October is jam packed with so many fun and interesting programs at the Library. We’re starting the month with Banned Book Week, and have a few other programs highlighted below.
Banned Books Week is an annual event celebrating the freedom to read. It was launched in 1982 in response to a sudden surge in the number of challenges to books in schools, bookstores and libraries. Banned Books Week highlights the value of free and open access to information and brings together the entire book community — librarians, booksellers, publishers, journalists, teachers, and readers of all types — in shared support of the freedom to seek and express ideas. While we celebrate the freedom to read every day, you can visit the Library to learn more about Banned Books Week and read a banned or challenged book!
Library Events
Our third annual Great Pumpkin Decorating Contest is here! Pick out the perfect pumpkin (no larger than 8 inches in diameter) and get it all dressed up. This is a chance to get creative, use paint, glue, and other materials, just don’t carve your pumpkin! Judges will rank based on creativity, use of materials, originality, and title. Pick up an entry sheet for the full details of this contest. Pumpkins must be turned in by Noon, Wednesday, October 25 to be entered in the contest.
Baby Time is in October! Spend time with your little one building pre-reading skills while making new parent and caregiver friends at Baby Time. Tuesdays, October 3 through October 31 at 9:15 a.m. we’ll share nursery rhymes, sing songs, read books, and enjoy free play with age-appropriate toys. Attend one or more classes: we’d love to see you anytime! Baby Time is ideal for 0-24 months and their caregivers, older siblings welcome.
The Friends of the Solon Public Library host their annual Halloween Costume and Decor Sale Saturday, October 7 from 8:00 a.m.- Noon in the Library meeting room. All items are sold on a first come, first serve basis and available for a free will donation. If you’re still cleaning out last year’s costumes or decor, the Friends are also accepting donations of gently used and new items for the sale. The Friends of the Solon Public Library support the Library with proceeds from sales.
Solon attorney Joe Deeney will present Will & Estate Planning Monday, October 9 at 1:30 p.m. at the Solon Retirement Village. No one wants to think about dying, but creating an estate plan can help you prepare for the unknown. Come learn how to prepare for the future.
Local Iowa author, Linda Betsinger McCann will join us for a talk on her new release, Rosie the Riveters of Iowa, Monday, October 9 at 2:30 p.m. in the Library’s meeting room. McCann has traveled and spoken to hundreds of individuals and groups about the history and narrative of Iowa, what is still here to photograph and research, as well as what has been lost to time. Rosie the Riveter was a name used to encourage women to go to work during WWII. They needed to take the place of the men who were fighting the war. Iowa had 70 businesses that used women to meet production of military needs. Join her in the journey, enjoy the stories, and learn about pieces of Iowa history you never knew existed!
Coffee & Community Conversation will take place Wednesday, October 11 at 9:00 a.m. This special edition of our regular weekly Coffee & Conversations is to gather community members and discuss accessibility needs. How can we help you access the Library, our materials, and our programs? Join us to enjoy coffee, treats, and great conversation.
We begin our Mental Health 101 series in partnership with GFWC/Solon Women’s Club with a special guest and soup supper Thursday, October 12 at 6:00 p.m. We’ll hear Karent Smith, a Solon resident and advocate for mental health awareness, speak about her experiences as she walked across the state of Iowa two years in a row to raise awareness, acceptance and funds for those dealing with mental health challenges in our state.
Library Access
Regular Library hours are Monday-Thursday, 9:00 a.m.-7:00 p.m. and Friday-Saturday, 9:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. Closed Sundays.
Please note the Library will be closed Friday, October 27 for staff in-service.
On Tuesday, October 31 the Library will be open 9:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m. to allow everyone to get home safely for trick or treating fun!
Don’t forget, the digital library is always available! Find an eBook, eAudiobook, magazines and more with Bridges, or with the Libby app on your favorite smart device. You can even stream classic films, discover new favorites, and more with Kanopy on your favorite smart device.
What’s New?
Sipping Dom Pergnon Through a Straw by Eddie Ndopu. Global humanitarian Eddie Ndopu’s rousing memoir about being both profoundly disabled and profoundly successful without trading one for the other. Eddie Ndopu grew up loving pop music and reruns of The Bold and the Beautiful, and as an adult he would become a globe-trotting disability activist. By his early twenties, he had rocketed through every boundary put in front of him–a queer, Black wheelchair user–challenging bias at the highest echelons of power and prestige. Born with spinal muscular atrophy, a rare degenerative motor neuron disease affecting his physical mobility, Eddie was told that he wouldn’t live beyond age five. But using his razor-sharp mind and grit, Eddie became the first-ever disabled African awarded a full scholarship to the prestigious Oxford University for a master’s degree in public policy, a remarkable feat worthy of a toast. But beyond the challenges that students face–making it to class on time, managing steamy crushes, and being student body president–Eddie faced obstacles as a disabled individual that often go unnoticed and unaddressed, namely a revolving door of care aides.
The Six: The Untold Story of America’s First Women Astronauts by Loren Grush. When NASA sent astronauts to the moon in the 1960s and 1970s the agency excluded women from the corps, arguing that only military test pilots–a group then made up exclusively of men–had the right stuff. It was an era in which women were steered away from jobs in science and deemed unqualified for spaceflight. Eventually, though, NASA recognized its blunder and opened the application process to a wider array of hopefuls, regardless of race or gender. From a candidate pool of eight thousand, six elite women were selected in 1978–Sally Ride, Judy Resnik, Anna Fisher, Kathy Sullivan, Shannon Lucid, and Rhea Seddon.
There are (no) Stupid Questions…in Science by Leah Elson. With a following approaching the likes of Neil deGrasse Tyson, Leah Elson draws upon her wildly popular web series, 60 Seconds of Science, for an irreverent debut that answers all sorts of scientific questions posed by her fans around the world.