They've Got Us "Covered"...

The Chippewa Falls Public Library has its cinder block walls adorned in decently bright and cheery colors but, for the next month or so, we'll have some lovely and even more colorful quilts hanging in the adult reading area in the northwest corner of the building, also known as The Lounge.

The Chippewa County Piecemakers & Beaver Creek Quilters have been kind enough to loan us some of their best-looking quilts to both brighten up the library and to advertise their quilt show, which they'll be having on August 13th and 14th, during Pure Water Days.

The quilts will be displayed up at the Chippewa Falls Area Senior Center, and admission will be $3.00 for a one-day and $4.00 for a two-day pass.



For more information, contact Donna Turbyne (pictured above with her husband) of the Chippewa County Piecemakers at drja68@gmail.com.

In Memoriam: Earl R. Melville

In front of the Chippewa Falls Public Library a flagpole stands, and there is a plaque affixed to its base honoring the veterans of the Chippewa Valley.

That plaque was made by Mr. Earl R. Melville, a native and resident of the Chippewa Falls area who just recently passed away.

Mr. Melville's plaques can be found on other landmarks around the city, including the City Hall building and the cannon carriages in Irvine Park, but it is for his lasting contribution to the library that we remember him.

Save the Date! Friends Book Sale Coming Before We Know It!

PRESS RELEASE:

The Friends of the Chippewa Falls Public Library will hold their annual book sale on Friday, June 17th and Saturday, June 18th this year. The book sale will be held in a tent in front of the library at 105 West Central St. and will begin at 9am and continue until 3pm on both days.

The Friends expect to do better business than usual in 2011.

“A very nice lady on the West Hill donated thousands of beautiful books to The Friends this year, all at once and all in fantastic shape,” says library director Darryl Eschete. “I think that when the public sees the offerings this year, they’ll be as pleasantly surprised as I was.”

The books for the sale are either donated by the public over the course of the year or are discards from the library’s collection, Eschete says. The Friends don’t have an exact figure for how many books will be offered this year, but Eschete says it is thousands.

“This is the most books I’ve seen in one of these sales,” says Jan Joas, Treasurer of The Friends. “It’s overwhelming.”

This year, the sale will be part of “Discover Downtown,” a two-day sidewalk sale meant to encourage shoppers to visit the commercial area of downtown Chippewa Falls.
Prices will range from 50 cents for used paperbacks up to five dollars for hardbacks in like-new condition. All proceeds from the sale benefit the Friends of the Chippewa Falls Public Library, a non-profit charitable organization that raises money for the library and literacy-related causes in the area.

Catch the Excitement!

When I was a kid I was in Boy Scouts, and I remember working on my "Citizenship in the Community" merit badge. Part of that, as I recall, was to sit in on a local board or council meeting. My grandmother took me to a meeting of the library board of the Scott Township, Pennsylvania library.

I'm not going to lie to you; I remember it as being painfully, skull-crushingly long and dull.

But one lesson I learned is that it's good way to know exactly what is going on with the tax money we pay every time we buy something. We give the government money and we trust them to make good decisions with it. And, if we don't trust them, we can go and keep an eye on them.

That said, the approved minutes of this year's library board meetings are now on the library's website. Find them here:

Library Board Meetings

On that page, you'll see when meetings are scheduled and what has been done at those that have passed.

Tell a scout!

Book Sale June 17th, 18th--Volunteers Needed!

The Friends of the Library book sale is coming early this year, and volunteers are needed!

People are needed to set up, move boxes, help people carry their items to their cars, etc. If you or someone you know is interested in helping the Friends of the Chippewa Falls Public Library with their book sale, email me, Darryl Eschete, at deschete@mycfpl.org and I'll forward your interest to the Friends.

Be sure to let me know if you want to work early in the morning; last year, set up began before the sun was up, if memory serves.

All proceeds from the sale benefit the Friends of the Chippewa Falls Public Library, a non-profit group dedicated to supporting the library and other literacy issues in our area. It's really a great cause.

The National Jukebox

The Library of Congress has, for a long time, made digital files of historical recordings available. Up until now, it has been largely hit or miss. Well, we information geeks can now relax. It was pointed out to me today that the Library of Congress has organized its best recordings into a searchable database that it calls National Jukebox.

Some of the thousands of recordings here are downloadable, many aren't. All are available as streaming audio, however, and the wealth of sound here is great for educators and music aficionados alike. The recordings are all from 1929 and earlier, by the way, so don't expect the Beatles.

Take a look!

Just in case you're wondering: Library of Congress Recording: 'On Wisconsin!'