Drake Public Library

Seeking Excellence

Archives for June 2016

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Arcadia, by Iain Pears

I stepped way out of my comfort zone last time I checked books out.  I picked up “Arcadia” by Iain Pears.  It was innocently lying on the table near the front doors.  It beckoned to me.

This books took some diligence and perseverance, on my part, to get into.  I admit that I was confused and I did some paging back and forth the first couple of sittings.  I seriously thought of putting it aside permanently.  Then, I was in!

Interestingly, that is essentially what the story is about…  There are three unique worlds, realities, times, that a very few characters overlap.  Actions in one, don’t seem to directly affect another.  It’s a hard book to explain.

There is an elderly professor/storyteller and a young, somewhat bored girl who visits the professor and takes care of his cat.  There is a group of scientists who are working on a machine to explore alternate universes.  There is also a group of people living simply off the land.  These three groups are in different “realities”, or are they even real?

This is definitely not a book for everyone.  It took intentional reading and there are times that I appreciate this.  If you are in a rut, tired of fluffy romance, cringing at the gory murder mystery or find yourself zipping through books and getting little satisfaction, check this one out!

 

Deb Egeland

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DVD’s at the Library?

Did you know that you can borrow movies and tv shows on DVD from the library?  We have a wide variety of choices that are rated PG and up on the main floor and G rated in the children’s department.  This month, I was able to add a couple of new titles for each collection.

For the kids, we have a Mo Willems favorite, “The Duckling Gets a Cookie!?”.  In this adorable story, based on Mo’s popular book, duckling does get a cookie but Pigeon isn’t very happy about it.  The beloved Pigeon returns for this hilarious adventure that will keep kids giggling…and minding their manners!

Something new that has come to our collection is “Sofia the First, The Secret Library”.  When Sofia discovers a wondrous hidden library of unfinished books, she learns it is her destiny as “Story Keeper” to make the tales come out right.  This sweet story proves that when you believe in yourself, you can create your own happy ending!

For the adults, we have a mesmerizing and funny performance from Sally Field.  “Hello, My Name is Doris” is the story of a woman who is just not ready to act her age.  This is a witty and compassionate late-life coming of age story that will make you cheer and want to say, “I’m possible!”

And finally, who doesn’t love the Coen Brothers?!  “Hail, Caesar!”  is an all-star comedy set during the latter years of Hollywood’s Golden Age.  (Including George Clooney, Channing Tatum, Scarlett Johansson, Frances McDormand and many more famous faces!)  It follows a single day in the life of a studio “fixer” who is presented with plenty of problems to fix.

If you are looking for something fun to watch while you beat the heat, take a look at our DVD collection and see if there is something there for you.  These DVD’s can be borrowed for up to 2 weeks and are another wonderful, free service that we offer here at your Drake Public Library.

Enjoy!

JeNel

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Volunteer at Drake Public Library

If you are looking for an opportunity to volunteer at the library, there are a few options available.  Did you know that we have a very dear patron who delivers materials to and from the nursing homes?  She will be retiring this month but we will make sure that our beloved patrons get their reading materials and dvd’s.  If you would like to help us, I promise that it is very rewarding.

Perhaps you would like to help out during our summer reading program or storytimes.  Kristin is always grateful for helpers who are willing to cut out shapes, pass out materials or help with clean up.  Maybe you’d like to volunteer as a special guest at one of our storytimes.  Let us know!

We also have a group of patrons who come in periodically to wipe down the books and dvd cases in the children’s area.  As you can imagine, our littlest patrons can sometimes leave things a little sticky, even under their parents’ watchful eye.  This is a wonderful service to us as we sometimes don’t have a chance to work on such a large project.  This can be done at any time that we are open and we provide the materials needed to keep our books and dvd cases in tip top condition.

We appreciate our volunteers so much!  They help us be the best library possible for our community.  As our friend, Aesop says, “No act of kindness, no matter how small, is never wasted.”