Mission: Possible

"We provide a welcoming environment to grow and strengthen connections for everyone in our community."

This month we announced our new and improved mission statement.  This is the lens we will use to guide the future decisions we make here at our library.  Our previous mission statement focused on making our collections available, but our dedicated Board of Trustees and I decided that was too narrow.  How do we capture the mission of our organization?  How do we reflect the varying needs of our community members and find our place in meeting them, without duplicating services found elsewhere?  We have patrons that depend on us for their printing services, their internet access.  We're a stop along the school bus route after school.  We're part of the team of educators passionate about encouraging literacy among children of all ages.  We're one source of local historical information about our community.  We are a safe, welcoming space to meet up with a friend. We're your source for books, magazines, newspapers, and movies. We are here because we believe in connections and are wholly embracing our new mission.  We're grateful to all of our supportive patrons as we put this new mission statement into action!

Our library added a new book to our collection last month that I'm looking forward to reading: "Mother-Daughter Murder Night" by Nina Simon.  It currently has 3.68 out of 5 stars on Goodreads and is one of Reese Witherspoon's Book Club picks.  This is the first novel by the author, who describes her writing as 'crime novels about strong women'.  Yes please!!  The sleuths in this novel cover three generations of women, and I'm planning on taking it home this weekend for some pre-Halloween reading!  It's currently available at VPL in regular type, and a large print copy is on order.  See you at the library!

Lawyers, Guns and Money

Fall is for Mysteries.  Growing up, like other girls my age I enjoyed Nancy Drew.  I also loved looking through my Grandma's Agatha Christie paperbacks, and in my early teen years I loved Dean Koontz.  As an adult, I read a wide range of genres, but Fall is for Mysteries.  I'm currently one chapter away from finishing Anthony Horowitz's "The Word is Murder".  Published in 2018, The Wall Street Journal describes it as "One of the most entertaining mysteries of the year".  Even though I'm a little late to the party, I couldn't be enjoying it more.  The author is writing a mystery where he, the author, is one of the main characters, and he's discovering clues at a pace of his own.  I'd highly recommend it if you love murder mysteries; and there are three more books in the series to keep you coming back for more!

I recently finished "A Body in the Library", a Miss Marple classic published by Agatha Christie in 1942.  Everything about reading Agatha Christie makes me nostalgic, and I can't help but feel good even seeing the book on my nightstand.  It's the first time I've read a Marple mystery, as I've been more of a Poirot lover, and it has me ready for more.  For any Marple fans out there, I would highly recommend "Marple", a collection of short stories penned by several popular mystery writers including Lucy Foley, Ruth Ware, and Elly Griffiths.  Not only are the stories entertaining, but they give you a peek into the writing styles of several popular authors.  VPL has this title in both regular and large type.  Check it out today!