July 6, 2010

June a Record-Breaker at McPherson Public Library

The McPherson Public Library is a popular place this summer, as evidenced by two records which were broken during the month of June.
 
Attendance at children’s activities and events held as part of the library’s annual summer reading program hit 1,867 people for the month.  “The number of children visiting the library has been exciting to see,” said Mandy Martin, Children’s Librarian. “In addition to our regular programs we had two amazing special performers in June who help encourage kids to keep reading all summer long, and we are looking forward to more exciting programs in July.”  The previous record was 1,484 from June 2006.

Circulation – the number of books, audiobooks, DVDs, CDs, and other materials checked out by patrons – also broke a record in June, coming in at 22,585 items for the month.  The previous record was 20,736 set in June 2009. 

Library staff sensed that June was an unusually busy month.  “One expects to see a spike in statistics for several months after a new library is opened,” said library director Steve Read, “But this is a year and a half out from that – we love it!”   

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May 26, 2010

Children's Summer Reading Fun Festival on June 3rd

The McPherson Public Library is sponsoring a fun festival for the “Summer Reading Kick-Off on Thursday, June 3rd from 9:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. at the library.  All ages are invited to help us kick off the Summer Reading Program “Make a Splash . . . READ!”. The library will have free games, art activities, balloon animals, and temporary tatoos.  Children will also have a chance to sign up for the Summer Reading Program during this event. 

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May 24, 2010

Public Library Makes a Splash with Reading Programs for All

Readers of all ages can dive into a sea of books and wallow in them all summer long, with the beginning of the 2010 summer reading programs at the library.  The library is offering special reading programs for three different age groups – and each of them has a cool and refreshing theme.

“Make a Splash—READ!” is the theme for the highly-popular children’s summer program.  Kids will explore the world of water and water fun through stories, songs, games and other activities about oceans, rivers, lakes, and pools and the creatures that live there.  Join us this summer for special performers, snack bunch, lunch bunch, puppets, and book groups, to list a few of the activities. 

Kids can pick up a summer reading game board and read books all summer long to earn prizes.

To register children for regularly scheduled summer programs, visit the library, call them at 245-2570, or register online by visiting the library web site at www.macpl.org and selecting the Children’s Programs option.

Special performers for children this summer include Thad Beach and his Band in a Bucket, Kevin Horner Live!—a comedy, ventriloquism and illusion show, and Dan Dan the Magic Man.

Teens can “Make Waves @ Your Library” this summer by participating in the library’s teen summer reading program from June 3-August 16.  Teens are invited to come to the Library and read for prizes as well as take part in special events offered throughout the summer.
Special events for teens this summer include an evening at the library, movie night and a soap making workshop. Teens can register for all programs beginning June 3rd.

Adults ready for the summer reading will not be left out of the fun.  Whether they prefer to test the waters with a magazine or want to plunge into non-fiction or novels, the library has something for everyone in “Dive into Reading”, the Adult Summer Reading program.
Adult readers can explore new genres, make waves with a book review, sign up for book suggestions, join the library’s online book discussion group, or surf the website - and receive prizes for each level of participation.

Registration for the adult program begins on June 1.  Patrons who stop at the service desk to sign up will get a prize just for being brave enough to join the team! 

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May 1, 2010

May is Food for Fines Month

The McPherson Public Library has designated May as Food for Fines month.  Throughout this month, patrons may pay their library fines with canned goods or packaged food.  Each food item equals up to $1.00 toward the payment of any fine.

All items go to the McPherson County Food Bank.  During May, the library will also accept any donations of food for the Food Bank.

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April 22, 2010

Library Seeking Historic Photographs
by Sean Wardwell, Staff Writer, The McPherson Sentinel

The McPherson Public Library is encouraging residents with photographs of the city's history to donate them to the library's McPherson Room collection.

"Part of our history is fading away. People aren't saving photos of historic McPherson," said Library Director Steve Read. "We want to encourage people to donate."

Read is working with City Commissioner Bob Moore, who has donated several photographs from his own collection. The library is able to keep the photos in its archives, and if citizens want to keep the photograph , scan them to a digital archive and either E-mail the photo back, or keep the digital copy.

The library is in the process of developing an online database where interested residents can take a trip back in time to see the city as it was 100 years ago.

"There are probably people out there who have pictures," Moore said. "We want everyone to able to enjoy them.

The library already maintains a file, consisting of already donated photos and old newspaper clippings.

To donate to the library , contact Read at (620) 245-2570, or e-mail him at library at macpl.org.

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March 30, 2010

Public Library Announces Addition of Major Online Newspaper Resource

The McPherson Public Library now has available online a resource which provides full-text content from over 1,500 local, state and national newspapers.  NewsBank includes recent and back issues from The McPherson Sentinel and thirty other Kansas newspapers.  The database also covers some 1,500 other newspapers across the United States.

People searching for news and information about other parts of the country, genealogists looking for obituaries or family members, people looking for sports scores, historians doing research, and a great many others will find this resource to be invaluable. 

Library patrons using NewsBank have the option of browsing individual issues of a particular newspaper or searching for subjects or keywords in a group of newspapers – or the entire database.  Coverage dates for each newspaper vary, but the average start date is around the year 2000.

“We provide other newspaper databases for use by our patrons that include the big-name newspapers,” said library director Steve Read, “but NewsBank is unique in that it not only includes the big names but coverage of a great many smaller newspapers as well.  We are very impressed by the Kansas newspaper titles in NewsBank.”  A complete source list of newspapers included is available in the database.

NewsBank also includes archive video feeds from some network television stations, such as KAKE in Wichita and WIBW in Topeka.

To access NewsBank visit the library or visit the library web site at www.macpl.org, then select the Search Databases menu option.  Persons using the database from outside the library must have a McPherson Public Library borrower’s card to login.  For more information, call the library at 245-2570.

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March 2, 2010

Library Provides First-Class Ticket to See the World

The McPherson Public Library has acquired Global Road Warrior, a world-class database providing a wide variety of information on 175 nations and territories.  It includes over 6,500 color photos.  
Topics include society and culture, travel essentials, business culture, communications and more.

Created by an international team of researchers, cartographers
and writers, the database is continually updated. Global Road Warrior is a valuable resource for business people engaged in international trade, students researching country reports, patrons planning
international travel, and anyone interested in exploring exotic locales.   

In addition to standard information such as government, geography, and climate, patrons can also learn about sports, gift giving, food and recipes, holidays and festivals, superstitions and folklore, and much more.  They can view and download images of the country’s coins and bills, as well as thousands of colorful photographs and maps.

“Global Road Warrior is the latest addition to our suite of databases, ” said Library Director Steve Read.  “It is part of our ongoing commitment to provide quality online content for our patrons.  Plus, it’s so fun to explore!”

To discover Global Road Warrior – or the library’s large selection of other databases --  visit the library web site at www.macpl.org and select the Search Databases option from the menu.  For questions or additional information, contact the library at 245-2570.  

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