Many of you know Troy Ballew, who works here at the library. I approached Mr. Ballew some time ago regarding an overhaul of the library's website and he graciously agreed to prepare it for us. Months of hard work went by and Mr. Ballew expressed his desire to finish the project before the school year ended in May. I assured him that our goal for launching the new site was June 1. I have to state for the record that Troy Ballew is a very patient man. Here we are in August and I am pleased to announce the new website is ready for the public. We encourage you to take a look -- the address is http://www.marshallpublib.org.

We are hopeful that you will enjoy the many new features and functions of the site. And I want to extend a huge thank-you to Troy Ballew for his attention to detail and his patience with us on this project. We couldn't have done it without you!

We are facing a couple of staff changes this month. Cindy McKinney, our part-time Children's Coordinator has accepted a position as a nanny and will be changing her status to library substitute. Amy Yeagle is heading off to college at Truman University. While she will retain her status as a library substitute, we will see less of her while she's at school. We wish both Cindy and Amy good luck on their new endeavors.

Please note that until Nov. 1, the Marshall Public Library is not accepting donations of hardcover books or VHS tapes. Currently, those donations should be taken to the Murrell Library on the Missouri Valley College campus.

On beyond Google

Did you know there's a Missouri law that can fine a citizen up to $400 for having a public pool table without a license? If you are interested in keeping compliant with Missouri laws, the state of Missouri offers a searchable database of all Missouri laws at http://www.moga.mo.gov. Click on Missouri Revised Statutes and either search by key words or click on View All Missouri Revised Statutes.

Check it out

Now that the summer reading is over, the library staff is taking its annual break from story times. There will be no story times during the month of August.

New materials

Fiction

"Killer Weekend" by Ridley Pearson

"Meet Me in Venice" by Elizabeth Adler

"Sammy's House" by Kristin Gore

"Robert Ludlum's The Bourne Betrayal" by Eric Van Lustbader

Non-fiction

"A Woman in Charge" by Carl Bernstein

"Deer Hunting with Jesus" by Joe Bageant

Playaways

"Astrid & Veronica" by Linda Olsson

"All Together Dead" by Charlaine Harris

"Nerve Damage" by Peter Abrams

"Gates of Fire" by Steven Pressfield

"Finn" by Jon Clinch