Kent District Library (MI)'s Blog, page 51

Celebrate with Us!

Have you heard the good news? The KDL millage passed! To celebrate, each branch will be hosting a Voter Appreciation Celebration. Join us for an encore presentation of these family-friendly events. Treats provided!

Tuesday, August 12

Storytelling Adventures with Gloria Cangelosi, Spencer Township Branch, 4:00 PM

Magician Tom Plunkard, Krause Memorial Branch, 6:30 PM

Wednesday, August 13

Bubble Wonder, Gaines Township Branch, 10:00 AM

Life-Sized Candied Land, Kentwood (Richard L. Root) Branch, 10:00 AM

Bubble Wonder, Walker Branch, 1:00 PM

Bubble Wonder, Tyrone Township Branch, 3:00 PM

Thursday, August 14

Life-Sized Candied Land, Alto Branch, 1:30 PM

Honey We Shrunk the Kids, East Grand Rapids Branch, 2:00 PM

Photo Booth/Balloon Animals, Byron Township Branch, 5:30 PM

Balloon Animals/Face-Painting/Photo Booth, Plainfield Township Branch, 6:30 PM

Tuesday, August 19

Puppeteer Kevin Kammeraad , Grandville Branch, 10:00 AM

Thursday, August 21

Puppeteer Kevin Kammeraad, Comstock Park Branch, 2:00 PM

Blandford Nature Center’s Storytime with the Animals, Wyoming Branch, 5:30 PM

Steel Drum Band/Craft Activities, Caledonia Township Branch, 6:00 PM

Tuesday, August 26

Magician Tom Plunkard, Englehardt Branch, 6:30 PM

Wednesday, August 27

Puppeteer Kevin Kammeraad, Sand Lake/Nelson Township Branch, 4:30 PM

Magician Tom Plunkard, Alpine Township Branch, 6:30 PM

Thursday, August 28

Magician Tom Plunkard, Cascade Township Branch, 7:00 PM

 

KDL Millage Passes — Thank You!

 

Final Results: KDL Millage Proposal

✔   YES — 34,387 (57%)

NO — 25,505 (43%)

Kent District Library voters have spoken, and KDL is thrilled to be able to continue to provide the quality materials and services residents value. KDL is your library for today and tomorrow. As your needs have changed and evolved, we have been proud to change and evolve with you.

We will implement our plan to offer more convenient hours at more branches, reduce wait times for materials, and perform much-needed technology upgrades. This millage funding will result in improved service at all 18 of our branches, as well as for users of our growing digital collection.

Your vote to secure essential funding for KDL is a vote of confidence in our stewardship of tax dollars. We look forward to delivering on our immediate promises as well as providing the services you need and want for the next 10 years and beyond.

Thank you again!

 

Library Love Bomb: Heather

Tomorrow: KDL millage election

A life-long library user and KDL volunteer says libraries belong to everyone, and that everyone should be invested in keeping them around.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=gkdS00S40Gc

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Drop a library love bomb: Upload a short video of your own to KDL’s Facebook page!

Free Computer Classes for Adults

Whether you’re a computer novice or looking to update your skills, KDL’s free computer classes can help you learn something new! Registration opens today for our September classes:

Computer Basics: Mousing and More
Computer Basics: Where’s My Stuff?
Computer Basics: Windows 8 — Using It and Loving It!

(B.Y.O. Laptop)
Gadgets: B.Y.O. eReader & Tablet Users Group

(pre-registration not required)
Internet: Email Basics
Internet: Facebook Basics
Internet: Getting Started on Craigslist
Internet: Google — More Than Just a Search Engine
Internet: Internet Basics & More
Internet: Online Security
Internet: Pinterest Basics
Microsoft Excel Basics I & II
Microsoft PowerPoint Basics
Microsoft Word Basics I, II & III
Career Transitions Workshop: LinkedIn Boot Camp
Speak to a Geek (pre-registration not required)

For class descriptions and schedule, please see our brochure or search our events calendar.

Unless otherwise noted, pre-registration is required and will begin the month before the scheduled classes on the first Monday of each month for KDL cardholders and the second Monday for non-KDL cardholders (if space is still available):

September classes: Registration begins Monday, August 4 for KDL cardholders

(Monday, August 11 for non-KDL cardholders)
October classes: Registration begins Tuesday, September 2 for KDL cardholders

(Monday, September 8 for non-KDL cardholders)
November classes: Registration begins Monday, October 6 for KDL cardholders

(Monday, October 13 for non-KDL cardholders)

To register, please call 616-784-2007.

Early Lit Bits: App Review — Sesame Street Family Play

Sesame Street Family Play is a great tool to get your family interacting and active together. The app is full of ideas (up to 150) to help keep kids entertained in various situations like at the store, in a restaurant or while traveling. Simply follow the prompts and as you select for your location and number of players, you are given suggestions of silly and entertaining activities using basic, everyday items. With this app, you are also promoting learning that is fun! Some of the activities will get you moving and working your muscles while others work on memorization, letters, numbers, critical thinking, science concepts and more. Bring some extra fun to bath time, while waiting in line or anytime as you talk and play with your child using this app available from the Apple app store for $.99.

– Julie R. at KDL’s Caledonia Township Branch

 

This article originally appeared in our Early Lit Bits eNewsletter. Read the most recent issue online or sign up to receive this monthly update highlighting early literacy tips and resources for parents and caregivers.

 

Finding Election Information

Yard signs, political commercials and robo-calls — yes, it’s election time again. If you are feeling bewildered wading through the various candidates and proposals on the Tuesday, August 5 primary ballot, here are some resources to help:

Michigan Voter Information Center

Check if you are registered to vote, get information on absentee voting, and view a personalized sample ballot.

MLive Michigan Voter Guide

Enter your address to find your local races, then compare candidates’ views on various issues.

Vote411.org

Nonpartisan election information from the League of Women Voters

State Proposal 1 Analysis

Background, pros and cons provided by the League of Women Voters

Kent County Senior Millage Information

Information from the Area Agency on Aging of West Michigan

KDL Millage Information

FAQs about the KDL millage proposal. The KDL millage question will be the last question on the ballot.

(image courtesy of League of Women Voters of California)

KDL Top Ten — Teen Fiction

Summer Reading @ KDL continues through Saturday, August 9.  Read fantastic books, and enter to win prizes!

This week’s Top Ten highlights 10 of the hottest titles in Teen Fiction at our libraries this summer:

 

KDL Gives Back: School Supply Santa

It’s time to start thinking about back-to-school shopping, but some local families don’t have the resources to purchase even the basic school supplies. Would you be willing to help meet this need?

During the month of August, all 18 KDL branches will collect school supplies in support of School Supply Santa, a local organization that collects and distributes school supplies for students in need. Requested supplies include backpacks, notebooks, crayons, markers, rulers, glues sticks, pencils, etc…. basically anything you would buy your own children to prepare them for school.

Thank you in advance for your generosity!

Video Love Bomb: Heidi

A life-long Byron Township area resident explains what an integral part of her family’s life the library has become.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-5xh5sW6cI

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Drop a library love bomb: Upload a short video of your own to KDL’s Facebook page!

Youth Author Spotlight: Tim Federle

Tim Federle is a new author in the world of children’s books. He is fantastic and I believe one of the few authors that really understands what it is like to be a 12-year-old boy with big dreams!

Tim’s debut novel for kids, Better Nate Than Ever — described as “Judy Blume as seen through a Stephen Sondheim lens” by Huffington Post — was named a New York Times Book Review Notable Book of 2013, a Slate.com Favorite Book of the Year, and a Best Book of the Year by both Amazon and Publishers Weekly.

Nate is a chubby, enthusiastic eighth-grader who sports a jutting underbite and an acne-spotted nose, and dreams of performing in a Broadway musical. He concocts a plan with his fabulous friend, Libby, to run away to New York and audition for the role of a lifetime as Elliot in the musical version of “E.T.” Nate embarks on this journey with nothing but a box of chocolate donuts, his mother’s debit card and a not-so-convincing fake I.D. This is a book of clever witticisms, a sudden desire to eat free chips and salsa and happy endings.

The sequel, Five, Six, Seven, Nate!, follows Nate Foster’s further adventures on-stage and off. It was named a Best Book of 2014 (So Far) by Amazon, received starred reviews from Publishers Weekly and Kirkus.