Happy almost spring, Friends! As I write this – a few weeks before publication – it’s still fairly chilly, but I’m definitely ready for more sunshine and warmer temperatures. Traditionally, spring is a time of renewal and rebirth and we hope that that will be the case for our library – we could use it, after a pretty trying winter (and fall, and summer …). 

We are still waiting, alas, to hear how the city and library buildings will address our aged and ailing HVAC system, which has been responsible for so many of our recent challenges. In the meantime, our staff is doing what we can to make the Falls of Schuylkill Library an active and vibrant space. We are excited to try out a few new programs and hope that you will join us for some of them. For families, we will be hosting a Hebrew storytime series, led by the same instructor who had done a very successful Spanish storytime series for us for a few years running. We’ll also be hosting a Make Your Own Corn Husk doll, as part of the Philadelphia 250 citywide celebration. 

For adults, we recently started an informal monthly papercraft program, for those who like to do activities like collage, scrapbooking, junk journaling, cardmaking, and the like. And, for the bookish among you, we also launched a new, somewhat unconventional book club, called the Avid Reader’s Circle. Rather than feature an “assigned reading” each month, this is a space for book enthusiasts to come together to talk more generally about what they’ve been reading, get recommendations from each other, and commune with other likeminded individuals. And for a little bit of physical renewal, we’ll be hosting a month-long gentle yoga class on Saturdays, starting at the end of the month. 

Spring is also the traditional time for the entire city to come together and read the same title, via the One Book One Philadelphia program. This year’s selection of Our Missing Hearts by Celeste Ng was recently announced, along with the companion titles for teens and children – Somewhere Between Bitter and Sweet by Laeken Zea Kemp and How to Grow a Family Tree by Bea Birdsong, respectively. Our regular Monday night book club will be discussing Our Missing Hearts on Monday, May 18 and we hope to add some other related programming – so do keep an eye out for it. 

We hope to see you in our library soon, whether it is for one of these programs, to pick up your holds, browse the new book shelves, or for some other reason. And when you do, be sure to stop by the reference desk and say hello!