Currently, I'm writing this while the Children's Room is full of kids finishing up their crafts, playing, and excitedly showing off what they have made to their family and friends. It's certainly not the quiet you may expect from a library, but it is it's own kind of wonderful. 

Our Library has worked really hard to devote resources to advancing literacy in our youngest patrons. We have increased our early literacy programming, collections, and our partnerships in the community with agencies and organizations that have similar goals. 

Some folks may be surprised to find that can look like a roomful of toddlers gleefully dancing around throwing scarves in the air, but music is closely linked to early literacy development! 

We've also been hard at work finding ways to bridge the skills gap that exists in our community between our work force and the available jobs. Later in this newsletter you'll read about the Grand Opening of our MakerSpace which will give our patrons a chance to get hands-on experience with some technology and tools that they may need.

We also have an exciting new online resource to gain real-world knowledge in areas like computer programming, networking, and so much more! 

I hope that you find some useful resources in our newsletter this month. As always, if you have any feedback, ideas, or questions please let us know.

~Summer

The Grand Opening for our MakerSpace was held on Tuesday, January 31st! We are so excited to have this space, technology, tools, and equipment available for our patrons to use. 

Patrons must sign an agreement to use the MakerSpace and train on equipment they plan to use. Reservations to use the MakerSpace must be made in advance. 

Reservations are available on Tuesdays and Saturdays from 10 to 4. Materials will be free for the first month as supplies last!

The below pictures are from our Grand Opening demonstration by Jessica Rodgers, our Computer Specialist/Youth and Adult Services Librarian. 

Coming Soon!

A place to meet and to enjoy a casual old-fashioned setting almost like your grandmother's kitchen. Our menu will consist of lite-fare, homemade muffins, coffee, tea, lemonade and traditional favorites. All proceeds from the Cafe will help to support the Museum.

"Diamonds are Forever, La Bella Mafia - books 4-5 - a Cartel Novel (2019)" by Ashley & JaQuavis   

The Diamond family has survived murder, deceit, and betrayal. After a failed attempt on her life, Breeze has moved into the queen's position by Zyir's side.

Young Carter has retired and moved away from the madness - that is, until he gets an unexpected visitor at his home. (Read More)

"The Demise - Book 6: a Cartel novel" by Ashley & JaQuavis (2016)  The Cartel series is back and more deadly than ever. Las Vegas. A city built on obscene wealth and corrupt deals, cunning  entrepreneurs, and the ruthless mob. 

The Cartel's plan to open a casino will rake in cash, but comes with great sacrifice. (Read More)

"Illuminati: Roundtable of Bosses - Book 7: a Cartel Novel" by Ashley & JaQuavis (2017)

The saga of love, loyalty, and crime continues in the next explosive
book in the Cartel series from the minds of New York Times bestselling authors Ashley & JaQuavis. 

After the tragic and bloody end to The Cartel's reign, Carter is forced into isolation to evade the law. With his wife, Miamor, facing federal charges and his dear brother, six feet under, Carter has never been more alone. (Read More)

"The Lovely Bones" by Alice Sebold (2002) 

My name was Salmon, like the fish, first name, Susie. I was fourteen
when I was murdered on December 6, 1973. My murderer was a man from our neighborhood. My mother liked his border flowers, and my father talked to him once about fertilizer' 

This is Susie Salmon, speaking to us from heaven. It looks a lot like her school playground, with the good kind of swing sets. (Read More)

"Lucky Billy" by John Vernon (2008)

A myth-busting novel about America’s most infamous and beloved outlaw, Billy the Kid, from a critically acclaimed historical novelist.

According to legend, Billy the Kid killed twenty-one men, one for every year of his short life; stole from wealthy cattle barons to give to the poor; and wooed just about every senorita in the American Southwest. (Read More)

Tai Chi at the Library is still going strong! Every Thursday morning at 10am the group meets in our Lecture Hall. You may park and enter on the East side of the building off of 3rd street. Please dress comfortably and bring water if needed.

Adult Best Seller

"The Healing-Ladder Experience" by Pat Paulst (2021) 

You are the best choice for an expert in your personal healing process because you are the unique human being who has experienced every second of every page of your life's story. (Read More)

Adult Biography

"Spare - Prince Harry" by Harry Allard (2023)

It was one of the most searing images of the twentieth century: two young boys, two princes, walking behind their mother's coffin as the world watched in sorrow--and horror. As Diana, Princess of Wales, was laid to rest, billions  wondered what the princes must be thinking and feeling--and how their lives would play out from that point on. For
Harry, this is that story at last. (Read More)

"Far From the Tree: Parents, Children, and the Search for Identity" by Andrew Solomon (2012)

Solomon's startling proposition in Far from the Tree is that being exceptional is at the core of the human condition--that difference is what unites us. 

He writes about families coping with deafness, dwarfism, Down syndrome, autism, schizophrenia, or multiple severe disabilities; with children who are prodigies, who are conceived in rape, who become criminals, who are transgender. 

While each of these characteristics is potentially isolating, the experience of difference within families is universal, and Solomon documents triumphs of love over prejudice in every chapter. (Read More)

"Victorious Century: The United Kingdom, 1800-1906" by David Cannadine (2017)

To live in nineteenth-century Britain was to experience an astonishing
and unprecedented series of changes. 

Cities grew vast; there were revolutions in transportation,  communication, science, and work--all while a growing religious skepticism rendered the intellectual landscape increasingly unrecognizable.

It was an exhilarating time, and as a result, most of the countries in the world that experienced these changes were racked by political and social unrest.

Britain, however, maintained a stable polity at home, and as a result it quickly found itself in a position of global leadership. (Read More)