AliceBakerBlog

The 2012 Pulitzer Prize Winners

The 2012 Pulitzer Prize winners were announced on Monday, April 16. Who was the fiction award winner? No one. There was no prize awarded for fiction. But there were three finalists presented.

The 2012 Pulitzer finalists for fiction:

• Denis Johnson's Train Dreams
• Karen Russell's  Swamplandia!
• David Foster Wallace's The Pale King

These books are available in Waukesha County and may be found in a variety of formats.

Overdrive website has been refreshed

The Wisconsin Digital Library website has a new look as of April 16! The main page has a much cleaner appearance and the search choices along the left side are simpler.

There is also a brand-new login process: the library customer starts typing in their library name and the form continually autofills until the library is listed. It's not left-anchored: all letters are fair game. The library is clearly linked with its system, and systems are still listed, but are no longer needed for the log in.

Stop by the library and speak with any librarian if you have any questions about how to use Overdrive to download audio books or ebooks.

Adult Wii Bowling

There will not be Wii Bowling for Adults on Tuesday, May 8 due to a Recall Primary Election held in the Eagle Municipal Building. There will be Wii Bowling for Adults on June 12, July 10, and August 14 from 11 am - noon.

Author Visit

Wisconsin author Kathleen Ernst presented a wonderful Chloe Ellefson program at the Eagle Municipal Building on the night of April 10. She has written Old World Murder and The Heirloom Murders. Both books have Eagle ties. Book 3, The Light Keeper's Legacy, will be released in October. Chloe will head off on a temporary work assignment in Door County to consult on restoring the stately 1858 lighthouse located in beautiful Rock Island State Park.

Rock Island is remote, nearly deserted when she goes in September, and the cold Lake Michigan waters can very quickly turn dangerous. Those who have read Heirloom Murders know that Roelke thinks this trip is a bad idea -- and that's before he finds out about the handsome Deputy Sheriff up there who sets his sights on Chloe. It all happens on the far side of the watery passage called Death's Door.

Kathleen Ernst will be part of a rare, before-hours/behind the scenes tour of Old World Wisconsin along with Curator of Research, Marty Perkins. They will lead visitors on an exclusive guided tour through the museum's buildings where key scenes from her first two books take place. The inaugural tour will be held on June 10 and repeated just once on August 12. Prior registration is required, attendance is limited, and all proceeds will go to support Old World Wisconsin. Cost of $25/person includes museum admission. Please call 262-594-6300 for additional information.

Photo: Wisconsin author Kathleen Ernst being welcomed by Alli Chase, Library Director of the Alice Baker Memorial Public Library in Eagle, WI. Courtesy of Scott Meeker.

Menomonee Falls will join CAFE

CAFE is the consortium of libraries in Waukesha County who use a shared automation system. It is expected that Menomonee Falls will join the CAFE system by the end of 2012 as all libraries move to a new integrated library sytem. It will be easier to request materials and return materials.

Library Expansion Feasibility Study -- Focus Group Meetings

Will you share your ideas and opinions with us?

The Alice Baker Library is looking to the future!  As part of that effort, we are studying the library's future facility needs. We are working with FEH Associates, an architectural firm with offices in Delafield, WI and with Himmel & Wilson, Library Consultants headquartered in Milton, WI on this project.

Community input is an important part of the process and we invite you to participate in one of the four focus group sessions we will be holding at the Eagle Municipal Building.

Focus groups will be held on Thursday, April 26 from 10 am - 11:30 am, 1 pm - 2:30 pm, 3:30 pm - 5 pm, and 5:30 pm - 7:30 pm. Light refreshments will be served.

We appreciate your willingness to share your ideas with us and dream.

 

Learning Express

Learning Express is accessible to any Waukesha County library cardholder from any computer with Internet access. It has practice tests, online courses and downloadable eBooks available. Learning Express offers a wealth of review material for standardized tests, civil service exams, and basic skill building (reading, writing, math) for adults and children. There is an entire page of software tutorials.

We've been teaching more and more library customers how to access Learning Express and many have obtained tremendous help from this easy-to-use and completely free resource. We encourage you to check it out, too.

Library Expansion Feasibility Study

The Alice Baker Library Board has awarded a contract for a library expansion feasibility study to FEH Associates. The architectural firm will complete the study by July 3. Three options are being considered 1) renovations/addition to the existing library, 2) a stand alone building (site to be determined) and also 3) a mixed use building (site to be determined). The Library Board has determined that there needs to be a feasibility study to make the best use of taxpayer dollars. The project will be presented to both the Town of Eagle Board and the Village of Eagle Board.