Short chapters from Roseburg library

ROSEBURG, Ore. – Please join library staff for a celebration of the fifth anniversary of Dolly Parton's Imagination Library in our community at 10:15 a.m. Wednesday, Oct. 2.

That day, Youth Services Librarian Aurora Ropp will first present Storytime, which features stories, songs, fingerplays and movement rhymes perfect for children ages 2 to 5 and their caregivers.

Following Storytime, the Friends of the Roseburg Public Library will take time to thank local foundations, organizations, businesses and individuals who have supported the Imagination Library program with their grants and donations. Light refreshments will be served.

Imagination Library is a book-gifting program that mails one new, free, age-appropriate book to registered children from birth to fifth birthday every month.

The Local Program Partner, Friends of the Roseburg Public Library, serves youth in the Glide, Idleyld Park, Roseburg, Wilbur and Winchester zip codes. Local Program Partners support youth in most of Douglas County and the state.

Since the Friends launched their program, 2,750 children have participated and 61,000 books have been mailed. About 1,500 children currently are registered.

Local partners and donors have covered program costs totaling $26 per child per year to fund Imagination Library. Since May, the Oregon Department of Early Learning and Care has supported local partners with a 50% funding match. The rest is generated locally by champions of early literacy.

To support the local Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library program, drop off cash or a check made out to Friends of the Roseburg Library at the library, 1409 NE Diamond Lake Blvd., or mail a donation to the Friends at P.O. Box 1921, Roseburg, OR 97470.

To register children for Imagination Library, visit www.imaginationlibrary.com, and click "Check Availability."

Friends Book Sale

Speaking of the Friends, their recent fall book sale raised $2,813 for library projects and programs. Buyers contributed an additional $181 to Dolly Parton's Imagination Library, which was enough to fund free books for one year for 14 local children.

“Thank you, Friends, for sharing your time and talent. I appreciate you,” said Library Director Kris Wiley

Leftover books from the sale have been moved to the Friends Book Store inside the library, where the books are available for free until the December sale.

Digital Magazines Update

The library added digital magazines to its collection on Monday, July 1, and patrons checked out 456 issues in the first two months. That number compares favorably with other Oregon libraries that have similar numbers of cardholders (6,500).

The most popular titles included Cook's Illustrated, National Geographic, The New Yorker and Us Weekly.

Digital magazines are available through the Libby app or at library2go.overdrive.com. Log in with a valid Roseburg Public Library card. The default password is the 10-digit phone number used to create the library account.

Library staff is available to help set up mobile devices. Call 541-492-7051 to schedule an appointment, which typically lasts 20 minutes.