SOMERS LIBRARY NEWSLETTER

APRIL 2025

Director's Corner

Join us for National Library Week from April 6th to April 12th! This annual celebration spotlights the important impact libraries, librarians, and library workers have in transforming lives and building stronger communities. We will be celebrating all week with exciting programs and services for all ages. There's something for everyone to enjoy!

What's Happening:

• Programs such as Briones Family Harmonies, Musical Tot Time with Graham Clarke, Create and Sip: Make an Upcycled Book Butterfly Wreath, Read to a Therapy Dog and much more.
• Contests with great prizes and raffle baskets!
• Kids, join our bookmark contest! Design a bookmark, and the winner's design will be featured in the library and distributed all summer long.
• Fine Free Week - Return those overdue items without penalties! (Excludes any fines already incurred)
• Friends of the Somers Library Squadlocker store opening April 7th! You can now show your support for the Friends of the Somers Library while sporting awesome Library gear. From hoodies to tote bags and tees, every purchase through the store helps raise funds for the Somers Library.
• At our Friends of the Library Book Sale, located by our front entrance, you can fill a bag with children's books for $5.

We will have more on our website and our social media pages!

Also, Tuesday, April 8th, is National Library Workers Day! It’s the perfect time to show your appreciation to the dedicated and hardworking library staff who make everything possible. Whether it's a kind word, a small thank-you, or a smile, let's show them how much we value their hard work and service. As the director of the Somers Library, I feel incredibly fortunate to work alongside such an amazing team. Our staff is truly the heart of this library, bringing passion, dedication, and expertise to everything they do. Their commitment to serving our community and making the library a welcoming place for everyone is inspiring. I couldn't be more proud of the work they do, and I am so lucky to have such a talented and caring team by my side.

While we have wonderful National Library Week programs, we have fantastic programs available throughout the entire month (and year!). Be sure to visit our website for all the details.

At the Somers Library, you’ll always find fun, learning, and community, and we can't wait to celebrate with you!

Kind regards,

Jessica Veissy, Library Director

Take a moment to look through our newsletter for details on upcoming programs and additional information.

Visit our website www.somerslibrary.org.

Our programs are supported by the

Friends of the Somers Library

through our patrons' generous contributions.

From The Reference Library

April is National Poetry Month 

Celebrate American Poets with Somers Library

Westchester Wordsmiths Poetry Group

This supportive group emphasizes growth, mastery, and the celebration of our vibrant poetic community. Want to learn more about this group - email WestchesterWriters@somerslibrary.org

Poetry Showcase At Somers Library

Poets of all ages will come together to showcase their original poems at the Art Gallery in Somers Library. This must-see display of local talent will run May-June 2025.

Want to have your creation in the Poetry Showcase? Don’t miss this chance to share your work with your community. Submit your poem April 7 – April 25 at SomersLibrary.org.

25 Books In 2025 Reading Challenge at Somers Library

Add some Poetry titles to your 2025 reading list!

Not signed up yet? Email info@somerslibrary.org or stop by the Reference Desk to get your own Reading Log.

Poets of New York

Adult Programs & Events

Chinese MahJongg: Learn & Play

Thursday, April 3 from 1:30 – 3:30 PM

Cookbook Club Does Brunch!

Thursday, April 3 at 6:30 – 7:30 PM

Accessible Yoga

Friday, April 4 at 2 – 3:30 PM

LIBRARY WEEK!

Briones Family Harmonies: An afternoon of song with the Briones Siblings

Sunday, April 6 at 2 – 3 PM

Senior Monday Piano Concert

Monday, April 7 at 2 – 3 PM

American MahJongg For Beginners

Tuesdays, April 8 – May 6 at 5 – 7 PM

Create & Sip Upcycled Book Butterfly Wreath

Thursday, April 10 at 6:30 – 8 PM

Somers Library Book Group

"Symphony of Secrets" by Brendan Slocumb

Friday, April 11 at 2:30 – 4 PM

Senior Monday! Slime Lab!

Monday, April 14 at 1 – 2 PM

Senior Monday! Trivia

Monday, April 21 at 1 – 2:30 PM

Pop Art Workshop with Michael Albert

Saturday, April 26 at 12 – 2 PM

Otaku Club

Sunday, April 27 at 3 – 5 PM

Senior Monday Grow & Cook Delicious & Nutritious Bean Sprouts

Monday, April 28 at 1 – 3 PM

Archaeology at Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello: A Digital Field Trip

Tuesday, April 29 at 1 – 2:15 PM

Estate Planning for the Unmarried Individual

Tuesday, April 29 at 6 – 7 PM

Drop-In MahJong Club

Mondays & Fridays at 10 AM

Threads and Yarns

Fridays at 10:30 AM

Tech Coach: One-on-one Assistance for Adults

Schedule your 30-minute appointment

From The Teen's Library

One of our most exciting programs this month is a visit from the Historical Miniatures Gaming Society (4/15). They are coming in with a huge baseboard which features trenches, bunker systems, hundreds of hand painted miniature soldiers, tanks, and artillery so the teens can learn about a WWI battle and strategy. This is perfect for teens who are into history or military history but also lots of fun. 

Teens with a more humorous side who like to cook? Then Teens Come Play with Your Food on April Fool's Day is the perfect fit. We will be making cupcakes that look like spaghetti and meatballs and hamburgers. 

SAT Prep is taking place for the high school students (4/8), and for the artists we have well known artist, Michael Albert coming in to teach his style of pop art collage reusing cardboard packaging for Earth Day (4/26). This is for teens and adults which makes it a perfect family outing.

The Somers Library would like to thank all the teens who came in this school year to volunteer and help out the library. We had 131 teens sign up to volunteer. Everyone did a great job and earned hundreds of community service hours. There are still opportunities to come in now to volunteer and we will start the new school year hours in the summertime. If you want to earn your hours early, sign up to work during July and August.

Teen & YA Programs & Events

Teens Come Play with Your Food

Tuesday, April 1 at 3:45 – 4:45 PM

Accessible Yoga

Friday, April 4 at 2 – 3:30 PM



LIBRARY WEEK!

SAT Prep

Tuesday, April 8 at 6 – 7 PM

Demigod Readers – The Titan’s Curse

Wednesday, April 9 at 3:45 – 4:45 PM

Beginner’s Pokémon Card Club

Friday, April 11 at 3:45 – 4:45 PM

Historical Miniatures Gaming Society - Next Generation WWI The Battle of Belleau Wood

Tuesday, April 15 at 4 – 6 PM

Space Glitter Slime

Wednesday, April 16 at 1 – 3 PM

Cartoon Slime Lab

Thursday, April 17 at 1 – 3 PM



Tween STEM: How to Build a da Vinci Bridge

Wednesday, April 23 at 3:45 – 4:45 PM

Intermediate / Advanced Pokémon Card Club

Friday, April 25 at 3:45 – 4:45 PM

Pop Art Workshop with Michael Albert for Adults & Teens

Saturday, April 26 at 12 – 2 PM

Teen Snacks Around the World – Columbia

Monday, April 28 at 3:45 – 4:45 PM

Teens Cottagecore Rock Painting

Tuesday, April 29 at 3:45 – 4:45 PM

Craft & Chill for Teens

Every Friday from 2:30 - 4:45 PM

From The Children's Library

Many exciting things are happening as we welcome the spring this April in the Children’s Room! We have many events planned, including some special guests for our Tuesday morning Tot Times. First, we have the return of Music with Graham Clarke (4/8), returning after a highly successful show with us back in October. Next, we will welcome the Sprout Westchester and PJ Library teams as they present Sprouting Stories: A love for learning (4/15), their new fun and engaging family storytime. We will then start an exciting new multi-week series, Tot Time with Miss Rachel. Kids Snacks Around the World (4/8) this month will be trying snacks from Colombia, and the Tween STEM project this month will be making DaVinci bridges. We continue our Drop-in Lego Club (4/3 and 4/17), our 3rd Grade and 4th/5th Grade Book Clubs (4/22 and 4/24 respectively) and we are thrilled to introduce our new Pokemon Club (Beginners on 4/11, Intermediate/Advanced on 4/25) where kids will get the chance to meet up to learn and play the ever popular Pokemon Trading Card Game. We will of course be holding our classic Playdate at the Library (4/2, 4/9, 4/16, 4/23, and 4/30) every Wednesday morning. Finally, after a bit of hiatus we welcome back Sunny Boy (4/12) to our Read to a Therapy Dog program. We will also be hosting ever popular Hank (4/26) and our new addition to our Therapy Dog team, Jude (4/5). We are so glad to offer 3 opportunities this month for kids to participate in this program, and we encourage any who want to give it a try to do so!

Besides all of our programs, we also hope many of you will come to the Children's room to play the Jelly Bean Guessing Game (see image), submit a poem for our Poetry Month Showcase, play at our activity book, or just say hello as you come to pick up your books. We strive to be a fun and welcoming third place for you and your family, and we hope to see many of you here in that capacity soon. Happy April!

Children's Programs & Events

Kid’s LEGO Club

Thursday, April 3 at 4 – 5 PM

Read To A Therapy Dog

Saturday, April 5 between 11 AM – 12 PM

LIBRARY WEEK!

Music with Graham Clarke

Tuesday, April 8 at 10:30 – 11:15 AM

Kids Snacks Around the World – Columbia

Tuesday, April 8 at 3:45 – 4:45 PM

Demigod Readers – The Titan’s Curse

Wednesday, April 9 at 3:45 – 4:45 PM

Beginner’s Pokémon Card Club

Friday, April 11 at 3:45 – 4:45 PM

Read To A Therapy Dog

Saturday, April 12 between 11 AM – 12 PM

Space Glitter Slime

Wednesday, April 16 at 1 – 3 PM

Cartoon Slime Lab

Thursday, April 17 at 1 – 3 PM



Kid’s LEGO Club

Thursday, April 17 at 4 – 5 PM

Tween STEM: How to Build a da Vinci Bridge

Wednesday, April 23 at 3:45 – 4:45 PM

Intermediate / Advanced Pokémon Card Club

Friday, April 25 at 3:45 – 4:45 PM

Read To A Therapy Dog

Saturday, April 26 between 11 AM – 12 PM

Playdates at the Library

Wednesdays, at 10:30 – 11:30 AM

Children under 10 must be accompanied by an adult in the building.

Artists of the Month: Ground Glass

On Display for April

Artists' Bio

The Ground Glass was founded in 1975 by Renata Rainer. It is an independent association dedicated to promoting the practice and appreciation of fine photography in Westchester County, New York, and Fairfield County, Connecticut.

Ground Glass’s membership consists of professionals and accomplished amateurs working in a variety of photographic formats. As a group and as individual artists, our members have shown their work in many major exhibition facilities. We hold at least one juried group exhibition each year for our members, including our annual show at the Rye Arts Center Gallery.

In addition to the Rye Arts Center, The Ground Glass is a member of ArtsWestchester, the Hudson Valley Photography Network and New York Metro Area Camera Council.

The four members exhibiting at the Somers Library are:

• Alison Rodilosso
• Dennis Dilmaghani
• June Greenspan
• Marcy Cohen

Friends of the Somers Library

The Friends were saddened to learn of the dissolution of the Somers Library Foundation. Because of this, the Library has lost a critical source of support. Our two groups have worked side-by-side for many years to enhance the Somers Library. We have both raised funds that benefit our library, and thereby benefit the entire community. We have worked together to raise awareness of the many ways in which a strong and thriving library impacts our town.

We congratulate the Foundation for the generous funding they have provided to the Library in the past, and we commend their volunteer boards for their prodigious work.

The Friends of the Somers Library remain committed to our mission to meet the needs of our library. We are grateful for the ongoing support received from the library community. Your support makes the wide array of library programming possible.

Some events that you won't want to miss will be happening at the Library.

On Sunday, April 6th, the Briones Family Harmonies will be present a Voice and Guitar concert in the program room at 2 pm. Somers Childrens Librarian Alan Briones and his siblings, Nadia and Julian, will perform a program with a varied range of musical genres, including opera, jazz standards, tangos, and others.

On April 13th, Race Amity is delighted to host a special guest, author Andrew Sillen, who will be presenting his book, Kidnapped at Sea: The Civil War Voyage of David Henry White. It tells the tragic true story of a free Black teenage sailor. Copies of the book will be available through advance order only. Please reply by April 4th to soulymelody@gmail.com to place an order. Come at 2 pm for a social half hour and refreshments. At 2:30, Mr. Sillen will begin his presentation, which will be followed by a group discussion. This meeting will be on Zoom as well.

The Northeast Etsy Artists Collective will be bringing their Mother's Day Makers Market to the Library on Saturday and Sunday, May 3rd and 4th, from 10 am to 4 pm. You can celebrate Mom with unique gifts handcrafted by local artists. You will find many varied gift items such as jewelry, skincare products, garden ornaments, dishes, handwoven textiles, ceramics, hand dyed yarn, handmade cards, journals and bookmarks, and many more. While shopping for mom, you may even want to treat yourself! A portion of the proceeds will benefit the Friends of the Somers Library.

We hope to see you at some or all of these upcoming events.

Our programs are supported by Friends of Somers Library

through our patrons' generous contributions.