The Rock Island Public Library is offering a variety of activities for all ages this month at its three locations. This week, the library is holding a public reading of the Declaration of Independence on Wednesday.
“And the timing of that is because on July 8th, 1776, the Declaration was first read aloud to the citizens of Philadelphia who gathered in a public square to hear [it] read,” Marketing Manager Lisa Lockheart said in an interview with WVIK. “It would have been the first time that many American citizens would have heard that document. And so we'll be having a live reading at Watts Midtown Branch, and anyone is welcome to stop in.” The reading starts at 5 p.m.
The library is hosting additional events focusing on history, with a Rock Island Arsenal Lecture Series on Wednesday at 2 p.m. at the downtown location.
“[T]he Rock Island Arsenal Army Sustainment Command history series that has been ongoing throughout the year. Their theme this whole year is America 250. And the next topic of that will be the Declaration of Independence,” Lockheart said.
Attendees can access the downtown library’s second floor to view an exhibit of local Rock Island history.
“[I]t's a poster project that our special collections historian James Shearouse has put together, and he has found an original photograph of Rock Island pioneers which has some names that are very significant to library history, such as [John] Spencer. You know, the downtown library was built on Spencer [and Case’s] Addition. And so, for history fans of Rock Island, there are some really interesting things there,” Lockheart said. “There is a poster project on the building of the Centennial Bridge using some of the photos that are in our special collections. And of course, going back to the original history of Rock Island, the history of Saukenuk, and the Native American settlers who were already here.”
The exhibit is on display until July 17th.
Later in the month, the Downtown library is holding another historical program with its Rock Island Knows Tractors series on Wednesday, July 22. Lockheart said this program will highlight the Oliver tractor.
“So we've been getting an ongoing group of tractor aficionados who are learning about other kinds of tractors maybe they didn't know about. We always have something going on at the library,” Lockheart said.
On Friday, July 10th, the Watts-Midtown and Downtown will host snakes and other reptiles with Shadowland Serpentry.
“And that is a gentleman from Rock Island who loves to share his love of snakes and reptiles, and he brings 8 to 10 different snakes and reptiles, and people can learn more about them,” Lockheart said. “And then at the end of each event, there is a kind of show and tell where you can actually hold a snake or a reptile.” The free event will be held at 10:30 a.m. at the library’s Downtown location and at 1 p.m. at the Watts-Midtown Branch.
Lockheart added that the library’s summer reading challenge is underway and more than one-third of the way towards its total community reading time goal of 750,000 minutes.
“[W]e ask that people log what kind of— how many minutes they're reading. And if they've done something at the library that's one of the goals, they log that. And it's kind of a fun way to encourage family reading and keep those reading goals up over the summer. And that's our Plant a Seed Reading Challenge,” Lockheart said.
“[W]e still have a few library reading yard signs. So if you're going to get registered, stop in and pick up a yard sign and let people know you're a summer reader,” Lockheart said. “We have any number of ongoing events like story times for very young children, Tuesdays and Fridays at our Watts Midtown Branch, Wednesdays at our Southwest Rock Island Branch. There is a drop-in program called Weekly Wednesdays at our Watts Midtown Branch for school-age children, which includes kindergarten through 6th grade. And they have a different activity they do every week. So really just kind of stay in touch with that calendar and see what's going on because I can guarantee there is something there for every age and pretty much every interest.”
The library is also offering craft activities that require registration, like sip n' paint, jigsaw puzzle contest, plantable seed paper, do-it-yourself button making, and plant-inspired tote bag. More information can be found on their website.
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