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THE BLAST
THE LATEST NEWS AND INFORMATION FROM
WALLKILL PUBLIC LIBRARY
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We’re excited to welcome a new face at the Wallkill Public Library! After fulfilling 28 years as a reading teacher and elementary school counselor, Sarah Phillips has recently moved to the area with her husband, daughter, their dog, and two cats.
Now embracing this new chapter, she’s looking forward to connecting with all of you as our Children's Library Services Coordinator—sharing her love of books, participating in fun activities, and getting creative with crafts during the Summer Reading Program.
Be sure to say hello and join in the fun!
| | | Summer Reading Program Kick-off! | | |
Let the 2025 Summer Reading Program begin!
July 3rd marked the beginning of the 2025 Summer Reading Program at the Wallkill Public Library. Thanks to everyone who braved the weather to celebrate it with us and thank you to Magician Joe Fischer for putting on a great show for the kids.
We'll have more events each week throughout July and August. So, checkout the library calendar (https://wallkillpubliclibrary.libcal.com/.../wpl_programs...) and sign up for the library mailing list (https://www.wallkillpubliclibrary.org/.../join-our...) if you're interested in keeping up with everything that's going on in the library. It's going to be a fun summer!
Read more about our SRP programs for all ages below...
| | | 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!
| | We are a Chronogram Reader's Choice Winner (Again!) | | | |
Wallkill Public Library takes home the bronze for the second year in a row!!!
This year we placed in not just one, but two categories! We placed third in the Education & Learners category for Classes and Workshops, and we once again placed third among libraries in the area in the Arts & Entertainment category. Thank you to our patrons and the 20,000+ people who participated in this year’s Chronogram Readers’ Choice Awards! We're really thrilled you continue to enjoy and support what we do!
Check out the full winners list online at Chronogram.com/readerschoice.
| | Friends of the Wallkill Public Library Renegades Raffle | |
Play ball!
Congratulations to Kathi Bayer for winning the Friends of the Wallkill Public Library Renegades Raffle Basket! We hope you enjoy your Hudson Valley Renegades swag and tickets!
Special thanks to the Hudson Valley Renegades and Heritage Financial Credit Union for donating such fantastic prizes!
| | | 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?
Start your #RCLSRoadTrip25 at any RCLS library! Pick up a Travel Log, then visit as many libraries as you can from June 30 to Sept. 30. Collect stamps and earn entries to win prizes!
Capture your favorite library visits, creative moments, or unique discoveries to earn entries in our online RCLS swag prize drawings. To enter:
• Follow RCLS on Facebook, Instagram, or X
• Post a photo and tag RCLS and the library
• Use #RCLSRoadTrip25 and #RCLSStamped
Details at www.rcls.org
#RCLSStamped #RCLSRoadTrip25
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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.
| | 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!
| | Wings Over Wallkill Birdwatching Walks | |
Art Along the Sidewalk is kicking off with the Summer Reading Program!
With this year's "Color Our World" Summer Reading Program theme, Vision of Wallkill (VOW) and the Wallkill Public Library are teaming up for this year's Art Along the Sidewalk project. People can sign up at the library to participate. They will be given a blank, 18"x24" white plastic sign to paint with a "Color Our World" theme. The art will then be judged at Weekend of Wallkill in mid-September and then put along roadways in the Hamlet of Wallkill for the month of October. There is a $3 fee to participate, and prizes will be awarded. Additional information and signups are at the Wallkill Public Library through August 30th. We hope you'll join the project and help Color Our World!
| | | Click the titles to link to our online catalog to read descriptions, reviews, and place holds. | | | | |
Badlands
Douglas J. Preston & Lincoln Childs
| | Find Your Next Great Read with NoveList | |
Read What You Like
It’s easier than ever to find a book that’s right for you. Whether you want a celebrity book club pick, something that matches your current mood, the latest title in a popular series, or just want to browse, NoveList can help you read what you like. Just click on the NoveList button on our website and start exploring! Find fresh new content on NoveList’s homepage under Books with Buzz. These titles are the ones mentioned in the media!
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The Adult Fiction Book Club's next meeting will be on Tuesday, July 222, 2025 at 3:45 p.m. to discuss His Only Wife by Peace Adzo Medie.
Afi Tekple is a young seamstress whose life is narrowing rapidly. She lives in a small town in Ghana with her widowed mother, spending much of her time in her uncle Pious’s house with his many wives and children. Then one day she is offered a life-changing opportunity—a proposal of marriage from the wealthy family of Elikem Ganyo, a man she doesn’t truly know. She acquiesces, but soon realizes that Elikem is not quite the catch he seemed. He sends a stand-in to his own wedding, and only weeks after Afi is married and installed in a plush apartment in the capital city of Accra does she meet her new husband. It turns out that he is in love with another woman, whom his family disapproves of; Afi is supposed to win him back on their behalf. But it is Accra that eventually wins Afi’s heart and gives her a life of independence that she never could have imagined for herself.
-- from Goodreads.
| If you would like to attend virtually, contact Kim O'Sullivan at kosullivan@rcls.org. | | 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
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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
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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!
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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.
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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.
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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!
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Lend-A-Pole
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.
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Tech Support 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.
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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!
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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!
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We can't wait to begin our summer adventures with YOU!
Our Summer Reading Program is underway! 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 and on our website.
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!
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Family Storytime & Crafts
with Miss Stephanie
The only thing better than storytime and crafts is storytime and crafts with guest reader and author Stephanie Lock under the tent! Thanks to Miss Stephanie for treating us to her excellent story, If Goldfish were Bluebirds as well as her “sensory fish jar craft”. It was a great time!
| | Karate Comes to Wallkill Public Library! | | |
As part of our 2025 Summer Reading Program, we were thrilled to welcome Sensei Sean and Senpai Lyric from Fighting Spirit Karate to the Wallkill Public Library!
Children had the exciting opportunity to learn about the art of karate, participate in a dynamic warm-up, and then showcase their newly acquired skills. With great enthusiasm, they practiced blocking, punching, and kicking—all under the expert guidance of our visiting martial artists.
| | | Upcoming Summer Reading Program Events! | | Colors of Nature with 4-H | | |
Thursday, July 17 from 4pm to 5pm
July is a month full of beautiful colors in gardens around the Northeast... Lisa Morganstern-Perl, 4-H Educator with the Ulster County Cornell Cooperative Extension, invites us to imagine a flower garden... where we will learn names of flowering plants and how to preserve their colors. She will then lead us in an activity to create garden suncatchers and dye scarves using natural dyes from flowers to preserve and showcase the amazing colors of nature.
Online registration for this event is required for each child. For ages 12 & under. This event will be on the Library Lawn. In the event of inclement weather, we will meet in the Community Room at Town Hall. Register here: https://wallkillpubliclibrary.libcal.com/event/14674631
| | | Colorful Reptiles from around the World! | | |
Thursday July 24 from 4pm to 5pm
Join the folks from REPCO Wildlife/Prehistoric World Zoo as they Color Our World with an interactive reptile experience! Audiences will learn all about ten colorful reptiles from around the world and will also have the opportunity to interact with them and take photos!
Online registration for this event is required for each child. For ages 12 & under. This event will be on the Library Lawn. In the event of inclement weather, we will meet in the Community Room at Town Hall. Register here: https://wallkillpubliclibrary.libcal.com/event/14674615
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Join Us for a "Summer of the Baby-sitters Club" Party!
Calling all fans of Kristy, Claudia, Mary Anne, and Stacey! The Wallkill Public Library is hosting a Summer of the Baby-sitters 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!
Registration is required. Register at:
https://wallkillpubliclibrary.libcal.com/event/14838302
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Zoe the Therapy Dog
Zoe's next visit with us will be on July 15 at 10:30 AM under the tent on the library lawn. Zoe loves to join in on the fun - she also enjoys being read to and being pet gently… she might even surprise us with some tricks! To register your child, please click on the following link to our online calendar: https://wallkillpubliclibrary.libcal.com/event/13476647
| | | Ongoing children's programming | | 1000 Books Before Kindergarten! | | |
We are thrilled to roll out 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!
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Great reading, Peyton!
We'd like to congratulate Peyton T. and family for reading 300 books as part of this program! Peyton received a special badge to add to her chain to commemorate this milestone - she can keep adding badges as she and her family read more books to reach their final goal of 1,000 books before kindergarten!
| | Teen Summer Reading Program is Here! | | 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! | | | Teens! Get Creative This Summer! | |
Scratch Art
Tuesday, July 29 between 3–5 p.m.
Swing by the library on 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!
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Paint Your Own Unicorn!
From Monday, July 7 to Friday, July 18
Stop by the library and bring a unicorn to life! There are many styles of unicorns to choose from. Once you’re done, take your masterpiece home OR show it off in our Color Our World Teen Tiny Art Show for everyone to admire!
No pressure, just creativity. All supplies provided. Let your imagination run wild!
| | | 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
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Fax
Faxes can be sent and received at a charge of $1.00 per page.
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Scan
Scan documents to your portable USB drive. There is no charge for this service!
| | Library services at a glance | |
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Our doors are open for library services including browsing for library materials, making copies, sending faxes, and using the public access computers.
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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.
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Fine-free returns on everything, except museum/park passes.
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Inter-library loans are available between all RCLS libraries.
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In-person programming for all ages!
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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.
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We are not accepting any donations of books or DVDs at this time.
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