By Karen Kelly | Special to the Times Vedette
After a couple of weeks disrupted by holiday breaks and winter weather, the library is back to normal hours and bringing some exciting programs to serve you in the new year. In the event that your New Year resolutions require some resources, the library is here to help you. We have books on topics related to better health, weight loss, time management, organization and hobbies. Did you get a new device for Christmas that you can’t figure out? We offer tech assistance by appointment. We have cribbage and bridge groups, a card-making club, and a cookbook club. Starting this month, we will offer both an afternoon and an evening book club. If your resolution is to spend time relaxing, the library offers a peaceful refuge to read new magazines, work on the community puzzle, or find some new authors.
The new year is a fun time to reflect, so here is some interesting library data. In 2024, the library checked out 12,619 materials, which included books, audiobooks, computers, a telescope, DVDs, CDs, hotspots, CD and DVD players and a portable screen. We had 1,495 patrons — 145 of those were new patrons and 138 were renewed patrons. In 2024, the library saved its patrons $580,495.
Local artist Kelly Nielsen works on the new mural in the children’s area of the MJB Library.
Our top five adult fiction books for the year were: 1. “The Women” by Kristin Hannah; 2. “The Teacher” by Frieda McFadden; 3. “Things We Never Got Over” by Lucy Score and “The Coworker” by Frieda McFadden; and 5. “Twisted Love” by Ana Huang.
The library’s top five non-fiction titles were 1. “Fast Like a Girl: A Woman’s Guide to Using the Healing Power of Fasting to Burn Fat, Boost Energy, and Balance Hormones” by Dr. Mindy Pelz; 2. “The Situation Room: the Inside Story of Presidents in Crisis” by George Stephanopoulos; 3. “Lillian’s Legacy – Marriage and Murder in Rural Iowa a true story” by Guthrie Center native Carroll McKibbin; 4. “Oath and Honor: A Memoir and a Warning” by Liz Cheney; and 5. “What Really Happens in Vegas: True Stories of the People Who Make Vegas, Vegas” by James Patterson.
The top five juvenile fiction books include the following titles: 1. “Love from Bluey”; 2. “On the Job, Rumble & Crew (Step into Reading)”; 3. “Pop-Up Peekaboo! Disney Princesses”; 4. “The Smart Cookie”; and 5. “I Survived the Great Chicago Fire, 1871.”
Favorite young adult titles included 1. “If Only I Had Told Her” by Laura Nolin; 2. “American Royals” by Katharine McGee; 3. “A Thousand Boy Kisses: a novel” by Tillie Cole; 4. “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets” by J.K. Rowling; and 5. “A Court of Thorns and Roses” by Sarah J. Maas.
This is the finished mural painted by Kelly Nielsen to update the donor tree in the children’s area. The new mural was funded by generous patrons and a donation from the Friends of the Library. Stop by and look at it in person.
Trivia Night Details
Save the date and round up your teams. Friends of the MJB Library are sponsoring their annual Trivia Night Fundraiser on Saturday, Feb. 8, 2025, at the Guthrie Center Activity Center. The cost will be $35 per person. Teams may be up to eight persons. Dinner, which is catered by The Cabbage Rose, will begin at 6 p.m. with a trivia competition commencing at 7 p.m. Adult beverages will be available at a free will donation price. Teams can sign up and pay at the MJB Library.
Friends of the Library
January is the perfect time to join Friends of the Library. This group’s purpose is to support the library. Throughout the year, they run some fundraisers including the trivia night and the golf tournament to be able to financially support projects that the library is doing. Currently, Friends is helping to sponsor the Donor Tree Mural in the children’s area that Kelly Nielsen is painting. The cost of membership is $25 per year. The group meets on the first Monday of each month at 6:15 p.m. Call the library to join or come to the next Friends meeting on Monday, Feb. 3.
After School Programs
The Guthrie County/ ISU Extension will be presenting a STEM after-school workshop on Thursday, Jan. 9 from 3:30-4 p.m. in the library’s Taylor Meeting Room. The topic will be Code Across Iowa. The February STEM workshop will be on Feb. 13, and the theme will be Color Creation.
Cookbook Club
Cookbook Club will meet at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 16 to share food from “Half Baked Harvest Quick and Cozy” by Teighan Gerard. If you want to participate in the Cookbook Club, stop by the library to select a recipe from this month’s cookbook. Prepare it and bring it to share with the group.
Book Clubs
The afternoon book club, Between the Covers, will meet on Tuesday, Jan. 14, at 3 p.m. They will be discussing Katharine McGee’s “American Royals.” Copies are available to check out if you want to participate.
By popular demand, we are adding an evening book club in 2025. This group will meet on the fourth Tuesday of each month at 5 p.m. Our inaugural meeting will be Tuesday, Jan. 28 at 5 p.m. at the library. This meeting will be a planning meeting to determine organizational details such as a name for the group, the meeting format, and books to be read. We will also check out copies of the February book which will be “Part of Your World” by Abby Jimenez. If you would like to join us, please contact the library to sign up so we are sure to have enough copies of the book for everyone.