You’ll find much more than bookmarks, library cards, and well-loved page edges tucked between the covers of your favorite titles at your local library. You’ll find the friendly faces of invaluable librarians or assistants as they greet you from behind the front desk, eager to help guide you on your literary journey. The packed shelves and book displays that fill these spaces will offer every genre you can think of, and though you may just be searching for your next read, the library provides bountiful other amenities.
The New Buffalo Township Library offers Crafts To Go, in-person Story Time, virtual story time, and multiple reading programs for youth and teens. On Tuesday evenings starting in March, the Friends of the Library will host presentations in the Pokagon Room, from singalongs to historical figures from our area. There is also a Lego Club offered on Saturday mornings, and ‘Stitches, Needles, Threads, & More’, available on Wednesdays from 9am-3pm.
New titles at the Coloma Public Library
Travel the world from your couch, as the Three Oaks Township Public Library makes exploration easy with Virtual Vacations. Visit museums across the globe, such as Paris, Berlin, and Amsterdam, by navigating the online exhibits, and tour famous aquariums and zoos alike. ‘Road Trip From Home’ to the volcanoes in Hawaii, Bryce Canyon National Park in Utah, and more, with just one click. The Three Oaks Township Public Library also offers in-person story time on Tuesdays at 10:30am and 4pm.
Thursday evenings, log on with the Bridgman Public Library for their virtual Yoga via zoom, for a small participation fee that helps support the library. Mondays and every third Tuesday, join fellow crafters for the Knit ‘N Yarn circle, where community members gather to crochet or knit, and each year donates hundreds of items to local charities. Take & Make Craft Kits are also a popular feature of the Bridgman library, and the Little Explorers sensory play sessions are offered every two weeks for children ages two to five.
If you live in the Coloma area, the Coloma Public Library can provide Grab N Go Craft Kits for preschool and school-aged children, and has blocked out Study Group time on Wednesdays at 4pm for 6th – 12th grade students who are in need of a quiet place to do homework. Virtually, the Coloma Public Library is participating in the MiLibraryQuest activity for teens, titled Winter Quest 2022, which sets up a mystery to be solved by gathering clues from library websites across the state; there are 99 other libraries participating in Michigan. This activity runs from February 1st – March 15th, so start investigating!
With five different locations, the Cass District Library has an extensive calendar of events on their website, listing each activity offered and the specific branch that will be hosting it. The Main Branch is located on M62 in Edwardsburg, but the others are not more than a few miles away. STEAM Challenges, story time, and Take & Make crafts are just a fraction of what this network of libraries gives back to the community.
Black History Month Celebrations with Hoopla digital
The Van Buren District Library has seven branches in the area, such as Bangor, Gobles, and Covert, and though all in-person activities have been canceled for the month of February, community members with a library card can access their catalog through the online eLibrary. With digital books from OverDrive and Hoopla, a new story is never out of reach. The South Haven Memorial Library is currently closed for renovations, but eBooks and audiobooks through Libby are available to check out digitally. They are also starting curbside service beginning Monday, February 21st.
Dungeons & Dragons Club, Tween & Teen Green Thumbs, Junior Garden Club, and Chess Club are just a few of the many activities offered at the Niles District Library, with a complete, overflowing calendar on their website. If you’d rather stay home and create, there are Take & Make Craft Kits, and Take Home Spice World Cooking Kits available for pick-up. The cooking kits include spices and a recipe, which will help your child discover different cultures and food history as a hands-on task. The virtual programming offered by the library can be found on their YouTube channel, and features videos on STEM stars, Cooking To Go, and clips from their historical Summer Lecture series.
In Berrien, Cass, and Van Buren Counties, there are thirty-two public libraries, each with its own staff, curators, and creators that bring literacy, culture, and knowledge that is available to everyone. Though the pandemic has halted many in-person activities, education cannot be stopped. There is an abundance of virtual programs and events that you can access from the comfort of your home, and these are only just a few of our libraries and their offerings. Get informed, get a library card, and get reading! Please check the mask policy of your library before attending in-person events.
By Jocelyne Tuszynski, MOTM contributor
