Volume 10, Issue 2
February 2015
www.storycity.lib.ia.us
BBPL By-lines
Bertha Bartlett Public Library
Story City Hours:
Monday
10 am—8 pm
Tuesday
10 am—8 pm
Wednesday 10 am—5 pm
Thursday
10 am—8 pm
Friday
10 am—5 pm
Saturday
10 am—5 pm
Sunday
1 pm—5pm
Gilbert Hours:
Tuesdays
3:30—7:30 pm
Thursday
3:30—7:30 pm
Saturday
10 am—12 pm
We
W

reading and libraries!
hen I was dating around and looking for Mr. Right, my mom told me to watch out for
some of the farm boys. She said they were from families who were married to their farms
and the land and I would always have to compete with their first love. Recently I thought about this
observation as I picked through a new stack of books from the library to feed my reading hunger.
My appetite for reading is insatiable and often the book of the day is not far from my thoughts—
much like my Mr. Right was when I first met him. And, to tell the truth, I have been a dedicated
bibliophile since my formative years when my dad read Hand, Hand, Fingers, Thumb to me and
my mom introduced me to The Little House on the Prairie. Does that make reading my first love? I
suspect so. And, even worse than farmers, I can take my first love everywhere with me and always
have it close to my heart. ¤
Early-Out Fun on February 11
Tweens: Amazing Magic Tricks
2-3 in the Kinne Wing
KOOL (K-4th): The Magic of Reading
2:30-3:30 in the BBPL Meeting
Room.
Teens: Origami Attitude
G e t Yo u r F o l d O n !
3:30-4:15 in the Kinne Wing
Jots by Julia
Julia Humphrey, Children’s Librarian
Preschool storytime Thursday mornings at
10:30am. Join us as we continue to march
through the alphabet! This month we will be
reading about quilts, rabbits, soup and Valentine’s
Day.
KOOL kids (grades K-4) meet every Tuesday
at 4pm. This month we will be practicing our
engineering skills with a variety of STEM
(science, technology, engineering, and math) challenges. We will be using all sorts of items from
marshmallows and gummy worms to plastic cups
and straws.
Bertha’s Robotics Lab
The next lab meets on February 21, for kids 6th
grade and up and costs $15, which covers a pizza
lunch. Preregistration is required and limited to
12. Call 515-733-2685 to register.
2015 Reading Challenge
Pick up your copy of our year—long
reading challenge at the Circulation
Desk. We are resolved to get you to
read, read, read in 2015! Choose your
goal (complete 10, complete 25 or
complete all 50) and bring your list to
the Circulation Desk when you are done
to collect your prize (must be completed
by December 31, 2015).
Good luck and good reading!
Stitch ‘n’ Knit
Stitch 'n' Knit meets every Friday
morning at 10 am in the Kinne
Wing. This is the perfect time
of year to gather your yarn, your
stitching and your on-going projects
and come join the group!
Chapter Notes from the Director
Be rtha Ba rtle tt
Publi c Li bra ry
503 Broad Street
Story City, Iowa 50248
207 Main Street
Gilbert, Iowa 50105
SC Phone: 515-733-2685
Gilbert: 515-232 0087
Fax: 515-733-2843
E-mail:
[email protected]
www.storycity.lib.ia.us
I’m starting to feel old, and I know I’m a
bit old-fashioned, as I was raised by depression parents, during the farm crisis of the
early 1960’s. I have a deep appreciation for
taking care of things, making things last and
re-using and repairing things.
The library world is a good one for me.
We are always sharing things, ideas, products
and resources. We recycle materials to make
other things. Our books are repaired and
cherished, and live on our shelves longer
than many of the authors.
I was recently told that librarians have
one of the lowest stress jobs. I’m thinking
that has to be in a community where nothing
changes, and everything is status quo, where
Kolleen Taylor
there are no staff, no personnel issues, and
no new programs or controversies.
This would be a world where the budgets
never change, the buildings never age, and
the staff never needs training. We would
never have new products, never have computer updates, and life would go merrily on
it’s way.
That librarian would not give presentations, go to meetings, advocate to politicians,
nor complete any reports.
I’m so confused where that stress-free librarian job is, that I might have to try to find
it someday. But for now, I am happy in my
domain, knowing there are all those issues in
my life, in this library, and I still smile!
The Case for Old-Fashioned Juvenile Biographies
Recently, several libraries have questioned the wisdom of having old-fashioned juvenile
biographies on our shelves. You may have read the type—they have wonderful drawings
and read much like any fiction book. Bertha Bartlett Public Library is a wonderful repository of these old-fashioned fictionalized biographies, including some of my favorites.
Until the 1980s, the tendency in children’s nonfiction was to write in a fiction manner to
entice children to read the books. Sadly, in recent years, the trend has been to give our
children a good dose of reality and “tell it like it is”. While there is a case for realism,
shouldn’t we also protect those children who are fully living the innocence of
childhood and who already get a healthy dose of realism in this high-tech, insta
-publicized world of today? In the words of author Jean Lee Latham, “Perhaps fictionalized biography is the best
pattern of biography for young people . There is no doubt that dialogue based on facts, written by a scholar and
an artist, brings history to life and re-creates living, breathing heroes, who make a deep impression on children.”
Bringing history to life is the ultimate goal and these lovely old biographies are one great one to do it!
“Like” Bertha Bartlett Public Library on Facebook!
Keep up on the latest books and materials
added. Stay in loop about library news and
events. Follow us on Pinterest too! We pin new
materials, upcoming programs, fun crafts and
lots of library and reading related links!
Bartlett Book Club
The Bartlett Book Club meets the 4th Tuesday of each
month at 2 pm. For January, the group is reading The End
of Your Life Book Club by Will Schwalbe
Reminder: Take care of your library materials! Please keep
them away from pets, liquids and extreme temperatures.
Regular Events @ the library:
Preschool Storytime
Thurs, 10:30 am
KOOL (K-4th)
Tuesdays, 4-5 pm
Tween Team (5th-7th)
Early-Outs, 2-3 pm
Bertha B Teens (7th & Up)
Early-Outs, 3:30 pm
Stitch ‘n’ Knit
Fridays, 10 am
Bartlett Book Club
4th Tuesday, 2 pm
Memory Makers Storytelling Guild
4th Thursday, 2 pm, Timberland Village
View all upcoming events on our website at www.storycity.lib.ia.us!