eRead Illinois=more ebooks at LME Library

The LME Library is participating in the eRead Illinois Program, designed to increase access to e-books across Illinois. The LME Library card holders already have one ebook service, ADML (limit 2 @ a time), but now have access to more ebooks through eRead Illinois (limit 3 @ a time).   This increases ebooks checkouts for LME Library patrons to a total of 5 ebooks at a time!  Patrons at libraries participating in eRead Illinois can access the cloud-based delivery across a number of devices including iPad, iPhone, Android, Windows, NOOK^® and Sony Reader^TM devices, and many more.

What are the differences in the services?  ADML provides both ebook and audio book downloads from the vendor, OverDrive. Materials are purchased for both children and adults. eRead Illinois only has ebooks and from the vendor, Baker & Taylor. Materials are purchased for both children and adults but the focus is on popular material with multiple copies purchased when items are in demand.  Both services are shared consortia collections which provide larger selections of materials yet reduce the costs to the libraries.

Illinois Heartland System and Reaching Across Illinois Library System have partnered with the Illinois State Library and Baker & Taylor to provide this access. Initial funding for eRead Illinois was provided by a grant from Secretary of State and State Librarian Jesse White through the Illinois State Library. “RAILS selected Baker & Taylor’s Axis 360 platform for the eRead Illinois grant because of the breadth and depth of available titles, the flexibility of options to meet the diverse needs of our libraries across Illinois and the ADA compliance of the Baker & Taylor Blio ereader. Equal access for all users in RAILS member libraries is very important to us,” said Dee Brennan, Executive Director of Reaching Across Illinois Library System.

eRead Illinois is available through the LME Library website at lmelibrary.org or directly at lme.axis360.baker-taylor.com and requires a LME Library card number and PIN.  Contact the library at 309-385-4540 if you have questions about your library card number/PIN or have any other questions about this service.

New Ellison cutters at the LME Library

Thanks to the Friends of the Lillie M. Evans Library, the Library now has an Ellison cart and additional Ellison cutter dies. Ellison cutters allow the user to cut perfect shapes with the use of a cutter machine and cutter dies. The system is simple to use and makes it easy to produce displays, posters, and other graphics. 

The cart was bought to house the Ellison cutters that the Friends purchased in 2012. At that time, they purchased a cutter machine and 4 inch letters. Now they have added the cart to easily move the cutter throughout the library and house the cutter dies. In addition, they purchased 10 geometric shapes dies and 8 seasonal dies. 

If anyone would like to use the Ellison machine or dies in the library, just ask at the front desk. We also have a Cricut machine that is an electronic cutting device. The Cricut machine provides inspiration and creativity when designing projects for card making, scrapbooking, school projects, and more. Both systems can only be used in the library. The LME Library’s regular hours are Mondays & Wednesdays from 9am-8pm; Tuesdays, Thursdays, & Fridays from 9am-5pm and Saturdays from 9am-1pm. 

The mission of the Friends is to support the needs of the Library in a variety of ways. In addition to purchasing the Ellison system & cart, the Friends assist with the Summer Reading Program, purchased the child size sofa & chair in the juvenile area, purchased seating in the YA section, and last year, provided the benches in front of the Library’s Walnut Street entrance. Friends meetings are usually quarterly. The Friends host the library book sale in the month of August. To join the Friends of the LME Library, please contact the library at lill@lmelibrary.org or call us at 385-4540.

National Lincoln Exhibit Comes to Princeville in April 2014

The Princeville Heritage Museum in conjunction with the Lillie M. Evans Library will be hosting the exhibit, Lincoln: The Constitution and the Civil War from April 7, 2014 through May 9, 2014.  Organized thematically, the exhibition explores how Lincoln used the Constitution to confront three intertwined crises of the war—the secession of Southern states, slavery, and wartime civil liberties. Visitors will leave the exhibition with a more complete understanding of Abraham Lincoln as president and the Civil War as the nation’s gravest constitutional crisis.

Lincoln: the Constitution and the Civil War is a traveling exhibition for libraries and was organized by the National Constitution Center and the American Library Association Public Programs Office. The traveling exhibition has been made possible by a major grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities.  Lincoln: the Constitution and the Civil War is based on an exhibition of the same name developed by the National Constitution Center.  A short video walkthrough (10:25 min.) with Dr. Steve Frank, Chief Interpretive Officer at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, is available online at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4hNVUPM5SOg (Preview)

Regular hours at the Princeville Heritage Museum during this exhibit will be Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays & Saturdays 10am-2pm; Tuesdays from 2pm-8pm; and Thursdays from 2pm-6pm.  The exhibit is closed on Sundays.  The Museum is located 325 N Ostrom Avenue in Princeville, IL—15 minutes north of Peoria. The 30,000 sq ft handicap-accessible facility features agriculture antiques, area artifacts, genealogy research, and more. The Akron Townhouse School, a one-room school, is located on the Museum grounds.  For more information and for booking class visits, please call the Museum (309) 385-1916. 

In addition to the regular exhibit hours, there will be programs at the Museum on Tuesdays starting April 8th and continuing through April 29th.  The first in this series is Illinois in the Civil War and it will be presented by Tom Emery on April 8th 6:30pm. On April 15th 6:30pm Brian Fox Ellis will present Black Jack Logan: Civil War General, Senator, King-Maker. On April 22nd 1pm, historical impersonator, Debra Ann Miller, takes us back to Mrs. Lincoln’s “blue room salon” in April 1865.  A special tea with Mrs. Lincoln is included—please call the Museum @ 385-1916 for reservations! The last program will be on April 29th 6:30pm.  Jeanne Schultz Angel will present the Anti-Slavery Movement in Black & White and explore the history behind the anti-slavery movement in Northern Illinois. Two of the programs, Black Jack Logan and the Anti-Slavery Movement in Black & White were provided through a grant from the IHC Road Scholars Speakers Bureau.  Visit the LME Library website at lmelibrary.org for more information on these programs. 

LME Library and 2014 Goals

Still working on setting your New Year’s resolutions? Here’re some suggestions from the Lillie M. Evans Library that can make 2014 great!

1. Resolve to get more fit. Our 6th season of LME Library’s Biggest Loser runs from January 8th-March 5th. This 8 week program can help you get a kick start on your fitness goals. Did you know the library has a great selection of workout DVDs and offers fitness programs throughout the week? Our yoga group meets on Mondays and Fridays at 9:15am. Zumba featuring Latin music and dance provides a great cardio workout on Tuesdays & Thursdays at 6:15pm. Workout Wednesdays is a great opportunity to preview some of the LME fitness videos and meets on Wednesdays at 5:30pm. Fitness hooping works your core, hips and thighs and meets on Saturdays at 1pm. No preregistration is required and participation is free. Come to the staff entrance on Walnut Street (near Harvey Stahl Plumbing) for sessions that take place after the library is closed. Don’t forget the cookbooks! The LME Library also has variety of cookbooks for those looking for healthy recipes. 
2. Resolve to declutter your home. Are you looking for a place to bring your used books, DVDs, or ink cartridges? Donate them to the LME Library! Items not added to the library collection go to the Friends of the Library for their booksale. Over the years, the Friends have supported the library by donated materials, equipment, furniture, and funds for children’s programs. The Friends are also collecting empty inkjet cartridges for recycling. Cartridges can be deposited in our collection bin at the library.
3. Resolve to stop paying overdue library fines. You can when your books are never overdue. Sign up for Shoutbomb text notifications or email alerts, and you will always know when your loan period is up. Then you can renew your books online, by text message, in person, or by phone. Don’t forget that you can return all items in the drop box outside the library even if the library is closed. You can also use our e-book service (http://alliance.lib.overdrive.com) and the e-book will expire when the loan period has ended. 
4. Resolve to learn more about technology. The LME Library is offering drop-in computer classes on Wednesdays from 3:30-5:30pm now through the end of January. Just got a new Kindle or iPad? Stop by and we’ll help you get started. Want to read an ebook on your device? We can help you borrow from the libraries e-books collection. We also have Word and Internet classes on Fridays from 11-noon until January 31st. If you don’t have a computer or Wi-Fi device, we have 9 public access computers for use. Our webpage at http://lmelibrary.org is available from any Internet device, and our databases include full-text newspaper articles from Peoria & around the US, e-books & audio books, kids interactive books, genealogical research sources, language learning programs, and fiction read-a-like lists. 
5. Resolve to read more. Reading is an active mental process and a fundamental skill builder. It improves your vocabulary, and reading gives you a glimpse into other cultures and places. Reading has many benefits–in addition to improving your focus and concentration, reading is entertaining and fun! With your LME Library card, you can borrow books from our library or one of the 180+ libraries in our region. We have audios, magazines, and DVDS as well as e-books. Even though we’re small, we’re mighty! Last year 47,803 items circulated from the LME Library and over 35,000 people visited. 

It’s a whole new year, and we want to make it easy to start and keep your resolutions. Stop in, call (385-4540) or visit the LME Library website at http://lmelibrary.org. You’ll be glad you did!