You're Invited! Virginia Public Library Centennial Gala - December 5

The 5th Avenue library building opened to the public in January 1913, and in January 2013 the Friends of the Virginia Public Library launched the centennial year celebrations with a birthday cake at their annual meeting. To further commemorate the Library’s 100th anniversary, the Friends decided to update Dorothy Petroskey’s 1992 history, Virginia’s Libraries, written the year of the City's centennial. Virginia High School junior Tucker Nelson volunteered to do the update, and what a remarkable job he's done! 

During his research, Tucker discovered an article from a 1912 edition of The Virginian indicating there is a time capsule under the cornerstone of the library! 

On December 5th, the Friends will host a gala dinner cosponsored by the Virginia Area Historical Society and the Virginia Study Club. Photographer Doug Ohman, author of Libraries of Minnesota, will present the history of the Library in the context of the history of libraries in Minnesota, and Tucker Nelson will present the new History of the Virginia Public Library and share the story of the time capsule.

Please join us for a wonderful evening of celebration as we commemorate this cornerstone of the community ...and be one of the first to read the updated and expanded history!

Virginia Public Library Centennial Gala

Thursday, December 5, 2013

Holy Spirit Social Hall – 306 S. 2nd St, Virginia, MN

5:00 p.m. social … 6:00 p.m. dinner … 7:00 p.m. program 

Cost: $15.00 per person. Pre-pay at the library by November 21.

Door prizes and books available for sale.

How to RSVP...

Fill in the form on this flyer and return it with your payment of $15 per person to the Virginia Public Library front desk or mail to the library at 215 South 5th Avenue, Virginia MN 55792. Make checks payable to the Friends of the Virginia Public Library.

~ Jennifer Armstrong, President

Friends of the Virginia Public Library

Learn a new language for free through Virginia Public Library!

Mango Logo

Learning a new language with Mango Languages is free for all VPL patrons, and offers a fast and convenient solution for today’s increasing language-learning needs. Each lesson combines real life situations and audio from native speakers with simple, clear instructions. The courses are presented with an appreciation for cultural nuance and real-world application that integrates components of vocabulary, pronunciation, grammar and culture. Users learn actual conversation, breaking down complex linguistic elements within an audio-visual framework that draws important connections and builds on information they have already learned.

There are more than 40 foreign language courses available and 16 English as a Second Language (ESL) courses.

To learn more about Mango and get a preview of what the program has to offer, stop by the library and we will give you an introduction. You can access Mango through the library website at http://www.virginia.lib.mn.us. 

For more information, call 748-7525.

--Susan Hoppe, Reference Services Librarian

Mango Logo

Fortune Bay Resort Casino Donation

Have you seen the library news in the Mesabi Daily News?  If not, here is what they printed from Fortune Bay Resort Casino: 

The Virginia Public Library recently received a $433.07 donation from Fortune Bay Resort Casino that will be used to enhance the library’s Summer Reading Program. The donation was made possible by customers who tossed coins into the large waterfalls like fountain at Fortune Bay.

Maintenance employees collected the coins and presented them to Fortune Bay Resort Casino employee Rob Alger, whose daughter, Delia, takes part in the program.

“We really appreciate this donation from Fortune Bay Resort Casino,” said Dawn Heisel, Virginia Children’s Services Librarian, who plays an instrumental role in the reading program.  “This will really help our efforts in providing our local children with an even better Summer Reading Program.”

Pictured left to right are: Rob Alger, Delia Alger, Dawn Heisel , Nancy Maxwell, library director, and Kathryn Cremers, member of the Friends of the Virginia Public Library. Submitted photo.

Thank you, Fortune Bay, for your support of reading and the Virginia Public Library, and thank you Delia Alger and family, for thinking of us!  

Susan Hoppe, Reference Services Librarian

Press Release from Arrowhead Library System: Preston Gunderson kicks off his Musical Tour August 5th With the Arrowhead Libraries

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Preston Gunderson kicks off his Musical Tour August 5^th With the Arrowhead Libraries

Mountain Iron, MN, July 22, 2013 – Preston Gunderson will be at the following locations:

• Buhl Public Library on Monday, August 5, 2013 at 3:00 p.m.
• Mt. Iron Public Library on Monday, August 5, 2013 at 6:00 p.m.

• Virginia Public Library on Tuesday, August 6, 2013 at 12:00 p.m.

• Aurora Public Library on Tuesday, August 6, 2013 at 6:00 p.m.
• Babbitt Public Library on Tuesday, August 13, 2013 at 6:00 p.m.
• Gilbert Public Library on Wednesday, August 14, 2013 at 4:30 p.m.
• Eveleth Public Library on Wednesday, August 14, 2013 at 6:00 p.m.

Preston Gunderson, a native from Virginia, Minnesota will begin his musical performance & songwriters workshop running from August 5-17^th, 2013!  Preston will perform and provide input on writing and recording original music, his processes and his musical experiences as a singer/songwriter at your library.

Preston Gunderson, a casting finalist for this years season of The Voice on NBC was one of only 200 out of over 500,000 auditions to be flown out to Los Angeles!  He will perform songs from his album "While I was Gone," which cracked the top #200 on the iTunes pop charts, and songs from his latest release, "The Recluse–EP,” which was top #25 on the iTunes singer songwriter charts. 

Preston Gunderson is currently working on a new album that will be recorded at the famed Terrarium recording studio http://www.the-terrarium.com/index.html in Minneapolis.  You can hear a sample of his music at iTunes https://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/preston-gunderson/id485158290

The Musical Performance & Songwriters workshop is for both Teens & Adults!  Feel free to bring a note pad to jot down songwriting tips as Preston shares his personal story of being a songwriter and working in the music business industry.

This project was funded in part or in whole with money from Minnesota’s Arts & Cultural Heritage fund.

The Popularity Paper

Amongst all the other things I’ve been doing for this summer’s fantastic reading program, I squeezed in a webinar on the impact of libraries on early reading development.  To be fair, I grumbled about the timing of the program.  I mean, what are they doing presenting this program to Children’s Librarians at the busiest time of the year?  But then I decided that I could probably fit in an hour, especially if it was quiet in the library.  As it happened, I was only interrupted 5 times, which was very manageable.  Anyway, while I learned some new information on early reading, I learned far more about how parents (and others) around our nation feel about libraries from Lee Rainie of PewInternet.org.

The Pew Research Center is considered to be the gold standard for unbiased, scientific community surveys, so I fully expected the presenter to be somewhat dull and perhaps a little boring. Imagine my surprise when he sounded downright giddy to be talking about their recent report concerning libraries.  To quote:  “We just don’t see these numbers in other areas.  This level of agreement throughout our nation is unheard of in any of our other studies.”  Yikes, and they’re talking about libraries?

Well, this got my attention and I completely ignored the ruckus being raised at the puzzle table.  What I learned is that parents and the general populace really like us.  I mean they really, really, like us and they think we’re important to them.  The number one takeaway from this vast nationwide study is that libraries are appreciated.  A full 91% (this was the statistic responsible for the giddiness) of the respondents said libraries were important to their community.  Another 76% said they were important to their family and them personally.  And then, when it comes to parents, 94% said libraries are important for their children.  Ok, so I knew that, but I never in a million years thought that many other people knew it too.

from http://libraries.pewinternet.org/2013/05/01/parents-children-libraries-and-reading/

Wow!  I confess that I was starting to feel a bit like Sally Field when she won her Oscar.  Then Mr. Rainie began with the survey comparisons between libraries and other institutions.  Once again libraries came out on top.  (Mr. Rainie was almost jumping out of his seat now.)  Did you know that Americans have more confidence in libraries than just about any other service provided by our fine government (excepting those hunky firemen), and even many other services provided in our communities?  Yep, libraries beat out banks, TV stations, newspapers, schools, hospitals, big business and more.  Of course I believe this, but no one can accuse me of unbiased thinking when it comes to libraries... 

from http://libraries.pewinternet.org/2013/05/01/parents-children-libraries-and-reading/

So, what about our future?  I’ve heard plenty of doomsday prophecies.  E-books are the death of libraries; print books will be gone, etc.  How does America really feel?  Well, more than 80% of them say “keep the books”.    Hmm... not only do Americans like libraries, but they also like print books.  I’m starting to think that perhaps the rest of the world is finally catching on to the wonder my world.  Way to go, Pew!

Click HERE to read the summary of findings.

-Dawn Heisel, Public Services Librarian

News You Can Use

There is a lot going on in the world and many places to find information about it. Your library is one of those places.

Wall Street Journal

The Virginia Public Library has hard copies of several local, state, and national newspapers.  These range from the Mesabi Daily News to the Wall Street Journal.  We keep back issues of some of our newspapers for up to a year.  If you are looking for an article you saw in the MDN four months ago, give us the date and we'll provide the copy! 

NewsBank Logo

If you are looking for news from a particular community in another state, we have America's News, part of the NewsBank databases the library subscribes to.   With your library card, you can use America's News to read newspapers from Bangor, Maine; Fremont, California; and many points in bet
ween! 

ACRES Magazine

Many people prefer to get their news and entertainment from magazines, rather than newspapers.  Your library has a lot of magazine titles to choose from!   Our print magazines include Bloomberg Business Week, Mayo Clinic Health Letter, The Nation, the UTNE Reader, ACRES, Men's Journal, Midwest Home, The Writer, and many others.

zinio Logo

We don't have the magazine you are looking for?  Maybe we do...  The Virginia Public Library and other members of the Arrowhead Library System have subscribed to Zinio--"the World's Largest Newsstand"--in order to provide you access to more than eighty titles!  There are magazines for children, teens, athletes, car repair enthusiasts, and people with other interests.  If Zinio doesn't have it, we can find it in one of many other resources. Zinio will be available beginning July 1st. 

Circulating books, magazines, and newspapers can all be checked out for three weeks.  All you need is your library card!

Library Card

Susan Hoppe -- Reference Services Librarian

Summer Reading

Summerland Cover

The Summer Reading Program here at the Virginia Public Library is well under way with children eagerly visiting the library to borrow more books, participate in Craft-TASTIC Tuesdays, and enjoy interesting programs.  Children aren't the only ones reading, though, and we have some suggestions and tips for finding library items for kids of all ages.

There are many summer-related books in the library.  One way to find them is to look for the word summer using a Subject Keyword search in the library's online catalog.   A few of the  titles from such a search include Beach House Memories, by Mary Alice Monroe;  The Accidental, by Ali Smith; and Summerland, by Elin Hilderbrand

Blueberry Summers Cover

If you prefer non-fiction, you can limit the search by choosing Adult non-fiction in the "Limit by" box.  Some titles from that search include  Blueberry Summers:  Growing Up at the Lake, by Curtiss Anderson; Mary Engelbreit's Summer Craft Book, by Mary Engelbreit; and Resorts of Minnesota:  Exploring the Heritage and History of Minnesota's Family Resorts, by Neil E. Johnson and Adam Swenson.

Country Living Cover

For those who like magazines more than books, many of them have seasonal issues.  Some to keep in mind are Lake Superior Magazine, Country Living, and Backwoods Home.  To find these and other magazine titles, you can do a Title Search on the basic search page of our online catalog. 

There are many other ways for you to find summer entertainment at your library.  Let us know how we can help you fill the long summer days ahead!

Susan Hoppe, Reference Services Librarian

Time to Work on That Garden!

Garden time has come and summer will be here in a couple of weeks. To help you along the garden path, some of the resources available in our library are listed below. There are many  more books, magazines, and databases available in our library, through our website, from other libraries within the Arrowhead Library System, and beyond.

Books

Damrosch, Barbara. The Garden Primer. Workman Pub: New York, NY. 2008. (635 DAM)

Dunn Chace, Teri. The Anxious Gardener's Book of Answers. Timber Press: Portland, OR. 2012. (635 DUN)

Ruppenthal, R.J. Fresh Food From Small Spaces: The Square Inch Gardener's Guide to Year-Round Growing, Fermenting, and Sprouting. Chelsea Green: White River Junction, VT. 2008. (635 RUP)


These and other books related to gardening can be found in the 630 to 635 range on the Library's shelves. You can also search for gardening books through the library's online catalog.

Periodicals

Better Homes and Gardens

Organic Gardening

Northern Gardener, published by the Minesota State Historical Society

More magazines related to gardening can be found in the databases provided by the Arrowhead Library System and Virginia Public Library.

Internet Links

University of Minnesota Extension--Gardening and Horticulture. The University of Minnesota Extension office has much information available for Minnesotans and others in our gardening zone.

Though they may not be specific to our region, links to many gardening-related websites can be found through the Internet Public Library.

 Happy Gardening! 

 

Susan Hoppe -- Adult Services Librarian

Dig into Reading @ Virginia Public Library!

Dig Into Reading Logo

We’ve kicked off our summer reading program at Virginia Public Library with a huge bang.  Yesterday was our first day of open registration and we already have 277 participants signed up to read this summer.  That is so awesome!  What a way to go, Virginia! 

This will be a great summer packed with fun events for our summer readers.  Thursdays are fun days at the library and we’ve got something planned for every Thursday in June and July.  Our June highlights include a visit on June 6th by the Minnesota Zoomobile, followed by a visit on June 13th from James Pointer from the Soudan Underground Mine with  a “Survivor: Underground!” program.  This will be followed on June 20th with a drawing workshop by Monkey with a Tool belt author/illustrator Chris Monroe.  On June 27^th both the Friends of the Library and the Virginia Community Education Department will welcome Twin Cities’ musician Paul Spring for a fun family music program.

Heading into July, we’ll host our annual 4^th of July week treasure hunt followed by the Great Lego Dig.  On July 18^th the Minnesota Science Museum will bring their “Digging up Dinosaurs” program to the library and on July 25^th magic will fill the air when the Amazing Charles visits Virginia once again.

Squirrel & Skunk Reading Together

As much fun as all this sounds, I have to say that these fun events aren’t the main reason why we are working so hard to keep kids reading during the summer.  Did you know that kids who participate in an organized reading program at their local library are more likely to be reading at or above grade level by the beginning of their next school year?  In addition, kids who read during the summer not only have fun reading, but also create a lifelong habit of reading.  That can only be a good thing for our community!

The library has a great online program that lets kids participate from wherever they have an internet connection.  This makes it easy and fun to record summer reading as well as write book reviews.  Last year our elementary students wrote more than 5,000 reviews.  Hmmmm, reading and writing during the summer…  No wonder library kids do so well in school.

Chipmunk Borrowing Library Books

So, if you haven’t signed up for our reading program yet, don’t wait.  Just go to www.virginia.lib.mn.us and click on the Dig into Reading logo to get started.  Or, see me in the Children’s Room.  Our weekly events are posted in the library and on the event calendar at our website.

Don’t miss out on all the fun of reading (and writing)!

Dawn Heisel -- Children’s Librarian

Brown Bag Lunch: Local Author Sarah Stonich

Author Sarah Stonich

The Arrowhead Library System and the Friends of Virginia Public Library are sponsoring a visit by Minnesota Author Sarah Stonich at noon on May 16th in the library auditorium. The author will talk about her new book, Vacationland, which is set in Northern Minnesota and published by the University of Minnesota Press. 

At the heart of the book is Naledi Lodge, inspired by those rustic Mom & Pop resorts now disappearing along with their big fish, bad mattresses, wood docks, flashlight trots to the outhouse, bear-fear, and bonfires. Up north vacations might not always live up to the brochures' versions of canoe paddling under pine-scented skies; in the fine print of rusted beer cans on the trail or a barbed hook through a thumb lies a more realistic picture of Vacationland.

Vacationland Cover

Sarah's first novel, These Granite Islands, was translated into eight languages, won numerous awards, and was Barnes & Noble Discover New Writers pick. The author, originally from Duluth, now makes her home in Minneapolis with her husband Jon and spends summers on a small lake in northern St. Louis County. 

This event is sponsored by the Arrowhead Library System and the Friends of Virginia Public Library. It is funded by money from Minnesota’s Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund. The author will be available for book signing after the presentation. Books are available for purchase at the main desk of the library.

Cookies and coffee will be provided by the Friends of the Virginia Public Library. For more information, check the event calendar at www.virginia.lib.mn.us or call 748-7525.

Caravanserai: Morocco

Caravanserai: A Place Where Cultures Meet will be here at the Virginia Public Library this coming Monday, April 29, at noon.  Come for beautiful music and exotic culture!

The Orchestra of Fes

The Orchestra of Fes, conducted by Mohammed Briouel, is the most renowned Judeo-Arab Andalusian ensemble in Morocco today. The orchestra will perform two Andalusian classical music compositions, one instrumental and one sung in Arabic and Hebrew. 

 Andalusian classical music is at the core of contemporary Moroccan culture. It evolved over centuries of cultural exchange between North African, Spanish Muslim, and Jewish traditions.

Françoise Atlan

The Orchestra of Fes will also feature guest vocalist Françoise Atlan, a celebrated Sephardic singer. Ms. Atlan will perform three songs in Ladino, Hebrew, and Arabic. 

This will be an interactive performance! The Orchestra of Fes and Françoise Atlan will teach us to sing the refrain from the song Shalom, Salaam, a song about peace. In addition, the various instruments will be demonstrated and some basic vocabulary will be taught.

A question and answer period will follow the program.

This event is sponsored by the Arrowhead Library System and funded by money from Minnesota’s Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund.  Please check the event calendar at www.virginia.lib.mn.us or call 748-7525 for more information.

Exercise your brain with Hot Reads for Cold Nights!

Hot Reads for Cold Nights

Our Hot Reads for Cold Nights program has always held a special place in my heart.  After 15 years, I still don't know if it's seeing adults reading like crazy so they can win prizes, or that we actually get to hand out prizes to adults instead of children.  In any case, to mark our 100th year of service, we've decided to change our ways.  I know the old adage that says "if something ain't broke, don't fix it" but this isn't a fix, it's an addition to the same great program.  We've made it bigger and, of course, much better.  All thanks to our fantastic Friends of Virginia Public Library.

Of course, the more you read, the more you can win, just like always.  But this year we've bumped up the prizes and decided to focus on our local business community.  Our Friends are going to "buy local" and provide you with the opportunity to win gift certificates for gifts and services right here in our community.  We will release more details as the program continues, but for now, I'm going to tease you by saying that they are going to spend HUNDREDS of dollars in our community to encourage you to read.  Isn't that great?!?

BTW, our biggest question at this time of year?  Why are we working so hard to encourage adults to read?  Well,  the short version of all those studies points to the simple fact that our brains work differently when we are reading.  And unlike watching television -- in which the Oct. 2012 issue of the British Journal of Sports Medicine sadly reported that "every single hour of television watched after the age of 25 reduces the viewer's life expectancy by 21.8 minutes" -- reading can actually help you live longer.  To put it bluntly, your brain needs exercise no matter what your age.

So, if you are over 18, join us in our efforts to promote reading.  Sign up in the library or online for our Hot Reads for Cold Nights reading program and warm up with a great book from your local library.  Think of it as a fitness program for your brain.  You'll be glad you did.  After all, just think how much longer you'll live! 

 Dawn -- Public Services Librarian