In April, the Casey County Public Library, in cooperation with the Friends of the Library, held a unique luncheon for several very special ladies who have been instrumental in the history of the library.

The "Library Ladies Living Legacy Luncheon" honored former and current board members and employees over the age of 80. The event was a Garden Tea Party and library employees served as chefs, waitresses, and clean-up crew to show these amazing women how much they have meant to the Casey County Public Library as well as the community.

There have been many changes at the Bath County Memorial Library this past year:  a new director (Michael Richter), a new bookmobile, a permanent revolving collection at the local assisted living facilities, an updated children's room, and a newly renovated meeting room complete with chalkboard paint. The library has especially enjoyed its Summer Reading promotion. The promotion was a great opportunity to create a working relationship with the schools and community members.

 

The library invited students from the local elementary schools to create a design based on the national theme, "Every Hero Has a Story." The third, fourth, and fifth grade students created a character or logo that best represented the theme. Unfortunately, the library discovered a problem. The three top picks were very good and difficult to choose between! Library officials decided to interview the children at their schools to find out a bit more about their characters.  

 

The meetings were scheduled and the budding artists were asked five predetermined questions about the heroes. It was decided that the hero with the best story would be the winner and have their character on the Summer Reading t-shirts this year.  

 

After the interviews the library officials still couldn't decide between two finalists. Their stories were awesome, the kids adorable, and their own personal heroes terrific. There was nothing to do but choose both, so this year the library will have both a red and a blue shirt. 

 

The library's red shirt will feature "The Reader" by third grader Roby Pile. Roby's superhero remembers everything he reads in books and uses it to fight crime. His real life superhero is his Mom because she always takes care of him.   

 

 

The Scott County Public Library will be celebrating "Preservation Week" April 26 - May 2. The library is inviting library customers to bring in photos of loved ones who served in the military. The photographs will be featured in a new veterans' database for the library's Kentucky Room Collection.

In order to advertise the program and the new database, the library created a very special poster. Some of the faces on the poster are library staff members or their family members.

Maria Church, the female navy veteran pictured on the far left of the poster, served in the Gulf in the early 1990's. Today Maria is a Library Assistant focusing on Hispanic outreach in the community. The two navy veterans pictured in the center are her family members.

The photo at the top of the poster, Lt. Colonel Michael Burnside (Ret.), who served from 1974-1994, is the husband of the library's assistant director, Patti Burnside.

"Using these personal photographs meant a lot to us, and we hope that we get a good response from the public," said library media coordinator Sharon Roggenkamp.

Recently, a customer at the Grant County Public Library wondered if there were any programs available at the library for pregnant teens, in order to prepare her for the birth of her child. The library saw an excellent opportunity to use community needs to create valuable programming.

As a result, the library created a program called Focus on the Future. It is a six-week program for pregnant teens and parenting teens (moms and dads and children up to 2 years old).

Parents will learn how to stimulate their baby's development and how to build literacy skills through interactive stories, songs and music. Each week features a special guest, a baby oriented craft, suggestions on books and how to read them. Participants will take home a card with rhymes, names of books and a craft suggestion.

"We will make homemade baby toys with the parents, showing them that they can make something from nothing," said children's services staff member Cheryl Clemons. "Also, on the flyer we created to advertise the program, we made sure to use photographs that pregnant and parenting teens can relate to," (photos below).

Muhlenberg County Public Libraries, in conjunction with the Friends of the Library and the Greenville (KY) Tourism Commission, hosted the annual Spring Victorian Tea at Thistle Cottage on May 2, 2015. Seatings were available at 1 p.m. and 4 p.m.

This fun family event took place at Thistle Cottage, an historic home built in 1912. It featured live piano music, entertainment by author Linda Hawkins, and a light meal in the style of a Victorian-era tea party.

Guests wore their Sunday best. Library staff used fine silver and china to provide an elegant atmosphere. The participants particularly enjoyed the best hat contest.

The Spring Victorian Tea is a very popular event that many community members look forward to every year.