Current Events

• Useful Information
• Library Receives Accreditation
• New Titles

Useful Information

The following information from the CDC website offers advice on staying healthy and avoiding the H1N1 flu.

Take everyday actions to stay healthy:

• Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue whenyou cough or sneeze. Throw the tissue in the trash after you use it.

• Wash your hands oftern with soap and water, especially after you cough or sneeze.

• Avoid touching your eyes, nose, or mouth. Germs spread that way.

• Stay home if you get sick. The CDC recommends thay you stay home from work or school and limit contact with others to keep from infecting them.

• Follow public health advice regarding school closures, avoiding crowds and other social distancing measures.

• Find healthy ways to deal with stress and anxiety.

Library Receives Accreditation

Earlier this year, the library received notification that it received accreditation through the Northeast Kansas Library Association. In order to be accredited the library must pass a list of standards. These standards include specific goals in the area of technology, staffing, governance, and finance. The accreditation period runs from January 1, 2009 until December 31, 2011.

For a list of the standards, please click on the following link (PDF) from the NEKLS website.

New Book Titles

The following are several of the many new books available in January 2010 for check out:

• YA ARM The Summoning (Darkest Powers Series) by Kelley Armstrong. We also have The Awakening, which is book the sequel to The Summoning. Review from School Library Journal: Chloe, 15, has the ability to see dead people, but before she can figure out what is happening, she has a breakdown, is diagnosed with schizophrenia, and placed in a group home. This suspenseful novel sets up a secret underworld where some people support and help supernaturals, while others persecute them. Armstrong combines bits of horror, teen relationships, and a dash of mystery to create a page-turner. Readers will look forward to the next installment.—Corinda J. Humphrey, Los Angeles Public Library

• F BAX Flood by Stephen Baxter. Review from Publishers Weekly: In an engrossing, daring and occasionally overambitious novel, Baxter (Weaver) narrates the final 42 years of dry land on earth. Four political hostages are freed in Barcelona in 2016, and their stories through the years show the attempts to save the planet even as rapidly rising ocean levels wipe out major cities. USAF Capt. Lily Brooke works with billionaire Nathan Lammockson to build a haven, while oceanographer Thandie Jones attempts to determine the causes of the flooding. Baxter skips ahead years at a time, often eliding major conflict resolutions, character development and deaths; this choice disrupts the storytelling but smartly underscores the isolation in which the characters often operate. Readers who push through will be rewarded with a fascinating apocalyptic vision—but little resolution—a nice setup for a sequel. Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

• F MUN Too Much Happiness: Stories by Alice Munro. Review from Publishers Weekly: Starred Review. Munro's latest collection is satisfyingly true to form and demonstrates why she continues to garner laurels (such as this year's Man Booker International Prize). Through carefully crafted situations, Munro breathes arresting life into her characters, their relationships and their traumas. In Wenlock Edge, a college student in London, Ontario, acquires a curious roommate in Nina, who tricks the narrator into a revealing dinner date with Nina's paramour, the significantly older Mr. Purvis. Child's Play, a dark story about children's capacity for cruelty and the longevity of their secrets, introduces two summer camp friends, Marlene and Charlene, who form a pact against the slightly disturbing Verna, whose family used to share Marlene's duplex. The title, and final, story, the collection's longest and most ambitious, takes the reader to 19th-century Europe to meet Sophia Kovalevski, a talented mathematician and novelist who grapples with the politics of the age and the consequences of success. While this story lacks some of the effortlessness found in Munro's finest work, the collection delivers what she's renowned for: poignancy, flesh and blood characters and a style nothing short of elegant. Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

• F BAR 13 1/2 by Nevada Barr. Also available on Playaway! Review from Bookmarks Magazine: In a departure from her Anna Pigeon adventure novels, Barr has penned a thriller that delves deep into her characters' dark psychologies and traumas. As in her popular series, this dual narrative features a gripping plot, polished writing, and an element of suspense. At its center, however, 13 1/2 focuses on the power of love; the reconciliation of shaky relationships—and truths—between husbands and wives, brothers, and friends; and the shaking out of past demons. Critics were also pleased to read about fascinating, real-life murders. In sum, 13 1/2 "shows a new side of Barr's storytelling talents" (South Florida Sun-Sentinel).