Summer Fun at Your Library!

Russell County Public Library has planned a fun, educational summer for all ages.

Come and see performers who educate and entertain:

• Visit Star Lab and learn about the stars.
• Be amazed by the magic of Matt Fore.
• Learn all about the animals Darin Handy, a wildlife educator and rehabber, brings to show everyone from All Are God's Creatures Sanctuary.
• Don’t miss ScienceTellers' The Aliens: Pursued by a crazy space scientist, two curious kids must risk everything to rescue the aliens and get them back to their spaceship — before it's too late!
• Enjoy old mountain stories with Old Jonah.

When children come to the library this summer, they will have the opportunity to join in with planned activities for their age group.

Teens! We want you to continue to enjoy your library. We'll provide the supplies and snacks. You bring a friend.

Adults! Learning isn't just for children. Experience your library and continue a pattern of lifelong learning.

We want everyone to contribute to the success of children. By modeling a lifelong desire to learn, teens and adults can encourage children to have an enthusiastic attitude towards reading and gaining knowledge and critical thinking skills.

So, on those hot summer days, come to the library to experience a cool, fun-filled activity that you can share with your friends.

Check out the RCPL website for program dates and times or stop by the library for a calendar of fun summer activities.

Contributed by Jamie Rexrode

Success and Summer Reading

Photo by Wendee on Reshot

When my children were in school, I was guilty of thinking, “My children have worked so hard over this school year, they need a break.” We planned outings for the summer, played outside, went to the pool, and had a lot of fun. Those were all good things which brought our family together through shared experiences and there was probably some learning along the way. But our focus was fun.

Looking back on our idyllic summers, I have a twinge of regret. You see, learning is something successful people do year round. I could have used those summers to encourage reading about the experiences we were having, learning new and interesting things, and exploring fun fiction that my children might not be exposed to throughout the school year.

Summer reading keeps our children from forgetting the information they learned during their school year. Literacy expert Julie Wood says, “It is necessary for children to read on a daily basis in order to maintain literacy skills learned in the previous school year.” Summer reading helps them to grow in knowledge and learn critical thinking skills for the coming year. Daily reading keeps our brain in shape.

 A University of Tennessee, Knoxville, research study shows that “children who don't read over the summer lose at least two months of reading development. This is often referred to as 'the summer slide' or the 'summer learning loss.' On the other hand, students who do read over the summer may gain a month of proficiency in reading. Reading over the summer is not a suggestion to keep kids busy; it's a critical requirement to help students stay on track for their entire educational career and beyond.”

We all want to contribute to the success of our children. Summer reading is one way you as a parent can encourage an enthusiastic attitude toward reading, encourage your children to grow in knowledge and learn critical thinking skills for the coming year.


Contributed by Jamie Rexrode

Citizen Science Day

Welcome to spring! On April 13, 2019, Russell County Public Library, along with many other libraries and organizations around the globe, will come together to advance Alzheimer's research during the Stall Catchers Megathon on Citizen Science Day. The Citizen Science Association describes citizen science as "the involvement of the public in scientific research - whether community-driven research or global investigations." During the Megathon, citizen scientists will help researchers answer a question that would typically take a year - all by playing a game!

In Stall Catchers, players analyze short movies from the brains of mice affected with Alzheimer's to identify and report stalls and clogged blood vessels. All that is required is an Internet connection and a computer, smartphone, or tablet. We will have several devices reserved at the library if you don't have your own. Staff will be on hand to assist and help anyone interested to get started. You can also start practicing now by signing up at the Megathon website!

Snacks and drinks will also be available, so come on out to the Lebanon Library on Saturday, April 13, at 1 PM for all the science fun!


Contributed by Bryan Scheerer

Community Read

What happens when almost everyone in the community reads the same book? Russell County Public Library hopes we will talk to each other: about who we are, how we view ourselves, how we are different, and how we are so very much the same—across Southwest Virginia, the United States, and the world.

We hope that we develop a greater sense of community as we talk about something we have in common—a story—even though we may have very different life experiences.

The NEA Big Read is sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with Arts Midwest. The program is designed to broaden our understanding of our world, our communities, and ourselves through the joy of sharing a good book.

RCPL chose to make our arts connection to music because we felt it would, pardon the pun, resonate with our communities. Our region is home to some of the best music in the world and contains the roots of quintessentially American music.

Burning Bright by Ron Rash is a collection of short stories set in the Southern Appalachian Mountains we call home. You don't need to read it straight through. You can dip in and read a story.

Join us and read a little—or a lot—of Burning Bright. We are sure you will find something to talk about.



Posted by Kelly McBride Delph

Making Time to Read

Many people say they want to read but just don't have time. This blog post wants to give you a few ideas on squeezing reading into your life.

Truthfully, we don't buy that time argument.  If you don't think that you have the time, download an app on your phone that will tell you how much time you spend on social media every day. Start spending some of that time on reading.

In fact, download a book onto your phone and read it there. Did you know you could do that? Books and magazines (and music) can all be downloaded free from your library. Use the Libby app to organize all the downloads from various sources.

And if you say you still really don't have time to stare at a screen...and maybe because you spend your day staring at a screen, we still have a solution. Listen to your book. Download an audiobook and let someone read to you. (It's not that much different than listening to a podcast or radio show.) Being read to is a fond memory from childhood for many of us. In addition to the library, LibriVox is a site claiming the acoustical liberation of books in the public domain; find mostly classics there.

You can also get short bits of literature sent right to your 'inbox.'  Take a look at Serial Box,
WattPad, or Radish. Fond of comics? Try Tapas. And if you are a text junkie, try the mobile app Hooked; marketed to teens and young adults, you can read thrillers in text sized bites.

Readers know that you make time to read. Compulsive readers can't make it through a day without reading; they'll read the cereal box ingredients if nothing else is available.

If reading isn't a compulsion for you, give one of these options a try. Hint: don't start with something you've always meant to read, War & Peace or The Fountainhead. Start with something fun and interesting. Keep it up for just two weeks and you have a new, good habit to begin the new year.

Contributed by Kelly McBride Delph