Library News

We love sharing our holiday spirit with patrons, so December is jam-packed with activities to celebrate the season.  The whole family can enjoy “Character Quest,” our scavenger-hunt-with-a-twist, which runs from December 5 – 22 and features one youth and one adult prize pack winner per week. Try your luck spinning our fabulous prize wheel each time you visit between December 11 and 23. Make your overdue fines disappear by stopping in from December 18 – 23 for fine forgiveness.   Every open Monday this month we’ll have new, small take-and-make craft projects at checkout for both adults and children—ask for yours before they are all snapped up!  If you are in the mood to support the library, our wish tree will be back, and filled with ornaments that you can take in exchange for a donation.  Finally, when your sweet tooth is calling, take a candy cane from one of our three trees.

Bold Bead Necklaces

A good statement necklace can make or break an outfit, and now you’ll have a chance to craft your own.  Register anytime, and then pick up a bag containing wooden beads and all the other items you’ll need starting January 12.  Whether you paint your beads or keep it natural with wood stains, your necklace is sure to let everyone know you are a force to be reckoned with.  Ages 16 and up, registration required.

Winter Reading Program

Grab a book, a blanket, and get comfy in your favorite reading spot because Portland District Library’s Winter Reading Program returns on Saturday, December 23. Get everyone in the family reading; patrons can decide between using PDL’s virtual reading tracker, Beanstack, or picking up a traditional paper tracker at the library. Adult readers will be entered to win a grand prize for each badge they earn and then can collect a prize from the library after earning all five badges. Youth readers, ages 18 and under, will be competing for weekly prizes for each age group: Littles (ages 0-5), Middles (ages 6-12), and Teens (ages 13-18). Program will run until Saturday, February 3.

Children’s and Teen

Tiny Tots 

Hey Diddle Diddle… calling all Tiny Tots (ages 2 & under)! Please Skip to my Lou and join Miss Theresa for our winter sensory storytime, all about nursery rhymes. We will Row Row Row our Boats with stories and songs, movement and music. In-person storytime will be at 10:00 a.m. on Friday, January 5, January 19, February 2, and February 16. Virtual options are also available with new sensory items for all to take home; register beginning Monday, December 11. Twinkle Twinkle Little Stars!!

Book Cubs 

Book Cubs (ages 3-5) and Caregivers, travel back in time with Miss Jamie to discover amazing facts about the dinosaurs that ruled the earth! Learn everything from which dinosaur had the smallest brain to which dinosaur was the largest to how dinosaurs were discovered.

Stomp, roar, or flap your way to the Youth Desk and register for our winter storytime session starting Monday, December 11, when Book Cubs will start to receive their weekly Take-and-Make bags. Videos will premiere each Monday starting December 18 until the end of February. Read, sing, and dance to our previous videos here: https://tinyurl.com/pdlstorytime.

Teen Advisory Board December: 

Do you like the idea of being an event organizer? Then T.A.B., Portland District Library's Teen Advisory Board, is for YOU! This December, the members of T.A.B. are putting on their party planning hats to organize February's teen lock-in at the library! During the meeting, teens will decide the theme and activities for the lock-in while sipping on some delicious hot cocoa. If you are not already registered for T.A.B., head on down to the Youth Desk beginning Friday, December 1, to sign up. The Teen Advisory Board is open to all teens, ages 13-18. T.A.B. is scheduled to meet Tuesday, December 19 at 6:30 p.m. in the upstairs apse area.