Author Archives: autumn
Winner(s) of an Autographed Copy of James & Susan Patterson’s New Book!
As announced previously, the System has an autographed copy of James & Susan Patterson’s new book, Things I Wish I Told My Mother. We had an overwhelming number of responses….43 in total! So what did we do? We decided to give away not just one but TWO AUTOGRAPHED COPIES of the book!
…..And the winning libraries are….
Hoesch Public Library in Alma and Sargent Public Library!
Congratulations to these libraries! And a huge thank you to all who entered!

CPLS Month of Weeding is a Big Success!
The Central Plains Library System’s Month of Weeding is done for this year. It was successful for all that participated. We had 2 school libraries and 8 public libraries turn in their weeding reports and several more that indicated they would be weeding. Based on what we heard, nearly 2,100 items were taken off the shelves to make room for newer and better resources.
Together, our libraries weeded pretty evenly across all types of materials. Some of the funniest titles came from the nonfiction area:
- Science Experiments You Can Eat, c1972
- America Was Like This (not checked out since 1969)
- Microwave Food Fun, c1987 (for children)
- Customs and Rituals of Alcohol, c1988
- Think Metric! c1972
- Creative Film-Making, c1958
- New Adventures of Alice, c1917
Here are a few quotations:
- The Nancy Drew paperbacks’ pages were yellow and brittle. They needed to go a while ago!
- I hated to weed Jason Reynolds’ All American Boys, but it hadn’t been checked out in over 5 years. ☹
- There weren’t a lot of food safety concerns in 1987!
- I took out 5 shelves of reference books today…so outdated.
- We aren’t finished in the audio section but making a good dent!
- Looks better!
We held a random drawing for a $100 Amazon Gift Card from all the libraries that notified the System Office that they were participating.
…And the Winner is Indianola Public Library. Congratulations, Katie!
Latest Edition of Plain Speaking (April/May 2023)
Latest Edition of Plain Speaking Available (Dec/Jan 2023)
Reluctant Readers Workshop
Librarians love to put books in children’s hands and share the joy of reading. But… what do we do if they don’t want our books? What do we do if they don’t enjoy reading? Given the life-long impact of reading and literacy, these questions are worthy of our time.
Join Erica Rose as she examines the definition of “reluctant readers” and offers alternative terminology and approaches for working with this group. The discussion will explore opportunities for librarians to inspire, encourage, and engage with every type of reader in ways that remove barriers and break the mold. Titles, formats, and engagement strategies are all included as key pieces of the puzzle and audience ideas, questions, and experiences are always a welcome addition.
THURSDAY, APRIL 21st via Zoom
11AM – 12PM
1 CE AVAILABLE
Plain Speaking Newsletter (April/May 2022 Edition)
Plain Speaking Newsletter Feb/March 2022 Edition
Using YA Literature to Inspire Teen Girls Interests in STEM
Do you find it difficult to include teens in your STEM or STEAM programs? Is it especially hard to find things that interest teenage girls? Join Dr. Melissa Cast-Brede as she shows you how to use YA Literature to inspire interest for all things STEM related in teens using literature!
Thursday, May 6, 2021
11am – 12pm
1 CE Credit
Registration Link: https://forms.gle/GmzQxXoNBWZ99WNA7
Book Repair on a Budget Workshop
Join Denise Harders from the CPLS office as she shows you the ins and outs of book repair without blowing the budget. In this workshop, she will teach you how to master broken hinges, worn spines and torn pages like a pro using Kapco Book Repair products.
Monday, April 19th, 2021
1pm
1 CE credit for participants
The System will be hosting a group purchase of Kapco products that you will learn about during the workshop. This will enable libraries who need to stock up on book repair items to do so at a discount.
Registration: https://forms.gle/fe9RsDAxk24GVHNG8
