Kent District Library (MI)'s Blog, page 17

The Story of a Cardinal

Change to Placing Holds

As we prepare for our exclusive new catalog, we regret some

temporary inconveniences. As of July 31, KDL cardholders may continue to place holds on material owned by KDL. However, non-KDL cardholders will no longer be able to place holds on KDL material. KDL cardholders will no longer be able to place holds on non-KDL material.

Interlibrary loan between KDL and most Lakeland member libraries will resume by October 1 when KDL rejoins MelCat, the statewide resource sharing system.

For more information, please see our previous

True Crime Author Ann Rule Dies at 83

Michigan born author

Yes, please! Judge that Book by its Cover

Here’s the scene: Kid comes into library and is told to look for a book. Only, said kid has zero clue what to read or where to start. Makes sense, right? We’ve all been there, or know somebody that has.

So, where do we look when there are so many books on the shelves? How do we narrow down what’s “good.” For some of us, we don’t question why we like something — we just do. It’s the same with books. Identifying what we like about a book and then finding something that meets our expectations can be tricky. To start looking for that one gem, let’s take the thinking part out of the equation for a minute. Begin by cruising through the stacks and just look around. For a second consider that it’s okay to judge a book by it’s cover…and then do it! Do you actually like the cover? What seems appealing about it? Could the story possibly be of interest based on what you see? Ask some questions, grab a stack, and check ’em out. If it’s not of interest, pitch it. Find another. Eventually the right one will show up given time.

Here are 5 children’s books I’ve found to be pretty excellent…just by judging the cover:

The Accidental Afterlife of Thomas Marsden

Emma Trevayne

At age twelve, grave robber Thomas Marsden discovers a boy who looks just like him in an unmarked grave and begins a journey of discovery as he learns of faeries trapped in London and their hope that he can return them to their realm.

The Apothecary

Maile Meloy

Follows a fourteen-year-old American girl whose life unexpectedly transforms when she moves to London in 1952 and gets swept up in a race to save the world from nuclear war.

The War That Saved My Life

Kimberly Brubaker Bradley

A young disabled girl and her brother are evacuated from London to the English countryside during World War II, where they find life to be much sweeter away from their abusive mother.

Wildwood

Colin Meloy

When her baby brother is kidnapped by crows, seventh-grader Prue McKeel ventures into the forbidden Impassable Wilderness–a dangerous and magical forest in the middle of Portland, Oregon–and soon finds herself involved in a war among the various inhabitants.

The Nest

Kenneth Oppel

Celebrated author Kenneth Oppel creates an eerie masterpiece in this compelling story that explores disability and diversity, fears and dreams, and what ultimately makes a family. Includes illustrations from celebrated artist Jon Klassen.

While You Wait For “Go Set a Watchman”

Based on the number of holds, we know that many of you are anxiously waiting to read

Acorn Media Selections

Love a good mystery?  Want a different perspective on the genre?  Wish the cream of the crop would be at your fingertips? 

KDL to Launch Exclusive New Catalog

On Thursday, September 17, Kent District Library will launch an exclusive new KDL catalog. The new catalog allows KDL to offer better customer service, such as integrated access to the library’s significant digital collection, an improved searching experience, and more user-friendly policies, including increasing the number of holds allowed on physical items from 15 to 25 and allowing customers to renew material up to three times if there are no holds.

“For the library to make the significant service improvements our customers want and that the library promised to them during the 2014 millage campaign, KDL needs to offer an improved catalog experience,” says Lance Werner, KDL Executive Director.

KDL will continue to be a member of the Lakeland Library Cooperative but will no longer participate in the shared catalog. Only KDL-owned material will appear in the new KDL catalog and KDL material will no longer be displayed in the LLC catalog. By exclusively managing our catalog, KDL can offer improved service to LLC and GRPL member library cardholders, who may use the KDL catalog to select a KDL branch as their “home” library and place up to 15 holds on physical items.

As we prepare for our new catalog, there will be some temporary service disruptions. Specific information, including important dates and a list of Frequently Asked Questions is available on the KDL website

August LibraryReads Staff Picks

Non-Fiction You Might have Missed

Here are some great non-fiction titles that read like fiction to supplement your beach reads! And the best part? No waiting list!

   

Popular Teen Programs: New Listings!

Due to the popularity (and long waiting lists) of a couple of our teen programs, we have decided to add extra dates and times to our program lineup! Here are the newly added listings: