THE BLAST

THE LATEST NEWS AND INFORMATION FROM

WALLKILL PUBLIC LIBRARY

January 11, 2025

Happy New Year! 

We hope your new year is off to a promising start. Read on to explore some of the good thing happening at Wallkill Public Library in 2025! We look forward to seeing you in the library for our events and programs, and checking out our new materials!

Show your support and nominate WPL!

It's Chronogrammies nomination time again


It’s that time again for you to vote for the Hudson Valley’s most outstanding establishments, organizations, and people. (Wallkill Public Library received third place in the Library category in 2024! Let’s try to improve our position this year!)


The Ground Rules

  • The top 5 nominees with the most nominations in each category advance to the voting round.
  • In the event of a tie between the 5th and 6th place positions, both nominees advance.
  • You can vote once a day for each category.
  • One ballot per person.
  • Vote in as many or as few categories as you would like.
  • You MUST submit your name and email address with entry to validate your ballot.


Nominate us now:

https://www.chronogram.com/hudsonvalley/awards/Page#//

Crafting with the Seniors

The seniors made holiday cards for their last craft of 2024.

Out with the old, in with the new

New year housekeeping


As we head into a new year, it’s a good time to check the contact information in your library card account to make sure everything is up-to-date. Has your email or phone number changed? Have you moved? Make sure you are getting communications from the library by keeping this info up-to-date. Anyone at the circulation desk can update your account in person.


You can check your current contact information in the RCLS Go app under the Account icon > Contact Information tab. (Unfortunately, you cannot update your info in the app.)


To update your contact information online,

  • Go to our website (www.wallkillpubliclibrary.org)
  • Click on the “Contact Us” tab
  • Scroll down to the “Change of Address form” in the menu and fill our any new information. Providing your library card number will greatly speed the update process.

Upcoming workshops and making events

Home School Art:

Wet Felting, Session 2

Friday, January 17, 2:30 PM


Home school art offers a variety of projects geared to home schooled children. This month: Learn the fiber art of wet felting! Ages 5+. Registration required

Register online

Penguin Appreciation Day:

MYO Clay penguin

Monday, January 20, 1:00 PM


Home school art offers a variety of projects geared to home schooled children. This month: Learn the fiber art of wet felting! Ages 5+. Registration required.

Register online

Workshop Wednesday:

Chinese New Year bracelet

Wednesday, January 29, 6:00 PM


Learn hands on with workshops using a variety of tools and materials, geared to older kids and adults. This month: Chinese New Year bracelets. Ages 10+. Registration required.

Register online

Monthly Munch:

National Hot Chocolate Day

Friday, January 31, 1:00 PM


December's Monthly Munch celebrates HOT CHOCOLATE! 


Each year on Janurary 31, National Hot Chocolate Day warms up folks around the country by celebrating this timeless cold weather beverage! Stop by to warm up with a sample of our homemade hot cocoa or join us to make a homemade hot chocolate mix in a jar. Perfect for giving to a special friend or relative, or for having on hand at home. Age 5+. Registration required for making a mix to go!

Register online

New magazine offering

Essence


Essence Magazine is the premiere lifestyle, fashion and beauty magazine for African-American women. With its motivating message, intimate girlfriend-to-girlfriend tone, compelling and engaging editorial lineup and vibrant and modern design, Essence is the definitive voice of today's dynamic African-American women.


Whether bringing news, politics, culture, entertainment, or inspiration for her aspirations, ESSENCE is committed to telling her stories – in her voice and in her image – and has become a most trusted confidante and “home” for global Black culture.

New adult books

Click the titles to link to our online catalog to read descriptions, reviews, and place holds.

Fiction

The Champagne Letters

Kate MacIntosh

Shattering Dawn 

Jayne Ann Krentz

Schooled in Murder

Victoria Gilbert

Remember When

Mary Balogh

Never Say Never 

Danielle Steel

Mother of Rome 

Lauren J. A. Bear

The Lotus Shoes

Jane Yang

How to Sleep at Night

Elizabeth Harris

Non-fiction

Black Girls Breathing:

Heal from trauma, combat chronic stress, and find your freedom

Jasmine Marie

Book Clubs

Adult Fiction Book Club's January selection

Four American expats and strangers become unexpected friends during a magical year in Tuscany marked by a writer's complicated relationship with the subject of her biography, long-postponed dreams and shifting senses of adventure and bravery.

Reserve a copy

If you would like to attend virtually, contact Kim O'Sullivan at kosullivan@rcls.org.

On Tuesday, January 21 at 3:30 p.m., the adult fiction book club will meet in the children's room to discuss Women in Sunlight by Frances Mayes.



She watches from her terrazza as the three American women carry their luggage into the stone villa down the hill. Who are they, and what brings them to this Tuscan village so far from home? An expat herself and with her own unfinished story, she can't help but question: will they find what they came for?


Kit Raine, an American writer living in Tuscany, is working on a biography of her close friend, a complex woman who continues to cast a shadow on Kit's own life. Her work is waylaid by the arrival of three women--Julia, Camille, and Susan--all of whom have launched a recent and spontaneous friendship that will uproot them completely and redirect their lives. Susan, the most adventurous of the three, has enticed them to subvert expectations of staid retirement by taking a lease on a big, beautiful house in Tuscany. Though novices in a foreign culture, their renewed sense of adventure imbues each of them with a bright sense of bravery, a gusto for life, and a fierce determination to thrive. But how? With Kit's friendship and guidance, the three friends launch themselves into Italian life, pursuing passions long-forgotten--and with drastic and unforeseeable results...

-- Goodreads

Saturday Morning Book Club's January pick

A novel about the magical lure of books and summoning the courage to rewrite our stories.

Reserve a copy

The Saturday Morning Book Club will hold their next meeting on Saturday, January 25 at 10:30 a.m. They'll be discussing The Echo of Old Books by Barbara Davis.



Rare-book dealer Ashlyn Greer’s affinity for books extends beyond the intoxicating scent of old paper, ink, and leather. She can feel the echoes of the books’ previous owners—an emotional fingerprint only she can read. When Ashlyn discovers a pair of beautifully bound volumes that appear to have never been published, her gift quickly becomes an obsession. Not only is each inscribed with a startling incrimination, but the authors, Hemi and Belle, tell conflicting sides of a tragic romance.


With no trace of how these mysterious books came into the world, Ashlyn is caught up in a decades-old literary mystery, beckoned by two hearts in ruins, whoever they were, wherever they are. Determined to learn the truth behind the doomed lovers’ tale, she reads on, following a trail of broken promises and seemingly unforgivable betrayals. The more Ashlyn learns about Hemi and Belle, the nearer she comes to bringing closure to their love story—and to the unfinished chapters of her own life. -- Goodreads

Register!

New DVDs coming in January

Monster Summer

The Return

Venom: The Last Dance

Things Will Be Different

The Gutter

Saturday Night

Here

The Substance

Smile 2

Ongoing programming

Board Game Afternoons

Mondays, 3:00-5:00 PM in the Reading Room


We meet in the Reading Room on Mondays from 3-5:00 pm to play classic and contemporary board games like Risk, Mysterium, Sherriff of Nottingham, and Scrabble. For teens and adults.

Register on our online calendar

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.


Bring your present project and your lunch and join us! No registration necessary.

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!

Thursdays from 2 - 4 pm


Having trouble figuring out your new phone? Need some pointers on how to send that photo to your relatives? Until further notice, the Wallkill Public Library will be conducting weekly Tech Support sessions every Thursday from 2 to 4 PM. Swing by the library Reading Room if you need a hand, and we'll do our best to get you the answers you need and give you the know how to do it yourself. 


No registration required! Walk-ins welcome.

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!

From Miss Michelle

Happy New Year from the Children's Room! As we start to plan some great things for the upcoming year, check out what's new...

Thank you Borden...and raffle winners!

We enjoyed Borden's sneaky visits this holiday season - our young library friends did a great job finding him! Borden has returned to the North Pole to help Santa prepare for next Christmas; in the meantime, we'd like to announce the randomly chosen winners of our Borden basket raffle:

 

  • Christopher A.
  • Alessia S. 

 

An elf-tastic congrats to Alessia and Christopher!

MogaWorks Returns!

Saturday, January 18 at 11 AM


We are thrilled to welcome back Ms. Susan! Join her for a program of yoga, music, movement…and most of all, fun! This program will be in the Community Room at Town Hall. Please register each child separately on our online calendar at the following link: https://rcls1.libcal.com/event/13754272

Register

Zoe the Therapy Dog


Zoe's next visit with us will be on January 21 at 10:30 AM.

Zoe loves to join in on the fun - she also enjoys being read to and will take some gentle pets along the way…she might even surprise us with some tricks! Please register each child separately on our online calendar at the following link: https://rcls1.libcal.com/event/13476626

Register

Special Saturday Pajama Storytime coming in February!

Saturday, February 22, 11 AM

Join Miss Michelle for a Special Saturday Pajama Storytime! Wear your coziest pjs and bring a snuggly blanket and your favorite stuffy! We might even play a game or two!


This program will be in the Community Room at Town Hall. Registration is not required - for ages 12 and under.

Chilldren's Reading Festival

Miss Michelle had the pleasure of attending the Children's Reading Festival at the FDR Presidential Library and Museum over the holidays. Miss Michelle loves hosting storytimes, but it was so nice to hear authors tell their own tales! 

Above is local author, historian, and Wallkill teacher A.J. Schenkman, reading from his first children's book, Franklin's Trees. In this beautifully illustrated book, we learn of the conservation efforts of our 32nd president and how his appreciation of trees started at a young age. You can borrow this book from our library by clicking on the button to link to our catalogue.

Franklin's Trees

Place a hold

This is award-winning author and illustrator Michael Garland. His books have been on the New York Times Best Seller list four times and he has illustrated for celebrity authors such as James Patterson and Gloria Estefan. Mr. Garland discussed his portfolio of visual art and vast array of children's books, (several of which are available from our library) Click the button below to link to our catalogue.

Search for Michael Garland books

The Great Easter Egg Hunt

King Puck

The Mouse Before Christmas

Ongoing children's programming


Children's Room programming is back to our regular schedule in the Children’s area on our lower level.

  • Storytime is on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 10:30 AM,
  • Crafting Caboodles is on Tuesdays at 11:00 AM, and
  • STEM is on Wednesdays at 11:00 AM.
  • We also have take-and-make sign-ups again!

Please click on the button below to link to our online calendar to register for these programs.

Register for children's programs online

Special Book Display


In celebration of National Hobby Month, check out our special book display for January.

What new hobbies will you try this month?

New children's books for January

Board books

Ms. Rachel: 100 First Words

Ms. Rachel: Potty Time with Bean

Picture books

A Sea of Gold

Junior early readers

Paw Patrol:

5 Minute Stories Collection

Early readers

Millie Magnus #1:

Millie Magnus Won't Be Bullied

Graphic novels

Fresh Start

Wings of Fire Graphic Novel #8: Escaping Peril

Junior fiction

The Misfits #2:

Copycat Conundrum

Junior non-fiction

It Feels Good to be Yourself:

A Book about Gender Identity

This is My Brain:

A Book on Neurodiversity

New Young Adult books

We have added a TON of new young adult titles to our collection!

YA fiction

What the River Knows

(book 1)

Isabel Ibañez

Where The Library Hides

(book 2)

Isabel Ibañez

Ride and Die 

Lucia Ashta

Broken Throne 

Victoria Aveyard

The Brothers Hawthorne

(book 4)

Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Games Untold

(book 5)

Jennifer Lynn Barnes

The Thirteenth Child 

Erin A. Craig

Shadowed 

Carl Deuker

New YA non-fiction

Civic Minded: What Everyone Should Know about the US Government

Jeff Fleischer

Library services at a glance

  • 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.
  • Curbside delivery of pre-ordered items is available by request. Call the circulation desk at 845-895-3707 to make a pick-up appointment.
  • 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, Mohonk Preserve, Motorcylcepedia, Museum Village, and Storm King Art Center. Plus, more print-at-home museum passes available through the Ulster County InfoPortal on the library’s website.
  • We are not accepting any donations of books or DVDs at this time.
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