Library Music Collection

By Jacob Kauffman, Library Page/Shelver

Tom Petty once said, “Music is what language wishes it could be.” Music is a global human phenomena and is arguably the best way of conveying emotion. Whether it’s Rock, Folk, Country, or Blues nearly everyone enjoys listening to music. Luckily for the patrons of the Clearview Library District, the library now has an extensive collection of music.

In the past the library’s music collection was the runt child of library collections. Largely donation based, its feeble bins were populated by a series of ancient and scratched compilation albums and free mass-mailed CDs. In short, the Clearview library’s music section was the land of lost toys for music CDs.

Over the past year or so the library’s music collection has been updated and enlarged to nearly twice the size it was before. Also, by eradicating confusing genres like the ominous “nostalgia,” and “World/folk” (conjuring the mental image of various peoples from around the globe playing banjos), the library has made its music section easier to navigate. One portion of the enlarging and updating project is to include a wider spectrum of contemporary music which now includes new releases not only from the pop top 40 list (Lady Gaga, Jason Mraz, Rihanna, etc.), but also Electronica (Tiesto and Skrillex), Rock (The Fray and The Black Keys), Country (Lady Antebellum and Chet Atkins), and much more (also, if you are a Bob Dylan fan, let’s just say we’ve got you covered).

In the future, the Clearview Library District intends to keep its music current and highly listenable, but the library cannot do this alone. In order to keep the music collection up and running the library needs patrons to check out its music. So, please, patrons of the Clearview Library District, check-out and enjoy some fantastic free music!

Read and Grow Program

We at the Clearview Library District know just how important it is to grow readers. Children who are read to every day start kindergarten with a vocabulary of more than 5000 words compared to the 2000-word vocabulary of children who are not (CIERA, 1998.) It is not impossible for these children to catch up to their more well-versed counterparts, but it is more difficult.

The Clearview Library District would like to bridge that gap by offering a free book and information about early literacy to every parent of a newborn in our district at their first visit to a pediatrician. We feel that partnering with pediatricians will allow us to connect with people who may be unaware of all the wonderful programs and services the library has to offer. We want to inform parents that early literacy does not entail rote memorization and hours of instruction; instead it involves singing, talking, playing, reading, writing, and in general, having fun and making emotional connections with their children.

Thanks to a generous sponsorship from the Library Foundation, we began the Read and Grow program, in which we give local pediatricians bags to give to their patients at their first well baby visit. These bags include library and early literacy information, an application for baby’s first library card, and a board book. The participating clinics are Banner Health at the Windsor Medical Arts Centre (also the local Reach Out and Read clinic), Associates in Family Medicine, and the Windsor Medical Clinic. We hope these bags inspire parents to read with their babies from the start and to foster bonding by growing readers. For more information about this program, contact Andrea Cleland, Early Literacy Librarian at 970-686-5603 or andrea@myclearview.info.

Pictured: Dr. Jonathan A. Kary, Andrea Cleland, and Dr. Trina Kessinger at the Windsor Medical Arts Centre

Volunteer of the Month: Janet and Marlea

Many people volunteer a few hours each month for their favorite cause, but Windsor-Severance Library’s Volunteer of the Month, Janet Deason, makes volunteering an Olympic sport! Janet donates her time at Rangeview Elementary School, Council Tree Library, Girl Scouts, Stepping Stones of Windsor and Windsor-Severance Library. She also makes weekly visits with hospice patients and assisted living residents.

Janet takes her Golden Retriever, Marlea, with her to most of her volunteer jobs. Janet adopted Marlea, after she had been rescued from a shelter in Los Angeles. They have been together for about 4 years and Marlea has proved to be a wonderful companion who is smart, loveable and kind to all.

Janet and Marlea, volunteer at the Windsor-Severance Library in the PAWS program. PAWS is a reading program where young patrons and a therapy dog sit together and read. Marlea is very good at helping children relax and enjoy reading. Janet and Marlea have been involved with PAWS in Windsor for two years. They have several “regulars” who always sign up to read with them even though the library has 6 other reading dogs in their PAWS program.

Janet is a dedicated volunteer and the library staff wants to acknowledge her for her much appreciated service so that is why Janet Deason has been named this month’s Volunteer of the Month.

Some of Janet’s favorite books include: anything by J. D. Robb, Centennial by James Michener, and The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks. Come by the library and meet Janet and Marlea soon!

Reprinted with permission, Windsor Beacon.

Library Launches New Way to Request Interlibrary Loans

The Clearview Library District is proud to announce we will be offering to our patrons a new method of obtaining materials the library does not own. This process is called interlibrary loan or ILL. At present patrons can fill out a request form at the library or the Bookmobile, phone in a request or e-mail a request on-line from the library website. Once a request is submitted the interlibrary loan department requests items through the statewide Fast Track system referred to as Swift. Materials are borrowed from libraries state wide. When the items arrive at the library and processed, patrons are notified that their requests have arrived.

The library district will launch a new way to request interlibrary loans through the Swift system (Statewide interlibrary loan Fast Track) starting April 11, 2012. Patrons will now be able to request their own interlibrary loans through the Swift system from the library website. SWIFT works in conjunction with ZPortal, the patron initiated interlibrary loan product. ZPortal allows patrons to conduct their own searches and place their own requests much in the same manner that the interlibrary loan department does from their home, work or library computer. Once a book has been received, a patron will receive an automated e-mail notifying them that their item has arrived. Stay tuned for more information as we prepare to launch this service. Please feel free to contact Ann at 686-5603 Ext 309 or e-mail me at ann@myclearview.info with questions.

Reprinted with permission, Windsor Beacon.

Friday the 13th Thriller @ the Library

The Clearview Library District will be hosting an after-hours “Friday the 13th Thriller” program on (you guessed it!) Friday, April 13^th. This celebration of the frightful date will take place at the Windsor-Severance Library building from 6:00-8:00 p.m. and will feature Red Riding Hood (rated PG-13), starring Amanda Seyfried. Additionally, pizza and beverages will be provided!

Registration IS required for this program (with a maximum of 30 participants) and a parent permission slip for all minors must be submitted to the library by Thursday, April 12^th. Permission slips are available at the library in the Children’s department and they may be turned in at the Children's desk.

For more information, or to register, please contact Heather at heather@myclearview.info or at the library, 686-5603.

Reprinted with permission, Windsor Beacon.

What do Librarians do for Fun?

So what do librarians do when the library closes at night? Do you think they go home to read more books? Do you think they travel to book stores and author signings? Do you think they eat, breathe, and live books? Well, you may be at least partially correct. On Wednesday, February 29th, two of your trusty librarians trekked down to Denver's Paramount Theater for a question and answer session with journalist and food guru Michael Pollan. For those who aren't familiar with the author, he has delved into the world of healthy eating and the sustainable growing of food. His works include The Botany of Desire:a Plant's Eye View of the World, The Omnivore's Dilemma:a Natural History of Four Meals, and In Defense of Food: an Eater's Manifesto. His latest work, Food Rules: an Eater's Manual, combines many of the subjects tackled in the earlier works and condenses them into simple, easy-to-follow guidelines to purchasing and cooking food. "Don't eat anything your great-grandmother wouldn't recognize as food." "Don't eat foods with ingredients your third grader couldn't pronounce." "At the grocery store, shop the perimeters and stay away from the 'edible food-like substances' that line the shelves in the middle aisles." Whether he is discussing the issue Monsanto's genetically modified plants, revealing the differences between organic and factory farming practices, or recording his experiences foraging for wild mushrooms, Michael Pollan's relaxed and easy-going voice is an inviting introduction to anyone interested in the ecology of sustainable food production and/or the simple guidelines for healthy eating. Check out his works at the library today!

If you like Michael Pollan's written works, check him out in the documentaries Food, Inc. and Queen of the Sun: What are the Bees telling us? also available at the library!

Clearview Teens Celebrate Anti-Valentine's Day

No one disputes the wondrous power of love and the feeling of euphoria it can create. Indeed, when Chaucer introduced the idea of modern Valentine's greetings, he may have been fully aware of the endurance of this holiday. Some, however, believe that Saint Valentine's Day has grown too commercial; it is more about consumerism than the power of love. Some also believe that Singles Awareness Day (SAD) puts too much pressure on those who are not currently in a relationship. And so, in less an act of defiance against society's norms and more in the name of good fun, the Clearview Teens celebrated Anti-Valentine's Day. They decorated cupcakes with black frosting, played "Guess This Celebrity Ex-Couple," and altered the covers of romance novels to their liking. It just goes to show that roses and candlelight dinners aren't the only ways to have fun on February 14th.