The Newport Branch serves the Newport, Bellevue, and Dayton areas of Campbell County with a collection of over 73,000 items. The building was constructed in 2004. It replaced the oldest public library building in Campbell County (which opened in 1902). About 150,000 patrons visit the branch each year.
By Stephanie Class, Reference Assistant at our Newport Branch
Kentucky’s rich writing history shows us that the Commonwealth is much more than bluegrass, bourbon, and basketball. Kentucky celebrates its talented writers each year on Kentucky Writers’ Day, which takes place on Monday, April 25, 2016. Read more
Right now, we have 45,000 a/v items available for our patrons to check out. That’s a lot of DVDs, CDs and games! Read more
Our resident haiku writer and mom-about-town Amanda Ciani left some library love on our Twitter page after attending Play Art last week. Read more
Some fresh, fine art is hanging in each of our branches. Read more
You might notice a fresh face next time you visit the Newport Branch. Amy Bruce has just joined our team as Adult/Teen Programmer.
Amy comes to Northern Kentucky from Martinsville, Indiana where’s she’s been working for nearby Monroe County Public Library for four years.
Amy had her eye on moving to this area for two years. She says she was attracted to the library systems and the unique geography of the area, “you can have country but be 10-15 minutes away from a huge city and all the amenities. So you get the best of both worlds.”
Amy holds a Bachelor’s in American History, with a minor in Medieval Studies from Indiana University. She can fence, but poorly. She is currently pursuing her Master’s of Library Science at IUPUI.
Amy is excited to plan programs for the Newport Branch’s teens, tweens and adults. She will shadow Adult/Teen Librarian Valerie Davis through March.
Amy plans to marry her long-time beau, Josh, this coming fall.
Welcome, Amy!
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Play Art is your 3 to 5-year-old’s chance to get messy and creative. Each Wednesday at 4 our programmer, Miss Amy, walks your child through a creative craft that’s guaranteed to make them smile. Siblings are welcome to attend! Read more
Next time you visit any of our three branches with little ones, be sure to stop by our new dramatic play centers.
Thanks to a generous gift from the Friends of the Campbell County Public Library, all three branches are home to dramatic play centers.
Dramatic play encourages kids to work together, assign roles and imagine unfamiliar situations.
The nature of the play will change frequently and rotate through our branches.
Cold Spring is celebrating home with this cute kitchen.
Carrico kids get to play pizza parlor.
Newport kids are invited to make “snow” cones.
More Kids News
On Friday, February 19 we will be showing “Versa Effect,” a movie created with the deaf in mind. The film is acted completely in ASL for deaf families to enjoy seamlessly.
On Dec. 10, the Kentucky Supreme Court let stand the decision of the Kentucky Court of Appeals. Read more
The books and films aren’t the only interesting things in the Campbell County Public Library. Our people are truly our best resource. With that in mind, we’d like to introduce you to Marsha Nelson.
Marsha is a mother, flautist and blacksmith who delivers library materials and mail between our branches Monday through Friday. Marsha says her love of the library began at a very young age, “when my mother worked in Newport, I would sometimes go visit when I had a day off school. I’d hop on the bus and visit her at her office. We were only a block away from the Newport Public Library. We’d go down and visit the Newport Public Library, which was the biggest treat in the world.”
Marsha started with the Library in 2007 as a page at our Newport Branch. When the Library’s courier Bob Small retired in 2010, Marsha jumped at the chance, “it just looked like fun! Bob got to come in, carrying crates, and saying ‘hi’ to everyone.” Marsha has been hauling crates and spreading sunshine ever since.
One of Marsha’s ironworking pieces. (Click to enlarge)
When she’s not working at the Library, you can find Marsha crafting traditional iron hinges, gates and latches for the Ohio-based Workshops of David T. Smith. Marsha says her passion for this uncommon trade began with a book, “I was senior in high school. I read “Trinity” by Leon Uris and that book very accurately describes the work of an Irish blacksmith and it just intrigued me. At the same time, blacksmithing was going through a renaissance in this country.”
(Click to enlarge)
Marsha trained in horseshoeing and modern welding, but all she every really wanted to do was forge. She earned an apprenticeship at the Farmer’s Museum in Cooperstown, Ohio worked there for a year. That cemented her desire to do only traditional ironwork.
Marsha and her husband, local musician Kyle Meadows, live in Campbell County. Their son, Doug, is majoring in Business at Berea College.
Marsha says her favorite thing about working in the Library is the people, “Everyone is so nice. I can’t emphasize that enough. People are helpful, people work as a team.”
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