Unshelved at GCCL: "Libraries Rock"

This year’s musical themed Summer Reading Program (SRP) “Libraries Rock” started on June 18 and will end on July 25. Even though the program is into the third week, it’s not too late to register and participate in the remaining activities and events.

The SRP is free and open to all ages: babies, children, teens and adults. On Thursday, July 5, “Alice” from the Fort Peck Summer Theatre for Young Audiences will read to the babies and young children. Following story time, there will be a “Queen of Hearts” dance party. This special event will be held at 10 a.m. and is for young children ages 0-6. The play Alice in Wonderland will be at the Fort Peck Summer Theatre from Thursday, July 12, through Sunday, July 15.

Another upcoming program for kids will be “Jack and Kitty” at the Glasgow library on Thursday, July 12, for a music concert. There are many more educational activities to come in the next few weeks, so stay tuned.

Another program that the library hosts is a monthly adult book club. Often times I hear other book clubbers say that they would not have otherwise read the books that we select. The library book club has been meeting just over two years and has picked books from several different genres in fiction and nonfiction. Book clubs are a great way to discover new books or become re-affiliated with older books.

The last library book club meeting was held on June 19 to discuss The Radium Girls by Kate Moore. If you are anything like me, you have an ever-growing book list with no end in sight, and The Radium Girls has been on my list for a good year. I was happy to finally read it and am now recommending it whenever I can.

The Radium Girls is a true account of female factory workers who contracted radiation poisoning from painting watch dials with luminous paint. Painting was done by women at three different sites in the United States beginning in 1917 and lasting through the 1920s. These woman painted using a lip-pointing practice to help them get a better point on their brushes. They were also told that the paint was harmless. As you can imagine, their stories all include tragedy, injustice and excruciating pain. One cannot ignore the trials these brave women had to endure and the strength it took for them to stand up against their former employers. If you are interested, there is a copy available for check out at the library.

The next library book club meeting will be held on Tuesday, July 17, at the Sean R. Heavey Art Gallery to discuss a variety of musically-themed books. The library book club meetings are always held the third Tuesday of the month at 1 p.m., generally at the library but occasionally it is moved to another location.

Finally, I’d like to mention the grab bag sales again. There are a lot of donations that come to the library and when we can’t add the donations to our collection they are turned over for future sales. The grab bag sales will continue throughout summer, and look for other special sales throughout the rest of the year. All proceeds go to the Valley County Friends of the Library.