March 25th 2009

Community Action, Inc. is partnering with Eccles-Lesher Memorial Library to bring services to your area!

Come and take advantage of Eccles-Lesher Memorial Library’s partnership with Community Action, Inc. of Clarion! Representatives will be present on the first Friday of every month from 12:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. and the third Monday of every month from 10:00 a.m. -2:00 p.m. to help individuals apply for SNAP, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (formerly known as the Food Stamp Program) and to distribute donated food.

If you have any questions or would like to know more about the services provided, you may contact Community Action, Inc. at (814) 226-4785 or toll free at 1-800-997-7661.

Big fan of Magic the Gathering?? Eccles-Lesher Memorial Library is hosting a Tournament on Friday, March 27th at 5 p.m.! Magic the Gathering Highlander 1.5 All Creatures – Players will be able to have One of each Creature, One of each Non-Basic Land, and as many Basic Land as you want! First, Second, and Third place prizes will be awarded as well as Door Prizes given out! Register by calling the library at 473-3800. For questions about the tournament contact Bob MacKinlay at 473-8494. This is a free program but donations for the library are definitely accepted!

Don’t forget about Story Time on Thursday afternoons! Each week Nancy Shanafelt, our Children’s Director, leads a fun-filled hour of stories and crafts! While the programs are usually geared towards kids ages 3 to 5, feel free to bring others along! The more the merrier!

Coming up in April we have another Adult Book Discussion Group scheduled. The selection for this month is The Friday Night Knitting Club by Kate Jacobs. A brief synopsis: “Georgia Walker is a single mom and successful New York City entrepreneur whose yarn shop, Walker and Daughter, has become something of a mecca for knitters of all skill levels and dispositions. What begins as a disorganized Friday night gathering of her most loyal customers turns into a regular meeting of minds and hearts, as each woman discovers there's much more to be found at Walker and Daughter than tips on knitting technique.” (http://www.fridaynightknittingclub.com) Soon the library will have copies of this novel for a small donation of $11. The book discussion group will meet up on Monday, April 20th at 7 p.m. right here at the Eccles-Lesher Memorial Library. Any question just call Rachel at 473-3800!

Also coming in April will be a new automation system for the five libraries in Clarion County. Thanks to a special grant received last year by the County, the libraries are able to acquire this new system to replace our current systems, which are no longer supported by the company who created it (that tells you how old they are!). All the libraries, their staff and volunteers have been working long hours to get the libraries collections up to par to be ready to make this huge change, and we’re hoping our patrons will bare with us while we make the transition. Eccles-Lesher Memorial Library will be closed Monday, April 27th through Wednesday, April 29th while the staff go through training to learn the new system. We will be back open on Thursday, April 30th until 5 p.m., and the same schedule applies for Friday, May 1st and Saturday, May 2nd. Our XBox play time will be cancelled for Thursday of that week.

All of the libraries in the county will have crazy schedules that week as all staff and some volunteers get a crash course of how to run this new system! Any inconveniences this causes for patrons I’m sure will be well worth it once we are up and running!

Just to keep our patrons updated, we have been informed that as of the end of March we will no longer be receiving the Pittsburgh Post Gazette.