Pioneerland libraries will be closed on Tuesday, November 11, for Veterans Day.

The public libraries in Meeker County are working to help the community this month with a Food for Fines program. Bring in nonperishable food or hygiene items for the Meeker Area Food Shelf, and get $1 in late fees waived from your library card per item donated, for a maximum of $5 waived in the month per card. The program runs from Monday, October 27, through Tuesday, November 25.

Only late fees can be waived as part of this program. Replacement charges for lost or damaged items cannot be waived.

If you have old late fees on kids’ materials with a call number that begins with E, J, YA, or B, talk to a staff member. Because late fees are no longer charged for kids’ materials, library staff can waive those for you without a food shelf donation.

No late fees? Bring your food shelf donations to the library anyway! It’s a great way to help local people in need. Look for the collection bin in the library.

The Meeker Area Food Shelf’s greatest needs are these, but they are happy to accept any food:

Crafters, bring your works in progress to the Cosmos Library for time to be social while you create! This program for adults and older teens will be held the 4th Saturday of October, November, and December from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in the library. Younger teens may attend with an adult.

Bring your own craft project. Don’t have a current project? We’ll have supplies and instructions for simple embroidered bookmarks you can make.

No messy projects such as paint and resin please, to avoid damaging the library’s carpet and furniture. No need to sign up.

Pokémon is back this fall at the Cosmos Library! Kids ages 7-18 are welcome to play the trading card game at the library every Thursday between 4:00 and 5:30 p.m. Card are provided by the library, but players are welcome to bring their own if they wish. No need to register – just drop in when it works for your schedule. Free! Beginning and experienced players are welcome. Staff will teach the game to new players.

Children younger than age 8 must be accompanied by an adult or teen caregiver.

Pokémon will not be held on Thursday, November 27, since the library will be closed for Thanksgiving, or on Thursday, December 25, because the library will be closed for Christmas.

Thank you to the organizations and businesses that donated to Cosmos Library’s summer reading program this year!  The businesses donated prizes that children and teens chose when they turned in completed reading sheets.  Thank you for supporting kids and reading in our community!

This summer was full of fun and games at the Cosmos Library. The summer reading program ended on Saturday, August 30, which was the last day to bring in summer reading sheets for prizes.

Thank you to the following businesses who donated prizes for the summer reading program:

Jimmy’s Pizza – Litchfield
Pizza Ranch – Hutchinson
Culver’s – Hutchinson
Litchfield Bowl
Casey’s
Papa Murphy’s – Hutchinson
Stockmen’s Greenhouse
DQ – Hutchinson
McDonald’s – Litchfield
Domino’s – Hutchinson

We couldn’t offer such great prizes without their support. Thank you for supporting kids and reading in Cosmos!

Pokémon Trading Card Game will continue at the Cosmos Library in September every Thursdays after school. Kids ages 7 to 18 are invited to come in and play or learn to play Pokémon between 4:00 and 5:30 p.m. – no need to be there the whole time. Kids under age 8 must be accompanied by an adult or teen caregiver. The library has cards to play with; players can also bring their own cards if they prefer. There’s no need to sign up, and it’s free to attend.

Craft Circle will continue every month through December. In September, it will be held on Saturday the 6^th, 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. From October through December, it will be held on the 4^th Saturday of each month at that same time: 10/25, 11/22, and 12/27. This is a bring-your-own craft program for adults and teens ages 16 and up, offering a chance to socialize with other creative people. Teens ages 13-15 can attend with an adult. No instruction or supplies will be provided. No messy crafts such as paint or resin, please, since the program will take place in the library itself. Suggested crafts include knitting, crochet, diamond dots, paper crafting, jewelry making, embroidery, and drawing.

September is Library Card Sign-Up Month! If you don’t have a library card, make it your month to get one. Your first library card is free, as a resident of our library system. Bring in your current photo ID, and we’ll give you an application form to fill out. You’ll get a library card on the spot. Have you moved and not yet updated your driver’s license? Bring along a piece of mail that’s been delivered to you at your current address, or a utility bill. Under 18? Bring your parent or legal guardian. A library card gives you access to many useful things for free!

Pioneerland libraries will be closed on Monday, September 1, for Labor Day. . The library’s hours are Mondays 10-5, Tuesdays 2-5, Thursdays 2-6, Fridays 2-5, and Saturdays 10-1. Find us in city hall, at www.cosmos.lib.mn.us, or at 320-440-1012.

Are you looking for some creative inspiration this fall? Pioneerland Library System offers access to Creativebug, a website with thousands of award-winning art and craft video classes. This service is provided by Prairielands Library Exchange, an organization that exists to help support public and school libraries in southwestern Minnesota. We are excited that our library users can use their library cards to access these online classes taught by recognized design experts and artists.

You can find the link to Creativebug on the left bar of the Pioneerland website or the Cosmos Library website: www.cosmos.lib.mn.us.

Once you have entered your library card number, the site will prompt you to create an account. Through your account, you can keep track of where you left off in a class and which videos you have watched, and you can be notified of new classes on topics you’re interested in. You can even upload photos of your own projects to share, if you’d like.

Class topics include art and design, sewing, quilting, paper, knitting, crochet, food and home, jewelry, holiday and party, and kids.

One interesting feature the website offers is daily practice. Intended to be a way to challenge yourself to a month of making, the website offers 30-day prompts for daily art practice. There are over 60 daily practice series to choose from, such as hand stitching, watercolor and colored pencil, bookmaking, and rubber stamp carving.

Beyond the video classes, the Creativebug website also offers downloadable knitting and crochet patterns.

New classes are being added to the website all the time. Recent classes are titled “Embroidered Pencil Case,” “Love Letter Quilt Top,” and “Crochet Edges for Garments.” Upcoming classes include “Accordion Book as Art Form” and “Professional Illustration 101.”

If video classes aren’t your thing but you enjoy art or crafting, you can choose from a wide variety of books in the library to learn more. The Cosmos Library collection has many books on arts and crafts, including a wide range from whittling to origami and from painting to quilting.

Crafting and art have many benefits: they can reduce stress, improve mood, and reduce cognitive decline, as the activity brings you into a focused, almost meditative state. Whether you’re a beginner or an experienced artist or crafter, the library can be a resource for your creativity.

Cosmos Library will offer curbside service indefinitely. Call the library at the number on the sign, 320-440-1012, if you’d like your materials brought outside. Have your library card number ready.

Library staff can hand your bag of library materials to you on the sidewalk or bring it to your vehicle parked in the parking lot behind the library. Let us know where you’d like us to bring it when you call.

Curbside service may be useful if you have mobility issues or a sleeping child in the car, or because of illness. Regardless of your reason, you are welcome to use the service!