The Millarville Community Library is off to a flying start with a new librarian and new energy. Natasha Grusendorf is our new librarian and comes to the job with a wealth of enthusiasm for reading and the benefits that libraries bring to individuals and communities. With one child still at Millarville and two more at Oilfields, Natasha’s background includes being a mom for the past 15 years to 3 kids. Before children she worked as a Respiratory Therapist in many different roles but mostly working with children in the NICU, PICU and emergency. Since moving to the Millarville area 8 years ago, she has been active in the community serving on the Playgroup board for several years and spending time volunteering at Millarville School.
The Library has long had a great relationship with the school with the younger children frequenting the library with their parents and enjoying story time, but we have long felt that we could offer more to those in grades 4-8. Natasha, with her experience of what works and what doesn’t with her own kids, offered a variety of hands on experiments in the library to celebrate Science Literary Week. These events attracted some 300 kids from all grades, some of them coming several times! The experiments included a day of dry ice experiments, the building of a vortex cannon using a fog machine to demonstrate air pressure changes, and others. Lots of fun and learning!
Nov 14 sees a return performance of the Original story time crew, led by Karen Whitlie and her merry band who will present their unique telling of Snow White for the community and the school in the school auditorium at 10:45. The regular Story Time performances will be at 10am on Dec 19, Jan 23, Feb 27, Mar 26 and Apr 23 in the library. We are so lucky to have an inveterate storyteller, Kelley Nutbrown, take over the regular storytimes, so that the tradition continues.
Nov 10 is the date of the arrival of Junior books eligible for the Junior Books Awards. These books are voted on by their junior readers. Natasha will visit the school to announce this.
Also in November, Natasha is bringing two of the highly popular Sphero Balls to the library. This is a striking new way to learn and pay with an app-enabled robotic ball – the future is coming to the library!
In January Natasha plans to offer a Deconstruction Lab where students will take small electronic appliances apart to see how they work and then reconstruct them to make art. These will be displayed in the library. So if anyone has any SMALL appliances they would like to donate, please bring them to the library.
Three library members and school parents, Kelley Nutbrown, Jolene Friesen and Burgandy Motz man the Millarville Library Facebook page with information on upcoming events and photos, and Board member Kim Burns keeps the library in the news with imaginative Instagram posts.
Last year’s librarian, Janine Jones, has moved onto new adventures but she is still working with Natasha to coordinate our ongoing art displays in the library. Thank you Janine! The current exhibition is XI, a textile Art ExhibitIon from SPECTRA, a group of south Alberta women who have studied and are committed to presenting textiles as art.
Their quilts are ingenious interpretations of Shakespeare Quotes. In November we will feature Amanda Tanner, a fibre artist who will also offer a needle felting class (for dates check the Facebook page).
Sumer seems like a long time away but our summer Reading Program was extremely well-attended and enjoyed. Thank you to our creative and talented Program leader Anna Carnell and our Summer Librarian, Brittany MacDonald.
