The program, titled “Camp What-A-Wonder,” starts at 6 p.m. every Monday between June 24 and July 29. The Main Branch is located at 1740 Central Ave.

Students who participate will be encouraged to uncover the wonders around them. Every week will have a different focus. Participants can come to one or all of the programs. No registration is required.

The themes include:

Week 1: “Scout Out Some Superstructures.”

• Week 2: “Count the Ways to Wander.”
• Week 3: “Explore the Big Blue Marble.”
• Week 4: “Unlock Your Inner Inventor.”
• Week 5: “Adventure into the Atmosphere.”
• Week 6: “Dig into the Wild Kingdom.”

The free program will have children and parents learning together, as well as participating in fun activities and making crafts. Food and drink will be provided.

Camp What-a-Wonder is a program started by the National Center for Family Literacy. BCPL is participating through a grant from the Kentucky Department of Libraries and Archives. To learn about the camp, visit www.wonderopolis.org.

Todd Shillingburg is completing 200 hours this summer (and perhaps 100 more in the fall,  if he still likes us). He will be working primarily in the afternoons. He is a senior who plans to graduate in December with a degree in radio and television production management. He is very creative visually, and would like to help us do more with video. So, if you see him around this summer with a video camera, please smile

Amber Payne is also a senior. She is majoring in public relations. She is planning (hoping) to complete 100 hours between now and the middle of July, and will be here most mornings. Amber has been a radio DJ and and news reporter, and has helped with event planning and PR at her church. She will also likely complete another 100 hours at BCPL during the fall semester.

Welcome to BCPL!!

June is Audiobook Month (sponsored by the Audio Publishers Association) – a month with many opportunities to listen to a great book.

All those long hours spent soaking up the sun beside the pool? Listen to a book. Cutting the grass on a warm summer evening? Listen to a book. Going on road trips to fantastic destinations? Listen to a book.

Listening to a book leaves your hands free to drive, push the lawnmower, or rub on suntan oil. And nothing ends the “are we there yet?” blues like a great audiobook – kids can even knock off a few titles on their summer reading list during vacation.

There are other great benefits, too, especially for younger readers/listeners. Audiobooks help kids develop their imagination, introduce them to books above their current reading level, help them learn new vocabulary, history or geography, and improve their listening and pronunciation skills. From a practical standpoint, audiobooks can help kids cope better with that 10-hour drive to the beach – and it’s much more productive than a video game.

Here are some recent numbers from the audiobook industry:

• Twenty-five percent of Americans had listened to an audiobook in the last year, according to the Audio Publishers Association.
• The majority (94 percent) of audiobook listeners had read a book in the past year, versus 70 percent of non-audiobook listeners.
• The average audiobook user spends about 5 hours a week listening.
• Many authors love audiobooks, including Scott Turow, Janet Evanovich, Judy Blume and Tom Wolfe.

Did you know audiobooks even have their own awards, like the Oscars for movies? The 18^th annual Audie Awards were presented at the end of May in New York. Top honors went to some classics, including Audiobook of the Year: The End of the Affair by Graham Greene, and read by Academy Award winner (and British hunk!) Colin Firth. Kentucky’s own son, Silas House, won Best Children’s Title for Ages 8-12 with his book, Same Sun Here (he also read the audiobook version).

At BCPL, we have tons of audiobooks (all genres) on CD, ready for you to check out and stick in your CD player. But with your library card, you also have free access to thousands more via our digital download offerings: OverDrive and OneClickdigital (Recorded Books). These free downloading services are found in the ematerials section of this site – just click here. They are easy to use – you just need your BCPL card to get started. Digital audiobooks can be checked out for 14 or 10 days (depending on the platform). After that, the digital file just disappears.

Our helpful information services staff, at the Ashland, Catlettsburg or Kyova branches, can show you how to download. You’ll be surprised how easy it is!

So, check out an audiobook today – and get caught listening!

One of the many services we perform for patrons at Boyd County Public Library is something called Readers’ Advisory.

If there is a particular author that you like and you have read all of his or her books, we can steer you toward a similar author. Think of us as the Pandora or iTunes Genius of books!  For example, if you love Dorothea Benton Frank’s books, we could suggest a few like authors. If it’s the southern setting that keeps you reading, we might suggest you try Cassandra King or Anne Rivers Siddons.  If it is the aspect of family relationships you like, we might suggest Anita Shreve or Kristin Hannah.

There has been a great interest lately in young adult literature, with the boom of young adult books being made into films, the influx of adult authors writing for younger readers, and the crossover interest that adults have in young adult books. With that in mind, here are some readers’ advisory suggestions in young adult literature. If you are a “grown up” and have never tried a young adult read, I wholeheartedly suggest you give the genre a try.

If you like Harlan Coben, you might not be aware that he has started a series of young adult books with a spin-off of his famous character, Myron Bolitar. Myron’s nephew Mickey first made an appearance in Coben’s Live Wire, and now has his own series for younger readers. The first in the series is Shelter, followed by Seconds Away. Fans of Coben’s quick plotting, twists and turns, and humor will find this new series a lot of fun.

If you read and liked The 13^th Tale by Diane Setterfield, or The Night Circus by Erin Morganstern, here are a couple more young adult read suggestions. Kami Garcia’s Beautiful Creatures series recently kicked off its cinematic run with the first film in the planned trilogy. Beautiful Creatures was a seriously addictive read. Everything from the Southern Gothic setting to the magical elements to the believability of the main characters kept me turning the pages late into the night. Another good companion read to either of the mentioned adult novels would be Libba Bray’s Great and Terrible Beauty series. It is another series with strong setting (Victorian England and the magical “Realms”), memorable characters, and wonderful writing.

So please don’t just leave if you can’t find the newest David Baldacci book or if you find you’ve read everything that Tracie Peterson has written. We can help you find something to check out so you don’t have to sit in front of reality television all night long (shudder!!).

by Debbie Cosper, BCPL Director

Those of us who work in a library – like those in other career fields – are guilty of periodically (pun intended) using jargon that’s often not used by the rest of the world. So, I thought I would take a few minutes to define some BCPL “library-ese” for all of you”

Boyd County Public Library: consists of four locations: Main in Ashland, Catlettsburg Branch, Kyova Branch, and Outreach Center (which is closed to public access); it is governed by the Board of Trustees, lead by the library director, guided by 10 supervisors, and run by about 40 staff members.

Branches: the three locations other than Main Library, are Catlettsburg, Kyova, and Outreach.

Catalog: this used to be the card catalog; now it is an electronic database which includes what the library has on the shelves at all locations plus what we have digitally.  It is also known as PAC (public access catalog).

Check-out: the process of adding an item to a borrower’s account so he/she can take the item home.

Check-in: the process of taking an item off a borrower’s account when it is brought back to the library.

Children’s Room: the basement area of Main Library dedicated to serving kids; it’s the place where the new fish tank is.

Circulation Services: the term librarians use for books and materials going in and out.

Facilities Services: the group of staff who keep the buildings and grounds clean and functioning.

Friends: an independent group dedicated to supporting library services through book sales or other fund raisers and by volunteering when extra help is needed for events. Official name is BCPL Friends.

Front Desk: also known as The Circulation Desk, or Circ Desk, for short.

Genealogy Services: where we keep the dead people … well, actually, information about area ancestors and their history.

Interlibrary Loan: a.k.a. ILL; getting an item from a library not in Boyd County – from across the state to across the country, and even “across the pond.”

Information Services: formerly the Reference Department; it’s still a place to get your questions answered but it is also the department that helps patrons locate the best website, learn how to use non-book resources, download materials, or get a book from another library.

Library Commons: the green space between the Reading Garden and the Tennis Courts belonging to the City of Ashland (they did such a great job).

Outreach: services provided to homebound patrons by application only; staff is located at the former Summit Branch (which is closed to public access).

Patron, User, Borrower, Customer: people who come in to use the library. At BCPL, we refer to people as Patrons, Borrowers, and Users.

Reading Garden: the lovely outdoor space at the Main Library.

Technical Services: the department that oversees the selection, purchase, and delivery of materials, and is also responsible for describing the item and adding it to the library’s catalog so people can find what they are looking for.

Youth Services: the department that focuses services and materials on patrons from birth through high school; in also includes The Children’s Room.

The lobby at Kyova 10 Theater will be transformed into the Kyova Quad, and local groups will be set up as “clubs” that the freshmen at Monsters University can join. We, of course, will be the Book/Reading Club. At our table, incoming freshmen can sign up for a library card, and spin the wheel to win prizes.

I am looking for some library staff to help, either on Friday, June 21, from 5 to 8 p.m., or on Saturday, June 22, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. You will be paid for your time, but you need to clear it with the supervisor that you will be working off-site.

Those who work can stay and see the movie (library will buy their ticket) and will also receive a Monsters University clothing item of some sort (maybe a hat … not sure yet.)

Please let me know as soon as possible, so I can confirm with the theater that we will be there.

The volunteer, Aaron Hannah, is a student at Berea College and is doing Cans for a Cause as his summer service project. He will do all the promotion, and provide signs for the boxes.

If the box at your location is getting full before June 28, please contact Aaron at (606) 585-1166 or by email: hannaha@berea.edu

Thanks.

In the past, we have done discounts at businesses if you show your card. I like to skip a few years on that one to give businesses a break (plus we are currently contacting businesses about Check Out Your Community, and we don’t want to confuse them.)

We have also tried an essay contest about why a library card is important (many years ago); taken pictures of people when they get a new card and posted them in the library; given something to people when they sign up; or held a drawing for something big at the end of the month.

One thing I was thinking about this year was to let people take and post their own pictures of themselves with their card – illustrating something their card has helped them to do – and having a contest online, either on Facebook, Pinterest or Instagram (which I hope to get going soon). But that leaves out people who aren’t active online.

Our great staff always has great ideas, so I was hoping to pick your brains. Any and all ideas are welcome!

Printed book review forms will be available at each branch Tuesday morning, if they would rather submit their reviews that way.

Thanks!!

I asked her how Michelle likes the iPad … I just thought her response was too awesome not to share…

She LOVES it! She has been reading on it almost everyday hoping to be caught in our front yard. She has also ran 2 other 5K since her first one with the library’s 5K. She did the Ashland Independent School 5K and last weekend ran in the ” de feet” 5k. She is training (as she puts it ) now for the Color Run 5k in July and another oneThe Color Vibe in Charleston in September. She has encouraged 3 of her cousins to join her in the runs. It all began at the first MY Library 5k and of course ~ the wonderful staff you have there! She has been going to the library since she has been born and has feel in love with everyone she has meet there! They have always been so kindto her no matter how much she can talk their ears off, LOL. They have always been helpful when she has a question. She has also used the Tutor.com program available from the home page site while doing her homework~. That has been a great source for her this year while in 5th grade. We pass that information along to a lot of others in her class and Teachers at Oakview Elementary. Anyhow.. Enough of my bragging on OUR WONDER LIBRARY & STAFF ! Thank you all ! We will see ya soon! Denisa LaCombe & Michelle Jarvis