The Book Worm. Friends of the New Ulm Public Library

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1 In this issue... Direct from the Director, p. 2 Annual Book Sale Report, p. 2 Meet Mary Braun, p. 3 The Amazing Adventures of a Library Book, p. 4 Fred Johnson, p. 5 Calling All Friends! We d love your help with the Summer Reading Program. Here are some extra ways you can help: Volunteer during the kick-off day events on Monday, June 8. Sign-up day is a BIG day at the library. We will need volunteers to help both upstairs in the Children s Room and downstairs in the library s meeting room. Please call for more information. Donate craft supplies to the library. If you have any of the following items available around your house, please drop them off at the Children s Room by May 25th. - Discarded Superhero comic books or superhero books that you DO NOT want returned; we will tear apart these items for both children s and teen craft projects. - Comics from the newspaper - Scrapbook paper - Origami paper - Decorated or colored duct tape - Empty toilet paper rolls - Construction paper - Craft foam Thanks in advance for all your help! The Book Worm Friends of the New Ulm Public Library Summer of Heroes at the Library Katy Hiltner, Children s Librarian Here at the New Ulm Public Library we re super excited for the start of summer. Not only does summer mean warm weather and outdoor fun, it means the start of our 2015 Summer Reading Program! This year s themes are Every Hero Has a Story for children ages 1-12 and Escape the Ordinary for teens ages The superhero theme is generating a lot of excitement amongst the staff, and we hope to spread a thrill of reading throughout the whole community. The New Ulm Public Library s Summer Reading Program will kick off on Monday, June 8. Children and teens are invited to stop by the Super Reader Headquarters (a.k.a. the library) to register. After receiving their summer reading kits, children and teens are invited to stop by the library s meeting room to get their very own temporary superhero tattoo. Artist Jeff Mackie of Air Brush Madness Graphics in Mankato will be at the library throughout the day to share superhero arm and hand tattoos with summer reading participants. This arts program is just one of many programs made possible thanks to Legacy grants provided through the Traverse des Sioux Library Cooperative. Of course, the kick-off day is just the beginning of summer fun. The 2015 Summer Reading Program will run eight weeks: June 8-July 30. During this time, arts and crafts, LEGOS, music, and more will be a part of the line-up of featured events. But what makes the Summer Reading Program extra special is that it also highlights our Local Heroes. From firefighters and police officers, to doctors and soldiers, there are an endless number of community heroes in New Ulm and the surrounding areas. Library staff hopes to highlight some of these heroes this summer. Be sure to check out the library s Web site for a complete list of calendar events. Speaking of local heroes, the reading program would not be possible without the sponsorship of WaMart Facility #3760 of New Ulm and the Friends of the New Ulm Public Library. On behalf of the library staff, we would like to extend a huge thank you to WalMart for its generous local facility grant and to the Friends of the New Ulm Public Library for their generous financial and volunteer support. Their sponsorships ensure that the library s reading programs can stretch throughout the community. In addition, a sincere thank you goes out to all of the local businesses and organizations that donate prizes. Truly, the Summer Thank You... to Kemske for printing our newsletter. We appreciate this donation! Spring 2015 Reading Program is a community effort. Thanks to all of these Library Heroes, children and teens have the opportunity to continue on their path of success. The Summer Reading Program touches the lives of hundreds of children - that s indeed heroic! Page 1

2 Direct from the Director - Kris Wiley Every year, public libraries throughout Minnesota submit statistics related to circulation, visitation, and materials to State Library Services, part of the Department of Education. Although the numbers for a particular year are interesting, I often find trends over several years especially meaningful because my job is to ensure the long-term health of the library. Here are some of the highlights from the 2014 annual report. The entire report is located at Click on the Government tab, then go to Agenda Packets/Library Board/2015/March 12, Alternately, drop by my office and say hello. Visitation The library s door count is a sampling taken over four weeks of the year and has been amazingly consistent. In 2014, 80,414 people visited the library. The five-year average is 80,664. Circulation Circulation of physical materials has decreased incrementally over the past few years and is at its lowest total in the past 10 years at 153,493. Much of the 3.6 percent decrease in 2014 can be attributed to fewer magazine subscriptions discards and free books circulated. Interestingly, e-material circulation increased 216 percent from 2013 to 2014, although it is just 4.75 Chart 1: Total circulation of physical materials was 153,493. Other circulation includes young adult materials, free books, percent of total circulation. Still, e-materials are a part of the microfilm, and year-end magazine discards. collection I am closely monitoring. Programming The library had another solid programming year. There were 113 children s programs with attendance of 4,746, which is on par compared with the past few years. There were 126 adult programs with attendance of 2,559. The number of adult programs has increased, primarily because the library added two book groups in 2014, but total attendance has decreased from a high of 3,931 in 2012, which was a major program year because of the 150th commemoration of the U.S.-Dakota War. Chart 2: Average number of items circulated per registered borrower. 2014Annual Book Sale Report Computer Use There were a total of 25,956 computer sessions in 2014, a 19 percent increase over This primarily can be attributed to the ipads in the Children s Room. The library added a third ipad, and sessions were shortened to 15 minutes for children during the busy summer months. Highlights Some of our achievements in 2014 included the continued acquisition of historic local newspapers on microfilm thanks to a successful Legacy grant; the creation of the Fred W. Johnson Founders Room; and the addition of Ancestry Library Edition and Wowbrary electronic resources. Looking Ahead Our goals for 2015 include gaining proficiency with the new computer system; installing new outdoor lighting; and adding a door to the director s office for direct public access. We will continue to seek opportunities to make the library an invaluable part of the greater New Ulm community. Thank you for your support of New Ulm Public Library! Book Sale & Donations $1, Membership Dues $ At the end of the sale books were shared with the following organizations: BCHS, New Ulm Hospital, MVAC, MRCI, Treasure Haus, NUACT, St. Cloud Veterans Hospital. The DAV received the rest. Save The Date! 2015 Book Sale Nov 5-7 Page 2

3 Meet Mary Braun - Assistant Director Mary Braun is the library s new Assistant Director and started working here at the beginning of She is a Wisconsin native and most recently has been a librarian in Montana. She has considerable expertise in technology, and part of her new position will also be as the Programming Librarian. When you are in the library, please be sure to welcome Mary to New Ulm. Briefly describe your background (personal and professional). I obtained my BA in History from the University of Wisconsin--Green Bay. While at Green Bay, I worked in the university library labeling books, updating records, and during the summers working in the circulation and archive departments. When I graduated, I worked for a semester in the cataloging department before moving to Edmonton, Alberta, to attend the University of Alberta. I spent two years in Alberta obtaining my Master s in Library and Information Science. I returned to Wisconsin where I worked at the University of Wisconsin Green Bay library as a professional librarian. After two years in the academic library, I moved to the Brown County Library System in Wisconsin as the technology librarian. After a time I decided to move out to Montana (it was on the bucket list). I worked in the Bozeman Public Library in reference and circulation and then in the Belgrade Public Library as the technology librarian. In January of this year I moved to New Ulm and became the new Assistant Library Director. Tell us about your new job at our library (what do you do). I am responsible for adult programming and supervision of the circulation desk. My tenure started off with a bang as the library was in the middle of a transition to a new computer system and it became my responsibility to learn the new system and train staff on how to use it. It s been an exciting challenge, and I m really proud and honored to work with such amazing staff. What do you like to read in your spare time? I m a bit all over the map when it comes to my reading. I m currently reading Alan Cumming s biography Not My Father s Son and before that I was reading the fiction book Lost and Found by Brooke Davis. I also caught up on a junior fiction series (Chronicles of Kazam) by Jasper Fforde. Basically, when I see something interesting, I check it out and give it a go! What is your favorite book and who is your favorite author (or genre or books or authors)? My favorite book is To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. It was the first book that struck a cord with me as an adult, and every time I read it I find new insights. I have several authors I enjoy reading, including Louise Penny (Inspector Gamache series), Jacqueline Winspear (Maisie Dobbs series), Jasper Fforde, and Doris Kearns Goodwin. When you are not working at the library or reading what do you like to do? I m a big fan of watching Masterpiece on PBS on Sunday nights. I m looking forward to the warmer weather and longer days as I will be able to start walking around town and seeing all of the wonderful sights New Ulm has to offer! Any day I can get outside for a walk is a good day! Leasa Sieve - New Reference Librarian The New Ulm Library s new Reference Librarian, Leasa Sieve, is hardly new to the local library. Leasa has worked at the library for nearly ten years but was recently hired as our new Reference Librarian. Her new position will put her in charge of reference materials, periodicals, and ordering nonfiction books. In addition, like all library employees, Leasa will also spend time behind the circulation desk. If you need materials for a report or would like the library to order a particular nonfiction book, then consult with Leasa. Leasa replaced Linda Lindquist, who retired in December. Congrats to Linda Lindquist! Congratulations to Linda Lindquist, who recently retired as Reference Librarian after two stints at New Ulm Public Library, most recently since Linda was instrumental in developing the adult nonfiction collection, and she personally assisted an untold number of library patrons as they searched for information for school projects, genealogy records, and other reference endeavors. Linda, who also has been a longtime member of the FOL, plans on spending her retirement years traveling, spending more time with family and grandkids, and, of course, reading. Page 3

4 The Amazing Adventures of a Library Book by Betty Roiger, Acquisitions Librarian Sittin. Sittin, waitin. Dude! Yeah, you in the blue jacket! You must be new here?! Blue: Uh, huh. Just got published. What is this place? Warehouse, I think. I m here sittin. Sittin and waitin. Whoa! But not for long, I think! I m an explosive new bestseller, I know I ll be pop- uh-oh, someone s reaching for me, see ya! Blue: Byyyyye! (flapping pages) It s dark, cramped and I feel smothered. Ouch. Bumpy. Hmm, I never knew I got car sick. Scritch, rip. Riiiiiiippppppp! What is that? That s not an X-Acto knife, is it? Betty: No, it s my scissors. I m very careful not to cut the merchandise. Let me get the plastic off of you so you can breathe. There you go. Whew, Thanks. Now what? Betty: Now, I check you off of the invoices so that we can pay for you later. Then I take you to my computer and check against all of the holdings in Traverse des Sioux. If you are in there, I can add you to a record. But you look brand new to me. Nope. No match in there for you. So now I have to send you off to Mankato (don t worry, it s not far) for TdS to catalog you for us. Will that hurt? Betty: No, it will not. Our couriers are great and very careful. I am going to stamp you so that people will know you belong to us now. Then I m going to write RUSH on your slip so that the catalogers work with you right away. They ll look up your record and load it into the computer for us to add our copies to. You re pretty important, you know. I know. A lawyer writes me, Grisss--? Betty: Yeah, you are the new Grisham. People are going to love you. I m blushing. Betty: So off you go (into the courier tub, onto the truck and off to TdS). See you in two days. [Time passes] Hello! I m back! Betty: Yep, and holds are building for you. While you were gone other libraries added their books to the record they set up for you. So you re pretty special. Now I put a barcode on you and put you In Process. Diane will pick you up next. She types out your spine information and puts that on your back. Then she puts a nice new shiny cover over your jacket to keep it nice. After that, Mary Jo looks you over to make sure your information is all correct in our computer system and then she wands you. You ll hear a beep and a hold will pop up for you! What s a hold? It sounds restrictive. I ve been in boxes and trucks, and it s dark. I don t particularly like that. Betty: A hold is a request from a person who very much wants to know you, inside and out. They are greatly looking forward to taking you home. I hate to say this, sometimes there might be dog dangers or bathtub hazards, but mostly people will take proper care of you. I m tellin you, you won t spend much time sitting on a shelf, you are THAT popular. Whew. That makes me feel better. So I guess I m ready to take off. Betty: OK, off you go! Have fun! Be fantastic! [Meanwhile back at the warehouse ] Blue Jacket: Yoo-hoo! Hel-lo?! I m the next best thing coming round the corner. Just look at this jacket, and that s not all, baby inside I have murder and drama and tears, sniff, sniff, love lost and found. Do NOT miss out on me! Betty Roiger is the creative Acquisitions Librarian at the New Ulm Library. As a result, she truly knows what she is writing about in this cute story. Friends of the Library All Stars A big thank you goes out to FOL Board Member Barb Reilly. Barb has decided to retire from our board after serving for most of our existence. During her time on the board she has served as Vice President, Membership Chair, and most significantly, as Treasurer for many years. She is a familiar face to most of you as she is a regular patron of the NUPL in addition to her helping out at most of the FOL events for many years. We are so thankful that she has already volunteered to continue to work at our annual book sale. Barb, of course, is married to Dan Reilly, the former New Ulm Public Library Director ( ). We appreciate Lowell Liedman stepping back onto the FOL Board in early 2013 when we were sorely in need of a quorum and for serving as the Board President with such enthusiasm for the past year. He will be missed. Thanks also to Marlene Ingebritson, who has run our very successful fall book sale for the last few years. Marlene actually retired as the Book Sale Chair in late 2012, but she graciously agreed to return and fill that much-needed role for our sale in both 2013 and We thank her for leaving the very organized sale in such good shape. We are pleased to announce that our new Book Sale Co- Chair is FOL member Kris Trautloff. Kris is a former Library Board member in addition to currently serving on the FOL board. She will be assisted by Diane Zellmann who co-chaired the event last year, and Peggy Drugan. We appreciate that Kris, Diane, and Peggy have volunteered to take on these very important roles for us. Sarah Warmka is rather new to New Ulm and works at the Chamber. Sarah has agreed to help out with our biannual newsletter and will be taking over the desktop publishing aspects. Dena Sievert has been in charge of the layout and graphics for the past few years and is gladly passing the torch onto Sarah. Dena and Sarah worked together on this edition of The Book Worm after Lowell Liedman and several members of the Library staff wrote the articles. Welcome to New Ulm and thank you, Sarah, for joining the FOL and taking on this vital task. We are pleased to announce that Chris Loetscher is now a member of the Friends of the New Ulm Public Library Board. Chris worked for the Diocese of New Ulm for 25 years, and during that time directed the diocesan Offices for Social Concerns and Family Life. As a child, Chris had difficulties learning to read, but once he caught on it became a lifelong pleasure. Thanks for agreeing to join our board, Chris. Page 4

5 All About Fred W. Johnson The library s newly redesigned space on the second floor of the main building has been christened the Fred W. Johnson Founders Room. But just who was Fred Johnson? The following summary was provided by Fred s granddaughter, Joan Johnson Baeza. Frederick Wilmar Johnson was born in St. Peter, Minnesota, on Nov. 18, 1870, the youngest son of Swedish immigrants Gustav and Caroline Christine Johnson. Fred excelled at writing, and he became editor of the New Ulm Review at age 19. He boarded at the Dacotah House and immediately set about learning German. In 1893 he married Emma, the beautiful, vivacious daughter of Adolph and Helena Seiter, owners of the historic hotel. Minnesota Governor John Lind appointed Fred State Librarian in In 1902, Fred and Emma took over management of the hotel. They expanded and modernized the historic building, changing the name to Dakota Hotel. Business thrived. Their new prosperity allowed Fred to spend more time on his passion, collecting autographed photographs of famous people. Over the next decades, Fred founded the Junior Pioneers (descendants of New Ulm settlers) and continued to collect photographs and stories of Brown County pioneer families. As president of the New Ulm Park Association, he was instrumental in planning and building the baseball park, now named after him, German Park, the City Cemetery, and the boulevard One of Fred s favorite hobbies was solitaire. Photo courtesy: Joan Johnson Baeza. on Broadway. He brought world-class entertainment to the Turner Theater. He wrote for publications and gave talks on history throughout the state. He founded the Brown County Historical Society, and began raising funds for a city library and museum. The modern artstone library was built next to the Johnson home and opened in The ground floor housed Fred s meticulously documented collection of historic artifacts and photographs, a natural history display, and his office. That building now houses the New Ulm Public Library Children s Room and the Minnesota Music Hall of Fame. The main library building, which was dedicated in 1976, was built where Fred and Emma s house once stood. Fred and Emma handed over management of the Dakota Hotel to their sons in Emma succumbed to asthma in Fred died at the Union Hospital in New Ulm in New Ulm Public Library Building opened in Photo courtesy: Elroy Ubl. Wowza for Wowbrary! The library always is looking for ways to share news about materials, programs, and services, and one of the newest methods is through a service called Wowbrary. This electronic feature provides weekly updates on New Ulm Public Library s newest acquisitions, events, staff picks, and more. To get started, go to the library s Web site at From the library s home page, scroll down to the images of the books moving across the page and click on More. That will take you to the newsletter. Then click Sign Up. Every Wednesday, subscribers will receive an featuring the latest news from the library. Note that signup is not necessary; the Web site updates weekly, and users may simply go there. The materials on Wowbrary feature a direct link to the library s catalog, which allows patrons to place holds. There was no need to open another window, go to the library catalog Web site, remember the title, type in the title Wowbrary does all the work. Wowbrary also displays library staff picks and information about upcoming programs. Basically, it s a snapshot of all that s new and happening at the library. Wow, indeed! His obituary summed up his contributions: even though he might have held positions of great importance in the state, he chose to remain in New Ulm and give the town and the entire community the benefit of his amazing intellect and his ability to carry through any project which he began. A wall hanging that features Fred s bio and photos of his family has been funded by the Friends of the Library and is displayed in the Fred W. Johnson Founders Room. The Fred and Emma Johnson home on North Broadway. The City of New Ulm purchased the property in 1955 with plans for future expansion of the public library and museum. New Ulm Public Library now sits on this location. Photo courtesy: Elroy Ubl. Page 5

6 Friends of the New Ulm Public Library 17 North Broadway New Ulm, MN The New Ulm Public Library building opened in See article on p. 5. Photo Courtesy: Kyle Krenz. 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. Friends of the New Ulm Public Library 17 North Broadway, New Ulm, MN Phone: Leave a message at folnewulm@gmail.com Website: Board of Directors Kristin Trautloff - President Peggy Drugan - Vice President/Membership Dena Sievert - Treasurer Lanis Curtis - Director Chris Loetscher - Director Kay Simpson - Director Kris Wiley - Ex Officio, Recording Secretary