On May 16 America will say goodbye to good friends and family. We will sorely miss the practical jokes we wish our workplace allowed and the coworkers we wish we had. We will say goodbye to the grossly mismanaged paper company whose employees can best be described, on a good day, as unmotivated. We will say goodbye to an average, mundane American office glamorized by characters we all grew to love.

On May 16, after nine seasons and just over 200 episodes, America will sadly say goodbye to The Office on NBC. Over the past nine seasons spent together we have experienced what I think is the single greatest American love stories of all time (sorry, Scarlett O’Hara and Rhett Butler), some of the best office pranks (stapler in jello anyone?), and careers that were made right before our eyes. John Krasinski has starred in multiple movies and has even expanded his talents into writing and directing; Rainn Wilson is a verifiable funny man; and Steve Carell has become a bona fide movie star. The show was also a leader in providing online add-ons such as the immensely popular digital shorts.

But hopefully not lost is the show’s origin. In 2001 Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant created a 12-episode (and Christmas special) British show titled The Office, which served as the creative inspiration for its American counterpart.

So in preparation of life without new episodes of Dwight’s beet farm or Jim and Pam’s unforgettable romance, run to your local KDL branch and relive some of the moments that helped America fall in love with Dunder Mifflin and Scranton, Penn., or check out the British version and see if you can catch the origins of the characters many of us will never forget.

The use of eBooks is increasing every year, so a new source of free eBooks is always welcome.  OpenLibrary.org is a combination library/wiki site which can be edited by anyone but allows books to be checked out or downloaded for a two-week period. The Library of Michigan is one of many libraries across the globe to allow OpenLibrary.org to scan their collection. Of course, copyright is followed so you will not be able to read the latest Patterson book, but the page does link to WorldCat, which lists libraries that own a physical copy of the book.

Check out the site and tell us what you think in the comments below.

Join millions of readers around the world reading one eBook. As part of Overdrive’s Big Library Read program, we are pleased to offer our patrons unlimited access to the eBook The Four Corners of the Sky by Michael Malone now through June 1. No matter how many KDL patrons are reading this eBook, we will have a copy available for you to download.

The Four Corners of the Sky is master storyteller Michael Malone’s novel of love, secrets, and the mysterious bonds of families. Malone brings characters to life as only he can, exploring the questions that defy easy answers: Is love a choice or a calling? Why do the ties of family bind so tightly? And is forgiveness a gift to others…or a gift we give ourselves?

We encourage you to join this global “library book club!”

The school year is winding down, and that means we are gearing up for Summer Reading @ KDL. With programs for kids, teens and adults, we are inviting the whole family to get Grounded in Happiness @ KDL. And if discovering some great books isn’t enough of an incentive to participate, we have also got some awesome prizes up for grabs, including gift cards to nearly 20 different stores, John Ball Zoo memberships, iPods, NOOK eReaders and more!

Summer Reading @ KDL kicks off on Saturday, June 1. Stop by your local branch to sign up, and don’t forget to pick up a program guide while you’re there. Our summer line-up includes dinosaurs, magic, animals, food and music, just to name a few! Watch this video to amp up your excitement!

Check out some of the new booklists available!

World War I Nonfiction – Books about WWI events and the people involved.

Grow Happiness: Read About Gardens – Books for the “green thumb” in you!

Sure-Bet Smiles – Good stories that won’t bring you down.

To find these booklists and more, visit the KDL Recommends section on our website.

Green up your thumbs with this booklist!  To view 10 of the most popular Gardening titles at KDL this month, click on the link to your Top Ten List.

KDL’s inaugural Book Bash, held April 27 and 28 at our Comstock Park Service Center, was a weekend of good food, great fun and gargantuan bargains on more than 100,000 books, CDs, DVDs, games and more.

A few numbers:

• Hits to the Book Bash website – 5,544 since February
• Participants in the Facebook quilt contest – 12,753
• Attendance at Book Bash – 1,467
• Dollars raised for KDL programs – $31,797
• 93 volunteers worked 1,245 hours

Thanks to everyone who volunteered, shopped and supported the event. See you next year!

There are a lot of series written for teens, but sometimes one of those books disappoints and the whole series is never the same. Luckily, this is not the case with the Lumatere Chronicles by Melina Marchetta.

The first book, Finnikin of the Rock, helps set the backstory of the of the small kingdom called Lumatere, which is part of the Land of Skuldenore. Finnikin and his guardian have spent the last 10 years trying to find a home for the displaced people of their kingdom after the royal family was murdered and a curse is placed around the kingdom, which no one can cross. Their path is changed forever when they meet Evanjalin, who swears the heir to the throne is still alive.

The second book, Froi of the Exiles, picks up where Finnikin left off. Without giving away the ending of the first book, Froi is sent on a dangerous mission to the neighboring kingdom of Charyn, where he meets Quintana of Charyn (the third book title), the daughter of the king responsible for the death of the Lumatere royal family.

Each book was a pleasure to read and brought the characters to life, flaws and all. While the series has been wrapped up, I for one wouldn’t mind another book set in Lumatere! If you haven’t given this series a try, stop by your local library today to pick up a copy.

Good news for eBook fans — new titles from major publisher Hachette Book Group are now available from the library again! Hachette stopped selling eBooks to libraries in 2010, limiting the availability of popular authors such as James Patterson, David Baldacci, Sandra Brown and others to only titles released before this date. But they are now once again making their full collection available for libraries to purchase.

KDL has purchased over 200 new Hachette titles, including:

• Life after Life by Kate Atkinson
• The Hit by David Baldacci
• Death of Yesterday by M. C. Beaton
• Low Pressure by Sandra Brown
• Beautiful Creatures series by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl
• The Fifth Assassin by Brad Meltzer
• 12th of Never by James Patterson & Maxine Paetro
• Let’s Explore Diabetes with Owls by David Sedaris

Since lots of popular titles are now available for the first time, we’ve also increased the checkout limit to 15 items, so visit http://ebooks.kdl.org and start downloading!

Hey library lovers: we want to know how KDL has helped you or your family save money this year. Everyone who shares their story by May 22 by filling out this form will be entered for the chance to win a $25 gift card from Schuler Books & Music. Also, everyone who enters might find their stories shared on our website here.

You love-bomb us, we love-bomb you right back.

aaaaaaaand go!

P.S. – Comments left on this blog post will not be considered for the contest; please fill out the form by clicking here.