Worms, Art, and Golf – What do they have in common?

The answer is … the Emporia Public Library!!!

On June 29 the library held its 12th annual worm races, an event that is part of each year’s Summer Reading Program. Children bring a worm and give it a name. Several worms are placed in the center circle of our special worm racing board. The racers are then tracked to see which makes it to the outer ring first. We have judges and plenty of onlookers to cheer for the kids and the worms. For those who want a little more speed, toy car races are held too. There’s lots of fun and learning at the library. Over 1,060 children are reading and counting minutes. Keep up the good work!

This month the Friends of the Library celebrate art in Emporia by sponsoring a competition and show. In cooperation with the Emporia Arts Council and the Flint Hills Girl Scout Council, the Friends have selected artworks for display, for award, and for purchase for the Library. The show will run through Sat. July 14 at the Arts Council. Check out the beautiful paintings, glass, and sculptures.

It’s a little hard to tie golf directly to the library. Of course we have books and videos about the sport in the collection, but that’s about it. However golf can also mean money to the library! This year the Flint Hills Optimists and the Sigma Tau Gamma Fraternity are working together to put on a benefit golf tournament on July 14 at the Emporia Municipal Golf Course. The two groups have designated the library’s Summer Reading Program for the proceeds. What a wonderful focus! We hope all you golfers put together a 4-man team for this scramble and enjoy your time on the links. You’ll be helping to make our super Summer Reading Program even better!

Worms, Art, and Golf --- only at the Library!

Sue Blechl, Library Director
blechls@emporialibrary.org

Summer Specials

Summer is here! It's the busiest time of year for the Emporia Public Library.

We have summer reading programs for kids and teens, Brown Bag Concerts, book discussions, special events and more.

Already over 800 children have signed up to participate in "Get a Clue@your library", the summer theme. Last year we had 1,200 kids involved, and 2007 may see even more!
READING is COOL!

Check out our webpage for details on storytimes and programs. We're adding special features for teens too, like an anime club and a gaming night.

The library keeps shortened hours in the summer, due to budget constraints and the different patterns of use from the school year. Wednesdays are the only night open to 9 pm.

Mon. Tues. Thurs. & Friday 9am to 6 pm
Wedneday 9am to 9pm
Saturday 9am to 5pm
Sunday 2pm to 5pm

We hope to see you soon!

Protecting your Investment

The library staff recently recommended changes in our circulation rules to the library board. The board approved them and the new policies went into effect on April 16.

Here’s a short summary of the changes:

**People getting new library cards are restricted to having five items out at a time. This is in effect for their first three months as library users. In the past, some new patrons checked out numerous books and dvds, and left town – no new address or phone number and no items returned. This cost the library a lot of money.

**Patrons with overdue fines can check out if they owe under $5.00. Previously the limit was $25 and that was just too much.

**All patrons are now restricted to having five at a time of each of these high-use collections: DVDs, VHS Videos, Graphic Novels, Music Cds and Audiobooks. Cd-Roms are limited to two per card at one time.

Click here to read the exact policy wording. http://skyways.lib.ks.us/library/emporia/circpolicy.htm

We feel that these changes are needed and are fair. We are already seeing an improvement as more movies, music and audiobooks are on the shelves for everyone to share.

Responsible library usage helps maximize the collection and the budget. Thanks for understanding and returning your items on time!

Another record Book Sale!

Thanks to the hard work of dedicated Friends of the Library volunteers and to the hundreds of book donors and book buyers, $10,094.30 was raised by the spring book sale which ended Wednesday. This is almost $700 more than last year’s sale, which was also a record.

Mary Unruh, book sale chair, and her wonderful assistants, including Cindy Pastor and Nancy McKinzie, spent long days at the library, preparing for the sale, straightening & cashiering at the sale, and finally, cleaning up after the sale. Many people helped with scheduling, putting up posters around town, moving the books, and much more. The thank you list is long.

Many people ask how the proceeds are used. The Friends of the Library board of directors works with library trustees and staff to determine projects and programs that need funding. In recent years the Friends’ funds have been used for:
Courtyard beautification
Brown Bag Concerts
Book Discussions-multiple copies of books
Endowment Fund to enrich the collection
Movie License
Book Mark Design Contest
Homebound Delivery program
Breakfast with Santa
Summer Reading programs for kids & for teens
Book Page Subscription – 50 copies monthly
Family Reading Month
Shopping Baskets
Strollers
Quarterly newsletters
Popcorn machine and supplies
Super Friend awards
Staff Appreciation
Sound system

If you are not a Friends member, please consider joining! Membership fees start at $15 and support the wonderful work of the group. You can never have too many Friends!!

Sue Blechl, Library Director

It's a Celebration!

April is a busy time for the Emporia Public Library, and for many libraries. Our EPL spring book sale is held in April. This year we close it with two days of special pricing: on Tuesday, April 17 all books are $4 per bag and on Wed, April 18 all books are $2 per bag. You can certainly get a lot of book and video bargains at these prices!

April 15 – 21 is National Library Week! Hooray! Many of us celebrate libraries each and every day, but during this one week a year, we hope you remember how fortunate we are to have libraries in schools, universities and in cities & towns all over America. Libraries are democratic institutions, enabling us to have a free exchange of information. Please support them financially.

In April each year Kansas librarians have their annual conference to share great ideas and to learn about new resources and new technologies. Meeting with about 900 passionate & knowledgeable colleagues is very exciting. We always come away proud of our profession and with even more dedication to our patrons and communities.

Thank you for using and valuing the library!

Sue Blechl, Library Director

It’s Book Sale Time & Young Writers Conference

We hope that you make time in the next week to visit the library book sale. With a Friends preview night on Thursday, we kick off the spring sale that draws hundreds of people and brings in thousands of dollars to support the library.

For specific hours and details, click on

http://skyways.lib.ks.us/library/emporia/services/specialserv/booksale.htm

We’ve added some new features – there will be a $4 per bag day on Tuesday, April 17 and a $2 per bag day on Wed. April 18. That should help move even more books out the door and onto your home library shelves.

While the book sale is a major focus at the library during the next days, we’re also busy out in the community. The library is a major sponsor of the annual Young Writers Conference on Sat. April 14. The public is invited to hear authors Andrea Warren and Lisa Campbell Ernst at Timmerman Elementary School. Students from Emporia and nearby districts will gather to celebrate writing. We’re proud to be a partner in this program.

Happy Reading & Writing!

Sue Blechl, Director

Out with the old and in with the new!

With the library book sale coming up in April, you have a great opportunity to clear your shelves of books that you’ve read or no longer need. Just bring them to the library! Donations that are not added to the collection make up a large proportion of the book sale inventory. Friends of the Library members work diligently year-round to sort, price, and store the thousands of books, videos, tapes and cds that come through our doors. We are proud to be a major recycler in the community, helping to move books and other items from one owner to another. This helps keep them out of the landfill and brings enjoyment and learning for as little as pennies per item.

Our spring sale begins with a Friends of the Library member preview night on Thursday, April 12. If you haven’t yet joined, you can do so that evening at the library. A basic membership is $15, with families paying $20. Life members pay $150. Life members can shop from 5 to 9 pm, with all Friends members joining in from 6 to 9 pm. On Friday, April 13 the sale opens to the public at 9 am and continues through April 18, with special pricing the last three days. See the complete schedule at
http://skyways.lib.ks.us/library/emporia/services/specialserv/booksale.htm

Friends members are needed to work at the sale. Contact Virginia Summervill at 342-5015 to arrange for your time.

Last year’s fall and spring book sales brought in over $16,600. This level of funding allows the Friends to make significant contributions to the library for programming, collection, and equipment.

We appreciate the effort that goes into the sale, and especially thank Mary Unruh, Chair, and her book sorting committee, for their hard work and dedication. The book sale is truly a year-round endeavor.

Bring us your books, buy new books, and feel the satisfaction of helping the library! Thank you!

Sue Blechl, Director