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On the October Library page: Friends' projects bolster library programs; Book Review
9/29/2014 1:53:59 PM
Friends' projects bolster library programs
Group invites community members to volunteer
Group invites community members to volunteer
By Mary Kate Koch
Splash Contributor
The Friends of Liberty Lake Municipal Library may have some new faces on the board, but their mission to support the library remains the same.
President Lorraine Halverson, Vice President Cindy Troxel, Secretary Karol Meyer and Treasurer Gloria Higginson took office on July 1, and that's when the real work began. According to Halverson, the Friends are really striving to make the library a place for the community to come to and engage with each other.
"The Friends foster a close relationship between the library and the community, and we take pride in wanting our library to be the heart of the community," Halverson said.
In order to do this, the Friends have a wide array of events and projects for the community to get involved. There are three major projects that the Friends put on every year.
The first of these projects is sorting all of the books that come to the library during the first and third week of every month. According to Halverson, the Friends try to keep these books modern and, except for the classics, almost all the books are published in 2005 or later.
During November and June, the Friends also plan two large book sales. The sale in June coincides with the community-wide Liberty Lake yard sale. In addition to promoting reading materials to the community, these sales both support the programs of the Liberty Lake Municipal Library.
The third major project is the annual spring tea that the Friends group traditionally puts on in April. This spring tea includes a catered luncheon and the proceeds benefit more library programs.
In addition to these annual projects, the Friends also sponsor smaller events throughout the year. The library hosts a story hour for children in an effort to get kids engaged and reading. For Halloween, the Friends are planning a carnival of sorts complete with booths, prizes and costumes.
"It's a fun way to experience the library," Halverson said. "We really want to encourage people to come into the library and see what there is."
In fact, just spreading awareness about what the library offers is a large part of the Friends' mission.
"About 90 percent of what the library does now is non-books," Halverson said. "I don't think most people know that."
Halverson said that the Friends are really interested in increasing community involvement and awareness with their group. On September 18, the Friends officers hosted a membership event to explain what it means to be a "friend" to the library and encourage community members to volunteer with the group. This membership drive meeting was the first of its kind as the Friends try to boost their numbers, according to Halverson.
Aside from helping to plan and participate in major projects throughout the year, Friends also meet monthly to discuss and support the activities of the library. Those interested can sign onto an email list for communication and updates within the group.
For more information on volunteering and supporting the library, email FriendsLLLibrary@gmail.com.
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Book Review
Spokane is Reading pick provides tale of unconventional family's ties
Spokane is Reading pick provides tale of unconventional family's ties
By Daniel Pringle
Liberty Lake Municipal Library
Liberty Lake Municipal Library
Spokane is Reading's selection for 2014, "Swamplandia!" by Karen Russell, finds a family splintering after the loss of its center, alligator-wrestling mother Hilola Bigtree, to ovarian cancer. The star attraction at their theme park, Hilola's death, coupled with a slick new competitor, seems to usher in slow but certain doom for the Bigtrees. When father, Chief, and daughter, Osceola, retreat into denial and escapism, it is up to the other children, Kiwi and Ava, to try to save them in their own way.
Kiwi and Ava follow separate paths into alien underworlds. Kiwi takes a humiliating job with the World of Darkness, Swamplandia!'s corporate competition, to raise money to pay off their debt. When Osceola begins communing with the spirit world and takes off to elope with her spectral groom, Ava must pursue her to the other side to try to keep the family together. Chief Bigtree disappears to the mainland to put a plan he calls "Carnival Darwinism" into action that will thwart the encroachment of "The World."
Outside the comfortably familiar dangers of their gator pits, the Bigtrees struggle in the greater world, and discover the strength that their unconventional family brings them. Apart, they lose everything. But by coming together, they realize that one another are all they'll ever need. Mixing fantastical realism and a darkly comic touch, Russell brings the dank closeness of the Everglades and the foreboding of a future obscured wholly to life. Visit spokaneisreading.org for a schedule of events on Oct. 16.
Daniel Pringle is adult services and reference librarian at Liberty Lake Municipal Library.
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