Thursday, July 27, 2006

The End is Near




Summer isn't officially over until Saturday, September 23. In the library, however, summer ended this week. Reading contracts were due for kids and teens on Monday, the party in the park was today (Wednesday) and the young adult end of summer party is Thursday. Adult reading logs need to be turned in by this Friday. It is a time of transition as we get ready for fall and school schedules. There is still time to read those summer novels, and to check out some books on CD to take along for that last minute vacation. Here are some pictures from the party in the park. Don't forget to look at the rest of the summers' pictures by clicking on the link at the right.

Wednesday, July 26, 2006

X-Box Gaming Tournament


We had our first gaming tournament last Saturday. There were 18 participants between the ages of 6 and 13 and 2 adults running the event. The kids had a great time and are asking for more tournaments. I had a great time too and am so thankful that Ryan (the other adult) was there to help me get the equipment setup, show me how to run a tournament and provide general crowd control. From 10:30 until noon we had open gaming where the kids could play Project Gotham Racing 2, Carve, MechAssault, and Tony Hawk Underground Skateboarding. We took a short lunch break and ran tournament play in the afternoon. We discovered during the tournament play that the favorite games were MechAssault and Tony Hawk Skateboarding. At future gaming events we may focus on fewer games, but have the same number of stations so that more kids can play the same games. We projected three of the games on the wall had a very nice large screen television for a fourth game and a smaller television for the fifth game. Tournament winners were awarded prizes and we had give-away prizes for all participants. A great big thank you to all of our sponsors and to Ryan for all of his help. Movie Gallery provided our games for the day which included a copy of the X-box game Amped, gift cards and other prizes; Pizza Hut provided pizzas for lunch, Family Video provided an extra X-box and controllers plus several free rental coupons; Rentway provided a beautiful large screen television; andYouthFriends/Greenbush provided prizes.

Tuesday, July 18, 2006

Turtles and Frogs and Snakes, Oh My!



Last Tuesday the Oldham family of Oswego came to the library and talked about common reptiles in Kansas. They brought several live snakes and turtles and even a couple of tree frogs. Their fascinating hobby has taken them all over the state doing population surveys of various reptiles. Even those who professed to be scared of snakes were leaning forward to take a look at these interesting creatures.

Last Storytime of the Summer

There is just one more storytime this summer. If you've meant to come and haven't made it, come tomorrow for Dinorella: A Prehistoric Fairy Tale by Pamela Duncan Edwards. We will begin again for the fall session on Wednesday, August 30 at 10am and 1pm.

Storyteller, Jim Schmitz



Jim Schmitz, a local teacher and county 4-H agent brought his storytelling stick to the library on Monday and allowed the children to choose which stories they would like to hear by choosing one of the carvings he had created on his walking stick. He began by reciting "The Road Not Taken" by Robert Frost.

Friday, July 14, 2006

X-box Gaming Tournament

Parsons Public Library is having it's first gaming tournament here at the library on Saturday, July 22 from 10: 30 - 3:30. It is open to the first 20 people who pre-register and you must be between the ages of 7 and 16. There will be a $5 registration fee at the door. Lunch will be provided. In the morning there will be open gaming and in the afternoon we plan to have 3 or 4 mini tournaments. Thanks to Ryan for all of his work in getting this set-up and in finding our sponsors. Thanks to our sponsors which include Movie Gallery, Pizza Hut, YouthFriends and RentWay. We are still needing 2 more X-Box machines and at least 12 more controllers. So if you want to be included in the first ever library gaming tournament or have equipment we can borrow for the day please call the library or email/IM me.

Monday, July 10, 2006

First Week of July




The library was closed on the 4th for Independence Day, but things were back to normal on the 5th...and normal in the summertime means busy! On Wednesday magician Marty Ludlam performed. The adults had a Scrabble game on Thursday and Miss Vi taught an origami class to children on Friday. You can find more fun pictures of library events by clicking on Our Library Pictures on the right side of this page.