Have a Holly Jolly Holiday

Pipestone County Star – 12-20-12

There are some plants that I associate with the holidays because they’ve always been there.  People always put up mistletoe, there are holly berries in all the wreaths I see, Christmas trees are in abundance and you can buy bright red amaryllis for everyone on your Christmas list.  Why those plants?  Is there a special meaning behind them?

Mistletoe:  Mistletoe was considered by the ancient Celts as a remedy for bareness and an antidote to poison, though the actual reason for kissing under it is unclear.  According to the legends, the mistletoe can’t touch the ground between the time of its harvest and the time it is finally thrown away.  If a young man and woman kiss beneath it, he must remove one of the berries from the plant and when all the berries are gone, kissing is no longer allowed.  Medically, mistletoe has several uses, both for circulatory diseases and for cancer treatments.

Evergreen trees:  Because evergreen trees are just that, ever green, they have been a symbol of eternal life for thousands of years.  Garlands, trees, and wreaths have been used as decoration as far back as the Egyptians, the Chinese, and Hebrew culture.  They were made popular by the Germans and were typically decorated with nuts, dried fruits and apples that the children could pick off and eat.  Colorful glass balls replaced the apples at some point, and history took over from there.  Now there are so many colors and shapes of ornaments, I don’t know where to start!

 Most often, Fir trees are used since they have the added bonus of not shedding their leaves when they dry out (note that for next year) and it has become more popular now to either have a tree that grows in a pot and remains alive, or to have an artificial tree to decorate.

Holly:  It turns out that holly has no deep meaning at all – it’s just the right color at the right time.  Holly leaves are evergreen, glossy and dark, and the berries, typically red, ripen in the winter, providing a beautiful contrast of color with the snow on the ground.  Once the frosts have reduced the berries toxicity, birds eat them happily.  They are toxic for humans and will cause vomiting, though some species of holly are used to brew teas that have the highest caffeine content of any natural substance.

Amaryllis:  The bulbs sold in stores as Christmas gifts are from the species Hippaestrum and are easy to grow indoors.  Their colors are typically dark pinks and reds, giving color to indoors during the winter seasons since they will grow as long as they have water and light – they do not need to be outdoors to be beautiful and hundreds of thousands are sold each year to grace dining room tables around the holidays.  They do not have a specific meaning to the holiday, but I LOVE getting one from my mother every year!

Hope you had a wonderful Christmas and that you have great plans coming up for the New Year.  Happy Holidays!!

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.  For more information, please contact the library! The Book Sale is THIS COMING WEEK from December 26 until December 28!!  Stop in and find some good deals today!!

Book Club Reminder:  Book Club meets the fourth Thursday of each month (except December) in the Meinders Library conference room.  The next meeting is January 24^th at 7:00 PM and the book is The Light Between Oceans by M.L. Stedman.  Everyone is welcome. 

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.

For Your Shopping List Part 2

Pipestone County Star – 12-6-12

There are always more books than one can shake a stick at, especially during the holiday season.  Because so many authors release books right around Christmas, I’ve continued my article from two weeks ago with a few more that are bound to make readers happy.  Check these out at the library for some extra awesome holiday reading!!

Empire and Honor, W.E.B. Griffin

Part of the Honor Bound series.  It’s October 1945 and the Germans and Japanese have surrendered. For Cletus Frade and the OSS, it should be time to hang up their hats and move on, but… In the closing months of the war, the United States made a secret deal with the head of German intelligence’s Soviet section. In exchange for intelligence, including the identity of the Soviet spies in the American atomic bomb program, his people would be spirited to safety. If word got out, the US could lose some valuable secrets.  It’s up to Frade and his company to keep them safe, but we all know that’s not going to happen easily.  This one is a nail-biter.

Private London, James Patterson

Hannah Shapiro, a lovely American student, fled to London after a nightmare in Los Angeles that almost took her life.  She believed she’d leave it all behind, but she was wrong.  Now it’s up to Dan Carter, head of Private London, to save her all over again.  Dan’s ex-wife, Kirsty Webb, is a detective involved with a string of abductions and murders, leaving bodies of young women mutilated in strange ways and the cases are most likely linked together.  Private has a lot of resources, but possibly not enough time to get the job done and save Hannah.  A little holiday suspense!

Shadow Woman, Linda Howard

Almost a female Jason Bourne story, this one has twists and turns you won’t see coming and will keep you guessing until the end.  Lizette Henry wakes up one morning and no longer recognizes her own face in the mirror.  To top that off, years seem to be missing from her life and no one seems to be able to tell her why.  It doesn’t take long for a natural paranoia to seep in and Lizette begins to discover unusual talents, not the least of which is the ability to evade surveillance.  There ARE people watching her, you see, and this new man in her life, Xavier says he’s there to help.  Is he?  Or is he in league with the assassins that seem to want to take Lizette out of the picture…

Shiver, Karen Robards

Samantha Jones is a tow-truck driver.  She doesn’t really want to be, but being a Repo Girl pays the bills for herself and her young son, so crappy truck is the choice.  Her latest repossession brought her something more than she bargained for.  Trapped in the trunk is a man beaten bloody and tied up, obviously left for dead.  Out of the goodness of her heart, she unties him, only to be taken hostage along with her young son.  But the man seems like a protector rather than an abductor and, even though he’s forcing her to help him, she’s beginning to feel a strange attraction to Danny.  Suspenseful and romantic at the same time, a good read for a cold day!

Two Graves, Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child

The latest in the Agent Pendergast series beings some surprises.  For years, Pendergast has believed that his beloved wife Helen is dead.  In this installment, he finds her still alive but their joyful reunion is cut short abruptly when Helen is kidnapped from right under his nose.  Pendergast must embark on a crazy journey to save her, only to find that his rescue unleashes someone who has planned the entire thing.  Stopping this new threat will take him deep into the jungles of South America and reveal some secrets that were better not known.   I love this series and highly recommend it for the fast-paced storytelling and engrossing plots.

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.  For more information, please contact the library!

Book Club Reminder:  Book Club meets the fourth Thursday of each month (except December) in the Meinders Library conference room.  The next meeting is January 24^th at 7:00 PM and the book is The Light Between Oceans by M.L. Stedman.  Everyone is welcome. 

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.

For Your Shopping Lists

Ah, the insanity of the holidays.  I saw a cartoon the other day of a turkey yelling at Santa Claus to wait his turn, but I don’t think that’s gotten through to retailers.  Walmart already has their Christmas trees and decorations out, complete with the strong spicy smell I think they pipe through their air system.  I like it, honestly, but I’m starting to get confused as to how close to Christmas we really are…

In honor of the upcoming holidays, take a moment to check out some of these new books.  I bet there’s someone on your list who might need one or two, OR you could let them know they can get into the spirit by checking them out at their local library!

Angels at the Table, Debbie Macomber

Shirley, Goodness, and Mercy are three wonderful angels, excited about spreading around a little divine intervention.  In this touching story, they have an apprentice angel, Will, to take under their wings and show the ropes.  During New Years Eve in Times Square, Will finds a couple he thinks MUST be together, so he gives them a gentle nudge in the right direction.  Soon after, circumstances pull them apart, but a year later, the angels find that they have a chance to correct the problem and give the young couple a chance at true happiness and a real Christmas miracle.

Flight Behavior, Barbara Kingsolver

Kingsolver has always been a magical storyteller, from the Poisonwood Bible to the Lacuna, she manages to tackle social interactions with a deft hand, creating stories that transfix readers.  Flight Behavior is no different.  It follows the story of Dellarobia Turnbow, a woman who became pregnant too early and changed her life plans to take care of the child.  Now caught in a domestic situation she doesn’t enjoy, she starts flirting with a younger man.  On her way to a tryst, she sees a raging forest fire and the story continues from there.  Is it a cautionary sign from God?  Or is it the proof that scientists need to point out their theories of climate change?

The Last Man, Vince Flynn

Mitch Rapp is at it again, this time in Afghanistan.  The head of Clandestine Operations for the CIA has gone missing and his four bodyguards are found murdered.  Rapp needs to find the man, but just a short time into the mission, he discovers the FBI is hunting for the agent, too, and seem far more keen on placing the blame for the disappearance on Rapp.  He’ll have to be just as deceitful as his enemies in order to keep ahead of them and complete his mission.  This will have you at the edge of your seat!!

Mr. Penumbra’s 24 Hour Book Store, Robin Sloan

Everybody knows that bookstores have secrets.  Clay Jannon, a one-time computer programmer, has no job until he manages to land a night gig at Mr. Penumbra’s Bookstore.  But after a few days, he starts to realize that something is going on.  There are only a few customers and they only seem to *borrow* books, not purchase.  Clay beings to rope his friends into helping him figure things out, only to find the secrets are much bigger than he thought they were!  Anyone who is a fan of modern fantasy will LOVE this book.

Notorious Nineteen, Janet Evanovich

Right.  Who can go wrong with Stephanie Plum?  She’s funny, she’s talented, and she’s involved with too many men.  The only case with enough money to get her back on track is a con man who has disappeared from the hospital after an emergency surgery.  Unfortunately, the staff isn’t talking.  So Stephanie enlists Grandma Mazur (God help us all) to go undercover.   Because she needs the money, Stephanie also takes another job guarding her mentor, Ranger, from an adversary.  We all know Stephanie has a way of finding trouble, but just how much trouble is she bent on finding?

Proof of Heaven, Eben Alexander

This is a story of the remarkable turnaround in belief of a neurosurgeon.  Up until his illness, Dr. Alexander did not believe in God – there was no way he could reconcile a divine being with his science knowledge.  Following a rare brain illness, Dr. Alexander’s body and brain shut down, leaving him in a coma.  This book tells the story of his amazing journey into the afterlife and why he now believes wholeheartedly in God.

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.  For more information, please contact the library!

Book Club Reminder:  Book Club meets the fourth Thursday of each month (except December) in the Meinders Library conference room.  Everyone is welcome.  Give us a call for the title of the next book!

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.

Daylight Savings

Pipestone Star 11-08-12

Hopefully, everyone remembered to set their clocks back one hour on Saturday night.  I’ve always noticed that there are always a few people late for church the following morning and that just brings back memories of the times I’ve forgotten, which is really only a problem when you have a plane to catch the next morning.  No laughing, please.

Daylight savings time annoys me, I’ll admit that right now.  I don’t like having to remember it and my children always seem to take a few days to reorient themselves, which makes bedtimes painful.  I used to love the gained hour, now I just want to free myself of the hassle of the change in the first place.  Not that this is likely to happen anytime soon, mind you.  I caught myself wondering about the reasons behind the change, so I thought I’d share them with you, now that the trauma is over.

I always thought it was just the United States that participated in changing the clocks, but it’s not.  Most of Europe and parts of Australia, South America, the Middle East, and Africa also set their clocks backward and forward, though not necessarily at exactly the same time as we do.  Daylight Savings was first proposed in 1895, but it wasn’t implemented until World War One.  The reasoning behind DST is that people are more active in the evening, so it is better to put some daylight hours there, rather to waste the daylight in the early morning, when people tend to be sleeping.

Honestly, I had no idea of the effects this switch could have.  I thought of the sleep pattern disruption, but I never thought about the effect that some dairy farmers say it has on a cow’s milking schedule (remember, I’m originally a city girl).  There are contradicting reports as to whether it reduces or increases energy costs: it can cut down on the lighting needed to do outdoor activities, but can increase the power needed for cooling in the summer time.  DST is great for retailers, especially those in the sports equipment business, since people tend to participate in afternoon sports because of the increased daylight, but prime-time television suffers, as do theaters since people would rather be outside while the sun is up.   Not surprising, then, that many shows take a hiatus in the summer, with the new season starting in late September as summer activities wear to a close.  I never related that to the time change, but it makes sense!

The time itself does not actually change until 2:00 AM, both in the spring and the autumn, though I change my clocks before we go to bed on Saturday night.  That means, if you have a flight scheduled to take off at 1:45 AM (crazy, but it happens), you may land earlier than when you took off, depending on how long the flight is and where you’re headed.  In the spring, the clock changes from 1:59:59 straight to 3:00:00, and in the autumn, from 1:59:59 to 1:00:00.  In Great Britain, they change at 1:00 AM instead of 2:00, and other countries also have different times at which they change.  Start and end dates also differ, with some parts of Europe observing daylight savings AFTER the United States has switched over, and Europe switches back before the US does.  In the southern hemisphere, their DST occurs from October to March (not the other way around) to coincide with their summer season.   I have never been less jealous of airline schedulers as I am right now.  Imagine the nightmare of trying to coordinate all those time zones and changes!

Have a great week, everyone!  Look at it this way, the election is over (when I write this, I have no idea what the outcome will be) and the political adds are over.  Thanksgiving is on its way, and books are coming out for Christmas.  Stay tuned for the next article when we’ll look at some of the blockbusters that you could put under your tree!

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.  For more information, please contact the library!  PAFL will be having a fundraiser on November 5^th at Pizza Ranch.  Come have some great pizza and support your local library!!

Book Club Reminder:  Book Club will be meeting November 15^th at 7:00 PM in the Meinders Library Conference room.  The book is The Tiger’s Wife by Tea Obreht.  Please contact the library for a copy of the next book and feel free to join up with our readers!  Everyone is welcome!

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.

Zombie Obsession

Pipestone County Star 10-25-12

A few years ago, I purchased a copy of Max Brooks A Zombie Survival Guide: Complete Protection from the Living Dead as a lark – it’s got to be a funny read, right?  Oh my word, it was hysterical.  And it came out right at the beginning of a brand new phase of American Zombie Obsession.   I’m sure you won’t be surprised when I say I went along with the flow.  I even have a garden zombie sculpture in my back yard and green vinyl zombies on the back of my van.  I know I’m weird, I’ve already been told.

Despite that, there is some brilliant zombie fiction out there, both on the big screen and on the pages of a book.

I kissed a Zombie and I Liked It is a young adult novel by Adam Selzer with a vastly different romantic hero than most love stories.  When a high school music critic meets up with a singer, she finds him kind of cute, if very quiet, and begins to fall in love.  She overlooks the flaws that others see, such as his lack of clothing changes, the odd angle of his head, and his lack of speech, and it takes someone else to point out his zombie nature.  She breaks up with him, but the spark is already there.  What’s a girl to do?

Patient Zero tells the story of a detective that has to stop terrorists from turning the world population into zombies with the release of a new bio-weapon.  Written by Jonathan Maberry, this is the first of a series of books centering around Detective Joe Ledger and they promise to be doozies.  The thought of a biologically weaponized zombie plague gives me the heebie-jeebies.

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies is for all our classic literature lovers out there.  Seth Grahame-Smith and Roberto Parada didn’t change all that much of Jane Austin’s original work.  In fact, Miss Austen is still listed as one of the authors, since the characters are entirely hers.  Nouns and verbs were changed within the story to make it a tale of destroying the undead and some interesting illustrations were added to make it more captivating, but you’d be surprised how much of the story remains intact.  I recommend it, especially for those of you who need a little zest to make Austen palatable.

The Walking Dead, which is in its third season on AMC, is possibly one of the best (and possibly only) television series centered around zombies.  I watch it with my shirt pulled partway over my face and always have to watch something funny afterwards in order to go to sleep, and yet I keep watching.  Why?  Because the acting and the character development is astounding.  The television show is based on a series of excellent graphic novels which are worth the read for anyone who is a fan of the genre.

World War Z, also by Max Brooks, is currently being made into a movie starring Brad Pitt in the leading role of a man traveling the world to record survivor memories of the zombie apocalypse during which at least ¾ of the planet was completely wiped out.  The book is fantastic and I have high hopes for the movie.  If you like zombies, this book is a must read.

There are also several tongue in cheek guides to fighting the undead available on the internet.  Remember, if the zombies come, I don’t have to run all that fast.  I just have to run faster than you.  Happy Halloween, everybody.

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.  For more information, please contact the library!  PAFL will be having a fundraiser on November 5^th at Pizza Ranch.  Come have some great pizza and support your local library!!

Book Club Reminder:  Book Club will be meeting November 29^th at 7:00 PM in the Meinders Library Conference room.  Please contact the library for a copy of the next book and feel free to join up with our readers!  Everyone is welcome!

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.

Changing Leaves

Pipestone County Star, 09-27-12

I love fall.  It’s my favorite time of year.  The crisp air, the fact that I can wear my favorite yellow jacket, and the pumpkin flavoring that gets put in everything all combine to make me one very happy librarian.  I’ve always loved to look at leaves, but I’ve never given much thought to how they change color.  This year, I thought I would check into it.

Plants use sunlight to make oxygen and sugar from water and carbon dioxide.  They use a chemical called chlorophyll to accomplish this process.  Chlorophyll happens to be green, which is why leaves are green throughout the spring and summer.  In the fall, when the leaves begin to turn, the chlorophyll is going away and the trees are no longer making food.  As trees go dormant, their leaves change colors.

The beautiful red that is my favorite is caused by the leftover glucose turning color in the sunlight.  The brown of oak leaves is the result of waste products left behind from photosynthesis (turning sunlight into food) in the leaves.  Purples and yellows are caused by other chemicals and pigments left behind in the leaves as the chlorophyll fades away.

Weather also has an effect on leaf color.  If the weather is cool, more colors will form, but freezing will dull them.  This would be why we have brilliant colors for only a short period around here – it doesn’t take long to go from cool to freezing in Minnesota.  The best time to enjoy leaves is late September to early October, when the weather is clear and cool, but we haven’t (hopefully) had any frost yet.

As the leaves change color, the trees also get ready to lose them.  Small groups of cells form at the base of each leaf and gradually separate them from the tree, sealing the bark behind them.  When the leaf gets blown away or falls because it’s too heavy, it leaves behind a tiny leaf scar, already healed by the tree.

Go out and enjoy the leaves this year – hopefully they will be beautiful!  Happy fall, everyone!!

Ebooks!! Ebooks have now gone live and you can check out a book to your Nook, Kindle, or other Ereading device.  If you have trouble accessing Overdrive through the Meinders Library catalogue, please call the library and let us know!!

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.  For more information, please contact the library!

Book Club Reminder:  Book Club will be meeting September 27^th at 7:00 PM in the Meinders Library Conference room.  The book this month is Devil in the White City by Erik Larson.  Please contact the library for a copy and feel free to join up with our readers!  Everyone is welcome!

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.  (The Saturday of Labor Day Weekend, the library is only open from 10 until Noon).  Meinders Community Library is located at 1401 7^th Street SW, on the south side of the high school.

El Nino versus La Nina

As I write this article, South Dakota has dozens of schools closing early because, once again, our temperatures are getting awfully close to 100 degrees.  It has been a HOT, dry summer and I think we’re all eager for it to be over.  But WHY has it been so hot and dry?

I’ve heard the words El Nino (‘The Boy’ in Spanish) and La Nina (‘The Girl’) tossed around a lot over the years and I always knew it had something to do with the water in the Pacific Ocean, but I never really paid attention to the specifics or why it would have any effect on us up here in the Midwest.  So here’s a very simple crash course.  And I say simple because half of the things I researched, I don’t think anyone could understand without an oceanography degree.

El Nino is the one that is responsible for hotter, drier summers around these parts.  El Nino begins when the trade winds weaken and a series of Kelvin waves (shallow, but very wide) travel across the Pacific and create a large pool of warm water near South America.  Normally, the water along South America is cold from upwelling, bringing the nutrients up from the seafloor and leading to great fishing.  During El Nino, that water warms up and creates all sorts of problems.  The Pacific Ocean is a heat sink, meaning its water is warmer than the Atlantic and since it covers so much of the surface of the earth, when its temperature changes, the weather all over the world changes with it.

La Nina is the opposite of El Nino.  More cold water is in evidence off the coast of South America and the trade winds blow more strongly than normal.  During La Nina times, more precipitation is recorded in the Midwestern states – heavier winters and more rainfall. 

Pipestone County Star

The cycle for these events averages to about every five years.  When El Nino or La Nina last for less than nine months, they are referred to as “conditions.”  If they last for more than nine months, they are referred to as “periods.”  Our last La Nina was 2011, which was probably part of the reason we had a very wet year.  This year, not so much… During the summer, meteorologists stated there’s a 50% chance of El Nino taking hold.

Please keep in mind, this was a very simple explanation.  There are many more factors to take into account for both El Nino and La Nina.  If you are interested, I encourage you to go online and read more about these weather patterns – then come and explain it more to me!

A tiny bit of trivia: During non-El Nino conditions, the trade winds move from the east to the west, pushing the warm water towards the South Pacific islands.  This aids in the upwelling I mentioned earlier along South America and actually means that the Pacific Ocean is 60 centimeters higher on the west side. 

Ebooks!! Ebooks have now gone live and you can check out a book to your Nook, Kindle, or other Ereading device.  If you have trouble accessing Overdrive through the Meinders Library catalogue, please call the library and let us know!!

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.  For more information, please contact the library!

Book Club Reminder:  Book Club will be meeting September 27^th at 7:00 PM in the Meinders Library Conference room.  The book this month is Devil in the White City by Erik Larson.  Please contact the library for a copy and feel free to join up with our readers!  Everyone is welcome!

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.