JOB OPENING: LIBRARY ASSISTANT II or III
GROVE CITY PUBLIC LIBRARY

Job Description: Performs various circulation tasks. Shelves materials, handles incoming and outgoing deliveries, and fills interlibrary loan requests. Provides reference and research services to library patrons and assistance in locating and utilizing library materials and services.  Opens and closes library. Depending on experience and hiring level, may plan, implement, and promote programs for all ages.

Qualifications:  Knowledge of library operations and procedures; ability to work effectively with the general public; ability to operate computers and printers; ability to follow written and oral instructions; ability to work independently; willingness to maintain flexibility in schedule.  Preferred: ability to plan, implement, and promote specialized events and programs; strong communication skills.

Education and experience required: Candidate must have a high school diploma or equivalency plus six months related experience; or a combination of education, experience and training necessary to perform the requirements of the job. One year of directly-related experience is preferred.

Physical Requirements:  Must be able to walk, stoop, kneel, crouch, reach, lift, feel, grasp, talk, hear and see.  Some light lifting and carrying may be required up to 25 pounds.

Hours:  Mondays 9:45-5 and Fridays 1:45-5. Additional subbing as needed.

Pay rate: $13.34/hour for Library Assistant II level or $16.21/hour for Library Assistant III level, depending on qualifications

Application deadline: March 14, 2025

Applications available at the library or www.pioneerland.lib.mn.us . Drop off at the Grove City or Litchfield Library or mail to:

Beth Cronk
Litchfield Public Library
P.O. Box 220
Litchfield, MN 55355

Questions: (320) 593-9447 or elizabeth.cronk@pioneerland.lib.mn.us

Grove City Library offers a storytime once a month on a Tuesday afternoon at 2:00 p.m. Typically this will be on the 2nd Tuesday of the month, but in February it will be on the 3rd Tuesday. No need to sign up. Parents and caregivers should plan to attend with their children.

Dates are as follows:

• February 18
• March 11
• April 8
• May 13

Join us at the Grove City Library on Thursdays between 3:00 and 5:00 for Crafternoon! Our new drop-in program is a chance to work on your own arts and crafts projects alongside others doing the same thing. Supplies will not be provided other than coloring sheets and colored pencils, and sometimes diamond dots.

Bring your knitting, crochet, drawing, papercrafting, string art, embroidery, hand sewing, jewelry-making, diamond art, etc. Please nothing messy – we can’t spill on the library’s carpet!

Offered every Thursday until May 22.

Drop in for Grove City Library’s Knitting Club on the 3rd Thursday of the month, January through May. The program is held in the library from 4:00 to 5:00 p.m. No formal instruction is provided; it’s a time for people of all ages to sit together while they knit or crochet, and to share ideas and get advice from an expert knitter on the library staff. No need to sign up.

Dates are January 16, February 20, March 20, April 17, and May 15.

Take a look at the most-borrowed items of 2024 for Pioneerland Library System!

Top adult fiction

• The women / Kristin Hannah.
• The river we remember : a novel / William Kent Krueger.
• Three-inch teeth : a Joe Pickett novel / C. J. Box
• Toxic prey / John Sandford.
• Spirit crossing : a novel / William Kent Krueger.
• The housemaid / Freida McFadden.
• The teacher / Freida McFadden.
• A calamity of souls / David Baldacci.
• Mind games / Nora Roberts.
• The truth about the Devlins / Lisa Scottoline.

Top adult nonfiction

• Dear Jacob : a mother’s journey of hope / Patty Wetterling with Joy Baker.
• Hillbilly elegy : a memoir of a family and culture in crisis / J.D. Vance.
• The boys in the boat : nine Americans and their epic quest for gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics / Daniel James Brown.
• House of Kahmanns : a memoir : a story about family love and shattered bonds, about finding each other in the aftermath / P. G. Kahmann.
• Killers of the Flower Moon : the Osage murders and the birth of the FBI / David Grann.
• The demon of unrest / Erik Larson.
• Oath and honor : a memoir and a warning / Liz Cheney.
• Gunflint falling : blowdown in the Boundary Waters / Cary J. Griffith.
• The anxious generation : how the great rewiring of childhood is causing an epidemic of mental illness / Jonathan Haidt.
• Atomic habits : tiny changes, remarkable results : an easy & proven way to build good habits & break bad ones / James Clear.

Top young adult fiction

• One-Punch Man / story by One ; art by Yusuke Murata ; translation, John Werry.
• A court of thorns and roses / Sarah J. Maas.
• A good girl’s guide to murder / Holly Jackson.
• One piece / story and art by Eiichiro Oda.
• The seven deadly sins / Nakaba Suzuki ; [translator, Christine Dashiell ; lettering, James Dashiell].
• The ballad of songbirds and snakes / Suzanne Collins.
• Powerless / Lauren Roberts.
• One of us is lying / Karen M. McManus.
• If he had been with me / Laura Nowlin.
• Death note / story by Tsugumi Ōba ; art by Takeshi Obata ; translation & adaptation, Pookie Rolf.

Top easy fiction

• The Big Cheese / written by Jory John ; illustrated by Pete Oswald.
• The teeny-weeny unicorn / by Shawn Harris.
• Love from Bluey / text by Suzy Brumm.
• Bluey : daddy putdown.
• The pigeon has to go to school! / words and pictures by Mo Willems.
• Buffalo Fluffalo / written by Bess Kalb ; illustrated by Erin Kraan.
• If you give a dog a donut / written by Laura Numeroff ; illustrated by Felicia Bond.
• Creepy crayon! / Aaron Reynolds ; illustrated by Peter Brown.
• No cats in the library / Lauren Emmons.
• Penelope Rex and the problem with pets / Ryan T. Higgins.

Top juvenile fiction

• Dog Man. Vol. 12 : The scarlet shedder / written and illustrated by Dav Pilkey.
• Cat kid comic club. Vol. 5 : Influencers / words, illustrations, and artwork by Dav Pilkey .
• Dog Man. Twenty thousand fleas under the sea / written and illustrated by Dav Pilkey.
• Dog man. Mothering heights / written and illustrated by Dav Pilkey.
• Dog man. Lord of the fleas / written and illustrated by Dav Pilkey.
• Dog Man. Brawl of the wild / written and illustrated by Dav Pilkey.
• Dog man. Grime and punishment / written and illustrated by Dav Pilkey.
• Baby-sitters club. Vol. 15 : Claudia and the bad joke / a graphic novel by Arley Nopra.
• Baby-sitters Club. Vol. 7 : Boy-crazy Stacey / a graphic novel by Gale Galligan.

Thank you to the businesses and organizations that contributed to this year’s summer reading program at the Grove City Public Library: Read, Renew, Repeat! Thank you for supporting kids and reading in our community.

• Grove City Lions
• Stockmen’s Greenhouse & Garden Center
• Litchfield Jimmy’s Pizza
• Casey’s
• Litchfield McDonald’s
• Litchfield Pizza Hut
• Ramsey Printing
• Top Deck Gaming

Grove City Library will offer curbside service indefinitely. Call the library at the number on the sign, 320-857-2550, if you’d like your materials brought outside. Have your library card number ready.

Library staff can hand your bag of library materials to you on the sidewalk or bring it to your vehicle parked in front of the library. Let us know where you’d like us to bring it when you call.

Curbside service may be useful if you have mobility issues or a sleeping child in the car, or because of illness. Regardless of your reason, you are welcome to use the service!

by Beth Cronk, Meeker County Librarian

Here are some useful facts about the library in a Frequently Asked Questions format. I hope you learn a little something you didn’t know before!

How much does it cost to get a library card?
A library card is free! It’s part of the public services available to you as a resident of Minnesota. Once you have a library card, it’s also free to check out anything in the library collection, both ebooks and physical items. If you had a library card and it’s lost, there is a $3 charge for a replacement card.

How many books are in the Grove City Public Library?
The Grove City Library has about 6,900 books. It also has about 1,800 DVDs and about 300 CDs.

What if I want to check out something that the Grove City Library doesn’t have?
You can request things from other libraries in the Pioneerland Library System, which has a collection of about 620,000 physical items. If Pioneerland doesn’t have something, you can often request it from another library in Minnesota, using the MNLINK catalog. You can search both the Pioneerland and MNLINK catalogs online and request things yourself, or library staff can help you and place those requests.

Does it cost money to order things from other libraries?
No, the service is free to you as part of the interlibrary loan network in place in Minnesota. Our state is outstanding at providing access to library materials! Grove City Library gets two deliveries of those interlibrary loan materials each week.

How long can I keep a book?
Most books are loaned for four weeks. Some bestsellers are limited to just two weeks while they’re new; you’ll recognize these by the sticker on the spine that says “14 day loan.”

How long can I keep a DVD I’ve checked out?
DVDs are now loaned for two weeks.

Can I check out magazines?

Yes, magazines can be checked out for two weeks.

A book I checked out had a due date coming up soon, but now I found out that it’s not really due for a few more weeks. What happened?

Automatic renewals! This is a brand-new service our library system is offering. If no one has a hold on an item that you have checked out, and you haven’t renewed it before, the library’s computer system will automatically renew it for you once, three days before its due date. If you are signed up for email updates about your account, you’ll be notified by email when those renewals happen and when you have items that will be due soon.

I’m late returning a library item. How much will I be charged?

There is a charge of ten cents per day for late items, although there is a three-day grace period before those start being charged. Materials for children and teens no longer have late fees. If your item is a month overdue, you’ll get a bill for the replacement of that item. If that happens, once you return the item the charge will drop to a $3 late fee (or to $0 for materials from the kids’ section). If an item is damaged or lost, talk to library staff about how you can resolve that charge.

Can I use my library card in other libraries?

Yes, you can. Your Pioneerland library card will work in all libraries in the system. Our system stretches from Graceville to Glencoe and from Canby to Dassel. If you want to use a different library system in Minnesota, you can do that, too. Bring your card to them, and they will help you register as a reciprocal borrower in their system.

If you have more questions, stop in or call the library, and we’ll be happy to answer them.