HAPPY NEW YEAR! 

Welcome to 2024! There is a lot happening at the Dawson Library.

There will be a new face at the library. Please welcome Chole to the staff!

Upcoming programs are scheduled. They are:

We’ll be learning how to make a mini book as part of a monthly book binding series.

On the last day of January, we’ll paint some canvas at the library.

New Displays have cropped up around the library for January.

Happy Public Domain Day January 1

A lot of things entered the Public Domain on the first of year. Anything published 1928 and earlier is now in the public domain and free for all to use. Most notably, Steamboat Willie (the first incarnation of Mickey Mouse) is now free to use for all (just mind which Mickey you source as anything after 1928 is still protected). Others, such as Millions of Cats by Wanda Gag and Lady Chatterley’s Lover by D.H. Lawrence have also fallen into the public domain.

Holocaust Remembrance Day January 27

There are several books about the Holocaust and World War II to mark this year’s observance.

New Year, New You!

There’s some books about resetting for the new year from finances to health. Check them out for some inspiration.

Learn a New Hobby

Looking to learn a new hobby? Check out the display with all of the various books to learn something new in 2024!

Winter Reading 2024

Winter Reading is officially here. Pick up your log! There are mugs and bags as prizes for those who complete their logs before the end of March. There’s a display to get you in the mood!

A new Take and Make is also available for January. It’s a mini hat out of yarn. Everything you’ll need will be in a bag at the library. Pick one up today!

This month’s Staff Pick is The Hidden Language of Cats: How They Have Us at Meow by Sarah Brown. This delightful book captures why cats are so special to those who have them and just what it is they’re saying to us and to one another. 

JOB OPENING: 

The Dawson Library has an opening for a Library Assistant II (Part Time) position. The hours are Mondays 10:30 AM to 5:30 PM, every other Saturday, and subbing as needed in Madison and Canby.

Applications can be found at:

www.pioneerland.lib.mn.us/files/2022/05/Job-Applications-05_2022.pdf  or at the Main Desk.

Any Questions please call (320) 769-2069

Wonderful World of Water

Presented by 4H

Tuesday November 21, 2023 

3:30 PM-4:30 PM

Dawson Public Library 

Come and learn about the importance of water in our world! 4H will present a lesson on how water impacts our lives at the Dawson Public Library. All are welcome to attend. Come and make a splash!

Allison Broesder

Head Librarian (Dawson/Canby/Madison)

Happy Thanksgiving!

A reminder: The Library will be closed on Saturday November 11 for Veteran’s Day and on Thursday November 23 for Thanksgiving Day.

There is a plethora of new displays posted all around the library. Take a look and see what might strike your fancy or inspire you!

There is a display honoring all of our Veterans. Please look over all of the different books and movies to mark and commemorate their sacrifices. Thank you to all Veterans who have served and to all service members serving currently. Your community appreciates all that you do.

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone! There are books for prepping the big meal, picture books for the children to learn about Thanksgiving, and books on the history of the holiday to get you in the mood. If you’re feeling frazzled about getting ready for Turkey Day, be sure to check it out and see if there’s anything there that might reduce the anxiety. Gobble, gobble!

Christmas is also fast approaching (and encroaching on Thanksgiving as some might say) so there are already some novels, prep books, movies, and more to get ready for the holiday season. Be sure to check out what’s there and be inspired to get into the Winter Reading mood. There are going to be mugs and bags for those who participate in the program. Look for further details soon.

It is the annual challenge to see if it is possible to write a 50,000 word novel in 30 Days. November is National Novel Writing Month, NANOWRIMO for short. Are you up to the challenge? If you write approximately 1,666 words a day for the entire month, you just might be able to pull it off. There is a display with some helpful writing advice books and published novels that had their beginnings in this writing frenzy to provide some inspiration. You just might manage to write the next Great American Novel! Get writing!

If you’d like to immerse yourself in an audiobook instead, there are some memoirs and biographies to choose from in a new display. They have the likes of Alan Alda of M*A*S*H fame and Bob Newhart, read by the authors themselves.

This month’s Staff Pick is Leonardo Da Vinci by Walter Isaacson, a biography of perhaps one of the world’s greatest artists and inventors. It’s an in-depth look and exploration of Da Vinci’s life and the world he inhabited. It also includes some fantastic illustrations capturing the great artist’s work.

And finally, these are two reads I read in the past month that are in the Dawson collection. The first is a fiction piece When Women Were Dragons by Kelly Barnhill, a Minnesota author. The book explores an alternative history of the 1950s and the mystery surrounding women’s spontaneous transformation into dragons. It’s speculative fiction that asks some tough questions. There’s hints of the uproar that took place in the 1950s under new guise. This book was published in 2022.

The other is The Internet Con: How to Seize the Means of Computation by Cory Doctorow. He explains how the Internet has been shaped by Big Tech, what that has done to communication, and how we can press for interoperability both in our computing systems along with our social media platforms. It’s an interesting exploration of technology and how it has shaped so much of our world around us. This title came out on September 5, 2023, so is in the new section.

Until next month!

Allison Broesder

Head Librarian (Dawson/Canby/Madison)

Happy Halloween! 

Halloween is fast approaching! We have some mini pumpkins here to help celebrate Spooky Season. Come to the library and decorate yours here or take it home! One pumpkin per household, please.

We also have some Scary Reads on display. If you’re not into the scary side of Halloween, we have some cozy mysteries and reads as well.

Group of pets with dog, cat, rabbit, ferret, fish, frog, rat, bird, guinea pig, reptile, snake against white background

Other displays are about our furbabies. Pets are part of the family, after all.

This month’s Staff Pick is Hilary Mantel’s reimagining of the Court of Henry VIII through Thomas Cromwell’s eyes. Give it a read!

A lot of new materials have also been added recently. Be sure to check them out.

Allison Broesder

Head Librarian (Dawson/Canby/Madison)

September is National Library Card Sign-Up Month! 

If it’s been a while since you’ve visited the library, come back and see what’s new.

There is a Bus Trip to the Bell Museum/Marjorie McNeely Conservatory on Thursday September 21, 2023. The bus will leave Dawson at 6:30 AM. Sign up soon before the bus fills up. A menu for the cafe is also posted at the main desk. 

There are some new displays to see peppering the library throughout. One is devoted to Star Trek and space, honoring the anniversary of Star Trek’s debut on September 8, 1966.

Another celebrates some purrfect reading with a display devoted to cats.

With the return to school, there’s a display for the classics.

Looking for some audio books for a long drive, there’s some of the biggest names in books from Stephen King to James Patterson set out. And for teens, there’s a variety of YA titles on display to encourage some extracurricular reading. Look forward to new displays each month.

Allison Broesder

Head Librarian (Dawson/Canby/Madison)