Summer reading: A universe of wonder
The Summer Reading Celebration will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, July 27, in Memorial Park by the amphitheater for those participants who have read three or more hours and who have turned in their reading logs to the library. There will food, fun, and prizes handed out to participants. Be sure to register at the registration table to pick up the logs and to get the tickets you will need for this event. A BIG CONGRATULATIONS to all our participants! We don’t have the final numbers yet, but this year looks like it will be a record-breaking year in terms of participants. Final numbers will be posted in the next Library Musings. Thank you to all who have assisted with this program through providing entertainment, helping with programs, or donating your time and/ or items.
Star-gazing will be happening at the Siloam Springs Kayak Park (19253 Fisher Ford Road) at 9 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 1. This is a change of location that was mentioned in the last Library Musings. David Cater, a columnist for the Siloam Springs Herald Leader will be presenting the program. You are encouraged to bring telescopes or binoculars if you have them. Also be sure to apply or bring bug spray with you in case you need it. Join us as we observe stars, planets and whatever else the sky has to offer us! Please notice the time and location of this event! The weather date will be Thursday, Aug. 8 — same star time, same star place.
The books for the adult book clubs are as follows:
• Adult Reading Group — This group will meet at 7 p.m. Monday, Aug. 12, to discuss a classical book of your choice. Please come prepared to let us know about the book you chose. You can use the Great American Read as a guide.
• Morning Book Club — This group will meet Tuesday, Aug. 20, to discuss “Our Souls At Night” by Kent Haruf. Copies of this book are available at the library while they last. You may also be able to access a copy through Library2Go.
For the Author of the Month display during the months of August and September, we are celebrating the works of our local historians. This display honors the hard work people such as Don Warden and Maggie Aldridge Smith have done to preserve our history for future generations. Feel free to check out a book from the display by the front door and reminisce with our local historians of times long gone and celebrate how far our town, and nation have come!
Fall programming will resume Tuesday, Sept. 3. We will begin an Adulting 101 for young adults 1626, which will meet every other Monday starting in September. Stay tuned for a list of activities in the fall.
A high-five to those who are participating in the 1000 Books Before Kindergarten program. This program is an ongoing program and is available to all children who have not started Kindergarten. Register your child at the reference desk and get the first log. There are prizes that will be given out as they get closer to the 1000 Book goal. We plan to have a graduation ceremony for those who have completed the program January 2020. Reading can provide opportunities for all ages.
The Adult Reading Challenge will continue through 2019. This challenge involves reading books of different genres, different time periods, etc. We encourage you and your friends to participate. Make it a friendly competition and have fun reading books that you normally would not read!
Please visit the Library’s Facebook page at https://www.facebook. com/SiloamSpringsPublicLibrary, the library’s blog at https://siloamspringslibrary.wordpress.com, the Library’s website at https://www.siloamsprings.com/library, call us at 479-524-4236 or e-mail us at library@siloamsprings.com for more information about what the library has to offer.
And as always, we will see you at the library! It can be a great place to be during the dog days of summer!
— Dolores Deuel is the library manager at Siloam Springs Public Library. The opinions expressed are those of the author.