National Library Week: April 14-20

The week of April 14-20 Ashe County Library will join libraries in schools, campuses and communities nationwide to celebrate National Library Week, a time to highlight the value of libraries, librarians and library workers. Libraries today are more than repositories for books and other resources.

Often the hearts of their communities, libraries are deeply committed to the places where their patrons live, work and study.  Libraries are trusted places where everyone in the community can gather to reconnect and reengage with each other to enrich and shape the community and address local issues. 

Librarians work with elected officials, small business owners, students and the public at large to discover what their communities needs are and ways to meet them.  Whether through offering e-books and technology classes, materials for English-language learners, programs for job seekers or those to support early literacy, librarians listen to the community they serve, and they respond.

Service to the community has always been the library’s focus and while this aspect has never changed, libraries have grown and evolved in how they provide for the needs of every member of their community.

A variety of special events are planned throughout the week including amnesty for overdue items. Some of us have amazing memories for due dates and deadlines.  Some of us…maybe aren’t as talented in that regard.  If you fall into the latter category, never fear!  All those late fines that have sneaked their way onto your card can be taken care of with fine amnesty at the library. How does it work?  Simple – just bring unexpired cans of food and waive $1 of your fines for each can you bring in.  The food will be donated to Jefferson United Methodist Church’s food closet. Another way to reduce fines is to check in at one of the library’s “read-off stations.” Here you can spend time reading or listening to audio books to waive $1 for every fifteen minutes you dedicate to reading in the library. 

First sponsored in 1958, National Library Week is a national observance sponsored by the American Library Association (ALA) and libraries across the country each April.  

Dates to remember in April:

The library is the place to be during National Library Week, especially on Saturday, April 20. There are several of FUN activities going on throughout the day! Be sure to drop in our photo booth to take some funky pictures, visit the Human Library, listen to music and create a pinwheel craft. In the afternoon our state poet laureate, Joseph Bathanti will be on hand to conduct a poetry writer’s workshop.

The Spring Reading Challenge continues through the month of April. Do you have a hard time deciding what to read next? Are you in a reading rut and want to discover new books and authors? Do you simply enjoy discussing books with fellow readers? Try these reading challenges for fun and prizes!

Week of the Young Child celebration is on April 19 in the park from 4:00 to 7:00 p.m. This event is an afternoon of fun for children from birth to age five, and their families. Come and see the Balloon Lady and Amazing Al the Magician. Join the children’s parade and have fun! The library will sign children up for a special program: Growing Book by Book.

Teens will be creating modpodge lanterns at a special program, Outside the Box: Light It Up, on Thursday, April 18 at 4:30.

Otaku’s United, an Anime/Manga Club for teens, meets on Tuesdays at 4:30 p.m.

Join us for “Get Crafty” classes! All ages and experience levels are welcome. Suzanne's crochet class meets on Saturday, April 13 at 10:00 a.m. A “Get Crafty” Program Guide is available on the library's website, or call 846-2041 for more information.

Adult programming offers “Pace Yourself” Computer Classes on Tuesday mornings at 11:00.

Tai Chi classes are available on Thursdays at 10:00 a.m. as well as Saturday, April 13 at 1:00 p.m.

Parents bring your children to our Family Fling programs, every Saturday at 11:00 a.m. Enjoy stories and be creative with fun art projects!

Catching Green, a special program for families, takes place on Thursday, April 11 at 4:00 p.m. Join scientist extraordinaire, Thelma Kasti, and explore a variety of green technologies through hands-on experiments.

Children’s programs are scheduled as follows: Story time (4-5 year olds) on Tuesdays at 10:30 a.m., Tot time (2-3 year olds) Wednesdays and Thursdays at 10:30 a.m., and Afternoon Adventures (6-9 year olds) at 2:00 p.m. on the 2^nd Wednesday of each month. Check the library’s website or call for details.

The Bridging Cultures film series will feature Prince Among Slaves Saturday, April 6 at 12:00 p.m. Free lunch is provided for those who make reservations.

The library will be participating in World Book Night, April 23, 2013. World Book Night is a non-profit organization that spreads the love and power of reading person to person through the giving of books every April 23rd. Keep an eye out for givers in the community distributing books at random … what fun!