The Friends of the library elected new officers at its annual meeting on July 10th, 2012.

They include from left to right:

Treasurer Kay Jackson
Board member Carlene Makawski
President Gaylia Garrison
Board member Cindi Nicks
Secretary Lynette Montgomery
Vice president Jo Gressly
Board member Esther Francis

Not pictured is board member Patrick Dare.

As the new president of the Friends Board, I am looking forward to an exiciting year! A lot of you already know me from my nearly 30 years of working for the library in children's, circulation and reference services, and I hope to make many more friends while serving on the Friends board.

I am looking forward to our semi-annual book sale, which will be August 20-25 in the Belt Branch Annex, starting with our special sale for Friends members the night of Monday, August 20.

If you are not a Friends member now, please consider joining. We fund so many worthwhile projects for the library and would love to have you become a member. Membership forms are available at our Friends Used Bookstore (drop in for a cup of coffee and browse the amazing selection of books and other materials!) and in both libraries.

The library has an extensive selection of books on gardening and horticulture, whether you are interested in growing vegetables or creating impressive flower beds. Plagued by pests? Want to create some quick compost? Have an interest in herbs? We have a book for that!

Check out some of our popular gardening books! The library also carries several popular gardening magazines, like Organic Gardening and Horticulture, which are available for checkout.

Looking for something different to do with the kids? How about trying some cooking! The library has a great selection of cookbooks geared towards children and families. Some of them include easy recipes kids can follow all on their own (like Super Simple Dinners) while others are meant to get the whole family involved.

Want to broaden your culinary horizons while learning about other cultures? Try Passport on a Plate or The Kids Multicultural Cookbook. Other cookbooks offer a fun approach to learning history: books like Pioneer Farm Cooking teach kids what life was like during different times in American history. Facts about food preparation and family living in that era are presented alongside historical recipes that you can try out. Click here for a listing of a few of our featured children’s cookbooks.