June 2024 Newsletter: Summer Fun Has Just Begun!

June Newsletter: Summer Fun Has Just Begun!

Check out what’s going on at the library in this month’s newsletter.

Featured: Help Shape the Future of the Library!

The library has begun our Strategic Planning Process! The new Strategic Plan will help guide our library for the next few years. It will tell us what our community thinks is most important, and give us ideas for how best to serve you.

We are hosting five community conversations to learn more about people's aspirations for the community. Each conversation is expected to take 90 minutes to two hours. Participants will receive a Tasty Twist coupon as a thank you and be entered into a random drawing to win a $25 gift card. Space is limited and registration is required to attend one of these conversations. Please register for one of the sessions below:

This month, we're also reaching out for community feedback through a survey (available online or via paper). We want to hear from everyone: active library users, AND people who don’t currently use the library, people who live in East Lansing, AND people who live elsewhere but still use our services. You don’t need to be an expert, we just want to hear your thoughts as someone who cares about our community. Everyone who completes the survey will earn a small sweet treat and be entered into a raffle drawing! Take the survey online here.

Thank you for your help in shaping the future of East Lansing Public Library! Keep an eye on our website to learn more and see updates on this process.!

Featured: June Book Lists

Check out some of the curated book lists available this June:

Featured: Summer Reading Program

Join us for the summer reading program here at the East Lansing Public Library! This year's theme is "Adventure Begins at Your Library!"

Throughout the summer, kids and teens can track their reading online or via paper to earn cool prizes! Adults can also participate in a top-secret online-only version. Each participant will earn a completion prize, and also be entered into grand prize drawings. The more you read, the more chances you get to win the grand prize! Tracking is open June 3 - August 17. Learn more and sign up here.

We also have tons of great events this summer for kids, teens, and adults! These are always free of cost and open to the public. Keep an eye on our events page for all the upcoming events.

Featured: Upcoming Programs

Library programs are free and open to the public; you don’t even need a library card! Unless otherwise noted, no registration is required.

Stories in the Garden (kids): Wednesday, June 12, 10-11:30am
- Meet us at the Michigan 4-H Children’s Garden! Explore the gardens and stop to listen to a picture book as you come across a volunteer reader!
Big Bubbles Day (kids): Friday, June 14, 11:30am-1:30pm
- Stop in to play with our giant bubble wands!
#CraftCrush Wednesday (teens): Wednesdays, June 12 & 26, 2-4pm
- June 12: We’ll create origami boxes for the Soul Box Project. These boxes will be on display later this month as part of a community art and awareness exhibit!
- June 26: We’ll explore macramé!
Edible Wild Plants Workshop with Dr. Peter Carrington (adults): Saturday, June 15, 10-11:30am
- Many varieties of wild plants make their home in mid-Michigan, some of which are safe and nutritious to eat while others pose a toxic risk to people or pets. This presentation will teach us the basics about some of these plants and how we might identify them. After the presentation portion, interested attendees may join Peter for an exploration around the Library grounds to learn about some of the wild plants growing there.
Magician Cameron Zvara (kids): Monday, June 17, 2-2:45pm
- Enjoy magic, jokes, and fun!
Pride Month Film Screening - Pariah (adults): Monday, June 17, 6-8pm
- The revelatory and assured feature debut by Dee Rees is a coming-of-age tale of a queer Black woman navigating the expression of her gender and sexual identities, built around a beautifully layered performance from Adepero Oduye.
Page to Stage (adults): Tuesday, June 18, 1-2pm
- Read the play “Predictor” and come discuss it at the library before it opens live at the Williamston Theatre!
Pride Month Film Screening - But I’m a Cheerleader (adults): Tuesday, June 18, 6-8pm
- The film follows teenager Megan, whose suburban existence filled with friends, cheerleading, and all-American fun is upended when her straight-laced parents suspect she may be a lesbian. In a panic, they send her to True Directions, a rehabilitation camp run by strict Mary, to mount an intervention led by counselor Mike. Megan dutifully follows the program until she develops feelings for another camper in this timeless, satirical romantic comedy about self-acceptance and love.
Celebrate YOU! A Teen Pride Extravaganza (teens): Friday, June 21, 2-4pm
- Strike a pose in our photo booth, showcase your unique style, play a round of Pride Bingo, and enjoy delicious snacks – and that's just the beginning!
Soul Box Project Opening Night (all ages): Tuesday, June 25, 6-8pm
- Join us for the opening of the Soul Box Project exhibit, which will be available to view in the library from June 25th until June 29th. Each origami box represents a life lost to gun violence. This opening night will feature speakers talking about gun violence. Light refreshments provided.
How Dogs Talk with Buddy's PALS and Friends (kids): Saturday, June 29, 11am-12pm
- Join us in talking with our friends from Buddy's PALS and other trainer/dog teams and ELPD's K9 unit to learn about how dogs communicate with their trainers - and how trainers teach dogs to do their jobs! We'll start with a Question & Answer session - kids can write out their dog questions on cards and our Children's Librarian Gillian will share them with our panelists. After we learn about dogs we can meet them!

Reminder: Changes to Our Collection

Just a reminder that we have officially implemented automatic item renewal! This means that if you have a book, DVD, or other item checked out, it will automatically renew when the due date approaches as long as there are no holds on the item. We also removed the two-renewal limit for standard library materials.

Once a hold is placed on an item, it will need to be returned or the item will be treated as overdue as reflected in our Circulation Policy. Please note that items in our express collection, tools, electronic devices and other Library of Things items will still have renewal limits due to high demand and regular maintenance needs.

In addition to automatic and unlimited renewal, we have also lowered the individual check-out limit on Hoopla from 15 items per month to 10. Our library reserves a certain number of titles for use by our members, and there’s a limit to how many items can collectively be checked out per day. ELPL is proud to be home to many voracious readers, and often, we hit our collective cap quite early in the day. That means that patrons have to race to be the first to check out books they want in the morning, or else wait for the cap to reset at midnight each night. This change will ensure that we don’t hit that collective cap so early in the day, and allow everyone a fair shot to browse the books they want, anytime. We appreciate your flexibility and understanding as we balance the numbers so everyone gets a chance to read good books on demand.

ELPL in the News:

Up and Coming Dates:

The library will be closed Wednesday, June 19, in honor of Juneteenth.

Catch ELPL Next Month:

Be on the lookout for more excitement in July! ELPL will be sharing featured reading lists, book displays, and programs throughout the month. Some of the library programs will include:

Bubbleman Ron
BookWyrm Gaming Convention
Shark Day!
“Meet the MSU Herbarium”
“Bricks and Brews” Adult LEGO Night
And more!

For more information, visit the library’s website or follow ELPL on social media!