Lauran Ostberg

New Services at the Library

We are excited to introduce two new services at the Stromsburg Public Library. We have become members of the Central Nebraska Consortium which now gives our patrons access to Zinio for Libraries and OnceClickDigital Audio.

A little information about both services, Zinio for Libraries is a digital magazine service. Very similar to Overdrive, you will be granted access using your library card number. You will then create an account that will enable you to read magazines online or download them to a device. There are more than 100 magazines titles available in current issues or back issues. The magazines are simultaneous usage so that means your favorite magazine is always available. You also don’t have to worry about a magazine disappearing from your device as there are no checkout time restrictions.

OneClickDigital Audio is an online audio book library very similar to OverDrive, except again, you don’t have to worry about placing holds. These titles are also simultaneous use. You select your checkout period at the point of checkout, up to 14 days. It looks like files need to be added to your computer, then transferred to your device, but I’m sure on that.

Dorinda and I have not played around with these services much as yet so we may not be able to answer all your questions, but feel free to start using either of these services by visiting rbdigital.com/centralnebraskane/zinio or centralnebraskane.oneclickdigital.com to set up an account. This account can be linked to both sites for use. It looks like Zinio has user guides and tutorials on their help page and OneClickDigital has FAQ and tutorials. We plan on holding classes for both services after the first of the year.

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“Love Beneath the Covers”

If you know me even a little you know that I love to read. I always have. Reading is my escape, reading is my TV, reading is my relaxation, and I’m blessed to say that reading is part of my job! Much to my high school English teacher’s chagrin and to the chagrin of some of my mentors I’m not a literary reader. I’m what some would call a “fluff” reader. I want a book to grab my attention right away and pull me through the story. I want a book to so engross me that I cannot put it down and do what I’m supposed to be doing. I respect a book that focuses on characterization and less on dialogue, but I’m probably not going to move it to the top of my “to be read” list.

Unlike some readers I’ve never had the urge to write a book, at least not a fiction book. I have great respect for the craft of writing a fiction book and know that I don’t have the patience for most of it. That doesn’t mean that every aspect of writing a book doesn’t fascinate me, it does! I love to read author’s blogs and hear about the process, how they dreamed up the characters, the plot, why they chose the setting they chose, all of it. I feel it helps me enjoy the books even more.

Recently, I’ve been hearing about a documentary called, “Love Beneath the Covers” which focuses on the romance novel genre and was very excited to hear that it was coming to Netflix this week. I started watching it this morning while I was on the treadmill and I was in book geek heaven! I’ve been trying to decide if I can count watching it as professional development or even receive continuing education credits for it so I have a reason to watch it at work. (To all those who pay my salary, don’t worry, I didn’t take it that far.) There are some very startling statistics that cover the volume and readership of romance novels that astounded me, but what I liked is the fact that they interview professors of literature, bloggers, authors and everyday people. They cover the scope of the writing process, the love of reading, the author’s back stories and even how one woman turned her love of the genre into a job working for the authors!

If you love books, I recommend this documentary. Even if you “poo poo” the romance genre and can’t believe people read it, I recommend this documentary, you might be surprised at what you learn, I was!

If you love romance novels or think maybe you should give it a shot, we have received some new books over the last week you might enjoy; “The Boy is Back” by Meg Cabot, “The Life She Wants” by Robyn Carr, “Ashton Park” by Murray Pura and not new but currently on the shelf, Sandra Brown’s latest, “Sting.” These books cover the romance genre from contemporary fiction, historical fiction, inspirational fiction to mystery fiction and all of them fall under romance.

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New Books!

Fiction

“Two by Two” by Nicholas Sparks

“The Life She Wants” by Robyn Carr

“News of the World” by Paulette Jiles

“Napoleon’s Last Island” by Thomas Kenneally

“Twelve Days of Christmas” by Debbie Macomber

“Winter Storms” by Elin Hilderbrand

“Order to Kill” A Mitch Rapp Novel by Kyle Mills

“Precious and Grace” by Alexander McCall Smith

“A Gathering in Hope” by Philip Gulley

“High Heat” by Richard Castle

“Small Great Things” by Jodi Picoult

Christian Fiction

“This Road We Traveled” by Jane Kirkpatrick

“The Devoted” by Suzanne Woods Fisher

“Waves of Mercy” by Lynn Austin

Non Fiction

“Think Better, Live Better” by Joel Osteen

“Crippled America: How to Make America Great Again” by Donald Trump

“Rancher, Farmer, Fisherman: Conservation Heroes of the American Heartland” by Miriam Horn

“Killing the Rising Sun” by Bill O’Reilly and Martin Dugard

“Hungry Heart” by Jennifer Weiner

“Love Your Life Not Theirs” by Rachel Cruze

“The Book of Joy: Lasting Happiness in a Changing World” written by His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Douglas Abrams

“Forty Autumns: A Family’s Story of Courage and Survival on Both Sides of the Berlin Wall” by Nina Willner.

Young Adult

“The Hammer of Thor” by Rick Riordan

“Interference” by Kay Honeyman

Junior Fiction

“The Inquisitor’s Tale” by Adam Gidwitz

Junior Non Fiction

“365 Things to do with LEGO Bricks”

“Guinness World Records 2017”

“Guinness World Records 2017 -Gamer’s Edition”

“Dining with Dinosaurs: A Tasty Guide to Mesozoic Munching” by Hannah Bonner

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New Look for the Library

Typically when you enter the library you might anticipate the smell of books, but if you come to the library in the next week or two you might be able to detect the smell of paint. The Stromsburg Public Library received a facelift over the long Labor Day weekend with new paint in the main library, meeting room, and hallways. Bret Orsborn of Beasy Painting in Stromsburg did a great job in helping us pick colors and in painting the entire main library over the long weekend. He finished painting the trim, meeting room and hallways during the week after he completed work at his day job.

Kile Lindburg was also a huge help in choosing a color scheme and picking up samples to try on the walls. I could not have done this without her.

We are still working on getting back to normal, while the shelves are pulled out from the walls we are looking at adding outlets and in anticipation of a new display item, the magazine racks will be moved downstairs. This change was also coming as we will soon be transferring to a digital magazine system similar to OverDrive for the use of our patrons at home. Look for more information on both of these items in the near future. Please be patient as we finish up these projects.

 

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Grand Finale Tailgate

 

The Stromsburg Public Library, with help from the Friends of the Stromsburg Library, will be throwing a tailgate party on Tuesday, August 2nd at 6:30 pm in the library parking lot to end the Summer Reading Program “On Your Mark. Get Set. Read!”   Hot dogs, chips, and root beer floats made with Duster’s Root Beer will be served.  There will be games and summer reading awards will be handed out. The Friends group is still in need of donated 12 oz. Styrofoam cups, 8 in. paper plates, 2 bottles of ketchup and 1 bottle of mustard. Donations to help defray the cost of the other expenses are also needed. Follow the link to sign up for donations. For more information, contact Kathy Nelson (764-3335), Diana Johnson (402-253-6144) or Kay Kronberg (402-363-1949).

 

 

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New and Updated Policies at the Library

You may find our full policy statement under the “About Us” tab. Please allow 24 hours from this post for the tab to be fully updated.

Unattended Children Policy

The purpose of this policy is to encourage parents and legal guardians to exercise reasonable care, supervision, and control over their minor children in order to prevent juvenile victimization and to protect the health, safety, and welfare of children.

The responsibility for the safety and behavior of children in the library rests with the parent/caregiver and not with the library personnel. Library employees cannot assume liability for children who are unattended or demonstrating inappropriate behavior.

  • Children aged nine and under must be attended and adequately supervised by a parent or caregiver who is at least 14 years old. Parents or guardians are responsible for the behavior of their children. Children who have special needs because of disabling conditions such as impaired physical or mental ability, disruptive behavior, emotional problems, inadequate attention span, incomplete social skills, etc., shall be attended by a responsible person at all times. Children shall not be considered adequately supervised if their caregiver is participating in a meeting, class, or program held in a different room. An exception would be children attending a library program. However, the parent/caregiver is expected to be aware of when the program ends and then provide adequate supervision.

If a child 9 years and younger is left unattended, the following procedure may be enacted:

  • Staff will try to locate the responsible person by searching the library or calling the person responsible. If no phone number is known, the child will be given an activity to keep them occupied until a responsible person can be located.
  • When such person is located, staff will explain the library policy in regard to children, and give them a copy of the unattended children policy.
  • If the responsible person is not located within a half-hour, or if the library is closing within a half-hour, the staff may notify the police to pick up the child. Staff will remain with the child in the building until the parent or police arrives.
  • If the library is closing and the staff is unable to locate a parent, no staff member is obligated to stay with the child. Under no circumstances may a library staff member transport a child in their car. The police may be called in emergency situations.

 

Library Conduct:

No conduct which interferes with, or discourages the public’s use of the library, will be permitted. To assist in maintaining an atmosphere conducive to the public’s use of the library and its collections, the Library Board has adopted this Conduct Policy and the consequences of violation of said policy.

Section 51-212 of the Nebraska Statutes specifically gives public libraries the power to regulate the use of the library and to exclude from the library persons who violate or refuse to comply with the library’s rules and regulations.

Improper Library Conduct may include, but is not limited to the following:

-Loud whispering or talking that disrupts other patrons or library staff

-Use of cell phone in main library

-Running or other playground behavior in the library

-Coming and going multiple times from the library

-Damage to or acting in such a way to cause damage to library property. This includes computers, books, library building and surrounding property.

-Disrespectful or rude behavior to library staff or fellow patrons

– Swearing or crude language

-No alcoholic beverages are allowed on library premises.

-Smoking is prohibited throughout the library building.

-One phone call, per family, per day is allowed from the library phone.

In Addition:

You are allowed two warnings from the librarian to correct bad behavior. If the behavior does not change, you will be asked to leave for the day. If this becomes a daily problem, you may be restricted from the library for a longer period of time. Extreme violations will result in banning from the library.

If you are asked to log off a computer because another patron is waiting and you have exceeded the thirty minute time limit, you have spent your computer time for the day. Exceptions will be made at the librarian’s discretion. Priority will be given to adults filling out job applications or performing tests for work.

Food Rules:

-No food or drink at the computers. Food may be eaten in the meeting room or at the reference table.

-You clean up the mess you make.

-All drinks need lids.

-If the food has a smell, then it must be eaten in the meeting room or outside.

Also, please be aware of the following change to the internet policy. 

*Computers are available on a first-come, first-serve basis. Patrons may call to reserve a specific time to use the computer. Those 16 or under are limited to 30 minutes on the computer at a time, not exceeding 1 hour a day. Those 16 and over have a 30 minute time limit if others are waiting to use the computer.

 

 

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Celebrate Nebraska Books

In celebration of Nebraska’s Sesquicentennial the Nebraska 150 Commission, the Nebraska Literary Heritage Association, with support from Humanities Nebraska has compiled a list of 150 books written by Nebraska authors that they feel should be read to gain insight and interest into Nebraska history and culture. These books range from the true crime book, “In Cold Storage: Sex and Murder on the Plains” to classics such as “O, Pioneers” by Willa Cather to our very own Kathy Nelson’s book, “More Than Football: George Flippin’s Stromsburg Years.” The books cover the lives of people such as women in journalism (Chattie Coleman is mentioned) , Malcolm X, Chief Standing Bear, and former governor Bob Kerry to name just a few. The list also includes fiction titles from Bess Streeter Aldrich, Stephanie Grace Whitson, and Andrew Clements.

If you like a little incentive to your reading (besides the sheer joy of it) the Nebraska 150 Commission has highlighted 42 of some of the best literature on the 150 list in a reading challenge. The challenge covers fiction, non-fiction, young adult and picture books and poetry. To qualify for prizes you must read, at minimum, six books from the list for the silver level. If you read 12 books, you qualify at the gold lever and for those that read all 42 books on the list they will qualify for gold and silver prizes as well as being entered into the grand prize drawing. All entries must be received by February 28, 2017. Challenge forms may be picked up at the library or printed from the website www.nebraska150books.org.

Just a caution, the Stromsburg Public Library only owns 24 out of the 42 books so you may have to go on a scavenger hunt for the other titles, some of the books will not be eligible for interlibrary loan due to scarcity of the books or restricted access due to the contest. We will help you locate the books as we are able. We will also be setting up a display with all the books on the 150 list that we have for your reading enjoyment.

New items this week include, “Messenger by Moonlight” by Stephanie Grace Whitson, “LaRose” by Louise Erdich, “Finding Dory: The Junior Novelization” by Disney Pixar, “Baby Gorillas” by Mary Elizabeth Salzman, “Traces of Guilt” by Dee Henderson, “The Scandel” a Theodore Boone novel by John Grisham, and “Lilac Girls” by Martha Hall Kelly. Happy reading!

 

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New Summer Reading Tab

We’ve added a summer reading tab to our webpage, (see above.) This tab will take you to our summer reading page that has all the dates and times you need for our summer reading schedule.

Also, on this page, you will find links to register for summer reading and a link for our “Permission to photograph” form. We will need you to print this form, sign it, and return it to the library. If we do not have a form for your child, we will not use photographs of their face in any of our social media, or webpage posts or announcements. If this is a concern for you, please talk with one of the librarians.

Make sure to schedule all of our events on your calendar! You don’t want to miss the excitement this summer! See you soon!

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