New Look!

At the beginning of every year, thousands of people resolve to change their lives in some way.  It may be to quit smoking, begin exercising, purge their wardrobe, or even update their website.

That is exactly what the library has done!  Our tired, old website was ready to retire and we were ready to replace it with a fresh face.  After months of working with ArtUnlimited in Cook, Minnesota, we are pleased to introduce our new website to you:

Image from New Website

With the new website comes new access to our blog.  Our new blog is part of our website and can be accessed either through the website itself or from this link:  http://virginiapubliclibrary.info/blog/.

Have you bookmarked our website and blog addresses?  Make sure that you update them on your web browser so that you can stay abreast of what's happening @ your library!

As always, if you have any questions, give us a call and we will be happy to help!

--Susan Hoppe, Adult Services Librarian

Hot Reads for Cold Nights!

Hot Reads for Cold Nights

When the weather is cold, it’s time to find a hot read and join Virginia Public Library’s annual “Hot Reads for Cold Nights” reading program.  This is the 19th year that "Hot Reads for Cold Nights" is being sponsored by the Friends of Virginia Public Library.  Area residents over 18 are invited to register in the library or online to participate.  To register online, click on this link and select the Hot Reads program.

This program is designed to promote reading for adults, since reading is equally important for all ages. Each book read during the program will earn one entry in a big giveaway on March 2nd. Participants must visit the library to check out library books and submit their entries.

Hot Reads Tuesday

Hot Reads Tuesdays will continue on Tuesday mornings from 10:00-12:00. Each week, members of the Friends of the Library will provide coffee and bakery to area readers.  This is a great time to find out about new books and visit with your neighbors.

Musical Impressions

The Hot Reads celebration continues with the launch of the 2017 Winter Brown Bag Lunch Series beginning on January 12th at noon with Musical Impressions with Briand Morrison. Briand Morrison's program combines his father's art work with a beautiful guitar performance.  This program will be on the library's main level. 

Hot Dish Heaven

Hot Dishes for Hot Reads, will be the new year's first Cook the Book offering.  The potluck is on January 26th, with registration running from January 3rd through the 24th.  How does it work?  Come to the Reference desk to sign up and to choose your recipe from the books we have chosen to use.  Whip up your creation at home and bring it to the library to share with other participants.  The library will provide participants with copies of the selected recipes.  Please note:  Registration for this program is required.

Best to Laugh

What would February be with out the annual Book Lover's Tea?  This year’s Tea, on February 9th, will feature author Lorna Landvik, author of Patty Jane's House of Curl, Angry Housewives Eating Bon Bons, Mayor of the Universe, and more hilariously funny books.  Hardly a word comes out of Lorna's mouth that doesn't produce belly laughs.  Please note:  Advanced registration for the tea is essential!  Reservations must be made by February 2nd.  

Goodbye to the Dead

Hot Reads for Cold Nights programming continues with two separate Queen City Reads events.  The first event, in the library auditorium at noon on Thursday, February 23rd, is a discussion of the inaugural title, Goodbye to the Dead, by Brian Freeman.  There will be discussion questions to help guide participants, but any questions relating to the book and author are welcome.  The author will not be at this event.  

The second QCR event, featuring award winning Minnesota author Brian Freeman, will be at noon on Thursday, March 2nd.  Brian will be available to talk about his life in publishing, his work,and Goodbye to the Dead. 

Queen City Reads!

Award winning Minnesota author Brian Freeman kicks off Virginia Public Library’s inaugural Queen City Reads program! 

The Virginia Public Library and the City of Virginia, with the support of the Friends of the Virginia Public Library, are pleased to announce the Queen City Reads program, a community-wide reading program for the residents of Virginia. 

Queen City Reads is a community reading program during which all members of the community are invited to read and discuss the same book.  Our Queen City Reads program is designed to encourage citizens of Virginia to engage in conversation.  Possible side effects include the discovery of new authors and the addition of new friends to readers’ lives. 

The inaugural Queen City Reads choice is Brian Freeman’s Goodbye to the Dead, which has been called “a superior psychological thriller that adroitly weaves obsession, sex and revenge into a page-turning mystery.” (Open Letters Monthly)  Copies of the book are available to borrow through the Virginia Public Library and the Arrowhead Library System. 

There will be two events in the library auditorium.  The first will be a book discussion at noon on Thursday, February 23.  Bring your interest and questions and be prepared for lively discussion.  A brochure with discussion questions will be available the first week of January. 

The second Queen City Reads event is the big one:  Brian Freeman, author of the popular Duluth-based Jonathan Stride series and recipient of multiple awards, will be at the library on Thursday, March 2, 2017, also at noon.  Brian will talk about his work in the publishing industry, discuss Goodbye to the Dead with us, and remain for further talk and to sign copies of the book. 

This program, brought to you by the Virginia Public Library and the City of Virginia, is funded by the Friends of the Virginia Public Library.  Call the library at (218)748-7525 for more information.

Treat Your Shelf!

Are you looking for something good to read?  Take a look at this post from the American Library Association:  

2016 Andrew Carnegie Medalist

Making your 'To Be Read' list? Checking it twice? #TreatYourShelf (or others) this holiday season with titles from RUSA's award lists selected and reviewed by our expert librarians.

The Andrew Carnegie Medals for Excellence in Fiction and Nonfiction<http://www.ala.org/awardsgrants/carnegieadult> recognize the best fiction and nonfiction books for adult readers published in the U.S. the previous year. A longlist<http://www.ala.org/awardsgrants/carnegieadult/longlists> comprised of no more than 50 titles is released in September. Six finalists (shortlist)<http://www.ala.org/awardsgrants/carnegieadult/short-lists>, three fiction and three nonfiction, are announced in October.

Notable Books List<http://www.ala.org/rusa/awards/notablebooks> selected by the Notable Books Council, is a list of 25 very good, very readable and at times, very important fiction, nonfiction and poetry books for adult readers.

2016 The Listen List Selection

The Reading List<http://www.ala.org/rusa/awards/readinglist>  seeks to highlight outstanding genre fiction from each of the current eight different categories including adrenaline, fantasy, historical fiction, horror, mystery, romance, science fiction and women's fiction.


The Listen List: Outstanding Audiobook Narration<http://www.ala.org/rusa/awards/listenlist>, seeks to highlight outstanding audiobook titles that merit special attention and includes twelve titles including fiction, nonfiction, poetry and plays.

The Sophie Brody Award<http://www.ala.org/rusa/awards/brody> is given to encourage, recognize and commend outstanding achievement in Jewish literature. In the context of this award, Jewish literature is defined as fiction, nonfiction or poetry that has as its central purpose the exploration of the Jewish experience.


 --Susan Hoppe, Reference Services Librarian

Tips & Assistance for Book Clubs

Are you one of the millions of Americans who belong to a book club?  Does your group struggle to find titles with enough copies for each member to read before the next meeting?  Here are some tips from the Virginia Public Library for making it easier for club members to have their books read before the discussion. 

One which will become obvious once you have tried it often enough, is to not choose the most recent bestseller.  Sure, it looks like a great book, but everyone else in the Arrowhead Library System feels the same way.  For example, John Sandford’s Extreme prey has been on the shelves since April yet still has nearly 30 people waiting to get it from their libraries.  Instead, choose books that have been available for at least six months. 

Another stumbling block can be a lack of titles in the library system.  You may have the perfect title in mind, one that you are sure everyone in your group will love, but if there are six copies in the library system and five of them are owned by high schools—which are closed for the summer—it may not be the right choice. 

Are you out of luck if your choice isn’t readily available from the Virginia Public Library or the Arrowhead Library System?  Most titles are available for purchase online, but not all book club members want to buy books that they are only going to read one time.  There is an alternative: 

Call your library.

Yes, the reference librarian at the Virginia Public Library can usually find a way for each member of your book club to borrow a copy of the selected title.  Once you have a title in mind, find out how many copies are available in the Arrowhead Library System.  If there aren’t enough in the system for your group, call VPL’s reference librarian to find out if there is a way to request enough for everyone to read without being on a long waiting list.  She will be happy to do so. 

Books should be requested four to five weeks prior to the discussion date.  This allows enough time for the books to arrive and be read, without having to be returned before the discussion is held. 

If you have questions about finding a way for all of your book club members to have access to copies of the titles you select, or if you are having a hard time coming up with a title when it is your turn to choose, give us a call at 748-7525.  We’re here for you.