Jan's Column 2024

One of the interesting things about doing a weekly column, is that that when you run out of things to say, you can always comment on things which have recently happened or are soon to happen. Things which recently occurred (Well, not that recently now. Time has slipped through my fingers like water through a sieve, or like a football through the hands of an NFL receiver (I mean, seriously. How much do these guys get paid to catch a ball! But I digress)).  The Summer Reading Program ended a bit more than a month ago.  While I gave you the low down on how many miles of pages were read, I did not tell you how many dragon dollars were donated to charities and which I shall be converting to United States dollars. I shall now proceed to do just that. The DeForest Area Needs Network shall be getting a check from yours truly in the amount of $400.  The Dane County Humane Society shall be getting a check for $850. I will be making these donations this month. I shall wait until my cash flow settles down a bit before announcing the donation of dragon dollars to the DeForest Area Public Library Endowment. It is heartwarming that so many of you read so much and are so willing to give those hard-earned dollars to charities. The Winter Reading Program is right around the corner. You know, reading is a muscle you need to use regularly to stay in shape. (I think that’s true, but I sort of made that up.) Below you will find some of the new books which recently arrived at the library. Keep reading! Stay in shape! Enjoy!

The weather forecast for most of the month of September was pretty boring. Sunny and mild. Sunny and mild. Plants continue to grow. Trees are just beginning to maybe think about changing color—or maybe not. The grass is browning off (again) due to lack of rain. And the 10-day forecast at this writing is for the more of the same. Sunny and mild. Sunny and a bit colder. Sunny and mild. Fortunately for the birds and other migratory critters, they don’t plan their travels based solely on the temperature. Length of day plays a major factor too. You may have noticed – or not—that there aren’t any robins doing their “Cheer-up” songs in the mornings any more, nor are they bopping along looking for worms on your lawn.  Red-wing black birds have also departed. I realized this, this morning when I heard a red-wing black bird’s “conk-la-ree!” call. I haven’t heard any of them calling for a while now. During the time they spend in Wisconsin, they are a constant background noise. Hummingbirds have left the area or are in the last stages of leaving (the bags are in the car, the kids are in the car, mom is just running in to check that the stove is off and the water isn’t running). Monarch butterflies have started their trek back to Mexico. Some things are staying on track even if the weather is a bit misleading. The longer evenings which begin earlier and earlier now that we’ve passed the autumnal equinox are the perfect time for settling in with a good book. Below, I’m sure you’ll find at least one title you think would be a “good” book for you to read. Check them out! And enjoy!

There are only four days left in September. Where does the time go? (Which, I believe, besides being an age-old question is also a song by A Great Big World). While it is still probably way too early to begin the countdown to Christmas (In case you were wondering, it is 88 days from today’s publication date to Christmas Eve), I believe it is not too early to start the countdown to the Haunted Library on October 26th which is (Yikes!) 29 days away.  The day when all those costumed little ones will be standing on your stoop demanding candy is 35 days away. There is still plenty of time before you even need to start thinking about these events. However, there are some upcoming national celebration days you might want to consider before the month of September runs out. On the 27th (this very day) the National Day of Forgiveness is celebrated to encourage us to incorporate forgiveness in our lives. It is also National Scarf Day, National Corned Beef Hash Day, National Crush a Can Day, and National Chocolate Milk Day. I suppose you can wear a scarf while eating a plate of hash, crush the can it can in, and wash it down with chocolate milk.  September 28th is National Ghost Hunting Day, National Drink Beer Day (which may or may not help with the ghost hunting), National Strawberry Cream Pie Day, and National Good Neighbor Day. The 29th is National VFW Day and National Coffee Day. The 30th is Orange Shirt Day which promotes awareness about the Indian residential school system still impacting Native American communities in the United States and Canada. It’s also National Hot Mulled Cider Day, and National Chewing Gum Day. As a chewing gum aficionado, I do not recommend chewing gum while sipping mulled cider. I do, however, recommend sipping mulled cider while reading a good book. Below you will find some pretty good books. Enjoy!

The Summer Reading Program has ended. The celebratory party has occurred. There is nothing left to do but to give you all the fascinating numbers.  This year 600 participants read, earned a badge, and /or attended an event. Those participants read 33,132 books. Whew! That’s a whole lot of reading!

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!

Those 33,132 books read by those 600 people convert to 2,694,359 pages (using our traditional conversion formula). That’s just 4,490 pages read by every participant!

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 (2,694,359 times 9” or) 24,249,231 inches (always show your work if you want to receive full credit). Then we take those inches and divide by 12 to give us 2,020,769 feet and then divide by 5,280 to give us 383 miles (BTW, last year we only read 308 miles ). So 388 miles east of DeForest puts about 5 miles west of Lima, Ohio. Going almost due south, you’d be somewhere south of St. Louis and somewhere north of Festus, MO. And if you headed west, you’d be somewhere between Adair and Avoca, Iowa. No matter how you look at it, that’s a lot of pages read. If you want to add to keep in shape for the soon-to-be-upon-us Winter Reading Program, below you will find some of the new books which recently arrived at the library. Enjoy!

With the “End-of-Summer-Reading-Program Party” last week, the summer reading program has once and for all, finally, and totally ended.  But there is no rest for librarians! The first week of September has already past which means almost a fourth of the month is gone. And this is a very important month. It is National Library Card Sign-up Month. If you don’t have a library card, now is the time to get one! If you do have a library card now is the time to use it. And, as a special incentive this month, 10 – count them ten—local business will get you dollars off a purchase or a percent off a purchase. These discounts which range from two dollars to 20% off depending on the business. These discounts are available to you if you show them your library card! Now we all know library cards are great for “discounts” on books, audio and visual materials, and all the other stuff we have that you can borrow. Borrowing is a great discount because you can use the book, cd, dvd, equipment, etc. at no cost. It’s free (as long as you bring it back on time). Free is about the biggest discount you can get. So locate your library card or get a library card and visit the library’s website or circulation desk for details about where your library card will earn you a discount during National Library Card Sign-up Month. And when you’re not using your library card to get yourself a discount, then use it to check out some of these new books which recently arrived at the library. Enjoy!
 

The beginning of this week certainly saw summer taking another kick at the can (and possibly its last kick too!) with “extreme heat advisories” being issued. It does seem that every year about this time when school is about to start, that we get some 90-degree days and nights that refuse to cool off. These last “kicks” are a reminder that summer does not officially end until the fall equinox which is on September 22nd (at 7:43 a.m. in case you’re counting). The days are noticeably shorter -- at both ends-- as we move towards that equal day/ equal night mark. Temperatures, generally, are starting to cool off. Crops are beginning to mature. Just as the start of the NFL football season gets underway, the soybean fields are starting to turn yellow-gold so that they display the Green Bay Packer green and gold for a while. Corn is starting to fire. Hay fields which had their final cutting (probably) are sere. Birds are flocking up and some species have (mostly) left the area. The growing season is winding down. The Summer Reading Program, too, has had its last “kick” at the can. This week was the celebration party which recognized all the reading done, challenges met, and badges earned. With the end of the Summer Reading Program we turn our eyes to upcoming events such as the Bluey Party in September, the Halloween Party & Haunted Library in October, and Dinoday in November, and the start of the Winter Reading Program sometime in December. Even though the start of the Winter Reading Program is event-filled months away, there is no reason to stop reading now. Below you will find some of the books which recently arrived at the library. Enjoy!

All good things must come to an end, and, indeed, the Summer Reading Program is finally and truly over. The good news is that there is still some celebrating to do!  The celebration for all the participants of the Summer Reading Program who read an incredible number of books, listened to a huge number of audio books, and attended programs and events in droves, is yet to come. On August 28th, at 5 p.m. the party will begin. There will be sweet treats, awards for top readers will be handed out, and the schools that won reading challenges will have the opportunity of slime-ing librarians or themselves. 

Yes. The summer season is rapidly departing. Back-to-school sales are in full swing (well, really they have been since the beginning of July), teachers and students are counting down the days to the start of school (as are parents). Birds have started to flock up and fly in formations in anticipation of migrating in the not-too-distant future. In fact, some birds have already left the area. Hummingbirds are moving south. If you’re interested in tracking bird movements ( I mean, come on. Face it. Who isn’t?), then check out this cool website I stumbled upon recently: https://dashboard.birdcast.info/region/US-WI This dashboard tells you how many birds it estimates have crossed Wisconsin overnight and what birds are likely to be migrating. Apparently birds tend to migrate at night. The numbers are in the millions and peaks in the beginning of September. Check it out! and check out some of these new books which recently arrived at the library. Enjoy!

Already the days of summer are winding down. The days are getting shorter both in the morning and in the evenings. (I have a die-hard cardinal who lives in a tree near my house that still insists on singing every morning at 5 o’clock in the morning even though it is dark!) We have passed the dog days of summer which started on July 3rd and ended on August 11th. (As we all know (and I quote Google), “the Dog Days of Summer are those hot, sultry days that were historically the period following the heliacal rising of the star Sirius (the dog star) which Hellenistic astrology connected with heat, drought, thunderstorms, mad dogs, and bad luck.” We have already had a couple of days which felt positively autumnal. The crickets are chirping, the (annual) cicada are chirring, the frogs are singing, and birds are starting to flock up a bit as they start thinking about migrating.  And what does this all mean for you? Well, it means the Summer Reading Program too is coming to an end. In fact, the 2024 Summer Reading Program ends on Saturday, August 17th, which should be tomorrow.  You can still redeem and spend Dragon Dollars until 7 p.m. on August 28th. The end is very near.  But don’t quit reading! There are lots of new books just waiting to be opened. Below you will find some of books which recently arrived at your library. Enjoy!

The countdown for the end of the Summer Reading Program is nearing its end. As of today (one assumes the publication date of the newspaper is Friday) August 9th, it is a mere a 8 days away. This means time is running out to read or listen to books, record them, redeem them for Dragon Dollars, and spend them in our store. There are only 8 days left! Time is beginning to run out not only beginning for you, individually, as a participant in the Summer Reading Program, but also for you as part of a group engaged in any of our reading challenges. As of the August, 1st, the total that will gain a very cool party for all is 2,047 books away. Can we do it? Yes, we can! But you need to record all those books you’ve been reading for the good of this cause. The Intermediate School students continues to trounce library and school staff with 2,182 books read by them compared to a paltry 474 by library and school staff. They will undoubtedly get their slime party. Yahara students are leading the elementary schools to see which will qualify for their slime part with 3,112 books read compared to the 2,076 books by Eagle Point students and the 1,856 books read by Windsor  students.  The village staff challenge is being led by library staff with 454 books, followed by village hall staff with 242 books, then the police department with 51, and public works with 15.  I don’t think the winners of this challenge win anything. (Sigh. What’s the point then?)   While you’re counting down with us to the end of the pressure to read because of the Summer Reading Program, you might care to take a look at some of the new books, listed below, which recently arrived at the library. Enjoy!

There is something about countdowns. When you finally get down to zero and the event is finished, there is another countdown just lurking in the wings, ready to step up and into the spotlight. We did indeed finish the countdown to the Harry Potter Birthday Party on July 31st.And it was a swell party, but then, it always is! Now the countdown for the end of the Summer Reading Program has not only begun, it is rapidly approaching. As of today (one assumes the publication date of the newspaper is Friday) August 2nd, it is a mere a 15 days until the Summer Reading Programs end. This means there is still plenty of time to read or listen to books, record them, redeem them for Dragon Dollars, and spend them in our store. But it also means there are only 15 days left to do all that. Time is beginning to run out. It is not only beginning to run out for you, individually, as a participant in the Summer Reading Program, but also for you as part of a group engaged in a reading challenge. As of the 25th of July, the total that will gain a very cool party for all is 5,000 books away. Can we do it? Yes, we can! But you need to record all those books you’ve been reading for the good of the cause. The Teens are 514 books towards their goal of 800. The Intermediate School is soundly trouncing library and school staff and will, undoubtedly, get their slime party. Yahara is leading the elementary schools to see which will qualify for their slime party. (Personally, the opportunity to “slime” some person would not motivate me to read, but…..). While you’re counting down with us to the end of the pressure to read because of the Summer Reading Program, you might care to take a look at some of the new books, listed below, which recently arrived at the library. Enjoy!

If you are reading this on what should be the publication, i.e., Friday, that means that there are only 5 -- count them-- 5 days until the Harry Potter Birthday Party on July 31st. And yes, that is a Wednesday. “Why?”,I hear you ask, “Is the party on a Wednesday instead of on the weekend ?” “That is because, July 31st is Harry Potter’s birthday (Please cf. the books. It is clearly stated as such.) and who doesn’t want to celebrate their birthday on the actual day?” I reply.  It is also a long-standing tradition. The library has been celebrating Harry Potter’s Birthday for over two decades now. Admittedly, Harry would be well into adulthood at this point and should be able to deal with the delayed gratification of having to have his birthday celebration a few days after the actual natal event, but, the party is for the young readers of the books who know those books backwards and forwards. To make it easy to plan the party because it’s always the same day (weather-permitting) and to not disappoint those young readers, the party is planned for the 31st.  It is from 10 a.m. to noon. There are lots of activities and some treats. Dementors, potions, a costume contest, and a slug eating contest (no slugs are harmed or, indeed used, in this contest) are just some of the highlights of the party.  Plan on stopping by and wear your best hat, gown, and wand.  While you’re eagerly anticipating this party, why not consider reading some of the books which recently arrived at the library. Those titles are listed below. Enjoy!

Wow!  The countdown to the Annual Harry Potter Birthday Party is nearing single digits. In a dozen days, that’s 12 days, the Harry Potter Party will be upon us. “When is the birthday party?” I hear you ask. “It’s on his birthday, July 31st.” I reply. The party starts at 10 a.m. and runs to noon.  Games, prizes, treats will all be happening. Checkout our website for more details and plan to attend.

The Harry Potter Birthday Party puts us right on the doorstep of August which means there are only 17 days left in the Summer Reading Program which ends on August 17th. The 17th is the last day to log your books. You can redeem your dragon dollars in the store through August 28th.

The last on our Concerts on Market Street shall have occurred by the time the Harry Potter Birthday Party is done. But as of this reading you still have two more concerts you can attend. On Tuesday, July 23rd, the Low Czars shall be performing at 6:30 p.m. They do cover songs from the 50s onward. You’re bound to recognize a lot of the music they play. On July 30th, Harmonious Wail will be performing. They bill themselves are Americana flavored Gypsy Jazz. It’s sure to be a treat.

While you’re waiting for all these great programs to occur, why not settle back with a good book to read? Below you will find some of the recently-arrived titles at the library. Enjoy!

As of today’s date, July 12th, we are precisely half-way through the Summer Reading Program. There are 72 days between June 6th, when the reading program began, and August 17th, when the program ends. Which means, among other things, that you still have plenty of time to read, earn Dragon Dollars, and advance reading program participants towards meeting a number of different challenges. There is a community challenge that will earn a special end-of-summer read program party if all the program participants read 25,000 books – as of this writing, 8,206 books have been read. Other challenges include: 1) An Elementary School Challenge – which of the elementary schools will read the most? Right now Yahara leads with 1,069 followed by Windsor with 699 and Eagle Point coming in at 622. 2) A Village Department Challenge with the Library leading the way (go figure!) with 156, followed by the Village Hall with 106, the Police are third with 21 followed by Public Works.  The Teen Challenge will end with an after-hours party for all participating teens if they read 800 books. Right now they have read 233.  With all these challenges going on, your reading can help. Make sure to record what you read so the community can earn that big party at the end of the Summer Reading Program. A quick reminder that we are also counting down to the big Harry Potter Birthday Party on July 31st. That is only 18 days from now! Below you will find some of the books which recently arrived at the library. Read, record them, and most of all, enjoy them!

What with all the fireworks that have been going off this past week in various neighborhoods and what with the big extravaganza on July 3rd, it’s been a little hard to pick out the sounds of nature that are occurring all around us. The tree frogs have been merrily singing in between rain storms and the crickets have been chirping away. The crickets we are hearing now aren’t the fall crickets which predict the first frost if you pay attention to the old weather lore (and you all know that I do). As we all know – or as you will soon know—there are not only fall crickets, but there are also spring crickets.  These spring crickets survive the winter in a juvenile form and as the weather warms, they mature and start chirping. They will die off any time now, and then the fall crickets, who started their post-winter life as eggs, will finally be mature and start chirping by the end of July or early August. When these fall crickets start singing, that is when the countdown to the first frost occurs. I’ll keep you posted on those first frost warnings, but for now, there is still a whole lot of summer yet to come. And there are still a whole lot of summer books to be read and enjoyed. Below you will find some of the new titles that have arrived recently. Enjoy!

We have past the summer solstice, so summer is officially here. Now we are counting down to that big holiday that is almost smack dab in the middle of the three holidays that occur during the summer months. The 4th of July is just around the corner.  Borrowing heavily from a post in a BBC newsletter, I thought I would share some words that go with the summer season. The first is “apricate” which means to bask in the sun or to sun bathe. This fun word comes from the Latin word apricus, meaning exposed to the sun. Then we have the word “gongoozling” the activity of watching boats and activities on canals for pleasure. I think you can watch activity on any body of water and still qualify as a “gongoozler”.  This activity has been compared to trainspotting.  Then there is “philocaly” which means “loving beauty” but it implies being focused on things that should be loved such as family, friends, and picnics.  How can we ignore “kalopsia” which in a way goes hand-in-hand with the previous word?  “Kalopsia” means the delusion that things are more beautiful than they are. In summer, doesn’t the whole world seem more beautiful – the blue skies, the green grass, the flowers and butterflies abounding. The final word I’ll throw out today is “mubble-fubbles”. It is defined as the doldrums; the blahs; a downer; a mood of depression, dejection, or melancholy.  I for one know that I experience the mubble-fubbles when there is more rain in the forecast. (I mean really! Haven’t we had enough to last us the summer?). With that, I shall leave you until next week. Below are the titles of some of the books which recently arrived at the library. Enjoy!

For those of you who pay attention to such things, the summer solstice took place at 3:50 p.m. yesterday, June 20th. That day was 6 hours and 23 minutes longer than the December solstice which occurred at 9:27 p.m. on December 21st.  As we all know, the summer solstice is an astronomical event that marks the longest day of the year and the beginning of summer (although, having just endured the last few days, I believe we can all agree that summer has already arrived!). The reason an exact time during the day is given is because the solstice occurs when the sun reached that point when it is positioned the furthest north which is 23.5 degrees from the celestial equator. This point is also known as the Tropic of Cancer. This is the time when the sun appears to stand still Latin: “sol” meaning “sun” and “sistere” means “to stand still”. Of course, the minute the solstice occurs, the sun starts heading south again. Those fifteen hours and 11 minutes of sunlight start decreasing. And it’s all downhill with daylight slipping away incrementally until that day in December when we have only 8 hours and 48 minutes of daylight. For right now, you have extended hours of sunlight at the end of the day to sit and enjoy reading. Below you will find some of books which recently arrived at the library. Remember join the Summer Reading Program and log your books!  Enjoy!

The Summer Reading Program began on Thursday, June 6th and what a kick off it was! Gee Funny Farm brought all sorts of animals which (mostly) could be handled or petted by the public. There was a sheep (who looked like it needed shearing), a miniature horse, a porcupine, a chocolate-morph skunk (descented), an armadillo, ducklings, a cockatoo, an African gray parrot, and a sloth. The sloth, named Abish, was the star of the show. Due to the cold weather conditions (she needs temperatures to be at least 75-- she does come from equatorial rainforests, after all) she was in the story hour room with a couple of space heaters. At least 600 folks stop by to see Abish, pet her on the back, and take pictures with her.  The lines were reminiscent of the lines we have for Santa. Indeed, I started calling her Santa Sloth, but she didn’t seem to like that name. Now that the Summer Reading Program is officially underway, please start checking out books, reading them, and logging them. There are badges to be earned, community challenges to help meet, and dragon dollars to be gotten. Remember, those dragon dollars can be spent in the library’s store or be put towards one of three charities -- The Dane County Humane Society, the DeForest Area Needs Network, and the Library’s Endowment Fund. I will convert those dragon dollars and make a donation to the charity.  Programs that are part of the summer reading fun are already underway. Concerts at the Rocks began this week and continue at 1 p.m. every Tuesday through July 2nd. There are many activities throughout the week to attend. Check out the calendar on the library website for more details. In the meantime, below you will find some of the books which recently arrived at the library. Enjoy! And remember, as the summer reading theme says, “Adventure Begins at the Library”.

These past few weeks there have been a number of interesting events taking place in nature. We had those big storms on the 21st and a big northern lights display on May 11th and more solar  storms on May 31st were likely to bring more northern light displays due to coronal mass ejections. We are also being blessed with an incredible entomological event. A cicada double brood emergence is taking place, even as I write. As we all know, there are 13-year broods of cicadas and there are 17-year broods. Obviously because of timing they mostly emerge during different years. This year they have cycled together. This is the first time this has happened in 221 years. The last time this happened, in 1803, Thomas Jefferson was president and Lewis and Clark had just started out on their exploration of the Louisiana Purchase. Some of the 13-year brood cicadas reside in Wisconsin and will emerge soon, when the soil is warm enough. Chicago-area folks are already reporting good numbers of cicadas making very loud music all the time. If you want to learn more about this phenomena check out https://cicadasafari.org. The library will have some information and activities about cicadas available around the library (like how to fold an origami cicada). Stop by and check this out. While you are doing that, you can also check out some of the new books that recently arrived at the library. Below is a sample of some of those titles.

We are at the end of the merry month of May which in years past used to mean the beginning of the planting season. For decades, I never put a garden in until the weekend after Memorial Day (since we all know from my column last week that Memorial Day can came as early as 25th of May which might have been a little early for less-hardy plants). I put my porch garden in between the rounds of thunderstorms this past week. Two weeks ahead of what used to be the safe, no-frost date. Now the end of April is starting to look like the safe, no-frost, plant-by date. I swear I have seen a sandhill crane chick – also weeks early. First crop have was being cut a couple of weeks ago!  We never made hay before –I know I am beginning to sound like a broken record here – Memorial Day weekend weather permitting. Corn is planted and in lots of fields looks to already be 4-6 inches tall. (I made this measurement by eye, driving past said fields at the speed limit of 45 mph.) All in all, a year that is progressing seasonally faster than the calendar is advancing. I don’t necessarily object to it. I’m just noting it. And I’m old enough to not only note it, but to opine “My how things have changed since I was growing up”. School is all-but done and with that the start of the Summer Reading Program will arrive. Check our website or at the circulation desk for details. Below you will find some of the books which recently arrived at the library. Some are “beach” books. A couple are about the age of Good Queen Bess (Elizabeth I) and the rest a mixed bag. Enjoy!

It’s hard to believe that the publication date of this column is the eve of the three-day Memorial Day weekend. To me this seems like an early Memorial Day. Since its founding in 1868 as Decoration Day to honor and mourn those who died in the armed services until 1971, the day was always celebrated on May 30th. In 1971, the date was changed to the last Monday in May to create a three-day Federal holiday. The earliest a last Monday in May can be is the 25th and the latest would be May 31st. So the 27th, is neither early or late, no matter how it might feel to yours truly. (FYI, the last time Memorial Day fell on the 25th of May was in 2020 and it will do it again in 2026 -- in case you want to get that on your calendar now. “Since we are rolling past the Memorial Day weekend, can the start of the Summer Reading Program be far behind?” she asked rhetorically. And indeed it can’t be. The Summer Reading Program officially begins June 6th and will run through August 17th.  Some time between now and the official start, you may be able to get into Beanstack and get yourself registered so you are all set to go and can start logging the numerous books you will be reading this summer. Information about the reading program with an FAQ and options if you prefer good old paper and pencil for recording the books you have read or listened to. Listed below are some of the new books which have recently arrived at the library. If you check out items now, by June 6th you should have had time to read them and can log them on June 6th. Enjoy!

BTW, since Monday, May 27th is a holiday, the library will be closed.

Today is an important day for Norwegians.  Syttende Mai is a holiday that is celebrated with great gusto by those of Norwegian descent, no matter how many generations away  they are from having actually dipped a toe in a fjord. The 17th of May for Norwegians is like the 4th of July for us.  It commemorates the signing of the Norwegian Constitution in 1814 at Eidsvoll. It was the day that Norway became independent from Denmark, elected a king (Christian Fredrik), established a bicameral legislature, abolished the aristocracy, vested taxation in the legislature, and created a set of criteria establishing the right to vote that extended to men who were either farmers who owned their own land, civil servants, or urban property owners. This meant that almost half of all Norwegian men earned the right to vote, which was a radical proposition in 1814.  Norwegians have a lot to be proud of on Constitution Day. Because we live in an area where there is a high percentage of Norwegians in the population, you might think that Syttende Mai is the only thing that ever happened on the 17th of May.  Well, if you thought that you’d be wrong. Another important thing that happened on May 17th is that you sat down to read this newspaper and that enough books arrived earlier this week for me to be able to tell you about a whole lot of new books which are listed below. Enjoy!

The countdown to the Summer Reading Program has begun. Registration will begin the last week or so of the May with the actually kickoff on June 6th.  Assuming you are reading this on the publication date of Friday, May 10th, then there are exactly 27 days. That’s 27 days, or 648 hours, or 38,880 minutes. I could keep going with smaller measures of time, but I shall desist. This all goes to show that the Summer Reading Program will soon be upon us. It also goes to show that there is plenty of time for getting your reading list assembled, to get your eyes use to reading for long periods of time, and to establish a routine for recording the titles –or number of titles—that you read.  There are many ways to keep track of your reading:1) you can use the BeanStack app on your phone or on a computer and type in the title, 2) You can scan the ISBN number into the app on our phone, 3) Using the app you can just say how many titles you have read and not type or scan in the titles, and 4) you can make a list and library staff will put that information into the app for you. There are probably more ways to record the titles you have read, but none leap to mind at this writing. Below you will find some of the new books which recently arrived at the library. You can put them on hold to read this summer or you can read them now and perhaps, finish them just as the Summer Reading Program begins. Enjoy!

I looked at the calendar today to see the date of publication for this column and saw to my great alarm, that we are looking at the month of May. How did it get to be May already? Now that I think about it, we’ve had all those April showers which, apparently, following the adage, are bringing forth May flowers. The trees, with this last round of rain, decided to suddenly leaf out. The migratory birds keep migrating in. In fact, this past Sunday morning, I heard and then saw White-crowned sparrows. These sparrows migrate through Wisconsin to their breeding grounds in Alaska and arctic Canada. They usually only hang around long enough to fuel up before heading further north. I checked my calendar from last year (Yes. I admit it. I do keep track of information like this and I do categorize things. And yes, this probably explains how I ended up being a librarian.). Last year the white-crowned sparrows didn’t show up until May 9th. They are 12 days earlier this year. The goldfinches are wearing their gold feathers already and the frogs are starting to sing. If it is May, and I believe we all agree it is May, then can the start of the Summer Reading Program be far way? I shall answer that rhetorical question with a resounding “No. It can’t be far away!” It will be upon us sooner than you think. Stay tuned for further details. In the meantime, keep your reading eyes in shape by perusing some of the recently arrived titles at the library. Enjoy!

As of the publication date -- one assumes Friday, April 26th-- of this column, there are only a handful of days left in April which means that May is right around the corner. If May is just around the corner, with all those May flowers the April showers helped bring forth (and that the April freeze at the beginning of this week attempted to thwart). And if May is just around the corner, that means that the start of the Summer Reading Program is also around the corner.

If one assumes a publication date of April 26th, then today is also the Eve of the library’s first ever Bluey Party.  It starts tomorrow -- that would be Saturday, April 27th-- at 9:30.There will be crafts, a treat, and, I have it on good authority, Bluey and Bingo will be making an appearance. While many think Bluey is only for younger children, I am one adult who has binge-watched the entire oeuvre (more than once, she admits, blushing) and am a huge fan. It is sweet and funny and has subtle life lessons. It also has dancing -- individually and as a family-- and imaginative play.  Our party will try to capture some of that spirit! It’s from 9:30 to noon. Hope to see you there!

Below are some of the new spring titles which recently arrived at the library. We are still getting books from the publishers’ spring lists. Any minute now the Beach Reads will begin to arrive. In the meantime, check these out or put them on hold, Enjoy!

April is quite the literary month. Two of the biggest names in English Literature are associated with the month.
Geoffrey Chaucer’s magnum opus, “The Canterbury Tales” begins with these famous lines (quoted in Middle English) which I’m sure many of you had to memorize at some point in your educational career:

“Whan that Aprille with his shoures soote, /The droghte of March hath perced to the roote, And bathed every veyne in swich licóur /Of which vertú engendred is the flour;” 

This prologue insists that April is the perfect month for going on a pilgrimage. In modern parlance, a rough translation would be, “April is the perfect time for a road trip (possibly with the Harley.  The other big name in English Lit, is William Shakespeare whose birthday is celebrated as April 23rd (it is also his purported death day). He wrote an whole lot about spring and birds singing and flowers blooming. Here is a tiny sample from “As You Like It”, 

“It was a lover and his lass, /With a hey, and a ho, and a hey non-i-no,/That o’er the green cornfield did pass,/In the Spring time, the only pretty ring time,/ When birds do sing, hey ding a ding, ding./Sweet lovers love the Spring.” 

Not a lot of deep messages in this sample, but you catch the drift. Spring is a frolicsome time. The birds are singing up the dawn every day. The butterflies are returning. The dandelions are sprouting. Motorcycles are emerging from their winter hibernation. Lawn mowers are being tuned-up, gassed up, a ready to go. But, before you get too wrapped up with all the yardwork and gardening to be done. Remember that April showers accompany the blue-sky days and those days are the best for curling up with a good book. Below you will find some splendid books that are just perfect for reading any time, in any weather, but which are particularly good for rainy spring days. Enjoy!

Today is the antepenultimate day of National Library Week 2024. This means, among other things, that there are only three more days (including today) to celebrate your favorite week of the year!  It also means that today, April 12th, is the eve of our National Library Week Open House. That’s right! Tomorrow you are invited to attend an open hours from 10 to 12. To top off the festivities Duke Otherwise will be performing a fun, musical program. There will be demonstrations of some the amazing equipment you can check out from your library. I have it on good authority that there will be demonstrations and/or product made using the equipment that includes metal detectors, the lefse maker, and some cake pans. There will be crafts to make, Stop by and find out about all the astonishing things available at your public library. And not only do we have an astonishing and expanding array of equipment and cool items for you to check out, we also have books.  The spring book lists have been arriving steadily. Below you will find a sample of some of the recent titles available for you to check out – or at least to place a hold on. Enjoy!

How did it get to be April 5th already? We sailed right past Easter, April Fools Day, and are coming up to the NCAA Men’s Basketball Final Four this weekend as well as the start of National Library Week.

April is one of two months that are particularly dear to librarians’ hearts (I know. I know. You are shocked to learn that librarians have hearts. But we do! At least some of us.). We, in the trade, are rather fond of National Library Week and the entire month of September which you all know is National Library Card Signup Month.  To celebrate National Library Week (April 7th through the 13th) we are having a month-long Bingo challenge/contest (details to follow) and an open house on Saturday, April 13th, from 10-noon. At the end of the Open House, Duke Otherwise will be putting on a show. Be sure to stop by and checkout all the neat equipment and services that will be showcased during the Open House and then stay for an energetic performance. Duke Otherwise, as some of you may recall, during the pandemic, performed on the intersection of the two book cases in the Circulation corral while the audience stood around the mezzanine railing. It was quite the performance! While the Duke has demurred about performing on the circulation desk, he will provide a memorable show. Be sure to get these events on your calendar. While you’re waiting to attend these must-see events, there are a few book titles listed below which will help you pass the time. Enjoy!

We made it through the high school basketball tournament with nary a snowflake, but … The NCAA Basketball tournament got off to it’s start a week ago Thursday, and just like clockwork, snow was in the forecast with dire predictions of at least six inches of snow. We did get snow, about 3 inches (at least on my porch), but it mostly melted by day’s end.  The publication date of this will be day two of the Sweet 16 playoffs. By Saturday we will be down to the Elite Eight and the forecast is for precipitation, but this time we’re talking about rain.  I am not quite ready to take my winter coat and snow shovel out of the back seat of my car, but I starting to think really hard about doing it. What restrains me is my fear that I might be tempting fate. That I might in some way be encouraging a snow storm to deliver one more storm. The tulips and daffodils continue their upward journey. They don’t seem to mind this late-season snow. Nor do I. I don’t mind it, but I am ready for it to be done. Anytime. In the meantime there are many spring books arriving, poking their little heads over the tops of the Baker & Taylor boxes, hoping to make their way into your hands. Below are some of the recently-arrived books hoping for a vacation, Gentle Reader, in your domicile. Enjoy!

“Are these snowflakes which I see before me?”, I asked myself Sunday and Monday. We are halfway through the month of March and the grass is greening, the birds are singing and thinking about nesting, the spring books are arriving in goodly numbers weekly, and now the weather has decided to make a turn back towards colder temperatures and solid precipitation. The NCAA basketball tournaments are about to get underway and the forecast, though chilly, hasn’t mentioned “blizzards” or measurable snowstorms (knock wood). I find these cold, gloomy days perfect for settling in with a good books, and a hot cup of something, with possibly a cat, dog, significant other or perhaps all three snuggling nearby.  Below you will find some books which you might just find perfect for curling up with and forgetting what’s happening outside while we all wait for spring to arrive. And, well, actually. Spring did officially arrived this week on March 19th at 10.06 p.m. Since March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb, it shouldn’t be long until more spring-like weather arrives. Until then, curl up with one of these dandy new books. Enjoy!

It looks like Booky, the library’s prognosticating Badger, made the correct call on Groundhog’s Day. Winter seems to have withdrawn while spring exerts its influence more and more each week. Birds are literally flocking back. The dawn chorus has started up and early signs of nest building can be found. We have already rolled past the Girls WIAA basketball tournaments with nary a flake of snow to be seen. The Boys WIAA basketball  tournament gets underway on March 15th and if you believe the Weather Kitty app -- which I do-- the only precipitation in the forecast is rain. So, it would appear that we have dodged that potential blizzard magnet. This upcoming weekend is also the selection weekend for the NCAA Basketball Tournaments. Those tournaments pose the last of the big-snow-attracting events. While my Weather Kitty app doesn’t forecast beyond 7 days, by the end of March the probability of snow diminishes weekly. All that being said, the spring book titles are popping up at the library like croci and daffodils reaching towards the sun. Below you will find some of the many new titles which recently arrived at the library. With the milder weather and more light at the evening end of the day, why not sit and read daylight? Enjoy!

Here it is, second week of March, and (knock wood) so far, not a snowflake to be seen. There’s nothing much in the 10-day forecast either.  I read in a newsletter – either the International Crane Foundation or Aldo Leopold Newsletter – that this year there has been 18 days of winter. The sandhill cranes left the Baraboo area on January 12th and had returned by February 12th, The 18 days of winter included those couple of snows and the deep-freeze plunge with high winds. That’s been it so far (knock on wood).  I keep reminding folks that even with fortuitous weather forecasts that get us to the middle of March, we are not truly out of the snow/blizzard season until we have gotten through the WIAA basketball tournaments (and possibly the NCAA ones as well). Every day gets us closer to Easter on March 31st (it is a fairly early Easter—the earliest possible is March 22nd) which gets us that much closer to April. [However, I do remember the Chicago Easter snow storm on March 29th, 1964 when 7.1 inches fell. We had to drive to our cousin’s for dinner and the snow kept coming down. We ate and left almost before dessert was served (My dad refused to go before he had his slice of coconut-covered-lamb-shaped cake festooned with jelly bean eggs. He was driving so he had his cake and got us home safely]. But I digress. Below you will find some of the new books which recently arrived at the library. Enjoy!

The weather certainly has been a rollercoaster lately. Monday was in the low 60s, Tuesday in the high 60s, and Wednesday, forecast to struggle to make it to the high 20s.and then back to close to 70 degrees by the weekend. I keep asking people if it’s still February and up until today (assuming the publication date of Friday, March 1st) the answer has been in the affirmative. The high school boys and girls basketball final tournaments are yet to be played and we all know that those tournaments, in the past, have acted as a snow-storm magnet. Who knows if that will be the cast this year? In the meantime the grass continues to green and new birds are migrating back into the area almost daily (I saw a migratory flock of starlings over the weekend and while starlings tend to hang around most of the year they do come south to find warmer temperatures and more available food and they do flock-up when they make these moves).  Speaking of books, the spring titles are flocking to our shelves almost as quickly as the birds.  Below you will find some of the new titles which recently arrived at the library.
Enjoy!

I am writing this on Monday, February 19th, which, I’m sure, most of you will recall, is Presidents Day. This holiday was originally designated to celebrate George Washington’s birthday which is actually on February 22nd..  As the years went on Lincoln’s birthday (February 12th) was also included under the umbrella term “Presidents Day”.  In 1968, Presidents Day became a federal holiday which means there is no U.S. mail (which I shall have totally forgotten about when I stop to get my mail on the way home) and banks and a few other businesses may be closed.  Presidents Day is a fine opportunity for sales and many retailers both online and in brick-and-mortar stores take advantage of the holiday to offer discounts.  The funny thing about Presidents Day, also known as George Washington’s birthday is that for all the places that you will find his birth date as February 22nd, 1732 in fact, he was born in Virginia on February 11th, 1731.  How is this possible, you ask? Well he was born when the Gregorian calendar was being used. In 1752, Britain and its colonies switched to the Julian calendar which added one year and 11 days to preceding dates.  I won’t go into why one calendar system was preferred over the other now. Suffice it to say, the three-day federal holiday celebrating various presidential birthdays makes it a moveable feast which Washington’s birthday sort of was anyway.(Lincoln’s birthday has moved around at all). Below are some of the new books which recently arrived at the library – none via U.S. mail on Monday, however – Enjoy!

Is this indeed an early spring?  I know we have recently sailed past Ground Hogs’ Day and Super Bowl Sunday and it is still only the second (full) week of February, but the piles of snow are all but gone, the grass is greening up nicely, and the chickadees have started singing their “phoebe” song. I saw power line full of dark, medium-sized birds at the beginning of the week.  Could these have been early migrating red-winged blackbirds? Could be. I’ve seen big skeins of geese heading north. These feel like migrants, not locals who are going to just circle back and land on a pond.  Although they could be geese that wintered over here and are practicing to make the big push north. And you know me and sandhill cranes. I can just feel them coming north. My google feed showed me a newscast from Kearney, Nebraska this morning talking about how early the crane migration is this year. As we all know, typically, cranes don’t start staging north until Valentine’s Day – which at this writing has yet to happen.  But the cranes are already starting to appear at the Kearney flyway. I got a text from my friend and fellow craniac telling me by crane instincts were right on. She heard cranes calling in her marsh on Monday morning.  And speaking of spring, the spring book titles are also flocking north (ur book jobber is in Momence, IL). Below are some of the titles which recently appeared at the library. Enjoy!

A trifecta of prognosticating animals (Booky, Phil, and Jimmy) declared on February 2nd, that there would be an early spring. The weather during the last part of January and so far this month and even into the 10-day forecast seems to be bearing their prognostications out.  The days are noticeably longer – we are gaining a little over a minute everyday at sunset and making very slow progress on the sunrise end of things. But still. Progress is progress.  While the snow cover has mostly left except where there huge piles (mountains some would say), that green grass showing through heartens the winter-weary soul. One almost expects the birds to begin returning. I haven’t spotted any returning birds yet. Only the usual suspects are hanging out on my porch, but the squirrel activity has certainly ramped up. And the very best news for library users is that the book drought we had been experiencing seems to have lessened. The UPS guy has been like a rainmaker this past week. Bringing little showers of books into the library on an almost daily basis.  This week we have a full baker’s dozen of book titles for you to peruse. Enjoy!

Happy Ground Hog’s Day! At this writing, our prognosticating Badger, Booky, has yet to take a squint outside to see what he sees and make a prediection. Will he see his shadow thus forecasting an additional 6 weeks of winter? Or will he not see his shadow and the January thaw we have been experience for the past week or more, will continue? Tune in on the actual day to see what Booky predicts. Booky, as you probably recall, has a perfect record for Ground Hog Day predictions. While badgers and ground hogs are both, squat, short-legged mammals the similarity ends there. Groundhogs (Marmota monax) are grazing members of the rodent family; badgers are hunting members of the weasel family, (Mustelidae). This pretty much means, theoretically, a badger could eat a groundhog for lunch which is probably why our badger’s predictions trump the local groundhog’s prediction consistently. Ground Hog’s Day is a nice way of celebrating that spring might just be about to appear over the horizon. Sure, February, over the decades has had days that don’t get above zero and March is rather notorious for dumping large amounts of snow during high school basketball tournaments. But still, we are at least at the top of the hill, and will be rolling towards spring any day now. The seed catalogs and seed packets are beginning to appear in mailboxes and in hardware stores. The spring book titles are also beginning to appear.Below you will find some of them. Enjoy!

As the days have noticeably begun getting longer and the brief bout of bitterly cold wind chills has loosen its grip, and the mountains of snow are slowly turning into mere hills of snow, the drought of new books reaching this library has also begun to end. Below you will find ten (count them, 10!) new book titles. Indeed some of them are so new that they technically haven’t been published yet even though the physical book is sitting on a shelf in our backroom even as I write. “How is this possible?”, I hear you. “So glad you asked,” I reply. Publishing a book is the final part of the process of bringing a book from the writer’s pen to the physical or digital book that you, gentle reader, can sit down and read. Formatting, editing, designing cover art, determining fonts, chapter headings, etc. all precedes publishing as does the printing, binding, and shipping from the publishers. Releasing the final product into the world is the final step of getting a book into your hands. That releasing of the book is the publishing, Due to mostly market consideration, books are not “published” until certain dates. So right now three or four of the books listed below will not be published until the 30th. That doesn’t mean you can’t put a hold on the book, it just means we can’t release it by wanding the barcode to make it available to fill holds. Occasionally we get books with strict “on-sale” date which threatens dire consequences if we let those books loose before that date. All that being said, below are some new titles which recently arrived at the library. Enjoy!

This week I have very few books to regale you with. I blame the supply chain. The two major winter storms the past week, I believe, slowed down the delivery of the many, many books we have on order. As of this writing, because of the holiday, neither the USPS nor UPS are making deliveries. Soon, we will have many books to tell you about. In the meantime, there are a half dozen listed further down the page. But since there is a lacuna in the titles of hard copy, print materials, let me tell you about some other hard copy, print materials we have.  Did you know that the library subscribes to 126 magazine titles?  We have many of your “classics” like “Better Homes and Garden”, “Consumer Reports”, “People”, “Popular Mechanics”, “Prevention”, and “Newsweek”.  But we also get some titles that are a but more esoteric like :”Elle”, “The Atlantic”, “Lighthouse Digest”, “The Cottage Journal”, “Flower”, “F1 Racing”, “Game and Fish Midwest”, “Writer’s Digest”, and “US Weekly”.  These magazines live upstairs at the end of Fiction on the Library Street side of the building. You should be able to locate them and other magazine titles that may be of interested, in the library catalog. Placing a hold on a specific issue can be a bit tricky, so if you need help. Ask at the Circulation desk.  Overdrive, the online resources available through the Libby App, has a large number of magazines available in digital format.  Check out the Libby App. Check out our magazines. Check out the titles listed below. And enjoy!

By the time you read this, assuming you read it on the paper’s publication date, Friday, January 12th, then we shall have, perhaps, passed the first major snow event of the season that has any chance of staying around.  As of this writing on Monday, the forecast is full of possibilities, but nothing tangible yet.  Libraries, like grocery stores, sometimes experience a run in front of major snow storm predictions. There is often a run on milk, eggs, and bread at one place and books, dvds, board games, and puzzles at the other. Everyone is stocking up in order to make it through a couple of days without easy access to what might be needed.  I hope you had a chance to stock up, or if not, that the potential forecast didn’t pan out.   I would like to note that as of January 10th, we started gaining a minute of light in the morning which will accelerate to a minute every couple of days going forward. At the evening end of the day, since the earliest sunset which occurred at 4:22 on 8th, 9th, and 10th of December, we have already gained 20 minutes. Of course, we all know the old weather adage about January, don’t we? As the days lengthen, the cold strengthens. As we head towards the coldest couple of weeks in the year, there are some new book titles, listed below, to keep you warm.  Enjoy!

I, for one, am hoping that this shiny, hardly-used, new year will be better than the previous year. You get to a certain age-- and trust me, I am well past that certain age--and the names of friends, acquaintances, and colleagues start appearing in the obit section of the newspaper. 2023 was one of those years for me. I imagine you all have your stories of loss and blessings from 2023 to tell. Stories are really important. They help us organize our thoughts in not only a linear, chronological fashion, but also causally and etiologically (the non-medical definition). Stories help us make sense of the world and of our actions. I believe that stories define what it is to be human as much as, if not more, than tool making.  Science has found any number of animals that use tools of some sort. Story tellers in other species have yet to be found.  (Although I do think my cats tell each other stories about, say, their trips to the vet or the birds they just saw on the porch.) The stories we tell delve into motivation as well as telling a series of events. Our stories sometimes describe not only how we behaved but how we could have or should have behaved. Stories can help us understand other people’s circumstances and the reasons for their actions. They can create empathy. Libraries are filled with stories. Some of those stories are telling a series of facts in a narrative frame to aid understanding of the events and motivations of people. That is non-fiction. Libraries are also filled with fiction stories too which ask us to imagine plots, people, and even different worlds. If you’re reading this you probably like stories too. Below are some of the recent titles of books filled with stories some of which may help you understand your own story better. Enjoy!