A great big thank you goes out to our friends at UNL Extension Office and Ponca State Park for partnering with us for our Tails and Tales Summer Reading Program.

We look forward to our continuing partnerships. Some exciting programs are in the works!

You can always stay up to date on what’s going on at the library by visiting our website or Facebook page.

Please join us for these upcoming events:

July 29^th – Presentation by visiting author William Kent Krueger at 6pm. Potluck at 7pm.  This event will be held at Ponca State Park.

August 7^th –  Marci Broyhill and Teresa Kay Orr will present Aprons, Skirts, Hats & Flirts: Women – Their Range of Status During the Western Movement at 2:45 pm in the River Bluff Room at Ponca State Park                                                                                       

June 3rd at 10:00am

Ponca Library will be hosting Balloon Animal Adventures at Ponca School in the Fine Arts Building

All ages are welcome!

What happens when the nation’s top balloon artist gets together with a nationally known educator and entertainer? You get Balloon Animal Adventures!

Balloon Animal Adventures is an animal education show in the spirit of Jack Hanna, Steve Irwin, and the Kratt Brothers. Our Adventurers take you on a journey of discovery to learn about some of the most interesting animals in the world. The difference between our show and theirs is that our animals are made of balloons! Throughout the show, our Adventurers believe the animals are real, making this show as silly and fun as it is educational. Please join us for this community event.

My name is Brynn Chicoine and I am so excited to be the new Library Intern for this summer! We have so many exciting things planned. Some of you may already know me as I currently work at the nursing home here in Ponca and I am a student at Ponca Public School. I enjoy drawing, painting, playing video games, and reading in my spare time.  I look forward to working with the community and creating a fun environment for the summer reading program!

Please help us welcome Brynn. We would love to see all of you at our upcoming events.

 Tuesday, May 25^th at 2pm for a hands-on lesson on Rollercoasters presented by UNL

Thursday, June 3^rd at 10 a.m. for a Community Event at Ponca School.  Ponca Library has hired Poppin’ Penelope, a nationally known balloon artist, to present an animal balloon show. Penelope and her husband worked at the Omaha Zoo for many years doing animal presentations. Pairing her balloon artistry skills with their knowledge of animals is the perfect combination for this live show event to not only kick off our community summer reading program but to provide a fun show appropriate for ALL ages. 

On April 5th, the ALA American Library Association, released a document entitled  State of America’s Libraries Special Report: COVID – 19

The following information is taken directly from the ALA website and the official press release.

In 2020, libraries of all types stepped up to meet the needs of their communities as they responded to the impacts of COVID-19, a national financial crisis, and social unrest. They were at the center of some of our nation’s most consequential work, including supporting accurate counts in the US Census, fighting political disinformation, and facilitating free and fair elections.

Libraries also extended necessary lifelines to community members facing job losses, healthcare crises, and remote work and learning during an unprecedented and uncertain time. As we assess the state of America’s libraries, we find 2020 was a year when library professionals answered the call to serve amid multiple emergencies and a year when library workers again proved to be essential “first restorers” or “second responders.”

The report includes trends that occurred during the pandemic and also includes the list of the top ten most challenged books of 2020. Surprisingly, censorship attempts did not subside during the pandemic and 273 books were affected. To read the report in its entirety, go to http://www.ala.org/news/press-releases/2021/04/ala-releases-state-america-s-libraries-special-report-covid-19

If you haven’t checked out our recently added selections,

here are two of our staff favorites that are available for checkout:

Librarian Patti recommends: Old Bones by Nora Kelly (Book #1 in a series): “Old Bones has it all: chills, thrills and a blend of history, along with archaeological expertise you can only get from a Preston & Child novel. I loved spending time with Nora Kelly and Corrie Swanson, and look forward to seeing them in future adventures. Longtime readers will be rewarded not only by this pairing but by some other surprises leading up to the conclusion of this exciting read.”―Bookreporter

Director Melissa recommends: Greenlights byMatthew McConaughey(This is available on audio) “A Renaissance man on the big screen, McConaughey shows he is the same on the page. Mystical and spiritual but mostly just wonderful, Greenlightsis an inspired memoir that celebrates the idea that it’s the journey rather than the destination that will fulfill us.”—Michael Connelly, author of Fair Warning

Upcoming Events:

May 25^th – UNL STEM programming begins

June 1^st – Summer Reading begins

June 3^rd – Community Event – Animal Adventures Balloon Show

To all of you who participated in our fundraiser Cards for a Cause.

We are almost half-way to our goal of purchasing the mobile LEGO station. If you missed out on our fundraiser and would

still like to help us reach our goal, donations can be mailed in or dropped off at the library.

Don’t forget to stop in and check out our selection of new books.

Library staff orders new books monthly and patron suggestions are always welcome.

Ponca, NE – Friends of the Library will host Nebraska author, Tammy Marshall, in an online discussion of her novel, The Clearwater House, on Thursday, April 1, at 7:00 PM. 

Marshall says she is excited to discuss her book with Ponca readers. She states, “I got to know quite a few residents during the four years my son, Trevor Wright, was the assistant boys’ basketball coach in Ponca. I attended many games, including the state championship game in 2017 when Ponca faced off against my very own students of Neligh-Oakdale! Ponca welcomed me with open arms at every game I attended, so I’m looking forward to some equally warm embraces from the literary side of the Ponca people.”

According to president of Friends Heather Craig-Oldsen, “This Nebraska novel is engaging and filled will twists and turns. I love that it is set in a small Nebraska town, not far from Ponca.”

Tammy Marshall has been a high school language teacher for thirty years. In that role, she has worn many hats: one-act coach, speech coach, play director, flag corps coach, mentor, National Honor Society advisor, and class sponsor. She writes a bi-monthly column about books and book-related topics called “Novel Thoughts” for the Norfolk Daily News, and she has also written feature stories for that newspaper and a regional magazine.

Marshall is a lifelong resident of Nebraska and the mother of two grown children. 

Marshall is a lifelong resident of Nebraska and the mother of two grown children. Learn more at tammymarshallauthor.wordpress.com, or follow her on Instagram at @tammymarshallauthor.

The online discussion is open to the public. Contact the library for more information, as well as to borrow a copy of The Clearwater House.

We are here. We are open and we have lots of new books for you!

Hours: Monday through Friday 12pm to 6 pm & Saturday 10am to 12pm

Lots of exciting things are in the works. The library is working on a plan to resume our in-house programming.

We are currently planning our Summer Reading program entitled Tails and Tales.

Staff is working with Ponca State Park to resume our monthly programs.

Great news for our library patrons that use OverDrive !

OverDrive now has over 2,000 magazines available!

Due to the pandemic, our library has had certain restrictions put in place in order to protect our

patrons. We have not been able to put out newspapers or magazines for patron perusal.

Many of our patrons have missed reading their favorite magazines.

Now when patrons log onto OverDrive they will have access to all of the most popular magazines.

If you are not familiar with OverDrive or need help logging in, please call the library during business

hours. You will need your library card number to log onto OverDrive.

https://nebraska.overdrive.com/