Check out the new tab on our page for Summer Reading information and registration forms. The library will be promoting Summer Reading this Friday at the school. 

With Severe Weather Awareness being this week, I wanted to let you know how the Stromsburg Public Library handles severe weather emergencies. For a complete review of the handling of emergencies at the library please refer to our “Library Policies” page.

In regards to severe weather the policy reads:

Weather Emergencies

1. Tornadoes

In the event of a tornado warning for Polk County, staff will direct patrons to either evacuate the building or to take shelter in the basement. Unaccompanied children under 16 will only be released to a parent or guardian during a tornado warning. Access to the basement will remain open during the warning period.

This means if your children are at the library and the sirens begin to sound, we will not send your child out the door, they will go to the basement with staff. If you come to the library to pick up your child and the siren is sounding please go down the bathroom hallway to find the door to the basement. Your child will be there.

Please know that the safety of our patrons is our utmost concern and we want everyone aware of procedures before severe weather strikes.

We will be having a program entitled, “Eye on the Sky” April 14 with local weather spotters. Weather spotters will be sharing hints and tips of what to look for to avoid getting caught in severe weather. This is not a chance to learn storm chasing techniques or how to be a weather spotter. Again, the safety of our patrons is of utmost concern to us.

Are you concerned what books your children might find when navigating the OverDrive service by themselves? There are a couple of ways that you can handle this.

First, teach your children to enter into the “For Kids and Teens eReading Room”. This is where they will find selections specifically geared to them.

Second, you can adjust what books you see in the “Patron Account Settings” on OverDrive. In the Settings you can choose what levels of books you see offered when browsing and selecting. You may also choose to hide mature adult book covers. If you choose this option, a general book cover will be displayed for you instead.

As always, if you have any questions about using OverDrive, don’t hesitate to ask a librarian.

On Wednesday, February 25, the library will be hosting its first book tasting. Book tastings are more typical of school libraries, but I think adults can have fun with this also.

A book tasting is simply an opportunity to expose yourself to new books, genres, or authors that you might not consider otherwise. We will have four tables set up with an offering of books in the center. Participants will have 15 minutes at each table to peruse through the titles. Each participant will be given a “menu” to record information about the books they look at, giving them ideas for future reads. We will have a discussion time at the end to see if everyone found a new read or two and what they are most excited about reading.

Oh, and there will be edible refreshments available for tasting too.

Due to the weather forecasts for tonight and tomorrow, we are postponing the Brown Bag lunch that was to be held tomorrow, February 4. We are tentatively rescheduling the event for next Wednesday, February 11, provided all of our authors are available that day.

Stay safe and warm!

The Stromsburg Public Library has many upcoming activities in February. To make sure you don’t miss anything, we have posted “Upcoming Events” flyers around town and have created an “Upcoming Events” calendar that can be picked up at the library. You can always check our events page on Facebook or the calendar on our webpage too!

This coming week we have a Valentine craft time for the kids after school on February 3. They will be making a Valentine’s box that they can take to school or keep at home. Each child needs to bring an empty cereal box from home. We will have ideas, stickers, paper, and more supplies at the library.

That same night, the “Other Book Club” will be meeting. This book club is just getting started so feel free to attend and have a say in what the club will be reading and discussing.

On February 4, we will be having the first of two brown bag lunches for the month. We have 3 local authors coming to share their stories of having a book published. Most authors choose print books, but what about eBooks? One author will be sharing her story with that medium. Books from the authors will also be available for sale.

New books this week are The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins, The Third Target by Joel Rosenberg, Redeployment by Phil Klay, Full Force and Effect by Tom Clancy, and Insatiable Appetites by Stuart Woods.

Don’t forget we are still putting out more magazines that are free to anyone and we have numerous sizes of magazine boxes for sale.

The library will be closed New Year’s Day, January 1, 2015. 

We will reopen at 12:00 p.m. on Friday, January 2, 2015. 

We will be open regular hours 12:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. on New Year’s Eve, December 31, 2014.