Online auction ends October 1

Thank you so much to everyone who came out for the Mercer Library Fall Celebration Open House last weekend!

I really had a great time visiting with all of you on a relaxing, sunny September day. We sold out at our “Dine Pull” gift certificate table, sold lots of book basket raffle tickets, and enjoyed some wonderful appetizers prepared by the Friends of the Library. Overall, the event was a great success!

There are still two things happening as part of our Fall Celebration fundraiser: our book basket raffles and online auction.

• Book Basket raffle tickets are $1 each or 6/$5 and can be purchased at the library all week. We have eight beautiful baskets this year, each donated by a local business or library supporter. Winners will be drawn on Friday, October 1, so don’t delay!
• Our online auction is open for bidding now through Friday 10/1 at 3:00 p.m. Don’t miss your chance to bid on some unique art items, jewelry, window and house cleaning services, a fabulous pontoon cruise and dinner to remember with the Ondreskys, and much, much more. All proceeds benefit the library!

Our online auction is live now through October 1.

It’s time for me to shift back into “regular” library mode, now that the party’s over. Read on for a preview of some upcoming events at the library next month. Hope we’ll see you soon!

- Teresa Schmidt, library director

Book Club are back!

It’s book club season again! Our afternoon book club met last week to select books and set a schedule for the coming months. All events will be on Tuesdays at 1:00 p.m. and copies of the books will be available to borrow from the library. Here’s what we’re reading:

• Raven Black by Ann Cleeves - October 19
• The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman - November 16
• Winter Garden by Kristin Hannah - December 21
• A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles - January 18

Our evening book club will have a BYOB (Bring Your Own Book) meeting TONIGHT, Monday, September 27 at 6:00 p.m. Come and chat about what you’ve been reading and make some suggestions for our evening group’s future titles. If you’d like to be part of the evening book club but can’t make it in person, let me know and I’ll keep you on our email list OR join us virtually tonight. The link is on our website.

October events

Here’s a preview of a few things coming up at the library next month:

• October 11 at 10:00 a.m. - Protect your trees and shrubs from wooly creatures with Darrin Kimbler, Extension Iron County. This will be a hybrid event, available either in person or online.
• October 31 at 1:00 - 3:00 p.m. - ”Trunk or Treat” in the library’s parking lot. Local businesses, organizations, and residents are welcome to come and hand out treats, or bring the kids to trick or treat!
• October 14 - Jeff Kersten from the Wisconsin Bureau of Consumer Protection will be here with a presentation on consumer safety. Stay tuned for more details.

We’d also like to restart our “Community Chat” series, where we invite the leaders of various community services and organizations to talk about what they do. Is there a town, county, state, or nonprofit organization or service you’d like to learn more about? Let me know! I’ll be sending invitations and scheduling monthly chats beginning in November. Give me a call at 715-476-2366 or email me with your ideas.

Did you know?

As the kids go back to school, many of us start to think about what we’d like to be learning this winter, too. Did you know that as a Mercer Library cardholder, you can sign up for hundreds of free Gale Courses?

Gale Courses are six-week classes taught by professional instructors on a wide range of topics including language, computer applications, writing, art, music, health and wellness, photography, personal development, and much more. They are great for building the skills you need for work or for your personal interests. Visit our website and click on Gale Courses for all the details.

Don’t have a library card yet? It’s easy and FREE to sign up for one! Visit us at the library or sign up for a digital card through our online catalog and you’ll get instant access to all of our digital services including Gale Courses and Wisconsin’s Digital Library.

MERCER PUBLIC LIBRARY

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