by Beth Cronk

Looking for high-quality television shows but can’t get them on your TV? You can find Emmy-nominated and Emmy-winning TV shows on DVD at the library, with new ones being added all the time.

The first season of ABC’s “Abbott Elementary” was a network TV hit this past year. Nominated for Outstanding Comedy Series, this workplace mockumentary features a group of teachers in an underfunded Philadelphia public school. Critics say it’s hilarious, empathetic toward teachers, and intelligently critical of the education system. The show won for Outstanding Writing, and Sheryl Lee Ralph won the Supporting Actress award. The series also had nominations in the categories of Lead Actress (Quinta Brunson) and Supporting Actor (Tyler James Williams), as well as a second nomination for Supporting Actress (Janelle James). Litchfield Library’s copy will arrive in mid-October when the season is released on DVD, but you can get on the hold list now.

Nominated for Outstanding Drama Series, season one of “Yellowjackets” is a horror-mystery-dramedy on Showtime. An extremely talented high school girls’ soccer team survives a plane crash in the Canadian wilderness, leading to a situation similar to the classic novel “Lord of the Flies” or the TV series “Lost.” The characters are also shown as adults 25 years later. The series was additionally nominated for Outstanding Directing, Writing, Lead Actress (Melanie Lynskey), and Supporting Actress (Christina Ricci). Litchfield Library has this DVD set available to check out now.

The HBO satire “The White Lotus” won the Emmy for Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series. Critics describe it as an uncomfortable but effective comedy-drama that skewers wealth and entitlement in an exclusive tropical resort setting. The series also won in the categories of Outstanding Directing, Writing, Supporting Actress (Jennifer Coolidge), and Supporting Actor (Murray Bartlett). Jake Lacy and Steve Zahn were also nominated in the Supporting Actor category. Litchfield Library has this DVD set available now.

Also nominated for Outstanding Limited Series, “Pam & Tommy” is a Hulu drama based on the true story of the marriage of actress Pamela Anderson and musician Tommy Lee and the theft and sale of their infamous home movie. The show was also in the running for three acting awards: Sebastian Stan for Lead Actor, Lily James for Lead Actress, and Seth Rogan for Supporting Actor. This miniseries is currently available at the library.

In these days of streaming, the Emmy category Made for Television Movie is an odd holdover from the past. Many major movies go straight to streaming services now without being shown in a theatre. Regardless of how the movies are chosen for this category, you can find two of them at Litchfield Library. “Ray Donovan: The Movie” is a follow-up to the seven-season crime drama of the same name. “Reno 911!: The Hunt for QAnon” is a supplement to the eight-season “Reno 911!” parody series.

Litchfield Library has the series that won in the Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Series category. “The Beatles: Get Back” is a documentary about the band’s recording sessions, and it includes the Beatles’ last live performance as a group, a rooftop concert in London. Peter Jackson also won an Emmy for directing this 3-part Disney+ series. The DVD set is available now at the library.

Also nominated for Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Series, Showtime’s “We Need to Talk About Cosby” explores the complicated life and career of Bill Cosby. Writer and director W. Kamau Bell talked with comedians, journalists, Cosby’s victims, and others to examine the comic’s legacy and the industry that enabled his crimes. This DVD set is available to check out from the library.

For quality television that you may not otherwise be able to access, check out the library’s collection. More television series are available to order from libraries across our system, and even from around Minnesota. Search the catalog to request them yourself, or talk with a library staff member for assistance.

 by Miss Rachel

As Minnesotans, we know exactly how hard it can be to say good-bye to summer. But here at the library, we truly appreciate all of the time and energy that our wonderful patrons spent on our Summer Reading Program this year. Our theme was Read Beyond the Beaten Path, and kids weren’t afraid to wander from the trail! We had 265 people signed up for our Summer Reading Program, and so far, we have had more than 600 challenges turned in total – that’s a lot of reading! Even with that big number, our young readers are still able to turn in the challenges they have at home until the end of August: come on in and get yet another prize! We’re proud of our young patrons and all they have accomplished this summer.

While our Summer Reading Program is coming to an end, we know that that means school is right around the corner. While schedules can become chaotic, here are still a number of opportunities for fun and learning at the library.

Storytimes are still going to be happening starting after Labor Day. We will actually be offering two separate storytimes to cater to your littlest patrons’ learning. On Wednesdays from 10:15-10:45 a.m., our storytime will be centered around infants through age 3. We want to offer some wholesome bonding time with your babies and toddlers. On Fridays from 10:00-11:00 a.m., we will still have our storytime for age 3 through Pre-K. We will read stories, sing songs, make crafts, and play games.

Don’t forget about the STEAM Labs! This summer, we had fun with LEGO blocks, friendship bracelets, and birdhouse building. These fall labs will be offered for kids in kindergarten through 5^th grade from 3:30-4:30 p.m. after school on the last Tuesday of the month. Make sure to sign up in advance to reserve a spot for your kiddo. More information about specific STEAM labs will be posted closer to the date.

We also have our awesome 2nd Saturdays Teen/Tween Program from 1:30-3:00 p.m. which happens on the second Saturday of the month (in case you didn’t catch that!). This program is designated for ages 11-18. No sign up is needed for this exciting time; just come out to enjoy crafting and other cool activities.

You may have enjoyed some of the take-and-make crafts that we’ve continued offering here at the library. No need to worry – you will see more of those this fall! Each child can take one kit, but kits are only available while supplies last.

Our library staff are also more than willing to help your little patrons to find books that they’ll enjoy. We’ve purchased some new books on a wide range of topics and in a variety of formats that might be just what your little reader is searching for. But we also know the familiar classics that you may want to share with your little ones.

As fall approaches, we want to keep the energy of summer going here at the library. Don’t forget to enjoy all the opportunities we have for your young patrons.

by Beth Cronk, County Librarian

When a book is the hottest new thing, it’s not unusual to find it has a waiting list at the library. You can always reserve a book you want, and those waiting lists move pretty quickly in our system. But what if you want to find something that’s available now, or with only a short wait? Litchfield Library has some brand-new books on the shelf that have gotten good reviews, with no waiting lists – at least at the time this post was written.

Edgar Award-winning author George Dawes Green is the founder of The Moth, which you may be familiar with from the podcast or from The Moth Radio Hour on NPR. It has been more than a decade since his last novel. The Kingdoms of Savannah is his new mystery, praised by reviewers as a chilling, layered work of Southern gothic noir. Green shows the two versions of Savannah: the beautiful, gracious city, and the ugliness of its history. A man is murdered and his companion vanishes, and a mature society woman becomes the unlikely detective investigating the crimes.

Author Bernard Cornwell publishes novels regularly, but late last year he came out with a book in his Sharpe series for the first time since 2007. Richard Sharpe is the hero of this long-running historical fiction series, a lieutenant-colonel in the English army who started life as a foundling. In the newest installment, Sharpe’s Assassin, the Duke of Wellington needs a favor from Sharpe now that the Battle of Waterloo has brought an end to the Napoleonic Wars. The Duke actually led the allied forces occupying France in 1815, and Cornwell places his fictional hero in the midst of this history.

A light contemporary romance with a Christian fiction perspective, In Search of a Prince by Toni Shiloh delivers a fun fairytale with a fresh angle. Brielle Adebayo is a public school teacher in New York City when her mother reveals that she’s a princess in the island kingdom of Ọlọrọ Ilé, off the coast of Africa. Her grandfather the king is dying, and Brielle must take her royal position as heir to the throne. The royal council announces that she is required to marry before her coronation because of an old rule, and the princess must decide if she really wants the throne or to attempt to find love so quickly. Oprah Daily has named it a best romance novel of 2022, and Library Journal gave it a starred review.

Hopeful and gentle science fiction is hard to find, but the Monk and Robot series by Becky Chambers fits that description. Sibling Dex is a renowned Tea Monk, and Mosscap is a robot on a quest to figure out what humanity really needs. In A Prayer for the Crown-Shy, the second book in the series, the pair visit the towns and cities of the moon they live on, make new friends, and ponder issues of entropy, sustainability, and what people want.

A locked-room mystery is a fun puzzle in detective novels, featuring a situation where it seems impossible for a perpetrator to have gotten in and out of the crime scene. Death and the Conjuror is a locked-room mystery, the first in a planned series by Tom Mead. Set in 1930s London, this novel features retired stage magician and part-time detective Joseph Spector, who is brought in by Scotland Yard to figure out how someone could have murdered a celebrity psychiatrist in his locked study. Apparently the clues are there for astute mystery readers to solve the puzzle themselves, as in some of the best classic whodunnits.

A few of the other brand-new books at Litchfield Library available with no waiting include We Do What We Do in the Dark by Michelle Hart (a coming-of-age novel), Elsewhere by Alexis Schaitkin (dystopian sci-fi), and First Time for Everything by Henry Fry (pop fiction).

Of course, if you’re looking for one of Colleen Hoover’s books, Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens, or the upcoming William Kent Krueger novel, you can always reserve a copy of those extremely popular books, too. I hear that the waiting lists in Pioneerland move much more quickly than in the Twin Cities libraries! If you need some help requesting a book, talk to a staff member; we are always happy to help.

Litchfield Library is not currently putting the curbside table outside the front doors, but curbside service will be available indefinitely. Call the library at the number on the sign, 320-693-2483, if you’d like your materials brought outside. Have your library card number ready.

Library staff can hand your bag of library materials to you on the sidewalk or bring it to your vehicle in the parking lot or in front of the library. Let us know where you’d like us to bring it when you call.

Curbside service may be useful if you have mobility issues or a sleeping child in the car, or because of illness.

by Beth Cronk

Just for fun, I’m going to approach my blog post a little differently this week. Here are some useful facts about the library in a Frequently Asked Questions format. I hope you learn a little something you didn’t know before!

How much does it cost to get a library card?
A library card is free! It’s part of the public services available to you as a resident of Minnesota. Once you have a library card, it’s also free to check out anything in the library collection, both ebooks and physical items. If you had a library card and it’s lost, there is a $3 charge for a replacement card.

How many books are in the Litchfield Public Library?
The library has about 44,000 books. It also has about 2,300 DVDs and about 1,200 CDs.

What if I want to check out a book or DVD that the Litchfield Library doesn’t have?
You can request things from other libraries in the Pioneerland Library System, which has a collection of about 620,000 physical items. If Pioneerland doesn’t have something, you can often request it from another library in Minnesota, using the MNLINK catalog. You can search both the Pioneerland and MNLINK catalogs online and request things yourself, or library staff can help you and place those requests.

Does it cost money to order things from other libraries?
No, the service is free to you as part of the interlibrary loan network in place in Minnesota. Our state is outstanding at providing access to library materials! Litchfield Library gets two deliveries of those interlibrary loan materials each week.

How long can I keep a book?
Most books are loaned for four weeks. Some bestsellers are limited to just two weeks while they’re new; you’ll recognize these by the sticker on the spine that says “14 day loan.”

How long can I keep a DVD I’ve checked out?
DVDs are now loaned for two weeks.

Can I check out magazines?

Yes, magazines can be checked out for two weeks.

A book I checked out had a due date coming up soon, but now I found out that it’s not really due for a few more weeks. What happened?

Automatic renewals! This is a brand-new service our library system is offering. If no one has a hold on an item that you have checked out, and you haven’t renewed it before, the library’s computer system will automatically renew it for you once, three days before its due date. If you are signed up for email updates about your account, you’ll be notified by email when those renewals happen and when you have items that will be due soon.

I’m late returning a library item. How much will I be charged?

There is a charge of ten cents per day for late items, although there is a three-day grace period before those start being charged. Materials for children and teens no longer have late fees. If your item is a month overdue, you’ll get a bill for the replacement of that item. If that happens, once you return the item the charge will drop to a $3 late fee (or to $0 for materials from the kids’ section). If an item is damaged or lost, talk to library staff about how you can resolve that charge.

Can I use my library card in other libraries?

Yes, you can. Your Pioneerland library card will work in all libraries in the system. Our system stretches from Graceville to Glencoe and from Canby to Dassel. If you want to use a different library system in Minnesota, you can do that, too. Bring your card to them, and they will help you register as a reciprocal borrower in their system.

If you have more questions, stop in or call the library, and we’ll be happy to answer them.