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!

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.

We are very excited to announce that juvenile materials in Pioneerland Library System will no longer accrue late fees! This includes books, CDs, and DVDs with call numbers beginning with J, E, B, and YA.

We are so excited to announce that Pioneerland Library System has a subscription to TumbleBooks!

https://www.tumblebooklibrary.com/Home.aspx?categoryID=77

Our library has a subscription to TumbleBookLibrary, and your family can access it from home! It’s unlimited, and it’s FREE for you to use.

TumbleBookLibrary is an online collection of e-books for children.  They are a great way to encourage tech-savvy kids to enjoy reading!

There are over 250 animated, talking picture books. The site also features Spanish and French books, read-along chapter books, non-fiction books, and exciting games and puzzles.

We hope that you will get the chance to check out the collections with your child!

You can use your computer, tablet, or mobile phone. All you need is an internet connection. There are no downloads: books are streamed right to your device at the click of a button.

Happy Tumbling, everyone!

Pioneerland Library System has online magazines available for your use through the Overdrive e-book service. Access them here: https://pioneerland.overdrive.com/library/magazines

Want to order through the library’s online catalog but you’ve never set up a PIN? Here’s how to do it: https://iii.pioneerland.lib.mn.us/screens/help_pin.html

Call the library if you need assistance.

Digital library cards now available!  You can sign up on Overdrive/Libby for a temporary digital library card that will allow you to check out our ebooks and downloadable audiobooks. You’ll enter your cell phone number to demonstrate that you live within our regional library system.