Starting Monday, June 1st the library will be open to the public with limited hours.
Monday, Wednesday-Friday: 1-5
Tuesday: 3-7
Saturday: 11-1
Restrictions will be in place:
No-contact pickup will continue to be available during these times for those who prefer it.
The next meeting of the Lonsdale Public Library Board will be held Wednesday, May 20th at 6:30. The public is always welcome to attend board meetings. If you would like to attend via Zoom, please contact the library for the meeting password.
Hello library friends. We hope you are all doing well. Restrictions are slowly loosening, but the world is still different and likely will be for a long while. Thanks for letting us continue to be a part of your lives.
Library update: We continue to do no-contact pickup in the lobby. If you want to request items or have questions, give us a call at 507-744-3977. More updates when circumstances change.
Summer reading update: There will be a summer reading program, but it will look very different. What won’t be different is the fun and learning. Look for an entry with more details coming soon.
Meanwhile, here are some more fun things to do right now in the real word and the virtual world.
Real world stuff:
I know a lot of you are taking regular walks, especially now that the weather seems to be changing. One fun way to entertain kids on your walk is to make a bracelet of duct tape, sticky side out, and attach pretty flowers and plants you find. Check out The Kitchen Pantry Scientist for more information.
Fun for little hands on a warm day is this activity that may be familiar to attendees of our Hands-On Science group. Put a few small plastic toys in a freezable container, cover in water and freeze. When you’re ready, take them out to the lawn on a sunny day along with some water and tools like eyedroppers or squeeze bottles. Kids will love melting them free. Little Bins for Little Hands has more specific ideas.
The outdoors is great for messy crafts, like squirt gun painting, acrylic paint sun prints, and DIY yard Yahtzee.
Shop local! Maybe consider a gift certificate if your favorite business is not open yet.
Online stuff:
These virtual walks in Yellowstone National Park are beautiful and relaxing.
When you’ve done all of your jigsaw puzzles and visited the library’s puzzle exchange so often you’ve done all of those, too, but you still have a hankering, check out JigZone for free online puzzles.
Learn to dock a spacecraft with this Space X simulator.
See Prince and the Revolution “live” in concert on YouTube and donate to COVID-19 relief.
Check out these cool new juvenile non-fiction titles we just added!
And remember, you can always see what titles we’ve added recently by clicking on “New arrivals.”
It’s a new week. I’m sure some of you parents feel like this stay-at-home order has lasted forever. In case no one has said it today, you’re doing a great job! Here are some more resources to keep kids learning and entertained.
Love the Magic Tree House book series? I know I do! We’re excited about Magic Tree House Adventures, where every week they will have readalongs and activities based around a theme. This week is animals!
The Minnesota Science Museum is letting you watch films free at home. Check out their Omnifest site!
Junior Library Guild is offering free access to great online books for elementary, middle school and high school.
The world-famous Cincinnati Zoo has great videos featuring different animals on their Home Safari page.
The Kitchen Table Classroom has free online art classes for kids. Most can easily be done with supplies you have at home.
If you are looking for images for a report or just want to check out some amazing photos, check out Wikimedia Commons. A good place to start is featured pictures. Don’t be surprised if you find yourself browsing for a while.
Hello book group and others,
I hope you have had a chance to read The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde. If not, you can get a free digital copy from Gutenberg.org. Here are some discussion questions. Feel free to discuss in the comments. We also hope to have a virtual book group meeting. If you are interested, please email lon_dir@selco.info.
Questions:
Characters:
John Worthing, J.P.
Algernon Moncrieff
Rev. Canon Chasuble, D.D.
Merriman, Butler
Lane, Manservant
Lady Bracknell
Hon. Gwendolen Fairfax
Cecily Cardew
Miss Prism, Governess
It’s the 50th anniversary of Earth Day. Remember, there’s no planet B so we had better protect the one we have. Here are some great resources for celebrating the planet today and every day.
Earth Day has gone digital. View events all day.
This NASA article reminds us of how lucky we are to live on this planet.
Also from NASA, Earth As Art, a breathtaking free e-book of photos.
One of the actions you can take is supporting our bees and other pollinators. The University of Minnesota Extension offers help with making your garden pollinator friendly.
The Green Education Foundation has 10 steps to make the world a better place.
Test your knowledge of environmental issues with these quizzes from earthday.org.
Explore the EPA’s Recycle City.
Coloring and activities help kids learn to be an energy star.
Learn about the Amazon the fun way with the Wild Kratts Amazin’ Amazon Adventure game.
Hello library community,
We miss your friendly faces, but we’re all doing the right thing by minimizing our contact. That said, we believe that at this time we can begin to check out items via curbside service. If you want to take part, here’s how:
Pickup hours
Monday, Wednesday-Friday 1-5
Tuesday 3-7
Saturday 11-1
We will take all reasonable precautions, but you should exercise your own judgment.
FAQs:
Q: Can I come in to the library to select my items?
A: No, the library building past the entryway remains closed. Library staff will check out items to you and leave them in the lobby at the time of your pickup appointment.
Q: I’m not sure of the exact titles I want. Can you help?
A: Yes, we would be glad to help you find something you will enjoy during our phone conversation.
Q: What are you doing to prevent the spread of COVID-19 on materials?
A: We are using gloves, washing our hands regularly, and holding returned items for 24 hours before they can be checked out again. If you are still concerned, we recommend holding items for 24-72 hours before opening them. Please do not use cleaners on library materials as they may cause damage.
Q: What if I want to keep the items I have checked out until the library reopens?
A: That’s just fine. Due dates have been automatically extended, and if you end up with late fees accrued during this period, we will gladly waive them.
Q: What if I set up an appointment and then miss it?
A: We will hold your materials for up to 10 days in the library, but you will need to make a new pick up appointment.
If you have more questions, please call us during pickup hours at 507-744-3977 or send an email to lon_dir@selco.info.
UPDATE: It looks like there were a few glitches in the initial release. I apologize if you were marked wrong for a question you got right. It should be fixed now.
Hello friends,
It’s our birthday week here at the library. We’re 10!
We would like to be celebrating in person, but it’s more important to keep our neighbors safe. Still, we can have some fun together. How about a TV trivia quiz? We have questions by decade, so there should be something for everyone. Be sure to visit us on Facebook to brag about your score!