Could the month of May be busier than December?
With a flurry of end-of-school-year activities and attempting to plan for long summer days, it sure seems possible. Ask a librarian and the answer is a definitive yes. While we were busy preparing for our inaugural HPL Con earlier this month, we were also juggling school visits, planning our Summer Reading Club and booking summer entertainment. No vacation for us - we are ready for the busy summer season at the library!
Starting on June 1, readers of all ages are challenged to track the time they spend reading to earn prizes. Challenge cards for adults can be picked up at the front desks. Completed cards will be entered into our grand prize drawing for a $50 Fuller House or $50 Gone Grazy (Hinsdale-based charcutier!) gift card.
Kids and teens can pick up reading logs downstairs in Youth Services. Just follow the spinning sound of our prize wheel coming out of hibernation! In addition to spinning for prizes, you'll also be helping us give back to our community partners: Hinsdale Humane Society and HCS Family Services.
Join us the afternoon of June 5 to officially kick things off. We'll be outside on the south lawn with games, treats, and signing everyone up for summer reading (rain date is June 6).
A cool library building is a great place to be on those steamy days, but sometimes even we need to get outside. Find us at Burns Field beginning June 14 for Wednesday morning storytime. Pop over to the park for stories, fingerplays and music. (We'll head to the library in the event of rain.)
Bring your own lunch and blanket to Burlington Park for family friendly entertainment when we resume our Lunch on the Lawn series in partnership with Hinsdale Parks & Rec on June 14, July 19, and August 2.
You'll also find us at the Farmers Market on the second Monday of each month with activities and giveaways. Chef Susan Maddox will highlight the fresh food of the summer in a Mediterranean-style cooking class from Memorial Hall's sunny south patio across from the market on Aug. 21.
Splashing around at the Hinsdale Community Pool? We're sending over extra copies of popular books when the bestseller buzz starts to fade and we need to make some space on our shelves. Grab one while you're lounging at the pool and then keep it, put it back or pass it on when you're done.
Alas, those endless summer days do come to an end. We're helping you and your school bound kiddo ease into fall with a Kindergarten Bootcamp on Aug. 7. The fall season doesn't start without football. Take your tailgating up a notch when you learn about the essential tailgating tools at our Kitchen Tech program on Aug. 24.
This monthly column with rotating contributions from HPL staff will be on a summer break until August, but this will be my last time writing on behalf of the library. I am embracing the opportunity to spend more time with my daughters (2 and 5). To share all the library's offerings, events and resources with this community for the last 13 years has been a privilege. Please continue to follow along with our social media channels, look for our bimonthly newsletter in your mailbox and say hi when you see the library's outreach cart at community events. Have a great summer, Hinsdale!
- Molly Castor is the marketing and outreach manager at the Hinsdale Public Library (until June 9).
