Library starting 2011 with new events

Wednesday, January 5, 2011

GREENCASTLE -- With the New Year in swing, the Putnam County Public Library (PCPL) has a number of new and returning programs set to start up.

In January the library is offering a way for people with library fines to both lower those fines and contribute to a good cause. Until Jan. 31 library patrons can bring in non-perishable food items or paper products to the library. For every item brought in, the library will take $1 off the overdue fines a person has accrued. All the food items that are donated will be used to help restock local food banks. The donations can only be used towards late fees, not charges for lost or damaged material.

"It's a way for people to give back to the community," said Margot Payne, the library's director of community relations. "A lot of times (the food banks) are depleted after the new year."

During the same time frame, people under the age of 18 can eliminate their fines by reading in the library. By checking in with the library, kids can remove $2 from their late fees for every 15 minutes they spend reading.

This week has seen the return of the library's Story Time events. On Tuesdays the library will host Family Time at 7 p.m., which is focused on multi-age content. Thursdays at 10 a.m. will be Toddler Time, 11 a.m. will feature a preschool story hour aimed at children 3 to 7 years old and 4 p.m. will have a school age story hour which is aimed at kids 5 to 10 years old.

On January 11, from 4 to 6 p.m., the PCPL will play host to an event put together by the Greencastle Parks and Recreation Department (GPRD), celebrating 76 years since Amelia Earhart became the first person to fly solo across the Pacific Ocean. The event will include information on Earhart, aircraft and paper airplanes. For more information on this, or to register for the day, contact Troy Scott at 653-3395.

Starting Jan. 12 the library will begin an ongoing event called a Brick Club, hosted together with the GPRD. The Brick Club will meet the second Wednesday of every month from 4 to 6 p.m. It's a chance for young people to play with Legos or other brick toys at the library.

Jan. 18 will see the Winter Reading Program put on by the children's library. The program is similar to the Summer Reading Program. When a family enters the program, they receive a bingo card with activities that can be completed. For each line of the card that is completed, a family earns a prize, such as a gift card to a local business. They will also be entered in a drawing for some prizes, such as a night at the DePauw opera. The program will run until Feb. 18.

January will also see the library's third annual Literary Magazine.

In March and early April, the PCPL will be participating in an event the Vigo County Public Library received a grant for called The Big Read. The Big Read will focus on the works of Edgar Allen Poe and will include discussion groups based around him.

"The Best of Poe: The Tell-Tale Heart, the Raven, the Cask of Amontillado and 30 Others," a collection of Poe's work, will be used for the read.

"We will be doing some programs in Putnam County for residents," Payne said. "People can come in, pick up a book and read. I haven't planned out the activities yet."

"I hope to involve people in the community, high school students, possibly," Payne said. "Last year we had some students from Ivy Tech who participated in discussions, things like that."

There will be more than one activity for the event, which will be announced as the date nears. Payne said that she was considering screening a film adaptation of Poe's work. The grant for the read is from the National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with the Institute of Museum and Library Services and Arts Midwest.

The library will be closed Jan. 17 in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day and Jan. 28 for a staff in-service day, when library employees receive training.

For further information on these activities, contact the library at 653-2744.

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