August "REaD, WHITE, and BLUE" Blog

 

 

If you haven’t heard, Decatur Public Library is working on a Strategic Plan and we need your input. We are attempting to gather as much feedback as possible through Focus Groups and surveys. If you haven’t completed a survey yet, please follow the link to help us understand how you use the library and what you would like to see us offer in the future. 

The next Focus Group will be held on Thursday, August 17^th in the Community Room from 10:00 am until 2:00 pm. This will be an on-going, come and go Focus Group. You can join in the conversation at any time. Come in and give us your feedback to the same seven questions we have asked at other focus groups. There will also be paper copies of the survey available.

Summer Reads was a crazy, busy, and fun time this year. The Youth Services department hosted 42 events in June and July in the library, plus group activities that were not on the calendar (programs for Decatur Youth Services and the Boys and Girls Clubs) and they went out on some outreach trips. Needless to say, we all feel like summer was a very busy time. We hope
your summer was just as full of fun and books.  Don’t forget the library has resources to help
with schoolwork once school is back in session.

We now get to turn our attention to fall programming. Our Annual Quilt Show, a Gothic Gala-based on Dracula, and hopefully a couple of lunch and learn topics are being planned. On our new website, to see what’s happening at the library go to the “Library Events” tab in the blue ribbon over the picture. The events listed above are not currently found on the website because we are in the process of scheduling dates and times, but they will appear there as soon as they are finalized.

August is Family Fun Month.  The August task for the Adult Reading Challenge is to read a book about a family. The fun part is optional, but the central theme of the book must be family. The family can be blood or chosen, but must be described by the author as family.

Happy Reading!

July "REaD, WHITE, and BLUE" Blog

The month of July is packed with things to do at DPL. We have 19 programs in the Youth Services department, a StoryWalk® at Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge, and a Focus Group for feedback from our community on the 20th.  Please join us for one or more of these events and be sure if you can’t make the Focus Group meeting to fill out our survey online. We want your thoughts about our community and the library to help us plan for the next 3 to 5 years.

If you are taking part in the Adult Reading Challenge, you have 5 months left to finish the Challenge. If you are interested in joining us in the Challenge, come by the Marketing and Outreach office to sign up. A reminder about the July Book Club for the Challenge: it will be held on Sunday, July 16^th from 2:00pm to 4:00pm in the Community Room. Since this is a day the library is not open to the public, please contact Rhonda and Stephanie before the date to have your name added to the attending list. Remember, if you are not on the list, once we go upstairs, we will not hear you knocking on the door.

This July, there is a National Day to celebrate a very American character. The National Day of the Cowboy (and Cowgirl) was created in 2005 with the purpose of celebrating and preserving the Western heritage that helped build the United States of America. This holiday falls on the 4^th Saturday of July; this year that will be Saturday, July 23^rd.  The founders of this day recommend attending a rodeo to celebrate the occasion.  For the readers taking part in this year’s challenge the task for July is to read a book that features a cowboy and contains a rodeo. Extra points to anyone who attends or watches a rodeo after reading the book for the challenge.

Happy Reading!

June "REaD, White, and Blue" Blog

 

June is always a busy month at Decatur Public Library and 2023 is no exception. Friday, June 2^nd, we start the Summer Reads season with a drive-thru Kick-off event. We are striving to make getting involved in our Summer Reads program easier than ever. All you have to do is drive through our circle driveway off Cherry Street, on Friday, June 2^nd between 10:00am and 2:00pm, with your children who are 12 and under in the car. We will give you their “Summer Reads prize” immediately. Then all you have to do is download the REAsSquared app on your phone to record all of the books they read this summer. The prize bag will include the directions for downloading the free app, a schedule of all of the fun programs and events we are hosting this summer for little ones, and a book that is theirs to keep forever. It will also include some coupons for free treats from our local partners!

We have some fun,  book-related programs for adult readers too, this month. The Adult Reading Challenge Book Club will meet on Thursday, June 1^st in the Community Room from 12noon to 2:00pm. If you haven’t tried the challenge yet but want to know more, join us for a fun and lively discussion of what everyone is reading to meet the challenge. Then on Saturday, June 10^th, we will host the 2023 Readers and Writers Jubilee from 10:00am to 5:00pm. This year there will be 24 authors in the building hosting classes/panels for readers and writers, as well as selling, signing and discussing books with patrons. The featured speaker this year is USA Today Bestselling Author and NAACP Image Nominee  Beverly Jenkins,  who writes historical fiction, contemporary romance and women’s fiction. Complete details for the program are available at www.myDPL.org/jubilee. We hope you can join us in this FREE celebration of books, reading and writing!

The task for this month is in honor of the Summer Solstice-the longest day of the year. This year’s solstice falls on Wednesday, June 21^st. The June task is to read a book that takes place in one day. It doesn’t have to be the longest day of the year, but all of the action of the book must happen within 24 hours.

Happy Reading!

May "ReAD, WHITE, & BLUE" Blog

 

We stay busy at DPL!  In the last 30 days,  things have gotten a lot brighter in the library. The old light fixtures have all been replaced with LED and the difference is amazing. Come see for yourself.

This next month is packed, too!  We have school tours the first 2 weeks, getting ready for Summer Reads programming, lots of outreach, and final preparation for the Readers and Writers Jubilee on June 10^th.  We hope you can join us for some of the fun in the library this May.

While you are here check out the new non-fiction books in juvenile and adult categories. New materials were made possible in part by Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) funds awarded to the Alabama Public Library Service (APLS) by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) and in part to the Friends of Decatur Public Library. Topics in the adult area include: health and wellness, entrepreneurship, careers and vocation, government and civics, personal finance, family and parenting, and world religions. These new materials are on the shelf on the elevator wall facing the public computers. In the Youth Services department you will find new books on these subjects: health and wellness, animals, folklore, and reading skills-including new fiction readers.

This month is a race to get everything ready before the library’s biggest season begins. In keeping with that analogy, the task for the Adult Reading Challenge for May is to read a book that features the Kentucky Derby. The Run for the Roses will happen for the 149^th time on Saturday, May 6^th. The longest continuously running sporting event in the United States, it has something for everyone-beautiful horses, underdogs, gambling, mint juleps and fashion. You can choose to read a non-fiction book and learn about the history of the event or read a fictional tale set at the Derby.

Happy Reading!

April "ReAD, WHITE, & BLUE" Blog

April is the perfect time to get outdoors and enjoy a good book at the same time. If you have little ones or just like to read children's books, we encourage you to take the StoryWalk® on display at Delano Park through April 14th. We also offer eAudiobooks you can download from Libby or hoopla to listen to as you spend time outdoors. If you prefer text, you can download from either of the apps or come browse the stacks to find a great book to enjoy in the sunshine. 

If you are looking for something different from your normal reading, April is National Poetry Month. You can find poetry on Libby, hoopla, and on our shelves in the library, in the 811 and 821 sections of non-fiction. In the display case on the 6th Avenue side of the library, a poetry display with an activity for adults (based on BINGO) will help you explore poetry.

The April task for the Adult Reading Challenge is to read a book of poetry by an American author. There are lots of possibilities, from old standards like Emily Dickinson, Robert Frost, and Walt Whitman to new voices like Amanda Gorman, Ocean Vuong or Poet Laureate of the United States, Ada Limón. We hope you find a poet whose voice speaks to you and makes you glad you picked up a book of poetry this month.

Happy Reading!

March "ReAD, WHITE, & BLUE" Blog

 

March has come roaring in this year with wild winds and hot and cold temperatures.  Hopefully, it will soon even out and not be so unpredictable.  Monday, March 13^th we are hoping for nice weather , as we have Day in the Park planned at Delano Park from 10:00am until 1:00pm that day.  Come join us for story time under the large oak on 8^th Avenue at 10:30m, games, a scavenger hunt, and free books for the kids. If the weather does not cooperate, and it is raining we will hold the story time and other activities that can be done inside in the Youth Services room at DPL. We hope everyone can join us for some fun in one of Decatur’s finest parks.

The theme for this year’s Adult Reading Challenge is all things about the United States. Is there a place you haven’t been but would love to visit in our country? Maybe an event that happened in our country’s past, like one of the World’s Fairs.  Perhaps you would like to have seen huge herds of bison roaming the plains with no roads or cities around.   While you may not be able to visit physically every place you want to see or travel back in time to experience a different way of life, reading allows you to do just that.  The great thing about books is you can go there through another person’s thoughts and observations.  

The clue for March is to read a book that provides you with a clear picture of an American place or event that you have not experienced first-hand.   The place must be one you have not been to but want to see; the event can be a specific event or just a time in the past. The book can be fiction or non-fiction.  Please write what the place or event is on your reading log along with the title and author of the book.

Happy Reading!

February "ReAD, WHITE, & BLUE" Blog

  

The theme for the 11^th Annual Adult Reading Challenge this year is the United States of America.  The REaD, WHITE, & BLUE challenge will encourage you to read about the people, places, and things that make up our country. In a time when it seems no one in our country can agree on anything (or even respectfully disagree), we want to celebrate the positive about our country. We will do so by reading and discussing books that represent all aspects of life in the U.S.A. If the February Book Club was any indication, it will be a lively and fun year, even if we don’t all see the issues in the same way. We would love to have you join us in the challenge and at book club if you are interested in looking for the positive in our country, love reading good books, and having lively discussions. You can join the fun by stopping by the Marketing and Outreach office, Monday through Friday, 10am to 5:00pm to sign up or just learn more about the Annual Adult Reading Challenge.

This year we will host the 2^nd Readers and Writers Jubilee on Saturday, June 10^th. This is an all-day event where we invite local and other authors to sell their books, host panel discussions, and have workshops for readers and those who aspire to be writers. We will be partnering with the Heart of Dixie Fiction Writers and the Friends of the Decatur Public Library and the Decatur Public Library Foundation. With their help we are proud to announce that the featured speaker this year will be Beverly Jenkins! All updates will be posted to https://mydpl.org/jubilee/ .  The complete list of authors, panels, and workshops will be there as soon as details are finalized. Mark your calendars to join us for this literary festival.

February is Black History Month and the task for the Adult Reading Challenge is to read a Black American author.  If you are interested, Beverly Jenkins is a great author for this task, because she usually has a bibliography in the back of her historical romances. You will read a great story and learn more about the history of our country at the same time  You will see why we are so excited she is joining us this summer!  If romance is not your genre of choice, there are hundreds of great books by Black American authors, find the one that appeals to you.

Happy Reading