By Karen Kelly | Special to the Times Vedette

With school back in session, remember that Mary J. Barnett Memorial Library has a multitude of resources to make this your best school year ever. One of the most powerful resources we offer is called Brainfuse. This online learning platform says its mission is to connect learners of all ages with experts who love to teach.

Brainfuse has several components.  HelpNow provides 24/7 on-demand tutoring across all K-12 subjects. Not only does HelpNow provide unscheduled, instant tutoring and homework help, it features an innovative writing lab, high-stakes assessment, and test preparation, ELL/ESL support, and foreign language assistance. The Brainfuse tutors are all four-year college graduates who have teaching or tutoring experience.

To access these resources, go to the library website https://www.guthriecenter.lib.ia.us. Click on the HelpNow link under Brainfuse. Once there, you can access live tutoring, the writing lab, the skill surfer, the language lab or send questions. The live tutors interact in real time to assist students in figuring out answers without actually giving them the answers.

The writing lab, one of the most used in the U.S., will help students in all stages of writing from brainstorming to revising. Students can even submit finished papers and get feedback from writing tutors within 24 hours. Skill Surfer provides a large library of videos, lessons and tests to help students develop skills in various subjects. Language lab can tutor students in French and Spanish. The send question option allows learners to send a question to a tutor and get an answer back within 24 hours.

Other features that can be accessed are Summer Camp which helps students sharpen skills during breaks from school; LEAP Learning Platform, which is a diagnostic center providing study plans and live tutors; Flash Bulb, which allows students to create study aids like flashcards, games and tests; and eParachute, which allows learners to discover college majors and careers that match their skills and interests.

Brainfuse is a powerful learning tool that is available to all patrons through our website. In addition to student resources, this platform also has several features for adults as well. Adults who are looking for a job can use Brainfuse’s JobNow link. Using Job Resources, begin your job search. JobNow also offers a self-assessment to help find your dream job. The Resume Template and OptimalResume can be used to create a polished resume. After completing a resume, use the Resume Lab or Live Resume Coaching to receive personalized resume assistance from experts.  When you land an interview, you can prepare by working with a Live Interview Coach on JobNow.

VetNow is a support tool for Veterans. This allows veterans and their families to connect with expert veterans to learn more about VA benefits and community resources that you and your family are eligible for.

Besides HelpNow, JobNow, and VetNow, LearnNow is an educational link aimed at adult learners. Live tutors and a writing lab are available to help with career-enhancing academic skills. Brainfuse offers practice tests and test prep for many standardized tests such as SAT, ACT, US Citizenship, and ASVAB to name a few.

Not just for kids, Brainfuse resources can help learners of all ages. The cost is free to library patrons, so take advantage of this online resource for tutoring, writing, job hunting and VA benefit assistance.

Library Telescope Observing Week

On Tuesday, Sept. 10, the MJB Library will be hosting a night viewing from 7:30-9 p.m. If the weather cooperates, we should be able to see the craters on the moon, the Galilean Moons of Jupiter, Saturn’s rings and much more. In the event of cloudy weather, Saturday, Sept. 14 will be the alternate date.

Iowa Author Talk

On Wednesday, Sept. 11 at 2 p.m., Iowa author Linda McCann will be discussing her book entitled “Rosie the Riveters of Iowa” which shares the stories of more than 20 Iowa women who were Rosie the Riveters during World War II. Autographed copies of her book will also be available for purchase following the program.

Between the Covers

Between the Covers Book Club will meet on Tuesday, Sept. 10 at 3 p.m. to discuss Ann Patchett’s best-selling novel “Tom Lake.” This book explores youthful love, married love and the lives parents led before their children were born. Stop by MJB and check out a copy so you’re ready for book club.

Cookbook Club

Cookbook Club will be taking a hiatus in September.  Check in October for an exciting cookbook to sample.

Friends of the Library

Guthrie Center Friends of the Library will not be meeting in September, so their next meeting will be on Monday, Oct. 7 at 6:15 p.m. Everyone who would like to support the library is welcome to join.

Donald Todd, Jr. Presentation

Donald Todd, Jr. will share an encore presentation of his program entitled “A Tale of Two Soldiers” on Saturday, Oct. 12, at 11 a.m. Todd will tell the story of his father’s experience as a doctor and a soldier and how he and Dr. Herbert Neff started a medical practice that was an institution in Guthrie Center for many decades.

Library Closure

The MJB Library will not have Storytime on Friday, Aug. 30. The library will, however, be open Friday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. The library will be closed on Saturday, Aug. 31 for the fair and on Monday, Sept. 2, in observance of Labor Day. Regular hours will resume on Tuesday, Sept. 3.

Festival of Trees

Christmas will be here before you know it, and the MJB Library will host the Festival of Trees again. This year’s theme will be “Christmas Stories.” We encourage groups and individuals to sign up to decorate a tree for our festival using favorite Christmas books, family stories or the Christmas Bible story as the theme for their tree. Sign up on the library website or email or call the library by Nov. 20.

Please take note of the following information:

This year, we request that the trees be brought in and decorated starting Friday, Nov. 22 to Nov. 27, during library open hours. If you cannot come during this time, please call to schedule an appointment with the library staff. We kindly request that trees be picked up within the first week of January. You can complete the registration process on our website.

By Karen Kelly | Special to the Times Vedette

As we prepare to start the new school year, we at MJB Library are reflecting on the summer library events. We are happy to report that the Summer Reading Program was a great success. Sixty preschool through middle school children signed up for the Summer Reading Program. The three to four programs we hosted each week were well attended. Readers submitted completed bingo sheets that had reading activities, scavenger hunts, and bookmarks where they logged their weekly reading minutes. Of the 21 bookmarks turned in, our readers read a total of 28,470 minutes during June. Great job to all those SRP participants who worked so hard to keep their reading skills sharp this summer.

Upcoming programs

In honor of International Library Telescope Observing Week (yes, that’s a thing!), the MJB Library will host a night viewing on Tuesday, Sept. 10 from 7:30-9 p.m. For the first two hours after sunset, using the library’s new telescope, participants should be able to see the craters on the moon, the Galilean Moons of Jupiter, the rings of Saturn, and much more. Join us for our first event using our telescope. In the event of cloudy weather, we will reschedule for Saturday, Sept. 14.

On Wednesday, Sept. 11, Iowa author Linda McCann will be presenting a program from 10-11 a.m. McCann will be discussing her book entitled “Rosie the Riveters of Iowa,” which shares the stories of more than 20 Iowa women who were Rosie the Riveters during World War II. Autographed copies of her book will also be available for purchase following the program.

In case you missed it, Donald Todd, Jr. will share his program entitled “A Tale of Two Soldiers” on Saturday, Oct. 12, at 11 a.m. Todd will tell the story of his father’s experience as a doctor and a soldier and how he and Dr. Herbert Neff started a medical practice that was an institution in Guthrie Center for many decades.

Between the Covers

Between the Covers Book Club will meet on Tuesday, Sept. 10 at 3 p.m. to discuss Ann Patchett’s best-selling novel “Tom Lake.” The novel tells the story of Lara and her three adult daughters who beg their mother to tell them the story of her past when she was in a theater company with a famous actor. As Lara shares her experiences sharing a stage and a romance with actor Peter Duke, her daughters examine their own lives and relationship with their mother. This book explores youthful love, married love and the lives parents have led before their children were born. Stop by MJB and check out a copy so you’re ready for book club.

Cookbook Club

Cookbook Club will be taking a hiatus in September. Check in October for an exciting cookbook to sample.

Friends of the Library

Guthrie Center Friends of the Library will not be meeting in September, so their next meeting will be on Monday, Oct. 7 at 6:15 p.m. Everyone who would like to support the library is welcome to join.

Library Closure

The MJB Library will not have Story time on Friday, Aug. 30. The library will, however, be open Friday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. The library will be closed on Saturday, Aug. 31 for the fair and on Monday, Sept. 2, in observance of Labor Day. Regular hours will resume on Tuesday, Sept. 3.

Festival of Trees

It’s not too soon to be thinking of Christmas Festival of Trees displays; Christmas is only 130 days away. Again this year, the MJB Library will be hosting the Festival of Trees. This year’s theme will be Christmas stories. We encourage groups and individuals to sign up to decorate a tree for our festival using favorite Christmas books, family stories, or the Christmas Bible story as the theme for their tree.

The Mary J. Barnett Memorial Library is located at 400 Grand St. in Guthrie Center. Contact us at 641-747-8110 or mjblib@guthriecenter.lib.ia.us. Visit us online at www.guthriecenter.lib.ia.us.

By Karen Kelly | Special to the Times Vedette

If you are interested in World War II and Iowa history, women’s studies, or Iowa authors, you won’t want to miss the library’s presentation on Wednesday, Sept. 11, from 10-11 a.m. Iowa author Linda McCann will be discussing her new book entitled “Rosie the Riveters of Iowa.”

During WWII, many factories were converted to aid in the war effort; because so many men were fighting in the war, women started working in factories. Those female factory workers were nicknamed Rosie the Riveter. More than 100 factories in Iowa hired women who not only worked as riveters but also welders, drill-press and lathe operators, inspectors, and other jobs dealing with small parts. Airplanes, tanks, ammunition and all kinds of parts were produced in Iowa. Many Rosies worked in Iowa; others went further from home. “Rosie the Riveters of Iowa” includes more than 20 personal remembrances from these Iowa Rosies.

McCann has written a number of other books about Iowa connections to historical events. MJB Library also has McCann’s book “Prisoners of War in Iowa.” This book chronicles the stories of WWII German, Italian and Japanese soldiers who were captured and sent to America as Prisoners of War. Approximately 25,000 of these POWs were housed in Iowa camps. While the largest camps in Iowa were Algona and Clarinda, there were smaller branch camps in Audubon, Charles City, Clinton, Eldora, Muscatine, Onawa, Shenandoah, Storm Lake, Tabor, Toledo, Wapello and West Liberty.

These WWII prisoners of war did all types of work including detasseling corn, making hay, working in canning factories, harvesting hemp and working in hemp mills, and building city buildings. McCann interviewed people who interacted with the POWs or had them working on their farms. Surprisingly, Iowans became glad to have these POWs in Iowa. Her book, “Prisoners of War in Iowa,” is one of the few sources of documentation about this bit of history.

Stop in to check out these books, and put Sept. 11 on your calendar to see Linda McCann’s author talk at 10 a.m. at the MJB Library.

Story Hour

Preschool Story Hour is at 10 a.m. Friday mornings. Aug. 16, the theme will be cats. On Aug. 23, the focus is going to be dogs. Because of the county fair, there will be no story hour on Aug. 30.

Card Making Club

The Card Making Club will meet from 9-11 a.m. on Thursday, Aug. 15. Judi Zimmerline will facilitate this session to create one-of-a-kind, handmade greeting cards. The fee for this event is $5, which includes all the materials needed.

Cookbook Club

This month’s featured cookbook is “The Farm Made Cookbook: Traditional Recipes from America’s Farms.” If you’d like to come to the next cookbook club meeting, stop by the library to choose a recipe. Then make the dish and take it and the serving utensils to the MJB Library on Thursday, Aug. 15 at 6:30 p.m.

Library closure

Patrons are reminded that the MJB Library will be closed on Saturday, Aug. 30 for County Fair and Monday, Sept, 2 for Labor Day.

Sewn by Sheri Wetzel, Laura Sheeder and Cindy Steensen and quilted by Gap Creek Mercantile, this amazing quilt is going to be auctioned off during the Guthrie County Fair with proceeds going to the new art hall. It will be on display at the library through the end of August.

Stop in the MJB Library to view this extraordinary collection of Navajo artifacts on loan from Shannon Carter during the month of August.

How did he do that? The audience at the MJB Library Magic show seems to be trying to figure out the trick they just witnessed.

These young patrons who came to watch the magic show eagerly volunteered to assist the magician.

The MJB Library hosted a magic show on Wednesday, Aug. 7. Here, the magician demonstrates a magic rope trick.

A couple of young volunteers help our magician with a magic trick during the library’s magic show.

By Karen Kelly | Special to the Times Vedette

Back to school displays are popping up in stores, and advertisements for school supplies are seemingly everywhere — the universal sign for the end of summer. So, before the summer runs out and kids have to actually use those new backpacks and notebooks, squeeze a little more summer into your lives with the help of the MJB Library.  

Schedule a family fun day using the library Adventure Pass. Paid for by The Guthrie Center Friends of the Library, the Adventure Pass is available to patrons with a Guthrie Center address to use once each 365 days for each venue. With the pass, patrons can get two adult and two children’s admissions for free. The Blank Park Zoo, The Children’s Museum and The Des Moines Science Center are the three venues that are available. Schedule from the Mary J. Barnett Library website.  

Join us on Wednesday, Aug. 7 for the Magic Show that will be at 3:30 p.m. at the library. The show is designed for children of all ages. Come and be amazed and entertained.

Bring the kids in to get their own library card and check out some fun books to read together. No matter how old they are, kids love to be read to (We all love that! Why do you think audiobooks are so popular?) Parents and grandparents, do you realize that reading aloud is the most important thing you can do to support literacy?  

Reading aloud has so many benefits. Increasing vocabulary is one of the greatest advantages of reading aloud to children. Reading aloud allows kids to hear new words, and children are more likely to incorporate them into their speech after hearing the words used.  

Reading aloud helps children understand grammar better by exposing them to complex sentence structures and proper grammar. Hearing standard grammar helps kids discern how to speak and write properly. 

General knowledge is increased by reading aloud. Sharing a story together also helps children understand a sense of story; they learn how a literature is structured. The greatest benefit of reading aloud is that it makes reading more pleasurable. That time spent reading together is fun and special. Reading isn’t a chore. Some of my best memories are reading aloud time — first, with my mom, listening to favorite teachers in school, sharing amazing books after recess, and, later, snuggling and reading with my own kids.  

For kids who love audio books, we have a large selection of Playaways. The Playaways are self-contained audiobooks that require no Wi-Fi. The battery operated audiobooks just require you to plug in headphones or plug them in with an auxiliary cord while riding in the car.  

We also have Vox and Wonderbooks — read-along books that also have an audiobook attached to the hardcover book. These books are great for little people who can’t read yet for those times when your little one wants to hear a story but you’re not able to read to them.  Read-alongs are also great from emerging and struggling readers. Listening to the book while following the text aids in comprehension and helps with fluency. The great thing is we have many levels of read along books, including  picture books, beginning readers and chapter books.

If you have a child younger than 5 years old, be sure to sign him or her up for the Dolly Parton Imagination Library. This program, started by Parton in 1995, is designed to promote a love of reading by sending books to children free of charge from birth until age 5. Due to a sponsorship by Partnerships 4 Families Early Childhood Iowa, children in Audubon, Carroll, Greene and Guthrie Counties are eligible. Go to the Imagination Library website or stop in the MJB Library for help to get signed up.  

Preschool children are also encouraged to sign up for the 1,000 Books Before Kindergarten program. Reading 1,000 books to your child before kindergarten will promote reading readiness. We welcome all preschool kids to sign up for this program at our library. 

Author Scott Reister shows off his batting skills while posing with Burton Bendickson following his presentation about his new book, “Baseball Spy.”

He’s out! Jaxon Knobbe tags special guest Scott Reister during his question-and-answer time with young patrons who came to learn about Reister’s new book.

Sportscaster and author Scott Reister poses with his young fans following the presentation he did on Wednesday, July 31, at the MJB Library. Reister’s new children’s book, “Baseball Spy,” is an Amazon Bestseller and is available to check out from the MJB Library.

By Karen Kelly | Special to the Times Vedette

What’s the Director reading? 

Our library director Jerri is currently reading “The Paradise Problem” by Christina Lauren. This summer romance is filled with witty banter, a complicated situation, and interesting characters.

When Anna Green was in college, she agreed to marry her friend’s brother, Liam Weston, so they could live in subsidized family housing while he was a graduate student and she was an art student at UCLA. Two years later, they both got their degrees and went their separate ways.

Three years after college, Anna is a starving artist, and Liam is a Stanford professor who happens to be one of four heirs to the Weston Foods conglomerate and stands to inherit 100 million dollars. The only catch is that his grandfather’s will includes an antiquated clause that requires Liam to be happily married for five years before he sees a penny of the money.

Just when Liam thinks the problem is solved, his family demands to meet his mystery wife. So he is forced to reconnect with his not-so-ex-wife Anna and invite her to a family destination wedding. Liam quickly goes from worrying whether foul-mouthed, spunky Anna will be able to fit in with the family to being concerned that the toxic family and their wealth will corrupt the surprisingly pure-hearted Anna. Liam is forced to decide if the money is worth losing true love that started out as a lie.

Jerri says it’s a fun read so far. MJB Library has this book in regular and large print. If you enjoy it, check out “The Unhoneymooners” by the same author. See our book display for additional librarian recommendations.

Celebrate National Golf Month

August is National Golf Month.  Celebrate by checking out “Tiger, Tiger: His Life as it’s never been told before” by James Patterson, the only major author who has nine holes-in-one. James Patterson reveals how Tiger became the G.O.A.T., what drove him to fall so spectacularly, and how he has made his way back to the pinnacle of golf.

Author Event for tweens and teens

Iowa sportscaster and hit author Scott Reister will be appearing at  the MJB Library on Wednesday, July 31 at 4:30 p.m.  This event is open to all ages but especially is geared to upper elementary through early high school patrons. Following the program, Reister will sell autographed copies of his books for $16.

Magic Show

Magic fans of all ages need to mark their calendars for Wednesday, Aug. 7 at 3:30 p.m. Our library will be hosting an exciting magic show from the same people who presented the Absolute Science Foam Show.

Between the Covers

Books are ready to be picked up for the August book club meeting.  The August book will be “The Villa” by Rachel Hawkins. Book club will meet at 3 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 13.

Cookbook Club

Cookbook Club will meet Thursday, Aug. 15 at 6:30 p.m. to share dishes from “The Farm Made Cookbook: Traditional Recipes from America’s Farm”. Stop in and select a recipe that you’d like to share at the meeting on Aug. 15.

Adult Programs

Cribbage Club will meet each Monday morning from 9-11 a.m. in the Taylor meeting room.  Bridge Club will meet every Wednesday morning from 9-11 a.m. in the Taylor meeting room.  Card Making Club meets the third Thursday of each month also in the Taylor meeting room from 9-11 a.m. The August Card Making Club will be Aug. 15.  A reminder that all materials are provided for a $5 fee.

By Karen Kelly | Special to the Times Vedette

Author Event for tweens and teens

Iowa sportscaster and hit author Scott Reister will be appearing at  the MJB Library on Wednesday, July 31 at 4:30 p.m. This event is open to all ages but especially is geared to upper elementary through early high school patrons.

Scott Reister’s book is entitled “Baseball Spy” and is a top new release on Amazon. An adrenaline-packed adventure, the book features 14-year-old Zane Mitchell who finds his mom missing and a mysterious Federal Agent at his door when he returns home from a tough baseball game with his new team. Zane discovers one of his teammates is a hacker who is trying to expose a government secret. Racing against the clock, Zane plays a deadly game of cat and mouse while trying to save his family and protect national secrets. 

Reister’s interactive program is especially appealing to young sports fans. Attendees are encouraged to bring their ball gloves. Reister will discuss what the book is about and how he came up with the idea. He also shares hoops he had to jump through to get the book published.  Workshop participants will also have an activity related to spies and/or baseball.

This thriller is available for check out at the MJB Library. Following Scott Reister’s program, autographed copies may be purchased from the author for $16. Sports fans and spy enthusiasts will not want to miss this captivating program.

Magic Show

Magic fans of all ages need to mark their calendars for Wednesday, Aug. 7 at 3:30 p.m. Our library will be hosting  an exciting magic show from the same people who presented the Absolute Science Foam Show. 

Between the Covers

Books are ready to be picked up for the August book club meeting. The August book will be “The Villa” by Rachel Hawkins. Childhood friends who drifted apart as adults, Emily and Chess reconnect and decide to take a girls’ trip to Italy. The two stay at an Italian villa with a notorious past. Rented in the summer of 1974 to a rock star and his entourage, the rock star sets in motion a chain of events resulting in one guest writing a platinum album, another writing one of the greatest horror novels of all time, and a third brutally murdered. Emily begins to dig into the villa’s past and the events surrounding the murder. As she gets closer to the truth, Emily senses tension between herself and Chess. Secrets are revealed. Will the summer end in another brutal murder? 

This book is inspired by Fleetwood Mac, the Manson murders and the summer that Percy and Mary Shelly (author of “Frankenstein”) spent at a Lake Geneva Castle with Lord Byron. 

Book club will meet at 3 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 13.

Cookbook Club

Cookbook Club will meet Thursday, Aug. 15 at 6:30 p.m. to share dishes from “The Farm Made Cookbook: Traditional Recipes from America’s Farm.” Stop in and select a recipe that you would like to share at the meeting on Aug. 15.

Adult Programs

Cribbage Club will meet each Monday morning from 9-11 a.m. in the Taylor meeting room.  Bridge Club will meet every Wednesday morning from 9-11 a.m. in the Taylor meeting room.  Card Making Club meets the third Thursday of each month also in the Taylor meeting room from 9-11 a.m. The August Card Making Club will be Aug. 15. A reminder that all materials are provided for a $5 fee.

New Nonfiction

“The Kneeling Man: My Father’s Life as a Black Spy Who Witnessed the Assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr.” by Leta McCollough Seletzky tells the true story of her father’s life as a spy set deep in the Jim Crow South during the Civil Rights Movement. In the iconic photo of the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel, the author’s father is the man kneeling next to King, trying to stop the bleeding. “The Kneeling Man” is the result of the author’s research into her father’s past as a spy who went on to have a career in the CIA. This captivating story is both a spy thriller and a portrait of the author’s family. This book is available for check out at the MJB Library.