Happy September, everyone! Welcome back to our monthly library column. The library board meets on the second Wednesday of each month at 5PM in the lower level of the library. The meetings are open to the public and all are welcome to attend. If you’re unable to make it to the meeting you can find all the latest news and updates that I share with the library board each month here.

With another school year already underway, we also have the return of several popular programs. Our Parent & Child Play and Learn, in collaboration with River Source Family Center, is back on Monday mornings this Fall. Come to the lower lever of the library on September 26th, October 10th and 24th, November 14th, and December 12th from 10AM-11:15AM for interactive play, crafts, storytime, and parent and child connections. Girls Who Code Clubs are also back following our summer break, with the first meeting on September 28th. Registration is required; please contact library staff for all the details. Finally, Coffee Clutch is again on Friday mornings; make sure to grab a hot drink and a treat when you stop by the library at the end of the week!

The library book club is collaborating with the Family Support Center and the libraries in Chippewa Falls, Cadott, and Bloomer to bring you an advocate-led book discussion for Domestic Violence Awareness Month (DVAM). The book we are reading is Grown, by Tiffany D. Jackson, and we will host a discussion on October 6, at 2PM here at the library. Other programs coming up include Teen Writer’s Guild on the 22nd, and Creative Writer’s Guild on the 27th. Storytime is September 15th and 29th.

Please join the Stanley Area Historical Society to celebrate the life of Cheryl Kern-Simirenko on Saturday, September 24, 2022 beginning at 1PM. Family, relatives and friends are welcome to participate in celebrating the accomplishments and service of Cheryl in her lifetime and more specifically since her return to her hometown in 2013. The Historical Society Museum is located at 228 Helgerson Street and will be open beginning at 12PM. Special thanks to the SAHS for hosting this event to remember and celebrate Cheryl.

Our September library fact is taken from the statistics of this year’s summer program, Oceans of Possibilities. This summer, Stanley readers logged 30,895 minutes of reading! That’s almost 515 hours, or 21 days of constant reading! We also had 57 new registrations for the summer program this year. Our readers earned 525 badges, completed 338 activities, and attended 30 digital and in-person programs. Thank you to everyone who participated in Oceans of Possibilities and we look forward to next summer!

The library is open for you Monday through Friday from 10AM6PM. Come in any time to use the computers, find a book or movie, borrow a Wi-Fi hotspot or iPad, or use our printer to fax, scan, and copy. We are also offering curbside pick-up to those who wish to use that option and home delivery for the elderly and home-bound. Take care and see you soon!