Help a Wounded Soldier

Posted April 12th, 2012 in Library News

2012 Kids & Teens Summer Reading Program: “Reading is Sooooo Delicious”

Posted March 23rd, 2012 in Library News

This year’s Summer Reading Program will send children across the country to explore different types of cuisine. 

Each week we will pick a different region of the United States and explore its food and drink by reading books, doing crafts, watching movies, and presenting facts that teach children about the food, culture, and ways of the people.

The program kickoff will be Saturday, June 9, 2012, at our Alton Square location.

For more information, please watch for our “Reading Is Soooo Delicious” flyer.

Telephone Directories from 1922-1947 Now Available at The Genealogy & Local History Library

Posted February 21st, 2012 in Library News

Here’s a trivia question for you: What year did the Alton phone directories start printing classified phone ads on yellow pages? Give up?  The year was 1941! 

The Genealogy & Local History Library now has telephone directories on its shelves published from 1922 to 1947. These were the years of hand-crank telephones and party telephone lines.  Phone numbers were simpler.  Customers called the operator to put their calls through. People on a party line could hear the phone ring for anyone on their party line.  They could also pick up their phone earpiece and listen to the conversations!  

The telephone directories in the library collection include telephone customers in Alton, Upper Alton, Godfrey, Wood River, East Alton, Hartford, and Roxana. Homes and businesses were listed together alphabetically.  Businesses also advertised their services in a “classified directory” similar to today’s yellow pages.

Reading these phone books can help you locate old businesses. The reader also gets a glimpse of popular fashions and items for sale in the 1920s, 1930s, and 1940s. Find the telephone directories in the Illinois Room of the Hayner Public Library District Genealogy & Local History Library.

Need Help With Your eReader?

Posted January 5th, 2012 in Library News

Kindle DX Promotional Photo from Amazon.com

One of the most popular tech items on the market today are eReader devices. Happily, for some time now, The Hayner Public Library District has been offering patrons eBooks that they can check out, free, with a Hayner Library card.

When you download an eBook from the OverDrive® eBook collection on Hayner’s website, you will receive an electronic copy of the book on your reader that will disappear at the end of the two-week loan period. You will never have to worry about late fines. If you were not finished reading the eBook, you simply check it out again. If your book is already checked out to someone else, you can put it on your reserve list, and you will be notified when the book is available for you to download.

If you are not sure how to download a book from the library’s electronic collection, there are instructions available at the Hayner Library circulation desks or you can click on a link below for instructions for the iPad/iPhone, Kindle, Nook, or Sony. Hayner circulation and reference staff can also help you get started.

Note: For Apple products only, to access eBooks from the library collection, you will need to have previously downloaded the free OverDrive® app from the Apple app store. You will not be able to download this app within the Hayner Library Wi-Fi.

Voter Registration Available at Hayner Library

Posted January 4th, 2012 in Library News

The Hayner Public Library District offers a voter registration service at both the Downtown and Alton Square libraries; any eligible resident of Madison County may take advantage of this free service.  Several members of our staff are deputy voter registrars and will be happy to help you register to vote, locate your Madison County polling location, or answer any questions you may have about voting in Madison County.

 Please call the library before you visit to ensure that a deputy registrar is on duty.

To register to vote you must be a United States citizen, 18 years of age by the date of the next election, and a resident of your Madison County precinct address for at least 30 days immediately prior to an election. 

Two forms of identification are required to register through a deputy registrar; at least one of the two forms must show your name and current address.  It is required that you use your Social Security number (at least the last 4 digits) or your complete Illinois driver’s license number when registering to vote.

More information about Madison County voter registration, absentee ballots, voting by mail, early voting, polling locations, and more is available on the Madison County County Clerk’s website at www.madisonvotes.com.

On Display at Hayner Alton Square Library: Dr. Pat Dailey, Educator and Artist

Posted December 20th, 2011 in Library News

The next time you visit Hayner Library at Alton Square Mall, be sure to look to your right as you enter the facility to view the artwork of Dr. Pat Dailey. Dr. Dailey, an Alton resident, is a man of many talents.

Originally from Warren, Ohio, Pat attended Youngstown State University in Ohio and graduated with a BA in Education. He continued his education at Bowling Green State University, earning a Master’s degree in Biology and a PHd in Entomology, the branch of zoology dealing with insects. As a graduate assistant at Bowling Green University, he worked part time as a biological illustrator. In 1981 he accepted a job at the SIUE Dental School in Alton. There he was employed as an electron microscopist. Electron microscopy is a function of cellular biology requiring the study of cells through an electron microscope. While employed by SIUE, he also illustrated a chapter in the medical text Ten Cate’s Oral Histology. He illustrated the chapter on Bone Development written by Dr. Bill Witson of the SIUE School of Dental Medicine.

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