July 25, A Week at the Lake

I would place a bet that, if you asked ten Minnesotans what they were doing this summer, at least eight of them would say “Going to the lake.” Which lake? It really doesn’t matter, since we have over eleven thousand of them in the state. I have to admit that I am one of those eight. I have been going to the lake since I was a baby and while I spend a lot of my time fishing, there are still moments that can be captured for reading.

If you are among the two Minnesotans asked who does not go to the lake, perhaps reading about lakes (or lake-related stories…sort of) will get you in the north country mood.

Lake Woebegone Summer, 1956 Garrison Keillor
If you enjoy listening to Prairie Home Companion on NPR on Saturday nights, you should definitely give this book a try. Gifted humorist Keillor spins tales of the fictitious town of Lake Woebegone, a place where all of the stereotypes you’ve grown to love live and thrive. This story centers around a boy named Gary, who is just coming of age, and his Underwood typewriter. It’s funny, it’s very readable, and it’ll transport you back to growing up in rural Minnesota.

The Lake, the River, and the Other Lake Steve Amick
Okay, so not a Minnesota lake book. Michigan is the setting for this social comedy about a small town that is experiencing rather severe growing pains. The regular locals, who have lived in Weneshkeen their whole lives, come into conflict with ritzy rich folk coming for the summer, with migrant cherry pickers, and with men who make their living off the river. Several stories combine into one, examining how unlikely friendships can be forged in the most interesting of places.

Summer at Willow Lake Susan Wiggs
This one is for all the romance fans out there. Again, not Minnesota, but a story like this could happen anywhere. A young woman moves from her trendy New York home to an old resort camp, once owned by her family, to revamp a cabin for her grandparents, who want to spend one more summer filled with family memories. Since the camp is a mess, the woman has to hire a contractor to assist with the renovations and you can guess what happens next…

The Lake House James Patterson
This book is for anyone who has ever read the Maximum Ride series, or for anyone who likes their adventure novels with a little bit of a twist. This book is part of the story of six children who have had to fight to live normal lives since they were first released from the hospital. They live with different families now, but must come back together to keep themselves safe. The only place they have ever felt really safe is at the building they call the Lake House. The catch? These kids have wings…

Lake News Barbara Delinsky
Romantic New Hampshire, in the town of Lake Henry. Singer Lily Blake is escaping from a terrible picture the media has painted of her, though coming back to her hometown is no picnic either. She finds herself forming a friendship with the editor of the local paper, who used to be a bigwig in the newspaper industry himself until his career was abruptly ended. At first, the journalist only sees Lily as a subject for a future book, though that changes the more time they spend together. This book is a touching story that examines family relationships and the relationships of people living within a small community. And the conclusion is very satisfying.

The Lake Superior Images Craig Blacklock
This book is not a novel, nor is it something you can easily carry with you on vacation, but it certainly is beautiful. The images of Lake Superior were taken by Craig Blacklock and were first exhibited at the tweed Museum of Art in Duluth, Minnesota, August 22, 1993. Having picked up this book on a whim, I think I spent about two hours looking through it at home. The images are stunning and well worth turning the pages. If you can’t make it to a lake this summer, this book will satify all your lake-viewing needs.

Though summer is halfway over, August is the time for most vacations, before school starts again and once most summer programs have come to an end. Here at Meinders Library, our Summer Reading Program ends on July 30th, so if you haven’t had a chance to come and participate yet, you can at least join us for the last day, which will be a great celebration involving cupcakes and marshmallow sculptures. We look forward to seeing you there!

Have a safe and happy August and we wish you joy in all your travels!

If you have any questions, or you have a book you need to reserve or renew, give us a call at 507-825-6714. Summer hours for Meinders Library are Monday through Thursday, from 10 AM to 8 PM, and Friday from 10 AM to 5 PM. We are not open on Saturdays from Memorial Day to Labor Day.

June 25, New Bestsellers!

I know that summertime is not the usual time for reading, with all the gardening that needs to be done, the serious playing that must be accomplished, and various projects that can only be done while the sun is shining. However, I feel I must remind you, that it is one of the greatest pleasures in the world to sit outside in the sun with a glass of tea or lemonade and read a good book.

And in honor of the sunshine readers, here are some new bestselling releases currently in the library!

The Scarecrow, Michael Connelly
Budget cuts are the very beginning of this story, forcing newspaperman Jack McEvoy out of his job. As he works on a story detailed the ‘murder’ of his career, he studies a young drug dealer and discovers the confession is probably a lie. Now, instead of writing a story about himself, he’s writing to get an innocent out of jail.

Roadside Crosses, Jeffrey Deaver
California Bureau of Investigations agent Kathryn Dance is the star of this novel by Deaver, the third in the series. The story centers around a killer who uses social network blogging sites to pick his victims and is full of the twists and turns that Deaver fans look forward to. The plot will leave even the sharpest mind reeling. If you’d like to start at the beginning of Kathryn’s story, check out The Blue Nowhere.

Relentless, Dean Koontz
Never cross a book critic! Cubby Greenwich learns this the hard way in this new thriller by Koontz. The author, Cubby, tries to ignore a terrible review by a premier critic, but when he meets the critic in a restaurant, he can’t keep his mouth shut. His comments start a struggle with a sociopath that no reader will forget any time soon!

Gone Tomorrow, Lee Child
Jack Reacher has a decision to make in very little time. He makes it and triggers a series of events that land him in one of the tensest cases he’s had yet. Hairpin turns make this novel a real page-turner and a drool-worthy addition to the Reacher novels. If you haven’t read a Reacher book yet, start with Killing Floor.

Finger Lickin’ Fifteen, Janet Evanovich – Release June 23, 2009
The fifteenth book in the Stephanie Plum series, this book centers around Lula, Stephanie’s wheelman. And in Evanovich’s own words, “it all gets complicated after that. We're talking about barbecue gone bad, cross-dressing firemen, dancing hot dogs, etc.” This series is incredibly popular and if you haven’t read any of them yet, I recommend you start off with number one, One for the Money. Come in and see us, we can get you started!

Loitering with Intent, Stuart Woods
Stone Barrington gets to travel to Florida in this installment of Woods’ long-running series. The cop turned lawyer is looking for a young man who needs to sign some papers to sell a family business, but the young man has no wish to be found, much less put his name on anything. The book has romance and drama and will have any Woods reader excited for the next book! If you feel like starting at the beginning, try reading New York Dead.

And, of course, bestsellers don’t always have to be books! We’ve gotten nearly 20 new DVDs this month at the library, including a few new releases, and they are now available for checkout! DVDs are, of course, good for those rainy nights when it’s too wet to go outside or you’re too tired to do anything else. DVD checkouts are good for a week.

Gran Torino (R), Clint Eastwood
A Korean War veteran is forced to deal with his prejudices as he fights to defend himself and his neighbors, Hmoung immigrants, again a local gang. Clint Eastwood both directs and star in the movie, which has received star reviews by critics and movie-goers alike.

Wall-E (G), Pixar Studios
A sweet story of a robot who continues to clean up the earth, even though all of the people have left the desiccated planet. When the humans still alive in the galaxy send a probe robot named E.V.E. to see if earth is still habitable, Wall-E falls in love and ends up travelling to the stars and ultimately, bringing the humans back to Earth.

The Dark Knight (PG-13), Christopher Nolan
The sequel to Batman Beyond, the Dark Knight received critical acclaim and several Oscar nominations. Starring Christian Bale as Batman and the late Heath Ledger as the Joker, the movie is sure to please action and superhero fans alike.

If you have any questions, or you have a book or DVD you need to reserve or renew, give us a call at 507-825-6714. Summer hours for Meinders Library are Monday through Thursday, from 10 AM to 8 PM, and Friday from 10 AM to 5 PM. We are no longer open on Saturdays from Memorial Day to Labor Day.

Floating Along!

Meinders Library had a float in the Water Tower Festival Parade here in Pipestone. The theme of the parade was Nursery Rhymes and Fairy Tales so how could we not?

Jim and Pat Adams helped me to paint two water heater boxes and two range boxes grey. I then used a darker grey to paint 'stones' onto the boxes, so they would look like castle towers. Maria Korthals helped to put the boxes on the flatbed trailer, loaned by Maurice Bickford, and we hung flower garlands between them to make ourselves a fairy tale castle.

To make the float complete, we asked some of our storytime girls to wear princess costumes and ride the float! They all had silver princess wands and glittery rings and were between the ages of three and ten or so: we had two snow whites, a sleeping beauty, a cinderella, a pochahontas, and several other princesses who had a blast being the center of attention!

And, of course, there had to be books involved. I borrowed a speaker from the school and a headset from Mike Solma so I could read fairy tales from the float as we followed the route. Poeple said they could hear me and everyone really liked our float.

We didn't win, but we had so much fun it doesn't matter. Maybe we'll try again next year!

Summer Reading Update

Summer Reading Program is in full swing and is going great! We've had between 70 and 100 kids each week and they are so excited when they're here! Prizes have been flying out the door, as have the books, and we are so happy to be providing this service.

Our first week involved making pizzas from construction paper and crayons, which was a lot of fun. The variety of the pizzas was staggering.

Week two was a project that involved colors, a paintbrush color wheel that could be hung on a wall. It was a fabulous project.

Week three found all the kids outside the Superintendent's Office painting the sidewalk with home-made sidewalk paint. The art was amazing and we were very sad it rained a day later and washed the masterpieces away.

Summer Cleaning

Okay, so I’m one season too late. Most people get their cleaning done in the spring, but the library had to wait until school was out to begin a few reorganization projects that were sorely needed.

Most people now have DVD players and very few still have a VCR. I do, but only because the DVD and the VCR are the same machine. Our VHS section was completely full and many of the movies had not been checked out for a very long time. Any VHS tape that had not been checked out since 2006 has been weeded from the collection. What’s weeding, you ask? It’s just like a garden: you get rid of things you’d rather not have. And if no one has checked it out in three years, it is highly unlikely it will ever be checked out again. So keep an eye on the next book sale. If you’re interested in VHS tapes, there will be quite a few!

We also weeded our books on cassette section. Cassettes, like VHS tapes, are becoming an old technology and once again, our section was enormous. Following the same rules as the VHS, we have taken anything that has not been checked out since 2006 off of our shelves. Once they are removed from the catalogue, they will go onto the book sale for December.

Magazines were another area where we had too many copies taking up too much space. Most back issues of popular magazines can be found on-line, so keeping five years of each issue was becoming obsolete. Because of that, we now only have the last three years of our magazines. If you need help finding older issues, please let a librarian know so we can assist you.

In other news, we received a grant from Sioux Valley Energy to begin yet another project! We were given $1500 to improve our juvenile non-fiction section and Heather can hardly contain herself. She has chosen several series of books that will be a great asset to the library and that contain current information that will be useful for the kids who read them. The books have not arrived yet, but they should be here by August. Thank you, Sioux Valley Energy!

We also received $300 from the Pipestone Kiwanis to replace some damaged books that were classics. It’s always hard to get rid of a book, but when the book is worn and ragged, it’s definitely time to replace it. Who wants to check out a book that is falling apart? Thank you, Kiwanis!

We have also changed the theme of the children’s library from a jungle/forest theme to a castle theme, so be prepared to see some construction coming soon. Anyone who feels like painting stones or making a few banners for the walls, please let us know!

If you have any questions, or you have a book you need to reserve or renew, give us a call at 507-825-6714. Summer hours for Meinders Library are Monday through Thursday, from 10 AM to 8 PM, and Friday from 10 AM to 5 PM. We are not open on Saturdays from Memorial Day to Labor Day.

06-01-09 Summer Reading Program!

It is once again time for Summer Reading at Meinders Library! This year’s theme is Be Creative At Your Library, which has a lot of potential. We have so many exciting activities, ranging from paper masks and murals, to home-made sidewalk chalk and musical instruments. Our guest presenter this year is Ramona Larson and I’ve never participated in her activities, but she says we have to wear tennis shoes and comfortable clothes, so I bet it will be fun! Meetings for Summer Reading Program will be Thursdays at 2:00 PM, starting June 11. Come in and sign up!

Regular Summer Reading Program is for kids from 5 to 12, but this year we will also be having a Teen Summer Reading Program for older kids, from 12 to 18. The activities for the teen group include redesigning book covers, making movie posters, and watching a few books-become-movies, like Twilight and Inkheart. It promises to be very exciting and what teenager doesn’t need something to do during the summer? Meetings for the Teen group will be Fridays at 2:00 PM, staring June 12th. Come in and get signed up!

Both Summer Programs end at the end of July, with July 30th being the last day for the younger kids and July 31st for the teens.

We are looking for volunteers to help with both reading programs, for those adults out there who need things to do during the summer. We’d like to get a few adults to come in and help with each activity, since we frequently have 50+ kids attending. You don’t need to attend every week and if you only have time for once, we would be glad to have you. If you are interested, give the library a call at 825-6714 or stop on by and fill out a volunteer sheet. We would really appreciate it!

Summer Reading Program is always a very exciting time in the library. Seeing happy faces on happy kids makes all the planning worthwhile and we are so looking forward to the program!

If you have any questions about Summer Reading Program, or you have a book you need to reserve or renew, give us a call at 507-825-6714. Summer hours for Meinders Library are Monday through Thursday, from 10 AM to 8 PM, and Friday from 10 AM to 5 PM. We are no longer open on Saturdays from Memorial Day to Labor Day.

5-14-09 Article in the Pipestone County Star

Sacrifice By a Few Leads to Continued Service for All: Written by Kyle Kuphal

Rather than cut services or jobs, the director and the administrative staff of the Plum Creek Library System (PCLS), which provides interlibrary services to 25 libraries in a nine county region of southwestern Minnesota including Pipestone, voluntarily sacrificed money from their own pockets to continue operating as usual.

A projected five-to-six percent operating deficit drove the PCLS’s decision. With an annual budget of roughly $690,000 in state library funding, the deficit of roughly $40,000 could have resulted in fewer services to area libraries, a reduction to half-time hours for one or two staff members or even a layoff.

However, PCLS employees and director Mark Ranum began discussing alternatives in November and by January had reached an agreement whereby every administrative employee would cut one workday per month to help reduce operating expenses.“It’s really tremendous how the employees came together at Plum Creek,” Ranum said. “The employees solved the problem with that sacrifice.”

Ranum, in order to show leadership, decided to go one step further. He voluntarily gave up his position as director and continues to fulfill the same duties as a consultant. That decision cost him roughly $28,000 in salary and compensation.“I still have a great job,” Ranum said. “I’m as committed as the people that work for me to keep good library service in the state.”

It is the people that work for him, he said, that deserve the credit. By spreading the impact of the projected deficit among the entire staff, they were able to keep everyone’s job safe and continue to provide the services local libraries have come to expect. It also led to PCLS projecting a small surplus rather than a deficit for this fiscal year, which ends June 30.

PCLS Office Administrator Chris Lang said she speaks for all the staff at PCLS when she says they are a dedicated bunch. The main concern of the staff, he said, is to provide member libraries with the support necessary to provide quality service to library patrons in the nine-county region covered by PCLS.“We will continue to be creative and financially savvy as we strive to provide patrons of southwest Minnesota with the excellent library service they’ve come to expect and enjoy,” Lang said.

“They’ve done a great job,” said Stephanie Hall, director of Meinders Community Library in Pipestone. “It tells me that the libraries are the most important part.”

Meinders Community Library, she said, has not felt the pinch of the poor economy and budget cuts as has PCLS. That is due in part to the unique relationship between the Meinders Community Library and PAS High School. Because the library also serves as the high school library it receives funding from the city, county and school district, which has helped prevent budget shortfalls.

“It hasn’t affected us nearly as much as the Plum Creek Library System,” Hall said.About one third of the libraries in the nine-county system have had to make budget cuts. Ranum said he expects that will be the case for the next few years. In a way, it is a bit of a Catch-22 because typically, when the economy takes a downturn, people tend to turn to the local library for entertainment and information. “Consumer information becomes a more valuable commodity,” Ranum said. “People want to continue to live the life they live, but at a cheaper cost.”

Hall said she too expects library use to increase because libraries offer the goods and services that in good times are taken for granted, but in difficult times are considered luxuries. Already she has heard library patrons say they turned off their cable or Internet to save money. Fortunately, they have the local library to fill those needs.

“We are in the business of taking care of the needs of the community and Plum Creek is definitely doing that too,” Hall said. “They keep us all connected. I think it would be very difficult to be a library on your own without that support.”

All citizens need to stay connected, she said, is a library card — and that’s free.