Snow Blizzard....Colfax Public Library is Closed Wednesday December 9, 2009

The Colfax Public Library is Closed Wednesday December 9th Due to the Snow Storm.

Courier Delivery Will Resume Friday December 11th.

Teen Advisory Board (TAB) Gaming Night

Wii Gaming Night - November 30, 2009

The YA area in our library is quite small, so the teens had to hold their gaming event in the Children's area. Luckily only one small child came in last night to look for books, but it didn't seem to phase him with the teen event going on!

Those bean bag chairs were the best purchase! Teens and small children use them constantly.


Of course you can't have a teen event without FOOD!

Meeting Ree!

Saturday November 21st. was a super day. One of my co-workers and I got the chance to meet Ree Drummond (a.k.a. Pioneer Woman), who happens to be a very popular blogger in the the blogger world. Be sure to check out her blog, Pioneer Woman.

Ree & Me

We happen to get to the MOA early in the morning, so luckily we were within the first 150 people to be near the front of the line. It still took us about 3 hours to finally get the chance to sit down and met Ree. It was a quick 1 minute chit chat and a quick snap of the digital camera....wow, all for 3 hours. It was really fun talking with Ree and seeing all the people in line.

By the way, The Pioneer Woman Cooks cookbook is awesome. She did all the photography herself, which makes the cookbook very visual just like her blog. After some questions and answers, Ree went right into signing books. The crowd became excited when Ree's husband (a.k.a Marlboro Man) showed up and randomly started signing his name to his picture, which is featured in her cookbook.

Be sure to request her new cookbook online (http://www.more.lib.wi.us/).

Lisa

Teen's Top Ten

Paper Towns by John Green

More than 11,000 teen voters chose Paper Towns as their favorite book in the 2009 Teen's Top Ten contest during Teen Read Week in October. Here's the whole list of winners....if you haven't heard of these titles, you may want to request through the M.O.R. E system. Let us know what you've read recently and tell us if you liked the book (s).

1. Paper Towns by John Green

2. Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer

3. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

4. City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare

5. Identical by Ellen Hopkins

6. The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

7. Wake by Lisa McMann

8. Untamed by P.C. and Kristin Cast

9. The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart

10. Graceling by Kristin Cashore

Happy reading!

Lisa

Calling Teens for TAB

T.A.B.

What is TAB you say? Well, TAB stands for Teen Advisory Board. This group of teens help us at the library in many different areas....

*selecting materials teens would enjoy

*planning and hosting events for teens

*promoting library use to their peers

*organizing fundraisers to purchase some

extra items for the teen area

*volunteering at the library

If you are a teen and might be interested in being in TAB, head on over to the library on Sept. 28th after school for a planning meeting and free food!

Here is what some TAB teens say they like about TAB.......

"Because it's good to try new things and be active."

"T.A.B is a good thing to get into because you get to meet new people."

"Free food! Kidding...I like finding a good way to be helpful and involved in my community. It also looks good on college applications!"

"Because I would like to help out and try to raise money and find out what kids like to read."

"I love reading and the library so much. Books got me through some really tough times and I want others to be able to have that support."

Come join us for some fun!

Story Time @ the Colfax Public Library

I just wanted to remind parents that Story Time has begun again at the Colfax Public Library. Every Wednesday at 10:00 am, we hold story time for toddlers & preschool-age children. There is no registration, so just come and enjoy. Our Children's Librarian reads stories to the children, as well as sings songs and offers a fun and easy craft activity for the children. Parents or guardians are asked to remain in the library with their child during story time. For more information call the Colfax Public Library @ 962-4334, or email: cocirc@ifls.lib.wi.us

Lisa

Our Last Summer Reading Wednesday

Kevin McMullin was here to entertain with children with music and stories. Lots of participation took place with the children. The children had a lot of fun. We ended our last Summer Reading day with a pizza party!

You can find out more about Kevin by visiting his webpage.

Summer Reading Guest

This week for our Summer Reading Program we had author/illustrator David La Rochelle come and do a presentation for the kids. David told and illustrated a story with participation from the kids. Everyone listened attentively and really enjoyed David's tale about a king who loved to eat spinach, a troll who wanted the king's spinach and the knight who vanquished the troll from the kingdom.

David also read to the kids from his book, The Best Pet of All. It is a great story of a boy and a dragon who work together to get the best pet of all for the boy. You'll have to read the book to find out what the best pet is.

David signed bookmarks for the kids and answered questions about being an author and illustrating books. We also got a sneak peek at David's next picture book, a funny tale that partners with the illustrations to tell the story of a cow on a ride.

We enjoyed having David for a presenter and would recommend him to any school or library that would like to have an author/illustrator come.

Media Review: The House of Eliott

A friend suggested I might like to watch The House of Eliott series put out by the BBC. I enjoyed it very much and thought I would leave a short review about this 3 season series.

The House of Eliott is the name of a fashion house in London in the early 1900's. Two sheltered sisters find themselves alone in the world with little or no skills accept the dressmaking abilities they acquired by making their own clothes. Their Father's passing left a load of debts and a few skeletons in the closet.

The elder sister starts work as a photographers assistant and wealthy clients start to notice her well designed clothes. With the help of her younger sister Evangeline, Miss Eliott starts producing clothing designs for London's upper crust. Love interests wane and bloom but the sister's commitment to their new found business will not be overshadowed.

Despite an unscrupulous cousin who is managing their money, the two sisters forage through a forest of obstacles to forge a business of their own and a name for themselves in The House of Eliott.

I have really enjoyed watching this production and recommend it to those who are interested in the fashion industry and the working woman.

You will not find this series offered in the MORE consortium but you can search WISCAT, our inter-library loaning system. Click on the season you want and print out the sheet. Bring it to your local MORE Library and a librarian will be happy to reserve a copy for you through WISCAT. If you have any troubles searching WISCAT for this series of shows, just ask a librarian at your library and I am sure they will assist you in finding it.

Happy Viewing!

Jenny

The Wonder Weavers

Today was the beginning of our Summer Reading program. Performing for us this morning was the female duo, the Wonder Weavers Storytellers (Tina Rohde and Colleen Shaskin) from Eden Prairie, Minnesota. The Wonder Weavers had a great collection of international stories that they told, while using puppets to help them tell the stories.

One of the activities they did with the children was to use the colored parachute. As you can see the kids had a lot of fun.

The best part was to flip the parachute high and then hide underneath! Luckily the weather held out for us and didn't rain this morning. It's hard to believe it's July 1 and the temperature outside was only in the upper fifties. I guess that's better than having little children sitting outside in 90 degree heat!!!

For more information about the Wonder Weavers, go to their webpage.

New Job Seekers Books Are Available

Since January, we've seen an increase in people coming in to the library looking for job information, or basically just wanting to use the Internet computers for job searching. Recently, our library was part of a Job Seekers grant, which allowed us to buy about $350 worth of resource books on job searching and resume building. I snapped a photo of our new books on display to the public.

By August or September, our library hopes to be offering computer classes for adults that are job searching and needing to brush up on their computer skills. We will advertise locally when the computer classes will begin. My staff members and I are excited to be able to teach computer skills to individuals who need help finding a job.

The resource books and funding for teaching computer classes is all part of a Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) grant. Thanks to Indianhead Federated Library System and Leah Langby (Library Development and Youth Services Coordinator) for writing and obtaining the grant.

Lisa

Hey Kids.....Sign Up For Summer Reading

Be Creative @ Your Library – Summer Reading Program

July 1, 8, 15, 22 & 29
10:30 – Noon
Kids entering K – 4th grade
Registration is required

Hey Kids, what a great way to spend your summer! Come and sign up for the Summer Reading program and have fun doing lots of exciting activities and reading lots of great books.

We also have two performers scheduled to come and visit during July, the Wonder Weavers Storytellers (July 1), and musician, Kevin McMullin (July 29). That’s not all, we’ve also invited author/illustrator, David LaRochelle (July 22), to come and talk about how he illustrates children’s books. Don’t miss out on all the fun activities here at the Colfax Public Library. Stop by the library during open hours to register and to receive your reading log.

Library Hours
Monday & Thursday 1-8 pm
Tuesday, Wednesday & Friday 10 am – 5 pm
MORE (online catalog): http://www.more.lib.wi.us/
Library Email: cocirc@ifls.lib.wi.us
Library Webpage: http://www.colfaxpubliclibrary.org/
Library Blog: http://www.readingincolfax.blogspot.com/
Phone: 715-962-4334

What Is That White Stuff?

I'm sure you are wondering what the heck is that white stuff! Well, when I came to the library today, it looked like it was snowing outside. Really. You didn't dare have your mouth open or you could accidentally swallow the fluffy stuff. I can't remember the name of this tree.

Does anyone know the name of the tree? Guess I'll just have to do a little investigation in the tree identification books (582.16).

Ever since the elementary and high school kids finished their classes, the library is now buzzing with children and parents. Since our library partners with the school district on the Accelerated Reading program, all these kids will be coming to the Colfax Public Library during the summer to check out AR books. The kids will also be taking their quizzes here since they are not allowed to take the quiz on their home computers. It's a win, win situation for the kids and the library.

We are happy to see kids coming into the library all excited about checking out books for their summer enjoyment.

A Beautiful Evening In Little Colfax!

On Thursday May 28, our library hosted Mary Logue, a local Wisconsin author. Mary has not visited our neck-of-the-woods before, so it was nice she could come and experience a real small-town public library.

Since the weather finally cleared off this morning and everything dried out from yesterday's rain, I decided we should have our speaker program outside in the park next to the municipal building. The outdoor setting is perfect for us since our library is very small. We had about 16 people that attended tonight. The temperature is perfect tonight, and it's still too early in the summer for bugs!


The Colfax Book Club helped sponsor the program tonight, which is really nice. In past years I did not have anyone to help me set up for speaker programs so by the end of the night I was always tired and cranky (oops.... yes, librarians do get cranky and sometimes sleepy by the end of the day or night).

Thanks to all the book club members for coming tonight, and a big thank you to the members who baked treats for our program. How special is that?

To read more about Mary Logue go to her webpage and read her bio. If any other public library is interested in booking Mary, her contact information is on her webpage. I can't say enough good things about Mary...she is a delight to meet.

Lisa

Friday's Visitor

You just never know who's going to come and visit at the public library!

This poor little squirrel been crying all morning, so I finally went up the stairs in our building to investigate where the noise was coming from. This is what I discovered! We aren't sure how this little guy got into our building, but now I just have to figure out how to get him back outside to his momma. Oh gosh, the life of a librarian!!!!

Lisa

PS. Update: We love our courier driver (Wayne)! At 12:30 pm Wayne delivered our library boxes and then helped rescue the baby squirrel. The little squirrel jumped on Wayne's leg (I'm not kidding) and Wayne was able to grab him and take him outside. Guess who was waiting outside near the gazebo? Yup, momma squirrel. How awesome is that???????

A Nice Way To Relax

One of the nice advantages of having our library next to the municipal park, is that you can take your book or your lunch outside and sit in the gazebo on a warm summer day. I use the gazebo a lot during the summer when I want to go outside and take a lunch break.

There are also other benches and tables you can sit at, so it's a handy little park that many people utilized here in Colfax.

I invite everyone to come to the Colfax Public Library and see what we have to offer for families and individuals. Why not take advantage our our free services. Getting a library card is very easy, plus there is no fee. Just remember to bring a Wisconsin Driver's license to verify residency for yourself and your children. Any questions, give us a call @ 715-962-4334.

Lisa

It's Kris with a book review.

O.K. Maybe not a book review. The Colfax book club that I belong to is reading " Blood Country" by Mary Logue. Mary is a Wisconsin author. I have not finished the book. That's why I can't review it yet.

Colfax is hosting Mary Logue at the Colfax Public Library on Thursday May 28 2009 at 6.30pm.

I'm excited about meeting her. She will be with us while the book club discusses her book. It will be a treat to ask an author "why?" So many times I want to know why or what was the author thinking when they had the character do what the did. If you live in the area and want to come and check it out. Feel welcomed too. We would love to see you here.

Book Review - The Help

I found The Help on Book Page, a monthly release of book reviews and new books. It was a good thick read, spread with wonderful character sketches and peppered with moral and civil issues.

The story's meat is based on the lives of several African American maids in the 60's. A young budding, white journalist takes on the task of writing the story of the maids. They meet in secret to share their lives as hired help. They feel the real threat of segregation laws and the hands of those who have the power to destroy their lives. Stories sad, sweet and demeaning are shared as Miss Skeeter, the journalist, types away filling page after page with the lives of The Help.

This first novel by Kathryn Stockett was wonderfully descriptive and left me feeling like I had a filling southern meal heaped with bitter truths.

Jenny

How To Build a Rain Garden Library Program

How To Build a Rain Garden

Thursday April 16th @ 6:30 pm

The Colfax Public Library will be hosting a program on "how to build a rain garden" in your own yard. The program host, Susan Frame, a Horticulturalist from CVTC, will be presenting on how to plan and set up a rain garden for homeowners and businesses that want to take advantage of rain run-off. Click HERE to go to the Wisconsin DNR website on Rain Garden projects and further information. The library program is free to the public and no registration is required. For more information about the library program, call the library during open business hours (715-962-4334).

The Colfax Daisy's Service Project

Wow, great job girls! The little Daisy's completed a service project, which consisted of making colorful bookmarks for the library patrons at the Colfax Public Library. The girls also requested that we had out a bookmarks to all the little children that attend our weekly Story Time program.

As you can see by their faces, the girls were very proud of their crafty project.

It's Kris

WOW! It has been a long time since I have updated you all on what I'm reading. I have read tons of books but nothing really jumped out at me that needed to be blogged about.



I did join the Colfax Public Library Book Club. I believe that there are about 12 of us in the club. I have not met them yet. A book was pick by the group before I joined and the book is Rhett Butlers People by Donald McCaig. ( The link will take you to the M.O.R.E. site where you can request the book )

What did I think about the book? Well, at first I thought that it was slow. I never read Gone With the Wind but saw the movie. I kept thinking that this book should be like that book. And it wasn't.
By the 4th chapter I was enjoying the book for the book its self. It was interesting to see how Rhett became the man that he was.

This booked started before the civil war and took us through the war, showing how it affected Rhett and Scarlett and why both made the choices that they made. It made me want to slap Scarlett and kick Rhett in the rear end!

Would I recommend this book? Yes, I would. It was a solid good read.

A Single Thread

It's Jenny again. I recently read A Single Thread by Marie Bostwick and really liked it, so I thought I would give a brief overview of the storyline to maybe spur some interest in this well written and heartwarming tale.

The story is based around two middle aged female characters named Evelyn and Abigail. Evelyn is recently divorced and trying to forge a new life for herself in a quaint New England town. A spark of a dream encourages Evelyn to take a risk and step out into the business of owning a quilting store. A quilter for years herself, Evelyn stitches life not only into her business and community but also a network of friends that help each other through the rough seams of life.

Multi-millionaire Abigail, is thrown for a loop when her niece is sentenced to live with her for a year. Family grudges are exhumed and new bonds are formed through the simple task of living and quilting. Abigail grows, changes and softens to become a seasoned women who not only has good taste and style but has a warm heart as well.

I am not a quilter (yet) but really enjoyed this story and it inspired me to work at putting a little more community into my life and to be thankful for the influence of a good friend.

Traces WWII Traveling Bus Tour

~Coming Soon~

"Held In The Heartland"

Traces WWII Traveling Bus Tour
Monday March 2, 2009
3-6 pm.
@ the Colfax Public Library

During WWII the Midwest was home to approximately 250 prisoner of war camps. Tens of thousands of the 380,000 Germans imprisoned across the U.S. during WWII were held in the Midwest, part of the millions of Axis and Allied prisoners held across the world. These prisoners embody ageless and timely themes of war and peace, justice during times of war, human rights, international reconciliation and potential lessons for avoiding furture conflicts.

"Held In the Heartland" is housed in a bus made into a mobile museum with a 21-seat theather. This bus tour will illustrates the unknown story through narrative texts, artifacts & media.

Any questions call the library @ 715-962-4334, or email: cocirc@ifls.lib.wi.us For more website information click here.

It's Jenny

Hi, this is my first post on our blog. I'm finally getting around to doing a book review. Recently out, The Little Giant of Aberdeen County, is a book that revolves around the female character Truly. Truly is somewhat of an enigma. She has a pituitary gland disorder that causes her to continue to grow. Her growing up years and family life are riddled with difficulties. Truly finds herself connected to the Doctor of the town through circumstances not altogether to her liking. A bit of a treasure hunt ensues as she embarks to discover a secret from the past that she will use to deeply effect her and those around her.

This book is a well written first novel by author Tiffany Baker. I enjoyed the characters as she brought them to life. You almost feel as if you could really see through their eyes. This work of fiction however, raises some ethical questions that are not easily answered. I was disappointed in the way the author handles these issues and would hesitate to read her second novel because of that.

The Little Giant of Aberdeen County has original characters, small town feel, real feelings and some heavy questions. Click here to reserve your copy.

It's Kris

Sorry, I know that it's been a long time for my post about "The Voyage Long and Strange" I did finish it. It was a good book. A "eye opener" if I do say so myself.
I am like most Americans and have only the knowledge about early America that I learned back in grade school. The book taught me a lot! Did you know that Columbus never ever really set foot on American soil? And that before the Puritans came there where explorers that got as far as what we now call Kansas?! They went up the Mississippi and then explored that area. They didn't leave any settlements so that may be why they aren't talked about. Also I had a naive view of the puritans. I know that they came over to have religious freedom. England was Catholic at time and the Puritans did now want to be under Papist rule. That's why they came over. BUT they wanted everybody to be Puritans! The did not want religious freedom for others, just for themselves!

Going Green!

I recently read a book called "Gorgeously Green" by Sophie Uliano. Now by looking at the cover, it should be a dead giveaway that the book was written for the female audience! I thought it was an good book, but let me warn you that she goes real heavy into womanly products meant for the skin, hair, or any personal type products that we females like to buy for ourselves.

Uliano stresses that "going green" doesn't have to mean boring or giving up loved products or items. She stresses that going green isn't a fad, but rather, a way of life we all need to adapt to in order to help ourselves and help the environment.

I especially found the chapter on food (Every Last Bite chapter 6) to be the most useful or interesting to me. Uliano talks about a movement that started in Italy called SLOW:

S - seasonal foods

L - local foods

O - organic foods

W - whole foods

SLOW is a simple reminder to ourselves on how to slow down our thinking about food and what we put into our bodies daily. Each of the subcategories go into detail about how to change our ways and how to shop for food items. After reading her book, I've decided that I will make it a priority to eat fresh organic vegetables whenever possible. Uliano list all the fruits and vegetable to buy or eat organically and which ones not to worry about. It's all about the chemicals, waxes and how many miles fruits and vegetables travel to be placed on the grocery store shelves for customers to purchase. After reading her book, it really changed my thinking about buying food and making wholesome meals. The cosmetic & body products in her book....well, that was a big waste of my time!!!!!!

Even though it's a fluffy womanly book, written for mostly WOMEN, you can get a lot of good information, plus websites to research for further information. Checkout the web link to the bibilography record on MORE if you want to request it.

Lisa

Kris again

I hate to say it but I'm still not done with " A voyage long and strange" I do like the book it's just that other books get in the way! Over the weekend I read and finished " The Heretics daughter" by Kathleen Kent. This was a good book! I would highly recommend it!
The story takes place is the late 1600s during the Salem Witch trials. The story is about Sarah Carrier and it's about her life growing up and the main story line is that her mother was hanged as a witch. (In real life this happened) The author is a decedent of Martha Carrier and spent 5 years researching the trials and such.


I am almost done with "A voyage long and Strange" Maybe by tomorrow I will have it done.

It's me,Kris

Well, I'm not done with "A Voyage Long and Strange" I got sidetracked over the weekend with
the following books.

Because They Hate by Brigitte Gabriel. This was a very good book. An "eye opener" on why we have problems in the middle east. If you want or need more clarification on why there is strife in the middle east, then I would say that you need to read this book.

Outlander by Gil Anderson. I liked this book. It was about a young woman that's a little mental, ends up killing her husband and then is on the run as her two brother in-laws are tracking her down. I would recommend this book.

I will get back to "A Voyage Long and Strange" tonight (I hope!) So far I'm enjoying it. I think that the U.S.A. school system may need to start teaching more about how America was really discovered!

That's all for now.

New Book

Hi to you all.

It's me Kris with another book that I have started. I'm now on chapter 3 of
" A Voyage Long and Strange" by Tony Horwitz. So far I'm enjoying this book. When done I will come back and let you know what I thought about it.

Chill Factor

Hello all out there in blog land.
It's me, Kris again with another book that I have read and that I'm letting you know what I thought about it.

Chill Factor by Sandra Brown.

I have read a lot of her books and most of them I have liked. I found this one to be boring.
It might have been that I found problems with the story line. One of the problems was that
they were stuck in a cabin in a severe winter storm. They were worried that the water pipes were going to freeze so they filled up all the containers that they had with water, and yep, the pipes froze, they had no running water but they were able to flush the toilet for 3 days?! How's that possible? Also when they talked about how cold it was? It was -2 with the wind chill. That's not that cold! Unless you're from the south.

Have you read it? Do you like Sandra Brown? Any books out there that you think I should read?
Let me know and I will read it.

The Story of Edgar Sawtelle

Well, I finished the book. I would love to give this book a huge recommendation but I can't!
It read smoothly, but it left me with so many questions!

There were several plots, I thought, that never got ended. Why did Claude hate his brother? Why in the very beginning did he buy poison? What was it about him that made him this way?
Why did the family breed the dogs the way they did? Why did Essay, the dog go? Where did she go? Why did it end the way it did?

So, it was not a bad book, but I was glad that the book ended and I done with it.

What did you think about the book?

Ask Us About Our Library Card Holders...They Are Free!

Happy New Year's everyone. I wanted to let all of our library customers know that we appreciate all the reading you are all doing...wow. We are really happy that we can provide library materials for you in a timely manner, and it's all free! Why buy a book when you can check-it out at your local library, right?

We have a special freebie for our library customers. Recently we purchased these handy little plastic library hard holders. If you'd like one, just stop by the library and ask for one. Quanties are limited so ask quickly.

Let us know what you are reading or maybe a good movie that you just saw. We love to hear from our library customers. Enjoy

Lisa