Don t Miss the Friends of the Library Book Sale on May 11, 12, & 14! May 01 May 03 May 03 May 05 May 05 May 07 May 07 May 08 May 08 May 10 May 11 May 14 May 15 May 17 May 19 May 19 May 21 May 21 May 23 May 25 May 31 May 31 Calendar Family Story Night Teen Advisory Board Tots and Tunes Comicfest Sensory Storytime BYOB Book Club New Director Meet and Greet Tuesday Book Club Lego Night Thursday Book Club Spring Book Sale Begins Writer Support Group Movie Club Free Movie: 12 Strong Hypnotic Techniques Program TAB End-of-Year Party Keep Calm and Color On Summer Reading Registration Anime Club Tome Raiders Book Club Pinterest Club Food for Thought Book Club Favorite Pictures Books of 2018...so far Recommended by: Hillary (Children s) Astronaut Annie by Suzanne Slade The Big Umbrella by June Bates My Pet Wants a Pet by Elise Broach My Pillow Keeps Moving by Laura Gehl What a Wonderful World by Nicola Edwards May 2018 Off the Shelf Galesburg Public Library Newsletter www.galesburglibrary.org Friends of the Library Spring Book Sale The Friends annual Spring Book Sale will take place on May 11, 12 and 14. From 4:00 PM - 7:00 PM on May 11, members of the Friends are invited to the preview sale. Nonmembers may pay $5 to come to the Friday night sale or join the Friends on Friday night. On Saturday, May 12, the sale will run from 9:00 AM until 4:00 PM, and entry is free for all who attend. The sale will conclude on Monday, May 14, with a $3 bag sale happening from 9:00 AM until 1:00 PM. If you are interested in volunteering, please email Friends president Diane Dooley at dianelouisedooley@gmail.com for details as to how you can help. New Library Director Hired The Galesburg Public Library is very happy to announce the hiring of its new director, Zack Holt. Zack s first day at the library will be Monday, May 7. Community members are invited to meet him at a cake and coffee reception from 4:30 until 5:30 PM in the library lobby. Comicfest 2018 The library will host a Comicfest on Saturday, May 5 from 11:00 until 2:00 PM. Cosplay contest! Prizes! Crafts! Coloring! Art! Free buttons and bookmarks! And more! Purchase original art from Studio2:22 for a small fee, join the Youth Pokemon League in open play, and engage with the local live action roleplaying game group Rust. This year from 11:00 AM -12:30 PM we will be visited by guests from a galaxy far far away, members of the 501st Legion Midwest Garrison. The perfect opportunity for fan photos! New Librarian Joins Staff As the library sadly says goodbye to Lauren Pierce as who moved on to a new position, we happily welcome Eileen Castro as the new Big Read Coordinator and Reference Librarian. Eileen joins us from southern Wisconsin, where she received her undergraduate degree from UW-Madison and her Master s degree in Library and Information Science from UW-Milwaukee. Eileen enjoys reading YA literature, fantasy, and mysteries, and rereading Harry Potter. She also likes traveling, board games, and Wisconsin sports (Go Badgers!). Galesburg Public Library 40 East Simmons Street Galesburg, Illinois 309.343.6118
Human Search Engin e By: Faith Burdick Question: Is the tornado siren computerized to turn on under certain conditions, or does a person turn it on? Answer: In search of the answer to this question, I called Galesburg s emergency management coordinator, Tom Simkins, who also happens to be the fire chief. Chief Simkins says that he knows of no computer program that could automatically set off a siren. It s definitely done by a human, in this case the fire chief himself. He reminded me that it is not just a tornado siren, so it should properly be referred to as an outdoor weather siren. Among the many things that can cause it to be activated are hail of ¾ inch in size or more, winds of over 70 mph and, of course, a sighted tornado or a call from the National Weather Service stating that they have spotted on their radar a rotation that is headed for Galesburg. Whatever the cause, it always means to take appropriate shelter and listen to the radio for the all-clear. Chief Simkins suggested that those especially interested should attend one of the weather spotter classes that are occasionally offered by the city in cooperation with the NWS. They are usually free. Spotters are very important to community safety, as they are the people who provide NWS forecasters with the first-hand information on which warnings are based. 2 www.galesburglibrary.org Library Book Clubs Copies of all discussion books are available at the library about one month in advance. Newcomers are welcome. BYOB Book Club Mon. May 7, 10:00 AM at the library Join a discussion of Twelve Years a Slave by Solomon Northup, a memoir of a black man who was born free in New York State but was kidnapped, sold into slavery and kept in bondage for 12 years in Louisiana. While you engage in adult conversation about the book, Children s Room staff will provide a fun activity for children 4 and older (younger ones are welcome too, but must be supervised by the parent). Adults without children are also welcome. **May is Galesburg Public Library month in Galesburg, and our May discussion book titles celebrate the value of libraries. Tuesday/Thursday Book Discussions Tue. May 8, 1:00 PM at the library Thur. May 10, 6:30 PM at Jimmy John s we ll discuss Molly Guptill Manning s book When Books Went to War, about the efforts of librarians and publishers in World War II to get books in the hands of American service personnel fighting for freedom around the world. The Tuesday discussion will be followed by a video of the author talking about the book. Food for Thought Book Club Thur. May 31, 11:30 PM at Buenos Aires Bakery Café We ll discuss Seed Libraries and Other Means of Keeping Seeds in the Hands of the People by Cindy Conner. You will order and purchase your own food. Tome Raiders Sci-Fi/Fantasy Book Club Fri. May 25, 6:00 PM at Hardee s We ll discuss About Time by Knox grad Jack Finney, which includes the story I Love Galesburg in the Springtime. You will order and purchase your own food. *** Movie Club Tue. May 15, TBA The library s movie discussion group will meet to watch a new movie at the AMC Showplace. The exact time and title will be announced the week before. We ll head to Perkins Restaurant afterwards for discussion. Thursday, May 17, 1:30 PM Free showing of 12 Strong, based on the true story of the first Special Forces team deployed to Afghanistan after 9/11. (130 min. rated R, Warner Brothers) Other Adult Programs Writer Support Group Mon. May 14, 4:00 PM Are you a writer? Meet with other writers to hone your skills and give and receive constructive feedback. All writers welcome. Please note that this is the last meeting of the Writer Support Group until September. Hypnotic Techniques for Self-Relaxation Sat. May 19, 2:00 PM While a little bit of stress can be good for mental focus, chronic stress can have negative health consequences. In this workshop you will learn a hypnotic techniques that you can use to put your whole body into a state of calmness and relaxation. Open to all ages. Led by Marian Spurgeon, a Consulting Hypnotist and member of the National Guild of Hypnotists who practices in Galesburg. Keep Calm and Color On Mon. May 21, 2:00-3:30 PM Join us in adult coloring for relaxation. We ll provide music, drinks, coloring pages, and colored pencils (donated by Blick Art Materials). Free! Pinterest Club Thur. May 31, 6:30-7:30 PM Make some awesome slime and learn a little bit about the science behind it. Cost is $1 per person. Register and pay at the Reference Desk by May 29. Open to all ages, but younger children may need adult assistance.
Storytimes: ***Toddler and preschool storytimes will not take place in May, but will begin again when Summer Reading starts in June. Other May Events: Family Story Night Tues. May 1, 6:00 PM Bring the whole family to enjoy stories, crafts, and activities. Fun for all ages, from babies to grownups! Tots and Tunes Thurs. May 3, 10, 17, 10:00 AM Singing and dancing for children ages 0-5 accompanied by an adult. Sensory Storytime Sat. May 5, 11:00 AM Open to all children ages 2-7 but designed for children with sensory integration challenges. Lego Night Tues. May 8, 4:30-5:30 PM Come build with Legos! by Patty Mosher Delivering the Mail via the North Star On a cold Wednesday night in December, 1937 at exactly 7:25 pm, two men were standing on the southwest corner of E. Main and N. Chambers Streets doing something odd. One was Edward Webb, a construction engineer for the U. S. Treasury Department. The other was Knox County Surveyor S. S. Scott, and what they were up to was something that I doubt would happen today. Scott and Webb were using the best technique they knew back in the day to find true north by using the fixed stars of Mizar and Polaris (the North Star) to precisely locate the site for the new Galesburg Post Office. Mr. Webb explained that using a compass for locating north would have been unsatisfactory due to the proximity of electric lines and automobiles which would have caused a problem if they used a magnetic compass. The time for the sighting was determined by astronomical calculations so that the two stars formed a perfect check in relation to the established meridian line. I would have just pointed across the street and said to the contractor Have it facing that way, but what do I know. When the two men found the perfect direction, they placed temporary property markers in the soil on what would be the four sides of the property. They were later replaced by cement markers at each corner, which can still be seen to this day. Then the government hired a contractor who began the demolition of two houses that stood on the same land we now know today as Galesburg s U. S. Post Office. An older post office still stands and is a white tiled building with the words Mail Building at the top. It is across the street and a couple of buildings down from the Galesburg Public Library. Summer Reading Registration Mark your calendars! Galesburg Public Library s 2018 Summer Reading program kicks off on Monday, June 4. The theme for this year s program is Reading Takes You Everywhere. Early registration for all ages begins on May 21 at the library or on the Summer Reading page on the library website (www.galesburglibrary.org/summerreading). Registration will look a little different this year: from May 21 until June 9, all ages will be able to sign up at our registration table in the library lobby. After June 9, children ages 12 and under will sign up in the Children s Room while adults and teens will sign up at the Reference Desk. A full list of programs will appear in the June newsletter. www.galesburglibrary.org 3
Inside 1 Friend s Spring Book Sale 1 New Library Director 1 Comicfest 1 New Librarian Joins GPL 2 Human Search Engine 2 Adult Programs 3 Children s Events 3 Local History 3 Summer Reading 4 Teen News Hours Monday - Thursday: 9:00 AM - 8:00 PM Friday & Saturday: 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM Sunday: Closed Closed: Monday, May 28 GPL Mission Statement To serve the community as a general center of information, and to provide opportunity and encouragement for people to use its services and materials to meet their educational, personal, professional, recreational, and cultural needs. Galesburg Public Library 40 E. Simmons St. Galesburg, IL 61401 Return Service Requested Non-profit U.S. Postage Paid Permit 25 Galesburg, IL 61401 Teen Advisory Board Thurs. May 3, 6:00-6:45 PM Join the Library s Teen Advisory Board, an open forum to make YOUR voice heard about the library! You can suggest and vote on program ideas, pitch new ideas to improve the Teen Scene, and give the library recommendations for new YA books to purchase. Open to teens aged 12-18 (or 6th- 12th grade). New members always welcome. TAB End-of-Year Party Sat. May 19, 2:00-3:30 PM Celebrate the end of another year of TAB by joining us for food, fun, and games! Open to all teens who have attended a Teen Advisory Board or High School Action Committee meeting from 2017-18. Anime Club Wed. May 23, 4:00-5:30 PM Looking for a place to share your love of anime and manga? Come to our anime club! Binge-watch new and classic anime, talk about your favorites, and argue the merits of subtitles versus English dubs. We will have Japanese snacks and other anime-related activities as well, so tell all your fellow otaku! Open to teens aged 12-18 (or 6th-12th grade). Pinterest Club Thur. May 31, 6:30-7:30 PM Make some awesome slime and learn a little bit about the science behind it. Cost is $1 per person. Register and pay at the Reference Desk by May 29. Open to all ages, but younger children may need adult assistance.