Friends of the Adams County Library System DECEMBER 2011

Between Friends is the newsletter of the Friends of the Adams County Library System. Friends of the Library PO Box 4792 Gettysburg, PA 17325 OFFICERS President Ila Verdirame Vice President Ralph Cavaliere Recording Secretary Linda Jorgensen Correspondence Secretary Michelle DeLacey Treasurer Virginia Ciliotta Historian Kathy Schneider COMMITTEES Bookstore Ellen Smith Book Sale Marian Benchoff Computer Systems Manager Clodius Willis Mail Coordinator Judy Watt Membership Michele Orner Newsletter Ruthe CraleyEditor Publicity Ruthe Craley Recycling Tom & Elaine Kennedy Volunteer Coordinators Book Sale Mary Beth Stamm Book Store Jane Brown WEB www.adamslibrary.org/fol EMAIL fol@adamslibrary.org CONTACT 717-2531157

Between Friends
BOOK STORE WELCOMES SHOPPERS

Do you recognize this fabulous little business operation tucked away in the basement of the Library? Are you one of the Librarys zillions of patrons who doesnt even know this treasure chest of used books and other materials is right there (on the ground floor) just waiting for you to come in and browse and buy? There are books of all makes and models, from cookbooks to the most recent novels; there are tapes and films and specialty items; and there is a wonderful selection of childrens books just waiting for those newly-hatched readers to enjoy. Bargains, every one of them! Please come in and help us sell out our Seasonal offerings, learn a little (or a lot!) more about the Book Store and maybe consider signing on as a volunteer. And you can add to your buying power by becoming a member of the Friends of the Library and receive an immediate discount of 20% of your purchase. Every bit of profit from the Book Store goes right back to the Adams County Library System as the Friends of the Library works to fulfill its yearly pledge of $60,000. And the whole enterprise is manned and managed by volunteers. Its well worth the trip!

FRIENDS SPONSOR COOKBOOK FUNDRAISER! Food for Friends - Recipes Still Needed!
Some books are to be tasted, others are to be swallowed, and some few to be chewed and digested-Francis Bacon 1561-1626.
Do you have recipes to share with others? Consider contributing a recipe to the Friends of the Library Cookbook. Email your recipes for: appetizers, beverages, soups, salads, vegetables, side dishes, main dishes, breads, rolls, desserts, cookies and candy to Michele M. Orner at mmorner@comcast.net. Be sure to include your name to receive proper credit for your culinary contribution. The recipe deadline has been extended. All proceeds from the cookbook fundraiser will support the Friends pledge of $60,000 toward the Adams County Library System. Bon Apptit!

Library Update
By Rob Lesher
Library Director

Your membership in the Friends is so very important to the Adams County Library System. The county library is doing a great deal to help to improve and enrich the lives of our citizens. The funding which the Friends provide extends all those services and makes it possible for the library to do new things. The Friends of the Adams County Library System pledges each year to give the library $60,000. That $60,000 is used in many ways to make the library a much better place for the residents and visitors of the county. This money is used to deepen our collections budget. Collections in the library world usually mean books. However, it also means all the other things which the library circulates. The $60,000 is used to help the library system buy more books, but it also helps us to add new materials to our collection. I am sure you are familiar with the change the world faced with the shift from VHS tapes to DVDs. The library had to make decisions about what we continue to support as the world changes its preferences.

The Friends funds made this transition easier for us to cushion that budget pressure so that we could buy both until it became clear that VHS was no longer the item of choice. The money also helps the library to provide services to our children. The library is one of the primary sources for early learning opportunities for many of the countys children. Story time and summer reading are the foundation upon which the library programs are built. Supplementing these programs, are reading clubs, Lego robotic programs, and author visits all designed to spark the imagination of our young clients. The $60,000 from the Friends makes these additional programs possible. In recent years, the Friends fundraising have also helped the library to provide a number of additional services beyond the pledged money. In January of this year, the Friends agreed to provide the additional funding needed to provide each child who joined the Summer Reading program, with their own book bag to use to carry their materials. This was a great improvement to the program which sparked a nice increase in children participating this past summer. Also, the Friends have sponsored new Named Endowments to the Endowment fund to purchase materials each year. These funds will have an impact for years to come. I would like to personally thank you for your continued support of the Friends. What you do makes a difference in thousands of peoples lives. This is something of which you should really be proud!

Wellspan Funds Library Initiatives by Robin Wagner, ACLS Board Member

The Adams County Library System was recently named the recipient of an $11,500 grant from the Wellspan Corporation as part of their community education program. These funds were used in part to purchase eight new laptop computers, which the staff will use to create a mobile training lab. The lab will travel from branch to branch throughout the county, enabling librarians to teach general computer classes and offer training in consumer health. What wed like to do is offer classes on finding reliable consumer health information, both in databases and on the web in general, said Rob Lesher, Executive Director of the Library. Sara Edmiston, Community Relations Librarian, is one of the computer class instructors. Along with reference librarian Susan Walton and volunteer Kim Breighner, they teach an assortment of computer courses ranging from beginner sessions like Using the Mouse and Introduction to Windows to more specialized courses in Excel and internet searching. We have participants of all ages and skill levels, said Edmiston. I have had the person who has never even looked at a computer before, as well as people who use computers every day at work, but only know enough to do their jobs. Thanks to this new funding Edmiston and her coworkers can reach more county residents with the mobile lab. The Wellspan gift also provided 500 books for children participating in the summer reading program. Many of the books distributed to the summers top readers were on health and wellness themes including Good Enough to Eat by Lizzy Rockwell and My First Action Rhymes by Lynne Cravath for the youngest readers. Favorites for the middle grades included books from The Magic School Bus series like TMSB Inside Raphie and TMSB Gets Eaten, and Mummies, Bones & Body Parts by Charlotte Wilcox. Another 300 books were purchased for the summer reading program with donations from Adams Electric Coop, Arendtsville Lions Club, Kiwanis Club of Gettysburg Adams, Upper Adams Jaycees and the WalMart Foundation. A third portion of the Wellspan grant provided books for the Librarys Check up for Young Readers program (see following page).

Prescription for Health: A Daily Dose of Reading

When 2-year-old Jackson and his mom left Gettysburg Pediatrics after his regular check up last month he was carrying his very own copy of Ten Little Fingers, Ten Little Toes by Mem Fox and a prescription, written by his doctor. It said Read Every Day! Thanks to financial assistance from Wellspan, the Adams County Library System was able to purchase 500 new board books and distribute them to local medical practices in Adams County. Physicians at Gettysburg Pediatrics and Gettysburg Family Practice, teamed up with the Library in this statewide initiative known as Check Up For Young Readers. The idea, according to Laura Goss, Assistant Director, is for the doctor to hand out a prescription that orders a daily dose of reading along with a book as a "free sample." The initiative is sponsored by the Pennsylvania Library Association and the Pennsylvania Family Practitioners Association. The library association provided prescription pads and each library was free to develop the program based on local needs, explained Rob Lesher. At the Adams County Libraries we have a goal of getting free books into the hands of children any way we can, Lesher continued. We had been participating in the Check Up program successfully for a few years, and now, thanks to Wellspan, we are able to continue the program again this year. Other prescription books include Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown, From Head to Toe by Eric Carle and Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? by Bill Martin, Jr.

TALKING ABOUT BOOKS

Book discussion groups are becoming very popular everywhere, according to a recent survey of leisure time activities. The Adams County Library System is offering a number of such groups and all are open to the public and all meet at the individual Libraries, where you are welcome to attend whether it is your home library or not, but a phone call ahead will help with the librarys arrangements.
Biglerville (677-6257) a new book group is being formed at this library. It will meet the 3rd Monday in January and will concentrate on the Classics. Please call the librarian for more information. Fairfield (642-6009) will meet the 3rd Thursday at 7 p.m. The book has not been announced at this time. Please call the library for more information. Gettysburg (334-5716) has a program called Bring-A-Book which meets every three weeks on Monday at 10 a.m. This is a round-table presentation with each participant reading parts or discussing the book they are currently reading. Littlestown (359-0446) will be discussing The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie. The group meets the 3rd Tuesday at noon. New Oxford (624-2182) will meet January 5th at to discuss Invisible Prey by John Sandford, and January 12th to discuss Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen. Both groups meet at 9 a.m. East Berlin (259-9000) meets the 4th Tuesday at 7 p.m. Please call the librarian for more details.

Are you a member of the ACLFOL? It's the best bargain in town.

SUPPORT ADAMS COUNTY LIBRARIES Be a FRIEND

Membership Application/Renewal
Because I believe that the Adams County Library System is essential to our communities, I am enclosing my donation to become a member of the FRIENDS in support of the Library. Please return completed form with your tax-deductible donation to

Friends of the Library, PO Box 4792, Gettysburg, PA 17325 $ 20 $35 $50 $100 Other ____________
NAME________________________________________________ PHONE ______________ ADDRESS_______________________________ CITY, ZIP __________________________________

I would like to help the FRIENDS and the Library by volunteering:

_____ Process used books _____ Process mailings _____ Staff the Book Store ____ Work at the Book Sale Bonanza

Gettysburg Fairfield Littlestown East Berlin Biglerville New Oxford

RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED

Friends of the Library P.O Box 4792 Gettysburg, PA 17325-4792

Mon--Sat. 9:30AM-4:30PM Sunday-1:30PM-4:30PM

BOOK STORE HOURS

Non-Profit Org. U.S. Postage PAID Gettysburg PA 17325 Permit No. 257