Lots of local public library news to get to today…

+ Short films celebrate library patron – (from Connecticut Post Online) – “Back in her day, the industrialist Frances Osborne Kellogg would enjoy plays staged by young dramatists at the Derby Neck Library. So the benefactor who served for 49 years as the library’s head trustee would have been proud on Wednesday. In honor of “Fannie” Kellogg’s birthday, members of the library’s Teen Advisory Board showed off a half-dozen short films to an audience of 50 in the library’s meeting room. “The kids have been so inventive,” said Mary Phelan, the assistant head librarian, film club adviser, and supporting actor in several of the shorts. “She would love this. It’s just like the old days with her watching the plays.”

+ Cedar Hills council votes to cut library refunds – (from The Daily Herald) – “To ensure a lean budget in Cedar Hills, the city has cut one of the last additional services it offered — and city officials say there isn’t much more fat to trim.”

+ Kelley has her ideal career set – (From the New Bern Sun Journal) – “A love of books has guided Havelock High School senior Deborah Kelley down her future path, a career as a librarian where she hopes her wheelchair will be welcome. “You can accomplish whatever you want to,” Kelley said she would advise others with physical disabilities. “Don’t think because of the wheelchair that you can’t do it because you can.”

+ Many pieces went into financing of Rondo library – (from Finance and Commerce) – “St. Paul’s University and Dale neighborhood will soon have a new state-of-the-art public library with 98 mostly affordable homes perched above. The development, which will open early next year, is winning kudos, not just for contributing to a more livable neighborhood but also for surviving a complicated development process that reflected its unusual combination of uses and participants.”

+ Revamped space to read and learn – (from Bucks County Courier Times) – “A view of the Delaware River, wall-to-wall carpeting and newer lighting are just some of the many changes that visitors will see when Grundy Library in Bristol reopens its doors June 4. The Margaret R. Grundy Memorial Library closed Nov. 20 to begin renovations, which the community had a part in deciding. This is the first major renovation since the library opened in 1966.”

+ Community activist unveils plan to build new facility in Lawrence – (from Nassau Herald) – “The long-sought solution to the chronic space problems at the Peninsula Public Library in Lawrence may have been found in a park a few blocks from the facility.”

+ Grand opening of library draws out patrons – (from The Beacon) – “At the end of the day, it was the strong show of support that made the Sargent Memorial Library’s grand opening a success. Residents turned out in droves on a busy Sunday afternoon to share in the celebration of the new library that is quickly becoming a town institution.”

+ New Central Library in Bay City named after huge contributors – (from Bay City Times) – “More than 60 years later, Wirt and his wife, Alice, showed their support for public libraries with a $750,000 cash gift to the project to build and renovate Bay County libraries.”

+ Library aquarium in works – (from The Grand Rapids Press) – “Mary Dersch wants a part of Reeds Lake to come into the new East Grand Rapids Public Library. If she has her way, the children who will walk under a lily pad ceiling in the refurbished library will end up looking at a 240-gallon aquarium and a 120-gallon turtle tank.”

+ Library has more room to ‘breathe,’ director says – (from The Daily News) – “When people ask Reynolds Township Library Director Janice Williams what she plans to do with all the extra space at the new library, her answer is simple. “Breathe,” she says.”

+ Library Amnesty Brings More Than $40,000 In Books, Materials – (from WYFF) – “The Greenville County Library System says its first amnesty program in almost 20 years brought in more than $40,000 worth of missing books and library materials.”

+ Library contains genealogy treasures – (from The Daily Star) – “The roots of thousands of family trees are nestled quietly at the genealogy department of the Tangipahoa Parish Library in Amite. And Lenore Johnson offers an experienced guiding hand to help the curious uncover them.”

+ Library reception honors decade of dedication – (from The News Courier) – “Billie Jacoby has told friends at Athens-Limestone Public Library that she’ll probably retire once she reaches a decade of volunteerism there, but nobody believes her.”