Drake Public Library

Seeking Excellence

Archives for December 2015

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Resolve to read!

It is the last week of the year!

The house is a mess, Christmas presents sit opened but not put away. Christmas candies and fudge have lost their appeal. Nobody knows what day of the week it is or if they should go to work or hibernate.

Now is the time to:

Make some resolutions for the upcoming year. Here are mine:

  1. Read more books
  2. Stop checking my phone and wasting time on social media networks.

 

 

Clean out bookcases and donate books and DVDs to your library.

Join Friends of the Drake Public library. Or renew your membership.

Addicted to Reading

Name Tag

Make a reading goal. How many books will you read this year?

Remember if you received a Kindle, Ipad, or tablet for Christmas, you can download ebooks for FREE from your local library. Stop in and ask us for details!

 

Happy New Year!

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2015– Oh what a year!

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December is coming to a close, now is the time to reflect on the past year at the Drake Public Library. Here are some highlights of our year.

Scholastic book fair in March had profits of $1,717.41. Library received many books with the Scholastic dollars that were raised.

Friends of Drake Public library held a penny drive with the hopes of collecting fifty pounds of pennies. They netted over two hundred pounds of pennies! That is no small feat!

The Summer Reading program was a success. Over 300 local kids registered and counted reading hours. Yard signs purchased by Friends of the Drake Library dotted the landscape all over town. The theme for the annual event was “Every Hero has a story”. The library hosted a Veteran’s Appreciation program. Participants also had a visit from the Science Center of Iowa, Blank Park Zoo, and took a field trip to the Appanoose County Historical museum. A finale program wrapped things up with an outdoor evening movie and a Make your own Minion treat bar.

Circulation of library materials from December 1, 2014 to December 1, 2015 totaled 89,359.

The Kiss a Goat contest raised $438.77 for the library. Contestants Pete Lind, Mark Waits, and Jan Spurgeon were edged out by write in candidate Greger Barth. He puckered up and kissed George the Goat on September 11, 2015.

 Friends also held a raffle and a Christmas boutique.

Two new book clubs were started by staff member Crys McKissick. Genre Shifters Book Club for adults and D3 for avid young readers.

As always the library offered free wireless internet, copy services, public access computers, e-books, faxing, DVD rental, audiobooks, large print rental,  test proctoring, meeting room availability and the book nook.

Thank you for all the Christmas candy plates, sugar cookies, chips, fudge, homemade bread and other goodies! The library staff is overwhelmed by our patrons’ generosity.

2016 will be a great year!

Bulldog and girl.

Bruno the bulldog visits a young fan.

 

 

 

 

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Raffle winners prize list

 

 

 

 

Friends’ Fall Raffle Winners

Cindy from Pizza Hut presents Jane with the buffet gift certificate.

Cindy from Pizza Hut presents Jane with the buffet gift certificate.

Virginia and Colene hold the picture donated by Nancy for the raffle.

Virginia and Colene hold the picture donated by Nancy for the raffle.

Lora and Mary draw names for the scarves donated by Mary.

Lora and Mary draw names for the scarves donated by Mary.

Jane, Lora, and Colene. Jane won the Walmart $100.00 gift card.

Jane, Lora, and Colene. Jane won the Walmart $100.00 gift card.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lora and Wendy draw for the winner of the bag donated by Wendy.

Lora and Wendy draw for the winner of the bag donated by Wendy.

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Meet a staff member

Crys McKissick, Drake Library Staff member

Crys McKissick, Drake Library Staff member

Name: Crys
How long have you worked here?
2.5 years
Where did you grow up?
Pensacola FL and Nashville, TN
What is your favorite part of your job?
I love most aspects of my job but helping a reluctant reader find that one book that acts as a spark to ignite a passion for reading is my life’s goal. Also helping girls discover that dragons are awesome and Sci-Fi/Fantasy is not just for the boys. 
What hobbies and past times do you enjoy outside of work?
I’m a homeschooling mama to two sweet girls. We love learning, exploring the world around us and arts and crafts. Outside of that I love to sew and quilt, spend time with my friends and cook. I routinely sacrifice at least a night of sleep a week to read “just one more chapter” and of course end up with the book finished at 3am. Good thing I’m addicted to coffee!
Favorite movie or television show?
I rarely watch anything but I have been enjoying the occasional episode of Merlin on Netflix.
Favorite book, author, or genre??
This list is long and random! I guess I’m what you would call an eclectic reader. My primary genre is Fantasy with a dash of Sci Fi but I also love Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights, Rebecca…. Gothic Romances. I enjoy classics. I read A LOT of Juvenile Fiction and absolutely adore anything related to the Arthurian Legend. Right now I’m also reading quite a bit on education styles, particularly Classical methods. 
Anything else you would like to share?
I collect tea cups and tea pots. I have a pet parrot named Sami. I recently started taking tap dancing lessons which has always been a dream of mine. I believe in the power of red lipstick, dark chocolate and coffee. If you want to live a good life follow the wisdom of Yoda, Mr. Miyagi, Professor Dumbledore and Jesus. I’m also very random.

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Book review and new titles at the Drake Library

X by Sue Grafton

Sue Grafton’s alphabet mysteries hold a special place in my heart as I started reading them during my sophomore year of high school at the suggestion of my English teacher. I eagerly await each new letter and must confess that X did not disappoint. For a series of books first started in 1982, Grafton has done an impressive job writing a smart and well thought out mystery time and time again, especially when you consider that lesser authors would have veered off into the sloppy, lazy or ridiculous long before book 24. This is frequently the plight of long running mystery series in my opinion.

While I enjoy the wit and personality of the protagonist Kinsey Millhone I do feel like she could deepen her and perhaps give her a little more of a social life to round out her character some but that’s a personal opinion and I suspect that Mrs. Grafton would like to keep the focus on the mystery she’s put so much thought into crafting. Maybe I’m just a romantic at heart and hope she finds love…or a pet dragon. Either would be awesome actually. Although I will say that in X I felt that the story got just a little bit too complex and the numerous plot lines she was weaving may not have come together as seamlessly as she’d hoped. However Grafton took some risks and stepped out a bit from her normal format so I do appreciate that. All and all I found it to be an excellent book and long time readers of the series won’t be disappointed. It would actually be a great jumping in point for new readers as well since you really don’t have to go in order to keep up with this series.

Happy Reading,
Crys

New titles:
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Bazaar of Bad Dreams by Stephen King
Murder on St. Nicholas Avenue by Victoria Thompson
Guilty by David Baldacci
All Dressed in White by Mary Higgins Clark
Tricky 22 by Janet Evanovich
Year of Yes by Shonda Rhimes
Avenue of Mysteries by John Irving

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Meet a Board member!

Library Board member Larry Heikes

Library Board member Larry Heikes

 

 

Board member questionnaire

 

Name: Larry Heikes      

 

 

How long have you served on Drake Library Board of Trustees: Since May 2013

 

 

Any other volunteer or civic groups that you belong to: Foster Care Review Board

 

 

How long have you lived in Centerville: Since 1982 when our family moved from Iowa City.

 

 

Why are libraries important to you? For me they are like a bookstore where everything is free. In libraries everyone is equal.—libraries are free for all and offer many services besides books.

 

 

Favorite book, author, or type of reading material? I read a variety of genres except romance and westerns. I especially like historical novels, biographies and crime fiction. Here are some books I really like that may not be on every “Best Books” list:

“The Sparrow” and “Children of God” by Mary Doria Russell

“Angle of Repose” by Wallace Stegner

“The Brothers Karamazov” by Dostoyevsky

“The Sheltering Sky” by Paul Bowles

“Germinal” by Emile Zola

“A Fine Balance” by Rohinton Mistry

And a biography:

“American Prometheus : The triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer” by Kai Bird