Drake Public Library

Seeking Excellence

Archives for June 2015

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A page out of our busy summer play book

The library is bustling! Kids are in every day turning in time logs, collecting prizes, and checking out more books. As of 6/23/15 we have 321 kids signed up for the program. 55 kids have turned in their time logs. This means that each of them have read 10 hours.

The Friends of the Drake Library sponsor the entire program. They have purchased all the t-shirts, yard signs, and most of the prizes. Several businesses have donated to the prizes as well.

 

Summer Reader

Summer Reader

The Blank Park Zoo program was well attended with roughly 50 kids at each program.  In July the library will host a Veteran’s Program to thank our heroes for their sacrifices for freedom. The Science Center of Iowa will be here for a big program on Thursday July 23, 2015 at 11 am about super hero science.

A lego event and an American Girl Tea Party are also planned for July! JeNel Allen Barth, youth librarian, works hard to plan fun events.

The Finale Event will be a movie night at the library on Saturday August 1, 2015. We will show a movie behind the library, projected on the wall of the KFC. We will also show a different movie upstairs in the meeting room. We plan on having popcorn, hot dogs, drinks, and a make your own minion bar.

It is not too late to sign up! Stop by and visit the children’s section of the Drake Library and remember—“Every Hero has a story!”

Summer Reader

Another reader

Summer program activity

Kids working on an activity.

 

 

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Tsundoku

 

Addicted to Reading

Name Tag

 

 

Have you ever tried to weed your own personal library? Have you succeeded? I was helping a patron and she rewarded me with a fresh peach. She said it was her new life philosophy—If I can’t eat it or wear it, I don’t want it.

I started thinking about that statement. I decided that I should probably get rid of some of my clutter. I tend to “collect” things. Three or more of the same items is a collection. I have collected many things in my life. I used to collect angel figurines, then it was cat statues, now I collect bulldog and pug items and Pyrex dishes.

My largest collection of things by far would be my books.  The thought of getting rid of even one book terrifies me! I choke up and can’t even bring myself to look at my books.

I mostly buy my books used. I like to go to yard sales and find them. Most of my books have the memory of the yard sale attached to them. Oh that was the day I traveled to Ottumwa to go to sales with my cousin and we bought a giant box of donuts and ate them all. I picked up those three cookbooks that day at the yard sale with the two yappy poodles in the garage.

I always think I am going to pass these books down to my future grandkids. That is why I had a child I believe. I wanted someone to appreciate my bookcases as much as I do! I love my daughter as a good parent should. However she doesn’t delight in yard sales or books as much as I do. So I suppose I should have had two children. I may have lucked out on that second one.

When I do manage to part with books, I bring them to the Drake Library and put them in the book nook. The book nook is a treasure trove of donated books. We sell the books for ten cents each or a dollar a bag. I know the books go to a good home this way.

So if you ever decide to part with some of your books—horrifying thought—I know! Be sure to donate them to the Drake Library. We are all book lovers here and we understand how hard it is to part with your precious!

Legos that spell out READ

Carson D. made this. Pretty cool!

 

Tsundoku–Japanese word for book hoarder

 

 

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Summer Oasis

Summer is here. As I write this, the temperatures are in the 90’s and the humidity is about 100 percent. May was a blur and now the lazy sweltering days of June and July are before us.

I am sure summertime means different things to people. Vacations, golf, baseball, county fairs, and swimming are just some of the activities enjoyed in the heat. Growing up I never participated in sports, the bugs loved to nibble me, and the sun made my skin blister, so I filled my hours with books.

Browsing the aisles of the Drake Library was a joy! Where else could one spend hours on end and be left alone? No nosy store clerks asking if assistance was needed. No parents or teachers checking to make sure the books were age appropriate. I devoured the V.C. Andrews’ books, worked my way through Stephen King, dabbled in true crime, and read whatever I wanted.  I learned all about the seedy dark side of life! It was fabulous.

I logged hundreds of summer hours with my teenage nose buried in a book, eating sunflower seeds and sucking down generic Mountain Dew. I was never bored! My mom knew better than to recommend that I spend some time with friends outside of the house.

I miss those days–especially when I wake up with a start, fumbling to take the book off my face after I have dozed off after five minutes of reading. Being a grown up is hard and tedious! So try to carve out some time this summer and dig into a trashy read. Preferably one that would scandalize an upstanding adult.

 

Three books

Three summer books.

 

 

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June is Jumping!

Yard signs purchased for the first 100 families to register for Summer Reading Program. Paid for by Friends of the Drake Library

Yard signs purchased for the first 100 families to register for Summer Reading Program. Paid for by Friends of the Drake Library

 

We have a lot going on at the Drake Library right now! Summer Reading Program is going strong. At last count we have 201 kids signed up. Registration is ongoing and free, so come on in and get signed up! The program is for kids ages 0-15.  They track their hours of reading and receive a prize for every hour spent reading.

Monday June 8th is our Superhero story time. We will be doing super hero stuff with capes, arm cuffs, super hero names and other fun events. It starts at 2:00 p.m and runs about an hour.

Friday June 12th is our free Family Movie night. Despicable Me will be on the big screen. Free popcorn and water will be provided. Movie starts at 6:30 p.m. in the meeting room on the top floor of the library.

All of our Summer Reading Program events are paid for and sponsored by Friends of the Drake Library. Friends are a dedicated group of people that believe in the importance of the library and the need for quality summer edu-tainment for area kids.

Bake Sale for Books will be Friday June 19th at the Wal-Mart in Centerville, Iowa. Friends are asking for donation of baked goods to be dropped off the day before (Thursday June 18, 2015) at the Drake Library during the normal operating hours of 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.

The actual bake sale will start Friday morning at Wal-Mart at 9:00 a.m. All proceeds benefit the library 100 percent.

Also stop by and put some “Drake” dollars on the tree to help grow money for new books at the library. Who says money can’t buy happiness?

 

Money Tree

Drake Dollars on the Money Tree