Fol-O-Gram                                                                                                                                                Page  3                               

Dear Friends:
    Board members have been busy as usual this year, with planning for carrying out monthly book sales plus holding Books & Authors in January, February, and March. Appreciation is expressed to the many members and others who attended events and/or contributed books for the sales.

    Library Staff were honored by the board during National Library Week, April 16-19. Refreshments were provided daily for staff to enjoy as each had a short break during the morning hours. Another project of benefit to the staff was purchase of a new self-defrost mini refrigerator. This is housed in the small kitchen off the sale room. That is where many of the staff store their lunch/snacks. Book sale monies and membership dues were not used. Two members of Friends saw the need and provided funds.

    The most important outcome of conducting book sales and paying of dues is that FOL was able to make a bi-annual donation of $12,000 to the library for purchase of new books. We also provided a grant match of $3,750 to help the library obtain Envisionware. Thanks go to all our members, board, and book sale patrons for making this possible.
                                                                                                                                                          Catherine Boyd, President
                                                                                                                                                       

Library Completes Grant and Installs Envisionware

    The Starkville Public Library computers have undergone a major transformation. Envisionware, a print management software, has been installed on all public computers in the library. This software enables patrons to select and pay for each individual print job by simply selecting the job to be printed from the list on the screen. Before the printer will print it out, the job must be selected and paid for. This saves much computer printing error and waste. If the job is never selected, then it simply times out and is never printed. Patrons get their print jobs much faster as they can do it themselves.

    "This is saving our library in many ways by eliminating wasted paper, ink, and cartridges on printouts that were never paid for or collected," according to Ginny Holtcamp, Library Director. The project was enabled by an LSTA competitive grant awarded to out library system from the Mississippi Library Commission. To facilitate the installation, the oldest public computers were also replaced with new, updated models, able to run the new software. "We could not be more pleased with this system. It is a real time saver for our staff," says Ginny Holtcamp.

                                                                                                                                                               Ginny Holtcamp, Library Director    
        

Teen Programs and Clubs

    The Young Adult Poetry Club completed their eight-week class on classical and contemporary poetry. The students discussed traditional mechanics of poetry such as rhyme and meter as well as incorporating non-traditional applications in advertising and music. They illustrated nonsense poems from Edward Lear and Lewis Carroll, created their own world modeled after Coleridge's "Kubla Khan," and dissected the importance of words and music on the March on Washington in 1963. Favorite poets included Langston Hughes, Robert Frost, and Maya Angelou. Come and visit the YA Section to read some of their poetry and see the fun that they had with words.

    Big things are in store for the Fall. A team of parents led by Dr. Angie Riffell will take our kids through a tour of Mississippi. This endeavor will coordinate with the Starkville Homeschool Music Cooperative's offerings to expose the students to the wealth of history, government, literature, music and creative arts found in this state. Guest speakers and musicians will share with the group as well as two local field trip opportunities to learn more about Starkville. The whole project will culminate with a bus tour of Mississippi in December. A proposed itinerary includes a visit to homes/museums of Elvis Presley, William Faulkner, BB King and Jim Henson - all in one day! The parent team will consist of Angie Riffell, Charlotte Taylor, Jennifer Collins, and Bob Lowry. All area 7th - 12th grade students will be invited to join in the fun.

                                                                                                                                                      Dr. Angie Riffell, Library Volunteer