New Year's Eve & Day

Hastings Public Library will close at 3:00 PM on New Year's Eve and be closed all day on New Year's Day.

We will open again Friday January 2nd, 2009.

IT Fun

Here's a few fun IT ideas and links. I hope to bringing these to you every so often. Feel free to suggest your own IT Fun ideas too.

Edit Photos Online with Photoshop Express https://www.photoshop.com/express/landing.html It far from perfect, but it is fun play with.

http://sharethis.com/ "ShareThis" believes that sharing should be for everyone. It is becoming increasingly difficult to keep up with the growing number of web sites and social web communities. ShareThis lets you instantly access all of your profiles, blogs, friends, and contacts for easy sharing and updating. "Share This" thinks users should be in control of their online world.

So there are a couple of ideas for IT Fun. Let us know what you think by leaving your comments. Whether it's something we've blogged here or an idea you've got, we want to hear from you.

Closed Christmas Eve and Christmas Day

Hastings Public Library will be closed

both Christmas eve and Christmas day.

Library Raises Awareness about Bottled Water

During Sustainability Month in October library visitors might have noticed empty water bottles cropping up all over the library. We collected 118 in all. We were raising awareness about the waste brought about by pumping, packaging, and transporting bottled water to faraway places where perfectly healthy tap water is accessible. 30 million plastic water bottles (made from oil) are thrown away every day. The question lingers--is it time for an expanded bottle bill to place deposits on water bottles? You decide. But for those who missed our brochure here are some facts:

2 liters of water go into manufacturing every liter of bottled water.

The energy used each year making the bottles for bottled water in the U.S. is equivalent to more than 17 million barrels of oil.

If water and soft drink bottlers had used 10% recycled materials in their plastic bottles in 2004, they would have saved 72 million gallons of gasoline.

Dennis Muchmore, Michigan United Conservation Clubs Executive Director says, “Although our citizens now return 97 percent of the 5 and a half- billion bottles and cans for which they pay a deposit, they recycle only 20 percent of the bottled water containers because no deposit is required. Eighty percent of those empty containers end up in landfills or critical wildlife habitats. It’s a terrible waste.”

Art Hop

People saw the functional pottery of potter Christyl Burnett of Red Clay Pottery. She also demonstrated the art of throwing on the potter's wheel.

Local photographer Rose Hendershot of Photographic Memories took portraits with Santa by Fireplace

Immediately after the Tree Lighting Ceremony in front of Hastings City Hall, the Thornapple Wind Band was moved into The Library for a performance
Dan Googins showed examples of his photographic art. Picture This Photography

Alexander Clawson an aerosol artist using spray paint and other tools to create his art form. He loves watching the art on the trains going by with all the graffiti on them. He also enjoys buildings with murals.

Follow Up From This Morning's Seminar w/ Ehlers & Berra




Louis Berra, the Housing and Urban Development department field officer, discussed the Neighborhood Stabilization Act.

Click on the logos for links to FHA HUD help

Hope for Home Owners (H4H) program

US Rep. Ehlers to visit on Thursday 10 a.m.

U.S. Rep. Vernon Ehlers, R-Grand Rapids, is expected to visit Hastings on Thursday December 4, 2008 to discuss the federal bailout bill.

Ehlers is scheduled to be in the Hastings Library, 227 State St., at 10 a.m. Thursday with several other speakers, including Louis Berra, the Housing and Urban Development department field officer, who is expected to discuss the Neighborhood Stabilization Act.

Will be held in the community room upstairs.

Closed for Thanksgiving











The Hastings Public Library will be closed the day of Thanksgiving and the day after Thanksgiving.

The Library will be open during regular business hours on the Saturday following Thanksgiving.

Whooooooooos
coming to the big book sale?

Used Book Sale

Sponsored by Friends of the Hastings Public Library

Used Book sale

Wednesday, November 19 from 9:00 am - 6:00 pm

Upstairs in the Community Room

Great books, great prices

Book Club for Adults

The library's book club for adults kicked of this fall with two interesting but very different books, The Years of Rice and Salt by Kim Stanley Robinson and A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith.

Join us in January as we head into the new year with these selections:

January 8 - A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle

February 5 - The View from Garden City by Carolyn Baugh

March 5 - The Things we couldn't Say by Diet Eman

The book club meets on the first Thursday of the month at 6:30 pm in the library's community room. Check the Join a Book Club space on the web site for a synoposis of each title.

Photovoltaic

What’s that you say, I can trade some sunshine for some electricity and then I can have the sunshine too? That brightens my day!

The first practical use of photovoltaic (PV) was to power orbiting satellites and other spacecraft as well as pocket calculators back here on earth. Today the majority of photovoltaic modules are used for grid connected power generation. Solar power is pollution free during use, it can operate with little cost and maintenance once set up, and can be created and used locally.

Thursday November 6th 2008 - Hastings Public Library Closed till 12:30 PM

It will re-open at 12:30 PM and remain open till regular closing time of 8:00 PM

HASTINGS PUBLIC LIBRARY TIME CAPSULE PLACED BEHIND CORNERSTONE

On Tuesday, October 28th, we sealed our time capsule and placed it behind the cornerstone. We had lots of help from our youngest patrons, who had to work very hard to seal the capsule. The capsule is very heavy, but we managed to shove it in its hiding place.

Thanks to the help of Rick Hemerling, we had moved books and removed a whole section of shelving in the Children's Area to get to our hiding space.

What is in our Time Capsule?

To whomsoever may open this capsule:
This morning, after our Story Time for pre-school children, we placed this time capsule in the space reserved for it in the wall of the children’s section of the Hastings Public Library. The capsule was donated by the Wren Funeral Home

The contents of this capsule tell the story of the people of Hasting, MI and their efforts to build a new library. It also tells the story of our first year in this wonderful building.

We have put things in this capsule that tells you who we are. It has
1. a copy of the 2007-2008 Barry County Directory
2. a Barry County map
3. the 2007-2008 Hastings Phone Book (which featured our new library building on its cover)
4. a current Barry County Plat Book (2005)
5. a calendar from Bosley Pharmacy (Dave Jasperse, owner of the pharmacy, has long been a dedicated friend of the library)
6. a copy of the Dec. 26, 2006 Banner which tells about our community’s involvement with President Gerald Ford, who died in 2006
7. a copy of the Hastings Fire Department Annual Report for 2005-2006 – just because our first plans for a library it right next to the Fire Department
8. a copy of Hastings Long Ago, a three-part work written by Hastings teachers (Pat Markel, Susan Flessner, and Bob Palmer) for Hastings teachers to use to teach about the history of our community,
9. a copy of A Call from the Country written by Kensinger and Alice Jones, who have long been patrons of the library,
10. a copy of Every Other Thursday by May Granata, who taught English in the Hastings High School for many years and was not only a gifted poet, but a wise and insightful friend,
11. a copy of a brochure about Hastings – “There’s More to Explore”
12. a Michigan quarter
13. restaurant menus for some of our local restaurants.
14. a brief history of the Hastings Public Library
15. one of our new Hastings Public Library cards
16. a Hastings Public Library business card
17. various brochures currently at our information desk
18. a Hastings Public Library information brochure
19. a bookmark for the library’s hundred years: 1896-1996

We have put items in this time capsule that tell the story of our struggle to build this library. The monies to build this wonderful piece of architecture were not funded through a millage or bond issue. Instead all the money was raised by the community and we only began construction when we had the community’s promised pledges of $5,400,000. There are few public libraries in Michigan that can make the same claim. Much of our success was due to the gift of an anonymous donor, who to this day remains anonymous. In the summer of 2005 this wonderful person promised to quadruple every dollar we raised during a three-month period. Without his/her help we would not be placing this time capsule in the wall today.

Some of our fund-raising efforts are evidenced in
1. a Friends of the Library (Friends) book sale sign and bookmark (we wouldn’t be here without our Friends)
2. a Friends’ cookbook
3. a Sock Hop bookmark
4. a Story Telling bookmark
5. a short piece on the Friends’ Basket Auction
6. two duck race t-shirts, a duck, and a duck race ticket
7. a story about the Friends’ Ladies Tea
8. a list of everyone who bought a brick
9. a Rip-Roaring Raffle poster
10. a donation brochure and a list of donors to the Capital Campaign
11. a Case for Support written in 1998
12. Capital Campaign brochures
13. an update on the progress toward a new building (2003)
14. Susan Smith’s description of the “Journey to a New Library” (4/15/04)
15. an invitation to “The Last Chapter” Campaign kick-off Ice Cream Social and bookmark
16. a placemat heralding the beginning of the Last Chapter
17. a list of talking points for the new library (2005)
18. and a committee report (July 8, 2005)

The year and a half that lay between acquiring the funds needed to build the new library and moving into the new library seemed very short. It was filled with lots of events, the packing of hundreds of boxes, countless studies of blueprints and non-stop planning. A hint at what that time period is contained in the time capsule:
1. an invitation and ticket to the groundbreaking
2. a beam signing bookmark and list
3. a frog – he was our mascot as we prepared our patrons for the concept of a “green building”
4. plans for the inside of the new library building
5. a copy of a form used by patrons donating to the Opening Day collection
6. an article about the new security system that would be in the new library
7. bookmarks about our closing and fliers preparing our patrons for the five weeks they would be without service
8. a copy of the Hastings Banner for June 14, 2007 about our Opening Day Book Brigade, as well as the sign-up sheets for the Book Brigade, a Book Brigade badge and bookmark,
9. copies of the suggestions for things that should be placed in this time capsule
10. a story about the Friends’ Opening Day raffle for a Literacy Bell,
11. an Opening Day brochure introducing our patrons to our Green Building
12. an invitation to the Grand Opening
13. a copy of the Reminder for Tuesday, June 2, 2007 about the opening of the new library
14. guests books for Opening Day
15. an Opening Day t-shirt “Dreams do come true!”
16. the ribbon Barbara Schondelmayer and Brenda Teegardin cut to open the library to the public

Since the day we opened, June 9, 2007, the Hastings Public Library has been very busy. Some indication of just how busy is contained in the following:
1. annual Reports for the library 2005-2006 and 2006-2007
2. mock-ups of the plaques honoring our donors
3. articles about the retirement of long time employees who led the march toward a new library: Barbara Schondelmayer, Susan Smith, Darrel Hawbaker and Charlotte Anton
4. a copy of the Friends’ Calendar, Classics on the Thornapple, for 2009
5. an article about the Literacy bags that the Friends’ prepare for the newborns at Pennock Hospital
6. a postcard from C2AE’s (our architects) booth at the October 2008 MLA conference featuring our new building
7. an invitation to the presentation of the Green Building Council’s Gold LEED award on Saturday, October 25, 2008 – which made us the first library building in Michigan to receive Gold LEED certification
8. mock-ups of the plaques for the Green Tour stations in our building
9. a copy of the self-guided Green Tour
10. a Reminder for Saturday, October 4, 2008 with articles about our Sustainability Month
11. a Saturday October 25 Reminder, about this time capsule and other library events

We have also placed a few photos with some details about them in the capsule.

At the time this was placed in its hidey hole we had no definite plans for opening it up. It may well be at some future anniversary – or it may be when this remarkable building is torn down. Whenever, we hope that whoever finds this vault will find its contents not only interesting, but inspiring. This building is a reminder that when people unite to build for the future or solve a problem, a force is created which lives well beyond the personalities that came together in action.

At the time this was hidden our community was faced with severe economic problems, our environment was challenged and we were a nation losing sons in battle in Iraq and Afghanistan. It is our prayer that when this is reopened it will be in a community whose citizens are healthy and enjoying reasonable prosperity, on a planet that is once again healthy and treasured, and where peace is cherished.

Written this 28th day of October, 2008
Mary Diane Hawkins
Assistant Librarian
Hastings Public Library
Hastings, Michigan

What's in the Time Capsule?

The time capsule lies right behind the cornerstone on the south side of the building. We had to take lots of picture books off the shelves in the children's area and remove one section of shelving to reveal the opening built into the wall.

LEED Certification Ceremony

HASTINGS PUBLIC LIBRARY RECEIVES LEED GOLD CERTIFICATION FROM THE GREEN BUILDING COUNCIL.

On Saturday, October 25th we held a reception at which we received a plaque from the Green Building Council acknowledging the fact that we had achieved LEED Gold certification.

We are the first public library in Michigan to achieve this honor.

Finally - we are LEED Gold!

C2AE, a Grand Rapids architectural firm, was finally responsible for the finished library buillding. Here, Dennis Jenson, one of C2AE's architects presents the LEED award to Evelyn Holzwarth, Library Director, as Don Tubbs and Ken Smith, Board Members, look on.




Here Evelyn shows our award as Ken Smith stands by. Our award now hangs behind the customer service desk.

Lots of Friends attended our LEED celebration

Chatting at the ceremony are John Fehsenfeld, Susan Smith and Alyce Riemenschneider. John spearheaded the campaign to build our library. Throughout the campaign Susan was Assistant Library Director and is now the president of the Friends of the Library. Alyce designed the interior of the building, working long hours to find materials and furnishings that were environmentally friendly.

Among the attendees at the ceremony were Brian Calley, our Michigan Legislative Representative. He is very supportive of all we do and a champion of libraries. Here he is seen talking with our Mayor, Bob May.

LEED Reception

Everything was gold from the table decorations and candies to the gold mums and punch.

This is the beautiful cake created by Bobbi Roush for our celebration.

Terrific Tweens

Calling all Tweens, students grades 3rd-5th.

Come join us every 1st and 3rd Wednesday of the month.

Meetings run from 4:30-5:30

Inside The Front Door

Visit us at
Hastings Public Library
227 E State St
Hastings, MI 49058

(Click on picture for a larger version)

Things You Can Do To Be Sustainable

Change 1 Light

If 500 people in the Community will replace 1 standard light bulb with a compact fluorescent bulb, they would collectively save enough energy every year to light 13 homes and keep 39,499 lbs of Carbon Dioxide out of the air.

Change 4 Lights + Get 1 Free

Hastings Ace Hardware has partnered with the Friends of the Library to offer the first 100 people a coupon to purchase 2-4 60W equivalent CFL light and get 1 free. Visit library for details.

By replacing your home's five most frequently used light fixtures or the bulbs in them with Energy Star qualified models, you can save more than $65 a year.

Welcome to 'Hastings Public Library - MI' Blog Space

Somethings never change and one of the most important is the need to comunicate with one another. That's the driving force behind 'HastingsPublicLibrary-MI'.

Events - Viewpoints - Opportunities - News and more, you'll find it all here.

Check back often for news and views at HastingsPublicLibrary-MI

www.HastingsPublicLibrary.org