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.

NOTICE OF A PUBLIC MEETING 

LIBRARY BOARD OF CONTROL MEETING AGENDA

MONDAY, MARCH 11, 2024

4:00 pm Board of Control Meeting 

Ville Platte Main Library

916 West Main Street, Ville Platte, Louisiana 70586

(If you have a disability, please notify us ahead of time for accommodations)

i. Opening Business

1. Call to Order, Prayer, Pledge of Allegiance

2. Roll Call

3. Approval/Amendment of Agenda

4. Approval of Minutes from Previous Meeting 

5. Public Comments on Agenda Items

ii. Old Business

1. New Basile Branch Library meeting 2/20/2024 to review Architectural Rendering of the new library. See attached print outs.

iii. New Business

1. Short presentation by Tony Adams with EAG-LED Global lighting company about a grant opportunity from CLECO to change all light fixtures to LED units at our main library and perhaps the branches. 

2. Request to change operating hours at our Mamou branch library to allow closing on Friday afternoons due to staffing concerns and historically low attendance. 

3. Renewal of the Polaris Multi-Tenant Hosting Contract by Innovative for $14,600.

4. The Library Southwest, Inc. Consortium (LSW) is considering disbanding (We share Overdrive/Libby access through them). We will explain the impact of this move.

5. 2024 Spring Book Fest is slated for Saturday, May 4, 2024

iv. Reports

1. Financial Report

2. Facilities Report

3. Outreach Report

v. Next Board Meeting is May 13, 2024 @ 4 pm

   vi.          Adjournment 

Our Chair Exercise program is getting very popular! It will be offered again on Monday, March 11^th at 10:30 am at the main library.  The public is invited to try it out! If you live in the areas of our Basile, Mamou and Pine Prairie branches, they also offer a Chair Exercise program times noted on their Facebook pages. Please share this good news.  The Library Board of Control will meet on Monday, March 11^th @ 4 pm in the Multipurpose Room of them main library in Ville Platte. An agenda is posted. On Tuesday, March 12^th @ 10 am and again @ 4:30, we will host a Medicare 101 information session. This is a free service and open to the public. 

Our March “Artist of the Month” is me, Suzy Lemoine! I am displaying my book art in the hopes of inspiring others to see discorded books as a wonderful medium for artistic expression! Check out my display in our donated Curio Cabinet. Our Friends of the Library book sale is now offering folks the opportunity to “Fill Up a Bag of Books” for $1.00. This sale is confined to discorded books only. 

We now have an Infinity Game Table at four of our libraries: Basile, Chataignier, Mamou and Pine Prairie! These games tables offer hours of fun playing digital games for ALL ages. With over 50 games inside of each table, lots of fun awaits! Here are a few titles – Kids: Candy Land, Checkers, Chicken Wrangle, Chutes & Ladders, Color Create and Connect 4.  Teens: Clue, Chess, Battle Ship, Sorry, Find It and Monopoly to name a few. Adults: Solitaire, Scrabble, Yahtzee, Puzzle Play and what’s the Word.  We are looking forward to getting one for Turkey Creek and the main library before Summer Reading programs begin!

EARLY NOTICE: (1). (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