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SRP Finale larger than life |
 The Arm-of-the-Sea Theater played to a full library lawn Thursday night during the Summer Reading Program's finale. Performers donned larger-than-life costumes and elaborate masks to wow the audience with their new show, The Rejuvenary River Circus. After the performance, children and their families gathered for an Ice Cream Social as the names of Lego raffle and Scavenger Hunt winners were announced. The Friends of the Wallkill Public Library sponsored the Lego raffle to earn money for this fall's workshop offerings. Trevor Jones, Hana Rubenstein, and Logan Adams were the winners of the three Lego sets up for grabs. The Scavenger Hunt champs included Courtney Hyland, who won a gift certificate to Wallkill River House; Amber Williams, who received a certificate to Chocolate Dreams; Jake Probst, who won a gift cert to Gear Up; Kaitlin Sprankle, who won a Barnes and Noble gift card; and Christine Ferguson, who won a gift card from Cafe Mio.
Thanks to all who participated, as well as to the local businesses for donating their generous gifts!
Congratulations to all!
Thanks to the hard work of children's coordinators Carolyn Thorenz and Christine Adams, this summer's reading program was a huge success, with 331 kids registered.
The program wouldn't have been the success it was without the help of the area businesses and organizations who contributed to what was a huge effort. The library's sincerest appreciation goes out to:
- Wallkill Woman's Club
- The Renaissance Faire
 Hudson Valley Renegades- Chocolate Dreams
- Cafe Mio
- River Rock Cafe
- Wallkill River House
And, as always, thanks to our wonderful community for your loyalty and support! |
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Coming up at the Wallkill Public Library  Start cramming! Summer Reading Program logs are due by 6 p.m. tonight! Top readers will be notified by phone or email by Monday.
Monday: The Library Board of Trustees meets at 7 p.m. Wednesday: The Top Reader Reception will recognize this summer's most prolific readers from 3-4 p.m. Light refreshments will be served. Thursday: The Knit and Crochet Club meets at 6:30 p.m.
Coming Up: There will be a Mo Willems Story Time at 10:30 a.m. Aug. 22 Millie the Tail-Waggin' Tutor will be here to listen to her friends read to her at 4 p.m. Aug. 23. Book Talk will meet at 6:30 p.m. Aug. 28. This month's selection is Brian Selznick's Wonderstruck. The Fiction Club will meet at 6:30 p.m. Aug. 30. This month's novel is 13 1/2 by Nevada Barr. |
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Wordless books something to talk about  This summer I shared a couple of wordless books during our Grade 2 and Up Book Club. When I held up The Red Book by Barbara Lehman, I was met with skeptical eyes and concern that this book was a picture book.
"Don't worry," I said. "It's going to be great!" Admittedly, I too was unsure about how to read a wordless book aloud. What a pleasant surprise when lively group participation began starting with the first page. We gave the main character a name and after that children ranging in age and reading level were telling the story together. By the time we got to the second selection, Chicken and Cat Clean Up by Sara Varon, the room was filled with laughter and thoughtful observation. It doesn't always take a lot of words to tell a good story, just some time to share one. This summer, try one of the wordless books in our collection with your family. It will put a new spin on a good read. - Carolyn Thorenz, Children's Coordinator Here are some of the other wordless books available at the Wallkill Public Library: Good Dog, Carl, by Alexandra Day Carl's Sleepy Afternoon, by Alexandra Day Rainstorm, by Barbara Lehman Trainstop, by Barbara Lehman Jack and the Night Visitors, by Pat Schories Sector 7, by David Wiesner |
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Wallkill Public Library gets $3,500 grant!
The Wallkill Public Library was one of ten libraries impacted by Hurricane Irene to receive $3,500 from the American Library Association through the Pitney Bowes Foundation.
Last year's hurricane caused extensive damage to the Children's Room of the library as a result of flooding.
The library plans on allocating some of the grant money toward new technology for the Children's Room.
Thank you, ALA and Pitney Bowes!! |
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Find even more library news here!
Now you can access the Ramapo Catskill Library System's Weekly Memo via the Wallkill Public Library's weekly newsletter!
The RCLS Weekly Memo is chock full of bestseller lists, book and library event dates and information, job training guidance and webinars, and much more. Each week it is emailed out to the 47 public libraries the Ramapo Catskill system serves.
If you would like to get better acquainted with our library system or just enjoy reading anything library-related you can get your hands on, the RCLS Weekly Memo is for you. |
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New children's bios to inspire, enlighten  Two of the library's latest additions to the children's room collection demonstrate that books don't have to be fictional to entertain and delight.
Here Come the Girls Scouts, by Shana Corey, tells the story of Juliette Gordon Low, who despite a severe hearing impairment and the disapproval of many naysayers, founded what would become the Girl Scouts of America in 1912. Sy Montgomery's Temple Grandin: How the Girl Who Loved Cows Embraced Autism and Changed the World, explains how the famous scientist overcame the obstacles of autism to not only become an advocate for those suffering from the condition, but went on to revolutionize the livestock industry with the cruelty-free facilities she designed. Don't reserve the biography section for those days your kids need a resource for a report - show them how fascinating and inspiring these books can be even when they don't have to read them for an assignment. |
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Careful what Olympic websites you peruse  Everyone's eager to find out who won what at the Olympics, especially now that the information is available as soon as the medals are won (unless you're watching NBC).
But if you're obsessively surfing the net in a hunt for competition results, take caution - according to an article that appeared in MarketWatch.com, malicious sites abound in the arena of Olympic news. The best way to avoid falling prey to the hands of hackers is to stick to the sites you know and trust when looking for your news. Know that the further you dive into the results, the more likely you are to run into trouble, which means your best bet is to stick with the most well-traveled sites (typically the ones at the top of the results lists). |
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Let the computer be your personal trainer  Computers have become our matchmakers, therapists, and even teachers, so why not use yours as a personal trainer?
If watching superhumanly fit Olympians accomplish feats of mind-boggling athleticism has inspired you to lose your beer gut, freetrainers.com can help you achieve your goals. The free site offers customized diet and exercise plans for all. When it comes to working out, users can select the venue that best suits them, be it a fully equipped commercial gym or a basement with some exercise bands. Community groups and forums are available for those who prefer not to go it alone. If hiring an actual personal trainer is outside of your budget or comfort zone, freetrainers.com might be for you! |
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Science fiction gets a domestic twist
 The Age of Miracles, by Karen Thompson Walker
On a seemingly ordinary Saturday in a California suburb, Julia and her family awake to discover, along with the rest of the world, that the rotation of the earth has suddenly begun to slow. The days and nights grow longer and longer, gravity is affected, the environment is thrown into disarray. Yet as she struggles to navigate an ever-shifting landscape, Julia is also coping with the normal disasters of everyday life - the fissures in her parents' marriage, the loss of old friends, the hopeful anguish of first love, the bizarre behavior of her grandfather who, convinced of a government conspiracy, spends his days obsessively cataloging his possessions. As Julia adjusts to the new normal, the slowing inexorably continues, a coming of age for everyone. |
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Local businesses? Here's your cookie.  Brenda just gets it. Two weeks into our most popular Summer Reading Program ever, the library received 150 coupons for the kids to redeem a delicious homemade cookie as a reward for reading books. Since they opened, Chocolate Dreams has been a community-based business that realizes when the community succeeds, your business succeeds. This is a concept we at the library have promoted with a variety of our outreach programs: the annual Downtown Business Scavenger Hunt, the Holiday Discount Program that encourages businesses to offer discounted services to customers who show their library card; and sponsorship opportunities for businesses to donate or underwrite the cost of some of our most popular programs. Free advertising abounds with mention of local businesses in this weekly email blast, on our website and Facebook page, on flyers and brochures, on our community bulletin board in the front hall, and through word-of-mouth - truly the speediest form of small-town advertising!
Throughout the six weeks of our summer reading program, our library registered 331 kids and our programming has attracted over 1200 participants to the downtown area. In July, we registered 57 new library card users (customers) - now those are the numbers of a thriving downtown business! Libraries need to take more advantage of this status. When run efficiently and focused on providing benefits to the entire community, libraries truly occupy the role of a downtown anchor business - repeat visitation each week by significant numbers of people, in particular, children and families.
It is frustrating to me that more libraries don't see themselves in this light. It's also frustrating when businesses don't take advantage of this increased traffic, especially to downtown areas - like ours - that could truly benefit. One of the mantras that run through my head when beginning a new program is "Who else needs to know about this?"....and then I let them know. I ask businesses, organizations and schools to collaborate with us. Our town struggles so with this concept and I truly do not understand why. So this is an open letter to all of our business community - you are on this email list and I hope you are reading this - get involved with us! We can boost your business by driving traffic to you - these families are already downtown, but without additional offerings, they will gather their kids back in the van and head out of town.
This is why Brenda gets it! This summer, the parents have a reason to drive or walk down the road, passing the playground, seeing the Thrift Shop and the Friends' Used Book Shop, and wander into Chocolate Dreams to get that free cookie for their kids. .....And if you give a kid a cookie, chances are, their mother is going to want a refreshing iced coffee to go with it.
Mary Lou Carolan
Director |
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