Wicked, Bunnies & Stuffies, Oh My

 

1-17-2025

Two weeks ago, Libby had Wicked in audio format available for an unlimited number of patrons. As soon it was recommended to me, I jumped on board; however, not with enthusiasm. I read the book about 25 years ago also based on a recommendation. I didn’t like it then; I find I do now. The difference is probably in expectations.

The first time through I only had a vague idea it was Wizard of Oz fanfiction. In my mind it was similar to Susan Kay’s Phantom, also read about 25 years ago, which attempts to provide a very sympathetic backstory for Erik, the Opera’s most famous Phantom. That book was fluff and took great liberties with the characters. I expected a feel-good book that would make the Wicked Witch of the West sympathetic. While it does, there is much more politics involved than I was in way shape or form prepared to find.

This time through I was prepared for it.

The movie’s DVD release is scheduled for February 4^th. We have pre-ordered it for the library. While I normally like to put significant time between reading and watching what is reported to be the same story, based on the trailers that won’t be a problem with this one. They don’t seem to be very similar.

We Live in Time is the library’s most recent DVD acquisition, sort of. It’s actually on Blu-Ray. As a British production, it’s reported the first movie that allows Andrew Garfield to use his real accent. Florence Pugh is also allowed her. I don’t know if that’s a first. Emma and I saw it as a stop on the way back to her dorm this fall. Nothing like breaking up a three-hour drive with a two-hour movie. Well worth it though.

Our latest reoccurring program is Storytime with Mr. Nibbles. As a domestic rabbit, he is dependent on humans for transportation to the library. The result is a monthly program, but not a set schedule. February’s storytime will be Thursday, February 6^th at 3:15 pm. It will include stories and making Valentines. All ages are welcome.

The ETCSD scheduled teacher inservice for Monday, January 20^th. Our special program for that day is a stuffed animal clinic. Local residents (notice I didn’t specify children) are invited to bring their stuffies to the library. Veterinarians from Mukwonago Animal Hospital will provide free exams, while skilled library staff will perform minor repairs. It’s a drop in program running 10:00-11:30 am.

Reading Now: The Other Wes Moore by Wes Moore

Listening to Now: Taste by Stanley Tucci

CandyLand and Sourdough Programs

 

1-3-2025

Happy New Year from the staff of the East Troy Lions Public Library.

The majority of us are nice and refreshed after several days off over the holidays. One exception may be Miss Maria whose family joined her at the library on Christmas Day to set up our life size CandyLand game. The fifty-nine people who came by to play the game seemed to really appreciate their efforts. A few adults without the pretense of children even stopped in. With three different versions of the boardgame, coloring sheets, and additional toys available, our programming space was the place to be on Friday and Saturday.  Staff and one of our volunteers spent a good portion of Monday packing it up safely so it will likely become a holiday tradition.

Next up for programming is Sourdough Made Simple on January 22, 2025. Margaret (Hill) Schultz from Blue Bird Custom Creations will run the program for her. Margaret is a local find. Her aunt Sue Loth connected us. She’ll run the same program twice first at 2:00 pm at the East Troy Intergenerational Community Center (IGET) and again at the ETLPL at 6:00 pm. The first provides an opportunity for stair free access. IGET is located in the back of the ETCSD’s business office, formerly Doubek Elementary. While the official address for the building is Beulah Avenue, access to the parking lot is actually from the Division Street side of the building. It is set back quite a way, so there is a sandwich board sign next to the driveway.

Participants will all receive a sourdough starter, so we are asking for advance registration. To do so simply call the library at 262-642-6262 and let us know which time slots works best. We do not have a limit, but would like to have numbers for Margaret by January 15^th.

Christmas books and movies are being packed up and stored until November. That will give us room for our Winter Reading Program prize drawing. We had requested participants wait until January to return their forms/grids. Now is the time to do so. The deadline of 1:00 pm, Saturday, January 11^th is here. Names will be drawn before the library opens on Monday, January 13^th.

Last January we replaced the Christmas book display with a puzzle swap.  Afterward the remaining puzzles (which seemed to at least double in number), were moved to a side room in the lower level for a permanent, if out of sight, swap. We now have so many that a new shelving unit was added to the program space for puzzles of 550 pieces or less. Those with 750 or more are still in the side room. This is a good time for puzzles. Stop in anytime and staff will be happy to show you where they are.

Reading Now: Along Came a Spider by James Patterson (My first Patterson book.)

Listening to Now: Wicked by Gregory Maguire

Fine Free-ish for Youth Materials

 

12-27-2024

In August the Library Board of Trustees voted to make three changes that will go into full effect January 1, 2025. The changes are to age of a card holder, hours, and fines.

The quick and easy news relates to hours and card holders. At the beginning of 2020 the library was open until 7:00 pm Monday through Friday. Post shutdown saw a limited opening with more hours added every so often. The last hold out was Monday night. That will be rectified in 2025. Starting Monday, January 6^th, we will be open until 7:00 pm four nights a week. The only night patrons need to remember as closing early is Friday. That has, to the best of my knowledge, always been the case. As for card holders, moving forward they will need to be at least 4 years old.

The more exciting and complicated change regards fines. Complicated in putting it into effect and complicated in understanding how if works. In the past all late materials were assessed a fine. Long standing library policy, fines were meant as incentive to return materials on time and make them available for other patrons in a timely fashion.

The reality of fines is much more complicated in many patron’s heads. Rather than return late materials to stop fines from growing, many patrons hold onto them until they are prepared to 1. Pay them immediately (this is only necessary if the patron’s total fines have reached $10.00 and the patron wishes to check out materials that day) or 2. They are no longer afraid to face the mad librarians (we have a lot more going on in our lives to be mad about a patron having to pay a fine). The reality was that 80% of the existing patron fines were assessed on patrons who haven’t entered our building in over three years. This does not meet our goals of being a welcoming part of the community and supporting literacy development.

The Fines and Fees section of our Circulation Policy now reads, “It is not the ETLPL’s intent to create barriers to a child’s literacy development; therefore, fines will not be assessed on youth material owned by ETLPL.” Unpacking that statement is the complication. Important points are fines, youth material, and owned by.

Fines and Fees are two separate charges. The first related to returning an item after its due date. The second relates to damage and returning it at all. If a dog eats youth material, there will be a charge. If youth material is not returned within 3 months, the item will be assumed lost and there will be a replacement charge. Damage cannot be repaired, but assumed lost materials can be returned thereby removing the replacement fee.

Youth materials references the movies and books (print and audio) meant for the underage. Other material primarily meant for use by the underage such as our Library of Things items can only be checked out by adult patrons and do not qualify as fine free youth materials.

Finally, owned by ETLPL is a disclaimer regarding items brought in by other library’s so that we do not violate their policies. That said, a large number of the 22 libraries in Prairie Lakes Library System and Kenosha County with whom we share items on a daily basis, are already fine free for youth materials.

In order for this to go into on January 1^st, the IT Department and our catalogers have been working to make certain items are properly cataloged and they became fine free six weeks ago. This should allow for a smooth transition and avoid late fines on renewed materials checked out in November but returned late. It does not affect existing fines.

Reading Now: Life by Pope Francis

Listening to Now: Wicked by Gregory Maguire

2024 East Troy Middle School Battle of the Books

1st Place Fantabulous Four: Ximena Scheibmeir, Rosemary Markham, Aria Kmiecik, and Isabella Zavaleta
 

2nd Place Five Star Books: Rachel Jones, Kaley Pedretti, Tayla Krieger, and Zoey Halkin

East Troy Lions Public Library and the East Troy Middle School held their annual Battle of the Books over the past two weeks. Nine teams competed to represent the ETMS in February’s State Battle sponsored by WEMTA. 

Elimination battles took place last week during WIN. The Final Battle between the sixth grade Five Star Books and eighth grade Fantabulous Four was live streamed into classrooms while sixth grade classes watched it live. 

This is the second year the ladies of Fantabulous Four will represent East Troy. To prepare for the elimination battles each team had to read the same ten books then earn points by correctly answering a series of questions about details of the books. The State team will be reading an additional ten books for February’s battle. The State Battle is held asynchronously using a secured website. 

School library staff are also preparing a high school team to represent the ETHS at that level. Battle of the Books is first offered to students at Prairie View Elementary in fifth grade. Library staff and fifth grade teachers will be preparing those students for a strictly in district version in January. Those students will also read ten books and compete in March. 

Reading Now: What I Ate in One Year by Stanley Tucci (I'm looking forward to trying the Minestrone and eggplant recipes he included).

Listening to Now: Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Life Size Candyland

 

12-13-2024

Once upon a time, I was on top of Christmas preparations. I was the stage manager at the Fireside where rehearsals for the Christmas show started as early as the beginning of September. If I wasn’t finished shopping and addressing Christmas cards by Thanksgiving, it wasn’t going to happen. Each year I made it happen. With a month to wrap my gifts, they were a thing of beauty.

Then teaching and small children changed the timeline and threw obstacles in it. Now I’m lucky if I remember who’s on my shopping list and PLEASE don’t ask me to give you any gift ideas. All I will come up with is chocolate. It’s perfect: it always fits and I know where to put it.

This year shopping is still an issue as I haven’t started it yet, and if I don’t buy a tree soon my daughter will not be happy with the Charlie Brown option I’ll be left with. However, I’m taking off the week of Christmas and have festive plans. I’ve asked permission to nab the five-year-old grandson (“You can have him whenever for as long as you want”) to bring him to Miss Maria’s life size Candyland game which shall take over the Lower-Level December 26^th and 27^th. Pre-School Playdate and Storytime those dates will still meet as the game is officially open 1:00-3:00.

For months I’ve been making large purchases (Remember the new couches, chairs and bookshelves?) and saving the boxes. Miss Maria and her family have been converting them into locations for the game board. Max and I are so there. As the program is intended to be for all ages, I recon we’ll be bringing eighteen-year-old Emma along. Sadly, someone has to help me prevent Max from cheating or crying should he loose. She’s a good sport who loves her nephew. In my favor, it will be afternoon and likely involve taking them out for lunch.

Afterward if the weather permits and a pass is available for checkout, maybe we’ll spend a day looking at animals or checkout the Bluey Dance Party from the Library of Things. You know, unless a patron beats me to them in which case there could be a tent or telescope or real bugs in acrylic available. You know, unless a patron plans ahead and checks them out for their children to use over break. Of course, I would put up the tent outside. We’d use it in the living room and save me from washing all the blankets from the linen closet used for a makeshift tent.

I return to work as a worker on Monday, December 30^th. If we haven’t returned Max by then, Emma can bring him back to watch the Family Movie about a robot at 3:00 pm.

Reading Now: What I Ate in One Year and Related Thoughts by Stanley Tucci (On a side note, Tucci wrote this about the year he filmed Conclave in Italy - see last week's article.)

Listening to Now: Catch-22 by Joseph Helller (Much better than I remember from the time I tried to read it. Listening made the difference.)

 

First Came the Book

 

12-6-2024

Conclave is not just a movie.

A few months ago, I saw a trailer for the movie starring Ralph Fiennes, Stanley Tucci, and John Lithgow. Since I adore two of those actors, I’ll let you guess which two, and knew a story that intriguing must have originated as a book. Not only was I correct, but ETLPL owns a copy. Robert Harris’ book was published in 2016 so it’s been around long enough we keep it in the Lower Level. Proof that good books you may have missed can be found down the stairs too. I finished it last week. It was a good book  

While we’re talking movies, I should mention that Wicked also started out as a book series by Gregory Maguire. There are four books in the series and we do own a version of them all. It’s been over two decades since I read the first one. I don’t remember my impressions of it, but it was highly recommended to me.

I’ll be interested in seeing both movies, but not yet. I’m just finishing listening to Dune and that movie series is available for free checkout at the library. It will be a few months before the above movies will be available on DVD.

Speaking of my recommendations, Mom has to wait once more for Joy Ellis books as I’ve started more ETLPL readers on her series. A new Nikki Galena book was just released in November. Place your holds for Echoes on the Fens.

The recent drop in temperatures may have been the inspiration for this article. Books and movies with a soft blanket seem and excellent way to spend the evening. The weather hasn’t turned wintery enough to consider closing the library, memories of last January and 29 hours without power (read heat) at my home tells me it is best to be prepared.

Prepared means having electronic access to any required means of posting the closure from home. Those postings include the East Troy Village website, East Troy Lions Public Library website and Facebook page, and Today’s TMJ4. If I made the drive to work before making the decision, there will also be a posting on the door.

Our incredibly long answering machine message states that we do not close just because the East Troy Community School District has done so. There are many reasons for this beginning with the fact that the schools often close the night before based on weather predictions. Late starts aren’t as likely given the library already opens two hours after the start of most school days. Instead, I usually base it on my drive to work and how well the snowplows are able to keep up. DPW and Benchmark do an excellent job cleaning the snow for us, but there are times when the library parking lot cannot be a priority.

Hopefully we won’t need to put this information to the test anytime soon, but I’ll make certain to have some movies handy just in case.

Reading Now: The Giver of Stars by Jojo Moyes (Book club meets next week December 10th or 13th.)

Listening to Now: Catch-22 by Joseph Heller (Quite honestly, it's on the PBS Great American Read list and my first reaction is listening is less painful than reading this one. We'll see if I making it past the first chapter changes my impressions.)

Community Calendar

 

11-29-2024

All polar bears are left-handed. That’s the fun fact we’re discussing in the library today courtesy of Jerry Pallotta’s Who Would Win series. Specifically, it was from the Polar Bear vs. Grizzly Bear section of Ultimate Showdown. Little tidbits like that are enough to keep us going all afternoon with questions and trivia.

We like to be in the know at the library whether it’s considered trivia or not. One area of knowledge we are currently working on is what’s going on in the East Troy area. Goal 1 of our Strategic Plan’s goals is to “Expand communication with area residents and organizations in order to strengthen relationships and promote library services.” One of the activities is to create a community calendar for nonprofit organizations to post their events. A sort of one stop shopping for what’s happening in ET.

The calendar went live just a few weeks ago. So far it is difficult to distinguish it from the ETLPL calendar as, of course, I entered all of our programs first. Next, I reached out to the East Troy Intergenerational Community Center to work out the logistics of a shared calendar. So far only their weekly Tai Chi class is listed as that’s the one I used as a trial reoccurring event. They have promised to add others soon. Village of East Troy Board and Plan Commission meetings are also entered, at least for December.

On the website, all events are blue (no matter how many times and ways I try to add variety, once shared it reverts to one). Clicking on the event opens a bubble with any additional information attached to the event. There are Month, Week, and Agenda tabs which allow for visual opItions. Residents who use a Google calendar are invited to add the calendar to their existing ones that is viewable as part of the larger calendar or as a side bar when Gmail is open. That’s how I view it. It gives me an overview of the day’s events as I work.

I have a list of organizations to invite to participate. They include service organizations such as the East Troy Lions Club and Kiwanis as well as churches for their fundraisers and festivals. Our website lists the participating organizations with links to their websites for additional information. Watch for that list to grow as we partner with more East Troy community organizations.

Reading Now: The Giver of Stars by Jojo Moyes

Listening to Now: Dune by Frank Herbert