New Assistant County Librarian/Ukiah Branch Head

Photo courtesy of Bogdan Alexandru

John Bishop will be joining us here at Mendocino County Library in September as the new Assistant County Librarian and head of the Ukiah Branch. John received his Master's in Library Science in 1992 and has held positions as: Library Director in Jal, New Mexico; Children's Librarian in San Diego, CA; Senior Librarian in Chula Vista, CA; Head Librarian at the American International School of Bucharest in Romania; Head Librarian at the Ras al Khaimah English Speaking School in the Emirates, and most recently, as Customer Service Manager in charge of the 8 branches of the Lower Hutt Public Libraries in New Zealand. In addition to his MLIS, John has a BA in Spanish and Philosophy, and is a certified teacher of English and Spanish both in Texas and New Zealand.

Please join us in welcoming him in September. Stay tuned for other new faces at the Ukiah Library.

Summer Reading Club Kicks Off

HOT SUMMERS --- COOL SUMMER READING PROGRAMS in the UKIAH BRANCH OF THE MENDOCINO COUNTY LIBRARY. Opening day featured Richard Jeske from the North Coast Opportunities rural communities child care organization. Richard read stories with gusto. He played guitar, sang songs and filled the library with music. He taught some songs and the children sang with him. NCO sent gifts of puppets and new books. Our two Americorps workers organized a full complement of crafts that our Ukiah FOL purchased. The granddaughter of a former staff member, 5th grader, helped the chil;dren with the crafts and set up the room. Children signed up for for the Summer reading club and received reading logs, book bags and bookmarks. Our goal is to encourage children to read. This program was the first in a series of six programs.

Librarians Help in Fire Efforts

Librarians Donna Kerr and Mel Lightbody work at the Emergency Operations Center for Mendocino County, answering telephone calls from concerned county residents.

The Mendocino County Library Staff did its part during the current wildfire crisis here in Mendocino County. Staffers Donna Kerr, Bruce Loberg and Mel Lightbody worked the Fire Information Line.

The library will have copies of the latest alerts at each branch and will be able to provide information and referrals to anyone interested. We recommend specific questions be addressed to the fire information line at 707-467-2520. Here is the latest update.