See all posts in the Libraries series
By Patrick Jones
Note: Chanhassen and Victoria Library Branch Manager Patrick Jones and Chaska Branch Manager Kevin Spencer will be providing updates twice a month on exciting programs, new services, and book reviews for Carver County Local News. This month, Patrick Jones kicks off the series with a terrific overview of what can be found at the facilities.
Welcome to your Carver County Library!
Carver County Library (CCL) has branch libraries in Chanhassen, Chaska and Victoria, as well as the Carver Express Library. In addition to visiting branch libraries in person, you can find a great deal of content through our website (www.carverlib.org).
While print books, DVDs and audio books still make up two thirds of the library’s overall circulation, the use of digital – eBooks, eAudiobooks and eMagazines – accessed through the Libby app continues to increase.
Most library materials check out for three weeks. If you don’t find what you are looking for on the shelf, you can request it in person, over the phone, through the catalog on the library website, or using the CCL mobile app. You choose if you want to be notified when your item comes in by email, phone or text message. You can have 100 physical items and 15 digital items checked out on your card.
Library cards are free. You can apply in person or online via our website. Items will be automatically renewed up to four times as long as no one else is waiting for the item and renewals are allowed.
In addition to materials to check out, the library offers many other free services and spaces to residents of Carver, Chanhassen, Chaska and Victoria. Chanhassen provides small individual study rooms as well as large tables for group study throughout the building. Victoria offers study space at two large tables in the front of library, as well as small tables near the windows in the adult collection area. Chaska has two study rooms that can be reserved. There are small study tables in the fireplace room as well.
While in the library, you can enjoy free WiFi for your own devices or use the library’s computers. You can print from your device, a library computer, or even send a print job from home to the library print station. Printing is 15 cents per page for black and white and 50 cents for color.
In addition to these services, the library offers a wide range of programs for all ages. The most popular programs are story times, which are early literacy experiences for children and their caregivers. There are family, toddler and baby story times.
- Chanhassen offers family story times on Tuesdays and Wednesdays at 10:30 a.m. and on Sundays at 3:30 p.m. Toddler story times are Mondays at 10:30 and baby story times take place at 10:30 a.m. on Thursdays.
- At Chaska, family story times are 10:30 a.m. on Tuesdays and Wednesdays
- Victoria offers family story time on Mondays at 10:30 a.m. and toddler story time on Wednesdays at 10:30. The winter storytime season begins January 6.
Chanhassen will hold a New Year’s party for kids on Tuesday, Dec. 31, beginning at 11:30 a.m.
Keep reading future articles for information on other special events, some which require registration.
The end of the year brings lots of best books lists, so watch for reviews of those – as well as staff favorites – in subsequent articles. We’ll also review books available in our Lucky Day collections. Funded by each library’s Friend of the Library group, the Lucky Day collections are best-selling books which have reserve lists. In this collection, you might find one on the shelf, making it your lucky day!
Contact Patrick Jones (pjones@carvercountymn.gov) or Kevin Spencer (kspencer@carvercountymn.gov) for more information about Friends of the Library groups, which sponsor book sales to raise money to support the library. They are also happy to answer general questions about the libraries too!
Chaska Library
Chanhassen Library
