A busy year rolls into another

Story time for children of all ages runs 10:30-11 a.m. each Tuesday Jan. 24 through March 6. Each story time takes place in the Children’s Room and includes songs, stories and a craft. Story time is a great way to teach your child early literacy skills, while also showing them how fun reading and visiting the library can be.

Save the date for the library’s second annual “Love Your Local Artist” event 5:30-7:30 p.m. Feb. 10 in the library’s Peak. This free event features music and refreshments. Local artists will be on hand to discuss, display and sell their work. We want to make this event larger than last year and we’re still planning details, but we know you won’t want to miss it. We’ll have more information about it soon.

The year 2011 was eventful at the library. We saw the retirement of the former director, Janet Jennings, and the hiring of a new director. The Friends of the Library sponsored 15 programs and made more than $8,400 at their annual book sale, their highest profit so far. The library offered a Computer Camp for Seniors and co-sponsored an e-book class and resume seminar. We saw a 285 percent increase in our e-media usage. In 2012, the library will be doing some planning for library services for the next five years, and community input will be welcomed. Stay tuned.

Have you tried large print books? Even if their vision is excellent, many library customers prefer the ease of reading the larger print. But for people with vision problems, large print books are nothing short of a lifesaver. Due to an anonymous donation, our library now has an outstanding collection of new large print materials. Stop in and give them a try.

New juvenile books: “Dora & Diego Help the Little Wolf,” “The Amazing Adventures of Bumblebee Boy,” “Otis & the Tornado,” “If You Give a Dog a Donut,” “The Artist Who Painted a Blue Horse,” and “The Runaway Wok: A Chinese New Year Tale.”

New large print fiction: “The Dovekeepers” by Alice Hoffman, “Explosive Eighteen” by Janet Evanovich, “The Forgotten Affairs of Youth” by Alexander McCall Smith, “Katie’s Way” by Marta Perry, and “The Vault: an Inspector Wexford Novel” by Ruth Rendell.

New nonfiction: “10 Mindful Minutes,” “Loving Someone with Borderline Personality Disorder,” “The Wall Street Journal Complete Estate Planning Guidebook,” “Small Time Operator,” “Hedy’s Folly,” and “Map of My Dead Pilots.”

New audio books: “The Drop” by Michael Connelly, “Longing” by Karen Kingsbury, “The Next Always” by Nora Roberts, “Hotel Vendome” by Danielle Steel, “Then Again” by Diane Keaton, and “Steve Jobs,” by Walter Isaacson.

New CDs: “Let Them Talk” by Hugh Laurie, “Heavenly Christmas” by Jackie Evancho, “Glee, the Music: The Christmas Album Vol. 2,” “Blossom Dearie” by Blossom Dearie, and “Vice Verses” by Switchfoot.

Library hours are 9 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Monday-Thursday; 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday in Superior; 2-7 p.m. Monday and 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Thursday in Solon Springs; and 2-7 p.m. Wednesday in Lake Nebagamon. Call (715) 394-8860 in Superior, (715) 378-4452 in Solon Springs, or (715) 374-3477 in Lake Nebagamon.

Sue Heskin is the director of the Superior Public Library.

Tags: news, family, money, books