By Miles Alvord
Looking at the event schedule for the Bolton Public Library, one cannot help from feeling secondhand exhaustion. “This summer has started off the busiest,” says library director Kelly Collins. Yet the local library seems quite up to task as it chugs on with its impressive array of happenings, picking up a new Summer Reading Program along the way.
The Summer Reading Program, which started July 1, kicked off with a screening of recent family blockbuster The Lego Movie, is open to all age groups. Shana Morales and Karen Reed head up the children and teen programs, respectively, where participants can earn raffle tickets for prize drawings based on their individual reading performance. Adults should feel welcome, too. Their own designated prize drawing offers up the chance to win a Kindle Fire at the end of the summer.
For those looking for something a bit more old-school, the annual Cheesy Movie Festival should fit the bill. Curated for the second time by staff member Tim Joyner, the festival boasts “the best selection of cheesy movies in the region.” Due to its tendency to over-exhibit hilariously awful special effects, most of this year’s selection will stay within the realm of sci-fi classics. Be on the lookout for fan-favorites, like the August 12 screening of Teenagers from Outer Space or The Giant Behemoth on July 29. Audience members are even encouraged to come in costume. The festival has even attracted its fair share of local celebrities. Police Chief Vincent. C. Alfano “spreads the gospel of the cheese wherever he goes,” says Collins.
Perhaps intended, the sci-fi slant of this year’s festival fits into the larger theme for the library. Following the national campaign of “Fizz, Boom, Read,” Morales and Reed have scheduled many exciting events for the younger, science-inclined crowd during the upcoming summer months.
Two special programs, sponsored by the Friends of the Bolton Public Library, are on the event calendar. On July 11 will be Bugology — intended for ages six and up — that promises an in-depth look into the lives of our oft-forgotten and much-maligned crawling cousins. On July 25, the program Science Isn’t Always Pretty is described as “50 minutes of audacious show & tell” for the experimenting sort — so long as they are past age five. Both events require registration and space is limited.
The older kids have many options to choose from as well. For the Japanophile in all of us, the Manga Drawing Clinic on July 23 should give amateur artists the chance to hone their skills. If you are worried about the imminent zombie apocalypse, come back a day later to make your own survival kits and attend Zombie Stuff on July 24. Rounding out July is the Kool-Aid Beauty Supplies event on the July 31, and the special program, Hula Hoop Girl, on August 6. Only the manga and hula hoop events require registration.
All of these events, it should be noted, are in addition to the ongoing Babies, Books, and Buddies and Storytime and Craft programs offered throughout the summer, and in the case of the former, year-round. For those looking to spend a little time out of the house with the kids, there seems to be an event planned for almost every day the library is open. “There seems to be an interest and desire to do the messy stuff,” Morales says, explaining that lunchtimes are often the busiest, perhaps due to the bi-weekly Crafternoons that have been a big hit thus far.
The staff seems to be genuinely pleased from the overwhelming response given by their local community. With overall circulation trending upwards, an exceptionally notable positive change is in the number of digital checkouts, where lending has almost doubled, from 2,400 to 4,085 readers, in the course of a single year. The library seems on course for another successful year, promising an extension of several popular programs into the fall and more exciting news in the near future.
For more information about the events and programs described here, including dates and special restrictions, please visit www.boltonpubliclibrary.org or e-mail children’s services at [email protected], teen services at [email protected], or director Kelly Collins at [email protected].