Category: Alerts

Meinders Community Library will be closed Monday, January 16^th in observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

It has come to our attention that one of the unintended consequences of the library dissolution is the receipt of overdue notices on student-checked-out library books that may have already been returned to the Pipestone school library.

Please do not ignore these notices or assume that they will go away. They will not, in large part because there are now two libraries instead of one, each operating on a different catalog system. Both the District and the public library need your help to clear up your student accounts and make those pesky emails go away.

In a nutshell, both the school and public library (then a combined entity) used the same catalog system (contracted through Plum Creek).

Sometime before the end of December 2022, your student checked out their books on this shared system with their public library card.

When the agreement between the city and school ended, the PCLS catalog system remained with the public library. The school board opted not to contract with Plum Creek for catalog and delivery services, thus ending their access to the system and all the accounts on it.

This divided catalog system is likely the reason you are receiving overdue notices on books that may have been returned to the school.

Even though your student may have checked out a District-owned book and returned it to the school library, it will continue to show up as still checked out on their public library card as the public library (and the PCLS catalog) has no way of knowing that the book was returned. Because the school no longer shares a space and a catalog system with us, books returned to the school are not getting checked in through the PCLS catalog system.

So, what do you do?

• If you receive an overdue notice and your child returned their book to the school, please call the public library.
• If that book belonged to the school, we can remove the item from your student’s account.
• If the returned book belongs to the public library or any other library in the Plum Creek System, we will need to wait for that book to be returned to the public library so we can check it in. This would be a good time to touch base with the school library to confirm whether the book is there or not and to make plans on how to get it to the public library.
• If you are uncertain about who owns a library book currently checked out to your student, please call or stop by the public library. We can check your student’s account and help you figure out the best way to get the book to its home library.
• If all else fails, return any library book with a Meinders Public Library barcode to the public library. We will check it in, clear the account, and get the book to it’s rightful owner.

Please share this message widely with other parents. It will make everyone’s lives (and your inbox anxiety) run a little more smoothly!

~ jody

Meinders Community Library will be closed on Monday, January 2^nd in observance of New Year’s Day. We’re open regular hours on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, so you can stock up on your reading and entertainment material. We hope everyone has a safe and happy new year!

Meinders Library Closing at 3pm Friday, December 23.

Once again, winter has foiled our plans. While the snow and wind may hinder your delivery of Plum Creek Library books, hopefully it won’t prohibit the safe delivery of family, friends, and holiday cheer whenever you plan to celebrate.

stay warm, stay safe, and have a wonderful, holiday weekend~ jody

We will also be closed on Monday, January 2nd for New Years.

There will be no delivery from Plum Creek today due to the wintry weather, and it will be delivered tomorrow, Saturday, instead.

The Chamber Ribbon Cutting event scheduled for next Wednesday, 12/21, has been postponed until after Christmas and we will let you know the new date soon.

We are still open from 10am-5pm today and 10am-2pm on Saturday for any of your snow day reading and entertainment needs!

If you’ve ventured outside this morning, you know that everything is coated in a layer of ice. While some of it is slushy and mushy, most is downright slick. Please pass along the following info to help keep everyone properly served and as safe as possible.

• Delivery service from PCLS is postponed until tomorrow, therefore you don’t need to venture out today if you don’t want to.
• Our computer room is closed. However, we have other computers in the front of the library as well as laptops for use in-house.
• Our drop box is frozen shut. Books can be returned another day when the weather is a bit less temperamental.

We plan to remain open 10am-7pm today, though you may want to call ahead just in case Mother Nature has other plans.

Thanks and stay safe~

Delivery will be late today, due to the snowy weather.