Attention, teachers: Did you know you can partner with us on projects, ask us to lead a workshop or storytime, or that we have library cards with superpowers for educators?
Click here or on the image below to see public library
services and resources for you and your students (including virtual learning and homeschooling groups).
Stay tuned for storytimes with Celeste at some of our locations in the future!
What kinds of things have you been involved with at the libraries over the years?
We have been enthusiastic patrons of the Nelsonville library (and the entire Athens County library system) since moving to the area in 1991. One of my memories of the library in that year occurred after our dog had encountered his first skunk. We were living in a 28-foot-long RV while building our house, and Pippin had run inside freshly sprayed. He had rubbed himself all over the carpet before we could get him into the shower, and the scent lingered for weeks. But we got accustomed to it before too long, and didn't even think about it when we took our stack of books back to the library--until we noticed the librarians very quietly wiping the covers down with cleaning fluid! We soon learned all the librarians' names, and I even worked for ACPL for about two years, mostly at The Plains branch, and helping do some of the data entry for the digital catalog at the Glouster branch. I've also worn costumes for the special Nelsonville branch programs during the Parade of the Hills for a number of years--from the Very Hungry Caterpillar to Pete the Cat to (with my husband Jim) Elephant and Piggie--and I love watching the children's reactions during those programs.
What inspired you to write this book?
The first version of this book was written as a gift for my mother and drew on a time when she told me I couldn't go to a week-night high school basketball game. I was furious and seriously considered running away until, after careful consideration, I decided I didn't have enough money saved up to make it work.
What was your writing process like?
When I decided to see if I could have the book published, I had to revise it a good bit to fit present-day conditions. My original illustrations showed only Mandy, and I thought it would be more interesting to have at least one other character in most of the pictures. The main additional character ended up being my dog, who became Mandy's confidante, Rascal.
Do you have advice for someone else wanting to write and publish a book?
Remember that a story needs a beginning, middle, and end, and that there needs to be some kind of tension or conflict for your characters to deal with. That's very common, basic advice, but it's surprising how easy it can be to forget, especially if you have lived with the story for so long that you don't realize some parts of it are still in your head and not written down on the page. Also, you have to be willing to ask for advice--and even apply it, although not necessarily exactly as the advisor suggested.
Anything else you'd like us to know about you or the book?
I have two other books on my "back burner": a pre-school counting and picture book, and a young adult non-fiction book about water, food, clothing, and power supplies, working title Where Does It Come From? Where Does It Go?
New eResource Highlight: the Cochrane Library
Our newest free eResource offers high-quality, independent evidence to inform healthcare decision making for all of us.
Several databases in one, it includes the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, and Cochrane Clinical Answers.
Browse the Cochrane Library using various starting points, such as by topic, the most recent clinical trials, and research answers/action points. (Also available in Spanish.) Questions? Ask a library staff member.
For weeks, Athens east-side residents and the Athens library staff heard crowing at all hours and would spot a lone rooster along the Hockhocking Adena Bikeway or in area yards.
Believed to be homeless and dumped in the neighborhood, the Polish chicken had escaped various capture attempts.
Library associates Mia and Erin finally secured "Hei Hei" (lovingly named by library staff after Moana's chicken sidekick) through the use of a butterfly net on library grounds.
Relocated to a nearby farm, he now lives with a new flock of chickens and has much to crow about!
A concerned library visitor recently found a hummingbird in distress outside of our main branch in Nelsonille, exhausted and likely injured from flying into a window. They did what many of us would when we need help: they brought it to the library's front desk!
After library associate Deborah offered the hummingbird a sugar water mixture, it regained strength, flying through the building before returning outside again after Deborah wisely encouraged it to perch on a broom.
What animal kingdom adventure will our staff encounter next? Just stay tuned...
Recommended Reads
To browse and reserve the following highlighted titles in our catalog,
click on the image below, then on the book covers that interest you!