Petition seeks to keep
library legislation as is 
There's a small movement afoot, begun by some former disgruntled board members, and now taken up by our Town of Shawangunk Board, to change our library's special district legislation.
(See attached letters.)
The library's Summer Reading Program draws kids from throughout  the school district - including those who don't live in town.
The Wallkill Public Library trustees ask for your support as Town of Shawangunk, Wallkill school district voters, to keep our legislation the way it is - it works just fine, and  has for the past 19 years.
Our legislation states that the Wallkill Public Library district (service area) consists of people living in the Town of Shawangunk, Wallkill school district. However, to serve on the library board, you only need to live in the Wallkill Central School District. This provision enables us to broaden our reach in our search for smart and talented candidates who love the library and have time to serve a five-year term.
This is always a challenge for us, and even WITH this broad area from which to choose candidates, we struggle to attract and keep good board members. Especially when issues like this drain energy and enthusiasm from the people who want to serve our library district in the best, most professional way possible. Sure these folks can't vote for themselves, sure they have fiscal responsibility along with trustees who live in the district, sure they do not  pay library tax for this library, but they do for other libraries in our system and we all work together as a consortium to bring you the best possible service and access to materials. These trustees choose to serve anyway because they LOVE and USE our library. Plus, majority always rules and they are, and always have been, the minority - generally 1-3 people at any given time. It's simply NOT an issue worth pursuing.
We currently have eight elected trustees. Three of them live in the Wallkill Central School District but not in the Town of Shawangunk. Since our library serves the kids and staff from all five schools in the district (two of which are not in the Town of Shawangunk, either), we feel those areas should have representation, as well.
Ultimately YOU of course decide, with your VOTE, the amount of our budget and who gets elected. YOU, the Town of Shawangunk, Wallkill school district voter, make the final decision and always have.
We ask for your support to keep  our legislation as it was written and has been implemented for the past 19 years. Click here to sign our petition. Thank you!
Mary Lou Carolan, Director
Wallkill Public Library
Coming up at the Wallkill Public Library
Magic Tree House Book Club members recently made some Chinese drums during their Wednesday session.
Tuesday: Textile Tuesdays and the Quilters' Circle get together between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. in the community room of Town Hall. Masters of Code is offered at 4 p.m.
Wednesday: Toddler Story Time is offered at 10 a.m. and again at 11:15 a.m. The Vision of Wallkill community improvement group meets at 6:30 .m.
Thursday: Masters of Code meets at 4 p.m. The Knit and Crochet Club meets at 6:30 p.m.
Friday: Ages 5 and up can add a bunny to their collection of Felted Friends at 4 p.m.

 

You don't have to love PS4 to be a gamer
All ages and skill levels are invited to connect at Wallkill Public Library for some gaming fun.
Whether you're into video games, board games, card games, or more, the goal is to get all ages - from adults to children - playing something, either together or in smaller groups. You're welcome to use our PS4 or other equipment, or bring your own.
If you're interested, contact Mary Lou at 895-3707, or at mlcarolan@rcls.org.
Article access enhances library catalog
The library's online catalog now offers a lot more than it used to.
When users conduct a search for material, the catalog displays not only the books, DVDs, and other typical results...it now features magazine, newspaper, and radio program downloads, as well!
So for instance, if you type in Olive Kitteridge, the catalog not only gives  you an assortment of books and DVDs from which to choose. You can also click on the Magazine Articles tab and access stories that aired on NPR, articles that appeared in London's Sunday Times, and much more.
The feature is invaluable to students researching a topic, the vision impaired (because many print articles have an option that allows users to listen to an audio version), and anyone interested in finding out more about any given subject!
You can access the catalog through the Wallkill Public Library website.
RSS feeds keep you on top of events
The calendar on the homepage of the library's website now offers a link to an RSS feed!
That means you can get the latest updates about programming changes as they occur! When a program's cancelled due to weather, when a Books Alive! Saturday rehearsal is coming up, whenever any sort of program adjustments take place, your feed will keep you updated!
To subscribe, just click on the link at the top of the calendar.
Would you write a novel for nothing?
If so, your sacrifice for your art may pay off.
It did for Emily Benet. She posted a romantic comedy called Spray Painted Bananas to Wattpad, and after securing over a million hits, struck a two-book deal with Harper Collins, who published her online efforts as The Temp.
Wattpad is an online platform that allows writers to read others' work and submit their own.
Is this the most direct line to getting yourself published? Agents will tell you no - if you submit your stuff to them and they take you on, the editing and promotion they offer is a much more efficient boost into the world of the published. However, if you've gone that route - or tried to - and it didn't work out, sites like Wattpad may be another option.
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