“Children are made readers on the laps of their parents” – Emilie Buchwald

1000 Books Before Kindergarten is a national early literacy program for parents and caregivers to take part in with their young children. The goal is to read 1000 books aloud to your child before they start kindergarten, helping them gain the confidence to become strong readers and successful in school and life.

Is it possible to read 1000 books? Yes it is! Reading 3 books a day for 1 year = 1095 books, reading 1 book a day for 3 years = 1095 books — and repeat reads do count towards the total! Clark Memorial Library’s goal is to develop a program that supports young families by providing incentives and materials to help reach their reading goals — including special 1000 Books Before Kindergarten book-bags containing a curated selection of award-winning children’s books.

Stop by the Library starting January 31st and sign up to get started! You will receive an Activity Journal to keep track of your progress and a pamphlet that provides more information about the program and the benefits of early literacy. When you reach a reading milestone, drop in again to have your journal marked and get a special sticker!

Thank you to all of our patrons who took part in Snowman Palooza and made it such a resounding success! We received dozens of wonderful snowmen to decorate the Library with, and dozens more went home with the participants – there were around a hundred snowmen in all! If you left a snowman with the library, see if you can find it in the banner above (along with a sneaky prehistoric photo-bomber)!

With winter here in full force and more cold weather ahead, we’ve decided to fill our displays with books set during the summer months, at the beach, and in the tropics to help fight off the chill. Stop in and pick up an “out of season” summer read today!

We will be pausing our children’s programming January 6 – January 24 to give the staff time to prepare for our spring activities and programs.

The Library will continue to provide all other services during this period.
Keep an eye on the event calendar!

Help us welcome winter by making snowmen to decorate the Library!
The Children’s Room will have a snowman crafting area
set up in the Makerspace during library hours from
Wednesday, December 13, to Saturday, January 6.
Make one for the Library and one to take home! All ages welcome.

During December and January, the Library Community Room will be displaying library memorabilia and historical items, with the Friends of the Library Bicentennial Quilt, created in 1976, taking center stage. Featuring local landmarks and nature imagery along with a variety of geometric patterns, the quilt is a real piece of Bethany history. And while you’re visiting, check out the historic WPA mural displayed across from the main desk upstairs as well!

With the end of 2023 on the horizon, we’re looking back to see which books were the most popular among our patrons! Check LION Consortium’s top circulation lists for books and large print below to see what your fellow patrons were reading this year, and be sure to check Hoopla, Libby, and Palace for ebook and audiobook copies – Palace even has a “LION’s Most Popular Books of 2023” lane made specifically for our patrons!

Season’s “readings” to all of our patrons! We’ve filled our displays with chilly weather books for the month of December. Stop by to pick up a few icy winter tales, but be sure to balance them out with plenty of stories about staying warm in the snow!