The Hamlet of Wallkill is celebrating America's 250th. Be sure to check out the celebration being held at Popp's Pavillion on July 11th! 

In addition to the events planned for July 11, the Historical Society of Shawangunk and Gardiner is having a companion exhibition in the Shawangunk Town Hall and Wallkill Public Library through the month of July. The exhibition features historical maps and documents of colonial-era Shawangunk, along with physical objects of the era, that illustrate how our town developed, along with photographs of houses that have survived from that era to today, remaining as vibrant examples of our historical heritage.

The Summer Reading Program is getting underway at the Wallkill Public Library. This year's theme is "Unearth a Story". Come join us for some great summer reading programs, events, and challenges!

Reading challenges for adults, teens, and children have all begun already. Each group will have a chance to win various prizes by participating between now and August 31st. We have some great prizes lined up for a few lucky winners. So, get going on those summer reading lists and then swing by the library for your chance to win in our reading challenges.

The Kids' Summer Reading Kick-off is scheduled for Friday, July 10th at 1pm. We're having a Red, White & Blue BBQ to get things started off right. We'll have hot dogs, watermelon, drinks and DJ Lammy to keep us moving. We'll have water activities, including a Slip & Slide which will be set up on the lawn. So, don't forget a towel and some sun block! There will also be a few guests at the library to help us celebrate. Christina's Sweet Treats will also be on-site for those of you wishing to purchase something sweet and cold to beat the heat. Vision of Wallkill will be selling Art Along the Sidewalk Boards as well, for the artistically inclined (see below)! Lastly, the Friends of the Wallkill Public Library will also be around with some swag for the kids.

Be sure to check out our July and August calendars for the full array of summer reading activities! We have a very full line-up, but registrations will fill up fast! Library Events calendar: https://wallkillpubliclibrary.libcal.com/calendar/wpl_programs_events

Unearth a Story!

The Wallkill Public Library and Vision of Wallkill are teaming up again for this year's Art Along the Sidewalk contest, which will kick off with the Summer Reading Program. Art Along the Sidewalk allows children and adults to paint a design on a plastic 18x24 "lawn" sign. Use your imagination with the Summer Reading Program's theme of "Unearth a Story." The artwork will be judged at Weekend of Wallkill and prizes awarded. Then the signs will be placed along roadways in the Hamlet for the month of October for everyone to enjoy.

Additional contest and entry information will be available at the library. All artwork must be submitted by September 8th. Contest entry fee is $5. We hope you'll help Unearth some Stories and help Color Our Hamlet!  

Adult SRP 2026

Just read a book (e-books count, too!) or magazine, listen to an audiobook, or attend a program at the library. Each time you do, we will give you a chance to win one of our amazing adult summer reading prizes. Prizes include $50 gift cards to a number of local businesses (Beck’s, Dos Amigos II, The Gardiner Collective, Hannaford, Hudson Valley Chocolates, Wallkill Greenhouse, and Wright’s Farm) plus a complete 9-volume collection of the Outlander novels.

Entering is fast and easy! Just ask for entry tickets when you return your library materials or attend a program. The more books you read or listen to, and the more programs you attend, the higher your chances are to win.

Adult summer reading is for readers ages 18+. The program kicks off on June 26 and runs through August 31. Winners will be announced in early September. Good luck and keep on reading!

Thanks for your votes!

The Wallkill Public Library won 2nd place among all Hudson Valley libraries in the Chronogram Reader's Choice Awards! That's up one place from the past two years! Congratulations to Woodstock Public Library and Kingston Library for their 1st and 3rd place wins as well!

We're also proud to announce that Library Director, Dan Perkins, won 1st place among Hudson Valley Librarians as part of the Chronograms Reader's Choice Awards. Dan is grateful to the staff for their nomination, and to the community members for their votes and acknowledgements. Congratulations to Christine Pacuk from Saugerties Public Library and Alex Geller from Red Hook Public Library for their 2nd and 3rd place wins!

We thank everyone who took the time to vote, and we promise to keep working to make the Wallkill Public Library a welcoming and fun place for everyone in our community!

July 14 at 6:30 PM in the Reading Room and Children's Programming Room

This is a split session program for teens and adults, where each group will meet for concurrent discussions about teen dating and sexual harassment.

For the teens:

In an effort to put a stop to teen dating violence we offer an educational presentation to teens where we will define healthy relationships, how to recognize red flags, the reality of teen dating violence, how to get help and resources for support. Our goal is to empower teens with the knowledge and skills to develop respectful relationships and ultimately prevent violence. Presentation and discussion to be led by Sha’nique Ryan, Safe Harbor Coordinator and Community Educator for the Ulster County Crime Victims Assistance Program.

For the adults:

Are you looking for ways to keep your tweens and teens safe as they enter the complicated, and sometimes challenging, world of dating, relationships, and increased independence?

Join us for a presentation and discussion about the joys and challenges of teen relationships, including recognizing healthy and unhealthy relationships, understanding the dynamics of teen dating violence, recognizing online safety risks, and knowing what actions you can take to help your kids stay safe. Presentation and discussion to be led by Deborah Foley, Erin’s Law Coordinator and Community Educator for the Ulster County Crime Victims Assistance Program.

Registration is required! We will have pizza for the event.

To register online: https://wallkillpubliclibrary.libcal.com/event/16518365

Looking for something to do this summer? Why not check out a museum or park pass from the Wallkill Public Library?!

This newsletter we're highlighting our Historic Huguenot Street pass. The pass is good for one guided tour for two adults and two children through Historic Huguenot Street located at 81 Huguenot St, New Paltz, NY 12561. Explore the ten-acre National Historic Landmark District in New Paltz, New York, and experience over three hundred years of history across seven historic stone-house museums, a reconstructed 1717 French Church, the community’s original burying ground, and a replica Esopus Munsee wigwam. Period rooms and exhibits tell the stories of a French-speaking Protestant settlement as it evolved over time, and also reveal the history of the area’s Indigenous and enslaved African peoples and Dutch settlers.

Pick up the pass at the library and explore a piece of local history!

https://www.huguenotstreet.org/

We had another Wings Over Wallkill Walk at the Shawangunk Grasslands National Wildlife Refuge on May 16th, and it was a beautiful day full of beautiful birds.

Come join us once a month at the Shawangunk Grasslands National Wildlife Refuge located at 902 Hoagerburgh Rd. from 9am until 10ish as we explore the grasslands in search of our fine feathered friends. Long pants and a good pair of binoculars or camera are highly recommended. 



Registration for each event is required. 

• Saturday, July 11:  https://wallkillpubliclibrary.libcal.com/event/16631850
• Saturday, August 8: https://wallkillpubliclibrary.libcal.com/event/16631851
• Saturday, September 12: https://wallkillpubliclibrary.libcal.com/event/16631852
• Saturday, October 10: https://wallkillpubliclibrary.libcal.com/event/16631853

Now through November 1

Come by the library to pick up your I Bird NY Challenge birdwatching sheets and submission forms. The birds you spot and report help the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation track bird populations in NYS, and help with wildlife conservation efforts. For your participation, you'll receive a competition certificate, a commemorative patch, and be entered to win great birding prizes including birding accessories such as spotting scopes and binoculars. Participants may also earn a bonus entry into the prize giveaway by submitting a photo with their bird sighting submission forms to document their experience completing the I BIRD NY Challenge. 

Patriotic pasta t-shirts was a great to start the month off!

Just on time for National Pasta Day, the 4th of July and our Red, White & Blue BBQ!

Grow Your Own Herbal Tea

Sign up today for our take and make herbal tea growing kit!

Each month register for a new herbal tea kit to grow at home. Kits will include basic instructions and information, a starter pot, starter soil and seeds. 

Registration is required. Any take and make kits not picked up within one week of the pick-up date will be offered to the public.

Friday, July 17 -- Feverfew

This month, registrants will receive a Feverfew seed packet in their kit on July 17.  Register here or click the button below: https://wallkillpubliclibrary.libcal.com/event/16596699

Friday, August 7, 4:15-5:30 PM
I Survived the Nazi Invasion, 1944

Beyond the Book is a monthly book club for tweens, where stories spark real-world adventures!

This month, we’re diving into the thrilling I Survived theDust Bowl, 1935 by Lauren Tarshis. Join us for lively discussions and—of course—pizza! Come for the books, stay for the fun, and leave with skills that go beyond the page.

Registration is required. Register online:

https://wallkillpubliclibrary.libcal.com/event/17056656 

Reading ahead?

August's Adult Book Club Selection

We'll be discussing The Instrumentalist by Harriet Constable on Tuesday, August 18 at 3:45 PM.

Venice. 1704. In this city of glittering splendour, desperation and destitution are never far away. At the Ospedale della Pietà, abandoned orphan girls are posted every through a tiny gap in the wall every day.

Eight-year-old Anna Maria is just one of the three hundred girls growing up within the Pietà's walls – but she already knows she is different. Obsessive and gifted, she is on a mission to become Venice’s greatest violinist and composer, and in her remarkable world of colour and sound, it seems like nothing with stop her.

But the odds are stacked against an orphan girl – so when the maestro selects her as his star pupil, Anna Maria knows she must do everything in power to please this difficult, brilliant man. But as Anna Maria’s star rises, threatening to eclipse that of her mentor, the dream she has so single-mindedly pursued is thrown into peril…

From the jewelled palaces of Venice to its mud-licked canals, this is a story of one woman’s irrepressible ambition and rise to the top, of loss and triumph, and of who we choose to remember and leave behind on the path to success.

-- from Goodreads.

The Saturday Morning Book Club will hold their next meeting on Saturday, July 25 at 10:30 AM. They'll be discussing The Year of Pleasures by Elizabeth Berg.

It's never too late for new beginnings.

On the cusp of turning eighty, newly retired pharmacist Augusta Stern is adrift. When she relocates to Rallentando Springs—an active senior community in southern Florida—she unexpectedly crosses paths with Irving Rivkin, the delivery boy from her father’s old pharmacy—and the man who broke her heart sixty years earlier.

As a teenager growing up in 1920’s Brooklyn, Augusta’s role model was her father, Solomon Stern, the trusted owner of the local pharmacy and the neighborhood expert on every ailment. But when Augusta’s mother dies and Great Aunt Esther moves in, Augusta can’t help but be drawn to Esther’s curious methods. As a healer herself, Esther offers Solomon’s customers her own advice—unconventional remedies ranging from homemade chicken soup to a mysterious array of powders and potions.

As Augusta prepares for pharmacy college, she is torn between loyalty to her father and fascination with her great aunt, all while navigating a budding but complicated relationship with Irving. Desperate for clarity, she impulsively uses Esther’s most potent elixir with disastrous consequences. Disillusioned and alone, Augusta vows to reject Esther’s enchantments forever.

Sixty years later, confronted with Irving, Augusta is still haunted by the mistakes of her past. What happened all those years ago and how did her plan go so spectacularly wrong? Did Irving ever truly love her or was he simply playing a part? And can Augusta reclaim the magic of her youth before it’s too late?

-- from Goodreads.com

Reading ahead?

August's Saturday Book Club selection is...

... The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah. We'll be discussing it on Saturday, August 22 at 10:30 AM.

Texas, 1934. Millions are out of work and a drought has broken the Great Plains. Farmers are fighting to keep their land and their livelihoods as the crops are failing, the water is drying up, and dust threatens to bury them all. One of the darkest periods of the Great Depression, the Dust Bowl era, has arrived with a vengeance.

In this uncertain and dangerous time, Elsa Martinelli—like so many of her neighbors—must make an agonizing choice: fight for the land she loves or go west, to California, in search of a better life. The Four Winds is an indelible portrait of America and the American Dream, as seen through the eyes of one indomitable woman whose courage and sacrifice will come to define a generation.

-- from Goodreads.com

This past week, program participants of all ages built structures and vehicles using LEGO bricks. Their creations will be on display for one week in the Children's Area.  

If you haven't registered online yet, there are several Children's Summer Reading Programs that are still available (registration is required for each child attending):

• Family Storytime 
  (Tuesdays, 10:30-11:00 AM)
• Crafting Caboodles 
  (Tuesdays, 11:00-11:30/11:45 AM)
• STEM/STEM 
  (Wednesdays, 10:30-11:30 AM)
• Unearth a Story Writing Club 
  (Thursdays, 2:00-2:45 PM)
• Presenters/Performers 
  (Thursdays, 4:00-4:45 PM)

Find program details, availability, and registration at www.wallkillpubliclibrary.org. If an event is full, we recommend that you register your child so that he/she will be placed on the waiting List.

Please note: If the weather is too hot and/or rainy, we will move the above programs to the Town of Shawangunk Community Room (next door to the library).

Through August 8th for a free Renegades Ticket

The WPL Summer Reading Challenge is underway! If your child (toddler through 18 years old) is interested in earning prizes - possibly a free Renegades ticket for a child with the purchase of one adult ticket - stop by the library to pick up the information sheet, reading logs, and free swag.  If your child promises to read this summer, he/she may adopt a "Book Buddy" to share his/her reading adventures this summer.

1,000 Books Before Kindergarten

If you are interested in learning more about the 1000 Books Before Kindergarten Program, reach out to Ms. Sarah sphillips@rcls.org or speak with someone at the circulation desk.

Summer reading keeps kids curious, confident, and connected — it’s how we make sure every child comes back to school ready to learn, grow, and thrive.

That’s why I’m very excited to launch a second year of my Summer Reading Challenge. I am consistently so impressed with Hudson Valley students, and I think this is a great way to recognize them and their commitment to education. So, whether you’re enjoying the nice weather in one of our beautiful parks or making a splash at a Hudson Valley pool this summer vacation, make sure you bring a book!

Students who want to participate should fill out the form linked below. Participating K-8 students who read five or more books between June 23rd and August 31st will receive a Congressional Certificate of Achievement.

HomeBoost Energy Assessment Kits

Wallkill Public Library and the Ramapo Catskill Library System have partnered with Central Hudson to make HomeBoost Energy Assessment Kits available to our patrons. The kits include a specialized camera that can be attached to your smartphone to check your home for drafts. It also can scan appliances to check their relative energy efficiency. Your energy bills aren't getting any lower, so take advantage of these kits to help bring those bills down.

Blood Pressure Monitor kits available at the library!

Patrons can now borrow blood pressure monitor kits to help be better informed about their heart health. Each kit comes with instructions and information about how to use the monitors and interpret the results. Kits can be checked out for a period of three weeks.

We also have a blood pressure monitor set up in the library where patrons can swing by and test themselves while at the library. We encourage everyone to come by to use them.

Jigsaw Puzzle Exchange

Looking for a cozy winter activity? Stop by the library and pick up or drop off a jigsaw puzzle as part of our winter puzzle exchange!

We have over 50 puzzles ranging from 150 to 1,008 pieces—perfect for solo puzzlers or the whole family. There’s something for everyone, so come find your next challenge today!

Donating a puzzle? Please count the pieces and place them in a zippered plastic bag before putting the puzzle in the original box. We do our best to ensure every puzzle is complete, but if you discover missing pieces, kindly report it and return the puzzle to the circulation desk.

New York Times All-Access!

Get the New York Times online access (yes, including Games!) as a Wallkill Public Library patron. News, recipes, podcasts, the Wordle archive — it’s all yours. Unlock your access by clicking the link for instructions on how to explore New York Times content at the library or at home (or anywhere else!).

Food Pantry Donations

Wallkill Public Library continues to accept unexpired, nonperishable and canned food donations, as well toiletries. All donations go to the Loaves & Fishes Food Pantry at the Wallkill Reformed Church. If you are able to give, please feel free to drop off your donations at the library during regular operating hours. If you are in need of assistance, please check out Loaves & Fishes website for information on when they are open: https://wallkillreformed.org/Loaves-Fishes-Food-Pantry

Thank you to everyone who is able to lend a hand to their neighbors during hard times.

Tech Support

10:00-4:00 PM weekdays

The Wallkill Public Library offers Tech Support from 10-4 on weekdays. So, if you're having issues with your cellphone, tablet, or other technology please stop by the front desk of the library. We'll be happy to lend a hand if we can.

Textile Tuesdays

The Wallkill Quilter's Circle is sponsored by the Wallkill Public Library. The Circle meets for Textile Tuesdays in the Community Room at the Shawangunk Town Hall on Tuesdays from 10 AM to 2 PM for a come-as-you-please work session.

Bring your present project and your lunch and join us! No registration necessary. New members always welcome!

Mahjong Meet-ups

Every Wednesday at 1 PM and Thursday at 6 PM the library hosts our Mahjong Clubs in the Reading Room. If you’re a player or just interested in learning, join us! We supply the games and (a limited number of) mahjong cards. Just drop in, no registration required

Forgot your card? Check one out at the circulation desk to use during the game!

Pinochle

Tuesdays, 1-3 PM
in the Library Reading Room

People of all skill levels are invited to attend, even first-time players who'd like to learn the game.

Battery Recycling Made Easy

Wondering what's the best way to get rid of those used batteries rolling around in your junk drawer?

The Library accepts used batteries and cell phones to be recycled! You will find the WeRecycle Battery Box located on our window seat. Please use a plastic baggie (found on the side of the box) to place your batteries or cell phones in before placing them in the battery recycle box. Quick, easy, convenient, and environmentally friendly!

Clynk Bottle & Can Collection

Stop by the circulation desk to grab a Clynk bag and tag, then simply:

• Fill the bag with aluminum cans and plastic bottles eligible for the NY bottle deposit.
• Donate your filled Clynk bag by dropping it off at the Clynk collection area located at the entrance of your local Hannaford grocery store. Follow the instructions on or next to the Clynk door.

Together, we can all make a positive impact on the environment and help the library at the same time!

Lend-A-Pole Program

Thanks to the Federated Sportsmen’s Clubs of Ulster County (FSCUC), patrons are able to borrow fishing poles from the library!

The FSCUC donated a Lend-A-Pole cabinet filled with poles, tackle boxes, and informational pamphlets to the library. Patrons can check fishing poles out just as they would a museum pass or book. Borrowers also get to take out – (and keep!) - a tackle box, as the FSCUC will replenish the supply when it gets low.

Ask at the circulation desk for assistance.

• Our doors are open for library services including browsing for library materials, making copies, sending faxes, and using the public access computers.
• Our bookdrop is open for contact-free and after-hours returns of library materials. Be sure to secure DVD and BCD cases with rubber bands.
• Fine-free returns on everything, except museum/park passes.
• Inter-library loans are available between all RCLS libraries.
• In-person programming for all ages!
• Museum passes are available to Wallkill Public Library patrons for the Empire Pass, Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library & Museum, Historic Huguenot Street Tour Pass, Mid-Hudson Discovery Museum, Mohonk Preserve, and Storm King Art Center. Plus, more print-at-home museum passes available through the Ulster County InfoPortal on the library’s website.