I know we often use this space to tell everyone what is happening with the library. We have a lot to tell you. Something is always happening.
Tomorrow, our After School Learning Club (ASLC) begins for all school age kids, and it will run 4-6 pm, Monday through Thursday. Our children’s story times are in full swing, and this month we are having a special Doctor Who party, on Saturday, September 19th at 10 am, to celebrate the return of Doctor Who on BBC America. And this party is going to be great. We have Doctor Who crafts you can make, like your very own tiny TARDIS. There’ll be Doctor Who snacks, Doctor Who costumes (wear yours!), episodes to watch, and discussions about your favorite characters.
I’m still working with young adults, and we want all of them to visit us on their special After School day on Thursdays. We’ve even gotten a new PS4, to make even more multi-player games available. We’re also starting a Girl Scout troop (register at www.kansasgirlscouts.org) and are looking forward to bringing guests into our after school club.
Something is always happening with the kids and the young adults. We have lapsit for 0-18 months, and we have game days for teens. There is one thing that sometimes flies under the radar, though. Our adult programs. Yes, programming isn’t just story times, and hands-on learning for school-age kids. We have learning, enrichment and relaxation opportunities for adults.
Our most popular adult program is Recipe Swap (last Monday of every month, 6:30 pm). I know what you’re thinking–it sounds like something your grandmother would do. But the secret part of recipe swap is that we all bring a sample of that recipe for everyone to taste. It ends up being a tiny buffet table every weeks. I’m sure you can see why a lot of people come. Last month’s theme was ice cream, and September’s is crock pot foods. We’re a fun, easy-going bunch.
The Library and Lunch book club meets the second Tuesday of every month at noon, and is an opportunity to discuss a new book, and relax with fellow readers. We also have a non-fiction book club on the last Tuesday of every month (6:30 pm), for people who like factual books with strong narratives by intelligent and thoughtful writers.
Rounding out the group is our Third Tuesday Adult Crafts evening (6:30 pm). It’s an opportunity to learn how to make something new, and be creative in a relaxing and friendly environment. If you talk to kids all day, enjoy some time talking to us grownups. If you talk to grownups all day, enjoy a conversation with some new friends while we release stress and learn some new skills. I like to think we are a calming, happy bunch. Join us and let us know for sure!
Like I said, we talk so much about what’s going on at the library, which we like. And we are very good at. But we’d also like to hear from you! What else do you think we should do? We’ve had ideas for Doctor Who and Anime clubs, coloring nights for adults, dedicated video console and computer game play, crocheting, lectures with experts and community members with stories to share, writing groups, and daytime adult programs for parents and others who have time in the mornings.
What should we do? Do you have more ideas? Have questions about the programs we already have, for any age group? Do you want to help? Come visit us at the library, and let us know! Or email tammyg@lmlibrary.org and shoot us some ideas!
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to see the world through the eyes of your pets? Here are a few of the books the library has to offer that are told from the point of view of cats or dogs.
 Dog on it
by Spencer Quinn
Dog on it is the first of the Chet and Bernie mystery series. Chet, the canine narrator, lives and works with Bernie Little, a struggling private investigator. Together they make up the Little Detective Agency.
From the Book Description
Bernie is relieved when the missing teenage girl he’s searching for turns up unharmed. But after she quickly disappears again, Bernie and Chet resume their investigation. Since there’s no ransom demand, kidnapping seems like a questionable motive. Yet the girl had recently gotten involved with some nefarious types and as Bernie and Chet make their way through biker bars and other colorful destinations, they smell something foul.
Told from Chet’s unique perspective, Dog on It is a humorous whodunit perfectly seasoned with a loveable dog’s view of everything.
There are currently eight books in this mystery series, the newest being Scents and sensibility which was released last month.
 Cat bearing gifts
by Shirley Rousseau Murphy.
This series is a little different than the previous one. Joe Grey, a tomcat, and a few of his feline friends actually have the ability to speak. Only a select few humans know their secret.
From the Book Description
On the way home from visiting their friend Kate Osborne, tortoiseshell Kit and her elderly housemates, Lucinda and Pedric Greenlaw, are hurt in a terrible car crash. The accident is terrifying enough, but then two dangerous men steal the Greenlaws’ Town Car, making off with a secret hoard of jewels and gold—a gift bestowed from Kate’s newfound treasure. A badly shaken Kit hides from hungry coyotes in the forested hills above the highway, waiting for Joe, Pan, and their human companions, Ryan and Clyde Damen, to rescue her.
Cat bearing gifts is the newest in the Joe Grey Mystery Series. This fantasy mystery series began twenty years ago and is now eighteen books strong.
 Promise of the wolves
by Dorothy Hearst.
Prehistoric wolves were the ancestors of our canine companions. This story, set 14,000 years ago, is told from the wolves’ viewpoint.
From the Book Description
What is the promise of the wolf? Never consort with humans. Never kill a human unprovoked. Never allow a mixed-blood wolf to live.
At least that’s what the wolves of the Wide Valley believe. Until a young wolf dares to break the rules—and forever alters the relationship between wolves and the humans who share their world.
This is the story of such a wolf. Born of a forbidden mixed-blood litter and an outcast after her mother is banished, Kaala is determined to earn a place in the Swift River pack. But her world is turned upside down when she saves a human girl from drowning.
 Mort(e)
by Robert Repino.
Rebert Repino puts a modern postapocalyptic slant on our theme of stories told by cats and dogs.
From the Book Description
The “war with no name” has begun; its goal, human extinction. The instigator of this war is the Colony, a race of intelligent ants who, for thousands of years, have been silently building an army that will forever eradicate the destructive, oppressive humans….The final step in the Colony’s war effort is the transformation of surface animals into high-functioning two-legged beings who will rise up and kill their masters.
Former house cat turned war hero Mort(e) is famous for taking on the most dangerous missions and fighting the dreaded human bioweapon EMSAH. But the true motivation behind Mort(e)’s recklessness is his ongoing search for a pre-transformation friend–a dog named Sheba. When he receives a mysterious message from the dwindling human resistance claiming Sheba is alive, he begins a journey that will take him from the remaining human strongholds to the heart of the Colony, where he will discover the source of EMSAH and learn the ultimate fate of all earth’s creatures.
 Love saves the day
by Gwen Cooper.
Poignant and heartwarming, this last book is a definite change of pace from the previous book.
From the Book Description
When five-week-old Prudence meets a woman named Sarah in a deserted construction site on Manhattan’s Lower East Side, she knows she’s found the human she was meant to adopt. For three years their lives are filled with laughter, tuna, catnaps, music, and the unchanging routines Prudence craves. Then one day Sarah doesn’t come home. From Prudence’s perch on the windowsill she sees Laura, the daughter who hardly ever comes to visit Sarah, arrive with her new husband. They’re carrying boxes. Before they even get to the front door, Prudence realizes that her life has changed forever.
Visit us at the library and see the full display of books from the Feline and Canine perspective that the library has to offer.
 This week is a little bittersweet at the library. As kids go back to school, a calm now settles over the library during the day. We will of course miss the kids, but we are also excited to get extra time during the day to plan new activities, programs, and get the library back together after a busy summer.
We learned quite a bit over the summer about what activities get the kids and adults excited about the library and those activities that just fell flat. With that knowledge in hand we have some good ideas on how to enhance current programming offered to children and young adults and what new programming will hopefully hit the mark. We are excited to get these rolled out during these first few weeks of the school year.
Starting August 31st at the Library is our Afterschool Program from 4pm-6pm, Monday through Thursday. Last year when we did the Afterschool Program we had different activities for each day. We will continue with this idea, but will broaden our scope to include more activities and crafts and to also include things for the kids to do that are independent of that day’s plan. Hopefully this will allow us to provide something that will be exciting for every kid that walks through our door. Different this year than last is that we will switch from calling it the Afterschool Program and start calling it the Afterschool Club. (Yes. The first thing we need to do in Afterschool Club is come up with a new name.) We are going to a sign up process for the club that will allow kids to gain points from Club related activities. Kids who join the club (which is free) will also get points for reading, community activities, and other library related programs. At the end of each month, the kids who have gained a certain amount of points will get to partake in a special party just for them. We are making the list of ways to get points pretty extensive, so my hope is that all kids will find they qualify for the party. If you know of any kids that want to join: call, email, or stop by the library for more information.
Now for you adults that may start to feel left out at this point, don’t worry. We have something for you as well. During the Adult Summer Reading Program we tried out a variety of activities to see which ones would get the most traction with our adult patrons. Sadly, trivia wasn’t a favorite. But we did learn that adults appreciate the opportunity to interact with area professionals about topics that relate to health and wellness. With that in mind we will be rolling out in September a once a month program where we will touch upon a topic related to health and wellness.
 Another thing that we learned about our adult users this summer is their interest in local history. With that in mind we will also focus on making those materials easier to find for our patrons and work on bringing in local and area speakers to talk about historical topics relating to Liberal, Seward County, and Southwest Kansas. Recently we were contacted by author Stew Magnuson who wrote the book “The Last American Highway: A Journey through time down U.S. Route 83: Nebraska Kansas Oklahoma.” He will be at the library on Wednesday, September 23rd at 6:30 pm for an hour long program that uncovers stories found along the road that bisects the United States from North to South.
These are just a few of the things we have on the agenda for the library this fall.
See you at your library.
 Harper Lee only published one book in her lifetime, the well-known and well-loved To Kill a Mockingbird. It was a story rooted deeply in the attitudes of the 1930s south, taking on racism, classism, how people who are good at heart can do bad things, and how frightening outsiders can do good, even when they have no reason to.
There are dozens of other themes and nuances in the book. That is why it is often taught in high schools and colleges around the country, and used in book clubs and One Book, One Community programs over and over.
Even after the success of her book, Ms. Lee shunned the spotlight, even as her life-long friend Truman Capote (In Cold Blood, Breakfast at Tiffany’s) seemed to crave it, spending his time living fast and large in the literary circles of his age. After the publication of her only novel, Harper Lee assured the world over and over that this was the only book she had within her, and that nothing else would be forthcoming.
Ms. Lee is in her 90s now. It’s said that she is hard of hearing and sight and the sharp wit that kept even the likes of Truman Capote on his toes is long gone. That is no sin; time and age come for us all. For many years, her sister had been her lawyer and executor of her estate. Her sister protected her interests, including her feelings and preferences toward her written works. Then her lawyer, confidant and protector passed away, leading to some interesting developments.
 Rather suddenly, a “new” book by Harper Lee was announced. Technically, it was a lost manuscript written by Ms. Lee in the 1950s. Publishers and agents declared that Ms. Lee was delighted to see the release of Go Set a Watchman, which was being billed as a sequel to the classic To Kill a Mockingbird. And it does very much sound like a sequel. Scout, the child protagonist in To Kill a Mockingbird late from New York, returns to her hometown of Maycomb, Alabama and reconnects with lost friends and family, and attempts to reconcile the racism in her family and community.
The book, however, was written before To Kill a Mockingbird. In fact, Harper Lee worked with publishers on repeated drafts, trying to craft the disconnected look at racism and small town life into a solid narrative. Then, at some point, Go Set a Watchman evolved into the story of Scout as a young girl, living with her single father, a lawyer with a kind heart for his poor and disenfranchised neighbors.
This version of Scout’s story was published to great fanfair. It became the beloved classic that we all know the name of, and can readily recall the orchid color cover with just the slightest memory jog.
So why Go Set a Watchman?
Is Harper Lee really excited about the release of this long-lost manuscript? Is she being taken advantage of in her old age? We may never know.
But it isn’t fair to judge a book by its cover, and it may not be fair to judge a book by its provenance. My suggestion is that we all give it a read, and make up our own minds. Was this book publishable in the 1950s? Did it miss its market then, only to find it now, in a future wildly different than that of seventy years ago?
Now comes the part where I suggest you give it a read. Check it out of the library, then tell us what you think. Even as One Book, One Community is meant to stir up discussion in the community, I think Go Set a Watchman can do just the same for us. Not only about the content of the book itself, but the surrounding mythos and scandal surrounding the book’s publication.
Go Set a Watchman is available at Liberal Memorial Library now. Please check it out, and tell us how you feel!
I love libraries. Considering that I am the Library Director here in town this is a good thing. I had the pleasure a few years ago to give a presentation to graduate students in library school about why I thought libraries are important to society. Instead of going over all the research and professional writing done on the topic, I made my discussion a personal one.
I remember quite well my days as a young boy visiting the library during the summers. I grew up in the town of Springfield, Missouri and we had a main branch and a half dozen smaller branches throughout the city. I had the pleasure of using the Main Branch. In my presentation to the library school students I started off with a picture of the front steps of that library. The next slide was of the first house I remember living in. The next slide was of the library. The next slide was of the second house I remember living in. About 10 slides later and you see the 12 houses where my family lived as I was growing up. In between each of those pictures was a picture of that Main Branch. To say that the library was a stabilizing force throughout the constant moving during my youth is an understatement.
I remember quite well the librarian I met after school each day and during the summers. I feel bad that I never asked her name and only ever referred to her as “Ms. Librarian”. Given that I was part of a rather large family in the area known as The Rideeouttes, it was to be expected that I was a little hellion, and I lived up to those expectations. It was not uncommon for an authority figure to say “Are you one of those Rideeoutte kids?” Given my predilection for loud talking, running, and constantly making noise, I was usually not in the library for very long before I was asked by Ms. Librarian to leave the building. (By the way, if you don’t want kids to play swords with newspaper holders, you shouldn’t make them look like a sword.) She would always pull me aside as I left the building and said “I hope to see you tomorrow when you can behave.” This really never did happen, well the behaving part didn’t. I did go back every day, but somewhere along the way I developed a love for learning and reading. Once I figured out how to use a card catalog system I was in a world of my own. For those of you too young to know what I mean by a card catalog system, picture the Internet written on 3 by 5 cards and stuffed into a wooden box.
Ms. Librarian is the librarian that has most influenced my professional career as a librarian. I strive to have her patience, but more importantly her never give up on any kid attitude. I am sure her life would had been easier if she had just told me to never come back, but she didn’t.
If your child has come into the library, there is a good chance they know me as that old guy who constantly says things like “Hey Kid! Read a book!” “You know what fun is? Reading.” Or for those kids who have been on the computer too long: “When is the last time you read a book?”
The best way to get a kid to read a book is to talk to them about what sparks their interest and how they feel about the other books they have read. At the beginning of this summer I met a young lady named Bernice. Bernice visits the library pretty much every day. When I first met Bernice I asked her my typical question “When is the last time you read a book?” Her response was “I hate books.” As you could imagine, those words are like daggers to a librarian. Over the next couple of weeks I made sure to talk to Bernice every time I saw her in the library. Part of getting a kid to read is first being able to talk to them on their level. Once a child understands that you are listening, they will want to talk to you. Which is much better than the typical “Why is this adult talking to me” look kids give most adults.
One day after a healthy eating event we had at the library this summer, I sat there at my desk with about two dozen oranges leftover from the program. At that moment, I had the epiphany to give every kid who checks out a book and reads a chapter an orange. Specifically those kids we get to know over the summer. After talking over my plan with the kids, the children’s library area was buzzing with activity as kids checked out books and tried to read a chapter as fast as possible. All for an orange. I even managed to talk Bernice into checking out a book. I will always remember the title “Baby Mouse”. By the way this is a great book for kids who say they hate reading. Baby Mouse is such an endearing character and gets into the funniest of dilemmas. After I had passed out all my oranges, I looked over and Bernice was way past reading that first chapter. What a sight to see! A kid reading in the library.
A few weeks later, I saw Bernice signing up to use a library computer. I made a point to ask her “Well. What do you think of reading now?”
“Books are okay I guess.”
I have to say that this is the best thing I heard all summer.
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