Lots of Movies at the Library!

Did you know that the library offers much more than just books?  The Homer Community Library is here for both your educational and entertainment needs.  To this end, each month we purchase a few movies just released to DVD to add to our movie collection.  We currently have over 2000 movies, 1500 of them on DVD. Yes, this does mean we still have some favorites on VHS tapes so if you still have that old VCR, there is somewhere you can come and find something to watch!  Anyone with a valid library card can check out movies.  There is no charge to check them out but, be careful – there is a $1.00/day late fee if you don’t bring them back on time!  Regular movies circulate for 2 days and non-fiction movies (this would include exercise DVDs) circulate for 2 weeks. 

The library also has a movie license which allows us to show movies on-site.  This is why we are able to hold our two monthly movie events.  We usually show movies newly released on DVD for both our Movie Matinee and our Family Movie Night.  We try to keep the rating for our matinee to PG or PG-13 and our family movie to G or PG.

 Our Movie Matinee is held on the second Wednesday of each month at 1pm. On Sept. 11^th,  the library is showing the newest version of The Great Gatsby for our Movie Matinee. The Great Gatsby follows Fitzgerald-like, would-be writer Nick Carraway as he leaves the Midwest and comes to New York City in the spring of 1922, an era of loosening morals, glittering jazz and bootleg kings. Chasing his own American Dream, Nick lands next door to a mysterious, party-giving millionaire, Jay Gatsby, and across the bay from his cousin Daisy and her philandering, blue-blooded husband Tom Buchanan. It is thus that Nick is drawn into the captivating world of the super rich, their illusions, loves and deceits. As Nick bears witness, within and without the world he inhabits, he pens a tale of impossible love, incorruptible dreams and high-octane tragedy, and holds a mirror to our own modern times and struggles. This movie is rated PG-13 and runs 142 minutes.

Our Free Family Movie Night is held on the third Friday of each month.  This month, Sept. 20^th, we are showing Epic. Epic is an animated adventure comedy that reveals a fantastical world unlike any other. From the creators of Ice Age and Rio, Epic tells the story of an ongoing battle between the forces of good, who keep the natural world alive, and the forces of evil, who wish to destroy it. When a teenage girl finds herself magically transported into this secret universe, she teams up with an elite band of warriors and a crew of comical, larger-than-life figures, to save their world...and ours. This movie is rated PG and runs 103 minutes.

If you have questions about our movie collection, events, or anything else, please give us a call at 217/896-2121 or email us athomerlibrarian@gmail.com.  We will be happy to assist  you.

Homer Library Begins 2014 Calendar Fundraising Effort

Beginning August 12th and continuing until completion about December 10th of this year, the Homer Library will once again produce and sell the "Homer Community Library Calendar.” Begun in 1965 by the Homer Lions Club, the Calendar became the Library’s primary fundraising activity in 2006 when the Lions Club disbanded. Since then the Calendar has raised $27,640.43 in much needed funds for the Library, according to figures provided by K.C. Jones, Library Treasurer and Calendar Chairperson.

A volunteer project, the Calendar netted $3602.24 last year. Subsequently, this profit was used to pay 12.18% of the Library’s FY 2012 expenses. Real estate taxes plus a State of Illinois per capita grant contributed another $18,982.28 in income, or 70.82%—nearly all of which was used to pay for Library salaries, the online catalog service fee, and membership in Illinois Heartland Library System. The remaining 17% of Library expenditures were paid from income generated by membership fees; fines; printing, copying and fax services; monetary donations; sales of discarded materials; and fundraising efforts other than the Calendar. For comparison, a recent newspaper article mentioned that the Champaign Public Library receives 92% of its income from taxes. The same report also said that they required an infusion of cash from the City of Champaign in order to meet their commitments. In contrast, thanks to the generous participation of Homer residents in Library fundraising efforts, especially the Calendar, the Homer Library has continued to operate in the black—even in these trying times. However, without Calendar income, it would not be possible for the Library to maintain its current level of support for programs and purchases of new materials, including books, movies, music CDs, magazines, and reference works.

For the past several years, more than a third of yearly Calendar income has been allocated to the “Reading Is Fundamental” (RIF) program. This now defunct federal program was designed to improve child literacy by giving, in our case, 400 to 500 books per year to kindergarten through fourth grade students in Heritage School District. Thanks to Calendar income, the Library has been able to continue this popular program despite the lack of federal assistance. Fortunately, children's book publishers have continued their RIF discounts. But the Library doesn’t know how much longer they will continue to do so since their federal aid has also ended. For this reason alone, the Library staff hopes community support for this yearʼs Calendar will meet or surpass this year's goal of $4000.

Although the Library is the sole recipient of Calendar income, everyone in Heritage School District can benefit from Calendar funds. According to Illinois State law, Homer is the official Library for the other communities and townships in Heritage School District because they are without a Library of their own. Heritage School District residents who live outside the Village limits of Homer may obtain a Homer Library card for just $35—the average amount Homer residents pay for Library privileges as levied on their real estate tax bills.

The Calendar will be mailed in mid-December, as it was last year, to every household, business, and farmstead in the Village of Homer and South Homer Township. These mailings, at just 14.5¢ each, are made possible by a U.S. Postal Service program that encourages mailings to every household in a given zip code. In the next month or so, a Library volunteer will be calling on families who have recently moved to Homer to ask if they will contribute their listings to the Calendar. Listings consist of anniversaries and birthdays of Homer family members that are printed on the relevant dates of the Calendar, along with meetings of civic and religious organizations. The charges for listings are the same as last year: one or two listings; just $6.00; additional listings are $1.00 each. If anyone wants an extra Calendar, a donation of $10.00 will be very much appreciated.

Previous Calendar patrons will be sent an email or postcard that shows their current listings. Patrons who wish to resubscribe to the Calendar just need to send in or drop off payment at the Homer Library for the amount billed. The deadline for payment is September 30, 2013 and checks should be made payable to the Homer Library. Changes and or corrections to listings, or new requests to be added to the Calendar, may be sent to Homer Library, Attn: K.C. Jones, 500 E. Second St., Homer, IL 61849. Patrons with questions may telephone K.C. at 531-7856, or email him at caseyjonz@comcast.net The Library requests that past patrons and advertisers please reply promptly when they receive email and postcards regarding the renewal of Calendar subscriptions. Doing so eliminates future mailing costs, insures that funds raised are used for Library support and not for postage, and provides the Library with the funds to pay Calendar production costs.

The staff and Trustees of the Homer Community Library wish to sincerely thank all those Calendar patrons who have in the past so generously supported the Library’s annual Calendar fundraiser—some for many years. They also ask that you please help make this a successful fundraising year by keeping or adding your listings to the 2014 Calendar or by making a donation.

Book Sale Money Helps Us Buy New Stuff!

The library is having its semi-annual Big Book Sale. We always have a small book sale up but from now until May 5th we will have extra tables with books, movies and some Great Courses audio books. We have books for all ages, toddler to adult and both fiction and non-fiction. Every time you purchase books from our book sale you are helping us to buy new books and movies for the library. We work on a really tight budget, so every penny helps!

This time of year is a big time for new releases in both books and movies. Most of the Academy Award nominated movies are being released on DVD and and book publishers are gearing up for the summer reading season.

We’ve recently cataloged several new books and movies we think you’ll enjoy. For adult fiction books we have Whiskey Beach by Nora Roberts, The Guardian by Beverly Lewis, Touch and Go by Lisa Gardner, Chance by Karen Kingsbury, Starting Now by Debbie Macomber and we should be getting in David Baldacci’s Day of Doom very soon.

We have started a couple new series in the junior collection – The Wide-Awake Princess series by E.D. Baker and the Dear Dumb Diary series by Jim Benton. We got in a fantastic book for older kids/junior high age: “How They Croaked – The Awful Ends of the Awfully Famous”. This is a 2012 Notable Children’s Book award winner and give great history lessons while detailing the ends of notable figures through history such as Cleopatra, Julius Caesar, Christopher Columbus, and Marie Antoinette. This is actually a really fun book for all ages, not just kids.

For new movies we just got in Lincoln, Life of Pi, Argo, The Hobbit, and Rise of the Guardians. We’ve added about two dozen ‘new to us’ donated movies and six more Disney movies that we didn’t have, including: Up, G-Force, The Secret of the Wings, and Beverly Hills Chihuahua.

The Homer Library Celebrates National Library Week with Fine Amnesty

The Homer Community Library is joining other libraries nationwide in celebrating National Library Week, a time to highlight the value of libraries and the services they offer to a community.

Service to the community has always been the focus of the library. While this idea hasn’t changed over the years, how we serve our public has changed a great deal. Libraries today are more than repositories for books. While the library is still a great place to read quietly, do homework, or use our computers, it is also a great place for people to gather to reconnect and engage with each other and will their community.

The Homer Community Library serves the Village of Homer, South Homer Township and the Heritage School District by providing books for all ages (with elementary and junior high level books marked with their Accelerated Reader levels), audio books, movies, public computers, printing/copy/fax services, and programs for all ages throughout the year. Every month we offer a Movie Matinee for our retired patrons and a Third Friday Movie Night for our families with kids.

Every year the Homer Community Library celebrates National Library Week by holding a fine amnesty period. This year our amnesty will go from April 8-20th. You know that library book you just realized you’ve had out for months and is WAY overdue? Or that video that you now have a $10 fine for? Now is the time to return these items and we will forgive your fines! We really just would like the items returned. If you are too embarrassed to bring it in and face the librarian (although very few of us actually bite) you can drop off items in the outside drop boxes. Just please return DVDs to the DVD box and not the book drop! We really dislike losing a patron over some overdue items so take advantage of fine amnesty so we can go back to serving your library needs.

April is Poetry Month!

Did you know that April is National Poetry Month? Started by the Academy of American Poets in 1996, National Poetry Month is now held every April, when schools, publishers, libraries, bookstores, and poets throughout the United States band together to celebrate poetry and its vital place in American culture. Thousands of organizations, including the Homer Library, will participate through readings, book displays, workshops, and other events.

The Homer Library will have books on poetry for all ages on display as well as copies of some of our favorite poems. Are you a poet? We'd love to display some works by local poets and are hoping to be able to display some of the poems done by Heritage students like we've done in the past. Are you a poet and just don't know it? Visit our poem activity table and have fun with poetry related mazes, word games, and drawing activities. And, of course, we will be encouraging patrons to check-out poetry books by offering a reading incentive prize drawing at the end of the month - every time you check out a poetry related book you can enter to win!

Arts 4 All!

Did you know that March 11-17th is Illinois Arts Education Week? It is a great time to appreciate all of the fine arts – dance, drama, music, and the visual arts! The library is a great place to discover the arts through books, movies, and cds.

There is a lot of information on the arts in the library for all ages and not just in the non-fiction collection. There are many Easy picture books that introduce young children to colors and textures and many books for children on how to do arts and crafts.

We also have some wonderful junior fiction books that incorporate the arts. One of my favorite is “Chasing Vermeer” by Blue Balliett. In this book, kids are able to explore a whole new world of adventure and art when a precious Vermeer painting disappears and eleven-year-olds Petra and Calder need to combine their talents to solve an international art scandal. You can even find the arts in the 39 Clues adventure series. In the book, “One False Note”, Amy and Dan Cahill are in the lead to find thirty-nine clues that safeguard a great power, and are in possession of a coded sheet of Mozart's music that will help them find the next clue while their relatives follow in close pursuit. Wouldn’t it be great if we could get every kid who reads this book to also check out one of our Mozart music cd’s?

We, of course, have a large collection of art and art history books in our non-fiction collection but we also have dozens of Great Courses lecture series in either non-fiction audiobooks or dvds. These include lectures on different musicians and musical genres, artists and art history, drama, and even courses on how to listen to and understand great music. We also have several award-winning musicals on dvd and a great collection of classical music on cd.

The arts don’t have to be intimidating – don’t forget that current movies are also part of the arts. This week we have both of our movie events. On Wednesday, March 13th we are showing The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel at 1pm and on Friday, March 15th we are showing Wreck It Ralph for our Free Family Movie. Come on out and enjoy some art at the library!

Knitting is coming to the library!

The library is partnering with some ‘crafty’ Homer area residents to offer knitting lessons. Starting in March, the Homer Craft Club with meet on the 2nd and 4th Fridays of each month at 6pm. The Club will offer a quiet place to meet and work on your crafts (all crafts - scrapbooking, jewelry making, knitting, crocheting, quilting, etc.), get new ideas, and maybe even get the motivation to start something new. AND, a couple of the members are willing to teach knitting as part of the library’s programming. The class will be open to all ages but we will have to limit the number of kids to make sure we have enough teachers. If we have anyone under 13 interested, just please call the library and sign up ahead of time.

For the first 45 minutes of the first 4 meetings, a member (or two) will be available to teach some basic projects. The first project will be making a hand-knitted wash cloth. These are great to use in the kitchen or give as gifts. Each participant will need to bring some yarn (a ball of Lily’s Sugar ‘n Cream cotton yarn is suggested) and a short pair of size 9 or 10 knitting needles. The supplies should not cost you more than $5-6. The library will try to have some supplies on hand for emergencies. We will also display some of our knitting books to get you motivated to try for even bigger and more complex projects! The first knitting class will take place on March 8th. We are looking forward to working with the Craft Club on other ventures. For more information on the knitting class you can contact the Homer Community Library at 896-2121 and for more information on the Homer Craft Club you can visit their FaceBook page at www.facebook.com/HomerVillageCraftClub.

Did you know the Library also has a Facebook page? Search for Homer Community Library and ‘like’ us for updates on programs, additions to our collection, and other fun library facts.

The Newberys Are Coming! (and a whole lot more!)

There's a lot happening at the library this week! The latest award-winning books for kids and teens have been announced and we have begun are annual reading incentive program to get kids and adults to check out and enjoy one of the many Caldecott, Newbery, YALSA award-winning books that we have at the library. Each time you check out one of these books you will have your name entered into a drawing for a pair of headphones. We will run this program until the end of April so come on in and pick up a Newbery! We will be getting in many of this year's winners over the next two months but have dozens of previous winners to choose from now.

This Saturday, February 9th is the second installment of our "Digging Deeper" gardening program. It is not too late to start attending if you are interested. The program will start at 10am and go for 1 1/2 to 2 hours.

We have both of our monthly movies showing this week. On Wednesday, Feb. 13th at 1pm we will be showing "The Lucky One" for our Monthly Movie Matinee. Based on a Nicholas Sparks book, U.S. Marine Sergeant Logan Thibault returns from his third tour of duty in Iraq, with the one thing he credits with keeping him alive--a photograph he found of a woman he doesn't even know. Learning her name is Beth and where she lives, he shows up at her door, and ends up taking a job at her family-run local kennel. Despite her initial mistrust and the complications in her life, a romance develops between them, giving Logan hope that Beth could be much more than his good luck charm. -- (C) Warner Bros

On Friday, Feb. 15th we will have our Family Friendly Movie Night. This month, in honor of the Newbery's, instead of showing a recently released family film, we are going back to one of my childhood favorites, "The Secret of NIMH". This movie, based on the award-winning book, "Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH" by Robert O'Brien, follows the story of some runaway rodents with an earth shattering secret. Mrs. Brisby, a mild-mannered mother mouse will do anything to save her family from Farmer Firtzgibbon's plow. Unfortunately, Mrs. Brisby will need an engineering miracle to save her home and for that she must face a mysterious rat, fend off a ferocious cat and claim a maic amulet! But when Mrs. Brisby discovers the astounding secret of NIMH it could change her life forever. A timeless tale of love, courage and determination, this movie will transport the whole family into an enchanting world where the bravest hearts live in the meekest of mice. I hope everyone enjoys this movie as much as I did and maybe it will inspire someone to pick up the book it was based on. I remember immediately re-reading this book when I first finished it because I became so involved with the characters I couldn't bear to let them go.

January 2013 Library Event Calendar

This month’s display of books includes two different displays of picture books and junior books – one featuring Pirates! and the other featuring winter and snow.

Jan. 8 7pm Library Board Meeting

Jan. 9 1pm Movie Matinee: Moonrise Kingdom

Wes Anderson makes films about small worlds in which big things happen: love, heartbreak, calamities, death. In his latest, the wondrous storybook tale “Moonrise Kingdom,” a girl and a boy, both 12, run off to a remote inlet on an island where most of the adults seem disappointed and more than a little sad. The girl and the boy are very serious — about love, their plans, books, life itself — and often act older than their age. She wears bright blue eyeliner; he puffs on a corncob pipe. You wonder what their hurry is, given that here adulthood, with its quarrels, regrets and anguished pillow talk, can feel as dangerous as the storm that’s hurtling toward the island, ready to blow it all down. — Manohla Dargis Rated PG-13 93min

Jan. 12 12:30-2 “Digging Deeper” Garden Program

This is the first of 3 programs. With guest speaker, Laura Wetzel, from Urbana, the group will meet at the Homer Village Hall on the second Saturday of January, February, and March from 12:30 - 2pm to learn more about growing annual veggies and perennial food crops. Topics of interest for beginner to advanced gardeners will include soil preparation, composting and fertilization, raised bed gardening, and much more.

Jan. 18 7pm Free Family Movie Night: Ice Age: Continental Drift

Scrat's nutty pursuit of the cursed acorn, which he's been after since the dawn of time, has world-changing consequences - a continental cataclysm that triggers the greatest adventure of all for Manny, Diego and Sid. In the wake of these upheavals, Sid reunites with his cantankerous Granny, and the herd encounters a ragtag menagerie of seafaring pirates determined to stop them from returning home. -- (C) Official Site Rated PG 1hr 34 min

Did you know you can search our card catalog from home?
Go to http://opac.libraryworld.com

It will ask for the library name, type in Homer Library

There is no password so just click on “Login” Now you can search our card catalog to see if we have a particular item andif it is available for check out. You can also ‘Request a hold’ and we will receive an email asking us to hold that item for you!

2013 Gardening Series is Coming!

We know it seems like winter has just begun but it is never too early to start thinking about spring!

The Homer garden group along with the Homer Community Library is preparing another three-part series of gardening programs.

With guest speaker, Laura Wetzel, from Urbana, the group will meet at the Homer Village Hall on the second Saturday of January, February, and March from 12:30 - 2pm to learn more about growing annual veggies and perennial food crops. Topics of interest for beginner to advanced gardeners will include soil preparation, composting and fertilization, raised bed gardening, and much more.

Come and join us during these dreary winter day to start planning your garden for 2013!

There Be Pirates!

Her Ladyship, Captain Linda, has arranged some spine-tingling, heart-chillin, swash-bucklin fun for ye.

Set yer sails for 500 E. 2nd Street in Homer on Friday, December 28th.

We'se be expectin ye to be here by 10:00 bells and ye can go back to yer lovely mums around noon.

We'll turn ye into a pirate before we're done or my name ain't Captain Linda!

Shiver me timbers, I forgot to tell ya, don't be late or you'll walk the plank for sure!

Remember - all young pirates are welcome to come even if ye don't live in Homer or have a library card. And if any of ye land-lubbin adults would have some time to spare that day, we'll be puttin ya right to work on one of these pirate activities. Call the library if ye think ye can help! 896-2121

Are You Ready For Some Football? Or Soccer... Or Basketball...

With the start of the school year also comes the start of fall sports! We just put up a new display of sports books. We have something for everyone – junior to adult, fiction and non-fiction. We’ve put out mostly fall sports books: soccer, football and some basketball (since I know they’ll be starting practice soon even if the season doesn’t start yet). We have plenty of books on other sports if you are interested – just ask!

Are you interested in soccer? Did you know that there is a new soccer club in the area? Prairie Fire Soccer Club is a new soccer club starting this Fall. It is based in Homer, IL but is not limited to Homer or Heritage School District. They are hoping to serve kids from all surrounding communities.

We have several books on our display to help our new soccer players and coaches. We have ‘The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Coaching Soccer’ and ‘Soccer Skills and Drills’ for the adults involved as well as a great book, ‘101 Ways to be a Terrific Sports Parent: Making Athletics a Positive Experience For Your Child”. This is a good book for parents with kids in any sport not just soccer. We also have several fiction and non-fiction books for the kids. We have some ‘how to’ sports books and several biographies on athletes in our junior section. And for the kids who prefer novels, Mike Lupika, Tim Green and Dan Gutman are among the favorite sports authors in our junior collection.

We have a really fun series of non-fiction sports books for the kids – the Sports Illustrated ‘How It Works’ series. These books discuss the science behind different sports moves and plays and discuss why they work and how to make them work. While that might sound rather scholarly and stuffy, these books use colorful, action photography and easy-to-understand descriptions to get kids engaged in the how’s and why’s of sports. Books in this series cover football, soccer, basketball, hockey, baseball, and skateboarding.

We hope everyone got off to a good start of the school year and good luck to all of you who are starting sports. Youth sports can be an important part of a child’s development. As our display says, “Sports: Good for the Body, Good for the Mind”!

It's Calendar Time Again! (Please Read - Lots of Changes)

Once again, in 2013, the Homer Library will produce the "Homer Community Library Calendar" as our primary fundraiser. The Calendar, which began in 1965 as a fundraising project for the Homer Lions Club, was given to the Library when the Lions disbanded in 2006. This will be the 48th year that the Calendar has provided essential civic support to the Village of Homer. And, now that the Library is the sole benefactor of Calendar sales, that support extends to all of the citizens of Heritage School District. That’s because they too are eligible for a Homer Library card (for a modest fee).

The Calendar is strictly a volunteer project, with all net proceeds—typically $4,000.00 a year— going to the Library. These funds supplement the income the Library receives from Village of Homer real estate taxes and State of Illinois per capita grants, which barely cover our payroll, online catalog service, and interlibrary loan fee. We also earn some income from fines, copying, and fax services. It is these sources, plus outright gifts and the Calendar income, that we use to pay for programs, new materials, and services for the Library.

For the past six years, more than a third of yearly Calendar income has been allocated to the “Reading Is Fundamental” (RIF) program. This now defunct federal program was designed to improve child literacy by giving, in our case, 400 to 500 books per year to kindergarten through fourth grade students in Heritage School District. Thanks to Calendar income, the Library has been able to continue this popular program on our own, although RIF was discontinued altogether last year. Even the RIF name is now gone—we’ve renamed our program “Reading is Fantastic Fun” or RIFF. Fortunately, our children’s book publishers were able to continue their RIF stipulated discounts this past year. BUT . . . we don’t know how much longer they will do so since their federal aid has also ended. For this reason alone, the Library staff hopes community support for this year’s Calendar will be exceptionally generous.

To improve our chances of having a banner year, the Homer Library Board of Trustees has approved several changes to the way the 2013 Calendar will be promoted. We are adding ten more advertisements to help pay for printing twice as many Calendars. That’s because this year the Calendar will be mailed to every household, business, and farmstead in the Village of Homer and South Homer Township! These mailings have been made possible by a new, low-cost U. S. Postal Service program that encourages direct mailings to every household in a given zip code.

We will be calling on the many new families that have moved into Homer the past few years as these folks have not been previously asked to contribute their listings to the Calendar. Listings consist of anniversaries and birthdays of Homer family members that are printed on the relevant dates of the Calendar, along with meetings of civic and religious organizations. The charges for listings are: one or two listings; just $6.00; additional listings are $1.00 each. If someone wants to acquire a Calendar, but doesn’t want to include their listings, we would appreciate a donation of $10.00.

Finally, we will send our previous patrons a double postcard which shows their 2012 listings. Receipt by the Library of the amount billed will confirm that the patron wants to resubscribe to the Calendar. The deadline for confirming listings is September 30, 2012. Payment checks, and changes or corrections to listings, may be sent to Homer Library, ATTN: K.C. Jones, 500 E. Second St., Homer, IL 61849. You may telephone K.C. at 531-7856; or email him at caseyjonz@comcast.net

By using the mail for bills and Calendars, the Trustees hope to substantially reduce the need for the 20 volunteers normally required for production, assembly, and distribution of the Calendar. In these difficult times, individuals with the time and resources to help are becoming hard to find. That’s no reflection on the dedicated volunteers who, for many, many years, have steadfastly donated their time, energy, and gasoline to the Calendar project. The Library staff and Trustees sincerely appreciate the efforts of those volunteers. And we will still need several of them to help assemble the Calendars and perhaps to make some deliveries.

Please help make this the best fundraising year ever for the Homer Community Library by adding your listings to the 2013 Calendar or by making a donation!

Voter Registration at the Library

This year is an election year - are you registered to vote?

In the effort to make voter registration as easy as possible, the Homer Library will be hosting a VOTER REGISTRATION EVENT on Tuesday JULY 10th from 4-7pm. If you recently moved or turned 18 come on out and register! The Champaign County Clerk will have a representative here to register you - just bring two forms of identification showing your name - one must show your permanent residence, such as an Illinois driver's license, hunting or fishing license, library card, student identification, copy of a lease or rent receipt showing your address, or any piece of mail delivered to you at your residence. If you receive mail at a PO Box, please include this information with your street address. Voter Registration closes 28 days prior to an election and opens two (2) days after the election. In order to register:

You must be a citizen of the United States.
You must be 18 years of age on or before the date of the next election.
You must reside in your precinct for at least 30 days prior to an election.

We recently added to our collection a great movie about the struggles that women went through to get the right to vote. Ladies - remember, 100 years ago you would not have been able to vote! Iron Jawed Angels, is an HBO movie depicting the struggles of the early suffragette movement, which eventually gave women in the United States the right to vote. Spanning the years from 1912 to 1920, it stars Hilary Swank as Alice Paul who led the fight with ultimate courage. At the time, it was a state-by-state decision as to whether or not women could vote. But Alice Paul wanted to make it a constitutional amendment. Alice Paul and many of her followers suffered dire consequences for their courageous actions.

If you are interested in learning more about this subject or about American history in general, please visit your local library. If we don't have what you are looking for on our shelves, we can get it for you!

Reading is Sooooo Delicious

This Tuesday was the first day of our summer reading program. We had a lot of fun with the 23 kids who came the first day! Our theme this summer is food - we will be talking about gardening, nutrition and food safety as well as playing lots of games and doing lots of crafts and other activities. This week everyone got to plant two different kinds of vegetable seeds and see some different vegetable plants (some with baby veggies already growing). While we really enjoy doing the 6-week Tuesday program, the main goal of our reading program is to keep kids reading through the summer. Many studies throughout the years have shown that elementary school aged kids lose a lot of their reading skills over the summer months if they don't continue to read. In order to help motivate kids to read, each child signed-up for the program receives a reading log with target goals. Once they meet their goals they receive small prizes. Even if your child cannot come to the Tuesday activity program, they can pick-up a reading log and earn prizes! The weekly activity program will be held each Tuesday from 1-2pm from now until July 17th. Kids can pick-up reading logs anytime during open hours at the Library. We are open Mon, Tues, Thur, and Fri from 2-7pm, Weds 9am-2pm and Sat 10am-2pm. We look forward to a great summer of food fun and facts!

Enjoy the Pleasure of Lifelong Learning!

The Homer Community Library has recently acquired 110 college-level courses published by The Teaching Company! This windfall was purchased using funds given to the Library in memory of Seaton and Elizabeth Hunter and through the generosity of the family of Robert S. Hunter of Quincy, Illinois. (It is only coincidental that the two families have the same surname—they are not related.)

These "Great Courses" bring engaging professors into your home or car on DVD, audio CD, and audio cassettes. Exemplary teachers from the Ivy League, Stanford, Georgetown, and other leading colleges and universities have crafted the lectures for lifelong learners like you. It's the adventure of learning without the homework or exams.

The following items have already been cataloged into our system and are available for check-out NOW. Many more will follow in the weeks to come. This is an extraordinary opportunity for you to become well-versed in topics that include literature, language, religion, science, mathematics, psychology, history, business, economics and several more. All Courses include a guidebook written by the lecturer.

Here are the titles we currently have cataloged. Keep in mind, most of these have multiple parts and the guide book to give you an in-depth understanding of each subject.

The Aeneid of Virgil

The American Mind

Analysis and Critique : How to engage and write about anything

The Art of Public Speaking : lessons from the greatest speeches in history

The Art of Teaching : best practices from a master educator

Bach and the High Baroque

Beethoven's Piano Sonatas

Building Great Sentences : Exploring the writer's craft

The Chamber Music of Mozart

Classical Mythology

Classics of British Literature

The Concerto

Dutch Masters : the age of Rembrandt

Economics

Effective Communication Skills

Elements of jazz : from cakewalks to fusion

Emerson, Thoreau, and the Transcendentalist Movement

Espionage and Covert Operations : A global history

From Monet to Van Gogh : a history of impressionism

Games People Play : Game theory in life, business, and beyond

Great American Music: Broadway Musicals

The Great Ideas of Psychology

Great Master: Liszt, His Life and Music

Great Masters: Beethoven, His Life and Music

Great Masters: Brahms, His Life and Music

Great Masters: Haydn, His Life and Music

Great Masters: Mahler, His Life and Music

Great Masters: Mozart, His Life and Music

Great masters: Robert and Clara Schumann, Their Lives and Music

Great Masters: Shostakovich, His Life and Music

Great Masters: Stravinsky, His Life and Music

Great Masters: Tchaikovsky, His Life and Music

Great Philosophical Debates : Free will and determinism

Herodotus : the father of history

A History of European Art

The History of the English Language

How to Listen To and Understand Great Music

The Iliad of Homer

The Life and Work of Mark Twain

Lifelong Health : Achieving optimum well-being at any age

London: A short history of the greatest city in the Western world

Masterpieces of Ancient Greek Literature

Masterpieces of the Imaginative Mind : Literature's most fantastic works

Meaning From Data: Satistics made clear

Medical Myths, Lies, and Half-Truths : What we think we know may be hurting us

Memory and the Human Lifespan

Meteorology: An introduction to the wonders of the weather

Museum Masterpieces: The Louvre

The Operas of Mozart

Optimizing Brain Fitness

The Passions: Philosophy and the intelligence of emotions

Philosophy of Mind

Pompeii: Daily life in an ancient Roman city

Psychology of Human Behavior

Representing Justice : Stories of law and literature

Shakespeare's Tragedies

The Symphony

Tocqueville and the American Experiment

Transformational Leadership : How leaders change teams, companies, and organizations

Understanding the Brain

Understanding the Fundamentals of Music

The World Was Never the Same : Events that changed history

Reserve your "Great Course" today by telephoning the Library at 896-2121. Or, you can reach us by email at: homerlibrarian@gmail.com To view our entire catalog, visit us at http://opac.libraryworld.com/opac/home

Puss In Boots at the Library!

Friday the 16th is Free Family Movie Night! We will be showing “Puss & Boots”, the DreamWorks animated movie starring Antonio Banderas. Everyone knows Puss in Boots from the "Shrek" films, but few know that years before meeting the green ogre, the swashbuckling feline had his own adventure. Learn the origin of this furry lover, fighter, and outlaw as he teams up with Kitty Softpaws and Humpty Dumpty to steal magic beans from the dastardly Jack and Jill in a castle guarded by giants so Puss can clear his name. This film is rated PG (for adventure action and mildly rude humor) and runs 90 minutes. We will start the movie just after 7pm.

A sharp-eyed patron noticed our next gardening program was scheduled for the Saturday of Easter weekend. We realized this was going to cause many of our regular attendees to be unable to join us so we have moved the April 7th gardening session to Saturday, March 31st. We hope that does not cause any inconvenience. The gardening sessions have been going really well and the March 31st session will focus on the pros and cons of direct seeding and transplanting, protecting your seedlings, crops that are (usually) easy to grow, companion planting and the importance of mulching. Help fend off cabin fever and join us!

Did you know that the Homer Community Library is on Facebook? Join us to find out more about upcoming events, new items and to read or add patron book reviews. Just search for Homer Community Library and ‘like’ us.

It's Time to Think Spring! (No, We're Not Crazy)

We realize it is still winter but it is never too soon to start thinking about your spring garden.
Do you want to learn how to garden but don't know where to start? Join us for a 3- Part Beginner Garden Program series at the Homer Community Library.

Laura Wetzel is a life-long gardener with a degree in botany. We discovered her and her garden series on the Common Ground Food Co-op website and are very excited to have her come to Homer as well to share her knowledge and joy of gardening! Sessions will be 12:30PM- 2:00PM on the first Saturday of the month February- March. Following is a brief description of each planned session. You can come to one or all!

FEBRUARY 4th- Planning Your Garden---Dream Time
The perfect time to plan a garden is when it is much too cold to plant! In the first two sessions of this series, participants will evaluate their garden space and learn to maximize it. We will start the process of deciding what to plant and where. If you have seed catalogs that you are willing to share, please bring them!

MARCH 3rd- When and Where to Plant
A continuation of evaluating each participants available space. Where sun and space are in short supply, we will look for ways to fit food crops into landscaping. Other topics covered will be early spring soil preparation, use of compost, cool season growers, succession planting and what to do if it just won't stop raining!

APRIL 7th- How To Plant
In this session we will talk about direct seeding, transplanting, protecting new plantings from animals, crops that are easy to grow (usually), mulch, companion planting, and how to find that all too illusive window of opportunity for planting. If you have extra seed, we invite you to bring it along for a seed swap.

Questions?? Call the Homer Library at 896-2121

New Reader Incentive!

You May Have
Seen the Movie –
Now Read the Book!



Read any book that has been made into a popular movie and enter our prize drawing!

Read a qualifying book that has not been checked out in at least 3 years and you will be entered twice!

Prizes include gift cards, tote bags, books and other misc. items.

All of the books currently displayed on our end-caps have been made into movies but these aren’t your only choices – there are many more qualifying books in our collection.
And, NO – watching the movie does not count!

Stories & Crafts & More at the Library!

Come on out for stories and crafts and other fun at the Homer Community Library on Wednesday, Dec. 28th from 10am – noon. We will learn about Chinese New Year and make some dancing dragons and hear some fun stories. Kids of all ages are welcome to attend. Come out for just a few minutes or the whole two hours!

Champaign and Urbana have their new cataloging system up and running so Homer Library card holders can being using the larger libraries again. Even if you had been using these libraries, you will need to re-register with them. You will need to be in good standing without any fines and your library card cannot be expired. You will need to bring your Homer Library card, a photo ID and fill out a short form. Champaign has instituted a new policy and will only allow our patrons to have two items checked out. The Homer Library allows up to 20 books at a time and our strictest limit is that only 3 DVDs can be checked out on a patron’s card.

Did you know that besides holding fun events and checking out books, the library offers many other services? We have several computers for the public to use and offer printing, copying, scanning and faxing services. We have a color printer available for public use and only charge 15¢ per page for prints, copies or FAXES – this is one of the cheapest rates around for faxing!

The Homer Library will be closed on Dec. 24th and 25th and again on Dec. 31st and Jan. 1st for the holidays.

It's Getting Cold Outside - That Means It's Time To Read!

We had a great turn out for Santa in the Library – thank you all who came to visit and to all who picked a wish-list ornament from our tree. We still have quite a few items left on our wish list if you would like to donate something to the library. Keep in mind, donations of money or new items to the library are tax exemptions. Just let us know, and we can give you a receipt letter for you tax records.

We just got in our latest stack of new releases. We have: V is for Vengeance by Sue Grafton, Shock Wave by John Sandford, Zero Day by David Baldacci, 11/22/63 by Stephen King, and Chasing Fire and The Next Always by Nora Roberts for our adult collection. We have Bloodlines by Richelle Mead and Witch & Wizard: The Fire by James Patterson for our Young Adult collection.

Don’t forget – Free Family Movie Night will be Friday, Dec. 16th. All ages are welcome to attend.

The Calendars Are Here! (and much more!)

If you ordered a Homer Library birthday calendar they are available for pick-up now at the Homer Library! We are open M, Tu, Th, Fri 2-7pm, Weds 9am-2pm and Sat 10am-2pm.

We keep filling our shelves with new book and DVD titles. Some of our most recent dvd additions are: Cars 2 and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2.

For adult fiction books we have added: The Litigators by John Grisham, Kill Alex Cross by James Patterson, Best of Me by Nicholas Sparks, The Priest’s Graveyard by Ted Dekker, Secrets of the Tudor Court by Kate Emerson, and Hotel Vendome by Danielle Steel.

For the juniors and teens we have in: Cabin Fever (Diary of a Wimpy Kid) by Jeff Kinney, Inheritance by Christopher Paolini, Last Sacrifice by Richelle Mead, 1st Kill (a Vladimir Tod book) by Heather Brewer and Destined by PC Cast (the most recent House of Night novel). We have also been getting in some wonderful non-fiction for both kids and adults.

Have you read something wonderful lately? We are looking to start a display for “patron recommendations”. If you’ve read something that you think others might like, please let us know – we would love to pass along your recommendation. Just give us a brief description of what you liked about the book. You can do this anonymously if you prefer.

Want to keep up with the most current library news and events? Search for the Homer Community Library and ‘like’ us on Facebook.

Mango Language Demo!

Thursday Nov. 10th at 7pm the Homer Community Library will give a demonstration on how to use Mango, the on-line language learning program. There are about 45 different languages to choose from. We offer all of the common languages, such as French, Spanish and German but also offer Urdu, Slovak, Korean, Chinese, Farsi and many, many more! This is perfect for home schoolers who would like to learn a foreign language as well as anyone about to travel. You DO NOT need a library card to attend. If you are interested in a demonstration but can not attend this event, please contact the library and we can arrange something.

Meet Author Maureen Holtz on Nov. 12th

Meet author, Maureen Holtz and learn about,

Robert Allerton:
The Private Man & The Public Gifts


Most people know Robert Allerton only as the rich and mysterious man who built a mansion on many acres outside of Monticello. But few people realize that the main building of the Art Institute of Chicago is named after him, or that he's the son of the founder of the Chicago Stockyards, & the First National Bank of Chicago. Robert Allerton was also named Chicago's Richest Bachelor in 1906!

To find out more about this mysterious man and the connection between him and the town of Allerton, Illinois join us at the

Homer Community Library
Sat, Nov. 12th @ 1:30pm

The Homer Community Library is located at 500 East 2nd St., (the Homer-Catlin Rd), Homer, IL. For more information contact us at 217-896-2121 or homerlibrarian@gmail.com

The Homer Community Library Has GONE TO THE BIRDS!

The Illinois Audubon Society has set up a wonderful display of photographs of local Illinois birds. Come on in any time during Library hours and check out the display.

On Tues., Oct. 18th join us for a presentation on Champaign and Vermillion county birds by Jim Smith.

Keep an eye out for upcoming events including a presentation on Nov. 13th by Maureen Holtz, author of the book, "Robert Allerton: The Private Man and the Public Gifts".

Going to College?

If you are going to college soon, you may want to look into applying for student loans and other student aid. The Library has links to all of the Federal Student Aid publications which are available online. I'm posting the most important links here, but we have more information at the Library that you may find useful. If we don't have the information handy we can help you find it - that is what we are here for!

Here are some of the most important links to start out with:

http://www.studentaid.ed.gov/pubs offers student- and parent-oriented publication ins PDF. Note that we have a number of items in PDF that are not available in hard copy so be sure to visit this page to find a variety of useful fact sheets and other items that you can print out.

http://www.edpubs.gov is the ordering site that students and parents should visit to order single copies of our hard copy publications.

http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/ is the site you will go to apply for student aid. There is a lot of good information on here including application deadlines, college codes, and the FAFSA4caster which can help you estimate how much you will need to contribute for your college education.

If anyone else has some good on-line resources, please let us know about them.

On-line Language Courses at the Homer Library!

The Homer Community Library is proud to announce our new partnership with Mango Languages. Mango is an on-line language learning program that any Homer library card holder can access from any computer with internet and basic capabilities. You can chose from about 30 different languages, including english as a second language. For more information, call or visit the Homer Library during open hours.

Phone: 217-896-2558
Open: M,T,Th, Fri: 2-7pm; Wed 9am-2pm; Sat 10am-2pm

Pre-School Story Time Coming to the Library!

Parents and daycare providers - The Homer Community Library is going to begin a pre-school story time! Story time will be held the first and last Weds of each month at 10 a.m. beginning Sept. 7th.

Our first few stories will be Pirate themed!

We are looking for both listeners and a few more volunteer readers so that no one person is responsible for every story time. If you are interested in coming in to listen, just show up! If you are interested in being a reader, please call or email the Library. 896-2121 or homerlibrarian@gmail.com

As with any of our programs we would love to get ideas or feedback.

3rd Friday Movie Night - Coming to Your Library!

Moms - Dads - Kids of All Ages!

The Homer Community Library is happy to announce the start of 3rd FRIDAY MOVIE NIGHT!


We will be showing family-friendly (PG-13 or less) movies the 3rd Friday of every month. This month's movie is Gnomeo & Juliet.
Come on out to the Library at 7pm. Bring your favorite pillow or blankie and enjoy the show!

For more information call 896-2121 or email homerlibrarian@gmail.com

Meet Sarah Holmes, author of the book “How to Get Free Groceries” and columnist for the Coupon Corner in the News-Gazette …

…and learn



Techniques Coupon Pros Use
To Get Free Groceries!

Fri., Aug. 12th @ 7pm
Homer Community Library
500 E. 2nd St., Homer Community Library




Sarah began couponing at the age of 12 when Sarah's mother offered to give her half of the amount Sarah saved on her mother's grocery bill. At the age of 16 for a Mother's Day gift she took her mother on a $135 free grocery shopping spree. Using the methods featured on TLC's Extreme Couponing program, Sarah went on her own grocery shopping spree where she bought $400 of groceries for $5. Join us August 12th to learn coupon techniques and perhaps you will soon bring home your own free groceries.


For more information call 896-2121

New & Classic Movies Just In

We just got in our latest batch of new movies: Gnomeo & Juliet, Sucker Punch, Red Riding Hood, Burlesque, Country Strong, The Pajama Game, The Wiz, You're a Good Man Charlie Brown, 7 Brides for 7 Brothers, Pirates of Penzance, Repo! The Genetic Opera, The Stoning of Soraya M, Slumdog Millionaire, Cleopatra & Taming of the Shrew. Yes-lots of musicals to fill help fill out our Hunter Music Collection.

Whenever we get in new movies they fly off the shelves so if there is something here you are just dying to see, you might want to call before coming out. We can tell you if it is in and hold it for you.

Stay Tuned for upcoming news on Homer Community Library MOVIE NIGHT. We will be hosting 1 - 2 movies a month through the winter and spring. We will announce a preliminary schedule soon! Come on out and enjoy free movies. If we get a good turnout we will continue our movie license for another year or more.

Give a Big Hand to Our Top Readers!

We just wrapped up our Summer Reading Program - Congratulations to our prize winners! Kailee Eldridge won the top prize for most pages/books read out of all the reading levels. She also took 1st prize for the Level 2 Readers. 2nd prize for Level 2 went to Sage Lundquist and 3rd went to Sophia James. Our top Level 1 reader was Aren Lundquist, 2nd was Mazie Ronk and 3rd was Jordan Eldridge. For the Read-to-me kids, Gwendolyn and Anthony Happ tied for 1st place, Olivia Wallace took 2nd and Nathan Eldridge took 3rd. All the kids did a great job reading this summer - let's keep it up! I had a great time with the Summer Reading Program this year and want to thank all of the parents and volunteers who worked hard to make it a success.

For other Library news... we just started our own Facebook page. Come visit us there to keep up with what is going on at the library.

We continue to get in new books about twice a month - don't forget to come see what we've got in. It's been so hot, now is a good time to find a good summer read and stay inside. Today I am cataloging about a dozen new early Reader books - we have some Disney Fairies, Barbie Ballerina, Tangled, Fancy Nancy and Princess and the Frog and some Star Wars, Transformers, Batman and Superman. I also just got in a set of manga - Hikaru no Go for the teens. Give me a day or two to get them all cataloged but they will soon be ready to go out!

And remember, the Library is always cool and a good place to go if your house is too hot!

We're Now on Facebook!

For those of you who just can't get enough information about your local library, YOU CAN NOW JOIN US ON FACEBOOK!! Yes, the Homer Community Library now has a Facebook page - please visit our page and "Like" us. While the blog is a good place for longer posts, I will be able to do much more frequent short posts on Facebook. I'm also hoping to get a few more teens informed on what is going on at the library by using Facebook. So, please, tell your friends and kids. I'm hoping to get 100 "Like"s before the end of July. You can find us at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Homer-Community-Library/140749452667547

If you search for Homer Community Library, there are two entries that come up. The active one is the one with the picture (and once you go to it, the one with the recent posts!) I'm trying to get the second one deleted to avoid confusion.

I will still be updating the blog but will be posting different types of things in each place so please don't forget to continue to check us out here, too!

Free Books!

The Homer Community Library is having a
FREE BOOK Giveaway!!!

When? July 4th from 5:30 pm to 9:30 pm

Where? At the Homer Village Hall
(500 East Second Street for non Homer people)

The Catch? Take as many as you would like, just PLEASE don't bring them back!

We have too many books accumulated for our book sale and don't have the room to store them. This is good news for you - bring a bag and pick up some reading material. I know we have lots of mysteries, drama, romance and a little bit of everything else!

We have HOW MANY Biographies??

In the Summer Reading Programming we are discussing the difference between legend and history - how during the Dark Ages and early Medieval times when very few people read and books were hard to come by, history was repeated orally from generation to generation and it was much easier to forget real events and people but is, of course, how we've come up with some of our favorite legends, like King Arthur and Robin Hood. In thinking about this topic for the kids, I thought about how wonderful it is that we have such great access to books about real people and events so that we can learn from history and from the lives of others. It also dawned on me that we have quite a few biographies sitting here in the Homer Library and very few of them come across my desk for circulation. Doing a very quick check, just by call number, I discovered that we have 580 biographies in our adult section. This does not include many books that are shelved just as a general non-fiction because it is not a 'true' biography but could easily be considered one.

We also have close to 250 biographies in our Junior section.

We have many different types of biographies. We have the typical school 'book report' biographies on people like George Washington, Harriet Tubman, and JFK. We also have some celebrity biographies on such personalities as Princess Diana, Judy Garland, Lucille Ball, John Lennon, and Woody Allen. We have books that run the spectrum of politics - from funny to quite serious and from the extreme left to the extreme right. We also have the first volume of the long anticipated autobiography of Mark Twain which he asked not be released until 100 years after his death. He must have had a lot (and perhaps not a lot good) to say about his contemporaries.

With biographies there is so much to choose from, the subject matter so varied, that there is sure to be something to interest almost everyone. I am someone who is usually much more interested in legends than history, but find myself fascinated by the biographies of people such as Cleopatra, Ann Boleyn, or Catherine the Great. There is so much adventure, mystery and intrigue in the lives of people like this that their stories are a lot more interesting than a lot of the fiction I read.

So the next time you are looking for a good story, think about looking in the Biography section. You never do know what you might find!

It's Summer Reading Time!

School is officially out and summer is here! That means we are getting ready for the Summer Reading Program at the Homer Community Library. This year's theme is "A Midsummer Knight's Read" and we will be having a lot of fun with knights, dragons, castles and princesses. We have a local resident building some mini catapults for us and we will learn about castle design and defense along with many other medieval facts. Don't worry - it won't all be facts - there will be plenty of fantasy! We will read about fighting dragons (and maybe even practice on one of our own) and make some edible magic wands. Even if you can't participate in the activities you can still complete a reading log. Summer is the perfect time to read for fun. This summer's program will run on Tuesdays at 1pm from June 7th - July 12th. Any student in the Heritage School district entering K - 5th grade is eligible to participate. You can register at the Homer Community Library starting now! Call us at 217-896-2121 for more information.

Pet Care and Gardening is Hot at the Library

This is the time of year when many families start planting gardens and when younger children beg for a new pet. If either of these situations apply to your family, the Homer Community Library can help!

We have recently purchased a wonderful series of Pet Care for Kids books in the memory of Gertrude Brown, a long-time teacher and pet lover in our community. These books are aimed at younger kids - up to about 3rd grade and explain the basics of caring for different pets. We have books on caring for cats, dogs, fish, parakeets, hamsters, lizards and turtles. Rabbits seem to be a popular pet this year so we have also purchased an Animal Planet book on caring for your rabbit. We also have various other pet care books for all ages - juniors through adults.

We also have added a few new books on gardening for kids thanks to a generous donation from the C-U Herb Society. We have books on growing plants for fun and food and books that explain the different uses of herbs to children. We also have many wonderful books on gardening with and using herbs for cooking and crafts in our adult non-fiction section.

With school coming to a close, this is the perfect time of year to visit the library and keep your family both entertained and educated through the summer.

Is Your Child Struggling In School?

If your child is struggling in school, you are invited to attend one of seven free workshops being offered in Illinois to explain how Response to Intervention strategies can result in improved outcomes fr students with and without disabilities. The Champaign Public Library is hosting a workshop on Sat., August 13, 2011 from 10am-noon at the Champaign Public Library, 200 W. Green St., Champaign. Here is a link to the complete flier listing all seven locations: http://www.fmptic.org/download/rti_flyer.pdf

Registration is required. Contact Family Matters at 866-436-7842 or at www.fmptic.org/family-matters-trainings.htm

May is a Manic Month for New Releases!

May is a big month for new releases so I am in a buying frenzy! Here is some of what's new on our shelves:
10th Anniversary by James Patterson
Buried Prey by John Sandford
Ella's Wish by Jerry Eicher
Love You More by Lisa Gardner
44 Charles St. by Danielle Steel
Eve by Iris Johansen
Fatal Error by J.A. Jance

For Juniors and Young Adults, we have filled out our selection of junior sports novels by Tim Green, including his newest release, Best of the Best. We have also completed the Fablehaven series by Brandon Mull and the first of his new Beyonders series, we have the newest books in both the 49 Clues series as well as the Ranger's Apprentice series along with the latest books by Rick Riordan, Cassandra Clare, Scott Westerfeld and Anthony Horowitz.

We just got in a great new set of books on pet care for younger children as well as some nice picture books, including the newest Elephant and Piggie book by Mo Willems - we will be getting many more of these of the next several months..

We have also added some new DVDs to our collection including; Tangled, Harry Potter Deathly Hallows part 1, Black Swan and The King's Speech.

Summer is almost here - don't forget that your local library is a great place to find some entertainment!

Mysteries and True Crime Novels

Many of our patrons love mysteries. We always try to keep up with the newest releases by our most popular mystery writers as well as look for a few new ones to keep our readers fresh. But did you realize that along with the popular fiction novels, we also have several true crime mysteries. These are mostly located in the non-fiction section under the call number 364.1....

We just recently cataloged a book titled, "The Devil in the White City" which looks like a fascinating true crime story that takes place in Chicago circa 1893. Here is the description from the back cover:

"Bringing Chicago circa 1893 to vivid life, Erik Larson's spell-binding bestseller intertwines the true tale of two men -- the brilliant architect behind the legendary 1893 World's Fair, striving to secure America's place in the world; and the cunning serial killer who used the fair to lure his victims to their death. Combining meticulous research with nail-biting storytelling, Larson has crafted a narrative with all the wonder of newly discovered history and the thrills of the best fiction."

However, if you want to stick with your tried and true favorites, we just got in the new releases by James Patterson, J.A. Jance, Danielle Steel, and Iris Johansen (as well as many other non-mystery favorites!)

Poems to Read and Books to Sell

Did you know that April is poetry month? Thanks to Mr. Honeycutt at the Heritage Jr. High we have dozens of poems on display by our local students. See what is on their minds and see if they can make you smile.

Also..... the Homer Community Library is having its semi-annual book sale starting this Saturday, April 9th. Come on out to the Village Hall for the HCIA Business Expo and the Library book sale - all happening from 10am-2pm.

Thousands of books - hardcover and paperback, new and old, fiction and non-fiction. We have added A LOT of books to our sale. The money you spend on our book sale all goes back into improving your local library.

Hope to see you this Saturday or anytime during open hours during the month of April!

Magazines at Your Local Library

It seems strange to me (Librarian's personal editorial here) that we have subscriptions to about 20 different magazines which rarely get checked out BUT I know there are a number of people in the community who would like to read these magazines. Is the problem in getting the word out? Do people just not know what we have available? Do they not think to see if their local library has a subscription to a magazine before they subscribe themselves? Or, do people just like to read magazines in the bathtub and get the pages all wet and wrinkly so they don't want to do that to a borrowed copy?

I can't really help with that last one, but... In the attempt to get the word out, I am listing the magazines that we currently have a subscription for. We also receive several free serials so comes check out what we have!

Autoweek
Better Homes and Gardens.
Tips & Tricks Video Game Codebook.
Consumer Reports.
Country Living.
Country
Disney FamilyFun.
Good Housekeeping.
THE Journal : Transforming education through technology.
Motor Trend.
National Geographic.
Newsweek
Prevention.
Redbook
The Reader's Digest.
Slam.
Smithsonian.
Seventeen.
Tennis.
Website Magazine.

We keep approximately a year's worth of magazines available to check out. We also get the two local newspapers, "The Leader" and "The Southern Champaign County TODAY". We also keep about a year's worth of back issues for these.

We also offer a magazine trade-in area. People bring in the magazines they are finished reading and other people can take them home and read them. This is a great way to 'try out' a magazine before you commit to a subscription or to see what other magazines are around. This is also where our "old' magazines go so it is a great place to pick up magazines for kids' cut-and-paste school projects!

Lots of New Materials In!

The 2010 Newbery and Caldecott award winners are in. We are still hosting our reading incentive - if you check out a Newberry or Caldecott book (past or present) you will have your name entered for a prize drawing!

We have several new movies in, including:
The A-Team
Salt
Paranormal Activity 2
Secretariat
The Social Network
Iron Man 2
Sherlock Holmes
Disney's The Princess and the Frog
(along with several Disney Classics now on DVD)

We have several new fiction and non-fiction best-sellers and have had a good number of new fiction books donated. If you like Nicholas Sparks you will enjoy several of these new authors. We also have some new Lisa Gardner books for those of you who like mysteries!

We also have had a number of newer historical romance and paranormal romance books donated. If you like this genre, come see what's new!

Tax Forms Are Here...

...most of them anyway. The IRS is a bit late getting all of their tax forms out but we do have the most common forms people need in from both the IRS and the state. I understand the post office is not carrying as many forms this year, so as always, THE LIBRARY is the place to go for what you need!

The Newberys are Coming!

This week the American Library Association announced the latest Cauldecott and Newberry Award winners. Cauldecott awards are given to the artist of the most distinguished American picture book for children. The Newbery awards are given to the author of the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children.

We will be purchasing some of these newest medal winners soon. In the meantime, check out a previous medal winner or honor book from the Homer Library and you will have your name entered into a prize drawing! This is our latest reading incentive. You don't have to be a child to enjoy these books either. We will have many of these books on display but ask us for our full list and see what might interest you. You might be surprised!

Congratulations Keegan!

Thank you to all of the kids who participated in our winter break Treasure Hunt. I hope you all had fun answering our questions and learned something about how your library works! Congratulations to Keegan for winning our grand prize!

We have had several purchases from our Wish List Tree - thank you to the patrons who bought gifts for the library. Following is a partial list of wish list items now in:

Despicable Me - DVD
Twilight Eclipse - DVD
Knuffle Bunny Free by Mo Willems - Easy book
Llama Llama Mad at Mama - Easy book
Llama Llama Holiday Drama - Easy book
4 Judy Moody books by Megan McDonald - Junior Fiction
4 Sports books by Mike Lupica - Junior Fiction
(there are 3 more Mike Lupica books on their way!)
Hero by Mike Lupica - Junior Fiction
Red Pyramid by Rick Riordan - Young Adult Fiction
Fall of Giants by Ken Follett - Adult Fiction

Thanks again to all who participated in our Wish List Tree!

We have several other books and movies just in or on order so check in with us and see what's new!

ARR! There Be Treasure Here, Matey!

Did you know there is HIDDEN TREASURE in your Library?

Join us over the holiday break for a SCAVENGER HUNT and earn prizes for answering questions about your local library.

This event will be on-going during open Library hours starting Dec. 22nd and ending Jan. 3rd.

Come in and pick up your Treasure Hunt form!

This event is open to kids of all ages.
Younger kids may need parental help.

Library will be closed for Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Year's Eve and New Year's Day. Otherwise we will be open Mon, Tue, Thur & Fri from 2-7pm, Weds 9am-2pm and Sat 10am-2.

December 2010 Library Board Meeting

Our next Library Board meeting is Tuesday, December 14th at 7pm. Board meetings are open to the public. The agenda for this month's meeting is as follows:


Call to Order
Public Comment
Secretary’s Report
Treasurer’s Report
Bills
Income
Librarian’s Report
Old Business
• SSPP Meeting Report
• OMA Meeting Report
• Nov. 13 Craft Day
• Dec. 4 Tree Walk
• Remainder of Circulation Desk
• T-shirt contest
• Community Calendar
• Chili’s fundraiser
• Other fundraising
• Patron card mailing campaign
• Personnel Review
• Year Books
• Awards Programs
• Scavenger Hunt
• Christmas Kid’s party
• Christmas Decorating
• Book Sale
New Business
• Long Range Plan Review & Update
• Policy Review
• Tentative Budget

Brrrrrr!

It is COLD outside! But it is always warm in the Library! We have nice comfy, cozy reading chairs and lots of good books to chose from.

Have you been to the City Building to see Christmas Tree Lane? All the lighted trees sure do make the entryway feel warm and welcoming. We still have our Wish List tree with plenty of wishes still available! Thank you to all of our patrons who have already picked an ornament with a book to buy for the Library. We try to do our best to offer everything our patrons want but we are able to do a much better job with the help of our generous community members! Thanks again for all you do for us. Please let us know if there is anything you need us to do for you!

Happy Holidays

The Library is a busy place right now. We have finished cataloging many new books and are continuing to receive many nice donations.
We still have our book sale set up for the next few weeks. We have many hardcover books by Danielle Steele, Patricia Cornwell, Dean Koontz, Sandra Brown and many, many more authors! We are also getting ready for the Christmas in Homer event on Dec. 4th and will be open 9 a.m. – 2 p.m. that day. There will be activities set up for the kids and a special display of holiday books. Please visit our ‘Wish List” tree in the hallway. Each ornament on the tree represents a book we would like to have in the library. Please think about your local library during this giving time of the year!
The Librarians wish everyone a happy holiday season and a safe and merry New Year. Thank you all for your patronage of our Community Library!

Autumn is Here ....

and with Autumn comes Football! Come in and check out the various books and videos we have on display about football.

It is also Harvest and Thanksgiving time and we have a number of wonderful cookbooks to help you through the holidays.

Not cooking this year and don't like football? Sounds like the perfect time to pick up a good book and we just got in several new bestsellers:

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Ugly Truth by Jeff Kinney
Crocodile Tears by Anthony Horowitz
Deja Vu by Fern Michaels
Cross Fire by James Patterson
The Confession by John Grisham
Chasing the Night by Iris Johansen
Wicked Appetite by Janet Evanovich

The cooler fall weather gives you the perfect opportunity (or excuse) to curl up on the couch with a blanket and a good book. Your librarian will be happy to help you find just what you need.

Trick or Treat at the Library!

We will be open 5-7pm on Halloween night as part of Trunks for Treats at the Homer City Building. The High School band will be putting on a Halloween Carnival and costume contest for ages up through 5th grade as a fundraiser for their Orlando trip, too.

Come see your favorite librarians and show us your costumes. We have plenty of spooky books on display for all ages.

Many New Titles at the Library

October is a big month in the publishing world. Many of the new best-sellers have just come out or are about to come out. We recently got in a big order and will be putting in another order in November to catch some more of the popular new titles. COME IN AND CHECK OUT WHAT'S NEW!

In new adult fiction we have:
Don't Blink James Patterson
Postcard Killers James Patterson
Port Mortuary Patricia Cornwell
Lucid Intervals Stuart Woods
Bad Blood John Sandford
Safe Haven Nicholas Sparks
Devil Amonst the Lawyers Sharyn McCrumb
Worth Dying For Lee Child
Reversal Michael Connelly
Charming Quirks of Others Alexander McCall Smith
Painted Ladies Robert B. Parker

For all of the juniors, teens and young at heart who have been reading the Ranger's Apprentice series, Book 9,
Halt's Peril by John Flannagan, is in.

I found a really nice set of sports books for juniors and teens. This series is published by Sports Illustrated for Kids and I'm hoping it will be a popular set of junior non-fiction:
Baseball: How It Works David Breier
Basketball: How It Works Suzanne Slade
Skateborading: How It Works Emily Sohn
Football: How It Works Suzanne Bazemore

In the Young Adult section we have the latest Camp Confidential book, In It to Win It by Melissa Morgan

For those of you who loved Percy Jackson, Rick Riordan's first book in his knew series, Lost Hero is here.
We also are completing James Patterson's YA series, Maximum Ride with School's Out Forever.

Being a Sci-Fi/Fantasy reader myself, I was quite happy to come across the Camulod Chronicles by Jack Whyte. If you like King Arthur, if you like Roman and British historical novels (and especially if you love the military history aspect) you'll enjoy these. The first few read much more like historical novels than fantasy but they are setting up the whole King Arthur story. I've only read the first two and can't wait to finish the series. That being the case, we now have all 8 books in the series.

We also have gotten a large number of donated items in lately. We are still working on cataloging these but we will have some more nice additions to our collection when I get them done.

Don't forget - you have until the end of October to read a banned book and enter our drawing for a $25 gift certificate to Barnes & Noble.

Celebrate Your Freedom to Read!

THINK for Yourselves and Let Others Do the Same

Every year many books, both newly published and old favorites, are challenged in America's school systems and public libraries. The American Library Association (ALA) promotes Banned Book Week as a way to support our freedom to read. If people are not aware that many books are being banned from our public schools and libraries, they will not understand the importance of standing up for our right to read what we choose and to not allow others to make these choices for us and our children.

The Homer Community Library stands behind the ALA and their desire to protect your right to read. We will be "Celebrating Your Freedom to Read" by having a display of banned books (you might be surprised what's on the list!) along with our first all-age-group reading incentive. From now until the end of October, read a banned book and get your name entered in a drawing! We will have lists of banned books available but you can also go to the ALA website www.ala.org/bbooks to find out more about recently challenged books.

Did you realize some school districts are even banning books that have not yet been written?!? The House of Night series by P.C. and Kristin Cast, a popular young adult series similar to the Twilight series, has been banned from one Texas school district - INCLUDING the books in the series that have not yet been written! There is no way the district could know the content of these books and yet they have been banned.

While in no way are we suggesting that every book is appropriate for every person or child, we are suggesting that it is the right of the person or a child's own parents, to decide what is appropriate for themselves. So... in accordance with this year's ALA theme, we are hoping you will, "THINK for Yourself and Let Others Do the Same".

Quilts, Quilters, Quilting

For those of you who haven't recently been to the Library, our current display is all about quilts. We have a great collection of books for people interesting in quilts and quilting.

Check out some of our great non-fiction books on the history of quilts, on quilting patterns or quilting techniques. If you like quilts but are not a quilter, we have a wonder fiction book series, "The Elm Creek Quilts" series by Jennifer Chiaverini that would be perfect for reading under your favorite quilt on a rainy day. We even have a few picture books in our Children's Department about quilts.

For those of you who frequent the library, have you stopped to look at the beautiful quilt in the hallway just outside our doors? This quilt was made by Homer's Art Needle Club.

If you are interested, you'll have to come check out this display soon! Our next display will be all about Banned Books and will be set up in about two weeks.

It's Hot Out - Cool Off At The Library

With heat indexes at 110 degrees, relaxing at the Library is a great way to beat the heat. Our A/C is always on - we might as well be cooling down more than just the library staff. We have several comfy reading chairs (two of which even recline so be careful if you tend to snore!) and two plush loveseats just waiting to be filled with patrons. Come in and:

Pick up a good book - we have over 20,000 to chose from;

Browse a magazine - we have several of the top sellers including Newsweek, Country Living and Seventeen;

Catch up on local news - we have the current edition of both The Leader and The Today paper; or

Use one of our public computers to check your email, browse the internet or do some on-line shopping!

You don't need a library card to read a book or magazine in the library although once you start you may find you can't live happily without a library card - so come in and cool off!

Did you realize the Village offers coffee (by goodwill donation) in the Jackson Ellis Community Center across the hall from 9 - 11 am Mon-Fri? Another good place to cool down and chat with friends and neighbors when it is just too hot and humid to do anything else!

Lots of New Books!

We had a very nice donation this week of Amish and prairie fiction by authors such as Kim Vogel Sawyer, Wanda Brunstetter, Beth Wiseman, Beverly Lewis and Cindy Woodsmall. Thank you to the patron who donated these to our collection!

We also just got in a shipment of Junior and Young Adult books that I hope will be of interest to more than just teens. Several deal with either specific periods in time or specific cultures and look to be both interesting and educational. Below are just a few of these 24 new award-winning books just added to our collection.

The Shepherd's Granddaughter - A coming of age story that is also a powerful reminder of the terrible tragedies confronting real people as a result of the Israeli/Palestinian conflict.

Off to War: Voices of Soldiers' Children - The children of soldiers relate in their own words, how war has marked and shaped their lives. Even though they may be living safely in North America, children always suffer when nations go to war.

Beneath My Mother's Feet - The story of a dutiful daughter who has to grow up way too fast when her father is injured and can no longer work. Once her only worry was if she would be happy in her arranged marriage but now that she is forced to be a maid to help her family survive she learns that her lessons of hardship turn out to be a lot more liberating than she ever imagined.

The Rogues - A powerful and resounding high adventure that brings life to the Scottish Clearances, one of the stormiest chapters in Scottish history. A good introduction to an almost forgotten time and place and the conflict between England and Scotland.

Morning in a Different Place - A touching story about a child of Irish immigrants and her struggles living with an alcoholic father and her unaccepted friendship with a black girl.

Revolution Is Not a Dinner Party - Drawing from her childhood experience, the author brings hope and humor to this powerful story of a girl who comes of age and fights to survive during the Cultural Revolution.

The Mayflower and the Pilgrims' New World - In a fresh and vivid account, Nathaniel Philbrick sheds new light on the settlement of Plymouth Colony. Here is the epic sago of how the Pilgrims and Native Americans forged an uneasy peace and how that peace disintegrated into King Philip's War, one of the deadliest conflicts ever fought on American soil.

Homer United Methodist Church Library

Did you know that the Methodist Church in Homer has a library and that you don't need to be a member of the congregation to access it?

I had a wonderful visit this week with Joan Lane who took me on a tour of the church library. They have many religious books, CDs and DVDs for all ages from children to adults. Their entire book collection can be viewed online at:
http://www.librarything.com/profile.php?view=HUMC

The collection is open to anyone in the community. If you would like more information, please contact the church:
*in person - 301 South Main in Homer, M-F 9am-noon
*by phone - 896-2038
*by email - homerumc@gmail.com

Parades, Patriots and Fireworks at the Library!

Help us celebrate the 4th of July at the Library. Our special hours on the 4th are from 6:30 - 9:00 pm (after the parade and before the fireworks). Bring your valid Homer Library card and your name will be entered into a drawing!

Come see our patriotic/military themed 4th of July display. We would like to thank the generous patron who donated several very nice, recent military non-fiction books. Partly due to such generous donors, we have a quickly growing selection of books regarding WWII, the Korean War, the Vietnam War and more recent military efforts. Some of these new additions are:

The Pacific - The Official Companion Book to the HBO Miniseries;

Horse Soldiers - The Extraordinary Story of a Band of U.S. Soldiers Who Rode to Victory in Afghanistan;

The One Percent Doctrine - Deep Inside America's Pursuit of Its Enemies Since 9/11;

and Semper Fi Vietnam - Marine Corps Campaigns, 1965 - 1975.

These are just a few titles among many. Come on in and see what else we have to offer - you might be surprised!

4th of July at the Library!

After the 4th of July parade and before the fireworks begin, join us in the Library. Our special July 4 hours are from 6:30-9 pm. If it is hot outside the Library is a great place to cool down. If you can show us your valid Homer Library card on the 4th we will enter your name into a prize drawing!

The Homer Library Book Club is reading "The Time Traveler's Wife" by Audrey Niffenegger. The group will meet on Thursday, July 29. Check with the librarians for information on the time and place.

The Library board welcomed a new member, Jane Clark, at the June 8 meeting. Jane is a long time resident of Homer. She enjoys gardening, camping with her family. And, she organizes Cruisin' 4 Kids, a fund raiser to raise money and awareness for children with cancer. Also at the June 8 meeting Board of Trustees officers were elected: Sara Essig, President; Beth Woodside, Vice President; Kenny Jones, Treasurer and Linda Pruitt, Secretary. The board meets the second Tuesday of every month in the library at 7:00 pm. We welcome your participation.

Many New Books in for Junior, Young Adult and Adult Readers

Just a reminder to parents who kids participant in the acceleratored reader program, we have many books available in the library to give your kids a head start on their reading requirements for the upcoming school year. Ask the librarians for suggestions.

Several new mystery/thriller books have been added to the adult fiction section including all three books in the bestselling Stieg Larsson Millenium series, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Girl Who Played with Fire and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest. The latest books by several popular well-read authors are now available. They include 61 Hours by Lee Child, Blue-Eyed Devil by Robert Parker and Caught by Harlan Coben.

We also have available the debut novel by Linda Castillo, Sworn to Silence. Booklist describes it as follows: Ohio’s Amish country serves as the bucolic backdrop for romance novelist Castillo’s consistently chilling mystery debut. Kate Burkholder grew up in idyllic Painters Mill, where many residents drive buggies, shun electricity, and distance themselves from the complications of modern life. The presence of a serial killer shatters the stillness of the town, leaving its citizenry terrified and on guard.

In addition to the Vladimir Todd Chronicles, we have also added two other series in the young adult fiction section: the first three books of the House of Night series of books by P.C. and Kristin Cast follow 16 year-old Zoey Redbird as she ‘marked’ by a vampire tracker and begins to undergo the ‘change’ into an actual vampire; and the Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare which introduces Clary Fray to the world of Shadowhunters, a secret cadre of warriors dedicated to driving demons out of our world.

A lot is happening at the Library

The 2010 summer reading program theme is Scare Up a Good Book. Come join us at the Homer Library every Tuesday, June 8 to July 27, from 1:00 pm to 2:00 pm. We’ll learn about insects, bats, monsters, mummies and more! This program is open to students entering kindergarten through 5th grade in fall 2010.
Have you ever wondered what a tobacco hornworm caterpillar or a giant lubber grasshopper looks like? Join us on June 8, when members of the Entomological Graduate Students’ Association will visit the summer reading program. Learn what defines an insect and what happens during the metamorphosis phase. They’ll also have displays of insects that can be found in Illinois. Enter the drawing to win a bug observation box which will be given away during the program!
New adult fiction books in the library include The Shadow of Your Smile by Mary Higgins Clark, The 9th Judgement by James Patterson and Storm Prey by John Sandford.
There are new faces to see at the Homer Library. After over 15 years of involvement with the library as a board member and as head librarian, Chris Reel recently announced her retirement. Chris oversaw the move of the library to its new location and the implementation of the new online catalog.
Our new head librarian is Christine Cunningham. Christine is familiar to most Homer residents. She previously owned and operated The Emporium and The Homer Soda Company. She is active in the community with the Historical Society and the HCIA. Previously, she was a library board member and has been working part time in the library over the last six weeks.
The new assistant librarian is Angie Ray. Angie and her family have lived in Homer over 17 years. She has been a fundraising volunteer for the library and has helped raise funds for the American Cancer Society.
They will be joined over the next few months by Cathy Fager who will work with the summer reading program.
For more information, call 896-2121or email HomerLibrarian@gmail.com. Online catalog: http://opac.libraryworld.com. If asked for a Library Name, enter: Homer Library (no password necessary).

Our New Magazine Titles

WebMD and Website are two of the new magazine titles that we are carrying. All of our magazines can be checked out, and the ones just inside the door are available for the taking - no need to return.

Event on Saturday

This is National Library Week - a week to celebrate the freedom to read - or not read! The Homer Library will celebrate on Saturday, April 17, beginning at 12:30. All items in the book sale are half price. There will be freshments, and overdue materials may be returned without a fine.

There will be board games for the children. And checkout our new browser bins.

What's new in the library?

Have you seen our magazine exchange? You don't have to check these out. They are back issues, in great shape, that just need someone to read them. Take one out, return one. If you have magazines in good shape, and you don't want to throw them out, bring them here.

Check our freestanding display shelf for the newest books. Look on the top shelf for award-winning children's books. The second shelf holds books that were paid for by funds raised at our sale day at Barnes and Noble.

Things keep changing here. More new features to come.

Do you have old electronics that you want to get rid of? Take them to 3202 Apollo Drive in Champaign, just off of North Market Street. TVs, VCRs, computers, zip drives, PDAs, fax machines, etc. Ten items per resident.

Residential Electronics Collection

Got an old tv, VCR, radio, etc that you want to get rid of? On Saturday, Feb. 27 you can take them to 3202 Apollo Drive, located just off of Market Street in Champaign, to dispose of them.

Interlibrary Loan

We are running into problems with patron usage of interlibrary loan. If you go to another library and ask for a certain book to be sent to the Homer Library for you, please let us know. We are receiving books through the delivery system, and we have no idea who they are for. If we don't know who the book is for, we will have to return it.

Interlibrary Loan Books

The following books were requested by one of out patrons. check this list and see if any of your requests have arrived:

The Dancing Floor by Barbara Michaels
Ammie come home by Barbara Michaels
The Crying Child by Barbara Michaels
Hope's Highway by Dorothy Garlock
Twilight by Stephenie Meyer
The Best Short Stories of Mark Twain
Lock and Key by Sarah Dessen
Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer

Interlibrary Loan

If you go to another library, and ask for a book or books to be sent to the Homer Library for you, please let us know. Otherwise, we will have to call the owning library to find out who the book is for. That will delay getting the book(s) to you.

Links

www.Amazon.com
www.b&n.com
www.news-gazette.com
www.weather.com
www.ltls.org
www.infoplease.com/homework
www.cyberdriveillinois.com
www.illinoishomepage.net
www.wicd15.com
www.pbs.org

Interloan Library Book

If you requested the book, The Dancing Floor by Barbara Michaels, you can now pick it up at the Homer Library.

Interlibrary Loan Books

The following book is in. If you requested it, you may pick it up now.


Hope's Highway

Accessing our collection

November 14, 2009


****Patrons can now access the Homer Community Library's online card catalog by clicking on the Favorites Link to the left or by going to:

http://opac.libraryworld.com/

When asked which library you want, type: Homer Library (no password is necessary)

When you find an item you want to check out, email us at homerlibrarian@gmail.com
or telephone us at 896-2121.

Interlibrary Loan books

Two new books came in today. If we ordered one or both for you, just let us know.

Galway Bay by Mary Kelly
The Big Bad Wolf by James Patterson

Interlibrary loan books

The following items are in and ready for pickup:

EcoTerrorism
Hope's Highway
Pendragon, Book 4

Interloan materials

The library will be using this blog as an additional way of letting you know that items you requested by interlibrary loan have come in.

At present, we have Hope's Highway by Dorothy Garlock and Bedtime Stories, a DVD. If either of these are for you, please stop in for them.