Food lovers, rejoice! Starting in April we will launch a fun new food program called The Monthly Munch. Once a month on a Wednesday or Friday, we will offer a cooking, tasting, or making event geared toward kids, teens, and families. 

April is National Pecan month!  

Pop in and sample some delish pecan treats, get the recipes and vote for your favorite on Friday, April 12 between 10 a.m.--5:30 p.m. Votes count as an entry toward an awesome Pecan Gift Basket drawing.

Bring in a pecan recipe of your own or check out a dessert cookbook while here and get another chance for the drawing! Patrons of all ages are welcomed to participate.

May's Monthly Munch will a feature a mini charcuterie board program in honor of National Cheese Month!

Contact Christine Adams if you have any questions.

No fooling! Don't lose the most important card in your wallet!

If you have not used your library card in 5 years, you are at risk of being dropped from the RCLS system. Each year, RCLS purges inactive patrons in an annual "cleanse" of inactive card holders. The library will be reaching out to patrons on the list in the coming weeks to make them aware.

If you haven't used your card in a while, any activity on your account (including borrowing from our digital library) between now and the final removal date (April 1) will prevent your card from being deleted. This is a great time to come to the library and check out a book, magazine, or DVD, or to get around to loading Libby on your phone or tablet and get started with ebooks and audiobooks.

RCLS's new mobile app, RCLS Go is live! Use it to access, explore, and manage your RCLS library account anytime, anywhere from your mobile device.

RCLS Go quick start guide:

1. Search for “RCLS Go” on the App Store or Google Play and download it to your mobile device.
2. Launch the app. Look up your library by geolocation or name.
3. Log in with your library card number and PIN.

You can now search the collection, manage your account, browse and discover new items, create and view lists, place holds, and check out e-Content. And just like the former app, you will have access to a scannable library card within the RCLS Go app so you will never be without your library card if you have your phone! 

The new Saturday Morning Book Club will have their second meeting at 10:30 a.m., Saturday, March 23! They'll be discussing Annie Barrow's The Truth According to Us. The group will be meeting in the library's reading room.

In the summer of 1938, Layla Beck’s father, a United States senator, cuts off her allowance and demands that she find employment on the Federal Writers’ Project, a New Deal jobs program. Within days, Layla finds herself far from her accustomed social whirl, assigned to cover the history of the remote mill town of Macedonia, West Virginia, and destined, in her opinion, to go completely mad with boredom. But once she secures a room in the home of the unconventional Romeyn family, she is drawn into their complex world and soon discovers that the truth of the town is entangled in the thorny past of the Romeyn dynasty.

At the Romeyn house, twelve-year-old Willa is desperate to learn everything in her quest to acquire her favorite virtues of ferocity and devotion—a search that leads her into a thicket of mysteries, including the questionable business that occupies her charismatic father and the reason her adored aunt Jottie remains unmarried. Layla’s arrival strikes a match to the family veneer, bringing to light buried secrets that will tell a new tale about the Romeyns. As Willa peels back the layers of her family’s past, and Layla delves deeper into town legend, everyone involved is transformed—and their personal histories completely rewritten. –– Goodreads

On Tuesday, April 9, at 6:30 p.m., the adult fiction book club will meet in our reading room to discuss Beloved by Toni Morrison. This title bridges Black History Month in February to Women's History Month in March. Newcomers are always welcome!

From Goodreads...

Sethe was born a slave and escaped to Ohio, but eighteen years later she is still not free. She has borne the unthinkable and not gone mad, yet she is still held captive by memories of Sweet Home, the beautiful farm where so many hideous things happened. Meanwhile Sethe’s house has long been troubled by the angry, destructive ghost of her baby, who died nameless and whose tombstone is engraved with a single word: Beloved.

Sethe works at beating back the past, but it makes itself heard and felt incessantly in her memory and in the lives of those around her. When a mysterious teenage girl arrives, calling herself Beloved, Sethe’s terrible secret explodes into the present.

We are so excited to see what you've done with your tiny bird houses! Be sure to return them to the library on or before Wednesday, March 13, 2024. Include your name and age with your birdhouse to help us determine the Viewer's Choice Awards in 3 categories - Adult (18+), Teen (12-17), and Youth (up to 11). 

Birdhouses will be on display at the library from March 15 to April 15, 2024. Visitors to the library will be able to submit one vote per visit for their favorite birdhouse.

Don't panic!

Accidents happen. Bring your item back and show us the damage. Normal wear and tear is to be expected over time. Sometimes, our book repair experts can repair minor damage. A torn or loose page, a damaged dust jacket or peeling spine stickers, a cracked spine are all fairly standard repairs.

Don’t DIY

Please, do not attempt to repair a damaged book yourself, even if it appears to be a simple tape fix. We use special glues and tapes meant for specifically for book repair. Your well-intentioned home repair could cause additional damage to the book because it will likely need to be removed before the repair can be made by a trained book “doctor”. Each case is different; let us decide how to best care for the “patient”.

Believe me, we have seen worse!

If your new puppy (or toddler) chewed the cover off a board book, if you dropped a best-seller in the bath, if your coffee cascaded over a cookbook, if your budding artist “illustrated” the endpapers of a picture book… we are probably talking about irreversible damage. And in these instances, you would be asked to pay for a replacement. If your book came from another library through an interlibrary loan, we will be happy to facilitate with the owning library to resolve the issue. Once the damaged book is paid for, you will be able to keep the item, bite marks and all!

About those red tickets…

If you ever find a red “damaged item” ticket in a borrowed library item, just leave it there. That red ticket is a signal that library staff noted damage to the item BEFORE you received it. The red ticket is your get-out-of-library-jail-free card. When you return the item, it will go back to its home library to have the damage evaluated, and you will not be held responsible. Mischief managed!

Now through April 30

Spring into the library for books, movies, museum passes and magazines! Earn chances to win a $25 gas card from Stewart’s! Pick up your new Bingo card today or download your own!

Mahjong meet-ups

Every Wednesday at 1 p.m. and Thursday at 6 p.m. the library hosts our Mahjong Clubs. If you’re a player or just interested in learning, join us! We supply the games and (a limited number of) 2023 mahjong cards. Just drop in, no registration required.

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

Adult coloring club

Coloring pages are no longer just for children! Join us for this creative and relaxing hobby. Just drop in, registration not required. Bring your own materials or use ours.

Coloring Club meets on Tuesday evenings at 6:00-8:00 PM. No registration is required.

Adult crafting

Grab a project and come enjoy the craft of your choice, whether it's knitting, crocheting, diamond painting, coloring, embroidery, or cross stitch!

Adult Crafting meets on Thursday afternoons between 2:00-5:00 PM. No registration is required.

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!

Decorative Needle Felted Eggs Wednesday, March 27 at 6:00-7:30 p.m.

Needle felting is an age-old fiber art. Learn the process of turning wool into objects both fun and functional, using a special needle and foam mat. Registration required. Ages 8+.

Only 2 seats left! Register today to reserve your place!

Bunny Treat Tray Friday, March 29 at 2:00-3:00 p.m.

Paint, cut, and glue all the elements needed to create a cute Easter bunny candy tray. Registration required. Ages 8+.

As we begin to see signs of spring, like daffodils playing peek-a-boo and critters scurrying about, scurry on over to the Wallkill Public Library for some exciting events!

Lights out!

On Monday, April 8th, 2024, a total solar eclipse will cross North America, passing over Mexico, United States, and Canada!

Here at the Wallkill Public Library, we are having an Eclipse Celebration Event on Saturday, April 6th from 11 AM to 12 PM out on the library lawn. In the event of inclement weather, this program will be in the Community Room at Town Hall.

Register here to join us - we will have special guest Shantha Thangiah, a NASA Solar System Ambassador, here to host family-friendly learning and activities. You will also receive a free pair of viewing glasses… a safety MUST for watching a solar eclipse!

Don’t miss out on this amazing time in science history - the next solar eclipse visible from the United States won’t be until 2044!

Saturday, March 30 at 10:30 AM Shawangunk Town Hall Community Room

Wrap up the March holiday week at a FREE family-fun variety show, hosted by beloved entertainer David Engel, on Saturday, March 30th at 10:30 a.m.!

Jack Frost is coming to town and he’s bringing wintertime fun! The world's premiere polar prankster and renown ice artist will delight audiences with this heart-warming production!

This program will be in the Town Hall Community Room. The show is geared for children ages 4 and up. Registration is required - secure your child's spot here!

Prior to the show, be sure to join in on the Wallkill Lions Club FREE Easter Egg Hunt on the library lawn at 9:00 a.m. - see below for more details!

Saturday, March 30 at 9:00 AM Wallkill Public Library lawn

This event is FREE to kids of all ages! Come out and get a picture with the Easter Bunny, collect Easter eggs, and bring home a bag of treats!

No registration necessary for this event. For additional information, call or text (914) 213-3063.

Zoe the Therapy Dog!

Zoe endeared our friends with some cool tricks at our last Storytime! Register here to see what she has in store during her next visit on Tuesday, March 12th.

Registration is REQUIRED. Please register each child separately.

Thank you, Ostrander!

Miss Julie and Miss Michelle enjoyed meeting members of our community at Ostrander’s Family Game Night last week. We shared information about our programs and offerings, signed up new patrons for library cards, handed out some library swag, and hosted a “guess how many” game. There were 102 chess pieces in our jar - we are thrilled to announce that Ellis R. hit the nail on the head with a guess of 102!!! We had several students come close with guesses of 100, and we even had one guess for 8,100! Congrats to Ellis on winning a $25 Barnes and Noble gift card and thanks to the staff at Ostrander for inviting us to this amazing event!

Friday, March 22 at 5:30 p.m.

If you and your child are interesting in learning more about the weekly Jewish day of rest called Shabbat, this special storytime is for you!

Join Nancy Gayle Judson, the PJ Library Coordinator of the Jewish Federation of Ulster County, for this fourth Friday program, which runs from 5:30 p.m. to 6:15 p.m. She’ll read PJ Library stories and teach attendees about the rituals of Shabbat, while celebrating and reflecting on the week that has passed and making wishes for the week to come.

This event is brought to you by the PJ Library program of Ulster County, and co-sponsored by the Jewish Federation of Ulster County. To register, visit the library’s website. 

• 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.
• Grab & GO projects with materials necessary for crafts available for pickup at the library.
• In-person programming, with appropriate social distancing.
• Museum passes are available to Wallkill Public Library patrons for Boscobel House and Gardens, Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library & Museum, Empire Pass, Hudson Highlands Nature Museum, Hudson River Maritime Museum, Mohonk Preserve, 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.