Williamsburg Community Library

The bookworm contest between the adults of Williamsburg community and the youth is a huge success. Youth and adults alike are reading record numbers to see who can read the most. What is the prize in this contest? Whether or not the librarian, Nadene Graber and the Assistant Director, Jenny Milliken will eat worms. They will be saved if the adults can out read the youth. At the midway point it is not looking favorable for the library staff as 355 books have been read by the youth and 155 by the adults. Tracking the results of this contest are paper bookworms attached to the library wall. For every five books read the worm will grow. If you would like to lend your support to either team please stop by the library today to sign up for the summer reading program.

To kick off our 2008 “Catch the Reading Bug” Summer Reading Program we are teaming up with Williamsburg Elementary School to have award winning illustrator/Author Brad Sneed come for a visit. Brad will be in Williamsburg on Thursday, May 15th. He will spend the morning talking with students and staff of Williamsburg Elementary School about creating picture books. He will be available at our library from 1pm to 3pm for a book signing event.

Brad has either illustrated and/or written over twenty children’s book titles. Ten of these titles can be purchased through the library to be available at the book signing. The titles are: Big Bad Wolves at School, The boy Who was Raised by Librarians, Deputy Harvey and the Ant Cow Caper, Thumbelina, Aesop’s Fables, When Wishes Were Horses, The Bravest of Us All, The Pumpkin Runner, Smoky Mountain Rose, and I Heard Said the Bird. More information about these titles and Brad Sneed can be found at his web site. Click on the link below. Orders for these titles must be placed and payed for by Wednesday, April 16th. Order forms can be picked up in the library.. Brad Sneed web site.

Looking for something fun to do this Spring Break? Why not spring into your local library. Books, videos and the net, along with your imagination, can take you to many wonderful places. The following activities will be available at the Williamsburg Community Library during the week of March 17th.

* please pre-register for these events so that we know how to plan. Stop in or call the Library for more information.

We are pleased to announce that the Williamsburg Community Library now has wireless internet access. If you have a laptop that has wireless capabilities you will now be able to access the internet at the library with your computer. We are very pleased that we can offer this service to our patrons.

The 2008 Teddy Bear Fair, sponsored by the Williamsburg Community Library and the Williamsburg Historical Society proved to be a day filled with Teddy Bear Fun. Over 100 guests enjoyed an array of activities that celebrated the cuddly Bears.

The Teddy Bear Fair held many of the loved activities of previous years fairs. Such activities included a teddy bear adoption agency, walk, tea, craft and coloring contest. New to the event was a teddy bear stuffing. Unstuffed bears were sold in advance. Those purchasing the bears were able to bring them to life at the event by stuffing them, giving them a heart, and filling out a birth certificate. Carol Messick, a Williamsburg resident, added to the fun by making and donating outfits.

Those in attendance were encouraged to bring a Teddy Bear in good condition to donate to the Ottawa Police Department. McGruff the Crime Dog was on hand to accept the bears and to offer Safety Tips. Representatives from Ransom Memorial Hospital were also on hand to issue healthy bear certificates.

We are pleased to announce that we have expanded our library hours. Following are the hours the new library will be open:

The library now has public computers available for our patrons with a high speed internet connection. These computers include Microsoft Word, Excel, and Publisher. Patrons can print for .10 per page. To access the computers patrons need to sign our computer use policy. Click here for more information.

Mark your calendars for Sunday, February 24th. The Teddy Bear fair will be at the Williamsburg Community Building from 2pm-4pm. Library Staff and members of the Williamsburg Historical society are designing an afternoon full of “beary” delights. Click here for more details!

We have now begun the process of entering the Williamsburg Community Library collection into an automated system. Although this will take time, we are excited to announce that you can search our library catalog through our website. Simply click on the “Library Catalog” button on the right column. This will allow you to search what has been put into the system so far. It also allows you to search numerous other libraries for items you are looking for. In the near future you will be able to request items from other libraries. Once completed you will be able to keep track of what you have checked out, place items on hold, and other helpful features.

The raffle for the beautiful handmade quilt and other donated items was held and the following were the lucky winners!

Quilt - Jenny Oberheide
Lazy Susan - Delores Demorett
Christmas Centerpiece - Edy Shoemaker
Gift Basket - Sharon Bischoff

Thank you to all those who donated items to raffle and to all those who participated in the Library. A total of $142 was raised for the Library.