With a long list of events and activities planned for the UST community, the St. Thomas libraries invite everyone to celebrate National Library Week today through through Friday, April 16.

First sponsored in 1958, National Library Week brings to light and celebrates the contributions that all types of libraries – school, public, academic and special – make to the lives of everyone in the community.

Events and activities for the week include:

Daily online Trivia Contest – Thanks to reference librarians Eric Kallas and Andrea Koeppe, UST Libraries continues its tradition of National Library Week Trivia – now in its 18th year. One winner will be chosen from those who send in correct answers by the daily deadline. Check the library’s Web site for the Trivia Contest rules, questions and summary of the event.

Food For Fines Program – During Library Week, UST library patrons will have the opportunity to donate canned food in exchange for the waiving of up to $50 in library fines at the O’Shaughnessy-Frey and Ireland libraries. This will help patrons relieve their debt to the library and provide needed assistance to the Franciscan Brothers of Peace, a local food bank. One can of donated food will pay off $2 in fines – up to the $50 limit. Food will be accepted for overdue fines only, not for lost or damaged items. Library staff have the right to decline food donations, including those with damaged packaging or dented cans. For more information, call Nathan Wunrow, (651) 962-5498, or Judith Michalski, (651) 962-5456.

What’s happening at the Charles J. Keffer Library in Minneapolis?

• A Library Week appreciation table will be set up from 4 to 6 p.m. Monday through Thursday, just outside the Charles J. Keffer Library. Everyone is welcome to stop by the table for treats, Library Week activities and a chance to visit with Keffer Library staff.
• A used-book sale will be held during Keffer Library hours, starting 8 a.m. Monday. Hardcover books are $1 and paperbacks are $.50.

Archbishop Ireland Memorial Library – St. Paul

Browse and shop the Archbishop Ireland Memorial Library book sale anytime during library hours. On Monday, April 12, the sale is open only to members of the UST community, who can enjoy an earlier opening at 7:45 a.m. to accommodate those with early classes. The book sale is open to the public and booksellers beginning Tuesday, April 13. They’ll find a great selection of used theology books and they can also bid on items in the silent auction. The auction ends at noon Friday, April 16. For more information about the Ireland Library, call Betsy Polakowski, (651) 962-5452.

O’Shaughnessy-Frey Library Center

• Library Week at the O’Shaughnessy-Frey Library Center will open with Dominoes Demo. A new and improved route from last year’s domino debut will kick off the week at 11:50 a.m. today, Monday, April 12. Be there to see the dramatic “nudge” to the dominoes carefully placed at the entrance and leading to the book sale in the O’Shaughnessy Room.
• Crossword and seek-and-find puzzles: Take a break and have some fun while learning a little about the O’Shaughnessy-Frey Library with these homegrown word games. Thanks to creative library staff, there are two levels of difficulty from which to choose. Stop by the Library Week table on the first floor of the library to pick up an entry form; drop off completed word puzzles at the circulation desk. Everyone who completes them correctly will be entered into a drawing that will take place at 3 p.m. Friday. The winner need not be present to win.
• Sorted Books Project (new this year): Search the library collection, pull particular titles and eventually group the books into clusters so that the titles can be read in sequence, from top to bottom (limit is two to seven books). Bring the library books that you chose to the O’Shaughnessy-Frey circulation desk to be photographed. At the end of Library Week, staff will choose the most creative entry and the winner will receive a $10 Coffee Bené gift card. The final book clusters will be photographed and posted on the Libraries’ Facebook Page and Web site. See examples of other successful sorted books here.
• The O’Shaughnessy-Frey Library Week book sale, to be held from noon to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday in the O’Shaughnessy-Frey Library Center, is open until 4 p.m. today, Monday, exclusively for members of the St. Thomas community and then open to the public through the end of the week. Find some great bargains and little treasures in the O’Shaughnessy Room. For more information about the book sale, call Julie, (651) 962-5014.
• “Who Wants to Beat a Librarian?” seeks willing contestants. The game will be played at noon Tuesday, April 13, in Room 102, O’Shaughnessy-Frey Library Center. Enjoy four rounds with new contestants each round, pitting the searching skills of novices who will use the latest library search tool, Summon, against highly trained professional librarians who will not be allowed to use Summon but may use any other search tool they can dream up. Event organizers promises prizes, excitement and a fun time.
• Scavenger hunt, or “Scrabble in the Stacks”: An unidentified pope is missing in the O’Shaughnessy-Frey Library Center. Savvy detectives are needed to uncover the pope’s true identity. The hunt begins at 3 p.m. Wednesday, April 14. Pick up a clue sheet from the circulation desk and follow the clues for locations throughout the library, find your letters in the stacks, and be the first person or group to complete the hunt and win what library staff describe as a “fabulous” prize. For more information call Earl Belisle, (651) 962-5004, or Shiromi Beach, (651) 962-5407.
• UST Libraries’ “Book Cart Drill Team” will open the second annual O’Shaughnessy-Frey mini golf tourney at noon Thursday, April 15. A special surprise has been cooked up by Shiromi Beach and her student assistants, and everyone is invited to watch the drill team members perform their routine. Then, participate in the mini golf tournament,which will be held from noon to 2 p.m. Thursday. It will not be necessary to sign up in advance for a tee time; simply show up at the circulation desk to pick up a putter and start swinging. The course will run through the reference collection, and a fun surprise will await golfers at the last hole. (Hint: bring your avatar, if you so desire.) For more information, call JoAnn Toussaint, (651) 962-5409.
• Everyone is invited to the UST Authors Open House and Reception at 4 p.m. Thursday, April 15, in Room 102, O’Shaughnessy-Frey Library Center. This year’s event will feature more than 100 members of the UST community who will showcase their publications from the past year. Stop by and congratulate faculty and staff colleagues on their work and browse the display prepared by O’Shaughnessy-Frey librarian Susan Price. Bibliographies will be made available, and refreshments will be provided. For more information, call Price, (651) 962-5011.