An American Soldier Writes Home: Letters to Mamie, 1942-1945

Cimarron – Cimarron City Library will present the program An American Soldier Writes Home: Letters to Mamie, 1942-1945 on Monday, November 9 at 7PM, as part of our celebration for Veteran’s Day. Members of the community are invited to attend the free program, which will take place at the library, 120 N. Main.

The program is provided by the Kansas Humanities Council, a nonprofit cultural organization with over 35 years of experience promoting understanding of the history and ideas that shape our lives and strenghten our sense of community.

From the time General Dwight D. Eisenhouser left for Europe in 1942 until his return home in 1945, he wrote his wife Mamie 319 letters, and Mamie saved them all. These letters tell us a little bit about the war, but a great deal about the private Ike, including his great affection for his family and what best may be described as his “Kansasness.”

This program is presented by Loren E. Pennington, an adjunct professor of history at Emporia State University. He holds a Masters Degree from Brown University and a Ph.D. from the University of Michigan, both in the field of American History.

For more information, contact the library at 620/855-3808 or cimarroncitylibrary@gmail.com

 

Knowledge @ Noon: QUILTING

Fall Newsletter

Fall 2009

Please click on the link for upcoming events at the library for the Fall of 2009. You can also pick a copy up at the Circulation Desk at the library!

Library Receives 4-Star Rating

For Release:                 

February 26, 2009            

 

For more information:

Janie Rutherford, 785.291.3230

 

Cimarron City Library receives four stars from Library Journal,

Kansas Ranks 3rd with 16 Star Libraries

 

Topeka:  Much like the Michelin star rating for restaurants, Library Journal recently bestowed five, four, and three star ratings on Kansas libraries based on real usage outcomes like circulation, visits, programming and internet terminal usage.  A total of 16 Kansas libraries were rated, allowing Kansas to claim the third highest spot in the country.  Only New York (1), and Ohio (2) had more libraries receiving stars, and Kansas tied with the state of California. 

 

The libraries were ranked using 2006* survey data collected by the State Library of Kansas for the National Center for Education Statistics, and processed through a new assessment tool for public libraries called the LJ Index.  The four categories used in the analysis included:

• The number of times an average individual visited the library
• The average number of items checked out by an individual
• The program attendance per person, and
• The number of times an average individual used a library

computer terminal.

 

Its not surprising that this announcement parallels the big picture that were already seeing in Kansas, explained Peter Haxton, State Data Center Coordinator.  Kansas has quality libraries, and because of that, Kansans use their libraries significantly.

Kansas has 327 public libraries, approximately one library for every 8,500 people. A library which excels in the LJ Index ratings is very likely to be headed in the direction of high service quality and overall exceptional library performance.

 

Five star ratings went to:  Ida Long Goodman Memorial Library, St. John; Elkhart/Morton County Library, Elkhart; Hays Public Library, Hays; and Meade Public Library, Meade.

 

Four star ratings went to: Cimarron City Library, Cimarron; Neodesha/W.A. Rankin Memorial Library, Neodesha; Seneca Free Library, Seneca; Fredonia Public Library, Fredonia; Coffey County Library, Burlington; and Johnson County Library, Overland Park.

     

Three star ratings went to: Belleville Public Library, Belleville; Plains Community Library, Plains; Ellinwood School Community Library, Ellinwood; Buhler Public Library, Buhler; Mound City/Linn County Dist. #4 Library, Mound City; and Marion City Library, Marion.

 

*2006 is the most current annual compilation of library data.

 

 

 

Sparkly Smiles

Please enjoy the pictures from Story Hour this week. We celebrated “National Children’s Dental Health Month.” Dr. Astleford from Dodge City donated toothbrushes, toothpaste and dental floss. We read a couple of books on brushing our teeth and then worked on brushing correctly. We had a great time!!

Inaugural Letter…

Today, Americans in all 50 states answered President-elect Obama’s call to service.

Thousands of people stood up to renew America together, doing everything from working in homeless shelters and mentoring young people, to assembling more than 80,000 care packages for our troops at a service event here in Washington, D.C.

Thank you for a great day of service.

Tomorrow, Barack Obama and Joe Biden will be sworn-in as President and Vice President of the United States.

You can watch the Swearing-In ceremony live on our website beginning at 11:00 a.m.

http://www.pic2009.org/live

In the evening, we will be throwing the first-ever Neighborhood Ball, a nationwide celebration of change — and you don’t have to be in the nation’s capital to join in the festivities.

ABC will broadcast the Washington, D.C. Neighborhood Ball beginning at 8:00 p.m. EST, and people at Neighborhood Balls across the country will be sending in photos and videos of their celebrations. Some may even be featured in the official Inaugural book.

I encourage you to share your own photos and stories:

http://www.pic2009.org/celebrate

You can also text OBAMA to 56333 for instructions on how to send in congratulation messages and pictures from your mobile phone.

This inauguration is more than just the beginning of a new administration. It is the beginning of a nationwide spirit of unity and service.

I hope you will stay involved in the effort to renew America together.

Thank you,

Emmett

Emmett S. Beliveau

Executive Director

Presidential Inaugural Committee

Tired of Bad News?

If you are anything like me, I get SO tired of all the depressing news stories out there. It is just crime, terrorism, struggle, death, and despair.  So I decided to find a GOOD news outlet. I found two that I would like to share with you. Yes, I am a CNN addict, but I think I am going to spend more time on these sites from now on. Hope you like them!

www.goodnewsdaily.com

www.goodnewsnetwork.org

Also, I have added a news site for the young adults website. It is strictly geared for Teens and it is wonderful! If you haven’t recommended it already, tell a teen you know about the Cimarron Young Adult’s page. It is chock full of great articles, news feeds, and homework help!

Why Reading is SO Important!

Reading isn’t just a hobby for some. It is a crucial aspect of life that we all need to attain in order to achieve success in life.  Here are some very interesting facts that you may not be aware of, and they might just encourage you to take some extra time with your child, grandchild, niece or nephew. For information on how to go about reading aloud to a child, stop by any time and we would be happy to help you! We have a great selection of children and youth books.

Facts about reading from the Headsprout website:

• Reading difficulty is a problem that extends across socioeconomic strata – affluence is no guarantee of reading success.
  American Federation of Teachers
• Learning to read is a crucial step in children’s education because those who fare poorly in the early grades are unlikely to catch up with their more skilled classmates.
  Scientific American, March 2002
• Estimates indicate that at least 20 million of the nation’s 53 million school-age children are poor readers – about two out of five children.
  National Institutes of Health

• If a child is a poor reader at the end of First Grade, there is an almost 90% probability that the child will be a poor reader at the end of Fourth Grade.
  The Public Library Association
• Three-quarters of students who are poor readers in Third Grade will remain poor readers in high school.
  Yale University
• Approximately one-third of all poorly performing Fourth Graders have college-educated parents.
  National Assessment of Educational Progress
• Nearly 40% of Fourth Graders have not mastered basic reading skills. It’s nearly 60% in California, and almost half of these children live with college-educated parents.
  Council for Basic Education
  
• Experts say about 5% of the nation’s children learn to read with ease, almost intuitively. An additional 20% to 30% learn to read with relative ease once they begin some kind of formal instruction. However, the bulk of children (about 60%) have difficulty.
  Council for Basic Education
• 60% of our nation’s children experience formidable challenges learning to read, and for at least 20-30%, learning to read is one of the most difficult tasks they will confront in school.
  National Institute of Child Health & Human Development
• For 90-95% of poor readers, prevention and early intervention programs that combine instruction in phonemic awareness, phonics, spelling, reading fluency, and reading comprehension can increase reading skills to average reading levels.
  National Institute of Child Health & Human Development
• Research results from a variety of studies clearly support the conclusion that early systematic phonics instruction significantly improves reading and spelling abilities for all children, and ideally, should be made available to children before First Grade.
  Congressionally-mandated National Reading Panel Report, April 2000

“I don’t like to read.”

How many times have we heard this from young people these days (and dare I say some older)?  It seems like they all too often have enough time to “text” their friends all day and read the messages, send and receive emails, but when it comes to anything involving reading a book, they make a sour face, roll their eyes or just brush it off because they don’t have the time.  In this day and age of high technology, it isn’t surprising that we are inundated with things that propel us into this type of mindset.  Sitting down and opening a real book isn’t “cool”, or I guess in today’s generation, “tight”.  I think much of this is because anything that is assigned at school is seen as work.  If a kid doesn’t grow up at home reading, he won’t want to in school.  So what is the answer to getting anyone to “want” to read if they never liked it? Keep reading.

I, too, come from a place of having a hard time getting into reading.  My main reason? It seems that when I go to the library or a bookstore, I am daunted by what I see.  I don’t know the authors, I am not familiar with any particular book series, and I am also not really sure what kind of book I like.  So I may flip through several, but then eventually feel that I just couldn’t read an entire book without getting bored or not having the time. Oh, there are a few books that I have read that I really liked, but when moving on to a different author, I feel lost.  And when I stand in front of the New York Best Seller’s book section at the grocery store or in the library book bin, you will see at any given time many titles of paper and hardbacks like “A Time For Murder”, “Slow Boat to Russia”, “The Sun Never Rises”, etc. (no those aren’t real titles), and they just all look the same.  Lots and lots of thick paperbacks that cost at least $8.99 each if you are at the store.  If you are like me, I have a hard time spending that kind of money for a book I might not like, not to mention being broke from our current economic situation.  And when at the library, I love browsing, but never really know what to pick without the help of the librarian, who is usually very knowledgeable on the many different genres.  But what if I don’t want to start off with a complete book? Or what if I just don’t like to read really long stories?

My answer? The short story or essay.  Just because it is short, doesn’t mean that it isn’t packed with some strong writing.  I am attending a course in creative writing at the University of Oxford in London, and we are spending a great deal of time reading short stories from a wonderful array of writers.  Woolf, Cheever, Hemingway, Gilman, Atwood, and Joyce, just to name a few.  I am also beginning to realize that to become a great writer, you first have to be a dedicated reader.

Because of my newfound reading experience, I would like to encourage anyone, whether young or old, to consider trying out the short story or essay.  I am going to post a few here for you to read in the coming weeks.   This might just change your mind about reading once and for all! Oh, and by the way, did you know that we even have a book club on our site that offers excerpts of each of the weekly regular length novels so you can see if you like it first before checking it out? Just click one of the book jackets at the bottom right page of our site.  Also, if you want a more personal experience, then join our Book Talk. It is open to everyone and it is a way to delve deeper into literature, meet in person, and make new friendships!

So, lets get started with our first story! This is a rather funny short essay about Walter Mitty, a hapless, meek man who dreams big.  It was written by James Thurber and was made into a movie, starring Danny Kaye.  It is very short, just under 800 words, but it is amazing how Thurber takes us on the roller coaster with his character, Walter Mitty. Enjoy!

The Secret Life of Walter Mitty

And if you become really ambitious, check out this site with tons of links to more short stories, essays, and poems…Stories and Narrative Essays