|
THE BLAST
THE LATEST NEWS AND INFORMATION FROM
WALLKILL PUBLIC LIBRARY
| | | Read on to see what fun we've had so far and what fun is to come...! | | Mammal Tracks with George Steele | | Thanks to George Steele for taking us on a mammal track journey this past Saturday. It was informative and fun as always. It was also impressive to see all the mammal track bandanas everyone made. There are definitely some future artists and biologists in the group! | | | | | Miss Kim and Miss Jillian from the Wallkill Public Library brought creativity and fun to the Town of Shawangunk Summer Camp at Verkeerderkill Park on Monday, July 14! Campers enjoyed a vibrant “Color Our World” story time, followed by hands-on activities like scratch art, 3D butterflies, and themed coloring and activity pages. It was a colorful time full of imagination and smiles. | | Summer BBQ and Water Fun on the Lawn | | Wallkill Public Library Annual Summer BBQ was amazing! We had some fun in the sun! Lots of water activities, hot dogs, and snacks. We thank everyone who came out to join us, and look forward to seeing you all for more Friday Fun activities between now and mid-August. Wallkill Public Library is the place to be this summer. So, check us out! | | | Wings Over Wallkill Birdwatching Walks | |
Graffiti Chairs
Workshop Wednesday’s graffiti program created totally cool chairs!
Interested? Back by popular demand of those who could not make the first session... we have added another Workshop Wednesday GRAFFITI CHAIRS program for Wednesday, August 20 at 6pm. Be sure to sign up! Register here: https://wallkillpubliclibrary.libcal.com/event/15004751
| |
Puzzle Mosaics
Last week’s Workshop Wednesday program was Puzzle Mosiacs. Colorful cut puzzle pieces glued together on a painted board.
| |
Boho Jars
Boho jars from this week’s Workshop Wednesday. Teens made a glass etched, beaded tea lite jars in a bohemian style.
| | | The Art of Mondays had these kids drawing different, replicating self-portraits with oil pastels and water colored paper. The results were fabulous! | | Round Out the Week with Snack & Craft and Fun Fridays | | |
Fun Fridays have been a blast! We had our annual Sumner BBQ complete with hot dogs, chips, watermelon, water games, slip 'n slide, snacks and crafts last week.
Last week, we made rainbow fish at Snack & Craft.
| | |
Get Creative This Summer!
| | | |
Tuesday, July 29 between 3-5 p.m.
Swing by the library for an awesome Scratch Art session! Unleash your inner artist as you scratch out dazzling designs on wild land animals and cool sea creatures.
Not feeling social? No worries—you can grab a take-home kit and create your masterpiece wherever you want!
No registration needed—just show up and start scratching! Let’s Color Our World, one creature at a time!
| | |
Thursday, July 31 at 4 p.m.
The summer fun continues with our Tie-dye Teddy workshop on Thursday July 31st at 4pm! Create your own tie-dye teddy to take home! We will take our pre-stuffed bears and give them each their own wish star. Then we will "colorburst" our bears' fur and fill out their official birth certificates! Bear transportation bags will also be provided. Register here: https://wallkillpubliclibrary.libcal.com/event/14674580
*Online registration for this event is required for each child. For ages 5 & up. This event will be on the Library Lawn. In the event of inclement weather, we will meet in the Community Room at Town Hall.
Disclaimer(s) - Accompanying Adults: This program is designed for children and accompanying adults. Please plan to attend and be engaged with your child for this program. Drop offs will not be permitted. Also, we will be using colorful dyes on the bears, so please make sure to dress accordingly!
| | | |
Tuesday, August 5, 6-9 p.m.
The Wallkill Public Library is happy to be participating in National Night Out. We look forward to seeing you all there and enjoying the evening. Come on by and say hello. We'll be sure to bring some swag along with us to the event.
| | Join Us for a Summer of the Baby-sitter’s Club Party! | | |
Saturday, August 2 at 11:00 a.m.
Calling all fans of Kristy, Claudia, Mary Anne, and Stacey! The Wallkill Public Library is hosting a Summer of the Baby-sitter’s Club party on Saturday, August 2 at 11:00 AM. Celebrate Ann M. Martin’s beloved book series with themed activities and a fun-filled trivia contest. The trivia champ will take home an official Baby-sitter’s Club towel—perfect for summer reading by the pool! There will be free swag for all registrants! Don’t miss out on the fun!
| | | | | |
Friday, August 8, 2:00 - 3:30 PM
Always a high point of the summer, Wallkill Public Library's BINGO afternoon is a crowd-pleaser. Play BINGO for cool prizes! Everyone leaves with something. All ages.
Registration required: https://wallkillpubliclibrary.libcal.com/event/14726274
| | Adult Summer Reading Program | |
Summer reading… not just for kids!
Just read a book (e-books count, too!) or magazine, listen to an audiobook, 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. Entering is fast and easy! And, the more books you read or listen to, and the more programs you attend, the higher your chances are to win a prize.
Adult summer reading is for readers ages 18+. The program kicks off on July 3 and runs through the end of August 29. Winners will be announced Tuesday, September 2nd.
Good luck and keep on reading!
| | | A Message from Our Friends | | | | |
The Friends of the WPL want to thank our community for taking a chance with our fabulous raffle from the Renegades. Moreover, we are very grateful to the Heritage Credit Union for their donation of tickets, meals, hats and more for the Renegades game. It is people like you who help us do more for our library.
Now we hope you will purchase a beautiful, sturdy canvas bag with our logo to continue our efforts. One bag costs $15, with two bags for $25. You can purchase one (or two!) at the library circulation desk.
| | At a Library Near You... the 2025 RCLS Road Trip | |
Ready for local adventure this summer?
Fuel your curiosity and hit the road! The #RCLSRoadTrip25 runs June 30–Sept. 30. Explore libraries, complete fun challenges, collect stamps, and earn chances to win great prizes.
Learn more at https://guides.rcls.org/RoadTrip2025
#RCLSStamped #RCLSRoadTrip25
| | | |
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.
| |
Art Along the Sidewalk
With this year's Summer Reading Program theme of "Color Our World", the Library and Vision of Wallkill are teaming up for this year's Art Along the Sidewalk contest. Art Along the Sidewalk allows children and adults to paint a "Color Our World" design on a plastic 18x24 "lawn" sign. 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 starting June 19th. All artwork must be submitted by September 9th. Contest entry fee is $3. We hope you'll help Color Our World.
| | | Library Board of Trustee Petition Signatures | | | | The Wallkill Public Library is presently accepting petition signatures for library board trustees who are up for re-election. The trustees play a vital role in the functioning of the library. So, we encourage residents who live in the Town of Shawangunk within the Wallkill Central School District to consider signing the petitions for these excellent volunteers who seek to give their time in service of the library and the community. Residents are able to sign any and all of the board of trustee petitions, which can be found on the table across from the Wallkill Public Library front desk. Let's support community members supporting their community! | | Click the titles to link to our online catalog to read descriptions, reviews, and place holds. | | If you would like to attend virtually, contact Kim O'Sullivan at kosullivan@rcls.org. | | |
The Adult Fiction Book Club will be meeting on Tuesday, August 19, 2025 at 3:45 p.m. to discuss Someone Else's Shoes by JoJo Moyes.
A story of mix-ups, mess-ups and making the most of second chances. Who are you when you are forced to walk in someone else’s shoes?
Nisha Cantor lives the globetrotting life of the seriously wealthy, until her husband announces a divorce and cuts her off. Nisha is determined to hang onto her glamorous life. But in the meantime, she must scramble to cope--she doesn’t even have the shoes she was, until a moment ago, standing in.
That’s because Sam Kemp – in the bleakest point of her life – has accidentally taken Nisha’s gym bag. But Sam hardly has time to worry about a lost gym bag--she’s struggling to keep herself and her family afloat. When she tries on Nisha’s six-inch high Christian Louboutin red crocodile shoes, the resulting jolt of confidence that makes her realize something must change—and that thing is herself.
Full of Jojo Moyes’ signature humor, brilliant storytelling, and warmth, Someone Else’s Shoes is a story about how just one little thing can suddenly change everything.
-- from Goodreads.
| | Saturday Morning Book Club | | | | |
The Saturday Morning Book Club will hold their next meeting on Saturday, August 23 at 10:30 a.m. They'll be discussing A Woman's Place by Lynn Austin.
They watched their sons, their brothers, and their husbands enlist to fight a growing menace across the seas. And when their nation asked, they answered the call as well....
Virginia longs to find a purpose beyond others' expectations.
Helen is driven by a loneliness money can't fulfill.
Rosa is desperate to flee her in-laws' rules.
Jean hopes to prove herself in a man's world.
Under the storm clouds of destruction that threaten America during the early 1940s, this unlikely gathering of women will experience life in sometimes startling new ways as their beliefs are challenged and they struggle toward a new understanding of what love and sacrifice truly mean.
-- from Goodreads
| |
September's Saturday Book Club pick is...
"The Wedding People" by Alison Espach.
In turns absurdly funny and devastatingly tender, Alison Espach’s The Wedding People is ultimately an incredibly nuanced and resonant look at the winding paths we can take to places we never imagined—and the chance encounters it sometimes takes to reroute us.
-- from Goodreads
| | | | |
2025 Reading Challenge
Join the year-long 2025 Reading Challenge at the Wallkill Public Library! Ask for your challenge card at the Circulation Desk. Read a book for each month as outlined on our challenge card and earn one raffle ticket for every completed month. Complete three challenges, and you’ll receive a special incentive prize plus an extra ticket for the final prize drawing.
The grand prize will be announced later, and the drawing will be held on Friday, January 2, 2026. Don’t miss out on the fun and the chance to win fantastic prizes while expanding your reading horizons!
| | | |
Expanded Tech Support
10:00-4:00 PM weekdays
Technology doesn't just give you headaches on Thursdays. So, the Wallkill Public Library will be offering Tech Support from 10-4 on weekdays from now on, rather than just on Thursdays from 2pm until 4pm. 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.
| | | |
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 games and learn contemporary board games like Dungeons & Dragons, Settlers of Catan, Risk, Mysterium, Sherriff of Nottingham, and others. For teens and adults.
| | | |
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!
| | | |
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.
| | | |
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!
| | |
We are loving our summer adventures with YOU!
Our Summer Reading Program is well underway but it's not too late to participate! We have great reading incentives to encourage our local youths (ages 12 and under*) to read over the summer months. Registration is not required – reading packets are available at the library.
This year’s reading packet includes a book BINGO board in celebration of our theme. Readers should complete as many reading challenge squares on their book BINGO board as possible and submit their boards and logs on or after August 30th to receive a special prize!
As readers complete book BINGOs on their boards, they can earn chances to win our grand prize: A $250 GIFT CARD TO THE KARTRITE RESORT & INDOOR WATERPARK!!! All participants will be entered in a raffle to win one of three Barnes & Noble gift cards. Prize winners will be randomly selected and notified in early September.
Be sure to register for great SRP programs on our online calendar at https://wallkillpubliclibrary.libcal.com/calendar. Don't miss out on the Art of Mondays with Ms. Christine, Foam Cannon Fun (7/30, 7/31 and 8/1), special performers and programs on Thursday afternoons at 4 PM, Snack & Craft on Fridays, Friday Fun on the Lawn (hint, hint... there will be water involved!), and much, much more!
| | Last Week’s Nature-Inspired Fun | | Children explored the vibrant world of flowers during the presentation from the Ulster County Cornell Cooperative Extension by Lisa Morganstern-Perl and Ms. Allie. Using colorful dried flowers, they created beautiful suncatchers and then made uniquely dyed fabrics using fresh blooms. | | This Week’s STEM Adventure: States of Matter | |
States of Matter
Things got a little messy—in the best way! Kids learned about states of matter and then measured solid and liquid ingredients to make oobleck, a fascinating non-Newtonian fluid. It was a hands-on way to explore how matter can behave in surprising ways!
| | Family Storytime with Miss Sarah | | Colors, critters and chicken crafts under the canopy were the center of Miss Sarah's first Family Storytime last week. | | |
Zoe the Therapy Dog
Zoe will be taking a vacation during the month of August but she will be back with us in September!
Join Miss Sarah for Storytime in the Children's Room at the Wallkill Public Library... with our special guest, ZOE THE THERAPY DOG on Tuesday, September 16! 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!
Click the link to register: https://wallkillpubliclibrary.libcal.com/event/15010421
| | | Ongoing children's programming | | 1000 Books Before Kindergarten! | | |
We are thrilled offer a new program in the Children's Room, 1000 Books Before Kindergarten!
1000 books might seem like a lot, but you have probably already made a dent and if not, it's never too late to start! This program is a national initiative which promotes bonding through reading between infants and young children and their caregivers/parents using a simple and fun approach to establish strong early brain development and literacy skills. There are also incentive prizes along the way! Any child from birth to kindergarten-age can participate.
Sign up in-person at the library. You can then pick up your program packet. We'll have more information and resources on our website soon!
| | Congressman Pat Ryan’s Reading Challenge | | |
Congressman Pat Ryan announced an all-new Summer Reading Challenge for Hudson Valley students, grades K-8. Participating students will track their reading, and those who complete five or more books before August 31st will receive a Congressional Certificate of Achievement.
“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.” said Congressman Pat Ryan. “That’s why I’m very excited to announce the launch of my new 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 in Congressman Ryan’s Summer Reading Challenge should fill out the form linked below. Participating K-8 students who read five or more books between July 1st and August 31st will receive a Congressional Certificate of Achievement.
Sign up for Congressman Ryan’s Summer Reading Challenge: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1f-fnIPi9GybJHatitd7DMeIegOGho7oSasFsifiNMhE/viewform?edit_requested=true
| | Teen Summer Reading Program | | Join the fun with our Teen Summer Reading Program (ages 12-17) and take on the Teen Book Genre Bingo Challenge! Complete squares or score a bingo to earn raffle tickets for a chance to win our grand prize "Taste the Rainbow" bundle—packed with colorful cooking utensils, mixing bowls, cookbooks, and cutting boards. Turn in your bingo sheet by August 29, and don’t miss the raffle drawing on September 2. Let the summer reading (and winning) begin! | | | Local Vaccination Clinics | | Business services available at the library | |
Copy & Print
Copying and self-service printing is available from our public access computers.
- Letter size B&W $.10
- Legal size B&W $.20
- Letter size Color $.30
- Legal size Color $.40
| |
Fax
Faxes can be sent and received at a charge of $1.00 per page.
| |
Scan
Scan documents to your portable USB drive. There is no charge for this service!
| | 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.
-
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, 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.
| | | | |
