Moving Time: Check Out Books ’til July 1st

It’s time to move into the new library. It’s not quite ready for us yet, but we’ve got to start inventory and packing now, so that we’re able to move in the moment we can. So, the old library will be closing on the 1st of June — except for the Children’s Summer Reading Program and a few other very limited odds and ends — and then we’ll be opening the new library on July 1st. (The Grand Opening is set for the Fourth of July).

The best part of all this is that you can check out books now and you won’t have to return them until July 1st. That’s good for you, but it’s also good for us. Every book that you check out now at the old library and check in at the new library is one less book we have to count, evaluate and move.

Stop by the library today and take home all the books you’ll need for early summer reading

Homestead Act

Nebraska Homesteaders -- The Chrisman Sisters, 1887 (U of Colorado)

One hundred forty seven years ago today, Abraham Lincoln signed the Homestead Act into law — May 20, 1862. The act, as the Library of Congress observes, “encouraged Western migration by providing settlers 160 acres of public land. In exchange, homesteaders paid a small filing fee and were required to complete five years of continuous residence [in a house at least 12 feet by 14 feet] before receiving ownership of the land. After six months of residency, homesteaders also had the option of purchasing the land from the government for $1.25 per acre. The Homestead Act led to the distribution of 80 million acres of public land by 1900.” For more details, see the Library of Congress webguide to Primary Documents in American History – Homestead Act and the National Archives’ resources on the Homestead Act.

Homesteader Family

Sod House Near Claflin, Kansas -- 1870s (Kansas Memory)

For many more examples of pioneer sod houses and homesteads see Kansas Memory at the Kansas Historical Society.

Decatur County Kansas Family with Sod House -- 1880s (Kansas Memory)