January Library Calendar - Click for full siz.

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Mudgy & Santa Sing-Along

About 400 people attended the Holiday Sing-Along with Mudgy and Santa

on Dec. 9. Susan Nipp, author of “Mudgy & Millie,” led the

singing with help from her title characters and St. Nick during

the event which is organized by the author and sponsored

by the Library Foundation. Photo by Foundation President Ben Drake.

Open House Says Yes to Talking Books!

A celebration of the life of Louis Braille – the inventor of the raised-dot system used by blind readers – and the Talking Book Service (TBS) which provides audiobooks and special players to those with visual and physical challenges will be part of an open house at the library.
“Say Yes to TBS” will be Thursday, Jan. 11, 2-6 p.m., in the Community Room.
The event will include displays of TBS materials and a reading of “Six Dots,” the story of the young Braille. Local agencies serving people with vision loss and other issues have been asked to come with information about their services. Refreshments will be served.
TBS is administered by the Idaho Commission for Libraries and is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services. The free service is available to any Idaho resident unable to read standard print dues to any permanent or temporary physical disability, including vision impairment or because the individual is unable to hold a book or turn the pages.
TBS users are provided a free playback device, books and magazines, and postage to return items. Materials are delivered directly to the user’s home. Braille materials can also be provided, as well, as downloadable audiobooks. There are currently more than 75,000 items available in English, Spanish, and other languages.
Additional information is available by contacting Outreach Coordinator Barbara Brambila-Smith, at 208-769-2316 or by e-mail at            bbrambila@cdalibrary.org. TBS can be contacted directly at 800-458-3271.
Louis Braille was born in 1809. He lost his sight at 3 years old when he was using an awl in his father’s harness shop and it slipped and injured his eye. Infection developed and spread and he lost the sight in both eyes. At age 10, he began attending the Royal Institution for Blind Youth. He learned to read using its library of huge books that had large raised letters, a process the impatient young man found very cumbersome.
Then in 1821, a former soldier named Charles Barbier visited the school. Barbier shared his invention called “night writing,” a code of 12 raised dots that let soldiers share top-secret information on the battlefield without even having to speak. Unfortunately, the code was too hard for the soldiers, but not for 12-year-old Louis.
Braille trimmed Barbier's 12 dots to six, ironed out the system by the time he was 15, then published the first-ever braille book in 1829.  In 1837, he added symbols for math and music. But since the public was skeptical, blind students had to study braille on their own.
Even at the Royal Institution, where Louis taught after he graduated, braille wasn't taught until after his death in 1852.
Braille began to spread worldwide in 1868, when a group of British men, now known as the Royal National Institute for the Blind, took up the cause.

Talking Books Helps Give All Access to Reading

By ANN JOSLIN
Idaho State Librarian,
Idaho Commission for Libraries

An easy-to-use listening device is provided free of charge to patrons

using the Talking Book Service.

Louis Braille, the inventor of the raised-dot system that lets the blind read, had a brilliant vision: to help the visually impaired not just read but be treated as equals.
So do Idaho libraries: to ensure all the approximately 45,000 eligible users are aware of Idaho’s Talking Book Service and help them register for this free program that notably improves the quality of users’ lives.
This Braille and audio book library is available to any Idahoan who is unable to read standard print due to a physical disability. It applies to permanent and temporary disabilities and includes people who are legally blind, visually impaired, or unable to hold a book or turn pages.
Although the Talking Book Service has traditionally been known as a program for the blind, people dealing with diseases and physical disabilities affecting motor function, such as Parkinson’s and paraplegia, enroll in it, too.
The Idaho Commission for Libraries maintains a collection of 82,000 Braille and audio book titles and adds another 2,000 annually. This includes audio books about Idaho and the Pacific Northwest recorded in our in-house studios. Similar to collections you’d find in any public library, Idaho’s Talking Book Service offers nonfiction works on everything from astronomy to zoology and fiction genres ranging from mysteries and romance to westerns, sci-fi, and children’s books.
It also offers more than 300 national magazines, including a half-dozen from Idaho, plus 50 or so newspapers, including The Idaho Statesman, Post Register, and The Spokesman-Review.
Books and magazines are available in many languages besides English, and 15 percent of the collection is in Spanish.
Statewide users can call a toll-free number — (800) 458-3271 — to talk with knowledgeable staff able to help users find the perfect reading materials.
All materials — including a digital player — are mailed directly to your home free of charge with return postage included. Plus, you can download many of the materials from an online database if you have high-speed Internet access.
You must be certified as eligible to use the Talking Book Service, but staff at your local library can easily handle that.
Need more incentive to check out the Talking Book Service? A recent University of Idaho study finds most patrons think highly of the program, with 96 percent rating it “good” or better and 72 percent rating it “excellent.”
Chief among the many quotes from survey respondents that sum up the Talking Book Service well is this gem: “This has been a lifesaver; it keeps me going and in contact with the outside world.”
Many Idaho libraries will celebrate the 209th anniversary of Braille’s birth Jan. 4. As this milestone approaches, please help us realize his important vision by referring those in your life who may benefit from the program to:                         libraries.idaho.gov/tbs or to their local library.
In addition to helping people overcome challenges and normalize their lives, Idaho’s Talking Book Service demonstrates how libraries enrich communities and promote a culture of inclusivity.

New Pageturners Series Begins

Talking Book Editions Available for Qualified Subscribers

The Coeur d’Alene Public Library’s Pageturners Book Club begins a new series as part of the Let’s Talk About It (LTAI) program with books provided by the Idaho Commission for Libraries.
All of the titles in these series are also being made available through the Talking Book Service.
“Stone Angel” by Margaret Laurence will be discussed on Jan. 24, at 10:15 a.m. in the Community Room. Barbara Meldrum will be the scholar for the discussion. The Talking Book number for “Stone Angels” is DB04762.
The upcoming titles, their discussion dates, and the Talking Book numbers include:
► “Memory of Old Jack” – Feb. 28, DBC00873.
► “Women of Brewster Place” – March 28, DB025314.
► “Crossing to Safety” – April 25, DB09441.
► “Empire Falls” – May 23, DB052601.
The theme for the series is “Growing Older, Growing Wiser.” Discussion leaders for the series are provided by the Idaho Humanities Council, the state-based affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities. The program is also sponsored by the Institute of Museum and Library Services. Local funding is provided by the Friends of the Library.
The print copies of the books will be available at the Research and Information Desk. Discussions are open to any adult reader. Talking Book Service users can reserve their books for the series by calling 800-458-3271. To see if you qualify for Talking Books, contact Barbara Brambila-Smith, outreach coordinator for the library, at 208-769-2316 or by email at bbrambila@cdalibrary.org.

New Inland Noirthwest Milestones Series Begins with Library

The library was housed for a time on the second floor of the Exchange

Bank, now a local coffee shop. (Retouched photo.)

The history of the Coeur d’Alene Public Library will be featured Thursday, Jan. 25, at 7 p.m., as regional historian Robert Singletary begins a new Inland Northwest Milestones series in the Community Room.
The series, featuring the people, events, and developments that shaped the region, is presented in partnership with the Museum of North Idaho, where Singletary is the director of marketing and programming, with additional support from the Friends of the Library.
The new series will continue through May and is scheduled for the fourth Thursday of the month at the same time and location.
The library was founded by the Coeur d’Alene Woman’s Club. The club was organized in 1904 and the following year asked the community to contribute books, magazines, and subscriptions for a new public library at a reception in what was then called Blackwell Park.
The Coeur d’Alene Public Library opened its doors in the store of E.B. Keller and Co. two doors east of the intersection of Fourth Street and Sherman Avenue. Owners E.B. Keller and Charles Dittmore donated three shelves. Miss Anna Elderkin was in charge of the Library – open 2-4 p.m. Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.
The library went on to occupy a series of buildings – none of which was designed to be a library – until the current building was constructed in 2007.
The library became a department of the City of Coeur d’Alene in 1909 when it was housed in the City Hall building built the year before on Sherman Avenue.
The Museum of North Idaho is located at 115 Northwest Blvd. in front of the Coeur d'Alene City Park. It is open Tuesday through Saturday 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., April 1 to Oct. 31. The museum library and office are open by appointment year round. For more information call 208-664-3448.

Click here for the full history of the library.

History of City Park Making Return Engagement

Jon Mueller

A popular presentation on the history of Coeur d’Alene’s City Park will make a return engagement to the library Thursday, Jan. 11, at 7 p.m. in the Community Room.
The closure of Fort Sherman and the building of a railroad line that brought new tourists to the young community of Coeur d’Alene were among the factors that led to creation of City Park.
Landscape architect Jon Mueller will share stories and images from his new book, “Private Park, Public Park: A Story of Coeur d’Alene and its First Park.”
“This is the story of the creation of Coeur d’Alene’s first park and one of the oldest in the State of Idaho,” Mueller said. “Its origins are found in the will of determined local people and newly arrived captains of industry. Its frame of reference is not only intertwined with and a part of the state and local history of the time, but also with the national movements of the era.”
Originally known as Blackwell Park, it would eventually be called Coeur d’Alene City Park and become a centerpiece in the life, economy, and culture of the community.
 Jonathon Mueller is a landscape architect with more than 35 years of experience and a background in park and recreation planning and design. His list of completed works includes projects in seven western states.
A native of Coeur d’Alene, he also has an interest in history and governmental affairs.  He enjoys photography as a leisure pursuit and understands the power of images in storytelling.
Mueller is a past national president of the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA).  He was elected to ASLA’s prestigious Council of Fellows in 2007, and a recipient of the ASLA President’s Medal in 2015.  He continues to make his home in Coeur d’Alene.
Copies of the book, also available through the Museum of North Idaho, will be available to purchase for signing at the event.