Today I have a smorgasbord of thoughts (revolving around the library) to share with you.

I begin with book drop adventures. Many of you may recall that we were the beneficiaries of a donation from Murrell Library -- our very own book drop! The City was very accommodating and hauled it to their place, sandblasted it, painted it, and installed it on the concrete platform they poured just for the book drop. So we have been heading into our first winter with a book drop. After the Thanksgiving holiday, we pulled one cartful of books out of the book drop. The Christmas holiday brought us even more rewards -- two carts full of books. There were so many books in the drop that the platform was all the way to the bottom and I had to practically crawl inside to reach all the books. Tonight we went to check the book drop for the first time since Friday (because of the weather) and confirmed that it is still frozen shut. I whacked it a couple of times with a snow shovel and that broke up the ice encasing the book drop but the lock was still so filled with ice that the ice melt I sprayed into it just squirted out into the wind. But don't worry -- if you put a book in there since Friday, we will forgive the fines as soon as we can get the door open again.

Speaking of cold, as we ride out the next couple of winter months, those of you who are armchair travelers might enjoy the new travel books we recently purchased for the library: California, Washington, Australia and Germany .

Did you know ... 12,434 people used our computers in 2006. Stayed tuned here for more fact tidbits.

New books

Fiction

-- Maelstrom -- Anne McCaffrey

-- Plum Lovin' -- Janet Evanovich

-- Web of Evil -- J.A. Jance

-- Exile -- Richard North Patterson

Non-fiction

-- Yoga For Women at Midlife -- Pat Shapiro

-- Photographer's Life 1990-2005 -- Annie Leibovitz

-- Skinny Cooks Can't Be Trusted -- Mo' Nique

Library events

-- Preschool Story Time -- Each Tuesday,10 a.m. Games, stories, crafts. Appropriate for children approximately 3 to 7 years.

-- Pajama Story Time -- Each Monday, 7 p.m. Everyone is welcome; wear your jammies or come as you are. Games, crafts, stories.

-- Wee Ones Lap Time Story Times -- For babies up to 24 months, each Wednesday 10 a.m. Interactive finger play and song time for mothers and babies.

How can I support the Marshall Public Library?

-- Bring your receipts from Patricia's into the library when you're returning or checking out books. Each month, Patricia's Foods will donate a portion of the collected receipts to the library.

-- When purchasing items from Amazon.com, use the link to Amazon that appears on the Marshall Public Library's Web site: www.marshallpubliclibrary.com. A portion of your purchase will go to support the library.

-- Consider joining Friends of the Marshall Libraries. Membership forms are available at the library.

-- Honor a mentor. Celebrate a friend. Commemorate an event. A gift to the Marshall Public Library is a unique and enduring way to pay tribute to friends and family. Your generosity will be a lasting source of joy and enrichment for the community. For additional information, please call (660) 886-3391 with any questions.

Check It Out appears Wednesday.