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ECRL September Highlights
New Minitex Director Valerie Horton visited ECRL Headquarters on September 4th. Minitex is an information and resource sharing program of the Minnesota Office of Higher Education. It's been in existence for over 40 years, and undergirds our library services. Minitex supports MnLINK interlibrary loan and delivery, the Electronic Library of Minnesota (ELM), the Minnesota Digital Library, and other initiatives like training and cooperative purchasing. Valerie commended library networks and said that "We're better together than we are as islands."
 | | Back row (l to r): Vickie Sorn (Youth & Community Services Librarian), Carla Lydon (ECRL Assistant Director), Bob Gray (Reference & Interlibrary Loan Librarian), Andy Nordin (Systems Administrator), Marcia Ledin (Technical Services Coordinator), Sarah Hawkins (Chisago Lakes Branch Librarian); Back row (l to r): Valerie Horton (Minitex Director), Barbara Misselt (ECRL Director) |
The highlight of the Branch Librarians' quarterly meeting on September 12th was a roundtable led by Jenn Straumann, librarian at the Crooked Lake Branch of the Anoka County Library System and Jenny Turner from MSU Mankato - both part of the Minnesota Library Futures Initiative. The Branch Librarians engaged in lively discourse over the question "What might the library user of 2025 experience when they 'visit' the library?" The conversation continues as we strive to keep up with the needs and desires of people who come to ECRL's 14 branches, 9 outreach sites, and the library's online services.
The City of Cambridge is studying the need for a new library. One more public meeting is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. September 17th at the Cambridge Library. An online survey on the City of Cambridge's website will also give residents an opportunity to give their opinions on the library. The link to the CA website is:
http://www.ci.cambridge.mn.us/cambridge
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Need a Good Teen Book Club Kit?
Several years ago, East Central Regional Library received a federal Library Services and Technology Act grant to promote teen programming and purchase teen materials. With those funds we were able to purchase over 50 teen book club kits. Some of the titles include The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian, Book Thief by Mark Zusak, Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne, Elsewhere by Gabrielle Zevin, Godless by Pete Hautman, Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli and more. To see a list and annotation of the entire collection go to our Teen Annotated Book Club Kit List on our website.
To request a kit, simply stop by your local ECRL branch and talk with staff or call Kim at 763-689-7390 x 21.
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Sherlock Debut a Success! 
ECRL's new mascot, Sherlock, was a hit with kids of all ages as he traveled around the ECRL system to meet everyone.
He even got to meet the person who named him. North Branch patron, Pete Boelte (pictured on the right) picked the winning name back in April and finally got to meet him this August.
For more pictures checkout our Flckr site. Great fun was had by all!
Plus check out all the other activities going on throughout ECRL. Simply check any of the following spots on our website: NewsBits at www.ecrlib.org, Google calendar, ECRL Facebook page or read our tweets on Twitter.
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Coming Attractions
What's better? The book or the movie? It will be up to you to decide. Below are several children's and teen books that will soon be moving from the page to the screen.
*Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters (in theaters August 7)
*Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card (in theaters November 1)
*Book Thief by Mark Zusak (in theaters November 15)
*The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (in theaters November 22)
*The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (in theaters December 13)
*The Maze Runner by James Dashner
*Vampire Academy: Blood Sisters by Rachelle Mead (in theaters February 14)
*Divergent by Veronica Roth (in theaters March 21)
(Publisher's Weekly, August 5, 2013)
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Eye for an Eye by Ben Coes (book on CD)
For those readers who will be missing Vince Flynn as much as I will, Ben Coes is also a political thriller master. In this book, #4 in the Dewey Andreas series, Dewey goes rogue on a mission of revenge against China's most ruthless man.
Recommended by Sarah Hawkins, Chisago Lakes Branch Librarian
The School of Essential Ingredients by Erica Bauermeister
This novel is a light, fast read about the impact a cooking class has on the lives of various characters. Warm and sensual, "The School of Essential Ingredients" will resonate with food lovers
and those who enjoy realistic fiction.
Recommended by Lisa Wagner, Milaca Branch Librarian
The Last Original Wife by Dorothea Benton Frank on audio.
The book is set in the south and is chick lit at its finest, but the very best thing about this book on CD was the narrator. She had the best southern accent and the story of husband and wife is told from each perspective. Funny, poignant, thought provoking. An absolute fun book to listen to.
Recommended by Betty Evans, Milaca Branch Area Aide
Street Cat Named Bob: and How He Saved My Life by James Bowen
This book is not just for cat lovers or even animal lovers. It's a book about how caring for someone special can change your life - whether it be a person or an animal. Sometimes your own troubles don't seem so bad when you have to think about someone else. It's a story about compassion and the healing power of love.
Recommended by Vickie Sorn, ECRL Youth & Community Services Librarian
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ECRL's Mission
Connecting and strengthening communities
through the power of knowledge.
*East Central Regional Library is funded by the counties of Aitkin, Chisago, Isanti, Kanabec, Mille Lacs and Pine.
ECRL also receives state and federal funds.
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Author of the Month:
Sue Grafton
Grafton is the author is the hugely popular Kinsey Millhone mystery series. W is for Wasted was just released, with three more novels to go before the series wraps up. Grafton has announced that the final book will be Z is for Zero.
If you enjoy Grafton's novels, try these authors: Nevada Barr, Linda A. Fairstein, Laura Lippman, Marcia Muller, and Sara Paretsky.
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Forthcoming Print Fiction in the ECRL catalog:
*Kill List by Frederick Forsyth
*Under the Wide and Starry Sky by Nancy Horan
*Bitter River by Julia Keller
*The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd
*Nostalgia by Dennis McFarland
*Guests on Earth by Lee Smith
*The Land of Dreams by Vidar Sundstol
*The Valley of Amazement by Amy Tan
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Forthcoming DVDs to the ECRL catalog:
*Before Midnight (2013) starring Ethan Hawke
*Home Run (2013) starring Scott Elrod
*Man of Steel (2013) starring Henry Cavill
*Parade's End (2013) starring Benedict Cumberbatch
*Under the Dome (2013) starring Mike Vogel
*Unfinished Song (2013) starring Vanessa Redgrave
*White House Down (2013) starring Channing Tatum
*World War Z (2013) starring Brad Pitt
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Forthcoming Print Non-Fiction in the ECRL Catalog
*Travel Wild Wisconsin by Candice Andrews
*Breach of Trust by Andrew J. Bacevich
*Vivien Leigh by Kendra Bean
*Still Foolin' 'Em by Billy Crystal
*Death of Santini by Pat Conroy
*Mothers Who Can't Love by Susan Forward
*Minnesota in the 70s by Dave Kenney
*November's Fury by Michael Schumacher
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New ECRL Overdrive Titles
eBook Titles
*Abandoned by Amanda Stevens
*For Every Season by Cindy Woodsmall
*Shift by Rachel Vincent
*Shining Girls by Laura Beukes
*Sweet Tooth by Ian McEwan
eAudio Titles
*American Gun by Chris Kyle
*Claiming of Sleeping Beauty by Anne Rice
*Last Kiss Goodbye by Karen Robards
*Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman
*Rose Harbor in Bloom by Debbie Macomber
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Did You Know?
*September is "Library Card Sign-Up Month"
*September 22 - 28 is "Banned Books Week"
*Agatha Christie was born on September 15, 1890
*The U.S. Air Force was established on September 18, 1947
*Abraham Lincoln issued the "Emancipation Proclamation" on September 22, 1862
*F. Scott Fitzgerald was born on September 24, 1896
*Johnny Appleseed was born on September 26, 1774
*Little Women by Louisa May Alcott was published on September 30, 1868
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New Juvenile DVDs
Search for any of these in the ECRL catalog
*Barbie in The pink shoes
*The Croods
*Elmo the musical
*Epic
*My little pony, friendship is magic : Princess Twilight Sparkle
*Scooby-Doo and the circus monsters
*Star wars, the Clone Wars : Darth Maul returns
*Teenage mutant ninja turtles : rise of the turtles
*Wiener dog nationals
*Wreck-it Ralph
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