for yourself, you’ll probably spend anywhere from $25 to $40 per book and really, will you listen to it more than once?  If so, great, maybe purchasing is a good option, but if you only plan on one time, then borrowing it makes more sense and saves you money.

Now for some things you might not think about.  We get a lot of reference calls at the library, for directions or for phone numbers, or other community questions.  If you were to call information on your home or cell phone to get this information, you would spend $.75 a call.  Doesn’t sound like that much, but if you call once a week, it would add up over the year to $39!  You could also use the internet to answer those questions and, if you don’t have a computer at home, the internet at the library is free, which saves the average computer owner about $30 a month on internet services (not to mention the cost of a computer).

Special events that are held at the library are free to the public, as are computer classes and craft days.  If you were to pay for those, it would probably cost $15 for an hour of computer time with an instructor and $10 for a craft afternoon, to pay for materials.

So let’s add this up: 2 books a month ($50), 3 magazine subscriptions ($4.50), videos for weekends ($12), an audio book for all the driving ($30), information calls ($3), internet access ($20).  What does that add up to? $129.50.  That’s right – you can save over $125 a month just by using your local library.  Sound like a good deal?  Perhaps I should write this: Public Library = Priceless.

Keep in mind, I only listed the monetary value of physical materials and staff time.  That does not take into account the amount of information that is readily available, nor the amount of access one can get from interlibrary loan and the internet.  The library is used every week for job hunting, social outings, homework, testing sites, meetings, book clubs, and other activities.  These things keep us in touch with each other and the community, and it is impossible to give that connection a price.

Remember that everyone pays taxes for the library: 1.2% of taxes paid to the county of Pipestone go towards the library funding.  Are you using the services provided to get a good return on those tax dollars?  Stop in for a library card and check out a book today!

Services Update: Cypress Resume is now available at the library and at home with your library card!  Ask a librarian for more information – if you are job hunting, then this is the service for you.  Make great resumes with this web-based software that will lay out everything for you.

SRP Update: The Summer Reading Program sign-up has started with weekly activity days starting June 17^th (Tuesday) at 2:00 PM.  We have two special events happening along with SRP this year for our middle and early readers: Swan the Magician at 2:00 PM June 24^th and the Zinghoppers at 2:00 PM July 8^th.  Contact the library for more information about these great events!

PAFL Update:  Pipestone Area Friends of the Library is looking for members – anyone who is a friend to Meinders Library is welcome to join!  The Friends group works hard to promote the library, raise money for projects, and organize their yearly book sale, in addition to the HUGE amount of support they provide throughout the year.  Call for the date of their next meeting.

If you have questions or have a book you’d like to reserve or renew, please don’t hesitate to give us a call at (507) 825-6714.  The summer hours for Meinders Library (starting Memorial Day weekend) are Monday through Thursday from 10 AM – 8 PM, and Friday from 10 AM – 5 PM and Saturday from 10 AM - Noon.  Meinders Community Library is located at 1401 7^th Street SW, on the south side of the high school.

Summer Favorites

Pipestone County Star  - 06-05-14

Summer is almost here.  Even with the chillier temperatures of spring, we all know it’s coming and some of us can hardly wait.  I get to this point in the year and the only thing I can think about are warm days outside, reading a book and drinking iced tea.  Of course, by the end of summer, we’ll be wishing for cooler weather again, but at this point, all we can think about is warmth and promise.  And possibly those summer release books that happen every year/

Here’s a few you might be waiting for:

Top-Secret Twenty-One, Janet Evanovich (June 17)

Stephanie Plum is at it again.  This time, Trenton’s favorite used-car salesman has skipped out on bail after using his dealership to sell more than cars.  And Stephanies is going to have to protect someone she’d rather not protect, not to mention try and foil an assassination plot against Ranger.  And if that’s not enough, Grandma Mazur has a bucket list that involves getting revenge on Grandma Bella – what could possible go wrong?  Did I mention the feral Chihuahuas?

The Beekeeper’s Ball, Susan Wiggs (June 24)

Transforming her childhood home into a destination cooking school is a dream come true for Isabel Johansen.  The layout, bountiful gardens, apple orchards, and beehives make it a great place to learn to cook, not to mention a getaway.  And Isabel wants it to be just that – a place she can forget the past, until a reporter named Cormac O’Neill shows up and starts to stir the pot.  A good romance, an idyllic setting, and a lovely story make this a perfect summer book.

Shots Fired, CJ Box (July 15)

This book is actually made up of ten stories, four of them  Joe Pickett stories and three never before published, that prove once and again that CJ Box is an incomparable story teller.  I love short stories in the summer – they can be read in an afternoon and are thoroughly satisfying without taking up too much time.  This book promises to be a good one!

Fast Track, Julie Garwood (July 29)

Raised by her father after her mother died in an accident, Cordelia Kane has always been a daddy’s girl.  That is, until her father has a heart attack and tells her a secret that leads her to Sydney, Australia, with her brother’s best friend to search for some answers. Sparks may burn between them, but the answers may cause Cordelia to get more than she bargained for and her search becomes dangerous.

Cold Cold Heart, Tami Hoag (August 12)

Dana Nolen was kidnapped by a serial killer right at the beginning of a promising career as a TV reporter and, though she defeated him, her life is now marred by flashbacks and PTSD.  She thinks that moving back to her hometown will help, but it only draws up more memories.  As she starts to uncover more details about the crime that made her become a reporter in the first place, she begins to struggle with the images her brain is giving her.  Are they real? Or are they a leftover of her ordeal?

Close to Home, Lisa Jackson (August 26)

Sarah McAdams has come home to renovate her childhood house, an old Victorian mansion that her daughters are not impressed with.  It holds a lot of memories for Sarah, some of which she’d rather not examine again.  Supposedly, the house is haunted, and Sarah’s daughter Gracie begins to talk about a woman in white she has seen running up the stairs.  But Sarah doesn’t have time to think about that in the midst of all the renovations and a shocking new problem – teenage girls in town are disappearing.  As Sarah deals with the terror of protecting her girls, will she realize that her memories might hold the key to solving the crimes?  An edge of your seat kind of read!

Get ready to enjoy summer – eventually it will warm up and a glass of tea on the porch, reading a book, will be the way to spend you day!

Services Update: Cypress Resume is now available at the library and at home with your library card!  Ask a librarian for more information – if you are job hunting, then this is the service for you.  Make great resumes with this web-based software that will lay out everything for you.

SRP Update: The Summer Reading Program sign-up starts on June 6^th with weekly activity days starting June 17^th (Tuesday) at 2:00 PM.  We have two special events happening along with SRP this year for our middle and early readers: Swan the Magician at 2:00 PM June 24^th and the Zinghoppers at 2:00 PM July 8^th.  Contact the library for more information about these great events!

PAFL Update:  Pipestone Area Friends of the Library is looking for members – anyone who is a friend to Meinders Library is welcome to join!  The Friends group works hard to promote the library, raise money for projects, and organize their yearly book sale, in addition to the HUGE amount of support they provide throughout the year.  Call for the date of their next meeting.

If you have questions or have a book you’d like to reserve or renew, please don’t hesitate to give us a call at (507) 825-6714.  The summer hours for Meinders Library (starting Memorial Day weekend) are Monday through Thursday from 10 AM – 8 PM, and Friday from 10 AM – 5 PM and Saturday from 10 AM - Noon.  Meinders Community Library is located at 1401 7^th Street SW, on the south side of the high school.

Services You Might Not Know About

Pipestone County Star  - 05-08-14

Sure, the library offers books, movies, cake pans, CDs, and computers for public use, but there are other things we provide you may not know about.  With most of these services, we are included along with the other 30+ public and school libraries in the Plum Creek Regional Library System (PCLS) which is only one of the benefits of working together.  Without PCLS, we wouldn’t have access to not only the books inside of the system, but to the books in every library in the state of Minnesota.  But I said this was more than books, didn’t I?  Here’s some other great services offered by your local library and the regional system.

Most of you are already aware that we offer electronic books for checkout on your mobile devices and home computers.  In the past, the checkout limit through overdrive was 2 books at a time with a maximum usage of 6 books checked out and returned per week.  Because our collection has gotten much larger this year, the limit has been raised to 4 checkouts at a time with a maximum of 20 books returned in a 7 day period.  If you read more than 20 books a week, you might have to slow down a little (but I am REALLY impressed!).  If you have any questions on how to access overdrive on your mobile device, please let us know and we’d be happy to help.

In addition to the changes in checkout limits, Plum Creek Library System has purchased the rights of a maximum access collection of 661 Disney picture and chapter books.  Maximum access means that many users can check out the same book at the same time, which means no more waiting on a holds list for the books in this collection.  This means those of you with smaller children that like to read on digital devices can check out more books and have a much better selection.

Within the next few months, the Plum Creek Library System will go live with a service called Zinio, which allows patron access to digital magazines.  Digital magazines may be enjoyed on hand held devices like phones and tablets (but not dedicated E-readers like Kindle and Nook) and on home computers.  You just need a library card.  The beauty of the service is that there is no limit on who can check out a magazine and once you check it out, you always have access to it – it doesn’t disappear.  Many magazines have digital content that goes well beyond the print version and the graphics are amazing, not to mention imbedded video.  It will be a great addition to the library services.  Stay tuned for more information!

Plum Creek Library System, along with assistance from SAMMIE (our multi-type organization for this region of the state), has decided to purchase a software license for Cypress Resume, an excellent on-line resume building tool.  When it goes live, possibly even this month, patrons will be able to use their library cards to log into the service and build resumes from home or from a computer in the library.  The software is fantastic, easy to use, and builds great looking resumes – a good service for our patrons who are job hunting.

We realize that the library was more centrally located before the building of the new school in 2003.  Because of this, Pipestone Area Friends of the Library (with the help of a generous donation) purchases transit tokens for our patrons.  These tokens are available to our patrons who come to the library on the Pipestone County Transit bus at the rate of two tokens per person per week.  We can only give them to you if you take the bus out to the library, not if you come by vehicle.  Ask at the front desk for help with this service or if you have any other questions.

We are currently working on a grant that would bring more technology to the library and allow us to offer training on digital devices, so keep your fingers crossed on that.

While we try to stay on top of what we think the community might need from their library, there may be things we’ve missed.  If you have any suggestions that you think the library can help you with, please let us know.  Have a great day!

Upcoming Events: PAFL will be having their annual meeting on May 17^th at 2:00 and will be hosting David Rambow, who is working with the Pipestone County Historical Society on a World War I project to catalogue all the veterans who enlisted in World War I in Pipestone County.  Another not-to-miss event for anyone interested in history and Pipestone County veterans in particular

PAFL Update:  Pipestone Area Friends of the Library is looking for members – anyone who is a friend to Meinders Library is welcome to join!  The Friends group works hard to promote the library, raise money for projects, and organize their yearly book sale, in addition to the HUGE amount of support they provide throughout the year.  Call for the date of their next meeting.

If you have questions or have a book you’d like to reserve or renew, please don’t hesitate to give us a call at (507) 825-6714.  The hours for Meinders Library are Monday through Thursday from 10 AM – 8 PM, and Friday and Saturday from 10 AM – 5 PM.  Meinders Community Library is located at 1401 7^th Street SW, on the south side of the high school.

May Day Celebrations

Pipestone County Star  - 04-24-14

When I was a child, May Day was always a day I got a lot of exercise.  The night before, I would plant little flowers in small red cups, probably more than a dozen.  In the morning, usually first thing, I would run to my friends’ houses and leave a flower on the doorstep before ringing the bell and running away.  If my friends could catch me, we would laugh hilariously and hug, though technically kissing was the rule.  I have no idea where this tradition started – neither does my mother.  It was just something we did.  Sometimes my friends were ready for me, sometimes they had forgotten.  And sometimes, I would be lucky enough to be at home when my own doorbell rang and I would get to do the chasing.

Do you remember anything crazy you did to celebrate spring when you were a child?

May Day began as Walpurgis Night in Germany or Beltaine in the Gaelic countries.  Though it was never technically Christianized, the holiday itself still remains though has lost most of its religious overtones (celebrating fertility) in the cultures who still celebrate it.  Now it’s mostly associated with dancing around a maypole or crowning a May Queen, though it has other meanings in different countries.

In Britain, May Day is not always held on May 1^st.  Instead, the first Monday in May is declared a Bank Holiday, which everyone has off, and the celebrations usually involve a lot of Morris dancing.  Many of the smaller villages crown May Queens and set up a May pole to dance around with colorful ribbons.  It’s also traditional to dress in red and white and, in some Scottish towns, to ensure a bonfire burns throughout the night to welcome the coming summer (this can involve a lot of alcohol and hangovers come the next day).

In France, thanks to Charles IX, people give each other sprigs of Lily of the Valley and the government allows groups to sell them tax-free.

In Germany, things are kept anonymous.  The night before (April 30), it is traditional to delivery roses, hearts, or trees wrapped in streamers to the house of the object of one’s affection.  Since this is done during the night, it is up to the admirer to admit they were responsible or to leave it secret.  Our cups of flowers must have originated from this tradition – I can’t find anything else that’s even close.

Bulgaria celebrates Irminden instead of May Day and the holiday is associated with protection from snakes.  According to legend, the King of Snakes appears on Irminden and so villagers light fires then jump over them, making sounds to scare the snakes away. 

In Hawaii, May Day is called Lei Day and has been a celebration of island culture since the 1920s.  It even has its own song, composed by Leonard “Red” and Ruth Hawk: “May Day is Lei Day in Hawai’I” which has become a popular hula dance for the holiday.

I think I shall wear a lei to work on May 1^st, to celebrate the spring and to indulge my wish to go to Hawaii.  Will any of you do something silly to celebrate the coming of warmer weather?

Upcoming Events: April 26^th at 2:00, we will be hosting Michael Eckers, who is an avid historian.  Michael will be talking about the Eighth Air Force during World War II, the group charged with bombing Germany and defeating the German Luftwaffe.  Join us for this free event – if you are a history buff, don’t miss it!

PAFL Update:  Pipestone Area Friends of the Library is looking for members – anyone who is a friend to Meinders Library is welcome to join!  The Friends group works hard to promote the library, raise money for projects, and organize their yearly book sale, in addition to the HUGE amount of support they provide throughout the year.  Call for the date of their next meeting.

PAFL will be having their annual meeting on May 17^th at 2:00 and will be hosting David Rambow, who is working with the Pipestone County Historical Society on a World War I project to catalogue all the veterans who enlisted in World War I in Pipestone County.  Another not-to-miss event for anyone interested in history and Pipestone County veterans in particular

If you have questions or have a book you’d like to reserve or renew, please don’t hesitate to give us a call at (507) 825-6714.  The hours for Meinders Library are Monday through Thursday from 10 AM – 8 PM, and Friday and Saturday from 10 AM – 5 PM.  Meinders Community Library is located at 1401 7^th Street SW, on the south side of the high school.