Library earns Humanities honor

The National Endowment for the Humanities has selected the Cloquet Public Library to receive the 2009 We the People “Picturing America” Bookshelf. Cloquet was one of 4,000 libraries across the country to receive this year’s Bookshelf, a set of 17 classic books on the theme of “Picturing America." Three of the books are in Spanish translation.

The Library also received two bonus hardcover books, Our White House: Looking In, Looking Out by the National Children’s Book and Literacy Alliance, and 1776: The Illustrated Edition by David McCullough. Supplementary materials include bookplates, bookmarks and posters. The Bookshelf program is part of the Endowment’s “We the People” initiative, which supports projects that strengthen the teaching, study and understanding of American history and culture.


The “Picturing America” Bookshelf theme is inspired by the premise that a nation’s literature, as well as its visual art, can be a window into its history, aspirations and ideals. The 2009 Bookshelf is a literary complement to NEH’s Picturing America program, a free education resource that provides reproductions of 40 works of great American art to schools and public libraries to help educators teach American history and culture through our nation’s art. Last year the Library also earned the NEH’s Picturing America resource, which is currently on display throughout the building.

Songs and stories about the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC)

Michigan author, Bill Jamerson, will present a program of songs and stories about the CCC, at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, May 20 at the Cloquet Public Library. Bill will read excerpts from his novel, Big Shoulders, a coming-of-age story about a youth from Detroit who is sent to a CCC camp in Michigan's Upper Peninsula.

Bring Nature's Beauty into your Shade Garden

Local author, Clayton Oslund, will give a presentation on shade gardening at the Cloquet Public Library on Monday, May 11 at 6:30 p.m.

Once upon a time there was a bead ...

Children learned that “every story has a bead” during a recent afterschool program at the library. Participants were able to make their own story bracelets using memory wire and a variety of attractive beads. The beads, in turn, helped the children tell original stories. For example, a striped orange bead may have introduced a tiger while a deep blue bead represented a river. Selecting beads and stringing them into a story or two proved both challenging and fun.

Library seeks input on adult programming

There will be a brainstorming session on Tuesday, April 21 from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. to generate ideas for programs at the library throughout the next year. If there is a program you would like the library to provide, please attend and share your thoughts.

Join us for spring story times at the library

Preschool Story Times for ages 3-5 at the Cloquet Public Library will begin at 10 a.m., Wednesdays, April 22 through May 20, 2009.

LapSit Story Times for ages 0-2 will begin at 10 a.m., Thursdays, April 23 through May 21, 2009.

Join us for stories, songs, fingerplays, puppet pranks, music movements and lots more. The programs are free of charge and open to the public. For more information, call 879-1531.