I can't believe we are coming to the end of July. I celebrated my birthday this week and that signals the beginning of the end of summer for me. We are also coming to the close of summer reading at the library. Now is the time for everyone to bring in their reading calendars and get in their last grand prize entries. Don't forget that the prize for your children reaching their reading goals for July is a free paperback book, graciously provided by the Friends of Dubuque County Library. And our grand prizes are new color NOOKs! You don't want to miss out on that. The drawing is the first week of August.
Speaking of summer programs, we had a very successful Real Science series last week. Over 100 students participated in programs throughout the county. David Christ, NICC graduate and 2012 NASA scholar, did a great job getting everyone (parents and students) excited about science. You should have seen the kids working together with their parents to put together their flashlight project. The series attracted upper elementary and middle school students which is sometimes a hard audience to bring into the library. The six Real Science kits are now being cataloged and will be ready for check out in a week or so. Soon families will have the opportunity to try hundreds of experiments together at home. There will be a kit at each branch, but just place a hold on the kit you want and we will bring it to you. David will be continuing his education at UW Platteville this fall studying electrical engineering. We wish him all the best!
Looking ahead to fall, the Library is reaching out to ask you what kind of programming you would like us to provide for children and what times are best for you to bring your young ones to library programs. Staff have been distributing a programming survey this past week. But for the first time, we have an online version of the survey that you can complete from home. Just go to the library's website www.dubcolib.lib.ia.us and on the front page there is a link to the survey. In the middle of the page it says, "Click here to take a quick survey that will help DCL plan for children's programming events next year!" That will take you to a short survey asking you about what branch you use, the ages of your children, what times are best for you, and the kinds of programming you would like to attend. The survey is completely confidential and we will use it to help us meet your needs. We hope lots of people respond and we plan to do more surveys on a variety of topics in the future.
I have to end with some Shakespeare. Last weekend, as a birthday present, my daughter took our whole family to the American Players Theater production of "Twelfth Night" in Spring Green, Wisconsin. If you haven't been there yet, you should plan to go. It's only about an hour from Dubuque. The amphitheater is just across the road from Frank Lloyd Wright's Taliesin West. The grounds are lovely and every seat in the house is perfect. The actors are top notch. It is mesmerizing to experience live outdoor theater even though the actors had to dodge a bat and a wasp during the performance. As Malvolio says, "Be not afraid of greatness, some are born great, some achieve greatness and some have greatness thrust upon them." Act II, Scene V
Have a "great" week, Dawn.
No comments:
Post a Comment