East Central Regional Library

News Bits Archives, January-March 2009

• Weather related - 3/31/09

• Best wishes: Maria Gruener is the new Assistant Director at Watertown Regional Library in South Dakota. Maria has been the Wyoming Branch Librarian since 2007. Thank you, Maria for your service to ECRL and congratulations on your new appointment!
  

• Weather-related - 3/10/09:
• Milaca - Tuesday evening pre-school storytime is cancelled
  
• Sandstone - Closing at 5:00 p.m.
  

• Readers Choice: Online polls are now open for readers to take part in the third annual Readers’ Choice Award by voting for their favorite finalist in the 2009 Minnesota Book Awards. The award will be announced at this year’s Minnesota Book Awards gala celebration on April 25^th. Through online voting of over 7,000 votes last year, Minnesotans selected Farmer Cap by Jill Kalz as the winner of the second annual Readers’ Choice Award, sponsored by the  Pioneer Press and TwinCities.com.
• Twin Cities.com - vote here
• Previous Readers' Choice winners

• Got Game?  Teens 2 B Seen @ the Library
  
• Who? Teens age 12 to 16
• What? Gaming event. Nintendo Wii, Rock Band and more! Board games and snacks will be provided! It's fun and it's FREE!
  
• When and where?  Well, look right here . . . .
  
  Saturday 2/21 – Chisago Lakes Library, 6-8 pm
  Thursday 3/5 – Mille Lacs Lake Library, 4-5:30 pm
  Friday 3/13 – McGregor Public Library, 4-5:30 pm
  Thursday  3/19 – North Branch Library, 3:30-5 pm
  Monday 3/23 – Aitken Public Library, 4-5:30 pm
  Thursday 3/26 – Cambridge Public Library, 6-8 pm
  Tuesday 3/31 – Mora Public Library, 3:30-5 pm
  Wednesday 4/1 – Hinckley Public Library, 3:30-5 pm
  Tuesday 4/14 – Pine City Public Library, 4-5:30 pm
  Saturday 4/18 – Milaca Community Library, 1-2:30 pm
  Wednesday 4/22 – Wyoming Area Library, 6:30-8 pm
  Tuesday 4/28 – Sandstone Public Library, 6-7:30 pm
  Thursday 5/7 – Rush City Public Library, 4:30-6pm
  Thursday 5/14 – Princeton Area Library, 6:30-8pm
• Why? Playing games is fun and builds all kinds of things -- friendships, community, and literacy skills.
• The fine print: The Teens 2 B Seen @ the Library project is made possible by a grant from the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA).
  

• Digital Immigrants Classes:  This month we learn about scanners and MP3 players. This is a hands-on learning experience, and registration is limited. Please call the branch library to pre-register for the class of your choice.
• Thursday 3/5 – Scanner/mp3 class at North Branch, 1:00 p.m.
• Friday 3/6 – Camera class at Milaca, 12:30 p.m. cancelled due to no registrations
  
• Thursday 3/12 – Scanner/mp3 class at Mille Lacs Lake, 6:00 p.m.
• Friday 3/13 – Scanner/mp3 class at Aitkin, 10:00 a.m.
• Monday 3/16 – Scanner/mp3 class at Wyoming, 6:00 p.m.
• Tuesday 3/17 – Scanner/mp3 class at Cambridge, 10:00 a.m.
• Tuesday 3/17 - Scanner/mp3 class at Sandstone, 6:00 p.m.
• Wednesday 3/18 – Scanner/mp3 class at Hinckley, 1:00 p.m.
• Thursday 3/19 – Scan/mp3 class at Chisago Lakes, 1:00 p.m.
• Friday 3/20 – Scanner/mp3 Class at Milaca, 12:30 p.m.
• Monday 3/23 – Scanner/mp3 class at Mora, 10:00 a.m.
• Tuesday 3/24 – Scanner/mp3 class at McGregor, 10:00 a.m.
• Wednesday 3/25 – Scanner/mp3 class at Pine City, 1:00 p.m.
• Thursday 3/26 – Scanner/mp3 class at Rush City, 10:00 a.m.
• Thursday 3/26 - Scanner mp3 class at Princeton, 6:00 p.m.
• Tuesday 3/31 – Cell Phone class at Chisago Lakes, 2:00 p.m.

• Weather Closures: Snow is falling across the region and ECRL branches announce the following closures and cancellations:
• Closed on 2/26
  
• Milaca at 5:00
• Princeton at 5:00
• Cambridge at 5:00
• Chisago Lakes at 5:00
  
• Cancelled
• Ancestry.com training at McGregor on Thurs, 2/26
• Teen program at Cambridge on Thurs, 2/26

• First Cambridge Branch Librarian Named - History was made at the Cambridge Public Library on Monday, February 2nd, when local resident, Nancy Dunbar, started her position as the very first Cambridge Public Library Branch Librarian.  Nancy has lived in the area for 25 years and worked for ECRL in circulation and reference services for 18 of those years.

• Kill A Watt Electricity Usage Monitors Available at Library - East Central Energy has
  donated 5 Kill A Watt monitors to ECRL.  The monitors can help you identify what appliances in your home are the biggest energy abusers.  Stop by your local ECRL branch or visit the library's catalog to place a hold on one of these great devices. more on the ECRL Blog
  

• Holiday: All branches will be closed Monday, February 16th in observance of Presidents Day.
  

• Award-winning Minnesota books - Four books in eight categories have been named Minnesota Book Awards finalists. Readers will be invited to take part in voting for the Readers’ Choice Award during the month of March. Award winners will be announced at the 21st Annual Minnesota Book Awards Gala on Saturday, April 25, at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, in downtown Saint Paul. The categories are:
• Children’s Literature
• General Nonfiction
• Genre Fiction
• Memoir & Creative Nonfiction
• Minnesota
• Novel & Short Story
• Poetry
• Young People’s Literature
  

• Wanted - Teen Program Assistant: Use libraries?  Have video game experience?  Love technology? Check out the Jobs page

• More Digital Immigrants Classes - Come to the Library in February for technology classes taught by Alyssa Prater, East Central Regional Library Project Coordinator.  These classes are part of  the ECRL Digital Immigrants project. You are a “digital immigrant” if you didn’t grow up in the world of technology and are struggling to keep up with digital tools. Space is limited and registration is required—Contact the library to register

• Holiday: All branches will be closed Monday, January 19th in observance of the birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr.

• Weather-related schedule change: Digital Immigrant classes in Aitkin and McGregor on Thursday, January 15th, are cancelled due to the extreme cold. The classes will be re-scheduled.