Bring the kids to the Cosmos Library any day from August 5th through 10th to make buttons featuring different Pokémon! We’ll have a button maker and all of the supplies. For ages 7 and up. Free! No need to sign up.

Cosmos Library News for August 2024

The summer reading program, Read, Renew, Repeat, continues through August at the Cosmos Library. Children and teens can still sign up this month for the self-paced program if they haven’t made it to the library so far this summer. Completed reading sheets can be turned in for prizes until Saturday, August 31.

The library’s monthly LEGO program will be held on Monday, August 19, 2:00-3:00 p.m. This free program is open to kids ages 5-18. Children ages 5-7 must be accompanied by a teen or adult caregiver. There’s no need to sign up, and everything is provided.

Cosmos Library will have some take-home activity kits available for children and teens this month. Watch the website and the Facebook page for announcements about those.

New books for adults are available at the library including these:

Farmall Century: The Evolution of Red Tractors and Crawlers in the Golden Age of International Harvester by Lee Klancher

Recovering from Emotionally Immature Parents: Practical Tools to Establish Boundaries & Reclaim Your Emotional Autonomy by Lindsay C. Gibson

The Swans of Harlem: Five Black Ballerinas, Fifty Years of Sisterhood, and Their Reclamation of a Groundbreaking History by Karen Valby

Trippy: The Peril and Promise of Medicinal Psychedelics by Ernesto Londono

Challenger: A True Story of Heroism and Disaster on the Edge of Space by Adam Higginbotham

Making the Carry: The Lives of John and Tchi-Ki-Wis Linklater by Timothy Cochrane

Minescapes: Reclaiming Minnesota’s Mined Lands by Pete Kero

Cosmos Library is located in city hall. The phone number is 320-440-1012, and the website is www.cosmos.lib.mn.us. The library’s hours are Mondays 10-5, Tuesdays 2-5, Thursdays 2-6, Fridays 2-5, and Saturdays 10-1.

Cosmos Library News for July 2024

The Cosmos Library continues with a busy summer in the month of July!

The summer reading program, “Read. Renew. Repeat” continues all summer long, so if the kids haven’t gotten to the library to sign up yet, it is not at all too late! The program is a self-paced program that children and teens do on their own time, and then they bring in their completed reading challenges to claim prizes at the library. New prizes keep being added throughout the summer.

The Cosmos Library has a special program every Friday in July. Mark your calendars for these exciting events:

Visit the Cosmos Library on Friday, July 5, at 2:00 p.m. to learn about birds from a DNR Naturalist! Bring the whole family to this free program. Savannah from Sibley State Park will read A Sparrow’s Disappearing Home and teach kids about birds in Minnesota. No need to sign up.

The Minnesota Science Museum is coming to the Cosmos Library on Friday, July 12, at 2:00 p.m., and it’s all about dinosaurs! Did a T.rex drag its tail? Using recent paleontological research, explore the lives and extinction of dinosaurs through this nature of science program. Ideal for kids in grades 3-5, but everyone is welcome. Free to attend and no need to sign up.

Cosmos Library is offering a Space Festival event again this year. On Friday, July 19, from 5-8 p.m., bring the whole family to play mini golf in the meeting room. Free to attend and no need to sign up.

On Friday, July 26, from 2:00-4:00 p.m., come to Crafting with the Green Thumb Garden Club.

Cosmos Creation Club continues to meet on the 3^rd Monday of the month from 2:00-3:00 p.m. This month it’s on July 15. This free program is open to kids ages 5-18. Kids ages 5-7 must be accompanied by a teen or adult caregiver. No need to sign up, and everything is provided.

Pioneerland libraries will be closed on Thursday, July 4, for Independence Day.

The Cosmos Library’s hours are Mondays 10-5, Tuesdays 2-5, Thursdays 2-6, Fridays 2-5, and Saturdays 10-1.

Bring the kids to build with LEGOS at the Cosmos Library this summer! This free program is open to kids ages 5-18. Kids ages 5-7 must be accompanied by a teen or adult caregiver. No need to sign up, and everything is provided.

Cosmos Creation Club will meet on the 3rd Monday of the month from 2-3 p.m. in the library:

June 17

July 15

August 19

This summer, the theme of the summer reading program is “Read. Renew. Repeat.”  The library will be celebrating things like conservation, recycling, ecosystems, plants, and animals.

Kids and teens up to age 18 can sign up for the self-paced reading program starting Monday, June 3. No need to worry if you can’t get to the library that day; sign-up continues all summer. The Cosmos program ends August 31.

When kids sign up, they’ll get a book bag, a bookmark, and a reading log.

The summer reading program is always self-paced. Children work their way through the reading game sheets, earning spaces by reading or being read to for 20 minutes (counting up to an hour a day), and by doing other activities like being active for at least 20 minutes, reading aloud to a person or a pet, or attending a library program. For teens, there’s a more straightforward sheet for tracking hours of reading. Whenever kids bring in a completed sheet, they can choose from a wide variety of small prizes. At the end of each month, the library will hold a drawing from the sheets turned in that month, giving kids the chance to win a bonus prize.

The goal of the summer reading program is to encourage kids to read all summer long so that they keep up their reading skills and return to school in the fall ready to learn. Because of that, kids can do one reading sheet after another all summer until late August and keep earning prizes.

We are very excited about some special programs this summer!

On Friday, June 14, at 2:00 p.m., CLIMB Theatre will present “County Mouse & City Mouse: Adventure in the Suburbs.” In this short play for children, a pair of mouse cousins visit the suburbs. Country Mouse wants to explore the new area, while City Mouse wants to read, renew, and repeat for a relaxing vacation. Will conflict tear apart their relationship, or will they learn to “compro-mice” and celebrate their differences? In this play, kids will learn to use their empathy skills and to advocate for their own needs. Free to attend, and no need to sign up.

On Thursday, June 20, at 3:00 p.m., the library is offering an art workshop for kids: Up Cycle Art Class with Aina Jane. Children are invited to bring in a few small items from home like ribbon, a button, an old card, etc. They will be able to incorporate these items into their own upcycled art. More items will be available from the teacher at the class. For ages 8 and up. Advance registration is required since space is limited; sign up at the library or by calling 320-440-1012. Free to attend; funded in part or in whole by Minnesota’s Arts & Cultural Heritage Fund.

On Tuesday, June 25, at 4:00 p.m., a local Master Gardener is holding a program for children called “Garden, Learn, & Play.” She will teach them about plants through fun activities. Free to attend, and no need to sign up. The program will run about 45 minutes.

Looking ahead, mark your calendars for these events in July:

Friday, July 5, 2:00 p.m.: DNR program about birds

Friday, July 12, 2:00 p.m.: Science Museum of Minnesota program about dinosaurs

Friday, July 19, 5:00-8:00 p.m.: Mini golf in the community room for Space Festival

On the 3^rd Monday of each month this summer, kids ages 5-18 are invited to build with LEGOs in the library at Cosmos Creation Club: June 17, July 15, and August 19, from 2-3 p.m. No need to sign up or bring anything, other than an adult or teen caregiver for those under age 8.

Looking for the new Litchfield and Hutchinson newspapers? You can read them at the Cosmos Library.

The Cosmos Library’s hours are Mondays 10-5, Tuesdays 2-5, Thursdays 2-6, Fridays 2-5, and Saturdays 10-1.

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!

by Beth Cronk, Meeker County Librarian

Here are some useful facts about the library in a Frequently Asked Questions format. I hope you learn a little something you didn’t know before!

How much does it cost to get a library card?
A library card is free! It’s part of the public services available to you as a resident of Minnesota. Once you have a library card, it’s also free to check out anything in the library collection, both ebooks and physical items. If you had a library card and it’s lost, there is a $3 charge for a replacement card.

How many books are in the Cosmos Public Library?
The Cosmos Library has about 10,000 books. It also has about 1,500 DVDs and about 400 CDs.

What if I want to check out something that the Cosmos Library doesn’t have?
You can request things from other libraries in the Pioneerland Library System, which has a collection of about 620,000 physical items. If Pioneerland doesn’t have something, you can often request it from another library in Minnesota, using the MNLINK catalog. You can search both the Pioneerland and MNLINK catalogs online and request things yourself, or library staff can help you and place those requests.

Does it cost money to order things from other libraries?
No, the service is free to you as part of the interlibrary loan network in place in Minnesota. Our state is outstanding at providing access to library materials! Cosmos Library gets two deliveries of those interlibrary loan materials each week.

How long can I keep a book?
Most books are loaned for four weeks. Some bestsellers are limited to just two weeks while they’re new; you’ll recognize these by the sticker on the spine that says “14 day loan.”

How long can I keep a DVD I’ve checked out?
DVDs are now loaned for two weeks.

Can I check out magazines?

Yes, magazines can be checked out for two weeks.

A book I checked out had a due date coming up soon, but now I found out that it’s not really due for a few more weeks. What happened?

Automatic renewals! This is a brand-new service our library system is offering. If no one has a hold on an item that you have checked out, and you haven’t renewed it before, the library’s computer system will automatically renew it for you once, three days before its due date. If you are signed up for email updates about your account, you’ll be notified by email when those renewals happen and when you have items that will be due soon.

I’m late returning a library item. How much will I be charged?

There is a charge of ten cents per day for late items, although there is a three-day grace period before those start being charged. Materials for children and teens no longer have late fees. If your item is a month overdue, you’ll get a bill for the replacement of that item. If that happens, once you return the item the charge will drop to a $3 late fee (or to $0 for materials from the kids’ section). If an item is damaged or lost, talk to library staff about how you can resolve that charge.

Can I use my library card in other libraries?

Yes, you can. Your Pioneerland library card will work in all libraries in the system. Our system stretches from Graceville to Glencoe and from Canby to Dassel. If you want to use a different library system in Minnesota, you can do that, too. Bring your card to them, and they will help you register as a reciprocal borrower in their system.

If you have more questions, stop in or call the library, and we’ll be happy to answer them.