@ Your Library
As August begins to wind down, and school looms it is very important to read every day (if you haven’t all summer). It doesn’t have to be very long, but 15 minutes every day should be part of keeping everyone’s brain healthy. So set a timer, and have everyone in the household sit down with a book, magazine or audiobook and spend time after dinner (or before breakfast, or at lunch) reading together. You can also find a book to read aloud together. Take turns reading. It doesn’t matter what you read, how you read, just READ!
Library patrons have access to free digital books and audiobooks through two apps. Download Libby and Hoopla to access lots of digital content. The two apps work a little differently so use both to your advantage. Libby has bestsellers and popular items, but you need to request the items and wait for your turn to read them. Hoopla has over a million items, but not always the most popular titles. Everything on Hoopla is always available, however you are limited to six items a month as the library pays for borrowed items. Let us know if you have issues figuring either app out and we will try to help.
Kids in particular should read physical books (although I’m all for cutting down on stuff to pack on vacation, so read digitally while on vacation if you want). There is something about the brain that makes better reading connections, particularly in terms of comprehension, with a physical book that can be touched and handled. The brain is amazing and confusing and we are still learning so much about the human brain. For instance listening to an audiobook (or someone read to you) and your brain thinks you are reading, but read subtitles on a movie and your brain knows you are watching a movie and not reading. We can teach our brain to read digital material and comprehend it, but it takes work and as kids are learning to read there is no need to make it harder than it sometimes already is.
Check out picture books and read one a day. Your brain will thank you. Read local author Mary Casanova. Some Cat or Some Dog, Utterly Otterly Day or Utterly Otterly Night are all delightful stories of animals doing fun and silly things. I particularly like The Day Dirk Yeller Came to Town. Her series of chapter books about the dogs of Ranier solving mysteries “Dogwatch” would be six very fun books to read aloud.
Please, please, please do not dump non-library books into the outside drop. Please drop donations off at the library during open hours. The drop fills up and then patrons trying to return books are unable to get books into the drop that belong there. We need to limit donations to a bag a week and no textbooks or manuals. Thank you for helping us be able to keep up with donations.