DeForest Area Public Library

December 17, 2021 - A mere week from today

A mere week from today -- that's seven days, or 168 hours, or 10,080 minutes -- Christmas Eve day will be upon us. If you need some last minute gifts for a book, music, or movie lover, check out the Friends of the Library's full-service book sale tomorrow, December 18th from 9 a/m. to 3 p.m. There are always treasures to be found in the myriad donations the Friends have for sale. Also on Saturday there will be a brief musical interlude with songs of the season provided by Violet Noices, The DeForest Area High School's a capella choir. There will be cookies and cocoa served too. This week we officially rolled past the shortest day of the year and the "official" beginning of Winter on December 21st. However, as noted in a previous column, we quit losing daylight at the sunset part of the day on the 15th. With a predicted high of 60 degrees for this past Wednesday and with that holly-jolly-season bearing down on us, one has to feel that we are heading into brighter (okay, maybe not brighter, but longer periods of daylight) days. Below are some of the new books which recently arrived at the library. Come check them out. Enjoy!

November 26, 2021 - Thanksgiving

This year Thanksgiving fell at about the midpoint between the earliest possible date -- November 22nd-- and the latest possible date -- November 28th. Falling when it does this year, fives a moderately long lead up to those Yuletide holidays which means more shopping days. More shipping days, theoretically mean more sales and more profits, and moving merchants and retailers from operating in the "red" (i.e. debt in accounting terms) to operating in the "black" or the profit side of the ledger, hence the name for the day after Thanksgiving of "Black Friday" -- which is what today is. This is a rather apocryphal explanation that arose in the 1980s. The first time this term appeared was in Philadelphia when police, purportedly referred to the masses of shoppers clogging the streets and sidewalks as "Black Friday". This is the first reference to shopping as the source of the term; however in 1951 or thereabouts retailers' trade journals referred to the Friday after Thanksgiving as "black" because so many workers called in sick that day to get a four day weekend. No matter the historic source, today is a day for frenzied shopping either in person or online. If you need a break and a little island of quiet, stop by the library. We are open. Checkout a book and be well-read (note awful pun on the word "red"). Below are some of the new books which recently arrived at the library. Enjoy!

November 11, 2021 - Veterans Day

Today is Veterans Day. Today is the day that commemorates the end of the "Great War", or World War I as it has come to be known. The peace treaties weren't actually signed until June 28,1919, but an armistice between the allies and Germany went into effect at the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of November, 1918. That date and time is used to remember the end of the hostilities which in effect eneded the war. President Wilson proclaimed November 11th, 1919 as the first commemoration of Armistice Day with a call for a brief cessation of business at the 11th hour of that day. In 1938, Armistice Day became a federal holiday. In 1954, Armistice Day, was changed with legislation to "Veterans Day' to honor all veterans. It is a day to thank those you have served in the military for their service to the country. I grew up with older parents, aunts, and uncles. To them November 11th was always Armistice Day and the red poppies sold by veterans on that day were always and forever about the Flander's fields where, as John McCrae's poem says "In Flanders fields the poppies blow /Between the crosses, row on row,/That mark our place; and in the sky/ The larks, still bravely singing, fly/Scarce heard amid the guns below." Below are some of the new titles recently arrived at the library. Come check them out, and enjoy!

October 28, 2021 - What a Difference a Week Makes

My, what a difference a week makes! Last week we hit 70 degrees a couple of times before Autumn arrived with a big "Ta da! I'm here!" over the past weekend. Overnight lows bounced right around the freezing mark ending the growing season for a lot of plants. Rain arrived, as did gray skies that seem already to have lasted for days at this writing (Monday). My porch plants have all come in from the cold and are now occupying my kitchen and part of my garage as they wait for either an extended warm spell or to slowly fade away due to lack of light.

And speaking of light and the lack thereof, I’m sure you all have noticed how late the sunrise is and how early the evenings crowd in around us. There is only one more weekend to endure (or enjoy) Daylight Savings Time. That happens on Sunday, November 7th at 2 a.m. in case you want to stay awake and watch your clocks automatically “fall back” or in case you want to manually change your clocks at the precise moment.

The library’s Halloween Party is October 30th at 10 a.m. to noon, around the library grounds (weather permitting) and indoors if the weather doesn’t permit. It looks like the month of November -- or Dinovember-- will be filled with dinosaur-themed crafts and activities. Stay tuned for further details.

This is the time of year when the word “cozy” seems to become increasingly important.With daylight and warmth retreating, it is time to find cozy spots to settle in with a cat, or jigsaw puzzle (Probably not with the cat in the room: They really only want to help!), or dog, or cup of coffee, or tea, or other hot beverage, or crossword puzzle, or book, and snuggle under a blanket, and enjoy the spot of warmth and light you have created in the midst of the cold temperatures and dark days. And if you need books to settle in with, we have a bunch of new titles which are listed below. Enjoy!

October 14, 2021 - Taking Advantage of the Weather

The warm weather continues on apace. This past weekend I attended a traditional family gathering -- pumpkin carving and / or decorating -- near La Crosse, WI, which meant I spent a whole lot of time on the Interstate between here and Minnesota. I can report from personal experience that the Wisconsin season of "Road Construction" is still flourishing. I was in stop-and-go traffic from slightly west of Sparta for half an hour. One hardly expects traffic delays on Saturday in October in rural Wisconsin; however, since we are still in Road Constructions season I guess I should have been prepared for the unexpected. There were many, many motorcycles and convertible cars with their tops down enjoying the sun and warm weather. The birds were also taking advantage of the weather and were, seemingly, practicing flying in migratory flocks. Or, perhaps these were actual migratory flocks that have started to stage south from the colder northern climes. Many corn fields were totally fired but not picked because of the rain. It feels as if nature is poised to take the big step into more autumnal weather. Indeed, it seems as if Autumn has one foot in the air waiting to put it down and start the heating season for us all. While we wait for the big step to occur, the days continue to shorten. Those longer evenings give more time for reading as far as I'm concerned. Below are a number of new books for your longer-evening's repast. Enjoy!

September 23, 2021 - The change of seasons is definitely upon us.

Fall officially arrived a couple of days ago and right on cue, the weather turned autumnal. That high temperature on last Sunday that got rather close to 90 degrees might have been the last gasp of summer as temperatures the rest of this week will be staying in the mid-to-upper 70s. And shall we talk about the overnight lows? That five letter word that begins with “F” is yet to be in the forecast, but lows in the 40s are being predicted. The cold will certainly stunt if not stop the growing season. At this point, I will be happy to see it end. I have been overwhelmed by tomatoes and there are many still on the vines threatening to ripen and demand entrance into my house. I was out driving about and noticed that the turkey vultures seem to be flocking up. Mehintks they are starting to make migration plans. There was a flock of robins on my driveway the other morning, eating the berries that have fallen off a tree. These birds are definitely on the move. It’s been a while since of seen any individual robins around the neighborhood. This group might be migrants from further north as they make their way slowly south. The change of seasons is definitely upon us. While the leaves aren’t departing from the trees (much) yet and only a few trees are blushing with color, the fall book titles have been leaving the publisher’s warehouses and arriving on our shelves. Below are some of the more recent books that have arrived at the library. Enjoy!

September 9, 2021 - National Library Card Sign-up Month

I hope you all enjoyed the last holiday of summer. The weather was perfect and we seem to be transitioning nicely towards more autumnal weather. Corn is firing, grains have been harvested, what one would assume to be the last crop of hay lies windrows, and if you squint at some trees you might notice they are thinking about changing colors. These early indicators of the change of seasons also indicates that National Library Card Sign-up Month is upon us. Not only can your library card empower you to dream, create, learn, explore, and connect. Your local library card also allows you to connect and save at these local businesses: Hometown Pharmacy DeForest: 10% off Hometown Living, Norske Nook-DeForest: $3 off an 11" pie (excludes the pie of the month), The Poppy Seed: 10% off drinks, and The Sage Apothecary: 10% off regular priced items. Just show your library card during the month of September and save!. If your library card is looking a bit raggedy, or if you've misplaced or lost it, during the month of September we will give you a free replacement. If you don't already have a library card, now would be the perfect time to get one. You can not only then take advantage of the savings mentioned above, but you can also check out some of the new books mentioned below! Enjoy!

August 26, 2021 - Pages

The Summer Reading Program ended on August 6th. Last week I gave you all the numbers for the program in terms of number of participants and books read. This week I have had time to do the math and can tell you how many pages were read and what that works out to in miles. Every year, for more years than I care to remember, I have been reporting the number of pages read in concrete terms. I have converted the number of pages read (or pages listened to, or time spent reading) into inches, then converted those inches into miles, and then plotted that number of miles on a map. Since I have been doing this annually for enough years for this to have become a tradition, and since I’m wise enough not to tamper with a fine tradition, here goes!

This year 476 people participated in the Summer Library Program. Over 22,666 books were read. The books read convert to 1,857,614 pages. That’s just over 3,900 pages read by every participant. There were 280 reviews were written and 7,698 badges were earned.

Now, on to the calculations which begin with this question: “If you laid all the pages of the books that were read end-to-end how many miles would they stretch?” The average size of a page is 9 inches tall which gives us (1, 857,614 times 9” or) 16,718,526 inches—always show your work if you want to receive full credit. Then we take those inches and divide by 12 to give us 1,393,210 feet and then divide by 5,280 to give us 263.86 miles. And, voilà! If you laid all the pages read during the Summer Reading Program end to end and drove north and west via I90 you would end up about 16 miles west of Alberta Lea, Minnesota. If you headed south along 190/194 you’d be about 2 miles this side of South Bend, Indiana. How cool is that? Based on the huge number of readers and the ginormous number of books read, I am forced to conclude that this was a great summer for reading. Congratulations to all the Summer Reading participants.

Below you will find some recently arrived books to keep you in shape for the start of the Winter Reading Program, which isn’t all that far away. Enjoy!

August 12, 2021 - Preliminary Data

It's hard to believe that the Summer Reading Program is finally over. The final books and activities were added in by the end of the day last Friday. Now the tallying and comparisons begin. Did the Teen readers beat the library and school staff readers? Will students and elementary school participants get to slime Ms Emily and/or their school librarians? These and other burning questions have yet to be determined. By next week at this time I should have all those answers and a bunch of statistics as well. I will just say, having looked at preliminary data, that both our teen librarian and children's librarian are in for either a tie-dye pie-ing or a slimming. Both of which events-- should the data hold true without any last minute come from behind wins from library and school district staff-- will be very, very, public and if not live-streamed at least they will be captured on video so they can be watched again and again and again.

The next couple of weeks library staff will be planning for the fall as the intense summer programming comes to an end. There will be one final concert -- T.R. Loon will be performing -- earned by all the Summer Reading Program participant who met and exceeded the challenge and stretch goals. This will be on August 30th at 6.p.m.

Next Thursday, August 19th, the library will be closed for relamping. Relamping involves bringing in lifts to reach those canister lights and counce lights that reside up near the beams of our dramatic, interior, ceiling. Normal hours will resume the next day assuming all goes well. In the meantime you may wish to stock up on reading material. Below you will find some of the new titles which recently arrived at the library. Enjoy!

July 29, 2021 - Harry Potter

There are two day's left in the month of July and we all know what that means, don't we? It means that the Harry Potter Birthday Party is only two days away. This year the Harry Potter Birthday Party will be held outside. There will be quidditch. Hagrid's hut and the forbidden forest will be featured. Honeydukes will be there. Refreshments will be provided by The Three Broomsticks. It should be great fun especially if the weather cooperates. If it doesn't we will try again on August 1st. Having only two days left in the month also means that with the Summer Reading Program ending on August 6th and those 2 days left in July you have a mere eight days to get all those books you read this summer recorded to help push out community read over it's next two challenge goals. It also means that the back-to-school sales are in full force. Below you will find a selection of some of the new books which recently arrived at the library.

Enjoy!

July 15, 2021 - Flora and Fauna

Can you believe it is already the middle of July? Well, I am having a hard time believing it on the one hand. On the other hand, so much has been happening during this summer at the library that at times it feels as if it should / could be September. We have a mere three weeks (and a couple of days) left in the Summer Reading Program. At this writing we will be halfway through our Concerts on Market Street series. Time certainly does fly! Not only is the library's calendar of events whipping by at a remarkable speed, the flora and some fauna are rapidly progressing through their summer work as well. The early summer crickets have finished up. The dawn chorus is still going but we are quickly approaching the end of the breeding season for songbirds. Butterflies and moths are noticeably flitting across the landscape. And speaking of the landscape the fields and ditches are filling up with a plethora of weeds and wildflowers. Chicory and flocks, birdsfoot trefoil and hawkweed, white and yellow and red clover, trillium and bindweed cow parsnip and Queen Anne's lace, mullein and milkweed, and the list goes on and on. Everything is bursting with life in preparation for the upcoming season.The library grounds are filled with colorful flowers too. Spend a few moments in our gardens when you stop by to pick up something to read. Below are a few titles of books which recently arrived at the library. Enjoy!

July 1, 2021 - How Time Flies

How is it possible that we have already slipped into the month of July? My how time flies when you are reading and attending programs and participating in all sorts of Summer Reading Program activities! If you still haven't signed up for the Summer Reading Program, there is still plenty of time for you to read books, attend programs, and earn Dragon Dollars which can be spent in our store to purchase some pretty cool items, or donated to one of 5 charities. As of July 1st, we are 48 days into the Summer Reading Program (SRP) which started May 15th and ends August 6th. That's 84 days to earn dragon dollars and take part in some community and school-based challenges around the number of books read. We are just slightly past the mid-point of the program so there is still plenty of time to participate. If you'd like to learn more about the SRP, visit our website or ask at the circulation desk. July brings two big holidays for the library. The first is the 4th of July. This year, since there is a community parade, we will be in it. Last year, as you may or may not recall, we had our own parade with wagons around the library. The second big holiday is the Harry Potter Birthday Party on July 31sr. This year is will be held at various spots around the exterior of the building with a rain date of August 1st. We hope to see you at the parade and the party. Below are some books which recently arrived at the library. Enjoy!

June 17, 2021 - Summer Reading Program Update

We are well into the month of June and a month and a couple of days into the Summer Reading Program. Since the Reading Program doesn't end until August, you still have oodles of time to join in, read and log books, log activities, and earn dragon dollars (which, as we all know, can be spent in our Summer Reading Program store or donated to one of 5 (or is it 6) designated charities). Each book you read and log gets us that much closer to achieving the community challenge of reading 15,000 books. As of today there are just under 8,800 books left to be read to meet that lofty goal. We need you to do your part! The publishers' summer reading lists are flowing in to the library with each delivery from the man in brown. This means that there are many new and interesting books for you to read.

Two important dates are coming up next week. Father's Day is this coming Sunday. Remember to do something nice for your dad. Perhaps using your dragon dollars, purchase something for him from the library store. Or, show him how to use the Libby app to download free books and audio books on his phone! (This will only cost you the time it takes to show him. The app and the books are free!). On that same date, June 20th at 10:31 p.m. the summer solstice will occur. I know everyone celebrates this day and usually I'm a glass-half-full kind of person, but all I can say about the summer solstice is "It's all downhill from here. The days start getting shorter and shorter. The nights start getting longer and longer. Sad." What do I do when I'm in this Eeyore-like mood? I read. Below you will find a sample of just some of the recently-arrived books at our library. Enjoy!

June 3, 2021 - National Days

How did it get to be June already? We are halfway through the year. The summer solstice is only weeks away. Crops are planted. First crop hay has been cut and baled. Spring lambs, calves, and foals have been born and are frolicking and gamboling. And the Summer Reading Program is already a couple of weeks old (so why haven't you signed up yet?_ We haven't explored the national days and dates for upcoming months and days for a while so I thought I'd indulge my curiosity, while, I hope piquing yours. As everyone from Wisconsin knows, June is Dairy Month, but did you Know that it is also National Zoo and Aquarium Month, African-American Appreciation Month, LGBTQIA Pride Month, Adopt a Cat Month, National Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Month as well as the seemingly contradictory National Candy Month. and many other "months" that I don't have room to mention. Today, June 3rd has few National Days to recommend it: National Egg Day, National Repeat Day ( I said, "It's National Repeat Day" so do something twice.) and National Chocolate Macaroons Day (which, I'm sure many of us wouldn't mind doing twice!). In case your reading this too late on the 3rd to celebrate any of the aforementioned days, June 4th has Cheese Day, Cognac Day, Doughnut Day, and Hug Your Cat Day (if you dare). As you're enjoying all these opportunities to celebrate, why not check out one of the recently arrived books below?

Enjoy!

May 20, 2021 - Early Summer

It's hard to believe we are already into the last couple of weeks of May. The weather has taken a decided turn towards (early) summer. The birds are singing, nesting, and starting to rear their young. The bees have started buzzing. Other pollinators have have appeared just as the early bloomers have burst forth in flower. Trees are throwing around pollen as if they would seed an entire forest. The air is soft with twilights lengthening well into the evenings. It is a little too early to be putting in your garden, or if you have for your garden to require much tending yet. Sure the grass needs mowing, but it will almost always need mowing until November. Take advantage of these longer evenings to sit on the porch -- before the mosquitoes arrive to carry us all off-- and read a good book. Below you will find some of the late spring books which were recently released by their publishers. Enjoy!

May 6, 2021 - Countdown Begins

The countdown to the beginning of the Summer Reading Program continues. May 15th is only 9 days away. This year's Summer Reading Program promises community reading challenges to partake in, activities to engage in, and programs to attend (both virtually and in-person). Keep an eye on our website and Facebook (and other social media) page for more details. To get us all in the mood for the upcoming start of Summer Reading, the weather started out the month with some high temperatures in the mid-80s and windy weather more reminiscent of March coming in like a lion than the gentle warmth, the soft sun lit days, the long evenings, and the flower-scented air of May. Books from the publishers' spring book lists continue to arrive and have already started to turn towards those "beach" reads and "summer" reads which are almost there own genre or sub-genre. Bookriot defined it last year as " a certain type of book, something that will have mass appeal and isn't particularly intellectually stimulating." Blockbuster novels from major authors -- think Grisham, Patterson, etc.--tend to be released in May which makes them a perfect beach read. Titles in that genre are starting to arrive. Below you may not find any title that will become a compulsively readable book that is perfect for the beach -- or wherever you vacation-- but you will find some engaging titles. Enjoy!

April 22, 2021 - Crane Count

This past weekend, I participated in something that took a year off during the pandemic lock down. I took part in the Annual Midwest (Sandhill) Crane Count. Last year the crane count was called off -- though I could never understand why because it is an activity that can be done alone and takes place outside. Regardless of the reasons for last year's cancellation, I went out and did my own crane count in 2020. This year I did my "official" crane count. There really is nothing quite like being up and out by 5 o'clock in the morning and listening and watching the world come alive. Cranes tend to hang out in marshy areas so not only was there patchy frost on the grass, but there was mist rising of ponds and hovering over ditches and fields. The robins and the red-winged blackbirds compete to be the first birds singing as the eastern sky changes from deep blue to a pale blue that's almost white then lemon and peach until the red tones take over and orange smears the horizon. As light comes the bigger birds start in and geese and ducks join in and finally the cranes start yodeling. It is truly magical and available to all who care to venture out before dawn and sit quietly and wait. I heard many cranes and saw six. There were turkeys, a pair of eagles, ducks, geese, a lone deer, pheasants, killdeer, mourning doves, and the list goes on and on. If you can't get out into nature, you can study up on it by using some of the field guides available at the library. Below are some of the new books which recently arrived. Enjoy! and keep an eye out for sandhill cranes!

April 8, 2021 - National Library Week

National Library Week started on Easter Sunday this year. April 4th was also National School Librarians Day. Tuesday of National Library Week is reserved to honor library workers with their special day. Wednesday is reserved to honor bookmobiles. The rest of the week days are not designated for any particular group or aspect of libraries. Personally, I believe library patrons deserve their own day. of celebration during National Library Week. Without the you, our loyal, library patrons, there would be no reason for libraries of any ilk to exist. So come in on Thursday, Friday, or Saturday of this 2021 National Library Week and celebrate yourself!

Spring has certainly arrived in our area. There are flocks of robins just bob,bob, bobbin' along on lawns everywhere. Songbirds are singing to their sweeties and starting to set up housekeeping. Tis the season. Love is in the air. Not only do we have song birds a singing, we have motorcycles a revving and convertibles -- what would be the verb for driving around with the top down on a car? It couldn't possibly be "converting", could it? And while it is true that many Wisconsinites start wearing shorts when the daytime highs get into the mid 30s, this past week has brought flocks of short-clad natives out into the world. With all these signs of spring, can the arrival of spring book titles be far behind? Absolutely not. Below you will find some of the titles which recently arrived at the library. Enjoy!

March 25, 2021 - Spring Started

Spring started this past Saturday, March 20th, at 4:37 a.m. I believe only the robins and my cats were awake to greet it. Of course once the cats are up and greeting things – the dawn, each other, their empty food dishes, the early birds—I, unfortunately, am not far behind. Perhaps it because I do not watch network television anymore and get my information from newspaper and weather websites, but the arrival of spring this year seemed singularly unheralded. If a co-worker hadn’t mentioned it to me Saturday morning, I would have been completely oblivious to spring’s arrival. I guess it really does pay to go to the library where information is all around you! The birds have been singing about the arrival of spring. The mini flock of cardinals, house finches, sparrows, chickadees, and juncos that have been visiting my porch rail for seeds, have started to drift away. They are able to find food in the wild closer to potential nesting sites. A few long-time porch-perchers seem to be bringing girl friends “home” to enjoy the seed buffet. Spring is indeed in the air. Just like the swallows return to Capistrano every March 19th, and the vultures return to Hinckley, Ohio every March 15th, so the book publishers have begun pushing out their spring list of titles. Below you will find some of the new titles that recently arrived at the library. Enjoy!

March 11, 2021 - Winter Reading Numbers

The Winter Reading Program ended mere weeks ago and already I have all the numbers for the 2020/2021 program. This year we had a slightly smaller group of participants – 123 compared to 139 last year. There were fewer competitions undertaken this year –83 compared to 94; fewer activities partaken in – 315 compared to 386; reviews written – 54 compared to 68 and fewer badges earned – 1,542 compared to 1,690. So all-in-all this year seems to show a decline that matches up with fewer participants. However, in one category (and I might argue the most important category), the number of books read this year’s participants read 7,942 books compared to 7,256 books last year. That’s 686 more books or nearly a 9.5% increase. There were some truly dedicated readers this winter! And before you ask, donations to the charities were as follows: The DeForest Area Public Library Endowment -- $293; DeForest Area Needs Network (D.A.N.N.) -- $163; Dane County Humane Society $155; and the Homeless Action Network DeForest (HAND) -- $111. That’s a total of $722 which I shall be donating to those groups in the very near future. Thanks to everyone for participating. Below you will find some new books which recently arrived at the library. I hope you enjoy them!

February 25, 2021 - End of February

How can it be nearly the end of February already? And if it is nearly the end of February, that means it is nearly the end of the Winter Reading Program. And if it is nearly the end of the Winter Reading Program, that means you are running out of time to log the books you have read during the program. (It ends at 5 p.m. on February 26th) It also means that very soon after the end of the Winter Reading Program your opportunity to redeem the Dragon Dollars you have earned will end also (5 p.m. on February 28th). We hope you had fun participating and learning all about owls!

After this past weekend's snow fall, you might be thinking that an early spring is out of the question. If the ten-day weather forecast holds true, we should be having a thaw this week which will head us into the month of March with the feel of spring in the air. NCAA college basketball will get underway in the middle of March which is, unfortunately and predictably, when we can expect a nice big spring snow storm. The nice thing about snow is March is that it usually doesn't stay around long. With spring in the air and just around the corner, the publishing houses are also starting to crank up produation to get the spring lists of books out to libraries and book stores. Below you will find a few of the new titles that recently arrived at the library. Enjoy!

February 11, 2021 - The Days Lengthen

The days certainly have been getting longer. Why, we have gained nearly 25 minutes at the sunrise side of the day and over an hour and a half on the sunset side of things. All of that extra daylight is very much appreciated by most of us. I'm sure that I mentioned this previously. It is old weather lore that says, "As the days lengthen, the cold strengthens." I would have to say that this past weekend, this week to date, and the forecast until Tuesday, the 16th all would seem to confirm that lore. While this is perfect weather to stay in side and read, you might consider venturing over the library on February 14th to listen to some music from our mezzanine celebrating love as well as Mardi Gras which will be on Tuesday, the 16th -- when the weather is supposed to start getting back to more normal temperatures. At the keyboard will be our own, Nolan Veldey. I believe there may be also be cookies. Tuesday the 16th, is also the beginning of a three-book, Read Woke, series. The book being discussed will be "The Watsons Go to Birmingham, 1963". You can register to join the book discussion from the calendar on our website. I hope to see you there! While we all await the arrival of warmer temperatures, and eventually spring, I would urge you all to read, record your books in our Winter Reading Program, and earn Dragon Dollars for your own use or to give to our designated charities. Below are some of the new books which recently arrived at the library. Enjoy!

January 28, 2021 - Data

Only a few more days, and Booky, our prognosticating badger, along with those weather-forecasting dilettante groundhogs that live in Pennsylvania and Sun Prairie, will be making their duration of winter forecasts. This means we will be at the beginning of the month of February which along with the two important holidays of Ground Hog Day and Valentine's Day is the beginning to the countdown of one-year anniversaries of events marking the arrival of Covid-19. We're not there yet, but we are getting close. Last year at this time, I was still blithely pulling together data for the annual report the library submits to the Department of Public Instruction which eventually ends up at the federal level at the Institute for Museum and Library Services. The data we will be reporting from the year 2020 is going to look a whole lot different from previous years (and future years, I hope!). The physical circulation of materials was greatly diminished as was the physical attendance at in-person programs. Digital use of materials and programs, however, was astounding. I'll keep you posted as the data comes together; I'm sure there will be data points that amuse as well as inform. With a winter weather advisory just finishing up over the past weekend and another one arriving on Monday evening, one would have to say that it's great weather for settling in with a good book. Below are some of the new titles that have recently arrived at the library. Enjoy!

January 14, 2021 - Cloudy Days

Normally by this time of -- almost the mid-point of January-- I would be optimistically pointing out the lengthening of days and perhaps, begin the countdown to Ground Hogs Day where we would find out if there were six more weeks of winter in store for us. However, these first couple of week so January have been mostly cloudy and if not cloudy, then foggy. It is so very difficult to celebrate the return of more daylight when the street lights are coming on at three o'clock in the afternoon. Indeed, we have gained daylight. There earliest sunset during those dark, December days was at 4:29. At his writing, sunset is at 4:40 p.m. and sunrise has, finally, begun getting later. It is now at 7:31. We haven't seen a sunrise that early since Christmas Day. The good news is that even though we can't see it to be cheered by it, the days are getting longer and that no matter what February 2nd will roll around in just 19 days. And once we're in February you can almost see spring popping it's head up over the horizon. In the meantime, theses dark days lend themselves rather nicely to reading. Below you will find some of the new books that have recently arrived at your library. Enjoy!