Hi!  This is Rachel Malay, director at the Port Library in Beloit.   I hope all my readers had a very merry Christmas!  The Port Library has been happy to have you as patrons in 2013, and look forward to serving the area citizens in 2014 as well!  The library will be closed December 31st and January 1st for New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day.  The library will reopen with regular hours Thursday, January 2nd.

Everyone will be returning to their regular (if sometimes hectic) routines after the holidays, but the still cold winter weather provides plenty of time to spend time indoors reading!  If my parents and grandparents of younger children out there find they have a few minutes to sit and read, the following titles will give a few minutes’ distraction on a sweet subject.  Daddy Loves You! and Mommy Loves You! by P. K. Hallinan are companion board books centered around the same theme: the love parents show to their children every day. Reading these books aloud gives the reader an excuse to tell their young listener just how much they love them and in what ways.  Mommy Loves You! goes through different situations, indoors and out and describes the way mommy loves you, from loving the way a child plays nicely with others, to having fun in the backyard.  In Daddy Loves You! the situations are similar, but geared slightly more towards the way a child plays, runs and jumps.  The story also includes going off to work and returning again. If you’re a grandparent, simply replace mommy and daddy with grandma and grandpa, and the story still applies.  Soft pencil and watercolor illustrations accompany each page if this small board book and keep the story soft and light.

You can get the book reviewed here and more great titles to watch, read, listen to, or play with at the Port Library at 1718 N. Hersey in Beloit, on the North Campus. This is director Rachel Malay, saying “Thanks for checking us out!”


Mommy Loves You! and Daddy Loves You! by P. K. Hallinan
ISBN: 9780824918958 (Mommy) and 9780824918965 (Daddy), fully illustrated
Children's board books

Hi!  This is Rachel Malay, director at the Port Library in Beloit. Next week we will be closing at 5 pm on Monday, Thursday, and Friday.  We will be closed Tuesday and Wednesday for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

Many of my readers probably have their Christmas shopping done.  If not, there’s still a few days left!  If you have young ones around the house you’ve probably been hearing their Christmas wish list for some time now.  Both parent (or grandparent) and child will be able to relate to this week’s Port Pick: Dear Santasaurus by Stacy McAnulty illustrated by Jef Kaminsky.  Okay, maybe not the being a dinosaur part, but this colorful picture book certainly has a Christmas wish list!

In January, young Ernest B. Spinosaurus writes a thank you note to Santasaurus for the remote controlled pterodactyl he’s just received.  In the illustration however, the reader can see that the remote controlled pterodactyl is already broken from roughhousing around Dad.  Throughout the following year Ernest writes more letters to Santasaurus, asking for the next greatest toy: a Jurassic turbo scooter.  Ernest works hard, describing in each monthly letter what he’s done to be nice and trying hard (but usually failing) to not be naughty.  By November, his naughty and nice list is about even.  Will he make it long enough as a good little dinosaur to get his desired scooter?

The colorful comic-inspired illustrations are sure to keep young eyes occupied, while a year in the life of a young, energetic little dinosaur is sure to be relatable to parent dinosaurs and little kid dinosaurs everywhere.  This book would be a good read to remind kids, even at Christmas, to try their best to be nice and say thank you and follow the rules.

You can get the book reviewed here and more great titles to watch, read, listen to, or play with at the Port Library at 1718 N. Hersey in Beloit, on the North Campus. This is director Rachel Malay, saying “Thanks for checking us out!”

Dear Santasaurus by Stacy McAnulty, illustrated by Jef Kaminsky
ISBN: 9781590788769, fully illustrated
Children's picture books

Hi!  This is Rachel Malay, director at the Port Library in Beloit.  All this week stop in at the library and make some easy, fun Christmas ornaments and enjoy refreshments in the Schafer Room.  We’ll have supplies laid out so library users of all ages can make a last minute addition to their Christmas tree. 

Christmas is coming up pretty soon and that usually means busy times for everyone.  However, if you find you have down time in your schedule this next review might be just the thing to fill that time. Sandra Bricker combines humor, inspiration, and romance in most of her novels and her latest holiday title is no exception.  Combining two related novelettes, Merry Humbug Christmas follows two young ladies who set out to have a humbug Christmas.  The first story “Once Upon a Jingle Bell” follows Joss who, in an attempt to avoid the holiday altogether, books a cruise to the Mexican Rivieria.  An accident in booking sends her on a cruise in the complete opposite direction, and while trying to avoid all things holiday on a cruise themed after the 12 days of Christmas, Joss runs into a rugged Irishman trying to do just the same. Meanwhile, Joss’s usual cruise partner, Reese, is meeting her fiancé’s family for the first time.   In “It Came Upon an Midnight Deer” (like the animal) jitters are nothing when the happy couple hits a deer on the way to a big family Christmas at a remote cabin in the mountains.  However, that is just the start of a disastrous holiday week, and Reese starts to wonder about her future with her fiancé’s family.  An epilogue brings the friends Joss and Reese back together to tie up any loose ends.

You can get the book reviewed here and more great titles to watch, read, listen to, or play with at the Port Library at 1718 N. Hersey in Beloit, on the North Campus. This is director Rachel Malay, saying “Thanks for checking us out!”

And don't forget the new feature below: click on the title to go to the library catalog and see if the item is currently in at the library!  (If you need to reserve it, please still call us!)


Merry Humbug Christmas by Sandra Bricker
ISBN: 9781433680755, 297 pages.
Adult Fiction

Yesterday, Wednesday the 11th, the library had the honor of hosting a visit from the Kansas State Librarian, Jo Budler.  Mrs. Budler has been visiting many libraries in the state over the past year.

Mrs. Budler enjoyed a tour of the Port Library with the library director, youth services librarian, and several board members.  Members of the Central Kansas Library System (CKLS) were along to guide Mrs. Budler around the area.  The local newspaper came to take pictures.  After the tour everyone ate lunch at a local restaurant, Plum Creek.

Mrs. Budler and CKLS members had other area libraries to tour during the day, and left for Formoso, Burr Oak, and Belleville, KS.

The State Library of Kansas serves the people working in the state house primarily in person, but also provides many electronic services to the citizens of the State of Kansas.  Their website is the portal: kslib.info.

The State Library provides free access to many academic research databases, such as ERIO, MasterFile and Newspaper Plus.  Through the State Library, citizens can also access subscription based genealogical resources such as Heritage Quest, or complete online auto repair manuals.

Perhaps the most used by citizens are the State Library's offerings of free e-books, audiobooks, and downloadable video.  The State provides access to several apps for use on any device.

Citizens may need a State Library Card to access some of the services. The card is free and available at any public library.  This card is separate from any local library card.


Jo Budler has been vital in the recent fight for the public library's rights to lend materials in e-book form.  


She was also named Library Journal's librarian of 2013.  The article can be read by clicking here.

More photos of the State Librarian's visits to area libraries can be found on the State Library's Facebook page.

Hi!  This is Rachel Malay, director at the Port Library in Beloit. The Friends of the Port Library are holding a book sale at the library this Thursday, Friday, and Saturday the 12th through the 14th.  Please call the library for exact times each day.  Books sold will be ones no longer needed in the library collection, plus many donations from community members.  Come take a look; you may find the perfect Christmas gift!

Since 1985, V. C. Andrews has been a prolific and popular author.  Now in her nineteenth series, V. C. Andrews continues the story of Roxy and Emmie Wilcox.  Roxy, the older sister, has always been rebellious and at age 16 is kicked out of her house.  Emmie, the obedient one and 6 years younger, stays with their father. The first title in this series, Forbidden Sister tells the story from Emmie’s point of view and is available for check out at the library.  Now the second in the series, Roxy’s Story, tells the tale from the older sister’s point of view and picks up the story after the sisters’ father dies eight years later.  Roxy, now a high price call girl in New York City, assumes care of her younger sister.  But how can Roxy’s life support a girl still in high school?  Roxy makes plans for her younger sister to live in Paris with their uncle, but when Roxy falls in love with a young French businessman and is then jilted, plans are delayed.  Meanwhile, being mother, father, sister, and caretaker takes its toll on Roxy’s job and her plans for stability are shaken.

You can get the book reviewed here and more great titles to watch, read, listen to, or play with at the Port Library at 1718 N. Hersey in Beloit, on the North Campus. This is director Rachel Malay, saying “Thanks for checking us out!”