Throwback Thursday: Dr. Frank Brewster’s Last Airplane

Posted on August 8, 2024 by Bailee Juroshek

This #ThrowbackThursday is soaring through the skies!

A propeller-powered airplane stands on a grassy field in front of a hangar in this 9″ x 7″ black and white photograph. Dr. Orwall of Brewster Clinic stands in the cockpit, Dr. Frank Brewster stands on the plane’s wing, and Verna Brewster stands on the ground with a suitcase next to her. This four-seater Ryan-Navion was Dr. Brewster’s last airplane. He gave up his flying practice in 1937, but in 1943, he went to Yankton, South Dakota, to learn to fly at age 71.

This image is published by the Holdrege Area Public Library and owned by the Phelps County Historical Society who partnered together to digitize a collection of images portraying the history of Phelps County since the mid 1880’s.

See this collection and many more on the Nebraska Memories archive!

The Nebraska Memories archive is brought to you by the Nebraska Library Commission. If your institution is interested in participating in Nebraska Memories, see http://nlc.nebraska.gov/nebraskamemories/participation.aspx for more information.

Posted in General, Nebraska Memories, Preservation | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

NLC Staff: Bailee Juroshek

Posted on August 7, 2024 by Bailee Juroshek

Questions and answers with NLC’s Communications Office Specialist, Bailee Juroshek, who started working with us in February 2024. Take a few minutes and get to know her with a few fun questions!

What was the last thing you googled?
   Baldur’s Gate 3 Honor Mode Enemy Stats

What’s your ideal vacation?
    A good mix of fun and relaxation

What do you do to relax?
   Hang out with friends and play video games or D&D

Describe your first car?
   A 1989 green Subaru Legacy

If I weren’t working in a library, I’d be…
   Doing freelance art

What was the first concert you remember attending?
   Fall Out Boy

What movies can you watch over and over again?
   Easy A and Tangled

What was the last book you read?
   And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie

What was the last movie you watched?
    Deadpool & Wolverine

Three words that describe you?
   Artistic, Nerdy, and Kind

What smell brings back great memories?
   Sugar cookies

If you could have one superpower what would it be?
   Teleportation

What’s the last thing you do before you got to bed?
   Put on music or something to listen to

If you had a warning label, what would it say?
   Short but feisty

Do you have any tattoos?
   Yes, the Disney Castle on my back

What is your favorite comfort foods?
   Chocolate muffins, tiramisu, Italian soup

What words or phrases do you overuse?
   Gotcha or Okey-dokie

What’s your most treasured possession?
   A matching ring and necklace from my paternal grandmother, and a moon necklace from my partner Michael

On what occasion do you lie?
   a) To be kind and b) Dealing with a weird stranger

What posters did you have on your wall as a kid?
   Taylor Swift, Disney, and my own art

Do you love or hate rollercoasters?
   I hate them, then love them

Do you have any pets?
   3 cats: Coco Bean, Lilith, and Azmodius (Azmo for short)

If you could only eat one kind of food for the rest of your life, what would it be?
   Breakfast foods

If you could call anyone in the world and have a one-hour conversation, what would you call?
   Brennan Lee Mulligan

What do you get every time you go to the grocery store?
   Soda, chips, and wine

Posted in General, Public Relations | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

New Nebraska Book Now Available on BARD!

Posted on August 6, 2024 by Bailee Juroshek

“Four Blue Stars in the Window: One Family’s Story of the Great Depression, the Dust Bowl, and the Duty of a Generation” by  Barbara Eymann Mohrman, is now available on cartridge and for download on BARD, the Braille and Audio Reading Download service. BARD is a service offered by the Nebraska Library Commission Talking Book and Braille Service and the National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled at the Library of Congress.

Fifty years ago, a young girl opened a cardboard box in her basement. Long forgotten, it contained her father’s World War II uniform, vintage photos, semaphore flags, and other WWII keepsakes. The box opened up a world of pain and joy to author Barbara Eymann Mohrman as she set out on a personal journey to trace her family history and inadvertently, unspoken Eymann family secrets. This is the story of hard-scrabble life in rural Oakdale, Nebraska (population 851) starting in the heyday of the 1920s. Chriss Eymann, a newly arrived Swiss immigrant and his wife, Hattie Mae, raised ten children on the Dust Bowl-ravaged plains during the 1930s in the depths of the Great Depression. But their greatest sacrifice was yet to come when they sent four young sons off to war in the South Pacific and Europe. The mother’s flag with its four blue stars proudly displayed the family’s precious contribution to the war effort. The story traces in detail and vintage photos from 1930 to 1947 the anguish, danger, and their everlasting hope with some surprising family news that brings the story full circle.

TBBS borrowers can request “Four Blue Stars in the Window” DCB02027 or download it from the National Library Service BARD (Braille and Audio Reading Download) website. If you have high-speed internet access, you can download books to your smartphone or tablet, or onto a flash drive for use with your player. You may also contact your reader’s advisor to have the book mailed to you on cartridge.

Posted in Books & Reading, General, Talking Book & Braille Service (TBBS) | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

#BookFaceFriday “Storm Cursed” by Patricia Briggs

Posted on August 2, 2024 by Tessa Timperley

Brace yourself, it’s #BookFaceFriday!

There’s nothing like reading by candlelight, or maybe in this case, by the light of your e-reader. Batten the hatches during the next Nebraska storm with a good book. This week’s #BookFace would be an excellent book to escape into; “Storm Cursed” by Patricia Briggs, is book eleven in Brigg’s Mercy Thompson series. This supernatural shapeshifter series combines adventure, wit, and magic. It’s available as both an eBook and audiobook in Nebraska OverDrive Libraries, along with fourteen other books in the Mercy Thompson series.

“This story brings together a lot of seemingly unrelated plot threads from past novels in a way that feels organic and that doesn’t impede the pacing of the current mystery. Fans of the series will enjoy this solid addition, but new readers might find that there’s too much history to make this story work as an ingress point.” —Publishers Weekly

“Patricia Briggs never fails to deliver an exciting, magic and fable filled suspense story.” – Erin Watt, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Royals series

This week’s model is one of the newer additions to the Nebraska Library Commission. Welcome, Veronica Powell, as our new Cataloging Librarian!

This title is also available as an audiobook through Nebraska OverDrive Libraries. Libraries participating in the Nebraska OverDrive Libraries Group currently have access to a shared and growing collection of digital downloadable audiobooks and eBooks. 194 libraries across the state share the Nebraska OverDrive collection of 26,898 audiobooks, 36,794 ebooks, and 5,133 magazines. As an added bonus it includes 130 podcasts that are always available with simultaneous use (SU), as well as SU ebooks and audiobook titles that publishers have made available for a limited time. If you’re a part of it, let your users know about this great title, and if you’re not a member yet, find more information about participating in Nebraska Overdrive Libraries!

Love this #BookFace & reading? Check out our past #BookFaceFriday photos on the Nebraska Library Commission’s Facebook page!

Posted in Books & Reading, General | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Friday Reads: “Brooklyn” and “Long Island” by Colm Toibin

Posted on August 2, 2024 by Lisa Kelly

Brooklyn and Long Island by Colm Toibin (CULL-um Toe-BEAN)
(#1 and #2 in the Eilis Lacey Series)

I was glad to read two of this Irish author’s books for the sense of place–Enniscorthy, Ireland, and Brooklyn, and Long Island, New York. Hearing an Irish accent from narrator/actor Jessie Buckley while I listened to Long Island was also a treat. A steady stream of gossip, and caring too much about what others think, were present in both books. Not surprisingly, both steer the plot heavily. Windows are not just for checking the weather.

Brooklyn follows Eilis (A-lish), the main character of both books, during the early years of her adult life. Her older sister and the local priest arrange for Eilis to immigrate to Brooklyn for a job and it never occurred her to disagree with their plans.  The arrangements include living in a boarding home and working at a department store while taking night classes to become a bookkeeper. As she copes with homesickness and begins to acclimate to American culture, she meets and secretly marries an Italian man named Tony. Slowly, and with more confidence, she becomes someone who asserts herself and her own choices. The transformation is slow and satisfying.

Long Island begins with a 40-year-old Eilis and her two teenage children living in a cul-de-sac with her entire Italian family as her neighbors. A knock on the door from an Irish man she does not know, reveals that Tony will soon be the father of his wife’s child. Upon the birth, the baby will be deposited on Eilis’ doorstep for her to raise, no longer his problem. Eilis returns to Ireland for her mother’s 80th birthday and because her marriage is unraveling. Jim, a romantic interest from her past, is still on her mind and she arrives to Enniscorthy to find out that he has never married. All of the unspoken thoughts and feelings of Jim and Eilis make for several pages of angst and clandestine meetings that are never truly secret.

Eilis’ character is fascinating to me but the dialog and interior thoughts of unexpressed feelings and unanswered questions were sometimes plodding. I would encourage watching the movie Brooklyn for its clever and crisp dialog by Nick Hornby and wonder if the same filmmakers will want to adapt a less cheerful Long Island into a movie. If you are looking for a trip to rural Ireland, this could be your ticket but you may need a strong Irish whiskey to accompany your visit.

Tobin, Colm. Brooklyn. Scribner. 2009.
Tobin, Colm. Long Island. Scribner. 2024.

Posted in Books & Reading, General | Tagged | Leave a comment

Throwback Thursday: Lily Pond at Hanscom Park

Posted on August 1, 2024 by Bailee Juroshek

Happy August #ThrowbackThursday!

This 14 x 9 cm color postcard shows a lovely view of a lily pond in Hanscom Park, located at 3201 Woolworth Avenue in Omaha, Nebraska. The 50-acre tract was donated to the city in 1872 by Andrew J. Hanscom and James Megeath. It is one of Omaha’s oldest parks.

This image is published and owned by the Omaha Public Library. They have a large collection of 1,100+ postcards and photographs of the Omaha area.

See this collection and many more on the Nebraska Memories archive!

The Nebraska Memories archive is brought to you by the Nebraska Library Commission. If your institution is interested in participating in Nebraska Memories, see http://nlc.nebraska.gov/nebraskamemories/participation.aspx for more information.

Posted in General, Nebraska Memories, Preservation | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Club Spotlight – The Penderwicks

Posted on July 30, 2024 by Mackenzie Marrow

For this week’s Book Club Spotlight, we are visiting a favorite of mine since I was nine years old, and when my roommate saw the book on our table she ran to grab her own copy- excited to revisit the world herself. The Penderwicks by Jeanne Birdsall immediately draws the reader in with a gorgeous cover; and its pastoral setting is like falling into the world of The Secret Garden. The Penderwick sisters, with their charming wit and a tendency for mischief rivaling the March sisters, culminate in a timeless story that spans five books. Following “a family that believes in truth and honor, yet can’t seem to stay out of trouble” [x], this modern classic has been translated into 30 languages and most deservedly won the 2005 National Book Award for Young People’s Literature.

Mr. Penderwick, a mild-mannered botanist who frequently speaks in Latin to his four young daughters, has booked the clan a summer getaway to a cozy cabin in rural Massachusetts. After getting lost, the Penderwick sisters, Rosalind (12), Skye (11), Jane (10), and Batty (4), discover their small cottage is nestled in a grand estate named Arundel. The rambunctious children are told to behave as the owner, the stuffy Mrs. Tifton, doesn’t take kindly to ruckus. But soon, they are out on an adventure of a lifetime- braving bulls, hiding in the expansive gardens, and enlisting Mrs. Tifton’s son, Jeffery, in their daring escapades.

“And then I’d ask you to have pity on motherless girls brought up without a woman’s gentle influence, which doesn’t really count, because our father is gentle, but I thought it sounded good”

– Jeanne Birdsall 

The Penderwicks: A Summer Tale of Four Sisters, Two Rabbits, and a Very Interesting Boy is a delight that enchants 19 years later. It’s not a tale of growing up but of the present. The responsibilities of an elder sister, young courage, individuality, and the unbreakable family bond. Birdsall revels in character and atmosphere, letting the sisters take her wherever they want to go next. Perfect for a book group of young readers wanting to hold onto the last bit of summer or adults who still feel the magic of inhibition and promise.  

“There is no better feeling than being 10 years old and feeling represented, accepted, and like someone out there knows you are much more mature than the world thinks you are. Even when the Penderwick books end, I can find the same happiness knowing there will always be 10 year olds in the world who want to feel those same things, and the Penderwicks will always be there for them, just as they were for me.”

— Delaney Plant

If you’re interested in requesting The Penderwicks for your book club, you can find the Request Form here. There are 11 copies. (A librarian must request items)

Birdsall, Jeanne. The Penderwicks. Random House. 2005

Posted in Books & Reading | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

CCC Library Information Services Classes for Fall 2024

Posted on July 29, 2024 by Bailee Juroshek

Central Community College Fall 2024 classes in the Library and Information Services program are open for Registration. Classes begin August 19.

For further information concerning Admissions or Registration, contact Michelle Setlik, 402-461-2538 or toll free at 308-398-7341. See details of classes and registration information at https://www.cccneb.edu/lis

Posted in Education & Training, General, Information Resources, Public Relations | Tagged | Leave a comment

NCompass Live: Pretty Sweet Tech: Screaming Frog SEO: A tool to keep websites neat and up to date

Posted on July 26, 2024 by Christa Porter

Learn how to use Screaming Frog SEO to keep your library website neat and up to date on next week’s NCompass Live webinar on Wednesday, July 31 at 10am CT.

Special monthly episodes of NCompass Live! Join the NLC’s Technology Innovation Librarian, Amanda Sweet, as she guides us through the world of library-related Pretty Sweet Tech.

Many years ago I stumbled across a tool called Screaming Frog SEO. It’s a free/ low-cost tool to keep your website and resource documents up to date, Google keyword-friendly, and just all-around awesome. It is code-free and easy to learn with plenty of tutorials. In this session you will see how Screaming Frog can help you:

  • Check for broken links on your web pages for easy repair.
  • Make sure all images on your website are accessible.
  • Spell check and grammar check your whole website.
  • Find out when pages were last updated.
  • Other helpful tips and tricks.

As a fun fact, I found this tool because frogs are my favorite animal and I just wanted to see which website tools were frog-friendly. Now this is one of my most-used tools to update website and resource listings!

Upcoming NCompass Live shows:

  • Aug. 7 – Learning New Technologies On-the-Fly: Vendorbrarian to Public Librarian
  • Aug. 14 – Operating a Culture of Belonging: Personal Librarian 2.0
  • Sept. 4 – Board Games & Computer Science in Libraries

To register for an NCompass Live show, or to listen to recordings of past shows, go to the NCompass Live webpage.

NCompass Live is broadcast live every Wednesday from 10am – 11am Central Time. Convert to your time zone on the Official U.S. Time website.

The show is presented online using the GoTo Webinar online meeting service. Before you attend a session, please see the NLC Online Sessions webpage for detailed information about GoTo Webinar, including system requirements, firewall permissions, and equipment requirements for computer speakers and microphones.

Posted in Education & Training, Pretty Sweet Tech, Technology | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Friday Reads: “The Essex Serpent” by Sarah Perry

Posted on July 26, 2024 by Tessa Timperley

Set in Victorian England, this historical fiction novel perfectly embraces the setting and mystery of its time-period. Filled with unique and interesting characters from beginning to end, Sarah Perry has written a beautiful, intelligent, and charming novel.

Newly widowed, Cora Seaborne is finding her stride again after the death of her domineering husband. Determined to escape the stuffy rules of London society, she takes her son and maid to the English countryside to pursue her studies as a budding naturalist. While tramping the marshes and collecting specimens she becomes fascinated with the local lore of the Essex Serpent, and the possibilities that a Paleolithic species could be resurfacing and prime for discovery. Pushed together with the local reverend in her pursuit of science and discovery, circumstances will lead to a magnetic and clandestine attraction that could ruin them both.

Reverend William Ransom is an unlikely clergyman, young and easy-going, he’s more likely to be assumed a farmer than a reverend. Living in the countryside of Essex with his wife and children, tending to his flock with a more practical and intelligent approach to life, he’s often dismayed and annoyed by his congregation’s flights of fancy and superstitions, especially when a local man drowns and it’s blamed on the mysterious Essex Serpent.

Dr. Luke Garrett is single-minded in his pursuit of knowledge and advancing medicine, especially surgery of the heart. Taciturn and churlish, he’s found himself unexpectedly mesmerized by Cora since tending her dying husband. Striking up an unlikely friendship with her and visiting the countryside as often as his practice allows just to see her. He’s dismayed as her letters at first just mentioned formally, The Reverend Ransom, but now are filled with the familiar, Will.

Perry strings the lives and experiences of these dissimilar characters together with letters and first-person storytelling to create an almost magical whole. 

Perry, Sarah. The Essex Serpent. Mariner Books. 2017.

Posted in Books & Reading, General | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

#BookFaceFriday “The Boys in the Boat” by Daniel James Brown

Posted on July 26, 2024 by Tessa Timperley

This #BookFaceFriday is going for the gold!

As Olympic hopefuls flock to Paris for this year’s games, take a trip back in time to the 1936 Berlin Olympics. This week’s #BookFace, “The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics” by Daniel James Brown, is a #1 New York Times–bestselling story. This epic story of Olympic hopefuls is available as a part of our Book Club Kit collection. This title is also available as an eBook and Audiobook through Nebraska OverDrive Libraries.

“For those who like adventure stories straight-up, THE BOYS IN THE BOAT… is this year’s closest approximation of Unbroken…. It’s about the University of Washington’s crew team: “Nine working-class boys from the American West who at the 1936 Olympics showed the world what true grit really meant.”

—New York Times

Book Club Kits Rules for Use

  1. These kits can be checked out by the librarians of Nebraska libraries and media centers.
  2. Circulation times are flexible and will be based upon availability. There is no standard check-out time for book club kits.
  3. Please search the collection to select items you wish to borrow and use the REQUEST THIS KIT icon to borrow items.
  4. Contact the Information Desk at the Library Commission if you have any questions: by phone: 800/307-2665, or by email: Information Services Team

Libraries participating in the Nebraska OverDrive Libraries Group currently have access to a shared and growing collection of digital downloadable audiobooks and eBooks. 194 libraries across the state share the Nebraska OverDrive collection of 26,898 audiobooks, 36,794 ebooks, and 5,133 magazines. As an added bonus it includes 130 podcasts that are always available with simultaneous use (SU), as well as SU ebooks and audiobook titles that publishers have made available for a limited time. If you’re a part of it, let your users know about this great title, and if you’re not a member yet, find more information about participating in Nebraska Overdrive Libraries!

Love this #BookFace & reading? Check out our past #BookFaceFriday photos on the Nebraska Library Commission’s Facebook page!

Posted in Books & Reading, General | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Throwback Thursday: Mill and Electric Light Plant, Cedar Rapids, Nebraska

Posted on July 25, 2024 by Bailee Juroshek

Nebraska Memories is here with another #ThrowbackThursday!

This postcard has a colorized photograph from 1907-1917 that shows the mill and electric light power plant in Cedar Rapids, Nebraska, along with its surrounding landscape.

This image is owned and published by History Nebraska. They digitized content from the John Nelson and the J. A. Anderson collection. John Nelson came to Nebraska with his parents at the age of seventeen from Sweden. His photographs tell the story of small town life in Nebraska during the first decades of the twentieth century.

See this collection and many more on the Nebraska Memories archive!

The Nebraska Memories archive is brought to you by the Nebraska Library Commission. If your institution is interested in participating in Nebraska Memories, see http://nlc.nebraska.gov/nebraskamemories/participation.aspx for more information.

Posted in General, Nebraska Memories, Preservation | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Nebraska Book Now Available on BARD!

Posted on July 23, 2024 by Bailee Juroshek

“Caril” by Ninette Beaver, B. K. Ripley, and Patrick Trese is now available on cartridge and for download on BARD, the Braille and Audio Reading Download service. BARD is a service offered by the Nebraska Library Commission Talking Book and Braille Service and the National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled at the Library of Congress.

In 1958, fourteen-year-old Caril Ann Fugate followed Charles Starkweather on a cold-blooded murder spree. This is the story of Caril’s triumph over desperation and tragedy — of a young woman who found faith and hope behind prison walls.

TBBS borrowers can request “Caril” DCB02043 or download it from the National Library Service BARD (Braille and Audio Reading Download) website. If you have high-speed internet access, you can download books to your smartphone or tablet, or onto a flash drive for use with your player. You may also contact your reader’s advisor to have the book mailed to you on cartridge.

Posted in Books & Reading, General, Talking Book & Braille Service (TBBS) | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

NCompass Live: E-rate 101: Just the Basics for 2025

Posted on July 19, 2024 by Christa Porter

What is E-rate? How can my library benefit from E-rate? How do I apply for E-rate? Find out on next week’s NCompass Live webinar, ‘E-rate 101: Just the Basics for 2025’ on Wednesday, July 24 at 10am CT.

E-rate is a federal program that provides discounts to schools and public libraries on the cost of their Internet Access and Connections to make these services more affordable. This includes Broadband, Fiber, and Wi-Fi Internet access as well as Internal Connections, such as wiring, routers, switches, and other network equipment. And new for 2025: off-premises use of Wi-Fi hotspots and wireless Internet services.

This session will be a general overview of the E-rate program. Full in-depth E-rate workshops will be held later in the year. It will be useful to libraries who have never applied for E-rate, libraries who are new to E-rate, and current E-rate libraries who just want a short refresher on what E-rate is all about.

IMPORTANT NOTE: The dates and rules in this session will be specific to E-rate Funding Year 2025.

Presenter: Christa Porter, Nebraska’s State E-rate Coordinator for Public Libraries, Nebraska Library Commission.

Upcoming NCompass Live shows:

  • July 31 – Pretty Sweet Tech: Screaming Frog SEO: A tool to keep websites neat and up to date
  • Aug. 7 – Learning New Technologies On-the-Fly: Vendorbrarian to Public Librarian
  • Aug. 14 – Operating a Culture of Belonging: Personal Librarian 2.0
  • Sept. 4 – Board Games & Computer Science in Libraries

To register for an NCompass Live show, or to listen to recordings of past shows, go to the NCompass Live webpage.

NCompass Live is broadcast live every Wednesday from 10am – 11am Central Time. Convert to your time zone on the Official U.S. Time website.

The show is presented online using the GoTo Webinar online meeting service. Before you attend a session, please see the NLC Online Sessions webpage for detailed information about GoTo Webinar, including system requirements, firewall permissions, and equipment requirements for computer speakers and microphones.

Posted in Education & Training, Technology | Tagged , | Leave a comment

#BookFaceFriday “Creative Genius: The Art of the Nebraska Capitol”

Posted on July 19, 2024 by Tessa Timperley

Life imitates art with #BookFaceFriday!

The surprisingly complex task of photographing the surprisingly complex photography of this #BookFaceFriday was a challenge. While nothing can compare to seeing it in person, this week’s #BookFace is an excellent way to bring a little of the Nebraska Capitol’s beauty and history into your own home. “Creative Genius: The Art of the Nebraska Capitol” by by Susanne Shore, Kevin Moser, Drew Davies, with a foreword by Robert C. Ripley, is available as a part of our Nebraska State Documents Collection.

One of the most prestigious academic presses in the country, the University of Nebraska Press sends us around 75 select titles per year, which are added to the Nebraska Publications Clearinghouse, also known as the Nebraska State Documents Collection. This collection is comprised of publications issued by Nebraska state agencies, ensuring that state government information is available to a wide audience and that those valuable publications are preserved for future generations. University of Nebraska Press books, as well as all state documents, are available for checkout by libraries and librarians for their patrons.

“The Nebraska State Capitol may be the most beautiful capitol building in the United States. From the day it opened, it’s been recognized as an outlier relative to its forty-nine rivals. The influential leaders of American Architect certainly thought so, choosing to feature the Nebraska Capitol in the October 1934 issue soon after the building opened. In the introduction, they wrote: ‘From the engineering standpoint, the building embodies the cumulative results of American energy, inventive skill and organizing ability; and from all combined points of view, it stands as a remarkable interpretation of innumerable events that have shaped the progress of American art, industry, and democratic government.’”

—from the prologue

Love this #BookFace & reading? Check out our past #BookFaceFriday photos on the Nebraska Library Commission’s Facebook page!

Posted in Books & Reading, General | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

My Nebraska: The Good, the Bad, and the Husker by Roger Welsch

Posted on July 19, 2024 by Rod Wagner

Roger Welsch was a fine folklore scholar, writer and an even better storyteller. In My Nebraska, Welsch fills the pages with his keen observations, wit, and appreciation for the people, the land, and all things that are characteristic of this middle of the country state. As the book title implies – there is the good, the less than good, and there is the Husker. The book presents Nebraska stories told from Welsch’s unique personal experiences and his commentaries about Nebraska.

I have read several of Welsch’s books. Of those, this one is a favorite – an enjoyable read from start to finish. There are redundancies, but that is okay. A story well told is worth telling again. For Welsch, this is a gift. Some observations will be a surprise; there are some that readers will not agree with, and others will be a delight.

One of the takeaways is that Welsch was an observer who saw things many of us overlook. Take his thoughts on travel through Nebraska. Take the slow road, not the slab – as Welsch describes the term truckers use for I80. He writes about his favorite roadways with inspiring topography to slow down and enjoy. If one follows his advice their trip in and through Nebraska will never be the same, and it will be better.

It seems Welsch’s best years were in the rural Dannebrog community and near the Loup River where he made his home, tinkered with tractors, and enjoyed the company of his many friends. He even has a street named after him in Dannebrog – Roger Welsch Avenue. Notable is that he made and had many friends from everywhere. Notable too was his association with Charles Kuralt and Roger’s “Postcards from Nebraska” segment on CBS Sunday Morning. Welsch and Kuralt were kindred storytellers.

Nebraskans and others, current and future, will gain special perspective about this unique state. There is Roger’s personal story – early life in Lincoln, college and teaching, his move to rural Dannebrog, and his many friends near and far. He has much to say about Nebraska’s weather, community and regional differences across the state, water and rivers, culture and art, and far more.

Welsch mentions being asked if he would ever write a memoir. His thought and response was that his many books written over many years were his memoir. My Nebraska is a good example. He didn’t write a memoir, as such, but his wealth of writings and stories is a genuine substitute.

Full of stories and anecdotes, this book is a great companion to other Nebraska related books and to Welsch’s own forty plus books and numerous articles.

Welsch, Roger. My Nebraska: The Good, the Bad, and the Husker. University of Nebraska Press. 2011. 

Posted in Books & Reading | Tagged | Leave a comment

United for Libraries Virtual 2024: Statewide Registration

Posted on July 18, 2024 by Holli Duggan

2024 United for Libraries Virtual: Trustees, Friends, Foundations

Tuesday July 30 – Thursday, August 1

There’s still time to register for the 2024 United for Libraries Virtual Conference! All Nebraska library directors/staff, Trustees/board members, and Friends of the Library and Foundation representatives receive FREE live registration – a value of $149 per person. 

Registration includes live attendance and on-demand access to three full days of programming, keynote featuring author Eric Klinenberg, and the virtual Gala Author Tea. Individuals may attend any/all sessions live and/or watch on-demand.

This interactive three-day virtual event will feature expert speakers on current topics facing library Trustees, Friends, Foundations, and staff who work with them.

  • Participate in live Q&A sessions with presenters
  • Enjoy exclusive access to keynote speakers and authors
  • Receive a certificate of attendance (for live participation or on-demand viewing)

Programming runs from 10:00 am CST to approximately 3:00 pm CST daily with scheduled breaks. Registrants may participate in some or all program sessions live, and/or watch recordings on-demand. (Sessions are also eligible for certification CE hours!)

Sessions include:

Tuesday, July 30th – Trustee Day

  • “Rising to the Challenge: The Trustee’s Role in the ‘Culture Wars’”
  • “Securing Tomorrow: Effective Succession Strategies for Library Boards”
  • “Valuing Your Library: Beyond Cost-Benefit Analysis”

Wednesday, July 31st – Foundations & Fundraising Day

  • “Donor Engagement: Acquiring and Inspiring Committed and Faithful Supporters”
  • “Enhancing the Story – Developing a Smaller-Scale Capital Projects Fundraising Campaign”
  • “Fundraising Tips and Tricks: Some Novel Ideas”
  • “Marketing is the Future: How to Build a More Sustainable Library Foundation Model by Integrating Marketing in the Organizational Culture, Strategy, and Practice”

Thursday, August 1st – Friends Day

  • “An Extravaganza of Literary Events for Your Library”
  • “Championing Library Freedom: How Friends Groups Can Fight Back When Our Library is Under Attack”
  • “Libraries are Better with Friends: How to Foster a Strong Group of Advocates”
  • “Smooth Sailing with Library Trustees and Staff”

Registration Options

Choose *one* of the following options below to register for the virtual conference:

  • Statewide Free Registration Form
  • Email United for Libraries
    • Email united@ala.org
    • Include your full name, email address, library, and primary library role
    • Allow one business day for registration
  • Bulk Registration
    • Library Directors may email united@ala.org
    • Include full names, email addresses, and primary library roles for each individual to register
    • Allow two business days for registration.

If you have any questions, please contact Holli Duggan.

Posted in Education & Training, Public Library Boards of Trustees | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Throwback Thursday: Dog Walking on Tight Rope

Posted on July 18, 2024 by Bailee Juroshek

Gather ‘round for this #ThrowbackThursday!

This black and white photograph postcard is from around 1907-1917. It shows a crowd of people standing around a stage, watching a dog walking across a tightrope suspended from a frame and placed over a stage set up on a city street. A man on the stage stands below the dog, looking up as it crosses.

This image is owned and published by History Nebraska. They digitized content from the John Nelson and the J. A. Anderson collection. John Nelson came to Nebraska with his parents at the age of seventeen from Sweden. His photographs tell the story of small town life in Nebraska during the first decades of the twentieth century.

See this collection and many more on the Nebraska Memories archive!

The Nebraska Memories archive is brought to you by the Nebraska Library Commission. If your institution is interested in participating in Nebraska Memories, see http://nlc.nebraska.gov/nebraskamemories/participation.aspx for more information.

Posted in General, Nebraska Memories, Preservation | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

What’s Up Doc? New State Agency Publications at the Nebraska Library Commission

Posted on July 17, 2024 by Mary Sauers

New state agency publications have been received at the Nebraska Library Commission for March through June, 2024.  Included are reports from the Nebraska Auditor of Public Accounts, the Nebraska Department of Administrative Services, the Nebraska Equal Opportunity Commission, the Nebraska Department of Transportation, and the Nebraska Public Power District, to name a few.

Items are available for immediate viewing and printing by clicking directly in the .pdf below. 

The Nebraska Legislature created the Nebraska Publications Clearinghouse in 1972 as a service of the Nebraska Library Commission. Its purpose is to collect, preserve, and provide access to all public information published by Nebraska state agencies.  By law (State Statutes 51-411 to 51-413) all Nebraska state agencies are required to submit their published documents to the Clearinghouse.  For more information, visit the Nebraska Publications Clearinghouse page, contact Mary Sauers, Government Information Services Librarian; or contact Bonnie Henzel, State Documents Staff Assistant.

Posted in Books & Reading, Education & Training, General, Information Resources, What's Up Doc / Govdocs | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Announcing a New Literary Festival Event to Take Place this Fall

Posted on July 16, 2024 by Bailee Juroshek

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
July 16, 2024

FOR MORE INFORMATION:                            
Tessa Timperley
Communications Coordinator
Nebraska Library Commission
Email

Rosemary Sekora
Marketing and Sales Manager
University of Nebraska Press
rsekora@unl.edu

Announcing a New Literary Festival Event to Take Place this Fall

Book lovers, get your calendars to save the date. A new literary festival is taking place in Lincoln. 

The 2024 Nebraska Celebration of Books (NCOB) will take place on Oct. 12, 2024, in the University of Nebraska-Lincoln City Campus Union at 1400 R Street. Two presentations, a writing workshop, and a slam poetry competition will take place on second floor leading up to the presentation of the Nebraska Book Awards at 3:30 p.m. NCOB will also host local bookstores and other vendors throughout the day beginning at 10:00 a.m.

The event will officially kick off on Oct. 11 at White Elm Brewing with a literary trivia night at 5:30 p.m.

All events are free and open to the public. NCOB would like to thank the following organizations for making this new event possible: Nebraska Center for the Book, Zero Street Fiction series, Larksong Writers Place, Nebraska Writers Collective, Nebraska Library Commission, Lincoln City Libraries, and the University of Nebraska Press.

For additional information on attending or becoming a sponsor of this event, please visit https://bookfestival.nebraska.gov/

###

The most up-to-date news releases from the Nebraska Library Commission are always available on the Library Commission Website, http://nlc.nebraska.gov/publications/newsreleases.

Posted in Books & Reading, General, Nebraska Center for the Book | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment