Apr 28, 2009

Support Melvin Library at May 2 Fundraiser

Melvin Public Library is having a fundraising cookout at the Paxton IGA on Saturday, May 2 from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Please come out and support the library and enjoy a delicious meal!

We will also hold a bake sale that day and are seeking donations of baked goods. Pies, cakes, cookies, muffins, breads and other treats would be most welcome! You may deliver goodies to the library Friday afternoon from 12:00 to 5:00 p.m. or to Cheryl Kurtenbach at 321 N. Crossley after 5:00 on Friday evening or Saturday morning before 9:00 a.m. We thank you for your support!

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Melvin Public Library News
4/23/09

The library has received a donation in honor of Esther Ficken from Cindy Hewitt and the Melvin Convenient Store. Thanks go to Shannon Pabian, Lorie Ford and Virgil Rueck for donating books to the library.

New books at the library include the just released Mary Higgins Clark novel Just Take My Heart, also The Lost Quilter by Jennifer Chiaverini, Take One, the first book in a new series by Karen Kingsbury, and two Amish novels by Shelley Shepard Gray; Hidden and Wanted.

Other new books are Unwrapping Christmas by Lori Copeland, Ladder of Years by Anne Tyler, and Angry Housewives Eating Bon Bons by Lorna Landvik. There is also a new culinary mystery (it includes recipes!) by Diane Mott Davidson titled Fatally Flaky.

We gave away 114 free books during National Library Week and we still have free magnets to give away so stop and visit the library soon!

Apr 17, 2009


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Melvin Public Library News
4/16/09

National Library Week, April 12-18, 2009, continues through Saturday at the library. We are holding the popular free book giveaway and have gifts to hand out to thank you for your patronage over the years.

In honor of the library’s 75th anniversary, library trustee Judy Schall has designed and donated an array of library magnets for the public to choose from. We are also giving away free books and other items from our book sale area each day so stop and visit the library this week and join our celebration!

Thanks go to Esther Ficken who has donated two books to the library in memory of Joy Thompson. Feisty First Ladies & Other Unforgettable White House Women by Autumn Stephens and 100 Easy-To-Grow Native Plants for American Gardens in Temperate Zones are now available for circulation.

Esther Ficken Week at Melvin Public Library

Esther Ficken Week, April 5-11, 2009, continues through Saturday at the library. Esther was a member of the Melvin Junior Woman’s Club that originally founded the library, one of the first Library Board of Trustee members and has been a lifelong supporter of the library.

In Esther’s honor, the Vicki Myron book Dewey: The Small Town Library Cat Who Touched the World has been added to the collection. Dewey (full name Dewey Readmore Books) is the delightful story of how an abandoned kitten brought a rural Iowa community together.

National Library Week, April 12-18, begins next week and we have gifts for the public to say thanks for your patronage these first 75 years. We also have book displays and a free book giveaway so stop by and visit the library soon!

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Melvin Public Library News
4/02/09

To honor one of the library’s founders in this, the library’s 75th Anniversary year, April 5-11, 2009 has been declared Esther Ficken Week at Melvin Public Library!

A group of dedicated young women known as The Melvin Junior Woman’s Club founded the library in 1934 as a way to do something good for their community during the tough economic times of the Great Depression. One of the enthusiastic members of that club was Esther Ficken.

Esther was also one of the original members of the Melvin Public Library Board of Trustees when the village library later became a township library and she served for many years as a library trustee.
Esther is still an active patron of the library, a great promoter of books and reading, and also a member of the library’s book club The Pageturners.

For more information on the founding of the library read the history of the Melvin Public Library which is included in this issue of the newspaper.