The Book Worm. Friends of the New Ulm Public Library. Please Pay Your Dues. The Friends of the New Ulm Public Library Annual Book Sale

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1 The Book Worm Friends of the New Ulm Public Library Volume 7, Issue 2 Fall 2014 The Friends of the New Ulm Public Library Annual Book Sale Thursday, November 6, 5:30 PM - 7:30 PM (Member-only Sale) Friday, November 7, 9:30 AM - 4:30 PM Saturday, November 8, 9:30 AM - 1:00 PM Members of the Friends are invited to come on Thursday evening from 5:30-7:30 PM for the early opening. Help is needed and would be appreciated to make this sale successful. Books may be donated and brought to the Library at any time. Categories will be: fiction, nonfiction, cookbooks, large print, children s, CD s, tapes, and DVD s. Please do NOT donate magazines, Reader s Digest condensed, or old textbooks. On Saturday, November 1 from 9:30 AM to Noon we will be setting up the meeting room in the basement of the Library. On Monday, November 3 beginning at 9:30 AM we will be putting all the books on display. Please come to help at any time that day. If we do not finish we will also work on Tuesday, November 4 beginning at 9:30 AM until we are done. All proceeds from this sale benefit your public library, its materials and programs. If you can help at any time during the sale or the set-up please call one of the Book Sale Co-Chairs, Marlene Ingebritson, or Diane Zellmann, Before & After Left - A shot of the some of the boxes of donated books in the basement of the Library waiting to be sorted. Right - Last year s book sale. Please Pay Your Dues The Friends of the Library group continues to distribute funds to the library and those funds, come primarily from two sources. One, of course, is our annual fall book sale. The other is from our dues that you pay annually. In the first year of the Friends we set the dues at a low level to enable most everyone to join the FOL, and we have kept them low. It's still only $10 for an individual and $20 for a family. You can also have a lifetime membership at $100 per individual, and a few people give us an extra donation from time to time. We really want to continue to see your names on the leaves of the tree quilt that hangs in the library. Inside this issue: New Director Kris Wiley * Barnes & Noble Bookfair * Summer Reading Program Recap * Donations & More!

2 Here at the Library, we continue to look for ways to improve our facility and services, and we have a number of changes to highlight. New Web site The library s Web site, has a whole new look. The library has hosted the Web site on its own server since its inception. Not only is that technology dated, so is the software we use to design the site. Rather than use technology funds and staff time to upgrade and maintain the system, we have turned to the City of New Ulm, which has folded the library into its Web-based Web site. Most of the information has been migrated from the old site to the new, although you will see a few changes. Thanks to Executive Secretary Lisa Pelzel for setting up the new pages and training library staff. New furniture The library had not purchased new furniture for the public for nearly a decade, and it was time to replace some pieces that were breaking down. Thanks to an allocation of funds from the Library Board and City Council, we purchased several pieces that give a new look to the small gathering area on the second floor facing the parking lot. A piece of new carpet was laid, and new chairs and tables have been added. We have the flexibility to move the chairs for various programs, and the public has another area at which to read or study. New newsletter Wowbrary is a service that offers patrons weekly alerts showing you the newest books, DVDs, CDs, and audiobooks that your library purchases each week. We hope you'll enjoy hearing about the many exciting bestsellers, movies, music, and recorded books almost the very moment they arrive at the library. Whenever you spot something of interest, you'll be able to click instantly and reserve it for checkout. Staff recommendations and programming updates are included. Go to to register. New database New Ulm Public Library now offers Ancestry Library Edition for in-library use only. Patrons may use the library's computers or their personal laptops, smartphones, or tablets to access the popular genealogy database. Introduction to Ancestry Library Edition classes are offered monthly by library staff; call us at or stop in to register. Thanks to the Friends of the New Ulm Public Library for funding a one-year subscription. If you like this service, please consider donating funds to the Friends to continue the subscription. We hope you ll explore the new Web site, enjoy the new reading/programming area, subscribe to the newsletter, and find your roots on Ancestry. Let us know what you think! Donations and More Your Friends of the Library board is pleased to announce some recent donations to the library. This spring we received a very generous but anonymous $1000 donation that is earmarked for the Children's area. The ultimate plan is to construct a stage that can be used for programs and readings for our youngsters. The Nora Church in Hanska had a pie and coffee program this summer that included free will donations that led to a $200 donation to the library. The church donates to a different organization each summer. At a recent FOL board meeting we guided that donation to fiction in the library. Acquisitions Librarian Betty Roiger has already put that donation to good use. Earlier this year the Children's area applied to Wal-Mart for a grant to fund the Summer Reading Program. It was awarded to our library but was too late for this past summer's program. However, the generous check for $2,500 will be used to help fund the 2015 Summer Reading Program. The check was made out to our Friends group since we are a fiscal agent for the library. Children's Librarian Katy Hiltner tells us that she is thrilled about Wal-Mart's grant, which alleviates concerns about funding next year's SRP. The big check from Wal-Mart is on display in the north entrance hallway. At a recent FOL board meeting we also gave funds to nonfiction which Reference Librarian Linda Lindquist will put to use, and to the Children's area for books and other materials that Katy Hiltner will use. Our Friends group is pleased to receive any donations from our membership. Donations usually come when members are paying their dues and at the book sale. Any time, however, is appreciated and they will all go to the library in one way or another. Maintenance Tech Gene Byer Gene is one of the library's maintenance techs. He helps with our custodial needs as well as maintenance tasks such as equipment repair. Thanks to Gene for keeping the library's sidewalks clean, the grass mowed, the floors swept, and the building running smoothly!

3 This spring New Ulm Library Director Larry Hlavsa retired after a long and successful career working at libraries in Minnesota plus a stop in California. During most of his tenure in New Ulm Kris Wiley was his right hand as Assistant Director and Programming Librarian. With that background Wiley applied for the Director's position and is now our new Library Director. The Friends of the Library heartily pulled for Wiley after working closely with her over the past few years. She recently responded to some questions about herself and the Library. Describe your background, especially in working as a librarian. After trying my hand as a sports copy editor and a nurse, I was searching for a career that fit. I wasn t sure about librarianship until I started my first library school class and the discussion drifted to book spines. A classmate lamented the fact that readers break the spine on paperback books, and suddenly everyone was nodding their heads and wholeheartedly agreeing. I thought, I have found my people. I received a Master of Arts in Library and Information Science from the University of Iowa, which also is where I completed my B.A. in English and journalism and B.S. in nursing. I worked at Iowa s health sciences library during grad school but wanted to focus on public librarianship. My first job after graduation was at Satilla Regional Library System in Douglas, Georgia. I was the reference librarian for a three-county system, and much of my efforts were directed at teaching basic computer classes. My students and I shared a lot of laughs about my accent and their slang, but I think I taught them a few things along the way and I certainly learned a lot from them. My other responsibilities included purchasing adult materials, answering reference questions, training staff, cataloging materials, overseeing volunteers, and partnering with community organizations. I became Assistant Library Director here in August 2009, and the past five years have been an amazing journey. I developed a passion for programming, which made it easy to feel a part of the community. I also supervised staff at the Service Center, which meant managing customer service situations as well as training staff. I oversaw volunteers, wrote grants, purchased young adult materials, and helped answer patron questions, particularly relating to technology such as e-readers. How have your duties changed from being the Assistant Director and Programming Librarian to being the new Library Director? I think the biggest change is that I moved into the director s office, and I think that s a testament to the training provided by former director Larry Hlavsa. I could not have asked for a better mentor. Right now I still have some of the assistant director responsibilities, primarily programming, so it doesn t feel as though my job has changed all that much. I now compile the Library Board packet every month, create and assess the budget, and oversee monthly claims, but I also still work a couple of hours weekly at the Service Center, answer questions, and guide the library staff as best I can. Back to my new office. I welcome everyone to stop by and say hello, bring your concerns, your questions, your input. My door opens to the staff workroom, but don t let that stop you. Come right in; you re always welcome! What is happening about securing a new Programming Director and/or a new Assistant Director? The City of New Ulm is in the process of recruiting an Assistant Library Director. The person in that position will take over managing the Service Center and staff as well as adult programming, essentially what I was doing for the past five years. What changes can you foresee for the New Ulm Library? The biggest immediate change is with our integrated library system, which is how we catalog books, check out items, register patrons, etc. It s also how the public looks at the library catalog online. We re migrating to Innovative Interfaces Inc. and likely will go live sometime in February. I m excited about the functionality of the new product, especially for patrons, who will have some great new searching features. The other immediate change is the creation of a reading/programming area on the second floor. The carpet has been installed and the new furniture has arrived. We will host book groups, Noon Tunes, and other small programs in this area, and when it s not used for programs, folks are invited to use it as a comfortable reading/study area. Big picture? I think New Ulm Public Library will continue to embrace new technologies. We have ipads for children, computers for the public, and downloadable electronic items for all but what will come next? We will watch the trends and do our very best to give patrons what they want and need. We also will continue to be a community space for readers and information seekers. Whether patrons want books or storytimes or music programs, we aspire to be a primary gathering place for the greater New Ulm community. Name: Kristen Leigh Wiley Hometown: Littleport, Iowa Sign: Aquarius Favorite food: My mom's potato salad Favorite team: Iowa Hawkeyes Favorite pastime: Reading (of course!) Favorite book: The Sportswriter by Richard Ford

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5 Let s Hear It for the Friends! by Katy Hiltner, Children s Librarian Many thanks to the Friends of the New Ulm Public Library for helping to sponsor the 2014 Summer Reading Program, Paws to Read. Looking back, it s hard to believe how fast the summer flew by. The reading program kicked off on June 9 with visits from Mankato MoonDogs mascot Muttnik and the library s book fairies. Before we knew it, we were visiting with Smokey Bear on the finale day, July 31. Paws to Read was an 8-week whirlwind of reading fun! In total, 863 children signed up for the reading program, and 419 children completed all 25 days of reading. With each child reading or being read to for 20 to 30 minutes a day, the number of hours spent reading was extraordinary! Overall, 75 percent of children came back to the library to record their reading time. That s a solid participation rate for the library, and this percentage matches up with other years. The Paws to Read theme worked well for the teen program, too. A total of 70 teens signed up for the summer reading program. In total, 36 teens logged 295 titles. That s an average of eight books per teen, which equals a book a week! Overall, 51 percent of teens came back to the library to record their reading time. Thank you, teens! While reading is at the heart of the summer reading program, library staff also strives to offer children, teens, and families a variety of programs. This summer, the library s program calendar featured 16 programs, which drew in a combined attendance of 1,471 people! The Summer Reading Program is a wonderful event that pulls together the resources of the whole community. This year, the library was thrilled to have 23 businesses and organizations provide donations. These donations and prizes brought a lot of smiles to the participating youth. Of course, none of the Summer Reading Program excitement could happen without the support of the Friends of the New Ulm Public Library. From serving as fiscal agents for grants to sharing volunteer time and providing funding, the Friends generosity and support reach out to hundreds of families in New Ulm and the surrounding area. Thank you, Friends, for all your support. We couldn t have done it without you! The library hosts five book groups each month with something for nearly everyone. Check our Web site at for upcoming discussion books; call us at or stop by to place a hold on a copy. Adult Book Discussion Group meets the first Mondays of the month at 6:30 PM. This group discusses primarily fiction, although its dips into memoirs and other nonfiction occasionally. New Adult Book Group meets the first Tuesdays of the month at 6:30 PM. All adults are invited to this group, which focuses on an emerging genre that often features college-aged women handling mature situations. History Book Group meets the third Tuesdays of the month at 12 PM. This group discusses nonfiction history books. Mystery Book Group meets the last Mondays of the month at 6:30 PM. This group discusses everything from cozies to hard-boiled detective fiction. Science Fiction/Fantasy Book Group meets the last Wednesdays of the month at 6:30 PM. The library's newest group has discussed dystopian books, cyberpunk, and humorous sci-fi.

6 Friends of the New Ulm Public Library 17 North Broadway New Ulm MN The FOL is a non-profit, tax exempt organization serving the New Ulm community. Membership dues and other contributions are tax deductible. Help to continue to support the Library by volunteering to serve on the FOL Board or to help with events and our annual book sale. Board of Directors Friends of the New Ulm Public Library 17 North Broadway, New Ulm MN Phone: Leave a message at folnewulm@gmail.com Website: Lowell Liedman - President Kay Simpson - Vice President Dena Sievert - Treasurer/Membership Lanis Curtis- Director Peggy Drugan - Director Barb Reilly - Director Kristin Trautloff - Director Kris Wiley - Ex Officio, Recording Secretary