Summer Reading has completed its universal course. We trust that all participants had fun while discovering the universe, reading and participating in the programs. We had a total of 605 children and young adults sign up and 408 of these participants read three or more hours. Our top reader read 192.5 hours.
Two hundred and three participants read 15 or more hours. We had a total of 69 programs and 2,524 people attended these programs. We are very grateful to our 29 sponsors, as we could not hold the program we had without these businesses, organizations and individuals. Thank you to all who contributed and all who participated! Next year's theme will be "Imagine Your Story" which will take us on a journey through fairy tales, fantasy and mythology.
Fall programs
Programming for the fall began at the Siloam Springs Public Library Tuesday, Sept. 3. Programs this year include:
• Young Adult Library League: One Monday per month at 4:15 p.m. for young adults. The days will vary from month to month. Ms. Leah will lead this group.
• Nintendo Switch: One Monday a month for September and October at 4:15 p.m. for young adults. The day will vary from month to month. Ms. Leah will lead this group.
• Adulting 101: Every other Monday at 4:15 p.m. This is a new program designed to help young adults in the 16-26 year age range learn skills that will be helpful in their adult years. Some topics include changing a tire, working on your resume and time management as well as other topics. Ms. Leah will facilitate this group.
• After school homework help: Every other Tuesday at 4 p.m. Ms. Mary will lead this group.
• Wednesday Preschool: Every Wednesday at 10 a.m. Ms. Julia will lead this group.
• Thursday Preschool: Every Thursday at 11 a.m. Ms. Laura will lead this group.
• Thursday Homeschool Group: Every Thursday at 11 a.m. Ms. Mary will facilitate this group.
• Thursday Young Adult Programming: Every Thursday at 4:15 p.m. Ms. Leah will lead the group.
• Family Movie: Second Friday of the month at 6:30 p.m. This is taking the place of the Monday afternoon family movies. Popcorn and lemonade will be served. Please check the website or stop in at the library to check on which movie will be shown. This will take the place of the Monday Family Movie that we have had previously. Various staff will facilitate this event.
Book club selections
The adult book club selections are as listed below. We will soon be choosing titles for the 2020 calendar year.
• Adult Reading Group: This group will meet at 7 p.m. Monday, Sept. 9, to discuss "Educated" by Tara Westover. This is an unforgettable memoir about a young girl, Tara, who is kept out of school. She eventually leaves her survivalist family and goes on to earn a doctor of philosophy degree from Cambridge University.
• Morning Book Club: This group will meet 11 a.m. Tuesday, Sept. 17, to discuss "America's First Daughter" by Stephanie Dray. This is a novel based on the fascinating and untold story of Thomas Jefferson's eldest daughter, Martha "Patsy" Jefferson Randolph -- a woman who kept the secrets of one of our most perplexing founding father and president, one who shaped an American legacy.
Copies of both books are available at the library while they last. You may also be able to access a copy through Library2Go. Join us for some thought-provoking discussions!
Reading challenges
The 1,000 Books Before Kindergarten is an ongoing program with the goal being to read 1,000 books to your child before he or she starts kindergarten. And hopefully, as the child gets closer to kindergarten, they can read a book to you. This provides a time for the child and parent or caretaker to connect with each other while giving the child a head start with their reading skills.
So far, we have had three children complete 1,000 books. Congratulations to those three children! We are giving those children who start kindergarten this fall until Dec. 1 to read 1,000 books as we just started the program January 2019. Their reading logs will need to be turned in by then if they are wanting to be included in the graduation ceremony. After this, they will need to have it done by the time they start kindergarten.
Another change we have made to the program is that chapters can count as a book. For example, if a book has 20 chapters, a parent or caretaker can count it as 20 books. We are looking forward to our first graduation ceremony which will take place in January. More details will be coming later.
It's not too late to start The Adult Reading Challenge. This will continue through 2019. Challenge yourself and your friends to read books that may get you out of your comfort zone. There are categories of books of different genres, different time periods, etc. The grand prize for this year's competition will be awarded in December. So far, 53 adults have signed up for the program and four have read books in all the categories.
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 [email protected] for more information about what the library has to offer.
And as always, we will see you at the library! Argentinian author Jorge Luis Borges states "I have always imagined that Paradise will be a kind of library." The Siloam Springs Public Library can be a Paradise for you.
General News on 09/04/2019