"Nut Rocker" by B. Bumble and the Stingers This rock and roll instrumental was inspired by Tchaikovsky's ballet, "The Nutcracker" This eleventh Xmas video was shot from a neighbor's yard across Adam's Street. This viewpoint from the south-west gives a panoramic depiction of the entire west/front side of our house and yard. To us, this view creates a dazzling, "living wall" of colorful LED animations and appears, at times, like the climax of a fireworks display. Thanx for watching our YouTube videos! We wish to all of you a Merry Christmas and a Happy, Healthy, and Prosperous New Year!! Please revisit our YouTube Channel (kimbenebritelites) by Googling: kimball ne meyers christmas

"Deck the Halls" by the Ventures This tenth Christmas Musical Light Show video was videographed by panning across the street from a due-north direction and shows about 45,000 LEDs flash dancing to an instrumental (guitars and drums) version of "Deck the Halls." As you can observe, the extremely-enthusiastic Meyers really go over-the-top (overboard) when they deck their halls (and walls, roofs, trees and poles.) When they decorate and celebrate the Holidays, the key guiding words are: Lights; Music; Action! Please remember almost ALL (99+%) lights are the very energy-efficient LEDs or Light-Emitting Diodes! Thanks again for watching and "listening" to our glittery, twinkling LEDs! Please visit our YouTube Channel (kimbenebritelites) by Googling: kimball ne meyers christmas

"Carol of the Bells" by Monique Danielle This ninth Christmas Light-Show video was "shot" directly across the street from a northerly direction. Like the previous videos, it displays an overwhelming, kaleidoscopic "wall of animated lights and upbeat music." You might think that we have too many prop-display items and/or lights in our videography. But since we are obsessive-compulsive Clark Griswold "character types" our goal is definitely NOT to achieve "appropriate" artistic simplicity. Thank you very much for observing our fanatical, extreme, "too-much," celebratory videos!! Please revisit our YouTube Channel (kimbenebritelites) by Googling: kimball ne meyers christmas

"Greensleeves" ("What Child is This?") This eighth Xmas Musical Light-Show video was photographed from diagonally across the street from a North-Westerly direction. This angular panoramic view shows the majority of our animated 62,000 LED lights (though not all at once) on our large corner lot -- transforming it into a high-intensity, dazzling, Las Vegas/Disney-style holiday wonderland. More videos to come -- "stay tuned!" You can easily revisit our YouTube Channel (kimbenebritelites) by Googling: kimball ne meyers christmas

"Jingle Bells" by Master Tone This video was shot across the street from a northwesterly direction and shows about 45,000 LEDs, "flashdancing" to an instrumental, techno-version of "Jingle Bells." We really have a lot of fun when we go all out (overboard) in decorating with light, sound, and motion for the Holidays. We Christmas light fanatics hope that our computer-controlled and choreographed, energy-efficient LEDs provide an audio-visual, holiday-cheer treat for all you viewers out there! Thanks for watching and "listening" to our glittering, colorful LED lights. More videos to come—since you haven't yet seen the long, north side of our chaotically, overly decorated, large corner lot. You have to realize that we are retired and perhaps have too much time on our hands and minds!! Please visit our YouTube Channel again by Googling: kimball ne meyers christmas

"Amazing Grace" by Yule This sixth video was shot, on an extremely windy evening, from a north-west viewpoint on the lawn of our neighbors across the street. This is "reality" videography unlike our first video which was a virtual rendition of "Amazing Grace" in the design, planning, and animation stages. Computer programming is a vital prerequisite for the lights-to-music synchronization of each tune in our Christmas Musical Light Show. The computerized set of instructions produced by the programmer (the BOSS) "tells" our 9 LOR Controllers when and where to turn 62,000+ LED lights "ON" or "OFF"! Thanx for watching! -- a few more Xmas videos to come! Please revisit our YouTube Channel (kimballnebritelites) by simply Goggling: kimball ne meyers christmas

"Winter Wonderland" by Alexia Phillips This video was shot from across the street and shows about half of the LEDs affixed to our house and front yard. Most of our non-traditional holiday tunes have a strong beat which make it relatively easy to sequence with songs or instrumentals. Our 62,000 LED lights are programmed and synchronized to turn on and off, dim, or shimmer by using a HP PC and a set of 9 controllers from the Light-O-Rama company. For each minute of animation synchronized to Holiday music, we spend at least two hours to sequence the 144 channels/circuits that control our plethora of multicolored LEDs. The upbeat, techno/remix, more up-to-date holiday music we select to play is a valuable part of our nighttime spectacle on Adams Street -- much to the delight or dismay of our neighbors and thousands of visitors! Thanks for watching! We hope our elaborate fireworks-like/lighting/musical displays bring you some holiday cheer and fond memories. Visit us again by Googling: kimball ne meyers christmas

Medley of "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" and "Here Comes Santa Claus" by the Ventures. This fourth video of our 2011 Christmas Musical Light Show gives you a central view of our LED props on the roof, front/west side of the house, and the front yard. This scene was videographed from just outside the front arbor and shows the following décor: roof stars and snowflakes, eave icicles, window and door-frame garlands, porch-rail garlands, a Light Storm Disk, an Animotion Disk, a Santa window cling/transparency, a door wreath, a seven-snowflake cascade, a LED-rope spiral tree, a small blow-molded Santa, a weeping willow, an Aerial Star Burst, five picture-window snowflakes, a "real" Xmas tree, and on the right, two of five "macro" trees. On the left foreground you can observe most of our 11-foot, 16-spiral tree, and you might also detect our large, inflatable turkey behind the spiraling tree. Yes! We are still in the transition stage between our celebrations of Harvest/Thanksgiving and Christmas/New Year! Thanks for watching our videos! You can visit our YouTube Channel again by Googling: kimball ne meyers christmas

"Music Box Dancer," by DJ Schwede This third video of our 2011 Christmas Musical Light Show reveals the performance of the newest and best addition to the Meyer Xmas light display -- an eleven foot, multi-colored Spiral (Weber) Tree. This slim Spiral Tree (ST) required three days to construct and about 4 hours to animate or sync its dynamic "movement" to the rhythm of "Music Box Dancer." Our multi-coiled ST consists of 16 helices, with each helix being a 23-foot long, twisted, double strand of 70-count, multi-colored LED lights that makes two complete turns/wraps around the central ten-foot high axis or pole. Since each coiled run of lights contains (2 x 70) 140 LEDs, the tree, itself, has (16 x 140) 2,240 lights -- plus a topper star of 50 blue LEDs! This ST is sturdily mounted on a 4-foot diameter circle of ¾" BC plywood and the ST has a total weight of only 50 pounds. This portable ST is easily carried and will fit nicely (with its star detached) into our large storage unit. The vertical support or "trunk" of the ST is a 10' length of 1" diameter EMT (electrical metallic tubing) which has a 1 inch floor flange connected at each end. The bottom flange is screwed to the center of the circular plywood base, and the upper flange has a 6" diameter circle of ¾ inch plywood mounted on its top surface. Each circle of plywood has 16 heavy-duty screw eyes along their outer edges or circumferences. 18-gauge galvanized wire was used to connect each lower screw eye with its corresponding upper screw eye. These 16 wires serve not only as guy wires to stabilize the central pole, but they also form a conical framework on which to attach (by using 400+ cable ties) and support the 16 spiral "runs" of LEDs. One Light-O-Rama controller with its 16 channels regulates the "flashing" and "dancing" of the 16 LED spirals. On each side of the ST are two 4-to-6 foot commercial LED twinkle/gum-drop trees. Thanks for watching! Stay tuned! More Xmas videos to come! Please visit our YouTube Channel again by simply Googling: kimball ne meyers christmas

Medley of "Little Drummer Boy," Joy to the World," and "Do You Hear What I Hear?" This test video demonstrates the use of two newly-made groupings of LED artwork -- 5 five-foot tomato cage "macro trees" and a "banner" of 15 stars. The macro trees were made by combining 2 large, sturdy 54-inch tomato cages per tree for a conical framework and then spiraling each frame with 3 different circuits of more than 400 LEDs per circuit (channel.) Therefore, each "macro tree" contains at least 1200 LEDS! The colors chosen for the LED lights of each channel included the following: multi; red; blue; green; gold; amber; purple; warm white; and cool white. The bottom banner contains 15 simple, Bethlehem-type stars -- each made with a 60-count string of pure/cool white LEDs for a total of 900 lights. As you can imagine, both the cluster of "macro" trees and the star banner are each controlled by 15 circuits of two different Light-O-Rama Controllers. Thanks for observing our videos! You can easily visit our YouTube Channel by Googling: kimball ne meyers christmas

"Amazing Grace" by Yule This video is a close-up of our HP computer screen showing some of the lights-to-music synchronization that we are planning for a Christmas Musical Light Show that will begin on Thanksgiving (November 24, 2011.) This particular Light-O-Rama (LOR) animation-simulation screen virtually depicts the main LED décor and props that we have (mostly) designed and constructed for our Xmas Light Displays. The LED props that you see include the following: Eave/gutter icicle lights; 16-3 ft tomato cage "mini trees"; a LED Animotion Disk (LAD); a 15 ft mega tree; an 8-channel "leaping arch"; 2 aerial-star bursts; 8-2 channel stars in our garage window; a short fence attached to a 7-ft "leaping arbor"; 5- 3 channel 5-foot "macro trees"; a 16-snowflake cascade"; and a 27 channel "Bellagio Pole." Our Christmas Musical Light Show will be computer controlled by using Light-O-Rama software and hardware -- including 9 LOR controllers with their 144 channels or circuits. This computerized and animated light display will use about 62,000 red, amber, gold, green, blue, fuchsia, warm white, pure white and purple LEDs -- and over 4 miles of extension cords on our house, garage, and large corner lot. Because we use only 80% energy-efficient LED lights AND the "typical" LED is turned ON about one-third the total display time, our "electrical bill" for our five-week Christmas Musical Light Show will be less than 80 dollars!! If all our lights were incandescent "Edison" bulbs and were ON constantly (NO dimming, flashing, or "dancing"), the power cost to us would be over 800 dollars! Please revisit our YouTube Channel by simply Googling: kimball ne meyers christmas

"Thriller" by Michael Jackson This is another across-the-street video that shows about 80% of our Halloween Light Display. If you compare this video with last year's 2010 Halloween Musical Light Show 8 (which now has almost 5,000 views), you will notice that we have larger and more Rooftop Singers and more ghouls, goblins, and zombies in our graveyard borders -- including some "animatronic," scary ones that "turn on" when activated by sounds or motion. We hope it isn't too distracting to you that we don't regulate traffic or visitors (i.e. Sydney and Megan) during the videography. Thanks for watching our videos!! Happy Halloween! Please tell your friends and relatives to visit our YouTube Channel by simply Googling: kimball ne meyers halloween

"Ghostbusters" --by Ray Parker Jr. Last year's (2010) "Ghostbuster's" Video was our most popular video by far/ever with more than 25,300 "hits"!? (Right now - 10/29- the number of hits is an amazing 79,391!!) We wonder how likeable this season's comparable video will be with the addition of more and bigger "Rooftop Singers," two young spectators (Megan and Ethan,) and the use of a new, sharper Sony Handycam (HDR-CX110.) Visit our YouTube Channel again by simply Googling: kimball ne meyers halloween Thanks for observing our videos!!

"Tubular Bells" -- Theme from "The Exorcist" by Mike Oldfield This video of our front-yard Halloween display was videographed from across the street (Adams) and emphasizes our short, orange-purple LED fence and the seven-foot tall purple/orange/green LED Leaping-Light Arbor/Arch. Since the "Tubular Bells" music is strictly an instrumental sound track, we only programmed our "Rooftop Singers" for the non-monotonous, vocalized surprise ending!! Besides using your computer's history or bookmark aids, you can also easily visit us again by Googling: kimball ne meyers halloween Thanks for observing our videos!!

"Monster Mash" by Bobby "Boris" Picket & the Cryptkickers This seventh Halloween video was "shot" from our front sidewalk using our chase-lighted arbor as a spatial frame. Please remember that ALL the minilights and spotlights that are used in our 2011 Halloween musical Light Show are LEDs (light-emitting diodes). Besides being very durable and break resistant, they cost only a fraction (one-fifth) to run compared to old-fashioned incandescent lighting. The low power usage of our 15,000 Halloween LEDs means that our three-week evening light show will raise our electrical bill by less than 12 dollars! This is a pittance compared to what we will spend to please the "guests" that come to our front porch the evening of October 31! Last year, we "entertained 500+ trick-or-treaters -- ooh, ouch, the cost of popularity or notoriety!! To get on our YouTube Channel again you can Google: kimball ne meyers halloween

"Bad Moon Rising" by CCR (Creedence Clearwater Revival) Unlike our last video (#5 -- Addams Family Theme) which was "shot" before sunset, this video was done at dusk -- about 10 minutes after sunset. Videography under these twilight conditions enables the LED lights to "stand out" more with greater contrast from a less detailed environment or background. What's your preference -- presunset? Or postsunset? Thanx very much for watching. Still more Halloween videos to come! Visit our YouTube Channel (kimbnebritelites) again by Googling: kimball ne meyers halloween

The Addams Family Theme Song by Vic Mizzy This very brief video (45 seconds duration) shows our home frontage as viewed from the west. It especially emphasizes our eleven "Rooftop Singers." There are more Halloween videos yet to come! Stay Tuned! Remember you can visit us again by simply Googling: kimball ne meyers halloween Thank you very much for watching our ghastly/ghostly videography!!

Theme Music for the movie "Halloween" by Tyler Bates. This audiovisual presentation was done with drive-by videography and was panned from the back of a moving pickup to give a "panoramic" viewpoint of a portion of our 2011 Halloween Musical Light Show. This video shows most of our 36 "monstrous," mainly home-made "scare crows" that primarily border our front yard (graveyard) and water feature. Some of the commercial "monsters" are animatronic and respond in various ways to external sound and motion stimuli. Our cemetery features 26 spotlighted headstones fronted with scattered faux bones, skeletons, skulls, "ground breakers" & "critters". As you will observe in most of our videos, the primary "stars" and crowd favorites of our Halloween Musical Light Show are the eleven "Roof-Top Singers" that vocalize/lip sync to the lyrics of "Halloweenish" songs. It was a lot of challenging fun—play, NOT work—involved in creating this season's spooky light show. In reality, what you observe is the beneficial result of many years of Halloween decorating and "obsessive-compulsive" collecting or fabrication of numerous props that help us celebrate the Harvest season and, especially, October 31. Please visit our YouTube Channel again by simply Googling: kimball ne meyers halloween

2011 Kimball demolition derby main

2011 Kimball Farmer's Day Demolition Derby

Farmer’s Day Events at the Library

 This Saturday is the Friends of the Library annual book sale.  The door will be opened after the parade and go until 3:00 p.m.   The Cultural Room will have at least 4 woodcrafters showing their wares.  Be sure to stop in and see the wonderful items and visit with them.  A few members of the ??? Photography club will also be exhibiting their framed photographs.  That will be fun to see also.  There are many talented photographers in the area.

New books and audios last week at the library

 New CD audiobooks added this week are:  “Smash Cut” by Sandra Brown;  “On the Grind” by Stephen J. Cannell;  “Silent Mercy” by Linda Fairstein;  “The Beach House” by Jan Green;  “The King’s Speech” by Mark Logue;  “The Fire” by Katherine Neville;  “Don’t Blink” by James Patterson and Howard Roughan;  “Gideon’s Sward” by Douglas Preston;  “The Informationist” by Taylor Stevens; and a few more audiobooks from the past. 

            New adult fiction:  “The Ideal Man” by Julie Garwood;  “Victory and Honor” by W. E. B. Griffin;  “A Gathering of Finches” by Jane Kirkpatrick;  “Robert Ludlum’s The Bourne Dominion” by Eric Van Lustbader;  “A Bond Never Broken” by Judith Miller;  “Merciless” by Diana Palmer;  “Acceptable Loss” by Anne Perry and “Flash and Bones” by Kathy Reichs.

Children’s Storytime at the library

 Leta will be presenting story time programs for children Ages 3-5.  The programs will be held at 10:30 on Wednesday mornings beginning Oct. 5 with a theme of “Bugs”.  October is also a time to honor Firemen, so on the 12th that will be the theme.  Oct. 19th will be Teddy Bears and October 26th will be Halloween.

Please indicate interest by signing the children up at the library.  This will help us prepare enough time and materials for the children who come.  Thanks.

Ghostbusters" by Ray Parker Jr. The "lead-singer" Jack-O-Lantern (JOL) on the left was constructed last week using 48 feet of ½ inch diameter pure white rope light -- in sections (channels) of different lengths for the facial features and mouth shapes. Since the LEDs in the rope light are spaced 1" apart, that means that this "Rooftop-Singer" JOL consists of over 550+ (48' x 12 = 576) mini-LED lights! The eyespots consist of two .5 Watt G20 LED bulbs in E12 Candelabra bases/sockets. The six sections of rope light were zip-tied to a 5' x 6', wood-framed sheet of one half inch mesh hardware cloth -- after the framed screen was sprayed with quick-drying Valspar flat-black paint. The vertically-stacked "chorus" JOLs on the right were recently made from two 2-foot diameter circles of Coroplast that are framed with "hoops" of 1/2" (plumber's) PEX plastic tubing. Each of these smaller JOLs has 8 channels of 270 orange, purple, warm white, and cool white mini-LEDs. Please visit our YouTube Channel again by simply Googling: kimball ne meyers halloween

"Bad Moon Rising" by Creedence Clearwater Revival (CCR). The Animotion Disk (AD) on the right was made a year ago out of a 40-inch square sheet of Coroplast and 1,650 orange and purple LEDs. The AD is a visual audiometer that depicts the basic rhythm and intensity of the music. The "singing" Jack-O-Lantern (JOL) on the left was recently made out of a 4-foot square of Coroplast and only 558 orange, purple, green, gold, warm white, and pure white LEDs. This JOL is our largest, non-rope-light, "Roof-Top Singer!!" We call him "JF" for John Fogerty -- who was the main songwriter, singer, and lead guitarist for CCR -- our favorite rock group from the late 1960s and early 1970s. "Creedence" was popular worldwide for their Southern country/"swamp"-rock musical style! It required two days of creative play to construct the JOL set piece and at least 7 hours to "lip-sync" or synchronize the four mouth positions/shapes with the vocal track of "Bad Moon Rising." Our speech mimicry is far from perfect, but we hope to greatly improve with time, experience, and redesign of our "lead singers" oral features. You can easily revisit our YouTube Channel again by Googling: kimball ne meyers halloween or just: kimball halloween

Audiobooks for children at the library

 The library has a good collection of juvenile audio books.  Audiobooks might provide a way to have a quiet time at home or in the car.  A few of the titles are “A Christmas Dream” by Louisa May Alcott;  “Adventure According to Humphrey” by Betty Birney;  “Blubber” by Judy Blume;  3 of “Allie Finkle’s Rules for Girls” by Meg Cabot; “Woods Runner” by Gary Paulson;  and “Down the Yukon” by Will Hobbs.  There are others by good children’s authors — Andrew Clements, Ann Martin, and Sharon Creech.

Newest library staff

 Next week, we will be starting fresh with our new library clerk, Leta Liesch.  She will be busy for a while getting acquainted with the library and the computers.  Stop in a say hi to her.  The library is looking forward to having Leta in the children’s section and planning reading programs for the community.

Farmers’ Day plans at the library

 The Friends of the Kimball Public Library are making their plans for Farmer’s Day on September 24.  There will be the annual big book sale beginning at approximately 11:00 right after the parade.  And on display in the Cultural Room will be wood carving crafters.  There is still room for more crafters, so if you are a wood crafter and want to join in displaying your work, please sign up at the library.

Monies received from Lillian Dringman

 

Library Board receives Dringman donation.

The Kimball Public Library Board gratefully accepted a check from the Lillian Dringman estate a couple of weeks ago.  Carolyn Berg, Kenneth Mars, and Jan Sears met with Darrell Huenergardt at the City Council meeting on August 17^th to receive the monies.  Thanks Darrell for all your hard work.

"Thriller" by Michael Jackson This video is a close-up of our computer screen showing some of the lights-to-music synchronization that we are planning for a Halloween Musical Light Show that should be finalized into reality by October 10th. This particular Light-O-Rama animation-simulation screen virtually depicts some of the LED props that we are planning, designing, and constructing. Our main action star-face ("MJ" -- Michael Jackson) will be made from ½ inch diameter cool/pure white LED rope light that will be zip-tied to a 4' x 6', wood-framed sheet of one-inch mesh hardware cloth. "MJ" will definitely be the largest and most impressive of the "Roof-Top Singers." Our Halloween Light Show will use 8 LOR controllers, 128 channels or circuits, and over 15,000 orange, purple, green, and white LEDs -- and at least a mile of extension cords! In addition to reprogramming the computer-synchronized/animated light show, we will be expanding and "horrifying" the "monstrous" graveyard foreground. You can easily revisit our YouTube Channel again by googling: kimball ne meyers halloween or kimbnebritelites

A Few of the New Adult Books at the library

 New adult fiction:  “No Rest For the Dead” by Jeff Abbott;  “The King’s Speech” by Mark Logue and Peter Conradi;  “Junkyard Dogs” by Craig Johnson;  “The Winds of Change” by Martha Grimes;  “Cut, Crop, and Die: a Kiki Lowenstein Scrap-n-craft Mystery” bya Joanna Campbell-Slan; and a western “Deadwood Gulch” by William W. Johnstone.

                New large print fiction:  “His Other Wife”  by Deborah Bedford;  “Sing You Home” by Jodi Picoult;  “Who Is My Shelter?” by Neta Jackson;  “Miles to Go” (sequel to “the Walk” by Richard Paul Evans; “The Goodbye Quilt” by Susan Wiggs; “Against the Wind” by Bodie & Brock Thoene;  “Tea for Two” by Trish Perry;  “Night Road” by Kristin Hannah and a few more.

New Youth Books at the library

 

NEW YOUTH FICTION
AUGUST 2011
The Absolutely True	Sherman Alexis	General
Diary of a Part-time Indian
Now Is the Time for Running	Michael Williams	Sports
Level Up	Gene Luen yang	Graphic Novel
Zero Gravity	Dave Roman	Graphic Novel
Feynman	Jim Ottaviani	Sci Fi
Akata Witch	Nnedi Okorafor-Mbachu	Supernatural
Relic Master Series	Catherine Fisher	Fantasy
The Dark City   #1
The Lost Heiress   #2
The Hidden Coronet  #3
Forgiven	Janet Fox	General
Always A Witch	Carolyn MacCullough	Time-travel
The Darlings Are Forever	Melissa Kanto	Friendships
A Templar’s Gifts	Kat Black	Adventure
Stupid Fast	Geoff Herbach	Sports
Theodore Boone: the abduction	John Grisham	Mystery
Fly Trap	Frances Hardinge	Fantasy
Chasing AllieCat	Rebecca Fjelland Davis	Relationships
Unfriended	Katie Finn	Friendships
Life On Mars	Short Stories	Sci Fi
Chime	Franny Billingsley	Supernatural

Third DVD Rotation at the library

 The Kimball Public Library has received the third rotation of 25 DVD movies available through the Panhandle Library System.  Some of the titles are Apollo 13;  Cranford;  Gran Trino;  Grilled;  Sixth Sense;  Taffin;  World’s Fastest Indian;  Ghost and Mrs. Muir;  I Love Lucy, Season One;  Unforgiven;  Alvin and the Chipmunks;  Cheaper by the Dozen;  The Spiderwich Chronicles and for the children – Baby Beethovan, Gurious George Goes Green, and Veggietales.  The rules are one movie from this collection per family for 3 days.

Mozart's Serenade # 10 "Gran Partita" This mobile, video Garden Tour depicts our streetside garden's appearance two weeks after the previous one (#5) was videographed and published. Perennial daylilies are almost done blooming, but the bloom of Russian Sage, Purple Cone Flowers, Gloriosa Daisies, Garden Phlox, Foxgloves and Mums will continue to intensify! In shadier garden areas, the main "stars" are "Dazzler" Impatiens, "Big" Begonias, and Hostas. The "flower power" in the sunny regions is mainly due to many different kinds of trailing petunias from the following series: Wave, Easy Wave, Tidal Wave, Avalanche, Opera Supreme, Limbo, Ramblin, and the outstanding Supertunias (Citrus; Royal Velvet, Raspberry Blast, Bordeaux, Vista Silverberry, Vista Fuchsia, and Vista Bubblegum -- the very best spreading petunia!! Zinnias that are really starting to put on a "show" for us include: Uproar Rose, Zowie Yellow Flame, Coral Magellan, and the new Zahara Series (Coral Rose, Starlight Rose, Double Cherry and Double Fire.) Visit our YouTube site again by googling: kimball ne meyers gardens Thanx 4 watching our videos!

View the library's online catalog now

 To view the available books and other materials in the Kimball Public Library use:  http://alexhost4.goalexandria.com/7056688   This will take you to the Panhandle Library System Screen. 

When you click on the Panhandle Library System line or the drop box, you will see a list of libraries that are currently using the new software and have their materials ready to see.  Click on Kimball Public Library to see what we have.  I will give out more information later, but you can search the holdings now.  As mentioned in previous Library News articles, there are 17 libraries initially involved in forming the Panhandle Library System Consortium.  All of them will be on board in the next 6 months. 

              To place holds or check the status of your account you will need the user name and password.  The user is your barcode # and the password for the first time is your last name.  You may leave the password as is, or change the password.  We do not keep track of your passwords, so please use something you will remember or write it down somewhere.   The search box is set to subjects, but you can search by title author and more.

At your convenience, come in and get your cards updated with the new barcodes on them.  Your new library barcode will accepted at any library in this consortium if you are in good standing with your home library.

New library decor on outside of building

 Have you noticed the new decoration on the west end of the library?  We think it brightened up the building while promoting the library as a creative environment.  The design was the winner in the contest held by the library board a few months ago and submitted by Jessica Parkos.  This is the first of her designs.  One more will be done and put on the north end of the west room.   Thanks also to the electrical department for getting it up on the wall.

More new books for July at the library

 New Adult Fiction:  “Maine: a novel” by J. Courtney Sullivan;  “Dreams of the Dead” by Perri O’Shaughnessy;  “Quinn” by Iris Johansen;  “The Secret Mistress” by Mary Balogh;  “The Girl in the Blue Beret” by Bobbie Ann Mason;  “Then Came You” by Jennifer Weiner;  “Now Your See Her” by James Patterson and Michael Ledwidge;  “Heart of Ice” by Lis Wiehl;  Kindred Spirits” by Sarah Stohmeyer;  “Farishta” by Patricia McArdle; and “Iron House” by John Hart.

New Adult Fiction:  Several books by Laura Childs – Scrapbooking mysteries and Tea Shop Mysteries and Cackleberry Club Mysteries;  “Escape” by Barbara Delinsky;  “Infernal Angels” by Loren D. Estleman;  “Against All Enemies” by Tom Clancy and Peter Telep;  and “Silent Girl” by Tess Gerritsen.

 New Large Print Fiction:  “Goodness Gracious Green” by Judy Christie;  “Vanish in Plain Sight” by Marta Perry;  “Targets Down” by Bob Hamer;  “Love Letters in the Sand” by Diann Hunt;  “The Amish Midwife” by Mindy Starns Clark;  “Those In Peril” by Wilbur Smith;  “Beyond All Measure” by Dorothy Love;  “Friendship Bread” by Darien Gee and many more.

Overdrive eBook service at the library

 Public libraries are striving to keep up with all the technology that has been flying off the shelves while trying to stay within budget restraints.  The Kimball Public Library has subscribed to the OverDrive program since November 2010.  We are pleased about how many of you are taking advantage of this program.  OverDrive is a major distributor of eBooks and audiobooks in the Americas.  They started out in 1986, and in 2002 began offering subscriptions for public libraries to access their collection and offer it to the patrons.  Through a local library, a patron can access a few thousand books in downloadable form to computers and many mobile devices.  They are continually working to update the compatibility with more devices and are planning to work with the Kindle devices later this year.  To browse the offerings and see what devices are currently being supported go to http://www.overdrive.com/ OR http://nebraska.lib.overdrive.com

 If you are interested in accessing the eBooks and audiobooks, ask the library to sign you up. 

There are close to 70 libraries in Nebraska partnering with OverDrive.  The eBook collection began one year ago and there have been 16,762 checkouts on 1,740 titles.

New audio books at the library

 Forty-eight new compact disc audio books were added to the collection.  A few of the titles are:

“Deja vu” by Fern Michaels; “Tick Tock” & “Toys” by James Patterson;  “Quicksilver” by Amanda Quick;  “Savor the Moment” &”Ever After” by Nora Roberts;  “44 Charles Street” by Danielle Steel;  “Luciano’s Luck” by Jack Higgins;  “Devious” by Lisa Jackson;  “White Satin” & “Eve” by Iris Johansen;  “The Broken Gun” by Louis L’Amour;  “Save Me” by Lisa Scottoline;  “Marrying Daisy Bellamy” by Susan Wiggs and many more.

There aren’t any new books ready to list this week, so will just remind you about all the other things the library provides.  The library has DVD’s, 30 or more different magazines, newspapers, games, computers, and a quiet cool place to come and relax.

Library software progress at the library

 The library staff and many volunteers are steadily working through the process of changing all the barcodes on the books to match the new software called Alexandria.  We are on the down hill side of all the fiction.  We plan to have the web address for home use available by the end of July.  Thanks everyone for your patience with this major change.  We will also be changing your patron barcodes over to the new software soon.

A big thank you to all the volunteers that have been helping the library staff with the re-barcoding project:  Shirley Kinnison, JoAnn Knapp, Sharon Randall, Dorothy Griffith, Lorri Norberg, Emma Simpson, Halley Simpson, Jordan McDowell, Kelli Spires, Carol Walker, Karen McGown, Rosa-Ellen Williams, Cheryl Heidemann and Virginia McConzille.  If I forgot anyone, I apologize.  We would not be very far along with the project without all of you.

New books for July at the library

 New fiction:  “The Delta Solution” by Patrick Robinson;  “Alice Bliss” by Laura Harrington;  “Born To Die” by Lisa Jackson;  “The Girl in the Green Raincoat” by Laura Lippman;  “Best Staged Plans” by Clair Cook;  “Pacific Glory” by P. T. Deutermann;  “The Lake of Dreams” by Kim Edwards;  “Final Justice at Adobe Wells” by Stephen Bly; “Watch Me Die” by Erica Spindler;  “Heat Wave” by Nancy Thayer;  “Smokin’ Seventeen” by Janet Evanovich;  Tigerlily’s Orchids” by Ruth Rendell;  “A Young Wife” by Pam Lewis;  “When Passions Rule” by Johanna Lindsey;  “Folly Beach” by Dorothea Benton Frank;  “One Summer” by David Baldacci;  “Breaking Silence” by Linda Castillo;  “The Kingdom” by Clive Cussler;  “From Barcelona, With Love” by Elizabeth Adler;  and “Summer Rental” by Mary Kay Andrews and “Trespasser” by Paul Doiron.

Mozart's "Magic Flute" Overture This Video Garden Tour of our street-side cottage gardens was "shot" using drive-by videography on a hazy, windy late morning. This video shows the majority of over three hundred different varieties/cultivars of trees, shrubs, flowers, ornamentals, vegetables and herbs that we have planted in our front yard, backyard, alley, street-side, and two rock gardens with water-features. Most of the 2, 000+ flowering annuals are in hundreds of different kinds and sizes of mobile planters/containers such as window boxes, hanging baskets, tubs and pots. We make our own soil-less potting mix using the following recipe: 1 moistened, crumbled-up 2.2 cubic foot bale of sphagnum peat moss; 2 gallons of perlite (or vermiculite); 2 gallons of very fine bark and 2 gallons of compost/humus. When thoroughly mixed together, this 75% peat moss mixture will yield over 27 gallons (or about 6 five-gallon bucketfuls) of pro-grade potting mix -- which we recycle from year to year. When we plant our home-grown seedlings in the various containers, we liberally sprinkle the top surface of the potting "soil" with Osmocote (14-14-14) slow-release plant food/fertilizer. Then on a weekly basis, we fertilize the containers with an aqueous solution (1 tablespoon per gallon) of a 15-30-15 water-soluble fertilizer. On every hot, windy day, we MUST water the hanging baskets and smaller containers. Those's are our primary secrets for a very floriferous paradise or "Garden of Eden." This may seem like a lot of "work" to you, but for us, it's playful fun, and therapeutic exercise. Plus! -- gardening keeps us out of gambling halls, saloons, and doctor's offices!! Thank you for watching our (46) videos. Visit our YouTube Channel again by simply googling: kimball ne meyers gardens

Mozart's Symphony #41 This video was panned from the back of our slowly moving pickup. This corner-lot, street side, cottage garden consists of about 20% annuals and 80% perennials and in this third week of July, is at its typical period of peak bloom or "flower power." The dominant perennials now include: Daylilies; Gloriosa Daisies; Roses; Delphinium; Russian Sage; Phlox; Asiatic Lilies; Echinacea; Veronica; Hosta; and Ornamental Grasses. Our annuals presently in bloom include: Petunias; Impatiens; Begonias; Foxglove; Geranium; Bidens; Zinnias; Alyssum; Lobelia; Lisianthus; Pansies; Marigolds; Fever Few; Cleome; Dwarf Purple Castor Beans; and Purple Fountain Grass. To easily get on our YouTube kimbnebritelites channel again you might Google: kimball ne meyers gardens Thanks for watching!

Cooper and Coby take the finish jump at the High Point Motor Speedway Motocross Track.

Summer Reading 2011 wrap-up

 This week will wrap up the 2011 summer reading program of “One World, Many Stories” for the children.  There were 34 children registered.   We want to thank everyone who registered and the presenters, Carol Walker for presenting the Australia program, Ada Welsh from the Theater Group, and Karen Beguin who presented the Egypt tour.  Thanks also to all the citizens who donated ice-cream buckets and oatmeal boxes.  The children made drums out of these items.  There were 13 Teens, and 12 Adults registered in their individual programs.  The wrap up events for the Adults will be on Monday, July 11, 4:00 to 5:30 p.m. and for the teens will be on Tuesday, July 12, 4:00 to 5:00 p.m.

Software change progress at the library

 The library staff and many volunteers are steadily working through the process of changing all the barcodes on the books to match the new software called Alexandria.  We completed all the adult fiction sections and began work on the Young Adult section.  As soon as summer reading is over, we will begin on the easy fiction sections and the youth fiction.  The non-fiction sections will be last and will be time consuming for the staff to enter into the computers.  We are gaining and plan to have the web address for home use available by the end of July.

New books in the last 2 weeks at the library

 New fiction:  “The Delta Solution” by Patrick Robinson;  “Alice Bliss” by Laura Harrington;  “Born To Die” by Lisa Jackson;  “The Girl in the Green Raincoat” by Laura Lippman;  “Best Staged Plans” by Clair Cook;  “Pacific Glory” by P. T. Deutermann;  “The Lake of Dreams” by Kim Edwards;  “Final Justice at Adobe Wells” by Stephen Bly; “Watch Me Die” by Erica Spindler;  “Heat Wave” by Nancy Thayer;  “Smokin’ Seventeen” by Janet Evanovich;  Tigerlily’s Orchids” by Ruth Rendell;  “Trespasser” by Paul Doiron;  “A Young Wife” by Pam Lewis;  “When Passions Rule” by Johanna Lindsey;  “Folly Beach” by Dorothea Benton Frank;  “One Summer” by David Baldacci;  “Breaking Silence” by Linda Castillo;  “The Kingdom” by Clive Cussler;  “From Barcelona, With Love” by Elizabeth Adler;  and “Summer Rental” by Mary Kay Andrews.  There are more coming soon.

DVDs Available at the library

 The Panhandle Library System is helping provide movies to the area libraries that would like to take advantage of this.  We are about to wrap up the second quarter of this program.  Some of the movies we have on hand are “Charlie “Wilson’s War”;  “Super Cross”; “Tender Mercies”; “He’s Just Not That Into You”;  “Baby Genius Favorite Nursery Rhymes”;  “Dora Explorer Super Babies”;  “The Wind in the Willows”;  “Artic Tale” and “The Happy Elf”.  To check them out you need a current library card, can check out 1 at a time and keep it for 3 days.

"Evening Bird Songs" In this "drive-by" video you will notice containers of annuals such as pansies, impatiens, begonias and geraniums. In-ground perennials include roses, ox-eye daisies, delphiniums, and peonies -- which are at their floriferous peak. We will "shoot" another gardening video after the july 4th Holiday. Visit us again by Googling: kimball ne meyers gardens

"National Emblem March" by the U.S. Marine Band Drive-by videography of the Meyer home and yard Computerized synchronization of lights to music 11,000+ LEDs 128 LOR Channels It's time for us to start planning and creating our Halloween Musical Light Show. Thanx for watching! Visit us again by Googling: Kimball ne meyer videos

"Theme from "A Summer Place" by the Ventures This second gardening video was "shot" about one month later than the first one. This video is not very floriferous since mid-June is typically the "low point" in our growing season's "flower power"—but in another month -- mid-July- our gardens will be at their peak of maximum bloom. What is viewable in this video are many containers with flowering annuals such as: pansies, petunias, impatiens, begonias, geraniums, and lobelia. At the very start of the video, you will notice that many of the larger pots, tubs, and barrels have peony hoops with ¼" mesh-hardware cloth on top for protection from hail damage. Kimball had two disastrous hail-thunderstorms on May 24 and July 4 of 2010 -- but our numerous hail screens saved 80% of the annuals. The hail protection will be removed after July 7th -- when we usually cease having unsettled weather with violent thunderstorms. Perennial flowers that have just started to bloom are iris, peonies, oriental poppies, delphiniums, and ox-eye daisies. On the front of the house you will also observe our many patriotic decorations that we usually put up by Flag Day. It's obvious that the Meyers love to decorate their home and yard with flowers, greenery, LED lights, and wind driven props such as windmills; wind ornaments; mini-hot air balloons; windsocks; flags and banners. We will upload another garden video about mid-July! We appreciate your viewership of our videos. Thanx! Visit our "kimballnebritelites" YouTube Channel again by googling: kimball ne meyers gardens

Stars and Stripes Forever We call our July 4th Musical Light Show "Red, White, & Blue Lights Gone Wild." The show starts with the Star-Spangled Banner and proceeds through six more patriotic songs by the U.S. Marine Band -- then the light show repeats again and again, every night from 8 to 10 p.m. and from Flag Day through the Fourth of July. We don't mind being called the "crazy light couple" or the Clark Griswolds of Kimball." "Why?" -- you ask! -- because we are rewarded for our OCD (obsessive-compulsive disorder) by the positive feedback we get from friends, relatives, neighbors, former science students, the community and the Kimball-Banner County Chamber of Commerce!! We will be uploading a few more July Fourth videos to our YouTube Channel within the next several days! Thanx for watching! You can visit us again by simply googling: kimball ne meyers fourth of july

Washington Post Military March This patriotic video includes the following, homemade LED set pieces: a Patriotic Fan; a Light Storm Disk; the United States Flag; several Trellis Pillars; a 107.7 FM sign; a Door Garland; Eave and Window-Frame Chaser Strands; Strobes and four different styles of faux Aerial Burst/Artillery Shells. The July 4th Musical Light Show utilizes Light-O-Rama computer-animation software and hardware plus over 11,000 energy-efficient LED lights (LEDs). You can visit our YouTube Channel again by googling: kimball ne meyers fourth of july! Thanks for watching! We will be uploading more July Fourth videos in a few days!

"Marine Hymn" This is our music-lights synchronization animation screen for our sequence of the short patriotic "Marine Hymn." Just like the other six tunes/songs in the Meyers 2011 July Fourth Musical Light show, it will use 8 Light-O-Rama (LOR) controllers, 128 channels/circuits, and over 10,000 LED lights (LEDs). Mainly hiding the background timing-grid "spreadsheet" is a crude, virtual diagram of our July 4th lights, decorations, set pieces, and props. This "artistic" representation includes an American Flag; eave & window frame chasing LEDs; an Aerial Disc; a Tri-star Aerial Burst; a garage-window Star Field; a "weeping willow" Aerial Burst; a Patriotic "Fan"; a Light Storm Disk; a 6-star Aerial Burst; and a doorway Swag. Although our rendition of the patriotic, LED set pieces is simplistic and not to scale, it gives US an accurate depiction of what our musical light show will really look/sound like when we set up on Flag Day -- June 14! Our "real" lighting setup will mimic exactly the animation simulation screen. It's an EASY method to design, plan, and preview the optimum light-music synchronization at minimal effort and cost. The software animation sequence contains "commands" to be sent to the LOR hardware (the 8 controllers) which will actually control the strings of LED lights -- turning on and off, fading down or up, shimmering, or twinkling. Using the LOR Sequence Editor with its many "tools," and especially its virtual light/"flight" simulator, the Meyers will be reprogramming their Patriotic, Halloween, and Christmas Musical Light Shows for 2011!! You can easily revisit our YouTube Channel by googling: kimball ne fourth of July

More new books in May at the library

 New fiction books this week are “Sixkill” by Robert Parker;  “Blood Trust” by Eric Van Luster;  “A Time for Patriots” by Dale Brown;  “The Devil’s Light” by Richard North Patterson;  “Rogue Warrior” by Richard Marcinko;  “Buried Prey” by John Sandford;  “The Butterfly’s Daughter” by Mary Alice Monroe;  and “Night Road” by Kristin Hannah.   New non-fiction:  “If You Ask Me” by Betty White;  “From This Moment On” by Shania Twain;  “Normal Gets You Nowhere” by Kelly Cutrone;  and “Your teacher Said What?” by Joe Kernan.

What’s happening at the library

 The last few weeks, I have mentioned that the library has been working toward converting to new software.  There are several reasons for this, but mostly it will provide you with user friendly access to what we have in the collection either at the library or at home.  The second important reason is so we can be “hooked up” to other libraries in the Panhandle and you can see what other libraries have.  The total Panhandle project will extend over several months as other libraries come on board. 

Meantime, at the Kimball Public Library, the staff and a few volunteers have been going through all the 25,000 records in the collection and getting them consistent per section of the library and adding more information where needed to make searching for items easier for you, the public, and for us, the staff.  This process has been time consuming and like I said last week, taking more time than we realized.  But, we are gaining.  This leads up to the week of being closed, May 30 to June 4, to physically go to the shelves for the final steps in co-coordinating the barcodes to match what in in the new software program.

Library closing for a week.

 This is a reminder that the library will be closed for one full week beginning with Memorial Day weekend, Saturday, May 28 through Saturday, June 4.  I know we will be busy again the next week and possibly have some new books for you again.  Summer Reading sign-up will continue from June 6 through June 13.  Looks like it will be a busy summer.  Stay safe.

Join the Summer Reading Program

 Hi adults and teens,

We have something for you also.  All you have to do is sign-up by June 13 and read books.  You then turn in a very brief book report and that will make you eligible for prizes at the end of the program in July.  The only rules are that you have to be signed up and read books checked out from the Kimball Public Library.   The wrap-up programs with be July 11 for Teens and July 12 for Adults.  The adults can share about the books they read and if they were good or not.

Summer Reading Program Kick-off

 The library is getting ready for the Summer Reading Program.  The first session will be on June 13 at 10 a.m. sharp.  The musical program will follow the summer reading 2011 theme “One World, Many Stories”.  David Marsh will provide music from around the world using many instruments and uplifting and humorous songs and stories to entertain all of us.  Children who are under 5 years old may also attend this program.   David is the first musician to work with the Nebraska Humanities Council and has done over 100 musical programs for youth.  We are excited to kick off the Summer Reading Program with his talents.

Kimball Health Services KHS Kids

Kimball Health Services Old Fashioned Values

"Spring Awakening" Our 3,000+ tulips are now at their peak of "flower power" and beauty. We will release another video in several weeks when the iris and peonies are in full bloom!

What is the Nebraska Library Commission?

 “The Nebraska Public Library Commission was established by an act of the Legislature on March 27, 1901, and the office of the Commission was opened in the State Capitol on November 11 of that year. The Commission was charged to “encourage the establishment of libraries where none existed and the improvement of those already established.” In 1933, due to economic hardships, the Legislature passed a bill abolishing the Library Commission and establishing in its place the Nebraska Public Library. It was relocated to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln where the University Librarian served as Public Library Commissioner. The Nebraska Public Library Commission was re-established by law in 1935 and moved to an office in the new Capitol Building. In 1952 the Commission was designated by the Library of Congress as the official distribution center for the Books for the Blind program. In 1972 the Nebraska Public Library Commission assumed its present identity as the Nebraska Library Commission

Nebraska has a long tradition of library service, beginning with military post libraries, continuing with literary society libraries founded during Territorial times, women’s club libraries, Carnegie libraries, college and school libraries, and the modern libraries of today.”   There just under 300 public libraries in Nebraska.

Summer reading plans

 Hi all,

The staff are gearing up for Summer Reading.  The frist program will be on June 13 — which is a Monday — with David Marsh who will give us a musical program “Music From Around the World”.  He is young and enthusiastic and the program will be a great kick-off for the summer.

The other 3 programs will be on Wednesdays — June 22, 29 & July 6.  More details will be posted as we get closer.

New books in May

 Finally, some new books to announce in the column. 

Adult Fiction:  “Minding Frankie” by Maeve Binchy; “Miles to Go” by Richard Paul Evans; “Cold Wind” by C. J. Box;  “The Wedding Promise” by Thomas Kinkade;  “Mobbed: a Regan Reilly Mystery” by Carol Higgins Clark;  “Red on Read” by Edward Conlon;  “Live Wire” by Harlan Coben;  “Save Me” by Lisa Scottoline;  “The Fifth Witness” by Michael Connelly;  “Chasing Fire” by Nora Roberts;  “Devious” by Lisa Jackson;  “44 Charles Street” by Danielle Steel;  “The Pope’s Assassin” by Luis M. Rocha;  “The Judgment” by Beverly Lewis; “Treason at Lisson Grove” by Anne Perry;  “Eve” by Iris Johansen;  “The Sixth Man” by David Baldiacci;  “Toys” by James Patterson and Neil McMahon;  “I’ll Walk Alone” by Mary Higgins Clark;  “Mystery: an Alex Delaware novel” by Jonathan Kellerman;  and “Friendship Bread” by Darien Gee. 

Adult non-fiction:  “River Monsters: True Stories of the Ones That Didn’t Get Away” by Jeremy Wade; “Liberty Defined” by Ron Paul; and “Bossypants” (a biography) by Tina Fey.

Libraries are good for….

 So, to spend a little time on my soap box, here are some thoughts.  There are so many reasons to keep libraries open and available, especially in harder times.  Citizens are trimming their budgets too.  The library provides information to all levels of interest and needs.  Libraries provide: computers which provide access to job openings, job applications and continuing education;  access to testing such as ACT, SAT, ASVAB & more; court systems; tax information; political information; health information and a host of other opportunities.  I hear comments weekly from library users about how important the library is to them and to our Kimball area community.  I thank the community and our city officials who support the library.  Okay, I’m off the soap box.

DVD rotation movies

 The library has obtained some DVD movies for patrons to borrow.  There 24 movies on a rotational basis every 3 months through the Panhandle Library System. 

The rules for checking out these DVD movies are a 3 day checkout, and 1 movie per family at a time from this collection.  There are movies for adults and children.

This set include “Charlie Wilson’s War; “No Country for Old Men”;  “Tender Mercies”; “Dora the Explorer Super Babies”; “The Wind in the Willow”;  “I Love Lucy, Season One”; “9 to 5”; “Four Little Girls”;  “Battlefield of the Mind” by Joyce Meyer; “Super Cross”; “Terminator”; “In His Father’s Shoes”; and 12 more.

Synopsis of the last year at the library

 I have been the new director for 1 year and 1 month.  Thanks to the support of the Friends of the Kimball Library and the library board, we have added new shelving in the children’s area and shelving for magazines and Clean Harbor regulation notebooks in the adult area;  received 4 new computers from the Gates Foundation with matching funds;  added OVERDRIVE for downloadable audio and eBooks;  added the new Microfilm reader/printer/scanner;  and the Early Literacy Station for children aged 2-10; and are moving toward new catalog/OPAC software;  cleaned and rearranged and many other things.   It has been a busy year and we hope everyone will enjoy and utilize the new additions.  Funds for the Early Literacy Station were also provided by The Firstier Bank and Points West Bank.  Children seem to be enjoying this new machine.  Stop in and get a personal tour.

Summer reading program & more

 It seems early yet, but the staff is making plans for Summer Reading Program.  It is scheduled from June 13, 2011 until July 6.  The library needs ice cream buckets and round oatmeal cardboard containers or round hot chocolate mix cardboard containers for craft projects.  If you have some to donate to the program, just drop them off at the library. 

We are excited that the meeting rooms in the library are getting more use.  The community is invited to use them.  If they are used for educational and civic purposes there is no charge.  If they are used for social purposes there is a small fee.  Recently the rooms have been used by the Tai Chi classes and by the newly formed photography group.  Both are something new and positive for the community.

Summer Reading Program supplies

 The staff is making plans for Summer Reading Program.  It is scheduled from June 13, 2011 (a Monday) until July 6 (a Wednesday).  The library needs ice cream buckets and round oatmeal cardboard containers or round hot chocolate mix cardboard containers for craft projects.  If you have some to donate to the program, just drop them off at the library.  And Thank you.

Forts of Nebraska presentation

 Sunday afternoon, The Friends of the Library hosted a very entertaining and informative presentation on “The Forts of Nebraska” by Jeff Barnes from Omaha.  Mr. Barnes was a very knowledgable speaker, had wonderful slides to show and gave us some very interesting history about our beautiful state of Nebraska and how it related to the history of the United States at that particular period of time.  He covered 11 Forts in Nebraska beginning with the first one in 1820, Ft. Atkinson.  Nebraska forts were outstanding and important, especially Fort Kearny (at Kearney, NE) and our beloved Ft. Robinson.  The library will have his book, “Forts of the Northern Plains”, available soon.  It covers forts of the plains during the Indian Wars.  Mr. Barnes has driven over 13,000 miles in researching and photographing these historical sites.

National Library Week/Business After Hours

 National Library Week is April 16-22, 2011 and the library will celebrate on Wednesday, April 20 with after business hours open house that day.

The library board is planning for the event and the public is welcome.  Please come in and say hi during that week (and other times too).

Early Literacy Station

 The Early Literacy Station has arrived and is working.  This computer contains educational games for children ages 2-10.  It has a colored keyboard coded for vowels, consonants and numbers.  Everybody who has seen the keyboard wants one.  It is available for use now, but parents must accompany their children, especially the younger ones.  We hope the community will take advantage of this wonderful service.  The funds to purchase this great tool for children came from the Friends of the Library, Points West Bank, Firstier Bank, and the Community Garage Sale.   Thank you to all of you.

“Forts of Nebraska”

 On Sunday, April 10, at 2:00 p.m., the Friends of the Library will host their annual meeting and program.  The Program will be on “The Forts of Nebraska” and presented by Jeff Barnes through the Nebraska Humanities Council.  He will present a power-point presentation on the 12 forts in Nebraska and their 2000 year history and some little known facts.  He was a journalist and has written two books.

A painted design project for the library’s west walls

 Another project of the library board is to decorate two panels on the west end of the building.  An art contest is open to anyone who wants to submit a design.  If you drive down the alley on the west side of the library and look up, you can see a painted section (where there used to be windows), that are in need of some upkeep.  The library board is open to receiving any type of design, especially those that have to do with Kimball. 

Again, the goal is to decorate two panels on the west end of the building.  The library board is open to submission of any type of design and as many as you would like to submit.  The size of the boards will be about 4′ X 12′.  Ideas for you to think about are historical, a panorama, current area projects, a library theme, a funky or graphic design, children reading and playing, etc.  There have been a few inquiries and we are looking forward to receiving the designs. 

The deadline has been set for June 1, 2011 and there will a Chamber Bucks Award.  Submit as many designs as you would like.

Sale of flowering bulbs

The library board is selling flowering bulbs.  The orders can be placed at the library or through any library board member.  Bulbs available for order are Purple Liatris, Gladioli, Peacock Orchids, President Red Cannas, Daylily, Blue Boy Tall Phlox, Mexican Shell Flower, Giant Elephant Ear, Oriental Lilies, Pink Bleeding Hearts and more.  This should be a good money maker for the library.  Orders need to be placed by April 15^th.  It is not too late to order yours.  Please come into the library to view the choices and place your order if you haven’t been contacted by a board or friend member.  Both groups truly appreciate your support.

American Wind Power Report of our community - Report from James Schnell, City Mayor

Happy New Year!