Happy spring! Here at DBRL we have been busy working on new services, like opening the new branch in Holts Summit and deploying our new Book Rover to area childcare centers. We’re also gearing up for our annual One Read program and Summer Reading. As busy as we are, we find it is again time to pause a moment to take stock of how we are doing. To help us learn whether we are on track in serving your needs, we will be conducting a survey this summer to get your feedback on our current services, and to ask for suggestions on how we can serve you better.

Tonya Hays-Martin loves libraries. She’s been on the DBRL board of trustees for 10 years, she works as a librarian at Fulton State Hospital and, while traveling, she visits libraries along the way, making sure to capture a selfie in front of each one. Tonya currently lives in Calwood with her husband John. They have two sons and a granddaughter. And she has passed on her passion to her family — one of her sons completed his library sciences degree and is now working as a professional librarian.

We understand that demands on families may make getting to a library a challenge, so we are reaching preschoolers where many spend their weekdays: at a child care center.

Thanks to many people and businesses who donated more than $158,000 through the Daniel Boone Regional Library Foundation, we were able to buy the Book Rover entirely through private funding. The Book Rover is a specialized van that comes equipped with shelves that we load with books. The children and teachers we visit at child care centers browse through the mini collection and check out what they want. They can read the books on the spot or take them home. While there, we also offer story times and mentoring to child care staff on how to incorporate school readiness skills into their daily activities.

The big bookmobile will be making two new stops in the Columbia area beginning Wednesday, May 15. From 11 a.m.-2 p.m., the bookmobile will be parked off Grindstone in the Kohl’s parking lot, 1010 E Green Meadows Road. Later in the day, the bookmobile will travel north of I-70 to the north location of Moser’s Foods at 4840 Rangeline Street and be there from 3:30-6:30 p.m. During the six month trial period, the bookmobile will visit these locations on the first and third Wednesdays of every month.

It’s unusual for employees today to spend their entire careers at the same business or organization. But that’s exactly what Frances Bush and Idenia Thornton have done. With 50 years of service and counting under their belts at the Columbia Public Library, they are the longest-serving employees — and perhaps the closest friends — on staff.

“It’s been a long time,” says Frances about working at the library. “It doesn’t feel like it, though.”

The library is hosting a free concert June 1 featuring Justin Roberts and The Not Ready for Naptime Players. After Daniel Boone Regional Library director Melissa Carr retired in January 2018, the DBRL Foundation established the Melissa Carr Literacy Through The Arts Fund. For the second year, monies from this fund are helping to bring in a popular children’s performer to kick off Summer Reading. Last year, the guest performer was Laurie Berkner.

Justin Roberts and The Not Ready for Naptime Players will perform at the Missouri Theatre, 203 South Ninth Street, Columbia, MO at 11 a.m. on Saturday, June 1. Tickets are free and can be requested through www.dbrl-justin-roberts.eventbrite.com.

The One Read reading panel of community members from Boone and Callaway Counties narrowed the list of more than 160 book suggestions for the 2019 One Read title to two top contenders. Between April 15-May 3, the public can cast their vote for either “Nomadland: Surviving America in the Twenty-First Century” by Jessica Bruder or “Sourdough, or Lois and Her Adventures in the Underground Market” by Robin Sloan.

Ballot boxes will be set up at the Daniel Boone Regional Library locations in Ashland, Columbia, Holts Summit and Fulton, on the bookmobile and at Barnes & Noble Booksellers in Columbia. People can also vote online at oneread.org. The winning title will be announced May 29.

The new Holts Summit Public Library opened March 5. Since its opening, the library has been busy. Within the first month, 273 new people signed up for library cards and more than 3,200 items circulated, surpassing a 2018 monthly average of 850 items checked out through the Holts Summit bookmobile and Library-To-Go lockers. In addition, 42 children attended the “Royal Tea Party,” 51 youth attended the “STEAM Fair” and 84 people came to “Animal Tales Presents: Born to Be Wild.”