Something different?

Since today is April Fool's Day, the staff decided to have a little fun...notice anything different?

My new best friend...

It's Griff! He's one of our therapy dogs who come to read to children on Thursday nights.

Beginning Beading with Mary Therese

Please bring the following supplies with you:

*Beads
*Head Pins
*Eye Pins
*Ear Wires
*Small Wire Cutters
*Needlenose Pliers
*Roundnose Pliers

Hope to see you there!

For Adults Only...

Linn Area Reads 2011

Hi all! If you haven't yet heard, we have announced our selection for this year's Linn Area Reads. It is Irreplaceable by Stephen Lovely.

In addition to this year's selection, we have several corresponding programs that will provide insight and a personal touch:

* Book Discussion: Thursday, March 24th, 7pm at Barnes and Noble Booksellers.

* Iowa Donor Network and Friends: Saturday, April 2nd, 2pm at Marion Public Library.

* Meet the Author: Tuesday, April 19th at Ballantyne Auditorium on the Kirkwood Community College campus.

For more information on the programs being presented visit the Metro Library Network's website at: www.metrolibrarynetwork.org



From his website (http://www.stephenlovely.com/index.html), Mr. Lovely tells more about his book:
"Alex Voormann is an intense, cerebral thirty year-old whose life has been derailed by his wife's sudden death. Alex lives in Athens, Iowa, a university town. Alex's wife, Isabel, was killed in a bicycle accident a year before the novel's action begins. Isabel's heart was transplanted to a vigorous, willful woman named Janet Corcoran who teaches art at a predominantly-Mexican high school in Chicago. Guilt about Isabel's death and concern for Isabel's family have driven her to get in touch with Alex and with Isabel's mother, Bernice, who also lives in Athens. Alex regards Janet as a bizarre outgrowth of his tragedy, and doesn't want anything to do with her. Bernice, long-divorced and estranged from her son, is interested in getting to know Janet and her family. Bernice and Alex have become close companions since Isabel's death, but their divergent responses to Janet's overtures threaten to divide them. They're also disturbed by a local blues musician named Jasper who was driving the truck that killed Isabel, and who has been stalking Alex, attempting to befriend him. Like Janet, Jasper seeks absolution and assurance of Alex's well being. Also, he knows Isabel's heart was transplanted, and wants to find out who got it. He's devastated by the knowledge that he destroyed a life but attracted to the idea that he was partially responsible for saving another.

Irreplaceable is the story of what happens next — not only to Alex but within the concentric circles of family that spiral outward from him and from Janet."

We are loved...

Normally I hate Valentine's Day. It irritates me to no end. But...I may have to make an exception today. One of our lovely patrons brought us a dozen roses.





The card said "To the BEST library staff in the world." I think these roses may mean more to me than any my boyfriend could have gotten me! :)

Public Service Matters

We just received some depressing news this morning. Governor Branstad gave his budget and program presentation to the Iowa General Assembly, and the cuts to libraries are going to run very deep. I understand that times are still tough, and that money is still tight. But I also understand the importance of public service and what Iowa's libraries mean to the communities they serve. Statistics over the last ten years show a large increase in patronage to Iowa's libraries. Library visits increased 40 percent from FY00, with 19,656,938 visits reported in FY10. That’s an average of 53,854 people walking into their local public libraries a day! To continually cut budgets of libraries is detrimental not only to the staff, but also to the patrons they serve. Public service matters. Period. People rely on our expertise, our skills, our materials, and our facilities to provide them services in tough times. The more our budgets are cut, the less we're able to serve.

To see just how deep the cuts are coming, here are the numbers that Mary Wegner, our State Librarian reported:

1. State Library. The proposed funding level of $1,219,799 represents a cut of 6% ($77,859) from the State Library’s mid-FY11 level of $1,297,658. If enacted, the FY12 State Library budget will be 19% below the FY11 legislative appropriation; 22% down from FY10; and 36% down from FY09.

2. Library Service Areas. The proposed funding level of $1,013,905 represents a cut of 10% ($114,717) from the Library Service Area’s mid-FY11 level of $1,128,622. If enacted, the FY12 LSA budget will be 12% below their original FY11 level, 30% down from FY10, and 37% down from FY09.

3. Enrich Iowa program for libraries. The proposed funding level of $1,688,316 represents a cut of 25% ($557,765) from FY11. All Enrich Iowa funding from the Rebuild Iowa Infrastructure Fund (RIIF) is eliminated; RIIF funding was $450,000 in FY11 and $950,000 in FY10. If enacted, Enrich Iowa funding in FY12 will be down 39% from FY10.

4. Total state funding for libraries. The proposed overall funding level of $3,922,020 represents a cut of 16% from the mid-FY11 level and a cut of 28% from the original FY11 level.

Don't want to see this happen? Contact your local state legislators and the governor and let them know how important your libraries are to you. Your support is needed now more than ever.