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COVID-19 update

The library will continue its reduced hours of operation through the month of July. Hours are
9 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday-Friday and 9 a.m.-1 pm. Saturday.

The Early Literacy Area will remain closed for the foreseeable future. Other games and toys are also unavailable.

Patrons are encouraged to wear masks, practice safe social distancing, avoid gathering in groups, and keep visits to the library as brief as possible.

Transfer of items between KanShare libraries are ongoing and interlibrary loan services are also fully functional. However, please expect some delays in receiving items from other locations.

Please help us by not coming to the library if you are ill, washing your hands before and after handling materials, and practicing safe social distancing. Thank you for your understanding and helping keep our community safe.

Get more details about library services during the COVID-19 pandemic by clicking the red "Read More" button below.

Now showing in the High Wall Gallery

"Wandering in Place"

Derby Arts Council and the Derby Public Library are pleased to host the first solo exhibition for Mulvane artist Stephanie Bayliff. Bayliff taught herself to paint through online classes and YouTube videos. About a year ago, she took a palette knife painting class at the Derby Recreation Center and fell in love with that technique, smearing creamy, vibrant oil over canvas.

Bayliff is a 1992 Derby High School graduate. Her work has also been exhibited at Gallery XII in Wichita and in the Derby 150^th anniversary show last spring. To read more about Bayliff and her art, click the "Read More" button below.

Coming soon to the Gathering Space Gallery:

Photography and Paintings by Steve Marler and Skip Kreibach

July 10 through August 20

Fremont House, graphite sketch by Skip Kreibach

Great Gray Owl, photo
by Steve Marler

Don't miss Teen Moviecraft productions!

Tune in on Facebook Live to hear all about the short films created during our Teen Mythical Moviecraft workshop. Learn how this summer's production team, Cryptic Corporations, created their own mythical short films using an online platform. Grab some snacks and enjoy the show!

Virtual Red Carpet Premiere, Friday, July 24 at 6:30 p.m. only on Facebook Live!

Looking for someplace to discuss books? We've got you covered!

We have three active book groups here at the library that are open to everyone. If you love to read and talk about the books you read, pop in to one or more of the book groups!

Bemused Bibliophiles meets during the day and reads popular books that have been on the bestseller list. Hauntingly Good Reads meets in the evening and explores all kinds of books that have a supernatural/magical/unexplainable kind of bent—we look far beyond the traditional vampires, ghosts and witches.

Joyful Page Turners is the most enduring book club at the library—it's been meeting regularly since May 2000! Books selected for this book club include just about everything: classics, modern bestsellers, non-fiction, and more.

Bemused Biblipohiles — meets at 1 p.m. July 1. The title for July is Miracle Creek by Angie Kim. *The book club will meet in person in the Community Room. Author Angie Kim will join the book club for its discussion via Skype.

Hauntingly Good Reads — meets at 7 p.m. Aug. 10 (no meeting in July!). The title for August is The Historian by Eizabeth Kostova.

Joyful Page Turners — meets at 6:45 p.m. Aug. 27. The title for August is Echo by Pam Munoz Ryan.

Click the red "Read More" button below to visit the book club page on the library website, where you can find lists of books each book club has read.

StoryWalk at the library

We know how hard it is to not be able to come to the library and that you're missing many of your favorite summer reading activities, so we've got something you can enjoy at the library every Friday, outside on the sidewalk!

Every Friday, a new picture book will be put up along the sidewalk around the library for you to come walk and read. It's designed for kids age 2-7 accompanied by an adult, but anyone is welcome to enjoy the short walk and story. The StoryWalk will be available 9 a.m.-5 p.m., Fridays through July 17.

1,2,3 with the 10 Little Rubber Ducks by Eric Carle

I went to empty the book drop one Sunday, and decided to take Amelia with me. After we did the drop, I let her browse the JE section to see if anything interested her. We browsed up and down each aisle, til finally she spotted the one she wanted.

She calls the book "quack quack" because it's a board book shaped like a duck. She enjoyed seeing what the ducks saw on each page and made each animal's sound. Sometimes simple is best, and with this book that's what you get. It's no surprise she liked it, because she also loves Brown Bear, Brown Bear What Do You See by Eric Carle as well.

Dead to Her
by Sarah Pinborough

First Line: The candle burns.

Summary: Marcie Maddox has fought hard for the life she has. She is the second wife of a rich and successful Savannah lawyer. Lunch at the Country Club and a giant house is her new normal. Keisha, a young girl from London, married the rich William Radford IV. She is completely different from his first wife. She hopes being a rich wife will be an escape from her family and their poor upbringing.

As these two women meet and become friends life starts to change for both of them. Weird appearances and pieces of dark magic start to surround them. Who or what is trying to destroy their lives?

My Thoughts: I really enjoyed this! I was worried when I started it that it would not live up to my expectations because of its low rating on Goodreads. But I was pleasantly surprised! All the characters are awful. There is no one that is likeable. They are all flawed and have dark pasts but that was one of the things I enjoyed the most. I had to find out how it was going to end.

This is a fun mixture of thriller, high society, and voodoo. What’s not to enjoy? The beginning centers on establishing the characters. We meet everyone and get snippets of what their lives have been to this point. And then it all comes to a point. All the secrets are released. So many suspects and theories. It was a wild ride that I highly recommend for a fast summer thriller!

Release date: Feb. 11, 2020

Ashley's rating:

Above the Bay of Angels
by Rhys Bowen

First Line: If Helen Barton hadn’t stepped out in front of an omnibus, I might still be sweeping floors and lighting fires at an ostentatious house in St. John’s Wood.

Summary: Bella Waverly was raised by a disinherited member of the aristocracy. She was taught to speak well and have good manners. However, when they fall on hard times she is forced to work as a servant in the home of a wealthy Londoner. Then one day she witnesses the death of a young woman with a letter of introduction to work in the Buckingham Palace kitchens. Taking on a new name she enters a new world and finds that life as a cook is maybe what she has been looking for her whole life.

My Thoughts: I found the book to be a light and quick read. It was a mixture between historical fiction and mystery. The first 80% were surrounding Bella and her work in the kitchens but then disaster strikes in the royal family and a mystery appears. I loved how the food took center stage though. I was constantly Googling the items to see what they were. I ate a lot while reading this because everything sounded so good.

Then there is the location. I have never been the south of France but it sounds like a magical place. The Hotel Excelsior Regina is still standing but has been converted to apartments. I would love to visit and see the hotel that was built for Queen Victoria.