Here’s your chance to get started on your garden for a fraction of the retail cost. These quality selections have been donated, [...]]]> Plant Sale Fundraiser

On Saturday, May 18 and 25, library staff and volunteers will sell premium vegetables and landscape plants in front of the Library from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Here’s your chance to get started on your garden for a fraction of the retail cost. These quality selections have been donated, and proceeds will support new book purchases for our Library.

Children’s Storytime

Children ages 0-6 are invited to participate every Wednesday at 11:30 a.m. in the children’s section of the Library.

- May 22 Storytime with Children’s Librarian Kay featuring Monkeys.
- May 29 Storytime with Youth Librarian Jackie featuring Dinosaurs.

Holiday Closure

The Library will be closed on Monday, May 27 for Memorial Day.

Craft Night

Bring your knitting, crocheting, or other personal craft projects to the Library on Thursday, May 30 from 6-8 p.m. for an evening of camaraderie and dedicated handiwork time.

Library Board Vacancy

Would you be interested in becoming involved with the North Plains Public Library?

The Library Board meets on the third Wednesday of each month at 7:30 p.m. at the Library. The Library Board’s responsibilities are to set policies and goals and objectives for the operation of the Library.

There is a vacancy on the Library Board for the four-year term from July 1, 2013 through June 30, 2017. Candidates will be interviewed by current Library Board members, and one will be recommended to City Council. Councilors may also choose to conduct interviews. It is anticipated that the Library Board member appointment will be made at the Monday, July 1, 2013 City Council meeting. Applicants for this vacancy may reside outside the city limits of North Plains.

Please submit your application to City Hall, 31360 NW Commercial Street, North Plains. Applications are available online at www.northplains.org or by clicking here.

Tom Jacquemin Photography on Display

Landscape and portrait photographer Tom Jacquemin of Hillsboro will be exhibiting his work at the North Plains Public Library from April 11 through May 31.

Preview his work at http://www.tomjphotos.com/portfolio.html. All of Jacquemin’s photographs will be available for purchase and can be made in additional sizes. He also sells his photographs at the Cedar Mill Farmers’ Market most Saturdays.

Jacquemin’s interest in photography began in junior high school and evolved into his becoming a photographer for his school yearbook and later a photographer for the Washington Daily News in Washington, DC. Throughout his 34-year career in teaching and counseling, Jacquemin maintained his side-interest and skill in capturing images of nature and of people. After retirement, his photography hobby quickly changed to professional work.

Jacquemin and his wife, Bonnie, have lived in Hillsboro since 1999, and his photographs have been exhibited throughout the Pacific Northwest and in California. Last summer, he was selected as Artist of the Month at the Glenn and Viola Walter’s Cultural Art Center. Other venues have included the Influence Gallery, Hart Gallery, various hospitals and clinics, and the UCLA Medical Center.

May Quilt Display

The springtime quilt on exhibit over the checkout counter has been loaned to the Library by Jean Noltensmeier, a member of the Westside Quilters Guild, and will be on display throughout the month.

TumbleBook Library for Children

For those of you looking to enhance your children’s or grandchildren’s reading abilities and reading options, consider the TumbleBook Library, an online collection of animated, talking picture books which teaches kids from pre-Kindergarten to 5th grade the joy of reading in a format they’ll love.

TumbleBooks are created by adding animation, sound, music and narration to existing picture books in order to produce an electronic picture book which children can read, or have read to them. The TumbleBook Library collection is accessed from home through a direct link on the WCCLS library website and by inputting your library barcode number.

There are several interactive options from which to choose. Storybooks feature the best in children’s fiction. There are read-along early reader selections, chapter books, graphic novels, and classics which include narration, sentence highlighting, and automatic page turning. Non-fiction books include subjects in science, math, history, animals, geography, biography, insects, and seasons. The language learning option features stories in French, Spanish, Chinese, and Russian. Video choices are about animals and nature, space and technology, geography, history, biology, and science. The puzzles and games section includes crosswords, wordsearches, sentence matchings, and spelling.

Parents have told us that in addition to its being a learning aid, the TumbleBook Library is a wonderful diversion for a child home from school with a cold and is a viable substitute for the television as entertainment. Try it out with your kids, and tell us what you think of this resource!

Quilt Raffle

Our 2013 raffle quilt has been donated by the Westside Quilters Guild and is on display inside the Library.

Tickets to win this gorgeous work of art are being sold at the checkout desk for $1 each or 6 for $5.

The drawing will be held on Sunday, August 11 at the Jessie Mays Community Hall during Summer Fest & Garlic Out West.

Classes and One-on-One Instruction

Let us know if you need instruction in downloading ebooks to your iPad/Nook/Kindle, if you need help with basic computer functions, or if you would like job search tips and information about career databases.

North Plains Library staff will be compiling a list of people interested in these topics, and expert volunteers will be providing personal assistance this winter.

Community Puzzle!

Join in the fun! An ongoing jigsaw puzzle will be on the table in the computer room this winter. Everyone is welcome to come in, sit down, and enjoy finding pieces to the puzzle while meeting new friends.

Many Thanks to North Plains RV and Self Storage

The Friends of the Library have been given a free storage unit to house books between sales events. Friends members, city staff, and library staff are very grateful for this donation. We applaud the corporate support shown by owner Jeff Jensen and manager of operations, John Eisenbarth.