|
|
|
|
June 2024 | Rolla Public Library
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
From the Director's Desk
|
Thanks for subscribing! Please share with others who might be interested in staying up-to-date on all things to do with Rolla Public Library.
|
|
|
|
|
We are so excited to begin eight weeks of Summer Reading Program events NEXT WEEK - the first week of June. I have included some details and links to our summer program in this month's newsletter and we hope you spread the word to others in the area. There are so many FREE programs to attend, as well as prizes to be earned for reading. There are prizes for ALL AGES - so adults can have fun too.
|
|
It's always a joy to see so many young people get energized about books over their summer months. They get really motivated to read more and earn those prizes like coupons for free snacks from area restaurants, fun toys, FREE BOOKS and this year we are introducing CROC/JIBBITZ BANDS AND CHARMS so that kids can earn charms for every five books read and proudly display these on their wrists or even on the Crocs on their feet.
|
|
|
|
We hope to be able to keep you informed about library announcements, events and updates in your email inbox on the first of every month. We plan on featuring library staff and patron recommendations (see below), as well as providing articles on highlighted library resources and a brief monthly column showcasing some local history. This newsletter is a work in progress and constructive feedback is welcome.
|
Please tell your friends about the newsletter and direct them to sign up in person at the library or via our website (near the bottom of the homepage). An email address is required. We are excited to share even more with you, friends. Thank you for using your community library.
|
|
Enjoy an adventurous summer!
|
- Rebecca Buckley, Library Director
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Summer Reading Program Schedules: Weeks 1-4
Another exciting eight (8) week summer program will run from May 28th - July 28th, 2024. Register NOW through the library's Beanstack account. All ages!
|
|
The library will be offering eight (8) engaging weeks of programming between June 2nd and July 28th for all ages as well. Our regular weekly programs include story times for Littles (ages 0-6) and Middles (ages 7-11), as well as activity groups for Littles, Middles, Tweens/Teens (ages 12-17), Adults and Silver Adults.
|
We have themed presentations from so many knowledgeable local experts as well as grant-funded performers such as Storyteller Priscilla Howe, The Fishin' Magicians and Wonders of Wildlife.
|
|
This project is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by the Missouri State Library, a division of the Office of the Secretary of State.
|
|
Week 1: June 2nd-8th
|
|
Week 2: June 9th-15th
|
|
Week 3: June 16th-22nd
|
|
Week 4: June 23rd -29th
|
|
Join us for an adventurous summer!
|
Find more information on our website, social media pages: Facebook, or Instagram , or by calling us at 573-364-2604 or emailing director@rollapubliclibrary.org
|
|
|
|
FOCUS: Featured Library Staff
|
|
Meet Library Assistant Andy Harman,
ever excited to find your most obscure title.
|
This month we are featuring Library Assistant Andy Harman who has worked at the
Rolla Public Library for almost nine years. He was only 19 when he started here so he has grown into adulthood surrounded by our stacks and kind library patrons. Andy is a true right-hand man to our director Rebecca. She says that he has a mind like a highly tuned, lightly triggered trap when it comes to his memory for titles, authors, movies, etc. The staff see Andy as a truly invaluable resource as well as a sanctuary of genuine kindness and encouragement.
|
When asked what his favorite part of his job here is, he says “I enjoy everything that goes into sharing materials between libraries, whether that means fulfilling holds for our patrons or giving hidden parts of our collection a chance to travel around the state. I like any opportunity to problem-solve and learn new things – you never know what people will walk through the door looking for, and you pick up interesting things just acting as a conduit for information. Also, I love that I get the vicarious satisfaction of sorting and organizing things here so I can comfortably live in chaos at home!” Our favorite part about working with Andy is seeing his enthusiasm on the job. He seems to never lose interest in connecting our library patrons to the information and entertainment they seek.
|
Andy is very well-known on the job for being able to find books shelved “creatively” or misplaced in the most bizarre places. He has a nose for lost and missing titles, and he gets a real satisfaction in foraging the stacks. Andy also bakes the most amazing desserts! He gets inspired by programs like The Great British Bake-Off and we, as staff members, are treated to the most elaborate cakes with so many layers and unique flavors. It is a mystery how he gets his cakes so moist, but we are content to let the mystery be as long as he keeps feeding us!
|
Like all of us, Andy has dreams for the library. He says “I really hope we’re able to find a way to expand and add more community meeting and study spaces. I know that the need is there, and it’s massively beneficial to have places people can meet or just hang out without the expectation that they need to spend money just to be there.” It gives the staff a warm feeling to walk through our library and see library users enjoying our materials, computers and our comfy space. So many positive interactions occur between our walls and having more space and resources for that kind of positivity in our community would be welcomed by so many.
|
The area of the library that most interests Andy is the adult fiction section, especially genres like horror, sci-fi and fantasy. He was asked to recommend five items from these areas of interest and included a brief blurb to entice potential readers. These items are:
1. The Ones That Got Away by Stephen Graham Jones - FIC JON – This is a dark collection of short horror stories by the author of My Heart is a Chainsaw and The Only Good Indians. I especially recommend the story “Father, Son, Holy Rabbit”.
|
2. Light Bringer by Pierce Brown – FIC BRO – I’m cheating with this one, it’s book 6 in a series! But it’s a series that gets so much better, darker, and more complex as it goes on. Someone please read these and talk to me about them!
3. Last Days by Adam Nevill – Evergreen loan – A story about an amateur documentary filmmaker investigating the history of a paranormal cult, this is the most memorably scary thing I’ve read recently. There is an atmospheric uneasiness that really sneaks up on you.
4. The Builders by Daniel Polansky – Evergreen loan – A revenge Western novella where all the characters are little anthropomorphic critters. It’s like a Tarantino movie populated by Redwall characters, and I really enjoy this author’s general style.
5. A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers – FIC CHA – Ending on a lighter and cozier note, this is a short sci-fi novella set in a utopian world following a robot and a traveling “tea monk”. Philosophical, gentle, and hopeful, you’ll want a good cup of tea to go with it.
Andy would like patrons to know that “There are more things available to request through Missouri Evergreen than most people think! Some libraries lend from their video game collections, and some will send out shaped cake pans. I’ve gotten a couple so far, and I have some plans in place for future staff birthdays.” Library staff members are making note of that last part.
|
|
We at the library appreciate Andy so much for his positivity, his giving nature and his authenticity. He is a favorite of so many library users as well. Whether he is finding a stack of large print Inspirational Fiction for one of our sweet elderly ladies or recommending TV series on DVD or art films to our patrons with darker tastes, Andy takes true joy in connecting people with library items that they love. We hope he sticks around another nine years!
|
|
|
|
Featured Resource: IMAGINATION LIBRARY
The Rolla Public Library recently received books and promotional materials to display
from Dolly Parton's Imagination Library.
|
|
|
|
|
If you know of any children aged 0-5 who live in Missouri, let their families know that they can sign up for FREE MONTHLY BOOK DELIVERIES!
|
|
There are some fun titles to inspire little ones to be life-long readers.
|
Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library is dedicated to inspiring a love of reading by delivering high-quality, age-appropriate books each month to the homes of registered children under age 5, at no cost to the family.
|
|
The Missouri Imagination Library was made possible by legislation (Section 178.694 RSMo) that identifies school districts as the local partner for this initiative. Full funding was included in DESE’s Fiscal Year 2024 budget to establish and administer Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library for all children in Missouri age 0-5.
|
|
There is no cost to schools for the books or the postage to deliver them.
|
|
|
|
Weekly Summer Events
|
|
Please join us for some of our regularly scheduled events at the library every month. SOME SCHEDULES VARY DURING OUR SUMMER READING PROGRAM. Follow the links below for more information! These are led by our friendly library staff or by dedicated community volunteers. All events are FREE, and all are welcome to attend. Most programs are held in the Children's Wing meeting room. Just reach out and ask if you have questions about any of our programs. Just call us at 573-364-2604 or write us at director@rollapubliclibrary.org
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
FOCUS: Featured Library Patron
|
|
Regular patron Kayla Priest is a heavy duty library user and the queen of Missouri Evergreen lending!
|
|
Our SUPER patron Kayla Priest visits the Rolla Public Library at least a couple of times per week with her large and avid-reading family. She and her kids always walk away with a big stack of fun books and, while homeschooling her kids, she dedicates a lot of her time finding reading materials (in audio and print) that will excite her children and challenge them to keep learning. She always has great book suggestions for our collection and uses the online “Suggest a Purchase” form frequently.
|
Kayla has been regularly using the library for about a decade, especially after she and her husband started their family. She is a “Master User” of Missouri Evergreen, our library consortium that connects us to many other libraries in our state for inter-library loans. She has recently discovered the Missouri Evergreen app and is learning the ins and outs of searching with that as well as the online catalog.
|
“I probably mostly use the library for audiobooks, both for myself and to read with the kids, as well as cookbooks and craft books. I am always on the prowl for a new sewing project or recipe!”, Kayla says. She and her kids also use the Libby app for e-audiobooks. She says that her favorite part of the Rolla Public Library is spending a lot of time here as a family. She thinks of the library as “a comfortable place to visit and just spend time. Each member of our family comes in and splinters between things like the scavenger hunt, the Legos, the games or, for me, just talking with the library staff. As a stay-at-home mom I don’t see tons of adults in my week, so I thrive on the social interaction I get at the library.” We love having the Priest family visit. They are actively engaged and bring a fun spirit to the library.
|
An increasingly expanding graphic novel section is something Kayla would like to see continue in the library’s collection. She would like to see more programs to encourage reluctant/struggling readers – like the reading with pets’ program we have offered in the past. Kayla has been an ideal patron in the library and is always willing to offer feedback and suggestions regarding library services. Her input, and all patron input, helps us work to meet the needs of all of our patrons and fill in the gaps where we may be lacking.
|
A big romance reader, Kayla recommends a recent favorite titled Raiders of the Lost Heart by Jo Segura. “This is a new-to-me author, and she had fantastic character development, adventure, a side of real history, and of course, my favorite part – the ‘happily ever after’!”
|
|
It is a real joy to have Kayla and her family in the library so regularly. She is a great friend to our staff and is always willing to have a friendly chat with other library users as well. The Priest family helps make our library a welcoming place and we are so happy that they are a part of our library community.
|
|
|
|
NEW Libby Titles
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Clipping is from "The Rolla Herald",
|
|
Read a brief, but historic glimpse of a cheerful Rolla Public Library in the summer of 1951.
|
On July 12, 1951, the library was trying to cheer up a community bogged down in rainy days.
|
It's nice to see a silly sense of humor seems to be a constant in our library both now and then. We are always trying to get folks to attend our summer events as well!
|
|
It's also neat to see that they used to offer several story hours throughout the summer weeks. They hosted a Saturday Morning Story Hour (perhaps for the little ones), as well as a Middle Story Hour on Tuesday afternoons and a Junior Teen Story Club on Monday afternoons.
|
|
"Unless your home is floating down the river, the ROLLA PUBLIC LIBRARY guarantees to help you forget the wetness."
|
|
|
|
|
Follow us on social media!
|
   
|
|
Thanks for subscribing to our monthly email newsletter. If you do not wish to receive emails from us anymore, you can easily unsubscribe below. Hope to see you in the library soon!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
