We’ll begin this last week of March on Monday, 25^th, with another fun “Chair Exercise” session at 10:30 am at the main library. In Mamou, a big Easter Egg Hunt is being planed for Monday afternoon @ 2 pm! Please share this good news!

Our big news this week is the ribbon cutting event on Tuesday, March 26th at 11 am at the main library in Ville Platte when Healthy Start, a branch of the Family Tree, will introduce their community Nurturing Nook for new moms in Ville Platte and surrounding areas! Please come to the ribbon cutting to discover the wonderful products that will be available for new moms in need of baby items even when stores and  the library are closed! Sponsors for this program are Steel Magnolias of Louisiana and Rotary International.

Stay for the afternoon to enjoy our weekly French Talk, Coffee Chat, and Grief Counseling which will follow. Then on Wednesday, March 27the Mystery Book Club will meet @ 10:30 am to discuss their book and choose a new one. New members are always welcomed. The main library and all branches will be closed on March 29^th and 30^th to celebrate Easter.

Get ready for a new program at the main library that will encourage kids and adults to learn about planting vegetables and flowers! Staff member Madeleine has set up a “Seed Library” using an old card catalogue cabinet. It will house a variety of seeds donated by seed companies. We will partner with LSU Ag and Evangeline Soil and Water Conservation and over the next few months and offer educational workshops! Keep an eye out for updates. We anticipate offering this program to anyone with a valid library card in early April.

Reminder: This year all of the libraries around the state are required to implement new policies

EARLY NOTICE: Our Spring Library Fest is slated for Saturday, May 4, 2024. Please The deadline for submitting vendor participation forms for all types of participants is April 19, 2024. Contact Keishia Ford or any employee of the library for more information. This is a FREE family fun event and is a way for the Library to say Thank You to its patrons and to show support for local cooks, artists, performers, authors and civic organizations!

Visit the Facebook page of your favorite library branch to see information about programs unique to them. Also, visit our website www.evangelinelibrary.org for updates. You can always call the main library @ 337-363-1369 or send an email to [email protected] for more information and never forget that libraries do change lives…. even in the cloud! Suzy Lemoine.

Mom, Dad, Weslie, Maddox, and Zaia groove through the ups and downs of a typical day, from spilled milk at the breakfast table to a tough day at school to a rained-out game. A reminder of the power of dance, this Boss Family Groove embodies the importance of spreading love and kindness with every song.

And this one too…..

Lotti isn’t sure she wants to make friends. She’s shy, and she doesn’t really know how. While everyone around her is playful, outgoing, and loud, Lotti prefers a quiet place and a book to read. Lotti LOVES books. To her, books are full of magic and aren’t as scary as new friends. But perhaps Lotti’s books can show her how to find magic in everyday moments, and maybe the friends she can share this magic with are closer than she thinks.

March 17, 2024

Happy St. Patrick’s Day to all! We wish you a merry and safe celebration! Drop by the main library to take a picture of your kids in a special “St. Patty’s Photo Frame”!

Monday, March 18^th, the main library will host an “Adults Only Bingo” at 10:30 am in the multipurpose room. Please share this good news!Tuesday, March 19^th, after our “Let’s Talk French” @ 1 pm and “Coffee Talk” @ 2 pm, the Louisiana Hospice and Palliative Care will host a Veterans/Hospice information session at 3 pm.  Then on Wednesday, March 20^th,  the main library will host another fun “Chair Exercise” session at 10:30 am. And on Saturday, March 23^rd, the main library in Ville Platte will be closed for early voting that is taking place around the parish.

Get ready for a new program at the main library that will encourage kids and adults to learn about planting vegetables and flowers! Staff member Madeleine has set up a “Seed Library” using an old card catalogue cabinet. It will house a variety of seeds donated by seed companies. We will partner with LSU Ag and Evangeline Soil and Water Conservation and over the next few months and offer educational workshops! Keep an eye out for updates. We anticipate offering this program to anyone with a valid library card in early April.

Reminder: This year all of the libraries around the state are required to implement new policies regarding Act 436, initially known as SB7, establishes a process by which people can request a review of library material accessible to minors. It also places restrictions on certain library materials deemed ‘explicit’ by the state. We have started to re-register young patrons from the age of 0 to 17 to get permission by the parents or guardians to make the decision to either “restrict or not restrict” the items they can check out or have access too digitally. Please visit your library branch to take care of this now and especially before Summer Reading begins in June.

EARLY NOTICE: (1) The main library and all branches will be closed on March 29^th and 30^th to celebrate Easter. (2) Our Spring Library Fest is slated for Saturday, May 4, 2024. Please The deadline for submitting vendor participation forms for all types of participants is April 19, 2024. Contact Keishia Ford or any employee of the library for more information.This is a FREE family fun event and is a way for the Library to say Thank You to its patrons and to show support for local cooks, artists, performers, authors and civic organizations!

Visit the Facebook page of your favorite library branch to see information about programs unique to them. Also, visit our website www.evangelinelibrary.org for updates. You can always call the main library @ 337-363-1369 or send an email to [email protected] for more information and never forget that libraries do change lives…. even in the cloud! Suzy Lemoine.

These eight stories range in length from flash fiction to novella. In “Incident at Blue Nose Creek,” an investigator pursues a suspect for the serial murders of three saloon girls. In “Visitors in Cantera,” the narrator receives a visit from questionable relatives. In “In the Breaks,” a girl goes deer hunting with her grandfather and has to fend off unwelcome advances from a young man. In “Man of Trees,” a homesteader helps solve the murder of an old hobo. In “Night Horse,” a man is killed when his plan to avenge his brother’s death is thwarted, and the narrator has to fight for his life. In “Darkness in Burnett,” the main character leaves Burnett, but his conscience compels him to return and help find the killer. In “Buckskin Ruby,” a flashy stranger goes to work for a grading crew and exposes a murderer. In “Next to the Last Chance,” a ranch hand wants to get out of the criminal way of life, as does the gang leader’s woman, but the odds are against them.

And this one…….

The neighborhoods we live in impact our lives in so many ways: they determine who we know, what resources and opportunities we have access to, the quality of schools our kids go to, our sense of security and belonging, and even how long we live. Yet too many of us live in neighborhoods plagued by rising crime, school violence, family disintegration, addiction, alienation, and despair. Even the wealthiest neighborhoods are not immune; while poverty exacerbates these challenges, they exist in zip codes rich and poor, rural and urban, and everything in between. In Fragile Neighborhoods, fragile states expert Seth D. Kaplan offers a bold new vision for addressing social decline in America, one zip code at a time. By revitalizing our local institutions–and the social ties that knit them together–we can all turn our neighborhoods into places where people and families can thrive. Readers will meet the innovative individuals and organizations pioneering new approaches to everything from youth mentoring to affordable housing: people like Dreama, a former lawyer whose organization works with local leaders and educators in rural Appalachia to equip young people with the social support they need to succeed in school; and Chris, whose Detroit-based non-profit turns vacant school buildings into community resource hubs. Along the way, Kaplan offers a set of practical lessons to inspire similar work, reminding us that when change is hyperlocal, everyone has the opportunity to contribute.