It’s storytime! Watch our new Children’s Librarian Rachelle as she leads your kids at home for storytime.

Especially to offer increased access to students and teachers, we have expanded our hours for Library Express and computer appointments. Saturday curbside hours have been extended to 5 p.m. Patrons age 13 and up may now come in without an adult to use the library by appointment.

JOB OPENING: LIBRARY ASSISTANT II
LITCHFIELD PUBLIC LIBRARY

Job description: Provides clerical functions by performing various circulation responsibilities and tasks.  Provides circulation, reference, and research services to library patrons. Fills interlibrary loan requests.

Knowledge, skills, & abilities needed:  Knowledge of library operations and procedures.  Skill in the use of computers and other technology used in the library.  Ability to work effectively with customers of all ages.  Ability to maintain cooperative working relationships with coworkers.  Good communication skills.  Attention to detail.

Minimum qualifications: High school diploma or equivalency, plus six months of directly-related experience, or a combination of education, experience, and training necessary to perform the essential requirements of the work.

Physical Requirements:  Must be able to walk, stoop, crouch, reach, lift, feel, grasp, talk, hear and see.  Some light lifting and carrying may be required up to 25 pounds.

Hours:  10-3 Tuesdays, 2-8 pm Thursdays, and one Saturday per month 10-5.   Additional subbing as needed.

Applications available at the library or www.pioneerland.lib.mn.us.  Submit applications by September 24 to:

Beth Cronk
Litchfield Public Library
P.O. Box 220
Litchfield MN 55355

Phone: (320)693-2483

by Beth Cronk, Meeker County Librarian

Fall is here, with the changes and new beginnings that brings. The Litchfield Library doesn’t have the whole lineup of programs we would normally be announcing at the start of a new season, but we do have some new things happening.

The big announcement is that we have a new Children’s Librarian! Her name is Rachelle, and she is also the Youth Librarian for the Hutchinson Library. We will be splitting her time so that we can benefit from her expertise and skills in both libraries. She’ll be starting after Labor Day, so look for more news about her in the weeks to come, once she has a chance to get her feet wet. I know you’re going to like her!

Elisabeth has been sharing her Dassel Library virtual storytimes with the Litchfield Library Facebook page this summer. We’ll take a little break from storytime for the Labor Day weekend and the start of school, and then we’ll be figuring out what our virtual storytimes will look like going forward. In the meantime, you can always access the storytimes from this summer on the Litchfield Library Facebook account or Dassel Library’s website.

We will be offering a take-home Maker Space program on Monday, September 14. Starting at 3:30, we’ll put out simple electronics kits that our Maker Space program leader Kevin has put together. They’re recommended for kids in grades 3-5, and you’ll find them on a cart outside in front of the library, while supplies last. Kids can learn how to make a circuit with popsicle sticks, binder clips, and colored LED lights.

Also on September 14, we’ll have the first virtual session of an enhanced book club for adults, in conjunction with Dassel Library. It’s called Deep-Dive Book Club: Slavery in America. It will be held on Google Meet from 7-8 p.m. on six Mondays: September 14 and 28, October 12 and 26, and November 9 and 23. The class will be taught remotely by Jenny Skoog, a Black Studies scholar and central Minnesota native. The goal of the class is to gain a more robust understanding of early American history and how it affects us still today.

We’ll read and discuss a number of primary historical documents and supporting materials about the African-American experience from colonial days to the time before the Civil War. Those readings and other media will be available online. We’ll also read two books: “Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl” by Harriet A. Jacobs, and “Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave” by Frederick Douglass. Those books are available to check out as print books through the library or as e-books through our Overdrive service.

To sign up for the Deep-Dive Book Club, call me at the Litchfield Library or send me an email.

We’re hoping to bring you news of a virtual event with authors soon.

We will not be having a September book sale, so continue to visit the cart of free books outside the library every day there isn’t a threat of rain, and bring some things home to keep.

Our schedule of Library Express and computer appointments will be expanding, so visit litchfield.lib.mn.us for the latest days and times offered. Curbside pickup is still available during all of our operating hours. Continue placing your requests through the catalog or by calling the library at (320)693-2483, and we’ll keep bringing your items out to you when you arrive. We’re happy to gather the things you need and keep you stocked with books to read and DVDs to watch as the days get cooler.

Per Minnesota Executive Order 20-81, face coverings are required in the library. For details, visit https://www.health.state.mn.us/diseases/coronavirus/facecover.html.

Some important details:

• Types of face coverings can include a paper or disposable mask, a cloth mask, a neck gaiter, a scarf, a bandanna, or a religious face covering.
• A face covering must cover the nose and mouth completely. The covering should not be overly tight or restrictive and should feel comfortable to wear.
• Any mask that incorporates a valve that is designed to facilitate easy exhaling, mesh masks, or masks with openings, holes, visible gaps in the design or material, or vents are not sufficient face coverings because they allow droplets to be released from the mask.

If you do not wear a face covering and are age 5 or older, you will not be able to come into the library for an appointment, but we will be happy to accommodate you with curbside delivery, wifi, and/or assistance by phone or email.

Kevin shares an activity kids can do for this month’s Maker Space program:

Make A Sundial

by Beth Cronk, Meeker County Librarian

Public libraries help provide support for education. Whichever way your child is going to school this year, the public library is happy to help provide resources for your family.

Pioneerland Library System has recently begun offering Brainfuse, an online resource that can be used anywhere. It includes a range of resources for all ages.

Brainfuse HelpNow offers personalized homework help in core subjects: math, reading, writing, science, and social studies.  Live tutoring is available through the Brainfuse site every day from 2:00-11:00 p.m. Because students communicate with online tutors in real time using an interactive virtual whiteboard to chat, write, draw, and graph, the tutors can provide individualized help to students of diverse needs and backgrounds.

HelpNow also offers skills building and test prep resources a student can work on alone, then take a quiz before connecting with a live tutor to review the quiz results. All live tutoring sessions are saved and can be replayed as well as shared with friends and teachers.

Students learning French or Spanish can use the Language Lab to either get live help from a tutor or use a variety of games and flashcards to practice skills.

The Writing Lab feature provides assistance at any time of day. Students can submit papers for detailed feedback.  The Send Question Center is similar but for help with non-writing assignments such as math or science.

Students who want to form an online study group with friends can do so through BrainFuse’s Meet feature, using the interactive whiteboard.

Is your student getting ready for college? Brainfuse offers SAT test prep and assistance with filling out the FAFSA for financial aid. I have wished for help with the FAFSA so many times! The eParachute feature helps people of any age discover college majors and careers that match their skills and interests.

If kids are a little rusty as the summer draws to a close, direct them to the Summer Camp feature, intended to sharpen math, science, and writing skills to avoid the summer slide.

All of these online resources are available now, and will be through the school year. Students can use them in conjunction with their in-person, hybrid, or distance learning, or parents can use them for assistance with homeschooling.

Speaking of homeschooling, libraries always offer a wide range of books and other materials that are useful for that. Some books are available for parents who are figuring out how to homeschool, such as the newer books The Brave Learner and The Call of the Wild and Free. But most of the resources homeschooling parents use from the library are the vast numbers of books for children and teens that are available on every subject and in every literary genre. If we don’t have it at our local library, we can usually order it from somewhere. Don’t forget documentary films as an educational resource; the library has those, too!

Whatever your school year holds, our library will be glad to help you find books and other resources to help. Remember that you can check out a device to get internet at your house for up to four weeks, and that you can pick up the library’s wifi outside the building 24/7.

The September Friends of the Library book sale is cancelled. Visit the cart of free books in front of the library every day the weather is dry to pick up some books to keep!