Library to host reading week programming for students during time off

Strathmore Municipal Library has scheduled events for reading week, including an interactive story time for school-age children on Feb. 17 and a carnival-style program for teens on Feb. 18.

Reading week will bring several days off for students, and the Strathmore Municipal Library has arranged a series of programs to keep the community engaged during that break. Assistant director Laura Henderson said many of the events developed naturally rather than as part of a formal plan. The offerings are aimed at different age groups across the week, and they build on recent increases in teen participation as well as activities from Family Literacy Day. The library plans to incorporate community-created illustrations into a finished children's book to be added to its collection. Planned events: - Feb. 17: An interactive story time geared to younger school-age children, scheduled during daytime hours when those children do not usually visit the library. - Feb. 18: A small carnival-style program for teens featuring games and snacks, with activities that highlight regular library offerings; Henderson noted a recent Dungeons and Dragons session drew about 30 teens. - End of the week: "Draw our Story," a drop-in session inviting community members to illustrate pages of a children’s picture book that was drafted during Family Literacy Day; Henderson said the completed illustrations are intended to be assembled and published for the library. - Programming development: Henderson described the schedule as arising organically rather than from an effort to cover every age group specifically. Summary: The scheduled programs provide daytime activities for children and teens during the school break and aim to raise awareness of the library's regular offerings. Henderson said the community illustrations collected at the end-of-week session are intended to be used to create a finished children's book that could be published and made available in the library. The events are planned for specific days during reading week, and further details were presented by library staff.