Ainsworth Public Library

The Ainsworth Public Library joins libraries in schools, campuses and communities nationwide in celebrating National Library Week with the theme of “Communities Matter @ your library”.  This week is a time to highlight how the needs of our community matter to one of our most important institutions:  our Library.

Our country is made up of individual communities, each with its own needs that can be as unique as the communities themselves.  In the middle on all of these challenges, often in the very heart of our community, is a solution, a trusted institution that makes it its business to understand our needs:  the Library

The library helps foster all types of communities.  We see this in our library firsthand, in ways big and small.  New moms connect at story time, small business owners convene to share opportunities, teens meet up to collaborate on projects and to hang out together after school. We help students get their GED and also with their college education on-line. Libraries today are more than repositories for books and other resources.  Often the hearts of their communities, libraries are deeply committed to the places where their patrons live, work and study.  Libraries are trusted places where everyone in the community can gather to reconnect and reengage with each other to enrich and shape the community and address local issues.  Service to the community has always been the focus of the library.  While this aspect has never changed, libraries have grown and evolved in how they provide for the needs of every member of their community.  Whether through offering e-books and technology classes, materials for English-language learners, programs for job seekers or those to support early literacy, librarians listen to the community they serve, and they respond.  While service to the community has always been the focus of the library, libraries have grown and evolved in how they provide for the needs of every member of their community.

 The Ainsworth Public Library is celebrating National Library Week by holding a special story hour on April 16^th from 4-5 p.m. for the preschool children to students in the second grade.  An early literacy workshop will be held on April 18^th from 6:30-8 p.m. for parents, grandparents, childcare, foster care, and preschool teachers.  This program called Fun with Letters and Words is being sponsored by the UNL Extension Holt Boyd office.

It will introduce the five simple early literacy practices to create an environment that supports early literacy skills and how the library and partners can promote early literacy in the community.  Please call the library at 402-387-2032 to register.  RSVP is needed by April 16^th.  Everyone visiting the library this week may sign up for special prizes to be given away in a drawing on the 20^th. 

 If you haven’t visited the library for a long time, you are missing out.  Come discover all there is to see and do!  You will find more than just books at your library.

On April 12^th, readers across the nation will observe D.E.A.R. Day. D.E.A.R. stands for “Drop Everything and Read”.  This is a national day that has developed into a month-long celebration of reading designed to remind folks of all ages to make reading a priority activity in their lives.  Because, what’s more fun(damental) than reading.  D.E.A.R. programs have been held nationwide on April 12^th in honor of Beverly Cleary’s birthday, since she first wrote about D.E.A.R. in Ramona Quimby, Age 8 (pages 40-41).  As D.E.A.R. has grown in popularity and scope, the program has expanded to span the entire month on April…offering classrooms and communities additional time to celebrate!

The Ainsworth Public Library encourage you to “Drop Everything and Read” every day throughout the year.  The goal of the program is to prompt people to make reading a regular part of their routine…whether they’re reading solo or together with their classmates, parents, or friends.  So, go ahead and join the millions of families, schools, and communities who have participated throughout the years and pledge to “drop” what you’re doing in order to read a good book.

Please visit your library with your family on Friday, April 12^th, and spend time reading with your special ones.  The Ainsworth Library staff will be dropping what they are doing on that day from 4-5 p.m. to read to the children in front of the fireplace as they come in to the library.  Come join us!

Winner of “Guess how many goldfish”
Caleb Kinkaid

Read Across America Day was celebrated on March 1st at the Ainsworth Library with a Dr. Seuss Fun-Hour.  We had 19 in attendance for the crazy fun of Dr. Seuss.  Lots of laughter, Seuss hats, and smiles by all!   Laurie the librarian read “Horton Hatches the Egg” and then the children all made Horton (elephant) ears to wear.  The children rhymed words just like Dr. Seuss does in his books and then enjoyed a poem by Seuss titled “Too Many Daves”.  In honor of Dr. Seuss’s “One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish”  the children all were able to guess how many “gold fish” were in the bowl.  There was a total of 414 fish in the bowl.  Caleb Kinkaid had the closest guess with 238 and the lucky winner of the bowl full of fish to take home.   The group then enjoyed the book title “The Sneetches” while enjoying a gold fish snack.