Ainsworth Public Library

Thank you to Central Plains Library System for providing the craft. The kids loved it!

For the inhabitants of the Great Plains, the month of December is 31 days of progressively receding sunlight, unremittingly low temperatures, and the ever-present threat-if not the reality-of knee-high snow. Arriving at the peak of this blustery weather, Christmas is extended as far as possible on both side of December 25. On the Great Plains, December needs a Christmas season, not just a single day.

This book features stories and essays by both classic and contemporary regional authors, including Willa Cather, Mari Sandoz, Hamlin Garland, Paul Engle, Constance Vogel, and Ted Kooser. It offers unique geographic, historical, and cultural perspectives on winter’s holiday celebrations and traditions. The stories in this collection unwrap like so many holiday packages, revealing a varied assortment of gifts. From friends reenacting the nativity scene at school to isolated homesteaders travel far to hear the sounds of their first phonograph. Yet as we all know, the reality of the season is not always magical. One person’s Christmas is countered by another’s annual depression, to a disconnected man spending the holidays with a family whom he has not seen in years and through he cannot bear to stay, he can not bear to leave either. These short stories will be a welcome reminder of the many connections we make with each other and the landscape during the Yuletide season.

The group will meet on December 16th at 2 p.m. to share thoughts on this book. If you would like to read this book, please stop by the library and pick up a copy.

Events for next week:

Monday: November 18th Book Club at 2 p.m. Come share thoughts on the book “The Clearwater House” by Tammy Marshall

Tuesday: November 19th Story time from 4-5 p.m. Our topic will be turkeys-Thanksgiving

Wednesday: November 20th Ainsworth Library Foundation Board Meeting at 5 p.m.

The Ainsworth Public Library will be closed on Monday, November 11th, for Veteran’s Day.

AINSWORTH LIBRARY BOARD MEETING will be held on November 6, 2024 at 5 p.m.

This meeting is open to the public!

AGENDA

1. Call meeting to order

2. Notice of the posting of the Nebraska Open Meeting Act

3. Roll Call

4. Approve minutes of last meeting

5. Approve claims for payment

6. Monthly Library Report-List of titles purchased-Received payment from Brown Co. 

7. Public Library Accreditation approved at Silver Level through Dec. 31, 2029

8. Public Library Survey 2024 (Nov. 4, 2024 to Feb. 15, 2025)

9. Review of October events: 

a. October Storytimes:  Oct. 8th-Owls and Oct. 22-Monsters

b. Display on Leonardo da Vinci-October 10th

c. Book Club-Oct. 21-”The Women” by Kristin Hannah

d. Cemeterrarium Craft-Oct. 15th and Oct. 22nd

e. Trick or Treat Main Street-Oct. 31st  4-6 p.m.

10. Upcoming events in November and December:

a. Storytime:  Nov. 5th-Harvest and Nov. 19th-Thanksgiving (turkeys)

b. Book Club:  Nov. 18th-”The Clearwater House”-Tammy Marshall and

Dec. 16th-”Christmas on the Great Plains”-Dorothy Dodge Robbins

c. Giving Tuesday (on-line)-Dec. 3rd-for Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library 

11. Review of and upcoming meetings/workshops:

a. Thursday Directors Zoom Meeting-Oct. 24th and 31st

b. NE State Advisory Council on Libraries-Lincoln-Nov. 15th

c. Teen Halloween Programs-zoom-Oct. 3rd

d. Ainsworth Library Foundation Board-Nov. 20th

e. NCompass: Dragons at the Library-Reading Program-Oct. 18th

f. NCompass:  Word Press-Oct. 30th

12. Correspondence:  

a. OverDrive-MP3 format & OverDrive Legacy Desktop app

b. Nebr. Lib. Commission purchased Public Performance Site License for Library

c. Summer Reading Program online manual- “Color Our World”

d. One Book-One Nebraska 2025 title “The Long March Home”

13. Set next meeting date/time

14. Adjournment 

Storytime tomorrow will feature a fall harvest theme. Hope to see your child from 4-5 p.m.

The Library ladies had a great time yesterday at the Trick or Treat Main Street. We saw lots of costumes on humans and dogs. So many cuties!

The Library will close on October 31st, Halloween day, at 3:30 p.m. in order to get downtown, find a space and set up our Trick or Treat Main Street booth. See you there!

The children at Storytime yesterday made paper sack monsters. Lots of smiles and roaring!

I would like to thank the six mom’s that helped the kids glue all the parts on!

The November Book Club title is now available for check-out. The featured title of “The Clearwater House” is by Nebraska author, Tammy Marshall. We will gather on November 18th at 2 p.m. to share thoughts on the book.

When Lillian Chase, a young artist living in Omaha, inherits a mysterious old house from a woman she’s never met, she visits the house to learn why. there she discovers secrets of the past through her paintings, and, in finding the truth, she also finds herself.