Coloring for Adults

Remember what it was like when you were a kid and got a brand new coloring book with crayons that were never used?  Oh, the excitement of having a blank book just waiting for you to bring it to life with colors of your choosing!  And those pointy crayons with that familiar wax smell!  Coloring books and crayons were the keys to taking you away to a blissful world (and giving your parents a few hours of quiet!).

If you're missing those coloring days of your youth, you can re-live them again through the library's Coloring Club!  For one hour once a month, you can join your fellow adults in the library for coloring while you listen to soothing ambient music.  We supply the coloring sheets (which have a monthly theme), the coloring pencils, and the music.  You supply yourself and a desire to escape from the stresses of life for a short spell.

Ever since Johanna Basford came out with The Secret Garden: An Inky Treasure Hunt and Coloring Book, the adult coloring craze has taken the country (and many libraries) by storm.  I remember at first being skeptical about coloring for adults, but it's something that so many of us need.

Coloring is like meditation--your mind clears as you focus on your hands maneuvering the pencils, filling pages with color.  It's a short break from whatever is going on in your life and a subconscious return to the happy, carefree days of childhood.  It also allows you to connect with your artistic side, something many of us have left by the wayside when we grew up and entered the adult sphere.

The library's Coloring Club meets the first Wednesday of the month at 6:30 p.m.  Why not take a break, relax a bit, and get in touch with your inner child?  After all, adults need to have some fun, too!

With ever colorful greetings from the perch.

10 Reasons Why Is the Library Important

This week is National Library Week, and it got me thinking: with information available electronically at our fingertips, why is the library still important?  There are many reasons the library has relevance in today's age, but for now I'll give you 10:

1. You can check out items for free.  Let's start with the basics.  You can check out everything including books, audiobooks, DVDs, CDs, and more for free.  How many places loan things without charging a dime?
2. You can get free e-books and e-magazines.  Have an e-reader or tablet?  You can download books and magazines to your device for free as well.
3. Someone can show you how to use your electronic gadget.  Suppose you don't know how to use that e-reader or tablet you got as a gift.  The people at the store are in the business of selling products, not teaching how to use them.  Enter the library staff, ever willing to help for free.
4. The computers and Internet are free to use.  Maybe times are tough and you don't have a computer or are able to pay your Internet bill.  The library offers free use of their computers and Internet.  And if you do have an electronic device, you can use the library's Wi-Fi free of charge.
5. There are free programs and classes.  Want to learn how to knit or crochet?  Walk with other walkers?  Learn how to do computer basics?  The library has programs and classes to teach you these things and more.
6. It's the new community center.  Where can you get together with other people?  Where can you find out what's happening in the community?  You got it--the library, the modern town square!
7. There are still some things you can't get online.  Although a lot of things have been digitized, there are still so many more things that can only be found in print.
8. Librarians can proctor tests.  Taking a college class online?  Perhaps you need to take a proctored exam.  Well, library staff can serve as proctors.  For free!
9. It promotes literacy.  Maybe this is a no-brainer, but the library is in the reading business.  It has storytime programs for babies and for preschoolers.  Additionally, there are book clubs for young kids, teens, and adults.
10. It's both entertaining and useful.  If you're bored, you can always find something at the library to keep you entertained.  Something for home, something for that vacation you're taking.  If you want to learn, get information, apply for a job, or whatever, the library can help you do what you want to do.

The library is as essential as ever with its various offerings, most of which are free.  And not that you need any more incentive to come into the library, but this week in honor of National Library Week, we're giving away free book bags and other goodies, so come on in!

Yours truly from the perch.