There is a lot that goes into selecting new books for the library. Librarians use a variety of methods and criteria when choosing which books to add to the collection. We study bestseller and awards lists, read through popular and accredited book reviews, consider patrons requests and curren…

We are rolling out the red carpet at Cole library to welcome the Academy Award nominated movies for 2024. The titles below have been purchased and are coming in at Cole Library. The other nominated movies will be purchased when they become available.

In libraries we often celebrate special Heritage Months. These celebrations give us an opportunity to explore books about a heritage different from our own or to delve deeper into our own heritage. For example, February is Black Heritage Month. To celebrate, we put up displays highlighting a…

While Cole Public Library supports and promotes African American literature through the year, February is Black History Month and a wonderful time to highlight the work of Black creators.

Card games are a wonderful way to socialize with friends and family, relax and focus on something engaging, and keep our brains sharp. Since the 1930’s, bridge has been the most popular card game in the world. It is so popular that there are more books about bridge than any other game except…

Be Originals 4-H Club4 H fruit sales are coming. At the beginning of the January meeting for the Be Original 4 H Club, the members were told that, once again, we will be selling fruit. Many members will be selling up until February 9. This year there will be many fruit boxes to choose from, …

Loras dean’s listLaila Moellering of Mount Vernon was named to the dean’s list at Loras College for the fall 2023 semester Students must earn a GPA of 3.5 or above to be named to the dean’s list.

Do you enjoy putting puzzles together? Do you have puzzles you’ve completed and don’t want to do again? Are they in new or gently used condition?

BVU dean’s fall listAmanda Bishop and Benjamin Crock of Mount Vernon and Kambree Hultquist of Martelle were named to the fall 2023 dean’s list at Buena Vista University. The dean’s list recognizes full-time students achieving a 3.5 grade point average or higher for the semester.

Art and literature have always gone hand-in-hand, which is why Cole Library is so excited to team up with the Mount Vernon Area Arts Council to host an art exhibit for Mount Vernon’s first Artist-in-Residence, Sarah Lynn Fitzgerald.

Wartburg dean’s listLily Meester, Ben Nydegger and Joziphene Luneckas-Broomhall of Mount Vernon and Kali Nelson and Peyton Robinson of Lisbon were named to the 2023 fall term dean’s list at Wartburg College in Waverly.

I don’t know about you, but I’m not checking out beach reads in winter. While others might be dreaming of sand and sun, I’m bunkering down with a cup of tea and a book set in the tundra.

If you have an Instagram account you may have stumbled across Cheap Old Houses. It started as a site that listed houses less than $150,000 with lots of character, lots of potential but often lots of damage. After several years of posts, the authors of this account–Elizabeth and Ethan Finkels…

Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Business ProgramThe Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses (10KSB) program is pleased to recognize 23 small business owners as Fall 2023 graduates of the program’s 10th cohort in Iowa. Olivia Randall of Bauman amd Company was one of the 23 graduates thise year.

Be Original 4-HFor the Be Original 4-H December meeting, we hosted a Christmas party for all the members. The meeting started with more talk of what we will be doing for the community in 2024. After discussing community projects, we started wrapping presents for “Adopt a Family”. Through thi…

Do you enjoy reading nonfiction titles? At Cole Library our newest nonfiction titles are located in the Browsing Room on the library’s first floor. Recently there has been a lot of interesting nonfiction titles published about a variety of subjects in both standard and large print. Cole Libr…