July's "Cast of Characters" Blog

 

The month of July means we are midway finished with Summer Reads. If you have not signed up to participate this year, there is still time. Follow the link to learn more about this year’s program.  You can see the virtual programs on our YouTube channel, even if you are not signed up for the program.

It’s not too late to sign up for the 9^th Annual Adult Reading Challenge either. The challenge runs through November 30, 2021 and has multiple levels to make it easier for busy adults to participate.  If you are interested in taking the Challenge, you can find more information at https://mydpl.org/arc/ or call the Marketing and Outreach office at 256-340-5780.

While browsing the National Day calendar, we found that July 24^th this year is National Day of the Cowboy. The fourth Saturday in July is set aside to celebrate hardworking cowboys and cowgirls and the contributions they have made to American culture and heritage. Since the cowboy is an iconic character in literature that did not make it on the reading log, the July task is to read a book with a Cowboy/Cowgirl as the main character.

Happy Reading, Pardners!

June's "Cast of Characters" Blog

 

At Decatur Public Library we try to stay updated on all national days. It gives us ideas for social media posts, programs and trivia. For instance, today, June 4th is National Donut Day, National Cheese Day, and National Hug Your Cat Day, to name a few. Of course, this meant we ordered donuts. We were also trying to mark items off our to-do list as quickly as possible, because Summer Reads kicked off on Tuesday. While Summer Reads is always a lot of fun; it always puts us behind on the day-to-day tasks of our jobs.

If you haven’t thought about signing up for Summer Reads please go to https://mydpl.org/summerreads/   to find out about our programs this year. There is a program for everyone in the family, no matter your age or reading ability. So make it a family goal to read more this summer and get everyone to participate.

Most people check this blog to find the monthly tasks for our annual year-long Adult Reading Challenge, and the national day list actually gave us the idea for this month’s task. June 4th is also Old Maid’s Day, established in 1948 to celebrate the contributions of Old Maids to their families and communities. In honor of that, read a book with an Old Maid or spinster character. The definition of an Old Maid, according to The American Heritage College Dictionary, is “A woman who has remained single beyond the conventional age for marrying.” By the way, it also says this is offensive. This is not meant offensively, it is simply a character that appears in many books across genres.

Happy Reading!

May “Cast of Characters” Blog

Decatur Public Library is gearing up for our Summer Reads program this summer. The program will run on the READsquared app and offers something for everyone ages 0 to 99+. While our Summer Reads Program events will be virtual, we still want everyone to be able to visit the library safely. For that reason we still have a mask policy in effect.  We are also still offering curbside delivery to those who can’t or prefer not to come into the building. The Kick-off for this year’s Summer Reads: Tales and Tails will be Tuesday, June 1, 2021 with a Drive-Up event on the Cherry Street side of the Library from 10:00 am until 2:00 pm. Pull through the circle drive to pick up your goodie bags for Babies, Toddlers, and Children up to 12, with all of the information about this year’s program. While there is no goodie bag for teens and adults, there will be staff available to assist with sign-up in the READsquared app and to answer your questions about the Summer Reads program.  We hope to see you there.

The May task for the Adult Reading Challenge is to read a book about a main character that is missing.  This will be about a character that is not physically present but the emphasis of the book is on finding them. They could have voluntarily or involuntarily disappeared.  Regardless of the cause or outcome, the book is centered on them and what caused their disappearance.

Watch your email for upcoming news about the Adult Reading Challenge newsletter and book club.

Happy Reading!

April "Cast of Characters" Blog

 

We are so happy to have been able to take one step toward normal by launching the 9^th Annual Adult Reading Challenge. While we were a little later in the year with the launch, we feel it has gotten off to a good start. If you come into the Library to sign up for the Challenge, please remember to wear a mask. While the state and city mask mandates have ended, the Decatur Public Library Board – which governs what happens here in the library – has extended our mask mandate until further notice. For the health and safety of our patrons and staff, we will require a mask to be worn when you are in the library building. We thank you for your cooperation and hope this is only for a little while longer.

For those already signed up we hope you are meeting some great characters. If you are, spread the word about the books you are reading and which clue/task they work for by sending us a book review. You can fill out the book review form by hand and drop it off at our office or go to https://mydpl.org/arc/ and click on the Book Club button. This will take you to the page with the online book review form. Fill in the information and click submit to let us know about the books you would like to recommend to your fellow challenge-takers.  We are ready to put out our first newsletter but we need you to send us your reviews to make that happen.

April is National Multiple Birth Awareness Month, so this month’s task is to read a book where the characters are twins, triplets or any other form of multiple birth. The character has to be a human being; animals, aliens, etc. do not work for this task.

Happy Reading!

March "Cast of Characters" Blog

 

The 9^th Annual Adult Reading Challenge got started a little later than normal this year, but is now in progress.  If you haven’t taken the Challenge before or just haven’t gotten by the Library to sign up yet this year, please join us as we read and meet a cast of characters. More information about the challenge can be found at https://mydpl.org/arc/ .  If you are interested in participating, you can stop by the Marketing and Outreach department, call us at 256-340-5780 or email us at stephrhonda@myDPL.org.

The March task is to read a book with a main character that is Irish. This can be someone who lives in Ireland or someone who is defined as being Irish while living anywhere else.

Happy Reading!

Sign Up for the 2021 Adult Reading Challenge at DPL

 

9th Annual Adult Reading Challenge Kick-Off