Our program was on Monday, February 25 [for International Polar Bear Day]. We could see the polar bear, Cranberry (she was born around Thanksgiving), in the background, and then Shannon talked about what characteristics polar bears have that allow them to live in the Arctic climate, and she would ask questions along the way. Then, at the end, she allowed time for questions; we had several for her. Afterwards, a dad asked how we found out about this and mentioned maybe doing that with some other zoos/animals. I told him I had just received an email about this, and I didn’t know if other zoos did things like this or not, but I told him I’d look into it. It was very well-received; I think the adults enjoyed it as much as the kids. Technology is awesome – how else could central Texans see polar bears at the Alaska Zoo?!
Visit https://www.alaskazoo.org/ to learn more. They have a polar bear webcam and an email list for future announcements.
News from Sandy Underwood, Library Director of Leon Valley Public Library.
I have to take a moment to brag on the library and staff……
On February 14, we were awarded the “Most Loved Library” award by HulaFrog San Antonio NorthWest. HulaFrog is a well known parents website that features activities for children in the area. The parents voted for their “Most Loved” businesses in a number of categories. For libraries, our competition included about eight San Antonio Branches…..and we came out on top!
Lampasas Public Library hosted a Book Festival on Saturday, January 26, featuring national bestselling author Jodi Thomas. She and other local talent were on hand from 10am-1pm, selling and signing their books. Jodi Thomas spoke at 11am about her journey as a writer and why she decided to leave teaching to become a national bestselling author.
Jodi Thomas signing booksAuthors at book signing tables
I thought you all might be interested in our gift-making and Santa Claus visit this last week. As we are a small community that lacks for a lot of thriving business identity, our citizens are often under-employed or unemployed and Christmas is always a hardship. We try to offset the expense by helping with home-made items that will be well-used and well-loved. We tend to make very big of Christmas as this is a very traditional and religious community so there was plenty of spirit in the air.
The Fayette Public Library’s StoryWalk opened on November 17th! After much planning they were finally able to install the feature outside of the library. Children and families can complete the book, How Rocket Learned to Read, and enjoy the park located outside of the library. Children that complete the StoryWalk will receive a special Rocket Reading Certificate. Library staff scanned all of the book pages and worked with a graphic artist on the final layout. La Grange High School welding students built the posts and a sign company was used to print the attached removable aluminum signs. The library hopes to have more stories printed. Allison Shimek, the Library Director, thanks fellow CTLS member, Melissa Uhlhorn, at the Schertz Public Library for sharing information about their StoryWalk. Melissa answered all of Allison’s questions and provided an excellent model to work off.
This year for Banned Books Week, the Wichita Falls Public Library is featuring challenged books through a provocative display. Upon entering the front doors, customers are greeted by an eye-catching display window that suggests books on fire. The books represented have been wrapped in white paper with a short statement printed on the front about why the title was challenged. This display has sparked many conversations among visitors and staff alike regarding the need for protection of our Freedom to Read.
San Marcos Public Library a few activities going on for Banned Books Week. There is a photo contest, with a mugshot photo station set up, where patrons can take picture with their favorite challenged/banned book and upload it to social media for a chance to win a prize. An adult reading program, Passport to Reading, has different reading challenges each month. The challenge for this month is to read a book that has been banned or challenged. Challenged books are on display to assist patrons in selecting their book for September.
Setup for Banned Books Photo ContestDisplay for Banned Books WeekExample for the Banned Books Photo Contest featuring Suzanne
