“Rural Free Delivery” Mural Ceremony @ YOUR Rowan County Public Library

 

 

After hanging in the old Morehead Post Office building for 78 years, the historic 5’ x 14’ mural “Rural Free Delivery” by artist Frank Weathers Long has a new home in YOUR Rowan County Public Library.  We invite you to join us on Thursday, May 25, at 11 a.m. for a celebration commemorating the addition of the painting to the works of art on display at the Library. 

Frank Weathers Long was an American artist and craftsman who was born in Knoxville, Tennessee, in 1906.  He lived at Berea, Kentucky, from 1934 to 1962, then moved to New Mexico.  Mr. Long died in Diamondhead, Mississippi, in 1969.  In addition to operating his own art studio in Berea, Mr. Long worked for the Section of Fine Arts, a program that was part of President Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal cultural programs.  The program sponsored murals and sculptures to be completed within post offices across the nation.  In his nine years with the Section, Mr. Long created twenty-one murals including “Rural Free Delivery” at the Morehead Post Office.  The mural depicts a scene of a family sharing mail that has just been delivered by horse and buggy.

The mural was taken down and restored by Steven Rogers Graves and Sam McKinney who operate McKinney Graves Art Restorations.  The mural was created using egg tempera; Graves and McKinney used egg tempera for the restoration.

You can hear more of the fascinating details about the mural’s creation and renovation during the gathering on Thursday.   
~Helen Willams
RCPL Director

So Much To Do @ YOUR Rowan County Public Library

 

Boredom is out of the question at YOUR Rowan County Public Library.  Of course, you may choose to borrow materials from thousands of books, magazines, books on CD, Playaways, preloaded Kindles, computer games, DVDs, and even mobile hotspots.  But there’s so much more.  Our event calendar is packed with programs and activities.  There is something happening every single day of the week—and you’re invited.  These are just a few of the things going on in May:

May 1-7:  Children’s Book Week—an annual celebration of children’s books and reading.  This year’s theme is “One World, Many Stories.”  Stop in and vote for your favorite books to receive the 10^th Annual Children’s and Teen’s Choice Book Awards.

May 6, 11 a.m. – 1 p.m.:  Open Technology Forum—Every Saturday, the Library’s technology staff members are available to answer your technology questions.  Even if you aren’t currently experiencing technology issues, you can definitely learn from the questions of other folks attending.

May 6, 3 p.m.:  Adult Book Discussion Club—The title being discussed this month is The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton.  If you haven’t read the book, come and hear the discussion and then check out a copy of the book that will be discussed in June.

May 9, 2 p.m.:  Art for Beginners—join a group of budding artists.

May 9, 5 p.m.:  Chess Club—learn to play or challenge Phil!

May 10, 5 p.m.:  Teen Game Night—If you are between the ages of 15 and 25, enjoy an evening of gaming and refreshments.

May 11, 11 a.m.:  Friends of the Rowan County Public Library Meeting—The RCPL Friends meet once a month to discuss ways to support the lifelong learning mission of the Library.  The State Friends of the Library group have been showing their support of public libraries by wearing bright yellow stickers that say, “Kentucky’s Public Libraries Have Friends.”  YOUR Rowan County Public Library NEEDS Friends.  Why not join?  Additional information is available at rowancountylibrary.org and membership brochures are available at the Library.

May 16, 11 a.m.-1 p.m.:  Creative Coloring & Coffee for Adults—Drop in any time during the two hours to color and chat with the group.

May 20, 1-3 p.m.:  Minecraft Club—Use the Library’s license to join your friends (Grades 1-8) and play Minecraft.  Please call 784-7137 and preregister.

May 26, 12:30-3:30 p.m.:  Paper Quilting Class—That’s right . . .PAPER Quilting!  You never know until you try, so stop by and enjoy the experience.

May 30:  Registration for Summer Reading begins!  The 2017 SRP theme is, “Build a Better World,” and the staff at YOUR Rowan County Public Library have been planning for a super summer filled with reading, programs, activities, and tons of fun.

Go to rowancountylibrary.org for a complete list of programs and activities.  Follow us on FaceBook.

~Written by Helen Williams – RCPL Director

~Graphics by Dawn Sargent

Traveling Tomato Show, Friends’ Annual Used Book Sale, and More @ YOUR Rowan County Public Library

     

  The list of programs and meetings happening at YOUR Rowan County Public Library during the next month is a long one.  I’m going to mention some of them; you need to go to rowancountylibrary.org to view the entire calendar or pick up a printed calendar at the front circulation desk.

               Many of you are not only familiar with, but, you expect the Library to host the “Heirloom Seed” program each spring.  Well, put it on your calendar for March 30 at 6 p.m.  Julie Maruskin has changed the name to “The 2017 Traveling Tomato Show” for this crowd-pleasing heirloom seed-starting workshop.  Attendees who have PREREGISTERED will receive a free organic heirloom tomato seedling and six packets of tomato seeds which include locally grown heirloom varieties (a $22 value!).  Call 784-7137 to preregister.  If you have plants, bulbs, or seeds you would like to share with others, bring those with you.

               You’ve been waiting a year for the Annual Friends of the Library Used Book Sale, and it’s almost here.  Mark your calendar now for Thursday-Saturday, April 6-8, and get to the Library early for the first chance to select from thousands of titles—books, CDs, DVDs, and more.  The sale runs

9 a.m. – 8 p.m. on Thursday, and 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, with a super sale during the final hours on Saturday.  Don’t forget to shop in the Friends of the Library Bookstore while you’re at the Library.  The Bookstore is always open when the Library is open—64 hours a week.

               It’s Minecraft Club time on Saturday, March 11, 1-3 p.m.  The Library provides the game access for young folks in Grades 1-8.  Seating is limited; preregister by calling 784-7137.

               The Library’s monthly Family Movie Night is next Thursday, March 16, beginning at 6 p.m.  Bring the family and enjoy the Walt Disney animated musical adventure film “Moana.”  As always, the popcorn will be free, freshly popped, and delicious!

               Take a midday break and stop in any time between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. on Tuesday, March 21, for our Adult Coloring and Coffee program.  We provide the supplies; all we need is YOU.

               Builders between the ages of 5 and 12 are invited to join the monthly LEGO Club fun on Saturday, March 25, 1-3 p.m.   LEGOs and snacks will be provided.  Bring your imagination!

               From learning to play chess or a dulcimer to crafting and quilting, there’s a program for you on the Library’s calendar.  What are you waiting for?  Join the fun!

~Helen Williams, Library Director

~Graphics: Dawn Sargent              

 

 

An Evening with Abraham Lincoln @ YOUR Rowan County Public Library

 

              

  The staff at YOUR Rowan County Public Library invites you to join us on Tuesday evening, February 28, at 6 p.m. for a Kentucky Chautauqua.   “Abraham Lincoln:  Wit and Wisdom of a President” introduces Greg Waltermire as the latest performer to portray President Lincoln as part of the Kentucky Humanities Council’s continuing work to bring to life people from Kentucky’s past.

                Even though Abraham Lincoln’s family moved from Kentucky when he was only seven, Mr. Lincoln had connections to his native state throughout his life.  Learn more about those connections during this entertaining and educational performance for adults and young adults.  Plan to stay for refreshments and an opportunity to talk with Mr. Waltermire.

                No doubt you will be inspired to read more about President Lincoln.  We will have a large selection of titles pulled and ready for you to check out including:

1864:  Lincoln at the Gates of History by Charles Bracelen Flood (downloadable electronic resource)

Abraham Lincoln, a Man of Faith and Courage by Joe L. Wheeler (CD B LINC)

American Brutus:  John Wilkes Booth and the Lincoln Conspiracies by Michael W. Kauffman,

                364.1524 KAUF)

 Big Enough to Be Inconsistent:  Abraham Lincoln Confronts Slavery and Race by George M.

                Frederickson (downloadable electronic resource)

Civil War, Lexington, Kentucky:  Bluegrass Breeding Ground of Power by Joshua H. Leet

                (KY/G 976.904 LEET)

Congressman Lincoln:  the Making of America’s Greatest President by Chris DeRose (328.73 DERO)

The Essential Abraham Lincoln (973.6 LINC)

The Gettysburg Address and Other Writings (973.7 LINC)

The Hour of Peril:  the Secret Plot to Murder Lincoln Before the Civil War by Daniel Stashower

                (973.7092 STAS)

House of Abraham by Stephen William Berry (B LINC)

Killing Lincoln:  the Shocking Assassination that Changed America Forever by Bill O’Reilly (973.7092

OREI; CD NF OREI)

Lincoln by David Herbert Donald (973.7092 DONA)

Lincoln:  “I , Too, Am a Kentuckian (DVD LINC)

The Lincoln Image:  Abraham Lincoln and the Popular Print by Harold Holzer (973.7 HOLZ)

Lincoln Legends:  Myths, Hoaxes, and Confabulations Associated With Our Greatest President by

                Edward Steers (973.7092 STEE)

Lincoln of Kentucky by Lowell Hayes Harrison (973.7092 HARR)

Lincoln On Leadership:  Executive Strategies for Tough Times by Donald T. Phillips (973.7 PHIL)

Lincoln Through the Lens:  How Photography Revealed and Shaped an Extraordinary Life by Martin

1. Sandler (B LINC)

The Lincolns:  a Scrapbook Look at Abraham and Mary by Candace Fleming (B LINC)

Lincoln’s Battle With God:   a President’s Struggle With Faith and What It Meant for America by

Stephen Mansfield (CD B LINC)

Lincoln’s Last Days:  the Shocking Assassination That Changed America Forever by Bill O’Reilly

(PA YANF OREI)
Lincoln’s Melancholy:  How Depression Challenged a President and Fueled His Greatness by Joshua

                Wolf Shenk (B LINC)

Team of Rivals:  the Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln by Doris Kearns Goodwin (CD NF GOOD;

973.7092 GOOD)

Through the Eyes of Lincoln: A Modern Photographic Journey by Ron Elliott (B LINC)

The Words of Abraham Lincoln:  Speeches, Letters, Proclamations, and Papers of Our Most

Eloquent President (B LINC)

Young Mr. Lincoln (DVD YOUN)

~ Helen Williams
Library Director

Graphics by Dawn Sargent

DC Comics Rebirth @ RCPL

We are excited to announce the addition of DC Comics’ “Rebirth” to our hoopla digital offering!

As a patron of the Rowan County Public Library, you now have immediate access to the entire “DC Universe: Rebirth Deluxe Edition,” a 96 Page Collectors’ version that features extensive bonus material not available on any other library digital media platform!

Prepare yourself for pairs of new, full volumes of DC graphic novels to come in 2017 – each featuring individual members of the DC character “family!” Check out the full reveal schedule below for more information!

Haven’t heard of hoopla? hoopla is a digital media service provided to you, our patron, through which you may access and enjoy nearly half a million titles, from six different formats: Movies, TV, Music Albums, Audiobooks, eBooks, and Comics/Graphic Novels. All in one location, from your computer, tablet or Smartphone!

With hoopla, there are no hold lists nor special steps to use it. Everything is immediately available! Simply download the app, register and enjoy!

It just works!

To register for and enjoy hoopla digital for FREE with your library card, please download the hoopla digital app from your Apple or Google Play store on your mobile device. If you are using a computer, you may visit https://www.hoopladigital.com/home

Enjoy!

Check Out a Mobile Hotspot @ YOUR Rowan County Public Library

 

 

No kidding! Your RCPL library card makes it possible for you to borrow a mobile hotspot from the Library.  Circulating hotspots is our latest effort to provide you with the materials and resources you need for lifelong learning.

 

According the University of Kentucky Center for Business and Economic Research, many counties in Kentucky are in the “information highway slow lane.”    Michael Childress reports that “access to and use of the internet appear to be increasingly important.  Studies show that internet use increases employment and income, enhances consumer welfare, and promotes civic engagement.”  However, various studies show that Kentucky ranks anywhere from 42^nd to 47^th in internet connectivity and speed.  Many individuals in Rowan County rely on the internet access provided by the Library.  Whether for school work, completion of employment documents and other forms, email, or access to social media, internet access is a major Rowan County Public Library resource.

 

Come on in and be among the first patrons to borrow a mobile hotspot that will give you internet access from most parts of the county where cell service is available.   To check out a hotspot, you must be a registered patron of the Rowan County Public Library whose card is in good standing, and, you must be at least 18 years old.  After you read and sign a hotspot agreement form, Library staff members will update your borrower information to include a current photograph and email address in order to complete the transaction.   Instructions for use are included in the case; staff assistance will also be available.

In case you are wondering:

–Borrowing a hotspot is FREE!

–Hotspots may be checked out for seven (7) days and cannot be renewed.

–Hotspot circulation is limited to one per household.

–The hotspot can provide Wi-Fi internet access for up to ten (10) devices.

–Hotspots circulate on a first come, first served basis;
they may not be reserved/placed on hold.

–Hotspots may not be returned through the Library’s book drop.

–Overdue hotspots will be deactivated.

From books to DVDs to Playaways and Kindles—and now, HOTSPOTS—all are available for checkout from YOUR Rowan County Public Library.

 

~ Helen Williams
Library Director

2017 Reading Challenge @ YOUR Rowan County Public Library

The staff at YOUR Rowan County Public Library challenge you to participate in a year-long reading challenge for 2017.  If you are like many of us, the books you read are from one or two genres.  Maybe you prefer to read books about true crime, travel, or money and finance.  If fiction is your choice, perhaps you prefer fantasy or inspirational romance.  For me, my preference is historical fiction.  Many of our RCPL patrons want to read everything written by a specific author—James Patterson, Stephen King, J. K. Rowling, or Louis L’Amour.

The 2017 RCPL reading challenge is a fun way to “read outside your box”—whether you read physical books or read electronically using Kindles, smart phones, or other devices, or, you listen to books in various formats such as CDs, Playaways, and MP3s.  (Thousands of titles are available for free downloading from OverDrive and hoopla by going to the Library’s web site and using your library card number.)

RCPL staff member Deborah Smith was inspired to create the 2017 RCPL reading challenge while she participated in a 2016  challenge by Tim Challies, an avid reader and blogger.  She was an “obsessed reader,” reading 104 books this year!  She says, “I wasn’t sure I could do it, with my busy schedule, but, with the help of audiobooks from the Library, and (downloading books from) OverDrive, I was able to listen to quite a few of the books in addition to physical books which I read.  It’s been a very enjoyable experience, and I’ve learned so much from reading nonfiction and many classics.  I plan to do the challenge again in 2017!”

Stop by the Library and pick up the 2017 RCPL reading challenge brochure, or, print a copy:  the-2017-rcpl-reading-challenge

You decide which of the four levels of the challenge will work best for you.  From the “Light Reader” level to the “Obsessed Reader” level, you determine the specific book you want to read next, for example, “A book with a one-word title” may be the ninth challenge listed, but you may choose to read it before “A book based on a true story” which is the sixth book on the list.

Please send an email or drop a note in the suggestion box during 2017 and tell us how you’re doing.  And, make suggestions for the categories of the 2018 RCPL reading challenge.

Enjoy the challenge!

~ Helen Williams
Library Director

Art by Dawn Sargent

This, That, and the Other @ YOUR Rowan County Public Library

 

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THIS year’s Christmas Open House at YOUR Rowan County Public Library is Monday evening, December 12, at 6 p.m.  Be sure to register and complete a ticket for the door prize drawings as you arrive.  Drawings will be held for several prizes for both adults and children.  Enjoy a large variety of finger foods and desserts while you listen to the beautiful holiday music performed by the Morehead Mountain Strings Dulcimer Group.  Santa plans to stop by the Children’s Area for a photo with the children and to hear what they want him to put under their tree.  And, Miss Sandy has a craft for them to complete, too.  We look forward to sharing this evening with you.

THAT our “Drop Your Drawers at the Library” campaign is in full swing and will continue through December 31 is the second thing I want to share with you.  YOUR Rowan County Public Library has joined public library systems throughout Kentucky for a statewide drive to collect underwear for our local school system’s Family Resource Centers (Tilden Hogge, Rodburn, McBrayer, and Clearfield Elementary).  Once we learned about the need for new underwear for our boys and girls, sizes 4-16, we decided to ask all you generous folks in Rowan County to pitch in and help.  Literally, you are invited to pitch your packages of underwear into the bin.  If you prefer, we’ll even accept a financial donation and shop for the underwear ourselves.  And, we’ll take your picture and give you a “I Dropped My Drawers at the Library” sticker, too!

OTHER Library happenings before Christmas are:  (1) this year’s Winter Reading Program kick-off event on Saturday, December 17, at 1 p.m.  Get ready to travel around the world when you register for “Book a Trip.”  For ages 12 and under, “Book a Trip” activities and reading will conclude with a program finale on March 4.  (2) “Creative Coloring & Coffee” on Tuesday, December 20, 11 a.m. – 1 p.m.    Stop in for coffee and some coloring fun—coffee and supplies provided.

HOOPLA is coming to YOUR RCPL.  Get ready!

~ Helen Williams
Library Director

Art by Dawn Sargent

Never Judge A Book By Its Movie

Participate in the Rowan County Public Library Adult Book and Movie Challenge! Earn an entry to the drawing for a prize, for every title read/listened to and watched. New titles will be added every few months with a new drawing for a prize. Pick up a check-listed bookmark at the “Never Judge a Book By Its Movie” shelf at the Library (Adult Program) October 6 – November 30. Check out the YA Edition selections, too! Located on the YA display shelf. For more information 784-7137, download our app! RCPL2GO, or visit http://rowan.boundless.ly/programs-classes/adult/

Read for the Record @ YOUR Rowan County Public Library

Mark your calendar for the 11th anniversary of Jumpstart’s Read for the Record®, a global movement towards transformative change in early education.  On 10/27, children and adults around the world will highlight the importance of children’s literacy by participating in the world’s largest shared reading experience. This year’s campaign book, “The Bear Ate Your Sandwich” by Julia Sarcone-Roach, is a classic tale of a bear’s epic journey and the mystery surrounding one delicious sandwich. Join the movement today at readfortherecord.org. #ReadfortheRecord

This event will take place on Thursday, October 27, at 6 pm; for ages 12 and under.