A Few of My Favorite Things

Pipestone County Star – 06-25-2015

Everyone has a few authors they can’t live without – you know what I mean: the authors whose books you will purchase right away or try to place a hold on months before they’re going to be released.  I have several and I thought I would share them with you.  Who knows, maybe they will become pleasures for you, too!!

Mary Roach is one of my favorites. I will buy every book that she writes and I would even love to have her over to my house for dinner.  She is a science/humor writer that explores what happens to human bodies in unusual conditions, from death to space travel and everything in between.  During an interview with Peter Siegel on NPR, he asked her how she picks her topics and she responded with "Well, it's got to have a little science, it's got to have a little history, a little humor—and something gross." (NPR July 30, 2012).  She has six books so far: “Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers,” “Spook: Science Tackles the Afterlife,” “Bonk: The Curious Coupling of Science and Sex,” “Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void,” “Gulp: Adventures on the Alimentary Canal,” and “My Planet: Finding Humor in the Oddest Places.”

James Rollins is an author I will read over and over.  Though his books follow a very standard save-the-world kind of plot, they are well-written and very engaging.  Rollins tends to write just on the edge of what could possibly be real, backing up all of his stories with scientific facts that make you stop and think.  He writes an adventure series called Sigma Force and a series with a more gothic turn along with Rebecca Cantrell called The Order of the Sanguines.  Both are excellent and Rollins also has a group of stand-alone novels that he wrote before the two series started.  The stand-alones are almost my favorites – a small bit of romance, a HUGE amount of adventure, and a definite building of the anxiety to save the world!

George R. R. Martin is the author of “Game of Thrones” which has become a hit series on HBO.  Don’t get me wrong, those books are great, but he has several others that are even better, including “Fevre Dream” and his Wild Card series, which tackles the idea of mutant viruses in a whole new way.  Martin is an expert at strange fantasy, both in the classic sense, the historical sense, and the urban arena.  His books whisk me away to an alternate reality and I adore his sense of the dramatic.  And he’s not afraid to kill off main characters.  I love that in a writer.

Kathy Reichs writes the Temperance Brennan series upon which the TV series Bones is loosely based.  While I occasionally enjoy watching the show, the books are SO MUCH better.  Reichs writes for a character that is much like herself, a medical examiner in two different departments – one in North Carolina and the other in Quebec, Canada.  She includes excellent descriptions of the processes and the science behind the medical examiner’s job and the books are detailed and fascinating.  Of course, if you don’t like all the ins and outs of dead bodies, she’s probably not a good author for you.

Hope you are having a great summer so far!!

Event Update:  Summer Reading Program is well under way, but it’s not too late to sign up!! We have activities on Tuesdays at 2:00 until July 14^th and kids can continue to read for prizes until August 31^st.  Stop in and sign up today!

We are currently working on organizing another bus tour – this one to explore the Wabasha Street Caves in St. Paul.  The caves were used during Prohibition for illegal activities and have a rich historic past.  Keep your eyes peeled for more information!

We are also planning on a possible genealogy workshop for the fall.  Have a lot of experience or interest in family history? Keep watching the paper for more information.

In October, Lorna Landvik will be coming to the region for a tour – Meinders is planning on doing a program called “One Book, One Community” during this month to culminate with her visit.  We are still trying to choose our favorite Landvik book so if you have any suggestions, please let a librarian know!  Stay tuned for more information!

Book Club: We are thinking about trying to start a new book club in the fall.  If you are interested, please stop in and let a librarian know! It would be great to get this activity up and running again.

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 are Monday through Thursday from 10AM – 8PM, Friday from 10Am to 5PM and Saturday from 10AM to Noon.  Meinders Community Library is located at 1401 7^th Street SW, on the south side of the high school.

Using the Catalog at Home!

Pipestone County Star – 06-11-2015

Searching online from home is a great option for people who have a lot of books to look up or a list of things they are looking for.  Not only can you use the regular library catalog for Plum Creek, you can also search the entire state from your home computer.  To search Plum Creek, go to www.plumcreeklibrary.org/pipestone and click on the “Library Catalog” button on the left side.  To search the whole state, go to www.mnlinkgateway.org and do your search.  You will need your library card and pin (the last four digits of the card) for either search option.

Some of the best features on the Plum Creek website are Cart and Lists.  I’ll start with the cart.  It functions a lot like internet sites where you can make purchases.  You can choose all sorts of books while you search the catalogue and place them into your cart, which will save them for you just for that session.  You can search various subjects and titles and not lose the books you’ve already looked at, as long as you place them in the cart.  This allows for you to choose how many holds you’d like to place at once and if you want to save any of them for later.

That brings me to lists.  You will have an option in your cart of placing a hold or adding an item to a list.  If you add to a list, the system will save that book for you until you delete it and you can place a hold on it in the future if you would like to.  This is a GREAT place to keep track of books you WANT to read, but don’t have time to right now.  The list will save it.  The cart will NOT.  If you leave anything in your cart when you log out, it will not be there when you log back in.

There is also a way that we can leave you messages.  Say you leave your wallet in the library and we find it before you realize it’s missing.  We could leave a note for you so the next time you log into your account, it will tell you that we have your wallet.  You can’t send messages back to us, but you can give us a call or email us in response.

There are other features that will make your on-line experience more friendly.  I encourage you to fiddle around with the website and press buttons, see where it takes you.  There’s no better way to learn than doing it yourself.  I especially encourage fiddling with the MN Link site for the whole state.  There are some great features there I haven’t gone into detail about and it is a fantastic resource to anyone who loves more unusual books and authors.

If you are interested in getting started with the website or on MN Link and have never done it before, or need a little help, come in and see us!  We would be more than happy to help you get started.

And please don’t hesitate to call if you have questions – we’d be glad to help!

Event Update:  We have just begun the Summer Reading Program for kids! Activities are Tuesdays at 2:00 PM from now until July 21^st, but kids can read and collect prizes until the end of August.  Stop in to sign up and get started!

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.

Book Club: We are thinking about trying to start a new book club in the fall.  If you are interested, please stop in and let a librarian know! It would be great to get this activity up and running again.

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.

Summer Reading Program!

Pipestone County Star 05-28-2015

It’s that time of year again!! Kids and parents have already started asking when the Summer Reading program will start and it kills me we have to wait until June.  This year’s theme is Superheroes and we are so excited!  We’ve got some great activities planned for our activity days – see below!

If you are interested in being a volunteer for Summer Reading (and we need a bunch!), please let us know – we need people for each activity day from 1:30 until 3:30, which includes set up and clean up.  Thanks for thinking about it!

June 2^nd: Today is the kick-off party!  Come in to sign up and we will have cupcakes and juice to whet those super appetites.  Kids are welcome to dress up and will be making their superhero ID tags.

June 9^th: Have you ever needed practice with web-spinning? Perhaps throwing your super-powered trident? Today is the day to practice.  Rumor has it there will also be bowling for villains and a ‘laser’ maze in the library – time to train your super powers!

June 16^th: Need a side kick? We are creating paper heroes today – complete with awesome capes!

June 23^rd: Paper shields and hero bead bracelets are on the docket for today – great compliments to super costumes.

June 30^th:  We will have a scavenger hunt in the library today and creating the paper skyline of the city you are sworn to defend.  Take the skyline home to decorate your lair.

July 7^th:  Today is a day to make other heroes – we will have a melting bead hero craft (really very cool!!) and we will show you how to create your own heroes out of puzzle pieces.  Just what you might need if you were a villain – a way to create an army. Muahahahahaha!

July 14^th:  Every hero needs a signal that can be given when they are needed and today will be the day to create the signal we would use to call upon you in our hour of need.  And we’ll also have jet races, because what self-respecting hero doesn’t like to race jets?

The activities end on July 14^th, but the kids can continue to read books and get prizes through the end of August.  Middle Readers (Ages 5 -12) need to read 15 picture books or 100 pages of a chapter book to get a prize for a limit of three prizes over the course of the summer.  We also have reading logs for younger kids and teens if they are interested!

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 summer hours for Meinders Library 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.

Spring Into Reading!

Pipestone County Star – 04-30-2015

Spring is in the air! Tulips and irises are peeking out of the dirt, birds are happy again, the grass is getting green, and it’s time to sit on the deck with a drink and read a book, catching up on the vitamin D we missed over the long winter.  Here are a few books coming in May that will have you looking forward to those periods of downtime!!

“14^th Deadly Sin,” James Patterson (4)

The next installment in the Women’s Murder Club promises to be even more engaging than the first thirteen.  Called to the scene of a brutal daylight murder, Lindsay Boxer uncovers video evidence of another terrible crime, one in which the perpetrators wear masks and could be just about anyone. Can the club solve the crime before they’re the next targets?

“The Forgotten Room,” Lincoln Child (5)

Jeremy Logan (from “Third Gate” and “Deep Storm”) is back in this third installment.  Logan is hired by a high profile think tank to discover why one of their premier scientists went mad, attacking an assistant and then killing himself more gruesomely.  Logan’s investigation at the seaside manor which houses the group uncovers a secret room filled with the evidence of a project long thought forgotten.  Or was it?

“Solitude Creek,” Jeffrey Deaver (12)

The fourth book of Kathryn Dance begins with someone yelling ‘fire’ in a crowded night club.  But he goes farther than that, locking the doors so no one can get out.  Even worse? There’s no fire, but several people die from the panic.  So what kind of murderer plans out something like that, then plans out more? Dance will have to find out.

“Dry Bones,” Craig Johnson (12)

Walt Longmire (#12) has another mystery on his hands.  The largest complete Tyrannosaurus ever discovered has been found in his jurisdiction and for a day or so, it seems great.  Then the rancher on whose land the bones were found dies under mysterious circumstances and Walt needs to figure out who would benefit most from that death

“Ming Tea Murder,” Laura Childs (15)

Teashop Mysteries #16 begins with a museum gala, celebrating an authentic Chinese tea house display.  The evening would not be complete without a dancing Chinese dragon, drums, violins, and a photo booth for commemoration. But Theodosia finds a body in the booth, one of the museums largest donors, and her boyfriend is suddenly a suspect.  Can she figure it out before it’s time for tea?

“Day Shift,” Charlaine Harris (15)

This is the second novel set in Midnight, Texas, a town where all of the residents keep to themselves.  Psychic Manuel gets into hot water when he sees another resident, Olivia, in Dallas with a couple who is found dead the next day.  And to top it off, one of his clients dies during a reading.  As he hightails it back to Midnight, hounded by the press, he gets the feeling that maybe that very same Olivia can help him fix the problem.  He may be right, he may be very wrong.

“Kickback,” Robert B Parker (19)

This is #43 in the Spenser series. Spenser is called in to investigate when a teenager is sent to prison for creating a Twitter account for his vice principal, as a joke.  Not a jailing offence, it would seem, but that’s what happens.  And it’s not just one teenager – many more kids are being sent to juvenile detention facilities for what seems like minor offences.  So what exactly is going on? The trail will take Spenser to the underbelly of Boston and a scandal in the world of for-profit detention.

Enjoy your spring reading!!

Upcoming Events: PAFL Annual Meeting with be May 16^th at 2:00 PM at the library.  Faith Sullivan will be attending to talk about her books and there will be pie and ice cream.  We will have a great time, so hope you can join 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 – 5 PM.  Meinders Community Library is located at 1401 7^th Street SW, on the south side of the high school.

National Library Week

Pipestone County Star – 04-09-2015

I know, it seems as if there is a week for everything nowadays.  In April alone we have National Window Safety Week, National Public Health Week, National Oral, Head, and Neck Cancer Week, Administrative Professionals Week, and National Playground Safety Week.  And that’s not including any overlaps, where a week is used for awareness for more than one cause.  Of all the months of the year, May has the most, followed by October.  One small bit of useless knowledge for you (never know when you might be on Jeopardy) – the month of May has 31 different causes associated with it and each week is spoken for by at least three different National Awarenesses. 

And, of course, April is the month for National Library Week, celebrated this year from April 12 until April 19^th. 

The first National Library Week was celebrated from May 16-22, 1958.  It was sponsored by both the American Library Association and the American Book Publishers Council.  It wasn’t a new idea by any means.  The state of Indiana had a Library Week from April 23 – 29, 1922 and at that time ALA recommended that a National Library Week be instituted in 1923.  Missouri, Ohio, Hawaii, California, and Louisiana had all been celebrating a Library Week of some sort long before it became recognized nationally.  In 1974, the American Library Association took over as the sole sponsor. 

It’s a great week to celebrate your local library and this year, we’ve decided to give everyone a bit of a break! If you bring back overdue materials during that week, there will be no fines!  Instead, we are asking people to bring non-expired, non-perishable food items for donation to the food bank in place of money.

                             

So, for example, if you have four overdue items and $15 in fines, you can bring back your items and three cans of food and you’ll be good to go!  We are requesting one food item per $5 in fines.  If you have outstanding fines (but have already returned the materials), you can bring in food during this week to have those fines forgiven with the same value – one food item per $5 in fines.

It’s also a great time for us to refresh your memory about the services the library offers. We have public computers with printing services (10 cents for black and white, 15 cents for color), free wireless internet, graphic novels, cake pans, audio books, music CDs (even new releases), story time on Wednesday and Thursday at 10:30, DVD new releases, and lots of books!!

Have a great week – we hope to see you at the library.

Upcoming Events: Mark your calendars! Joel Karstens will be coming to Meinders Library April 22 at 5:00 PM to talk about Straw Bale Gardening!  Joel has been doing this presentation for years and is an expert in straw bale gardening, so come and enjoy the instruction – learn how to garden anywhere with fewer weeds and no dirt needed!  We’ll see you there.

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 – 5 PM.  Meinders Community Library is located at 1401 7^th Street SW, on the south side of the high school.

National Library Week, April 12-19 2015

National Library Week is April 12 – 19, 2015!  It’s a great week to celebrate your local library and we’ve decided to give everyone a bit of a break! If you bring back overdue materials during that week, there will be no fines!  Instead, we are asking people to bring non-expired, non-perishable food items for donation to the food bank in place of money.

                             

So, for example, if you have four overdue items and $15 in fines, you can bring back your items and three cans of food and you’ll be good to go!  We are requesting one food item per $5 in fines. 

If you have outstanding fines (but have already returned the materials), you can bring in food during this week to have those fines forgiven with the same value – one food item per $5 in fines.

Not only would we like to see our materials again, we would also like to get as many patrons as possible back in good standing, so we hope you can take advantage of this fine-free week!  Please keep in mind, this is only good during library hours between April 12 and 19.  You need to return your materials to a librarian in order to get your fines forgiven.

Have a great April!

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.

Straw Bale Gardening April 22, 2015 5:00 PM

Meinders Library is very excited to welcome Joel Karsten for Straw Bale Gardening on April 22^nd at 5:00 in celebration of Earth Day!!

Straw Bale Gardens – Breaking New Ground!  Grow a garden without pulling weeds, without the heavy lifting and without getting down on your hands and knees like traditional gardening requires.  If you thought the only place to grow healthy vegetable crops was in black dirt, you’ll be inspired by the science and biology Karsten offers in his presentation.  Learn to grow a bountiful garden using no herbicides, insecticides or pesticides.  Learn to plant a wide variety of vegetables, root crops, vine crops, and even beautiful flowers, directly into your “conditioned” straw bales, much earlier in the season than you’re used to.  Discover how any backyard, concrete patio, rooftop or driveway can become a productive garden.  Learn the details of this revolutionary and easy gardening method to create a beautiful and productive garden, without lifting a shovel and without using soil.

Come to the library and learn the fundamental skills needed to create your own straw bale garden!  Just two bales of straw can produce 240 tomatoes, ten heads of garlic, six quarts of basil, three quarts of thyme, and costs less than $20! 

JOEL KARSTEN, a farm boy who grew up tending a soil garden like other gardeners have for centuries, shook up the gardening world with his first book describing his breakthrough Straw Bale Gardening concept.  The New York Times called Straw Bale Gardening “a revolutionary gardening method” and his ideas have been enthusiastically embraced globally, making his books best-sellers in many languages.  Karsten earned a BS in Horticulture from the University of Minnesota and spends his summers tending his vegetable garden, doing research, and experimenting with new ideas and methods he can pass along to his followers.  He is a popular speaker, making appearances around the world at events that celebrate innovation, garden enthusiasts and healthy lifestyles. He is renowned for his social media presence, his popular blog, and millions of on-line impressions.  Karsten has inspired tens of thousands of first-time gardeners and a legion of “seasoned” growers who have found a new and better way to pursue their passion.  His methods have enabled “retired” gardeners to begin gardening again since his method eliminates the physical challenges found in traditional soil gardening.  Discover more information about Karsten and his revolutionary methods at www.StrawBaleGardens.com.  Links to his Blog, Newsletter, Facebook page, YouTube Channel, Twitter feed and Google Plus pages can all be found on his website.

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.