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.

Easter Calculations

Pipestone County Star  - 04-10-14

Everyone knows how the date for Easter is chosen, right?  Well, probably not.  It took me awhile to figure it out and, honestly, the complete computation for the actual date is really confusing if someone with a scientific mind were to try and explain it.  Since I don’t understand it myself, we’ll go the easy way.

Easter falls on the first Sunday after the first full moon after the vernal equinox.  The vernal equinox falls on March 20 or 21 every year in the Northern Hemisphere (which is the date that counts according to the church) and so the date for Easter  is chosen by figuring out the next full moon (April 15^th) and then placing Easter on the following Sunday, which is April 20^th this year. 

It might surprise you to know that Easter can ONLY fall on 35 different dates, from March 22 (if the full moon is the SAME day as the equinox AND the equinox happens to be a Saturday) to April 25^th (if the full moon was the day before the equinox).  Easter last fell on March 22 in 1818 and will not fall on that Sunday again until 2285.  It fell on April 25^th in 1943 and will not be that late again until 2038.  The cycle of Easter repeats itself every 5,700,000 years and the most common date for Easter is April 19^th.  That would by why I remember my birthday falling on Good Friday several times, though I have NEVER had an Easter birthday.  According to the calendar, my birthday will fall on Easter in 2022 for the first time since I’ve been alive (I’ll be 49), and then it will repeat again in 2033 and 2044. 

Now if you REALLY want to get technical, the Eastern and Oriental Orthodox churches use a different calendar to figure out the date for Easter, so not only is Easter movable, but it moves in different patterns depending upon the sect of Christianity that you follow.  Confused yet?

The Jewish holiday of Passover usually falls shortly before Easter.  The rules governing the start of Passover are nearly as complex as those placing the date of Easter, so I won’t go into much detail.  Because of those rules, in three out of every nineteen years, Passover falls nearly a month after Easter, instead of a few days prior.  There is no rule requiring that Easter follow the start of Passover, it is simply the way the calendars work out most of the time.

Whether you celebrate Easter, Passover, another holiday, or none at all, I wish you a happy season as we welcome the spring, the warm weather, and the sight of the sun.  Spring fever is contagious and I think we all have it – celebrate being able to go for a walk without your coat on if nothing else!  Happy April!

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.