Lee Ackert is Library Artist of the Month
Upcoming Activities
Preschool Story Hour is scheduled for Wednesday, Sept. 14, at 10:30 a.m.
Dog Day on Sept. 15, 4 to 5 p.m.
Book Discussion group meets Tuesday, Sept. 20 at 10 a.m.
Upcoming Activity
Book Discussion group will be discussing “A Mercy” by Toni Morrison (MOR). This is Toni’s 9th novel and was chosen last fall in Chicago for everyone to read in the “One Chicago, One Book.” If you haven’t had the experience of discussing a book with others, consider doing it this month. You’ll find the group inviting.
Artist of the Month
Our master this month is an artist we have known for a long time, Lee Ackert. She moved to Florida in 1979 after having taught art in the public schools of Massachusetts for twelve years. One can find her teaching at the Beach Art Association as well as spending time in her studio. She enjoys painting outdoors directly and using overlaying washes and negative painting in the studio. She treasures the time here as she has more time to devote to painting and has been working exclusively in watercolor.
Lee’s works are on display in the Conference Room
Displays
In the display case near the DVDS and Large Print is an assortment of sewing items prepared by the American Sewing Guild, Fort Myers/Southwest Florida chapter. The 300 some local members have monthly meetings with the goal of educating members on the fun side of sewing. The assortment includes a children’s floor guilt, a teen purse, hats for after hair loss, ouch pouch for after surgery and a money holder, to mention a few.
In the display at the top of the stairs you can find Cats, Cats and Cats display that obviously exhibits the many ways cats can be enjoyed in one’s home and life. These treasures come from the collection of cat lover Pat Smith.
Budget Hearing
We welcomed those who participated in our first budget hearing last Tuesday. Public comment opened with a resident talking about her first hearing some 4 or 5 years ago, the comments she learned then about library expansion plans, the increase then for the library improvement and what she has learned in the years since. She sees funds are well spent and looks forward to the completion of the expansion.
The Board in its proposed resolution lowered the millage 20 percent from the roll-back rate and talked about careful planning to achieve that reduction. The hope is to keep moving in that direction in future years. If you wanted to attend the hearing and didn’t, you can still review the proposed budget. Go to the library website www.fmb.lib.fl.us and click on ‘General Library Information.’ Then, look in the second column and click on the ‘Library Proposed Budget 2011-2012.’ The handout also includes the difference between the current year and the proposed year.
Dedication
Librarians are here to help ensure that our democracy is not left to the idiosyncrasies of commercial search engines and Wikipedia that can be subject to special interests. When it comes to locating the most credible information and presenting it to a patron in a helpful, accessible way, a librarian often runs circles around Google. The Internet, as wonderful as it is, will never conduct an interview or reader’s advisory and a mobile device, while a helpful tool, can’t compare when it comes to helping children develop a love of reading. This is part of the reason the “Taxpayer Return on Investment in Florida Public Libraries” by the University of West Florida concluded that for every tax dollar received, Florida public libraries provided $8.32 in value.
Library Hours
When we are closed, a recorder gives the hours of operation, either on 765-8162, or on 765-8163. Except for holidays, we are open Monday and Wednesday from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.; Tuesday, Thursday and Friday 9 to 5; and Saturday 9-1. We look forward to seeing you.