Gimme Five Continues

Our annual fundraising event, "Gimme Five", started last month and continues through January.  You should have received our newsletter/fundraising letter in the mail mid-December which talks about the library, all the patrons we serve, the materials & programs we offer to community members and asking for your help to continue offering these services.  Whether you can give a high five or a low five, all donations and support are greatly needed and appreciated.  Remember, we are not a publically funded library and receive no tax dollars to keep our doors open to the public.  We are a volunteer-run, non-profit, private library and have had the doors open for over ten years thanks to the support of community members like you!

Happy New Year!

All of us here at the library want to wish everyone a very Happy New Year!  We are serving more families than ever and checked out thousands of materials last year.  We hope to increase community involvement this year and offer more services to patrons.  If you would like to become involved with this wonderful community project think about volunteering for library aide, landscape maintenance, data input or applying to be a Board member. Come on down and complete and application or contact any of the Board members!  The Board meets the second Tuesday of each month at 5pm.

Halloween Night Trick or Treat

On Halloween night, Wednesday, October 31, the knitting group will hold a treat and book giveaway to community children who come by the library on their trick-or-treaing route. The treats will be given out from 5:30-7:00 pm and young children need to bring their parents with them.  Please be careful in the parking lot after dark, both walkers and drivers!  Thank you to the knitting group for hosting this Halloween event!

Fall Into Reading

The Autumnal Equinox has passed and Fall is upon us. When it's raining outside, reading is a wonderful way to pass the time.  Enter into worlds unknown or just pick out a simple story to keep the mind occupied and entertained.  We are adding new selections to our collections constantly, so come on down and check us out!

Knitting Group Fun

The Wednesday evening knitting group is going strong and having lots of fun creating and visiting!  If you like to knit or would like to learn how to knit, this is the group for you. They are creating socks, hats, scarves, vests and other knitted items ranging from beginner level to experienced knitters. A bulletin board has been put up in the library with photos of their projects so stop by and take a look at the beautiful things they are making.  The group meets every Wednesday, at the library, from 6-8:30 pm.

The Weeds Are Growing

Many thanks to the Board members who attended our recent work party and pulled weeds in our lovely landscaped beds!  We are looking for someone to help us out with maintaining our landscaping.  If you like to work outside, know the difference between a weed and a flower and have a little time each week (or month), please consider volunteering to help us with some of our yard work. We also have some blackberries that need a little trimming right now!  Please call us if you are interested and leave a message if you get the machine.

Donations Are Great!

Thank you everyone for all your wonderful donations to the library recently.  We have been putting new books on the shelves each week and have added lots of wonderful selections to our books on tape/CD collections.  We have also added some new Young Adult Fiction so come on in and check us out!

The magazine exchange is going strong and there are a lot of interesting magazines to choose from.  If you would like to recycle a newer magazine or two simply bring them down, add them to the exchange and take one or two with you!  It's a great way to read a variety of material without having to subscribe to them all.

Thanks to all the Board members who helped out on Work Party Day.  They spent hours on their hands and knees weeding our new landscaped beds (work done by Eagle Scout, Porter Richins). They worked very hard and made their way through half the bed.  Anyone out there like to weed?  If so, please come on down and we'll give you your own patch to care for!  Not sure why we called it a Work Party....we definitely did more work than partying!

Happy New Year!

Some time has passed since our last blog update...we have been very busy at the library! Most of you received our latest newsletter and Gimme Five fund raising letter in December letting you know what's been happening at the library. We had two very fun craft nights in December where kids (and adults!) made ornaments, potpourri oranges, cards and other fun crafts. I'll keep you posted on how the fund raiser has been doing in my next blog.

One of our patrons started a knitting group on Wednesday nights from 6-8:30 which has been very popular. She is an experienced knitter and everyone is welcome to attend....beginners and veterans, too! Even if you have not knitted before, but would like to learn this is a wonderful opportunity to start working on a project with someone there to help you. There is no fee for attending and I hear they are having lots of fun!

The Poetry Circle continues to meet on most Mondays from 10:30-noon. Everyone is welcome to attend, drop-ins, too! We also have a Japanese/English tutor at the library each Thursday morning from 8-10 so feel free to drop by if this is something that sounds interesting to you!

New Tuesday Hours

We have new Fall hours! Our Fall/Winter volunteer has returned so we are now open from 2 - 6 pm on Mondays. Starting October 11 the library will be open to the public from 1 - 3 pm each Tuesday. The volunteer on duty will also be available for after school homework help.

Children's Story Time Begins

Our very popular children's Story Time program will begin Tuesday, September 27 at 10:00 am. This program is designed for children under the age of 6, but all ages are welcome. Stories are read each week, followed by a craft and a snack before the kids get a chance to check out books they would like to read over the week. Pre-registration is not required. The program will continue throughout the school year, each Tuesday morning at 10:00 am.

Book Sale in Final Days

The library's annual book sale will be coming to an end very soon! We still have lots of quality fiction and non-fiction books for adults and children. There are also paperbacks, but they are going quickly! Take advantage of this great opportunity to stock up on reading material before the rain starts. The selection is great and the prices are fantastic!

Book Sale Begins

The library's annual book sale will begin Sunday, August 14 from 9-3 in the library parking lot. The sale will continue throughout September during open hours. We will have lots of quality children's books, adult fiction, non-fiction, VHS, DVD, books on tape, educational items, paperbacks and other items for sale. Since the sale will continue for a few weeks, we will be adding new items to the tables each week so keep checking back in! Remember, CFL is not a public library and so receives no public funding. All proceeds from the book sale go directly to benefit the library and, in turn, the community.

New Landscaping!

Many thanks go out to a community Eagle Scout, Porter Richins, who chose the library for his final project this spring. He coordinated the project, sought out donations and set up a day for a group of friends to complete the work. They brought in telephone poles to outline planting beds, filled the beds with dirt after clearing the area then planted quite an array of shrubs and flowers that will grow and fill in the beds beautifully. This project has been one that has greatly improved the library's landscaping and we have gotten many wonderful comments on how it looks. Thanks, Porter!!

Summer Reading Sponsors

We are proud to announce our Summer Reading Program sponsors this year! Thanks to our friends at the Lane Library League and the Lane County Cultural Coalition we will be having another great summer program. This program is FREE to community families. Our first day will be Tuesday, June 21 beginning at 10:00 am.

Summer Reading Program!

Summer will be here soon and that means the Summer Reading Program will begin soon, too! This very popular program is geared toward 5-12 year old children, but everyone is invited to join us. Each Tuesday morning for 6 weeks we will read stories, have activities, and do crafts. We also draw names for free books each week. A snack is offered. This year's program, "One World, Many Stories", will begin Tuesday, June 21 and will continue each Tuesday until July 26. The program starts at 10:00 am and usually ends about 11:30. Children (and adults) can check out books and other materials, too! Pre-registration is recommended, but not required. Register for all weeks or just the ones that work for your schedule. Please call 541-937-2625 for more info or to register your child(ren). Leave a message if you get our machine and someone will call you back asap!

New Board Meeting Day

Board of Directors meetings are now being held on the second Tuesday of each month starting at 6:30 pm. These meetings are held at the library and are open to the public. In fact, we have set aside some time at each meeting for any community member to speak to the Board before the meeting gets underway so if there's something you would like the library Board to know, come down to one of our meetings and let your voice be heard! If you are considering becoming a Board member, attending a meeting is a great way to meet the members.

Generous Donation a Big Surprise!

We are very, very excited about a donation that was recently made to the library. This donation was gifted to us in the will of a local resident who wishes to remain anonymous. Naming the library in her will was an extremely nice way of continuing her support of the community library she loved! This very generous donation will help us continue providing quality service to all community members and was such a wonderful surprise for all of us volunteers and Board members.

Check Us Out

We are making some changes in the library that will make it easier for you to find the books you are looking for. We are also adding lots of new titles to both the adult and children's collections each week so come on in and check out what we have to offer. We now have quite an extensive collection of homeschooling materials and curriculums for patron use. We also have great lists of recommended books for children of all ages...just ask to see them! We also have a new "book sale" section that will continually have new additions.

Winter Newsletter

By now you should have received our winter newsletter giving everyone an update on how the library is doing. Inside this newsletter is our Gimme Five fund raising letter. If you haven't had a chance to read it, please take some time to read about CFL and all the wonderful things we have to offer community families. Without your help we would not be able to keep our doors open and our collections growing and dynamic. Your continued support is very appreciated!

Time For Gimme Five

In the next couple of weeks please be looking out for our most recent newsletter in your mailbox. We mail this newsletter out to all mail and PO boxes in CFL's service district....usually more than 3000 households! Inside the newsletter you will find some very interesting information about the library and our annual Gimme Five fund raising letter. If you value your community library, please take the time to read our newsletter. We consider libraries to be a necessity, not a luxury!