The library will be closed July 4th and 5th (Friday and Saturday) in observance of the holiday.

Have a safe and happy 4th!

Stromsburg Public Library Staff

RC Construction of Stromsburg has begun repair work on the library this week. Many of the decorative wooden brackets on the arches of the library are rotting and need replaced. The current wood brackets will be replaced with ones made with PVC.

Fines are a necessary part of the library world that no one likes to discuss. Fines are in place to ensure that materials are returned to the library in a timely manner, or returned at all. It has always been the feeling at the Stromsburg Public Library that our main concern is that materials are returned, but lately we are finding that even that is not even happening. In light of some extreme fine cases and many lost items, the Stromsburg Public Library board has refined the fine policy in our handbook.

Patrons will be notified at check out if they have a fine balance on their account. Email notification will be made when fines exceed $2.00. If fines accrue in excess of $10 patrons will not be allowed to check out any materials from the library until their account is made current. This includes, but is not limited to; books, movies, computers, magazines, reference material, newspapers, and cake pans.

These changes will take effect July 1, 2014. In light of this change, we will have a FINE FREE DAY on June 30, 2014. Any item returned on June 30 will have all fines erased that are being charged on that item! You may drop items in the drop box, or bring them in, either way is fine!

Starting July 1, the librarians will not be overriding any blocked checkouts. If the circulation system says your fines are over the limit, checkouts will be blocked until the account is made current. We never want to deny anyone the use of our library or its materials, but by not denying a few, we are denying many the use of our materials. We feel this is the best way to make it fair to all.

This year’s Swedish Festival program will be presented by local genealogists Beth Sparrow and Bob Greenwall. They will be discussing “Swedish Immigrants: Tracing Your Roots” at the Stromsburg Public Library on Saturday, June 21 at 2 pm. Beverages and cookies will be provided by the Friends of the Stromsburg Public Library.

Parents, please check the reference table in the library for information regarding the AR Summer Reading Challenge, Barnes and Noble’s Imagination’s Destination book giveaway, and local tutors that are available to help your students.

Check our DVD area for the Ice Age movies, new Dora the Explorer movies, “The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug”, “Catching Fire”, and “Saving Mr. Banks”. A new shipment of books has also arrived and will be showing up on the shelves soon! Have a great Swedish Festival!

I just found out that 650 new titles were just added to the OverDrive system over the weekend. Tired of titles you want being checked out? Set your search preference to “Available Titles” to see what IS available.

Make sure to take advantage of this FREE service in June. If the Nebraska Libraries group increases circulation on OverDrive by 25%, we will receive $1,500 in content credit to increase our holdings!

Tell everyone you know about OverDrive! If you don’t know what OverDrive is or have problems setting up your account, call or stop by the library and we will be glad to help.

The Stromsburg Public Library will be closed Monday, May 26 in observance of the Memorial Day holiday. We will reopen Tuesday, the 27th at 1:00 pm.

Due to the Memorial Day holiday, the genealogy club will be meeting Tuesday, May 27 at it’s regular time instead of Monday.

Have a great holiday weekend!

School is out for summer! As noted on our Facebook page this past week, research has shown that children may lose as much as an entire grade level during the summer if they don’t continue to read. We at the Stromsburg Public Library are working to make reading a regular part of your child’s summer.

Summer reading forms are up on the library webpage at www.libraries.ne.gov/stromsburg and may be dropped off at the library any time. Forms are also available at the library. Summer reading will be held July 2^nd, July 9^th, July 16^th with the Kindergarten-2^nd grade meeting at 9 a.m. and the 3^rd-5^th grade meeting at 10:30 a.m. On July 26^th we will have The Mad Scientist here to show us some of the crazy things we can do with science! All ages will meet at 10:00 a.m. that day. Again, if anyone would like to donate prizes for these kids as they attain their reading goals, please contact Monica at the library.

The staff at the library will also be able to monitor AR tests for the students over the summer! No more trying to remember that book you read in June when taking the test in August. No more waiting until August to read because you don’t want to read books that won’t count for your points. No more excuses for not reading during the summer!

All families of Cross County Schools are eligible for a FREE library card whether they live in Polk County or not. Each family is given a card for everyone to check out materials under. Books and magazines have a two week check out period, DVD’s have a one week check out period.

Finally, the Stromsburg Public Library will be changing things up a bit this summer with SUMMER HOURS. Beginning June 1 and running through July 31, we will be open 1 p.m.-5 p. m. on Monday and Friday, Tuesday 1 p.m. – 8 p.m., Wednesday we will be open 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. and Saturday 10 a.m. – 1 p.m. This means, yes, we are open one morning during the week and one evening a week as well as being open over the noon hour one day. We hope this accommodates as many of our patrons as possible. Have a great summer and we hope to see you at the library!

Tuesday, May 20, 2014 is a busy day at the library! Starting at 11 am, we will have our Rainy Day lapsit. We will be talking about weather especially the sun and rain!

That evening, at 7 pm, the book club will meet to discuss this month’s selection, “The Fault in Our Stars”. Feel free to jump in and enjoy this discussion!

As Tuesday is also the last day of school for Cross County, I’m sure we’ll be very busy in between!

Make sure you stop by the library and enjoy the model airplanes that are display. The display is courtesy is of Bob Greenwall.

By Diana Johnson

As I write my final article for the Stromsburg Public Library, I look back at the 16 plus years with fondness. This position has truly been a gift. I have met so many kind, pleasant people, who have walked through the doors. I have been fortunate to work with different board members, who believe in functioning as a team with the director to carry out the mission of the library: providing information and services for lifelong learning and enjoyment.

The last 16 years have seen the replacing of the old card catalog with a database for finding materials, a move to a new library facility, and cataloging/circulation software now accessible in cyberspace or the “cloud.” Finding library materials is accomplished on any computer through the library web page and library updates are accessible on the our Facebook page.

I want to thank everyone who made the retirement reception so special. Those who made all the preparations and those who stopped in to wish me well. It was a lovely afternoon. The library is now in the capable hands of Monica Tidyman, who has done an outstanding job as assistant. She is welcoming, an avid reader, and tech savvy.

You are invited to an OPEN HOUSE in honor of DIANA JOHNSON for her many years of service to the  library.  

Stromsburg Public Library

 Tuesday, March 25, 2014

1:30 pm—5:30 pm

*(Note time change since announcement in Polk County News)

Best wishes to Diana in her retirement!