School Days

Now that school has started again, don't forget the library serves students of all ages throughout the school year. Class tours can be scheduled, books for reports checked out, ideas for science fair projects found, there is a fine selection of Native American books on different tribes, and we do have encyclopedias that can be checked out for three weeks.
Teachers, there are materials to aid you as well; books to aid in teaching math, English, social studies and activity books for the lower grades; books to inspire and aid teachers to do their best; books on teaching students of all ages, including advanced students and students with various handicaps; and specific materials that have been requested in the past by teachers for their students. If you have a lesson plan that requires a certain book down the road, call the library and see if we have it. If not, we may be able to purchase it.
Books on homeschooling children (not text books or home school curriculum) are also available
Books can be checked out by teachers on 'program'. This means that the books can be used in the classroom for nine weeks in order to aid students in specific projects and reports. The limit of six is extended to however many books the teacher needs and can be responsible for.
Computers for research after school hours are available. Sign up at the front desk.
The library is open Thursday nights until 9:00 P.M. and on Saturdays from 10:00 A.M. to 6:00 P.M. This gives students more time to utilize the collection for their educational needs.
Remember, students, it is always first come, first served. If you need a book on a specific topic, come early and check it out. If you do not have a library card, bring a parent or guardian to co-sign the form with you, and we will be happy to issue you one.
Get into the school year right by using the public library!

Library Report for Fiscal Year 2009 - 2010

At the last Library Advisory Board meeting on July 21, 2010, Thayla Wright present a report on various functions of the library during the fiscal year than ended June 30th, 2010. Included were a Usage and Checkout report, Meetings and Programs report, and Financial Take-In report.

The Usage and Checkout report included a breakdown of materials used in the library and checked out from the library of various types, including adult fiction/nonfiction, juvenile fiction/nonfiction, youth fiction/nonfiction, DVDs, audio books, music CDs, computer games, and periodicals. Services in house, such as computer usage, internet usage, reference aid and computer aid were also included in this report.

Yearly total: 69, 984 Weekly average: 1,345

The Meeting and Program Report showed a total of 207 meetings/programs held in the library with a total attendance of 2,763.

These meetings and programs included everything from pre-school story hour to hosting New Mexico Census Training. Local individuals, groups, classes, discussion groups, clubs and others use this building throughout the year. So do groups on a state level. Programs that come from inside and out of the state are hosted when possible at the library. Programs and meetings are forbidden to be held on a 'for profit' basis in the library.

The Financial Take-In Report showed money coming in from donations, memorial book donations, fines and fees and copies and faxes, totaling $10,673.34
Grants and GO Bond money totaled $24,878.66.

It was explained that funds that come from fines/fees and copies/faxes go back into the city's general fund. Memorial book money is used to buy those books specified as memorials. Donations are used as the donors specify. If that is left up to the library, it is used to aid in programming, the purchase of books and materials, or other ways that benefit the patrons of the library.

The New Mexico State Library Grant-in-Aid has limitations on what it may be used for as well criteria that must met to qualify for this yearly grant. The GO Bond funds must also be used in specific ways (materials and computer needs) and have a time line by which those funds must be spent.

Make a splash!

Looking for something to do? Summer Story Hour happens every Wednesday morning at 10:00 A.M. for children aged pre-school through the 6th grade. In the first three weeks, total attendance has been 232. Each of the group leaders are members of the library staff, and we are enjoying watching the children pour into the library every Wednesday morning. "Make A Splash At Your Library" has four more weeks to go. Come and discover books, projects and the Black Pearl, where you can spend Sand Dollars earned by filling out and turning in reading logs each Wednesday.
It's summer time! Come to the library for "Make a Splash!".

Did you know. . .

. . .that throughout the year, we have averaged approximately 650 visits per week? Why do people come? They come for:
Books
Magazines
Newspapers
Audio books
Movies
Video games
Internet
Copies
Faxing
Research
Computer classes
Used books from the Friends
Meetings
Programs
Tours
Sometimes they just need a map, or they want to look at the paintings hanging throughout the library. Occasionally they drop in to say hi or get out of the rain.
Your library is about more than books (although they are still our favorite things!). It's a world in itself, and it's populated by all of you.

Audio Books at the Library

The library has just added 14 new Louis L'Amour, two Clive Cussler, two Nicholas Sparks and one Dean Koontz audio books to the collection. These audio books on CD were donated by Kathy Harris. The audio book collection has both CDs and tapes, although audio tapes are being phased out slowly. If you have a car trip to make, an exercise routine, just want to shut out the noise, come take a look at the audio book collection at the Arthur Johnson Memorial Library

Raton Science Cafe to Meet August , 2010, at 7:00 p.m., Prospecting in Utah

Have you ever planned a trip using only information on the Internet? Your regular host did this for a Father's Day vacation to visit his daughter in Ogden, Utah; and they planned a side trip to Moab to prospect for uranium. Some 100 lbs. of ore were found. It was worth only $30.00, but the fun was priceless.
Sixty slides will be present in about as many minutes. You will share in the excitement of exploration, discovery, and in learning how the uranium prospecting boom exploded in Moab during the early 1950s. You will also learn about how to prospect, minerals (uranium in particular), geology, teacher workshops, radiation, and the history of Charles Steen and his impact in the region. Did you know that prospectors found a fossilized tree and a fossilized dinosaur, both
made of high-grade uranium ore?

The AJML/Longellow After School Program books available for checkout.

The Arthur Johnson Memorial Library has published two volumes of the "My Story" competition entries from the contest sponsored by the library for the After School Program elementary students. Each student entered an original story with original illustrations for judging. Dennie Gum, assistant librarian, has bound copies of each entry in two volumes that are available for checkout at the library. Congratulations to all the students who participated. You are now published!

Library Advisory Board Meeting

The Library Advisory Board will meet on Wednesday, May 12, 2010, at 5:30 P.M. This meeting is open to the public.

The library will be closed on these scheduled holidays

New Year's Day Friday, January 1st
Martin Luther King Day Monday, January 18th,
President's Day Monday, February 15th
Good Friday Friday, April 2nd
Memorial Day Monday, May 31
Independence Day Monday, July 5th
Labor Day Monday, September 6th
Veteran's Day Thursday, November 11th
Thanksgiving Thursday, November 25th
Day after Thanksgiving Friday, November 26th
Christmas Friday, December 24th
Christmas Saturday, December 25th
New Year's Day Friday, December 31st
New Year's Day Saturday, January 1st, 2011

"Defending Our World" - from asteroids and comets.

Do you watch disaster movies? If so, you have probably seen "Armaggedon", starring Bruce Willis. In a last ditch effort to save us all from a planet killing collision with an asteroid, NASA sends two space shuttles loaded with drilling equipment and an atomic bomb to see if they can destroy the asteroid. Guess what. That is not as far fetched as you might think.
The January/February 2010 issue of "Planetary Report" focuses on collisions between Earth and asteroids, both past and future. According to the articles, it's only a matter of time before another asteroid hits the planet, and this time it wouldn't be just the dinosaurs that vanish. In 2036 "we now face the potential for another detected collision. In 2029, asteroid Apophis (270 meters in diameter) will pass withing 40,000 kilometers (24,800 miles) of Earth. . .In 2036, Apophis will make another close approach, and this time it could hit our planet (the current probability of impact is 1 in 250,000)."
Those odds make it more likely that this particular asteroid will hit Earth than that any one of us will win the big one in the lottery. And of course there are many more NEO (near earth objects) than have been spotted.
So are there any plans for either destroying or deflecting this or any other asteroid? And whose responsibility is it to see that a known threat is deflected? This issue of "Planetary Report" is available at the library for checkout. Come and find out what those who study these matters have on their minds.