Nancy Buck

"Coincidences; mix-ups; harmless mistakes and switches.  And so a story is born."  Imagine Cinderella with a really, really wicked stepmother and a lonely, yet helpful ghost. 

In Liesl & Po by Lauren Oliver, 11- year-old Liesl is confined to a tiny attic bedroom, locked away and totally isolated by her cruel stepmother while her father falls ill and dies.  Her only friends are the shadows and the mice -- until one night two shadows move and speak.

The Stafford Chapter of the Friends of the Library will host a plant sale on Saturday, May 14, 9-Noon, at the England Run Branch.  10" hanging baskets of plants will be delivered direct from the grower - ferns are $14 and an assortment of annuals are $13 each.  Friends will be on hand to offer assistance in choosing a plant for your deck or porch, whether it's a shade, partial shade, or sunny spot.  The sale will be held rain or shine!

Here are some of the CRRL's most popular services:

Ask a CRRL Librarian—It's our online reference service - you can chat live, or text, email, or call us.
 

Online databases available anytime, anywhere—CRRL library-card numbers are your password to thousands of magazine, news, and encyclopedia articles; lists of businesses and associations; and  literature and biography resources.
 

Interlibrary loan—Ask about it if you can't find a book in our branches. We're part of a worldwide network of libraries that share resources, and you can request your ILL online. Close to home, our relationship with University of Mary Washington lets us borrow from their collections and deliver items to our branches for checkout with your CRRL card.

Oprah has selected Say You're One of Them, "an awe-inspiring collection of stories that challenges you to look beyond the headlines and see an Africa full of both joy and despair.

Recent storms cause me to remember a tornado many summers ago in Illinois. In Virginia, our "season," or the time when we are at greater risk for experiencing tornadoes, is July through August according to the Weather Channel, with the hurricane season running from June through November. There's no time like now to take some precautions.   Find out more about storm warnings.

If you'd like to be among the first to learn about the newest books, DVDs, and CDs on hand and on order at the Central Rappahannock Regional Library, you should consider signing up for Wowbrary. It's free and very cool!

We were recently interviewed for possible inclusion in a book about word-of-mouth-marketing.  The authors are intrigued with how we market our library services and resources not just to our patrons, but also to our funding organizations, other libraries, and other organizations.  For example, staff have used free software programs to create a video entitled "Who Needs the Public Library?," which you can view on YouTube in our crrlvideo "channel."

In a nod to the historic first 100 days of the new presidential administration, C-SPAN's Civics Buses launched its "100 Days, 100 Schools" tour, visiting 100 middle and high schools, universities, and communities beginning January 21. Their Bus 2 is visiting the 'Burg on March 26.  You can step on the bus at the Central Rappahannock Regional Library, Headquarters, between 2 and 4 p.m.