The library will close at 3 pm on Friday, December 23rd and will reopen on Tuesday, December 27 at 12 pm. 

We will be closed January 2 in observance of New Years and will reopen Tuesday, January 3 at 12 pm. 

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.

Please click the link below to our new page!

After – School Snack Time

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.

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!