The Nebraska Library Commission announced the availability of non-competitive formula grants provided with funding from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). The Federal Stimulus Bill passed by Congress in March 2021. From ARPA, NLC received a one-time award of $2,422,166, of which $1,425,000 has been allocated for non-competitive formula grants. Spalding Public Library applied for the grant, and was awarded some much needed funding. The purpose of ARPA is the recovery and to increase health protocols during and subsequent to COVID-19. Spalding Public Library sincerely and gratefully thanks IMLS’s support in all of our products purchased through this grant.Like surrounding rural communities, Spalding’s community has been severely impacted by COVID-19. Our schools and church closures, along with businesses restricting the number of customers allowed inside at any given time, caused significant negative impact on, and currently, unemployment, overall life satisfaction, mental health, and economic outlook. Local businesses are still trying to find enough staff to keep their doors open. Our community and the library’s board and staff, to respond to the pandemic, has set a goal to improve Spalding Public Library’s overall (general) library operations, streamline its functions and expand its services. Grant funds were allocated for this project. Our library board and staff saw a need to improve our overall library operations by providing a healthier and improved space used by our patrons. Three new ceiling fans were purchased from this funding, to increase airflow and ventilation in the library, in response to help with the pandemic. Funding was also allocated for the replacement of seven broken light fixtures in the library. Patrons have noticed the brighter lighting and are pleased with easier reading of book titles on the shelves. The library also had a need for replacement of: a rolling cart; an office chair for better comfort level of staff; eight adult chairs for use with the existing conference table; twelve student chairs for use with activity tables; and two student multi-age activity tables; as the existing furniture is 25 years old and in poor repair. The library is increasing the use of materials since people are returning to the library, and the cart serves the essential function of allowing staff to better organize and maintain greater efficiency in returning items to the shelves and in transporting returned items and materials. It also allows patrons to browse the returned items on the cart before they make it back to the shelves. General library operations are improved with the new furniture, which is easier to clean and offers greater functionality. Grant funds were allocated for the purchase of signage for our bookshelves to assist patrons in finding resources without the need to always interact with staff (although we also like the interaction). Also, we purchased book jacket covers to extend the life of the books, and checkout cards and pockets for additional materials that have been purchased or are used in our library. The library is trying to make changes post-pandemic to increase foot traffic into the library, as well as improve the overall comfort of our library space. This will likely affect our desired outcome of increasing the overall numbers of patrons using the indoor spaces and meeting room. This project was made possible in part by the Institute of Museum and Library Services. The Institute of Museum and Library Services is the primary source of federal support for the nation’s libraries and museums. We advance, support, and empower America’s Museums, libraries and related organizations through grant making, research, and policy development. Our vision is a nation where museums and libraries work together to transform the lives of individuals and communities. The views expressed in this article do not necessarily represent those of the Institute of Museum and Library Services.

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Library News

The library just completed updating its ceiling fans, and purchasing new light fixtures, patron signage,  multi-purpose activity tables, and chairs.  We have had 2 summer story hour sessions this month with a great turnout of kids.  Sandy Miller is in charge of the story hour sessions.  The library has added many new books to its adult books collection.  Favorite authors with new releases include: James Patterson, David Baldacci, Colleen Hoover, and Mary Stone, just to name a few.  Stop by the Library and take a look at our updated furniture.  And while you are there, check out a book!

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Library News!

Author Clint Hill’s, “Mrs. Kennedy And Me”, is the chosen book by the Library’s Book Club members for the month of September.   The #1 New York Times bestselling memoir by Clint Hill that Kirkus Reviewscalled “clear and honest prose free from salaciousness and gossip,” Jackie Kennedy’s personal Secret Service agent details his very close relationship with the First Lady during the four years leading up to and following President John F. Kennedy’s tragic assassination.

In those four years, Hill was by Mrs. Kennedy’s side for some of the happiest moments as well as the darkest. He was there for the birth of John, Jr. on November 25, 1960, as well as for the birth and sudden death of Patrick Bouvier Kennedy on August 8, 1963. Three and a half months later, the unthinkable happened.

Forty-seven years after the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, the one vivid image that never leaves Clint Hill’s mind is that of President Kennedy’s head lying on Mrs. Kennedy’s lap in the back seat of the limousine, his eyes fixed, blood splattered all over the back of the car, Mrs. Kennedy, and Hill as well. Sprawled on the trunk of the car as it sped away from Dealey Plaza, Hill clung to the sides of the car, his feet wedged in so his body was as high as possible.

Clint Hill jumped on the car too late to save the president, but all he knew after that first shot was that if more shots were coming, the bullets had to hit him instead of the First Lady.

Mrs. Kennedy’s strength, class, and dignity over those tragic four days in November 1963 held the country together.

This is the story, told for the first time, of the man who perhaps held her together (amazon.com). Copies of this book and an audiobook are available at the Library.  Overdrive.com has an audio book available to borrow as well.  

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Spalding Library’s book club members like mysteries, and have chosen author, Lisa Jewell’s novel, “Then She Was Gone” as their next monthly read. Ellie Mack was the perfect daughter. She was fifteen, the youngest of three. Beloved by her parents, friends, and teachers, and half of a teenaged golden couple. Ellie was days away from an idyllic post-exams summer vacation, with her whole life ahead of her.And then she was gone.Now, her mother Laurel Mack is trying to put her life back together. It’s been ten years since her daughter disappeared, seven years since her marriage ended, and only months since the last clue in Ellie’s case was unearthed. So when she meets an unexpectedly charming man in a café, no one is more surprised than Laurel at how quickly their flirtation develops into something deeper. Before she knows it, she’s meeting Floyd’s daughters—and his youngest, Poppy, takes Laurel’s breath away.Because looking at Poppy is like looking at Ellie. And now, the unanswered questions she’s tried so hard to put to rest begin to haunt Laurel anew. Where did Ellie go? Did she really run away from home, as the police have long suspected, or was there a more sinister reason for her disappearance? Who is Floyd, really? And why does his daughter remind Laurel so viscerally of her own missing girl? -from the publisher. The Library has extra copies of this book, and an audio book available for check out.

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Have You Read This Classic Story of a Pioneer Woman?

“A Lantern In Her Hand”, by author Bess Streeter Aldrich is the chosen novel by the Library’s book club members for the month of April.  In “A Lantern in Her Hand”, Abbie accompanies her family to the soon-to-be-state of Nebraska.  There, in 1865, she marries and settles into her own sod house.  The novel describes Abbie’s years of child-raising, of making a frontier home able to withstand every adversity.  A disciplined writer knowledgeable about true stories of pioneer days in Nebraska, Bess Streeter Aldrich conveys the strength of everyday thins the surprise of familiar faces, and the look of the unspoiled landscape during different seasons.  Refusing to be broken by hard experience, Abbie sets a joyful example for her family—and for her readers (from the publisher).  The Library has extra copies of this novel available for check out.   

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Book Club News

“The Forgotten Garden” by author, Kate Morton is the selected novel by the book club members for the month of March. It’s a novel that takes the reader on an unforgettable journey through generations and across continents as two women try to uncover their family’s secret past 

A tiny girl is abandoned on a ship headed for Australia in 1913. She arrives completely alone with nothing but a small suitcase containing a few clothes and a single book—a beautiful volume of fairy tales. She is taken in by the dockmaster and his wife and raised as their own. On her twenty-first birthday, they tell her the truth, and with her sense of self shattered and very little to go on, “Nell” sets out to trace her real identity. Her quest leads her to Blackhurst Manor on the Cornish coast and the secrets of the doomed Mountrachet family. But it is not until her granddaughter, Cassandra, takes up the search after Nell’s death that all the pieces of the puzzle are assembled. A spellbinding tale of mystery and self-discovery, “The Forgotten Garden” will take hold of your imagination and never let go (from the publisher). There are extra copies of this novel available at the Library.

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New Adult Fiction Books At The Library

Rachel Hauck- “To Love A Prince”

Mary Stone- “Winter’s Mourn”

Patricia Cornwell- “Isle Of Dogs”

Kristin Hannah- “The Four Winds”

Megan Goldin- “The Escape Room”

Susie Yang- “White Ivy”

Brit Bennett- “The Vanishing Half”

Eliese Colette Goldbach- “Rust: A Memoir Of Steel And Grit”

Danielle Steel- “Daddy’s Girls”

Tess Stimson- “A Mother’s Secret”

Natalie Richards- “Five Total Strangers”

Jodi Picoult- “The Book Of Two Ways”

James Patterson- “Deadly Cross”

Lisa Jewell- “The Girls In The Garden”

Plus many more………


“Once you have read a book you care about, some part of it is always with you.” – Louis L’Amour

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2021 Winter Reading Challenge

Ending February 28, 2021

The Nebraska Regional Library Systems and the Nebraska Library Commission want citizens of Nebraska to stay warm this winter and enjoy the terrific library books available in public libraries across the state. To participate, go to ReaderZone.com or download the Reader Zone app on your smart device. Register for the Snow Many Great Books! program with this 5-digit code 93723. Complete at least eight of the twenty challenges by February 28th to be eligible for a Grand Prize Drawing for one of three $50 Visa Gift Cards. Please choose books you’ve never read from your home library. Books can be fiction or nonfiction, and J, YA, or Adult. Contest is open to all Nebraskans ages 10 and older. Drawing will be held March 15, 2021.

-Read a book with “snow” in the title.

-Read a book set in a place where it typically snows.

-Read a book in bed, under a blanket.

-Read a book with a recipe in it.

-Read any large print book.

-Read a nonfiction book about a winter sport.

-Read a book with a picture of a penguin or a polar bear on the cover.

-Read with a scarf and gloves on.

-Read a book about traditions.

-Read a favorite book from your own childhood.

-Read a book that became a movie.

-Read to someone younger than you.

-Read a book on a cold and snowy day.

-Read a book with “blue” in the title.

-Listen to any audiobook.

-Read in your pajamas.

-Read a book where winter plays a part in the story.

-Read a book with a one-word title.

-Read a classic you’ve been meaning to read.

-Read a book recommended by your librarian.

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Maria Chavez-Giltz added a 3D photo to Nebraska through the lens.

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Maria Chavez-Giltz added a 3D photo to Nebraska through the lens.

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Library News

Author, Melanie Benjamin’s novel, “The Aviator’s Wife” is the chosen book by the Library’s book club members for the month of January.Anne Morrow, a shy college senior with hidden literary aspirations, travels to Mexico City to spend Christmas with her family, she meets Colonel Charles Lindbergh, fresh off his celebrated 1927 solo flight across the Atlantic. Enthralled by Charles’s assurance and fame, Anne is certain the aviator has scarcely noticed her. But she is wrong. Charles sees in Anne a kindred spirit, a fellow adventurer, and her world will be changed forever. The two marry in a headline-making wedding. In the years that follow, Anne becomes the first licensed female glider pilot in the United States. But despite this and other major achievements, she is viewed merely as the aviator’s wife. The fairy-tale life she once longed for will bring heartbreak and hardships, ultimately pushing her to reconcile her need for love and her desire for independence, and to embrace, at last, life’s infinite possibilities for change and happiness (from the publisher).  The book club will be discussing this novel on Monday, February 1st at 4pm. Copies of this book are available at the Library and on www.overdrive.com.  

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