Now Back in Print:


Fayette County
Her History and Her People

by Frank Lotto

Softcover
Now includes index. 

$15.00 plus tax

FRIENDS OF THE LIBRARY SPRING BOOK SALE

 Spring is in the air, and so is the fun.  Grab your calendar and make plans now to attend the annual Friends of the Library Spring Book Sale at Fayette Public Library in La Grange.  This year’s sale will run from Friday, April 23, through Sunday, April 25. 

The Friends will set up shop in the conference room on the first floor of the library located at 855 South Jefferson (South US Highway 77) in La Grange.  Sale times are Friday, April 23, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Saturday, April 24, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.; and Sunday, April 25, 2-5 p.m.

 Friends of the Library members can shop early at a special evening event on Thursday, April 22, from 6-8 p.m.  The public can gain admission to this pre-sale by purchasing a Friends membership at the door.  Annual membership dues are $10 for individuals, $15 for families, and $3 for students 18 and under.

 The Spring Book Sale features withdrawn library materials as well as contributions from a generous public.  About 75% of the items are donations, some of them in excellent “like new” condition.  Book lovers and bargain shoppers will find hundreds of hardcover books, paperbacks, children’s books, video tapes, and audio books — all priced to sell.  Proceeds support various library projects and services.

 It’s not too late to donate books and other items for a library book sale.  The library accepts donations throughout the year.  The Friends of the Library will accept hardbacks, paperbacks, and non-print items (audio books, videos, DVD’s, music CDs), but they must be in good, clean, sellable condition.  At this time, the following items are not needed for the sale: magazines and trade publications, Reader’s Digest condensed books, college textbooks, and encyclopedia sets. 

 For more information about library donations, the Spring Book Sale, or the Friends of the Library support group, call 979-968-3765 or email cjenkins@cityoflg.com.

Fayette Public Library Receives Libri Grant

The Fayette Public Library has recently received a grant from the Libri Foundations Books for Children.

As a local program sponsor, The Friends of the Library contributed $350 towards the purchase of these books. The Libri Foundation matched the Friends contribution at a 2-to-1 ratio for a total of $1406.  In addition to these books The Libri Foundation received a bonus of $350 worth of math & science books from Hal Berenson and Laura Ackerman that were also given to the Library.

According to librarian Carol Jenkins, Fayette Public Library received 81 new children’s books, all quality hardcover editions that have won awards or been highly recommended by recognized authorities in the library and educational fields.

The Libri Foundation is a nationwide non-profit organization which donates quality children’s books to small, rural public libraries in the United States through its Books for Children program.

The Foundation supports the concept that children who learn to enjoy reading at an early age continue to read throughout their lives.  In order to develop a love of reading, children must have access to books which stretch their imaginations, touch their emotions, and expand their horizons.

For many children in rural communities, the public library is their primary source of books. Unfortunately, rural libraries face increasing financial hardships as budgets are cut while book prices continue to rise.

The Foundation, by matching funds raised by local sponsors, enables a library to obtain children’s books it could not otherwise acquire due to budgetary constraints.

The local librarian, familiar with the needs of the library and the community, selects the books that the library will receive from a list provided by the Foundation.  The 700 fiction and nonfiction titles on the list reflect the very best of children’s literature published and include a number of classic favorites. The 113 math and science titles on the list were a variety of fiction and nonfiction.

This year, 306 grants were awarded to small, rural public libraries throughout the country.  In the past eight years, the Libri Foundation donated over $4,000,000 worth of new children’s books to more than 2,800 libraries in 49 states.

STORYTIME

Don't forget about our weekly storytime
10 A.M. every Wednesday. 

Two lionhead rabbits named Trouble and Lefty
joined us for a special storytime earlier in the
year so come join us because you never know
who might show up next.

Be sure and check out our new framed
Bird's Eye View Maps upstairs
in the archives. 

Gift of 19^th Century Maps to Fayette Heritage Museum

A gift of two high-resolution color copies of rare 19^th century Bird’s Eye View maps of La Grange and Schulenburg was presented to Kathy Carter of the Fayette Heritage Museum & Archives by Rodney and JT Koenig, trustees of the Luck & Loessin Collection Trust.

The maps are the creation of Augustus Koch, a German-born cartographer who emigrated to the Unites States prior to the Civil War, serving in the War as a map-maker until his discharge in 1865.  By 1868, he had acquired the profession of an itinerant Bird’s Eye cartographer employing the skills he acquired during his military service, traveling across the country plying his trade.  All in all, Koch produced more than 112 Bird’s Eye maps in his career, 21 of them in Texas.  Fayette County was privileged among all other Texas counties to have had three of its localities recorded for posterity by Koch’s imagination; La Grange in 1880, and Schulenburg and Flatonia in 1881.

 JT Koenig had seen the Fayette County maps in the Amon Carter Museum’s exhibit on Bird’s Eye View maps and learned that the La Grange and Schulenburg maps were in the possession of the Witte Museum in San Antonio (the E. A. Arnim Archives and Museum in Flatonia has a copy of the Flatonia map).  Thinking that the Fayette Heritage Museum should have a copy of these historical documents, Mr. Koenig contacted the Witte Museum and it agreed to provide a copy of its original maps to the Luck & Loessin Collection Trust; a trust created by the late Eugenia B. Miller for the benefit of the Fayette Heritage Museum.  The maps are currently on public display in the Museum foyer.

Whats New!

Come in and see what new items the library has to offer.   Our DVD collection is constantly growing and has something for everyone.

Come to the Library and pick up these Free brochures

 The Library has received several brochures from the National Institute for Literacy. They are:

Shining Stars: Toddlers Get Ready To Read

Shining Stars: Preschoolers Get Ready To Read

Shining Stars: Kindergartners Learn To Read

Shining Stars: First graders Learn To Read

Shining Stars: Second & Third Learn To Read

The Effect of Family Literacy Interventions On Children’s Acquisition Of Reading: From Kindergarten To Grade 3

A Child Becomes A Reader: Birth Through Preschool

A Child Becomes A Reader: Kindergarten Through Grade 3

Put Reading First: Kindergarten Through Grade 3

Literacy Begins At Home: Teach Them To Read

Big dreams: Preschool Through Grade 3

 The Library also received brochures about:

Growing Up Drug Free: A Parent’s Guide To Prevention

Early Warning Timely Response: A Guide To Safe Schools