March 28, 2024

Library News

The following are events at the Gibson Memorial Library, 200 W. Howard St., Creston. Regular library hours are Monday and Wednesday 10 a.m. – 8 p.m.; Tuesday, Thursday and Friday 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.; and Saturday 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. The library is closed on Sunday. Check us out on Facebook.

Story time is back

Story time resumes 10 a.m. Wednesday and will be held the first and third Wednesday of the month. All children not yet in school are welcome to come and enjoy stories, finger plays and songs. For more information, please call the library at 641-782-2277.

Re-reader’s race

We have several participants who have read 10 of the titles from the 44 titles listed in the re-reader’s race, but it’s not too late to join the fun. The program is open to teens and adults. Registration is located upstairs, and the program ends Jan. 8. There is still plenty of time to start the race.

Teen read week

Gibson Memorial Library will celebrate Teen Read Week, Oct. 18 – 24. Teen Read Week is an event aimed at encouraging teens around the area to read for the fun of it. Teen Read Week is a national adolescent literacy initiative created by the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) a division of the American Library Association. It is held annually during the third week of October. Thousands of libraries, schools and bookstores across the country will also celebrate with events centered on this year’s theme, “Get Away at your Library.” During the month of October, students, grades six through 12 will receive a bookmark kit when they check out a book at the library. Teens can also participate by picking up a bingo grid to fill out and return for a grab bag prize.

Teen read week is a time to celebrate reading for fun while encouraging teens to take advantage of reading in all its forms – books, magazines, e-books, audiobooks and more. It is also a great opportunity to encourage teens to become regular library users.

Strong reading skills are critical because they translate into better performance at school and better preparedness for careers. This is why it is important to take advantage of teen read week and show teens that reading is a fun and relaxing activity they can do for free.

Parents and guardians of teens are also encouraged to celebrate teen read week at home by using any or all of these ideas: set time each day for the family to read; give books or magazine subscriptions to your teen as a gift or reward; share your favorite book with your teen; go online with your teen to learn about new books or authors by visiting www.ala.org/yalsa/reads/4teens, or use YALSA's free teen book finder app; build an in-home library (thrift stores and yard sales offer inexpensive ways to do that); listen to audiobooks on trips; create a cozy reading corner somewhere in your home; use meal time to talk about books that you're reading; be role models by making time to read, too; incorporate reading into teen chores, such as reading a recipe when cooking, reading instructions for how-to projects, reading sales fliers to develop a shopping list and more.

DNR program

The Gibson Memorial Library will present “Iowa Wildlife: A Fall DNR Program” from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 14 at the library. Hannah Kendrick from the DNR will have exhibits and information for all. She encourages questions from hunting to migration and exhibits will also be on display. The program is free and no preregistration is required.