Fine Free Children’s Books!

It’s a new year out there  — and as it begins, your five Houston County Public Libraries are happy to announce an exciting new county-wide policy:  as of January 1st, 2019, children’s books and audio books from our region will no longer accumulate overdue fees!

The group decision was an easy one for the library directors from Caledonia, Hokah, Houston, La Crescent, and Spring Grove to make.  Encouraging early literacy is one of our primary goals. Fines, no matter how small, can become barriers for families of all shapes and sizes, eventually preventing them from using our services.  With this new initiative, we hope to welcome back parents and kids who may have avoided the library because of fines on their accounts, while continuing to build goodwill (and great reading skills!) within our communities.   

As a result, we will also be waiving outstanding fines that were incurred on overdue children’s books on current library accounts anytime in the past.   Please note that this change does not apply to adult books or to movies for any age group. In addition, charges for lost or damaged items will still apply.   

Questions?  Give us a call at 896-READ or stop by the Houston Public Library during our regular hours of operation.  We’re delighted to start off the new year with such a positive change — and hope you will be too!

HOLIDAY HOURS!

The Houston Public Library will be CLOSED this holiday season on:

  • Monday, December 24th
  • Tuesday, December 25th
  • Monday, December 30th 
  • Tuesday, December 31st.

Have a safe, peaceful, and happy end of the year, everyone!  Please give us a call at 896-7323 if you have any questions!

CLOSED for Thanksgiving!

Just a reminder a bit in advance:  the Houston Public Library will be CLOSED on Thursday, November 22nd in observance of Thanksgiving Day.  Have a safe and happy holiday, everyone.  We’ll be back to our regular schedule on Saturday, November 24th.  Questions?  Give us a call at 896-READ!

New Bike Racks at the library!

Thanks to a SELCO Legacy grant through the Minnesota Arts & Cultural Heritage Fund, the library just installed two decorated bike racks out in our adjacent greenspace!  For those of you who have not stopped by and seen them yet, here is a photo just for fun.   

Another Successful Library Book Sale!

Thanks to an army of volunteers and customers, the Friends of the Library’s annual fall book sale was a success despite the cold grey weather!  We earned $365 which will all be spent on programming or collection development.  Not bad for a half a day’s work!  Thanks go out as well to all those of you who donated books for us to go through  —  some donations make it into our library collection, some are used to fill the five Little Free Libraries we host in town, and the rest form the basis of our two yearly book sales.  Questions about this or any other library activity?  Give us a call at 896-READ!

2018 Summer Reading Prizes are here!

Attention, all kids who accumulated 20 stamps in their passports in June, July, and August during our 2018 Summer Reading Program: we JUST put out a cartload of books for you to look over and choose one to take home to keep, as your reward for reading and participating this summer! There is a little bit of everything, from picture books to YA fiction! Make sure to bring your passport along when you stop in to browse. First come, first served. Questions? Give us a call at 896-READ!

 

Summer Reading Program ends on August 31st!

As sad as it is to announce, our 2018 Summer Reading Program is ALMOST at an end.  Please make sure your kids turn in any completed weekly reading challenges on or before Friday, August 31st.  (You can put them in our outdoor book return box if we are not open when you stop by, just as long as we find them on Saturday morning before we open for business!)  This deadline also means that kids have today (Tuesday, August 28th), tomorrow (Wednesday, August 29th), and Thursday, August 30th to stop by during our normal hours of operation, check out a book or two, then put their names into the final drawing for four free ice cream cones, generously provided by our sponsor, Sub Zero Pizza & Ice Cream.  Remember that either one of these activities gets you one more stamp in your reading passport   —   and kids who earn 20 stamps or more this summer will get to choose a free book to take home and keep!  Questions about this or any other library program?  Give us a call at 896-READ!