Volume 168 | July 2025

Summer Reading Club has begun! Summer is the perfect time for all ages to see what their local library has to offer! The 2025 Summer Reading slogan is "Color Our World"; we are planning many fun programs and events around this theme. There will be special events, reading challenges, fun activities, and more through August 9. Call or stop by your local library for specific program details.

July 4-5 - All CCLD libraries are closed for 4th of July Weekend.

Celebrate Summer Reading Club, for all ages! Register and log minutes, to win prizes! Adult participants will be entered for a chance to win our district-wide grand prize, dinner for 4 on Captain Bill's Seneca Cruise.

On Friday, July 11th join us for Pollock in the Parking Lot – learn about abstract impressionism and take home your very own Jackson Pollock design. On Friday, July 18th we are hosting a ‘Wicked’ singalong – take thrillifying photos, make swankified buttons, and dress up as your favorite character to be entered for a prize! Also in July, on Tuesdays at 11am we are offering Mindful Meditation. There will be a summer foraging workshop on Saturday, July 19, 1:30pm. The Red Cross will be holding a blood drive here on July 28, 1-5:30pm. Find information about these and other events via the full events list on our website.

Our Tuesday evening zoom series of webinars continues strong into July. Join Genealogist Katherine Willson on July 8, 6pm, to learn to publish your family history using organizational tools for sharing with others, and on July 22, 6pm, to learn methodologies of efficiently using timelines, checklists, and correspondence logs to solve genealogical mysteries. Our Genealogy Club meets via Zoom on July 26, 10am. Click the link below to see the full details for all of these programs, including registration.

Register for Summer Reading starting 6/30 - 8/09 at Steele Library or online. Log your minutes on the ReadSquared app or tell us in the Teen Space. Wednesday, July 2 & 9, make snacks with SNAP at 1:30pm. Wear old clothes to the Teen Foam Party June 11, 6pm! Bring a towel. Teen Laser tag will be Friday, July 25, 6:30pm. Experience Cris Johnson's "FEAR" Program, July 31, 4:30pm. Some events require registration. See the full events list for details.

Stop by for our regularly scheduled activities, including take-home crafts, Preschool Playtime, Storytime, LEGO Club, Tween Theater, Tween D&D, movies, and crafts.

Exciting special weekly Summer Reading programs including the Summer Reading Kick-off - July 3, 2:30pm, magicians, science shows, bubbles, music & musicians, and Tanglewood.

Food Smarts – a Snack & Nutrition program with SNAP-Ed! July 2 & 9. K-3rd grade, 11:00am. 4th-6th grade, 11:30am.

Check out our Events Calendar for details and to register.

The Makerspace is open Monday-Thursday, 9:30am to 6:00pm and Friday-Saturday, 1:00pm to 4:30pm.

July is going to be a little hectic with the expansion of the Makerspace into our new space so please be sure to refer to the Events Calendar regularly for updates and to see any changes that may occur. We will be postponing the Sewing classes on Mondays and Tuesdays of this month, due to the construction; we will post them as soon as we are able.

The Makerspace is hosting Fine Art classes every Tuesday morning and Crafting classes every Thursday morning, check the calendar to register for any of the classes to reserve your spot, and to see what is available this month.

Join us at Big Flats Library on Tuesdays in July for our Summer Reading Events. Registration is required for most events. Please call (607)562-3300, or check the Chemung County Libraries website for all events & online registration, chemunglibraries.org. Children, Teens & Adults can register for summer reading & earn weekly prizes and entries for the final prize drawings!

Big Flats Family Movie Afternoon: A Minecraft Movie! (PG). July 17th at 3:00pm.  

Big Flats July Adult Craft: Pressed Flower Lanterns, Thursday, July 10, 2:00pm. Registration is required as space is limited to 12. Please call 607-562-3300 to reserve a space.

Big Flats Afternoon Film: The Unbreakable Boy (PG) on Thursday, July 24, 2:00pm. A young boy with both a rare brittle-bone disease and autism transforms everyone around him with his joyous, funny, and life-affirming world view.

Join us for Ctrl+Read+Play: Switch Gaming on the projector on Wednesdays, July 16, 30, & August 6, 3:30-5:30! Games: Minecraft, Mario Kart, Mario Odyssey, Smash Bros, and more! Ages: Tween/Teens 11–18.

Teens are also welcome to stop by for Lego Club and crafts.

Join Miss Melanie for Big Flats Summer Storytimes on Wednesdays, July 2, July 16, & July 30 at 10:30am.

Craft Table: Pony Bead Bracelets & Sports ball Key Chains!

Pick up a take-home preschool & school-aged Paper Plate Snail.

Register online for the Summer Reading Club, to win prizes (it’s not just for kids)! Pick up a Bingo card at the library and mark squares as you read. Each completed row earns you raffle tickets for a shot at winning one of our themed prize baskets. Reading has never been more rewarding!

Gentle Movements on Tuesdays and Yoga on Wednesdays at 10:30am continue (across the street at the St. Matthew’s Community Room). Join our new monthly Tabletop Club for Adults on July 2, 5:30pm. July 14 will be our annual Paint like Pollock splatter paint event. July 21, 5:30pm is Painting with Jane Kim-Pronti. The Writer’s Support Group will meet July 28, 6pm.

Join our Adult Summer Coloring Contest and add a splash of creativity to your day (and win prizes)! See the full events list for details.

Do you like books? Do you like art? How about combine the two and make a really cool folded book art piece you can display anywhere! Stop in the Horseheads Library all month-long to pick up a book, ruler and select a fun pattern from various folded book art. Instructions included. While supplies last.

Teen/Tween Anime and Manga club will be meeting July 9th, 5:30-7pm.

Come meet our very own Horseheads Hitmen from the New York Collegiate Baseball League! The players will read baseball themed stories and there will be a Q&A session too, on Thursday, July 3, 2pm-2:30pm. One lucky fan will win a Horseheads Hitmen baseball cap! All Ages are Welcome. Therapy Dogs will be visiting after Family Storytime at the Horseheads Library on Tuesday, July 8 from 11-Noon! OPEN to ALL AGES!

Make sure to sign up for Summer Reading Club! Log your minutes to win prizes. Check the calendar for all the fun events coming your way. Summer Story time will be beginning on July 1 and continuing every Tuesday from 10:30-11am until August 5. Join us for stories, songs, and crafts as we learn to Color Our World!

Summer Reading Kickoff - Wednesday, July 2 - Color Our World - create spin art, register for summer reading & spin the prize wheel to win colorful prizes! Open to All Ages.

FREE Family IMPROV Workshop! Friday, July 18, 2:30-4pm, guided by nationally touring actor and writer Tim Collins, participants will improve their public speaking skills, learn about physical comedy and character creation, and have a fabulous time! All Participants will be entered into a drawing to win a Mini Karaoke Machine! ALL Ages are Welcome. NO acting experience is necessary.

Book Club will be meeting Friday, July 25 at 12pm to discuss "The Anxious Generation" by Jonathan Haidt. After more than a decade of stability or improvement, the mental health of adolescents plunged in the early 2010s. Rates of depression, anxiety, self-harm, and suicide rose sharply, more than doubling on many measures. Why? Join the discussion! Newcomers are always welcome!

Check out our FREE Sciencenter pass and save $$ this Summer!

Join the Summer Reading Club for a chance to win prizes! Register and log your reading online to be entered to win weekly prizes. This month's Cookbook Bookclub theme is BBQ and will be held on July 28. Also, this month on July 9 - Calligraphy Club. We are still accepting donations of tea cups for an upcoming adult craft program.

Color, color, color is the theme tying together all the t(w)een summer reading club events at West Elmira Library this month! First, try your best to recreate a famous painting at our Nailed It!-themed Paint a Masterpiece program. Next, learn about "warp and weft" as you design and weave a colorful bookmark. Finally, design and personalize a ball cap using faux tie-dye techniques. Tweens can also pick up July's Club 1231 book club selection, "Incredible Journey" by Sheila Burnford and then, join us for an engaging time of discussion with book-themed snacks. In addition, bring some friends and relax, hang out and color during the weekly Creative Coloring Club time.

Stay engaged this summer at the West Elmira Library! Enjoy a special program, Stories with Music, presented by the Orchestra of the Southern Finger Lakes on July 22. Go on our monthly scavenger hunt to find all of the famous artists hidden around the library to win a prize. Stop by every Monday at 4:00pm to join our Summer Reading Club activities. Have fun every Thursday morning with Mr. Jeff at Storytime. Let your imagination soar at Lego Club the last Wednesday of the month. Win big at Bingo for Kids the last Thursday of the month. West Elmira is your community library for growth, fun, and learning!

Our book club meets the 2nd Friday of the month at Bulkhead Hardware in Southport at 1:30pm.

For the month of June, we read "The Hideaway" by Lauren K. Denton, to discuss on July 11.

We will read "Tell Me Everything” by Elizabeth Strout, to discuss in August.

Does the Bookmobile meet the needs of your community? Give us a call: 607-738-2476, if you have any questions or to inquire about a stop near you.

Can't make it to the library? Attend a virtual genealogy workshop via Zoom or join one of our virtual book clubs! The Big Flats Library's book club meets both in-person and online. The CCLD Virtual Evening Book Club meets online only.

Enjoy ebooks, audiobooks, magazines, streaming video, online classes, language learning, and more, from the convenience of your home! Check out the library's website for a list of digital services that can be accessed remotely with your Chemung County Library District card.