New materials this month!

Our new books are State of Fear by Michael Crichton, Twisted by Jonathan Kellerman, Skeleton Man by Tony Hillerman, Night Fall by Nelson DeMille, The Rape of Nanking by Iris Chang, Big Russ and Me by Tim Russert, and Hand of Providence: The Strong and Quiet Faith of Ronald Reagan by Mary Beth Brown.

Our newest DVD is Terminal with Tom Hanks and Catherine Zeta-Jones. Our new CDs are Lonely Runs Both Ways by Alison Krauss and Union Station, and Back to Bach: Christmas by Shelley Hamilton.

Popcorn and a movie

We are inviting children and their parents to come to the library December 30 at 7 p.m. for popcorn and a newly released movie, sponsored by the members of the library trustee board. Come casual, come in your pjs. Come for a relaxing and fun evening.

Christmas and New Year Closings

The Homer Library will be closed December 24 and 25 for Christmas, and December 31 and January 1 for the New Year Holiday. We reopen at 2 p.m. on December 27 following the Christmas weekend, and January 3, 2005 following the New Year's weekend.

We wish our patrons a safe and happy holiday season. And remember, it's not too late to check out Christmas books and videos. Merry Christmas!!

Crafts for kids

We have some leftover kits from our Make and Take Craft Day this past Saturday. Your children are welcome to stop in and make a craft, or take one home to make, even if they already did one on Saturday. Some make nice ornaments for the tree. The thermometer provides a decorative science learning opportunity.

Thanksgiving

Thanks to all of you who use the library. You give us a reason to open the doors each day. We appreciate your patronage.

So that our staff may enjoy the holiday, the library will close at 4 p.m. on Wednesday, and will also be closed on Friday. All materials due on the days we are closed will be extended until Monday, November 29.

Thoughts

You can either complain that rose bushes have thorns - or rejoice that thorn bushes have roses.

The best way to forget your own problems is to help someone else solve theirs.

-from Good Stuff

November News

HOMER LIBRARY NEWS

On December 4, the library will be having Make and Take Crafts for the children. They may stop in the library anytime between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. and make a Christmas craft. There will be several to choose from. There is no charge, and all materials are provided.

The Urbana Free Library has announced that the online database, Local History Online, is now available. It contains 2 major databases, Urbana Municipal Documents Index, and Historical and Genealogical Index. To access these databases, go to urbanafreelibrary.org and follow the link. There is no charge and no library card number or password is needed.

Our new DVDs are Shrek 2 and Best Pets Yet (a Strawberry Shortcake movie).

Many new CDs are available for checkout, and our collection grows as we sell more of the duplicate copies.

Make and Take Craft for Kids

Come on in to the library December 4 between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. We will be offering a Make and Take Craft for children in grades K-4. We'll have a selection of several different, fun and easy Christmas crafts from which the children may choose. While your children are making their crafts, take time to pick out a book and/or video.

Need ideas for Christmas??

We've got CDs for sale at a discount - artists like Ricky Martin, Michael Bolton, Gladys Knight, Sammie and a variety of classical recordings. All the income from the sale of these CDs will go to increase our CD collection.

Toddler Tales

The last session of Toddler Tales Storytime for this year will be Thursday, November 11, at 6:30 p.m. This is a change in time from what was originally announced. Bring your little ones, ages 18 months through 3 years old for a half hour of fun and stories.

New Adult Books in October are:

Hour Game by David Baldacci
Family Blessings by Fern Michaels
Double Shot by Diane Mott Davidson
The Prodigal by Beverly Lewis
Light on Snow by Anita Shreve
Northern Lights by Nora Roberts
Coming Home by David Lewis
The Marriage Wish by Dee Henderson
River’s Edge by Terri Blackstock
Before You Know Kindness by Chris Bohjalian
Blind Alley by Iris Johansen
Trace by Patricia Cornwell
The Prince of Beverly Hills by Stuart Woods
Double Homicide by Jonathan and Faye Kellerman.

Accelerated Reader Program

With a desire to help local children become better readers, the Homer Library will be focusing on AR books this school year. We have an updated list from the school, and are marking the books that we own and their location in the library. Throughout the school year we will be adding more AR books to our collection.

Guardians of Ga'Hoole

Five of the six books in this series for children are in and the other is on the way. Can owls have adventures? Wars of good versus evil? Author Kathryn Lasky thinks they do. You read, you decide. These are Accelerated Reader books. Points!! Points!! Points!!

Toddler Tales Storytime

News! We have changed the time for the next two sessions of Toddler Tales Storytime. They will begin at 6:30 p.m. and run for one half hour. The dates are October 28 and November 11.
All area children ages 18 months through 3 years old are invited.

The Sale Was a Success

Thanks to all who baked goodies for us to sell, all of you who bought those goodies and/or CDs, and all who did neither, but donated anyway. There will be some baked goods for sale in the library on Monday and Tuesday at 50% off. We still have CDs for sale also. Funds raised from the bake sale go into our building fund. Funds from the CD sale go towards more CDs.

Links

My Library System: Lincoln Trail Libraries System - www.ltls.org

My Town: Homer, Illiniois - www.homerillinois.com

Local Weather: www.weather.com

It's a Bake, Book and CD Sale

Mark the date! October 9 is the day for community wide garage sales, and our Bake/Book/CD Sale. Goodies to eat, goodies to read, and CDs cheap. These are new, unopened CDs at a discount. Come early for a good selection of any of these items. Our sale runs from 8 am to 12 pm.

Register to vote

You can register to vote at the library. The last day is Tuesday, October 5. A deputy registrar will be on duty from 2-4 p.m. each weekday, and on Tuesdays and Friday, from 4-7 p.m. You may also register Saturday, October 2, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. You must bring 2 forms of identification

Columbus Day

Is the Post Office closed? The bank? If so, it must be Columbus Day, October 11. However, the library will be open normal hours. We can't give you your mail, or cash your check, but we've got books, DVDs, CDS, magazines...you get the idea. Be an explorer like Chris Columbus, and see what you can find in the library. Be brave. Be courageous!

Toddler Time

The Homer Library will be having storytimes for toddlers ages 18 months to 3 years on the following Thursdays at 7 p.m. : September 30, October 14, October 28 and November 11. For more information, call us at 896-2121.

Welcome

Welcome to the Homer Community Library blog. We are located in beautiful downtown Homer Illinois at First and Main in the village hall. Our phone number is 217-896-2121. We are open 2p.m. to 7 p.m. each weekday, and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturdays.

CDs

You may have read or heard that libraries are receiving a collection of free CDs as settlement of a lawsuit. Ours are here, but not yet cataloged. An announcement will be made when they are. Some duplicates will be available for purchase. The proceeds from these purchases will be used to buy more CDs, according to the terms of the agreement.