We Need Your Input

Remember I said we would pay for the nice weather in July and early August?  Well, we are.  Of course school starts and it is so hot.  The library is a cool place to hang out or to gather books and DVDs so you can survive the heat wave.  It's supposed to be better next week.

Library Committee is Conducting Focus Groups and Surveys

Beginning September 1st, you have an opportunity to tell us how and why you use libraries in Dubuque County.  Last February, the libraries in Dubuque County formed the Dubuque County Library Services Advisory Committee.  The purpose of the committee is to evaluate the library services provided to all residents of Dubuque County.  To begin that evaluation, the Committee is conducting a series of eight focus groups around the county to ask citizens feedback on library services. 

The focus groups will be held on the following dates and locations:   

Thursday, September 12 at 6:00 p.m. at The Meadows in Asbury

Tuesday, September 17 at 6:00 p.m. at the Dubuque County Library branch at Drexler Middle School in Farley

Thursday, September 19 at 6:00 p.m. at the James Kennedy Public Library in Dyersville

Tuesday, September 24 at 6:00 p.m. at the Holy Cross Fire Department Training Room in Holy Cross

Thursday, September 26 at 6:00 p.m. at the Dubuque County Library branch at NICC in Peosta

Wednesday, October 2 at 6:30 p.m. at the Carnegie-Stout Public Library in Dubuque

Friday, October 4 at 10:00 a.m. at the Cascade Public Library in Cascade

Sunday, October 6 at 2:00 p.m. at the Carnegie-Stout Public Library in Dubuque

The groups will be led by Molly Menster, former Human Relations Specialist, Human Rights Department, City of Dubuque. Light refreshments will be served at all locations.

All residents in Dubuque County are eligible to attend a focus group.  You may attend at any of the locations.  Participants may register for a focus group by calling the Dubuque County Library at 563-582-0008 or online by going to the library's homepage:  www.dubcolib.lib.ia.us.

Surveys

If you cannot attend a focus group, you may participate in this process by completing a brief survey.  This survey will be available in paper form at each of the libraries in the county, as well as online. Surveys will be available September 1 to October 6.

Whether you are a library user or not, we want your opinions and ideas.  Call me at 563-582-0008 or email me at dawnh@dubcolib.lib.ia.us if you have questions.

Finally, a brief advertisement.  The Friends of Dubuque County Library are selling tote bags at all library locations.  The beautiful, and functional, bags, are $5.00 or if you join the Friends at the $10.00 Family level, you receive a free bag.  It's the newest, must have, accessory for library lovers.

Have a great Labor Day weekend.    Dawn 

This is August?

I don't know about you, but this is not how it is supposed to be in Iowa in August.  August is usually hot and humid.  August is when you don't want to go outdoors because the air feels like a wet sock.  We have had at least two solid weeks of fabulous weather.  Will we have to pay for this somehow?  Will it turn really hot when school starts?  Or will we have a colder than normal winter?  You know what they say about Iowa weather.  Wait a minute, it will change.  Right now I am enjoying this respite from the traditional dog days of summer.

The library is taking a very short breather and planning for fall programs.  Thanks to all of you, we had a tremendouly successful summer reading program. 

For libraries, this is annual report time.  We operate on a fiscal year which ended on June 30th.  And what a year we had!!  Thanks to you and the staff of Dubuque County Library, all of our numbers are up over 25% from last year.

                                               Dubuque County Library Had a Terrific Year!!!  

You checked out or downloaded 112,678 items last year.  That is a 25.9% increase. And download access alone went up almost 88%!!  Downloads of audiobooks and ebooks went from 2,275 in 2012 to 4,272 in 2013.  That is in sync with the national trend but even more so.

The Library offerred 72 more programs this year over last and 4,865 of you attended.  That represents a 32% increase. 

I am working on our annual report which will have all the numbers and details.  Copies will be available at all our branches in early September.  Thank you!  Thank you for all your support.  Please feel free to tell us what you would like in the coming year.  More storytimes?  Longer hours?  Where?  More adult programs?  More books?  Stop by and visit with any of our staff or fill out a comment card at your local branch.  Best of all, email (dawnh@dubcolib.lib.ia.us) or call (563-582-0008) call and tell me what we can do better to serve you.

While the weather holds, get out and enjoy the weekend.  But don't forget to stop by the Library and visit with us.  We are eager to hear from you and to provide the library services you want most. 

Dawn

Happy News!

Great news for our family.  My husband and I have a new granddaughter.  Her name is Trillium, which is the name of a wildflower prevalent in Wisconsin. See the photo above.  Her name should not be surprising since her father is a botanist and her mother is a plant pathologist.  Trillium was born on Sunday, July 28th at 12:26 p.m. at St. Mary's Hospital in Madison, Wisconsin.  She weighed 6 lbs. 8 oz.  She has lots of light brown hair and so far, blue eyes.  Her big brother, Leif, who is 5, was so excited.  He stopped everyone he met at the hospital and told them he had a new baby sister.

 
Like a good grandma and librarian, I have already begun reading to Trillium.  We brought her a new copy of "Pat the Bunny" because her brother's was long ago worn out.  So Leif and I read her "Pat the Bunny" and then "Giraffes Can't Dance" and "Goodnight, Moon."  Trillium was very patient and listened intently.  She loves voices, especially Mom's and Dad's.  Leif is already a good reader and I'm sure he will ""share his superhero books with her.  Trillium will have to learn to love Batman as much as he does.  I look forward to lots of snuggling and reading.      

During the waiting for Trillium, I had time to finish Ann Patchett's "State of Wonder."  Wow!  It starts off pretty slowly and the last 100 pages is quite a ride.  The action takes place in a very remote village on a small tributary of the Amazon river, somewhere in Brazil.  The protagonist is a doctor working for a large pharmaceutical company trying to create a revolutionary drug.  But as with all good stories, everything is not as it seems and the Amazon can be a very dangerous place.  The novel is exciting and somewhat peculiar.  It is challenging, and so well written.  Ann Patchett is a master storyteller.  You should give it a try.  I sped through the last pages because I had to know what happened. So I finished the book very quickly.

And I started on another wild ride, "Inferno," by Dan Brown.  This is the newest by the author of the very successful, "The Da Vinci Code."  That book was made into a film starring Tom Hanks.  Brown is not nearly the writer that Patchett is, but he knows how to pace a book and keep the reader turning pages.  It's hard to stop.  "Inferno" runs a great chase through Italy and Turkey with lots and lots of paragraphs about architecture and scores of references to and passages from Dante's "Divine Comedy."  From Brown's detailed description, you feel like you are actually standing in Venice looking at the Doge's Palace.  And, of course, there is a mad dash to save the world riding on Professor Langdon's shoulders.  It's a fun read.

Remember, next week is the last week to turn in your children's reading folders.  You can pick out a free paperback book at any of our branches.  

Have a great weekend, Dawn.