First Friday Art Nights at the library

Make the Grants Pass Library a major part of your First Friday Art Night rounds! The next Art Night is 6-9 pm on July 10 (moved to the second Friday because of the holiday weekend).

Photographer Jim Krois will exhibit "Eye of the Wolf." Musical guest will be John Eyler, of RogueandPoet.com, who will perform on acoustic guitar, sing, and recite poetry.

Summer reading program in full swing

The free summer children's reading program will take place from June 16 through August 15. Kids can sign up in person at the library starting on Tuesday June 16 and receive their special bookbag and passport for their "Trip Around the World." 

Each Wednesday, a different country will be featured, including Kenya, Ireland, the UK, France, Russia, India, Japan, Mexico, and the US. Storytimes will be Wednesdays from 11-11:30 and will include stories from the country of the week. Creative activities relating to the country of the week (such as weaving, jigs, skits, painting, batik, origami, and sculpture) will take place from 1-3 pm each Wednesday afternoon. 

Any time throughout the week, children can come in and have their passport stamped, earn prizes, color pages, and work puzzles. The culmination will be a big reading celebration on Saturday August 15.

For more information about any of these programs, contact volunteer Children's Services Manager Debbie Bennighof, 476-0571.

You raised $88,000 for our community's libraries!

Thank you, community! Our spring membership drive, the first drive since we reopened the Grants Pass branch in December, brought in $88,785.95! Thanks to all of you who joined or renewed your 2009 membership. The drive started on April 12 with National Library Week and ended on May 17, the anniversary of the closure of the Josephine County Library System in 2007. This funding will help keep the Grants Pass doors open, and move us ever closer to opening the branches in Illinois Valley, Williams, and Wolf Creek.

JCLI — a nonprofit, nongovernmental organization — relies on your membership contributions to operate our libraries.  If you haven't joined or renewed your membership for 2009 yet, it's not too late. Here are three ways to start or renew your membership to Josephine Community Libraries:

• By Mail. Make your check out to Josephine Community Libraries, and mail it to Josephine Community Libraries, P.O. Box 1684, Grants Pass, OR  97528.
• Automatic Monthly. Complete the automatic monthly payment form (pdf, 25kb) to have your contribution automatically deducted each month from your checking account. Send the form and your first month's check to Josephine Community Libraries, P.O. Box 1684, Grants Pass, OR 97528.
• By Debit or Credit Card. Click the Donate button on this Web page to make a secure contribution online using your debit card, credit card, or PayPal account.

Annual membership levels are: Sustaining Member $1 to $199, Bronze Member $200 to $499, Silver Member $500 to $999, Gold Member $1000 to $4999, and Platinum Member at $5000 and up.

Whether or not a person is a member, everyone is invited to use the library.

Many thanks to our Spring Membership Drive sponsors Hart Insurance, Grants Pass Clinic, and Century 21 JC Jones American Dream. For more information about membership, contact Nancy Hitchcock or 660-6531.

Tentative branch opening dates scheduled

The JCLI board of directors has announced a tentative schedule for reopening the branch libraries in Illinois Valley, Williams, and Wolf Creek, based on the ability to raise sufficient funds. The openings will be staggered in order to allow adequate time for training volunteers and staff. The goals for opening are as follows:

• Illinois Valley branch, September 5, 2009 (open 12 hours per week)
• Williams branch, November 7, 2009 (open 9 hours per week)
• Wolf Creek branch, January 2, 2010 (open 9 hours per week)

Board members decided the order of openings based on population, hoping to serve the greatest number of people.

Josephine Community Libraries estimates that it will cost approximately $80,000 per year to operate the three branches. The communities are busy with events to raise money to open and keep open their branches. For more information or to get involved with branch efforts, contact one of the following:

On your first visit to the library, sign up for your new library card. Bring a photo ID and another form of address ID, such as a recent utility bill. If you still have your old SOLIS card, bring it as well. Otherwise, you can get a new JCLI library card for free.

Pick up a Library Card Registration form at the JCLI Membership desk just inside the front door. Take your completed form, along with any books you want to check out, to the Circulation desk. The volunteer will update your information in the computer and either update your old SOLIS card with JCLI information or issue you a new JCLI card.

Our circulation records include the information of all patrons from the old Josephine County Library and SOLIS systems. But these records do not include any information about old fines or fees accrued under those systems. This means that old fines and fees have been forgiven, and everyone's starting over with a clean slate with JCLI.

Also, even though we can update the old SOLIS cards for the JCLI system, we do not have reciprocal borrowing or inter-library loan agreements with Jackson County or Rogue Community College.

Borrowers do not need to be JCLI members to check out books. Library services are completely free to all.