One Book One Community organizers are once again asking the public to vote for next year’s One Book, One Community book selection!  The public vote initiative is a way to promote community involvement in the selection of the title, rather than handing over a single title each year.  This year there will be five titles on the ballot. The 2017 OBOC regional campaign represents collaboration between 80 libraries in six counties: Berks, Dauphin, Lancaster, Lebanon, Perry and York.

How the voting works…

From a ballot with five book titles that made the final grade by the Book Selection committee, the public is asked to pick one of the five books that they would be interested in reading and discussing in 2017. To vote the public will go to www.oboc.org to access an online ballot.  For those who wish to fill out a paper ballot, they must go to participating libraries to cast their vote.  The public may also submit their vote at Isaac’s Restaurant locations in the region. Readers who vote at Isaac’s will also be entered for a chance to win $100 Isaac’s gift card. Berks, Dauphin, Lancaster, Lebanon, Perry and York counties will participate in the 2017 campaign.

One Book, Your Vote for the OBOC 2017 title will take place August 1 – 31, 2016. The winner will be announced to the public in December, 2016.  With the public vote for the 2017 title, reading of the OBOC title will take place in January, and programs at the public libraries will begin in February, which is designated as both Library Lovers’ Month and Book Lovers’ Month. Multiple copies of the winning title will be available at your local public library beginning in January 2017.

CLICK HERE to cast your vote

Meet the Candidates

These are the titles on the One Book, Your Vote 2017 ballot,
Click on the titles to see if they are available:

• Memoirs of an Imaginary Friend by Matthew Dicks
• Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine, and the Murder of a President by Candice Willard
• Midnight in Siberia: A Train Journey Into the Heart of Russia by David Greene
• A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman
• Rose Under Fire by Elizabeth Wein

     Memoirs of an Imaginary Friend by Matthew Dicks

Imagine you are a lonely kid with social and neurological problems that mean you have no real friends at school. Imagine you’re an only child whose parents can’t seem to agree on what’s best for you. Who would you turn to? Budo, your imaginary friend, of course! Budo is unusual because he’s lasted longer than most imaginary friends, helping his friend Max navigate this scary world. He’s decided to write his story for us to read, but before you start thinking this sounds like some sort of sweet tale about a lonely kid, think again. Not only is this book about friendship and love and loss and growing up, but it is also a page-turning thriller with a hero worthy of the best detective novels, who races to find out what’s happened to his friend, so he can save him. You’ll think about Max and Budo long after you’ve turned to the last page.

Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine and the Murder of a President by Candice Millard

President, James A. Garfield, had only been in office for four months when a disgruntled office seeker met Garfield in the Washington, D.C. train station and shot him. Garfield lingered for many months while the nation held its breath. This book chronicles the physician’s archaic medical practices and prejudices against women and African-American doctors. Even Alexander Graham Bell gets in the act with a special machine to locate the bullet within the President’s body. Garfield’s rise to the Presidency is as dramatic as the shortness of it, as the writer tells us of the factions swirling around the seat of power in this time of corruption, office seekers, and at the edge of the 20^th century.

Midnight in Siberia by David Greene

What is daily life like for ordinary people living in Putin’s Russia? Pennsylvania native and NPR correspondent David Greene introduces us to folks living in villages and cities along the Trans-Siberian railway. We enter their homes, eat and drink with them, and hear their heartfelt thoughts about Putin, democracy, America and much more. We laugh and cry with them as we travel on the iconic train between Moscow and Vladivostok.

A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman

Ove is everyone’s idea of a neighbor from hell. He has definite opinions of how the world should run, staunch principles, a strict routine, and a very short fuse.  When new neighbors move in next door and flatten Ove’s mailbox, a lively chain of events occurs that is not limited to unkempt cats, unexpected friendships, arrogant bureaucrats, several trips to the hospital, and the backing up of a U-Haul trailer. Along the way Ove and his neighbors learn about each other as well as the meaning of love, friendship, and community, oh and computers.

Rose Under Fire by Elizabeth Wein

Rose Under Fire is a must read novel regardless of your genre preference!  Rose Justice is an eighteen-year-old pilot who hails from Central Pennsylvania.  She volunteers to serve in the Air Transport Auxiliary during World War II.  In a brave attempt to ram a “flying bomb” mid-air, her plane crosses into enemy territory.  Rose is captured and sent to Ravensbrück, a concentration camp.  She meets women with deeply tragic yet heroic stories struggling to survive at the camp.  They band together and protect one another from their German captors.  Elizabeth Wein does not shy away from the atrocities committed during the war as she tells an endearing story of friendship, loyalty and self-sacrifice.

It is not necessary to read or have read these titles to place your vote!

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The Board of Directors of the Library System is pleased to announce the appointment of Bonnie Young as the Library System’s Executive Director at their June board meeting. Young has been serving as interim Executive Director since January 2016 and has provided leadership for the library system staff and operations during a transition process.

The committee based their recommendation for the unanimous Board vote after reviewing all of the progress that has been made since Young stepped in as Interim Director of the Library System earlier this year.

Young had served as Head of Public Libraries and Professional Development for the Office of Commonwealth Libraries from 2004-2014. She has led public libraries across the state by developing and implementing strategies for improving library service, especially in the areas of professional development, programming, marketing, technology and trustee leadership training.

Prior to her position at Office of Commonwealth Libraries, Young served as Director of the Lititz Public Library (2000-2004) and Director of the Adamstown Area Library (1989-2000). She received a BA from Millersville University and her Masters in Library Science from Clarion University in 2001.

Library System Board President, Diane Tannehill, is enthusiastic about Young’s appointment, “Since Bonnie has taken the helm as Interim Director of the Library System, she has focused on implementing the system’s strategic plan and streamlining processes while inspiring the library system staff with enthusiasm and passion for libraries. Her experience and expertise certainly qualify her as an excellent leader for the organization.”

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The Milanof-Schock Library has recently added to their collection the Playaway Launchpad for kids. Each Launchpad comes preloaded with high-quality add-free learning apps and allows kids to create their own personal explorer. Some of the devices provide learning apps that range from English language arts to math and science, while others provide themed learning apps that include princesses, animals, dinosaurs, and more! This acquisition is part of the Library’s Skills for School project grant from the Clarence Schock Foundation.

Patrons that check out the device must be 18 years or older and are required to sign a patron loan agreement. The Launchpads may be checked out for one week and may be renewed one time if there are not holds on the device. Up to 2 devices may be checked out per visit, and they must be picked up and returned at the Milanof-Schock Library.

For more information on this item and other events at the library, go to our webpage at www.mslibrary.org. All library programs are free, unless stated otherwise and do require pre-registration; we encourage online registration!  Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.