The Grant Co. Library is planning a special celebration for Valentine’s Day in February.  All Preschool, Elementary, Middle School and High School age students are invited to help us create a “Love My Library” Art Show in the Young Adult and Children’s departments.  The theme will be “What I Love About My Library.”  Participants may bring a drawing, painting, collage, sculpture or any other form of creative expression. The Library will accept art through February 10th.  The completed Art Show will be presented in the Young Adult and  Children’s departments on February 13th- February 17th. Refreshments will be served on Tuesday, February 14th to celebrate the display from 1:00-8:00pm.  The community is invited throughout the week to view the Art Show and for refreshments on the 14th. We would like all students to label the back of their art work with their printed first and last names, and a phone number if possible, so we may reach them to return their art work after the art show is over.

Adults are invited to attend this special “Books Sandwiched In” program in Perks! Coffee shop in the upper level of the library from 12:00-1:00 pm.

You may bring a sack lunch; the library will serve dessert and drinks.

New videos (DVDs) at the library:

and many more… come in and see!

Additionally, each Playaway has a universal headphone jack that works with almost any type of headphone or mobility accessory. If you don’t have headphones, earbuds may be purchased for $1 at the circulation desk and then are yours to keep.

Playaways come in Adult fiction and nonfiction, Children’s fiction, and Young Adult fiction. Each playaway is checked out with your patron card for two weeks, with the option for one renewal.

Check out our perpetual Book Sale in the Adult  department. Includes gently used books, videos and audiobooks. Please pay at the front desk. The displays are located in the hallway across from the copy machines. Check them often! The materials are updated frequently! Don’t forget to check out the Book Sales in the Children’s Department and Young Adult Department, movies too! Remember teachers… books to build your class libraries are free!

Do you have books at home that you would like to donate? Donations can be dropped off at the library during regular business hours. If you have a large donation that requires assistance with unloading, please call ahead (356-1433) and a library staff member can assist you!

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Even if it isn’t always completely accurate, almost everyone has a picture of 19th century Kansas – Free State Bleeding Kansas, Sod House Early Settler Kansas, Populist Farmer Kansas, and other conceptions of the state we call home. We often hear that those were the days when the open frontier offered all men (and some women) real opportunities, when families worked together and children grew up knowing the true values of work and community. There’s less agreement about what it’s meant to live in 20th century Kansas.

Each book in this series offers a different window through which to look at modern-day Kansas. Kansans are proud of their anti-slavery history – these authors help raise the question of just how well the state enacted its implied commitment to equality. Equally important is the “frontier myth.” The books examine how life in Kansas has changed since the “Wild West outpost” days. Urbanization, rural decline, and social changes in the roles of women and the races have fundamentally changed what it means to be a Kansan. Growing up in 20th century, small-town Kansas is far different from the same experience in 19th century, small-town Kansas. The desire to cling to tradition is set at odds with the changing technological and social landscape.

Langston Hughes focused on eastern Kansas in the pre-Civil Rights, but post-Civil War era. Bob Dole writes about his experiences in World War II-era western Kansas. Laura Moriarty and Tom Averill have written recent novels about fictional late-20th century towns that deal with young people coming of age. You may find it interesting to compare each kind of experience with the others. These Kansas authors bring questions involving gender, ethnicity, time and perspective together in their work. Each author’s picture of a highly individualized Kansas experience brings readers to an understanding of our common experiences as Kansans.

All adults are invited to join the discussions of following titles on the dates listed below. Discussions will be held in the Cooper Clark meeting room at 7:30 p.m. Books are available for check out at the main circulation desk.  Discussions will be lead by a scholar, and refreshments will be served.

January 30th, Not Without Laughter by Langston Hughes. Discussion  lead by Sandra Wiechert

March 1st, The Slow Air of Ewan McPherson by Thomas Fox Averill. Discussion lead by Sara Richter

March 26th, The Center of Everything by Laura Moriarty. Discussion lead by Kim Stanley

April 30th, One Soldier’s Story by Bob Dole. Discussion lead by Nancy Hope