Converse County Library

May/June 2013

Volume 8, No. 3

Bridges

Children 2

Teens 2

Adults 2

Spotlight 2

Beyond Books 3

What’s Hot 3

Foundation 3

Glenrock News 4

Inside this issue:

Building Bites One-Man LEGO Show

Comes to Converse

County Libraries Voters approved the funding.

Now what? Lack of construction

activity doesn’t mean things aren’t

moving forward on the library

building expansion program.

County commissioners, George K.

Baum representatives, and library

and administration members met

several times in January and Feb-

ruary to put together a plan for

financial arrangements for the

project and take the necessary

steps for the sale of bonds to take

place in July.

Commissioners signed a contract

with Hein/Bond Architects for the

design and construction phase of

the project in March. Refinement

of drawings, both interior and

exterior, continues.

Greg Shavlik, Project Manager,

and Joe Hall, Lead Engineer of

KL&A toured Douglas and Glen-

rock sites in late March for a look

at present buildings to determine

their structural integrity.

Inberg-Miller Engineers performed

soil sample testing in April, with a

little extra thrown in for Con-

verse County Bank (sorry about

that).

The Board of Trustees just signed

a contract with Library Planning

Associates, Inc. to update the

2006 needs assessment with par-

ticular emphasis on technological

needs for the new buildings. After

all, who was even thinking about e

-books, wifi, smartphones, etc.

Mike Blakely, singer/songwriter

and novelist, will be performing at

Converse County

libraries in July.

Blakely will appear at

the Converse County

Library Tuesday, July

23 at 6:00 pm. He will

appear at the Glen-

rock Senior Center

Wednesday, July 24 at

10:30 am. Both con-

certs are free.

A s a s i n g e r /

songwriter Blakely has

released 11 CDs, performed all

over the U.S., and toured Europe

16 times.

As an author, he has published 17

books released by major New

York publishers. His last two were

co-writes, one with Willie Nelson

and the other with Kenny Rogers.

way back then.

May 8 County Commissioners

interviewed finalists for the posi-

tion of Owner’s Rep/Construction

Manager with Inberg-Miller Engi-

neers (IME) beating out the other

candidates. Library board and

administration reps were in at-

tendance.

May 28, IME will meet with a rep-

resentative from the County

Commissioners, Hein/Bond, and

library reps to get acquainted and

work out upcoming work and

communication steps in the pro-

ject.

Mike Blakely: Singer/

Songwriter ~ Novelist

Coming to Converse County

libraries Tuesday, June 11, it’s

Lego Guy, also known as Curtis

Mork.

When illness forced Mork to quit

his job, he started looking for a

hobby. While browsing at Target

for Christmas , Mork was caught

looking at a “Star Wars” LEGO

set. The set ended up under the

Christmas tree and Mork ended

up with a lifetime hobby, which

has since turned into a business.

Mork’s hobby

has grown into

over 85,000

pieces and

would cost

more than

$9,000 to purchase.

When not spending hours in his

basement playing with his collec-

tion, Bork speaks at libraries

around the Rocky Mountain re-

gion. Showing off sets of LEGOs is

only part

of the

program.

He

brings a

green

tub filled with random pieces and

encourages kids to dive in.

Mork will be appearing at the

Converse County Library in

Douglas at 10 AM for younger

kids and at 12 Noon for kids 12

and up. He will also appear at the

Glenrock Branch Library in Glen-

rock at 3 PM.

All LEGO lovers are invited to

attend any or all programs.

Curtis Mork, the Lego Guy

Page 2 Bridges

CHATTER FROM THE CHILDREN’S DEPARTMENT

animals with the Forest Service.

Are you into eating worms? How about if they’re dipped in chocolate. During “Worm Week” not only will we be eating tasty worms but we’ll make some colorful ones too.

INDIANA BONES returns in July 10 at 10:00 am to dazzle kids with stories and startle them with his whip. Mike McCarthy, alias Indiana Bones, is one of the most fascinating story tellers we’ve had as a visitor to our library.

June/July calendars are available in the Children’s Department with all the dates and details.

Erika will be leaving the library system effective May 31 to relocate to Laramie, WY. Best of luck to you and David.

Summer reading is just around the corner. DIG INTO READING and sign up starting June 3. Begin tracking your time on June 10. The program will run through July 20.

LEGO MAN will kick off the first week’s summer fun at 10:00 am June 11. Kids will have a blast seeing all the amazing things they can build with Legos.

Other summer fun programs include fossils, fossil making, and

Shelly Schmitt joins the library staff as the new Children’s Librarian. I’m sad to say good-bye. Working here with you and your family and the library staff has been a wonderful experience for me. I will miss everyone. Thank you!

—Erika Mariner, Children’s Librarian

Shelly Schmitt of Douglas started her first

day of work as the new Children’s

Librarian on Tuesday, May 21. Please

stop by, visit and welcome her. She has

lots of new ideas for future programs and

activities and is looking forward to

meeting everyone.

guesses of 50,000 book in the

library...the actual number comes

in at just over 51,000.

Sign-ups are approaching fast for

our 2013 Summer Reading

Programs. As you may have read

by now, sign-ups start June 3. The

program runs June 10-July 20.

Come in and take part in some

amazing programs, dig into a good

book, and maybe win some great

prizes.

Make summer reading a family

affair. Thursday will be Family

Game Day, June 6—August 8,

2013, 10 AM—4 PM. Bring your

own or play one of ours.

—Cinnamon Johnson, Patron Services

Manager

F.R.A.N.K.’S PLACE - FUN. READS. ACTIVITIES. NOISE. KNOWLEDGE.

Angel’s June displays will feature

Wyoming Outdoors, Fossils, and

Audio Materials. June is National

Audio Book Month.

Let’s offer a big congrats to all our

patrons who came in and helped

us celebrate National Library

Week 2013.

We had twenty-one

winners in our “Photo

Scavenger Hunt” and the

following 6 people were

able to guess ALL of our

business photos: Zach

Moore, Liz Moore (and

their children Isaac and

MacKenzie), Carmyn Nida, Emily

Skeen, Teri Skeen, and Cher

Bailey. Way to go! A HUGE

THANKS goes out to all of the

local businesses that participated

and donated prizes. Recognition

also goes to Vickie Jordan and

Carmyn Nida for their matching

place on June 15. Summer reading

runs through July 20.

June 12, 3 pm, Graffiti at the

Library

June 13, 5 pm, Jaws party

June 18, 2 pm, Crystal

Making

June 19, 4 PM, Mosaic

The sun is shining, the

temperatures are rising, and the

crazy April snowstorms are

behind us. Time to start look

forward to Summer Reading!

Summer reading officially begins

with signups starting June 3. We’ll

begin accepting reading logs for

weekly prize drawings June 10

with the first drawing to take

Frames

June 20, 6 pm, Teen Gaming

June 26, 4 pm, Personal

Time Capsule

June 27, 4pm, Hobbit Party

Remember, it’s always game night

every Thursday—board games,

card games, role-playing games.

Spotlight on

May displays:

Baseball,

MoneySmart Week,

and Wyoming Book

Awards

Page 3

Volume 8 , Number 3

such as Spanish, French, German.

Mango Basic focuses on polite

greetings and small talk.

If you have more time, how about

undertaking Mango Complete.

These courses give users

comprehensive conversational

language and grammar skills.

If you’re planning a trip abroad

this summer, why not learn a

language minus the boring stuff.

Mango Languages can help you

acquire basic skills in over 49

languages including Chinese, Farsi,

Pashto, Tagalog, Dari, or Urdu.

Or maybe you’re determined to

learn the more popular languages

Do You Speak My Language?

Any book that helps a child to form a habit of reading, to

make reading one of his deep and continuing needs, is good for him.

Maya Angelou

Foundation News: The Wyoming State Legislature awarded another $3 million dollars to the Wyo-

ming Public Library Endowment Challenge program in the 2013 session and extended the date for gifting to the

program through June 30, 2017.

How many programs allow your donations to be matched 2:1? Very few. What does that mean? For every

dollar you donate, the Legislature will match it with an additional $2.00. Your donation triples in value. While

some Wyoming library foundations have met their individual goal, Converse County continues to struggle and

ranks in the lower percentile. Won’t you help? Let’s show other foundations that county residents have the

“right stuff.” Make a pledge or donation today. If you’ve already donated, how about an additional financial gift.

And they’re TAX DEDUCTIBLE. Interest from the permanent endowment will help the Library Foundation

support your county libraries for generations to come. Whether it’s children’s activities, special programs,

equipment/furniture needs, books and other library materials, or other needs that may arise YOU can make a

difference.

For more information on the Foundation please contact Karen Hopkins at (307) 358-3644, Paul Pidde at (307)

436-2573, or contact any Foundation member: Cher Bailey, Bob Lindmier, Margaret Grant, Mary Cannady,

Richard Cannady, Scott Barber, Karl Lybrand, Johnna Grant, or Ken Bollinger.

The next meeting of the Foundation is set for Monday, June 3.

Beyond Books All can be learned from the

comfort of your armchair or

wherever you can get online. Forty

-seven languages are available.

Mango Languages is available

through your local library at

gowyld.net. If looking into the

program from outside the library,

you’ll need your library card

number and PIN.

Adult Titles

Douglas:

1. Country Music Hall of Fame

Songbook Series: Piano, Vocal,

Guitar, Country Music Hall of

Fame & Museum

2. Merry Christmas, Alex Cross,

James Patterson

3. How to be an Everyday

Philanthropist: 330 ways to

make a difference, Nicole

Bouchard Boles

4. East of the Sun, Julia Gregson

5. Four to Score, Janet Evanovich

6. Breaking Point, C.J. Box

7. Nowhere to Run, C.J. Box

8. Open Season, C.J. Box

9. The Comprehensive Signed

English Dictionary, Ralph R.

Miller

What’s Hot

April 2013

10. The Ice Maiden Cometh Not:

Gil Yates Private Investigator,

Alistair Boyle

11. The Pied Piper, Ridley Pearson

Glenrock:

1. Breaking Point, C.J. Box

2. Back of Beyond, C.J. Box

3. Crimes of Redemption, Linda

McDonald

4. Death’s Icy Hand, Robert

Kresge

5. Ghost Trails of Wyoming, Mae

Bobb Urbanek

6. Bad Blood, Dana Stabenow

7. Junkyard Dogs, Craig Johnson

8. Masterpieces of Western

American Art, J. Gray Sweeney

9. The Unknown Shore, Patrick

O’Brian

10. We’re Indians Sure Enough: The

Legacy of the Scottish

Highlanders in the United States,

Michael Steven Newton

11. Zero Day: A Novel, David

Baldacci

Glenrock Children’s Librarian Rita

Heath and Douglas Teen Librarian

Maria Ricks joined other

Wyoming librarians in Cody May 2

-3, 2013 for the annual Children’s/

Young Adult Special Interest

Group meeting.

Guest speaker was Linda W.

Braun, with LEO (Librarians &

Educators Online). After an

introduction to Google Glasses,

Braun discussed her vision for the

future, bookless libraries. Maker

spaces, gaining in popularity in

libraries all across the county,

were also a third component of

the Braun’s program.

Other workshops featured library

friendly apps, using the WYLD

databases for research, and 3M

Cloud and e-books.

While in Cody, a visit to the Park

County Library was a must-see.

Converse County Library

Foundation, Inc.

Traveling Librarians

Family Game Day

Thursdays

June 6 ~ August 8

10 AM ~ 4 PM

Phone: 307-358-3644

Fax: 307-358-6743

E-mail:

khopkins@conversecountylibrary.org

Converse County Library 300 Walnut St.

Douglas, WY 82633

Converse County Library Bridges

Mission of the Converse County Library System:

Providing a wealth of resources to make a positive difference

in the lives of our patrons.

«AddressBlock»

Greetings From the Rock in the Glen - Glenrock Branch Library

Greetings from Glenrock!

Transition time!!

May brought us to the end of

StoryTime for the year with the

final program on Wednesday, May

8. Not to fear! On Tuesday, May

14, Rita joined other library staff

to help with the annual Wyoming

Reads program courtesy of the

Sue Jorgensen Library Foundation, providing books and readings to

first graders across the state.

Here in Converse County, the

event takes place traditionally at

our very own Ayers Natural

Bridge Park! On Tuesday, May 21,

local author and Glenrock music

teacher/band director Jeremy

Huck, appeared at the library to

discuss his new children’s book.

Huck is the author of and

Charlie, The Christmas

Caterpillar, and Marvin

Mouse.

June finds us starting our annual

Summer Reading program!

Registration kicks off on Monday,

June 3, 2013, and programs start

the following week with a

program by Curtis Mork: Lego

Guy! @ 3:00 PM on Tuesday, May

11.

Other programs and events will

continue through the month of

June and well into July with

program wrap-up on Wednesday,

July 24, with a program by Michael Bailey. Come in and join us in

Digging Into Reading this summer!