I am thinking that with all the service men returning from Irac there will probably be some of your congregations who will be  among them.  It is worth taking time to go internet and get all the information that you can gather about their efforts, from start to finish.  It would be good to print it out and give copies to all your staff to read.  This would not mean that you had to talk about that, but just knowing all about where he or she served and to be informed about our efforts there will prepare your minds and hearts to be good listeners.  Look the collection over with a critical eye thinking, "If I were trying to get back into civilian lifestyle, what would I need to find on the church library shelves?"  

Happy New Year in Church Library work.  I pray that you will be inspired to attempt something new for the Lord!  I feel inclined to quote my mother's favorite Bible verse and she used to include it in many of her letters to me when I was a young person out on my own.  I was working in Richmond, Virginia and she was in West Virginia.  We wrote regularly.  This verse that I also love is found in 1 Cor 15:58  Be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, inasmuch as you know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.  Mackie

As a storyteller, I have many precious memories of visits to libraries for story time.  Many were public and private school libraries, but there were the public libraries in Virginia who invited me for workshops and for summer series on a certain theme.  Of course, Christmas was a favorite time for stories, and I have a quiver full of them.  I love to bring poetry to every program, for children as well as adults for everyone loves poetry.  There is no doubt in my mind that the greatest story ever told is the story of God's love for the human race--that he loves the world so much that he gave his Son to live among us so that we could walk in his steps and find the right path!  And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.  And lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.  And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.  For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior which is Christ the Lord.  And this shall be a sign unto you; you shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.  Suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace, good will toward men.  Luke 2:8-14

Here is a poem from an unknown author that I love to bring to my programs to adults:  "It is Christmas in the mansion, Yule-log fires and silken frocks://It is Christmas in the cottage,  Mother's filling little socks.//it is Christmas on the highway, in the thronging, busy mart;//But the dearest, truest Christmas Is the Christmas in the heart."

Merry Christmas to all church librarians!  Maxine Bersch-Lovern

I have found several really fine books by bidding on ebay and for an example, I wanted an old, 1920s edition of Children's Lit that my sister used in college. I had my copy rebound and gave it to her daughter for Christmas and I wanted to replace it in my own collection. I found the identical copy in perfect condition and it only cost me 5.00. I have since found others in the children's lit. field that are not available now, and I just now had the winning bid for a copy of Reader's Digest World's Best Short Stories. These are not condensed, it is merely a collection they have compiled and as it was listed, it has short stories from world famous authors. I can't wait to go through the index and see what I want to read first, and I am sure to find a veritable treasure of ones I will want to adapt to oral presentation. It will be fun to review the book for my Storyteller's League at our next meeting. It cost me all of 3.50! Mackie