Ainsworth Public Library

We are delighted to be a small part of providing this service to children in Brown County! Thanks to generous donations, this program provides free books from birth to age 5 to any child who signs up for this program! If you have any questions about the program, feel free to reach out or visit https://imaginationlibrary.com/

If you have a child you’d like to sign up for the program, you can sign them up at the Imagination Library website or visit our office at the Ainsworth Area Chamber of Commerce or the Ainsworth Public Library!

Storytime on Tuesday, December 3rd, will feature Christmas and tree ornaments. Hope to see your child from 4-5 p.m.

The Storytime on December 17th will feature Christmas and reindeer.

The Ainsworth Library will be closed on Thursday, November 28th, for Thanksgiving Day. We will be open on Friday and Saturday of this week as usual.

The Ainsworth Library Foundation would like to thank everyone who gave a memorial and donation to the Ainsworth Public Library. Your support is greatly appreciated!

The Library received the following memorials:

In memory of Mrs. Cindy Smith from Mrs. Linda Hapner; Mr. and Mrs. Ron Pinney; Mr. and Larry Heins; Mrs. and Mrs. Charles Irwin; Ms. Margie Gumb; Mr. and Mrs. Doug Davis; Mr. and Mrs. Donald Deutsch; Ms. Patricia Schwieger; Mrs. Evelyn Harris; Mr. and Mrs. Richard Hayes; and Ms. Mary Ann Venner.

In memory of Mrs. Laura Hughes from Mr. and Mrs. Charles Irwin.

In memory of Mrs. Carol Larson from Mr. and Mrs. Charles Irwin.

We also received $15 of funds from our library Coffee Station and a total of $51 from the donation jar.

President Marsha Fuchs called the meeting to order at 5:23 p.m. on November 20, 2024.  Roll call showed four members present.  They included Wendy Allen, Marsha Fuchs, Teri Soles, and Deanna Taylor.  Members Traci Booth, Bill Lentz, and Luke Hitchcock were absent.  Library director, Gail Irwin, was also present for the meeting.

Wendy Allen made the motion to approve the minutes with the change of library certification to library accreditation.  Deanna seconded with all members voting in favor of.  All members voted in favor of.

The Treasurer’s Report was presented. Deanna Taylor made the motion to approve the report.  Teri Soles seconded with all voting in favor of.  There were no outstanding bills to be paid at this time.

The Gift Transaction List from August to November 2024 was presented. 

Discussion was held on the purchase of fall items for display around the fireplace.  Teri Soles made the motion to purchase the white vase/flowers and birdhouse stick; two candles, and two pumpkins from Willow Creek.  Deanna Taylor seconded this with all members voting in favor of.  It was noted that Willow Creek would be decorating the fireplace for Christmas right after Thanksgiving.  

Traci Booth had provided the Board with information between the Chamber and herself on the Dolly P. Imagination Library.  She noted that the Chamber would be doing the Giving Tuesday Facebook Fundraiser on Dec. 3rd.  We have a local $500 matching donation for this.  The plan is to have several book baskets at the Chamber Gala celebration on January 25th to help with funding for the Imagination Library.  Last year’s basket made a total of $450 for this project.  Plans are being made to work with the Sandhills Care Center in March with a reading time with residents.  Details aren’t finished yet on this.  Dolly will be having a 30th year celebration June 16-20th.  Traci may do something special on the 19th to celebrate this event.  It was noted that we had a total of 8 children sign up at the Back to School Night.  Ainsworth currently has 82 active children with 62 children aged out of the program for a total of 144 kids in Brown County having received free books.  Each child now costs just over $2.25 a month, so we need to raise roughly $2,250 to cover 2025 expenses.  

An update was given on the Library Accreditation.  We are now accredited at the silver level through October 2029.  The five-year plan was approved by the Nebraska Library Commission.

The board decided not to plan any fundraising event right now because of Dolly P. Imagination Library fundraising events.

The next meeting was set for Feb. 19th at 5:15 p.m.  Since there was no further business to come before the Board, the meeting was adjourned at 5:59 p.m.

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