Giddings Public Library and Cultural Center
NEWS ARCHIVES
Fuel up and read winners announced
December 2021
Our annual Fuel up and Read contest rewards the first four adult library members who check out, read, and return 10 library books in the month of December. Winners received a $25 gift card to gas up their vehicle. Our December 2021 winners are: Sharon Wachsmann, Natalie Ramos, Jerry Knox, and Ruth Meyer. Please congratulate our winners!
Fines forgiven, families fed in our annual Food for Fines campaign
November & December 2021
Pay off your existing library fines with food during our Food for Fines campaign. Just bring in non-perishable food items to the library during regular business hours and leave the library with a cleared account for up to $100 in fines!
To participate, simply bring in all overdue library materials along with unexpired, non-perishable food items. We accept all unexpired non-perishable store-sealed food. Every food item you donate will result in $3 of fines forgiven.*
All food will be donated to the local food pantry and distributed to local families in need during the holiday season.
No fines, no problem.
Even if you owe nothing in fines, you can still bring in food to donate to the food pantry.
*Unreturned and lost items are not eligible.
Halloween festival offers indoor fun
Join us Friday, Oct. 29, 2021, from 3P-6P for a family Halloween festival
Kids of all ages are invited to the library for this indoor festival featuring fun, games, and lots of candy! Come in costume, connect with your community, and win prizes. Plus, we'll feature several spooky storytimes.
Pick up the July-Sept. issue of our library magazine next time you visit
You'll be excited about the enhanced privacy protections in the computer lab
JULY 1, 2021--Change offers extra security measures
You might notice a small difference next time you visit the computer lab. We met with a local technology company and asked what we could do to ensure patron privacy and protect public computers. We followed their advice, and now all public computers are on their own private network. So what does this behind-the-scenes change mean for you?
ENHANCED PRIVACY: We upgraded to a browser that offers more protection over your private information. When you close out the browser, all information is immediately erased. The browser won’t save passwords, documents, or browsing history.
NETWORK PROTECTION: Because public computers are now on their own network, all the library’s computers are better protected against malware and viruses.
FASTER INTERNET: Each morning when we log into the lab computers, a script runs that clears any lingering temporary files that might be slowing down the Internet connection, so you should get the most out of our Zochnet fiber Internet connection.
PS: Did you know that Zochnet provides Internet to the library for free? Reach out and thank them for this generous service to the community.
2021 Winter Read-Olympic medal winners
During our two-month Winter Read-Olympic competition, readers of all ages competed to see who could read the greatest number of books in January and February. Competitors read a total of 2,329 books for the competition. Let's congratulate our Olympians and our Junior Olympians on their dedication!
Olympians (chapter book readers)
GOLD--Laci Hodges with 65 books
SILVER--Nancy O' Toole with 58 books
BRONZE--Martha Cutler with 57 books
Junior Olympians (children's book readers)
GOLD--Farrhyn McGaffin with 552 books
SILVER--Kate Christian with 259 books
BRONZE--Hunter Starnes with 200 books
Places 4-10 also won appreciation prizes. Please visit the library to pick up your prizes today!
Olympians
4th place: Masakazu Henry
5th place: Jerry Knox
6th place: Rusty Hodges
7th place: Sherry Raiford
8th place: Sam Walch
9th place: Tie--Natalie Ramos, Rodeo Wilson
10th place: Kai Roberts
Junior Olympians
4th place: Maggie Walch
5th place: Kylie, Ayla, and Jude Wilson
6th place: Charlee Wischnewsky
7th place: Coral Miller
8th place: Phoenix and Scarlett Pahlow
9th place: Emery Roberts
10th place: Tie--Alaina and Emmalynn Hohlt
All ages invited to compete in new reading competition
Meet your reading goals to win gifts from the library
Stretch those mental muscles… Get into position… On your mark, get set, READ!
Anyone can be an Olympic-class reader during the Giddings Public Library’s 2021 Winter Read-Olympics competition starting January 1.
To accept the challenge, pick up a Read-Olympics punch card from the library’s front desk and line up your starting books. To complete the challenge, Olympians (our adult/juvenile fiction and non-fiction readers) must finish ten titles of their choosing while Junior Olympians (our youngest readers) must finish 25 titles before the March 1 deadline.
Every book checked out is a punch on your card, and a full punch card earns a trip to the Winners’ Circle and a special prize.
But will you go for the gold? Those who read above and beyond may compete for the gold, silver, and bronze medals with grand prizes awarded to the top three readers in the Olympian and Junior Olympian categories.
Visit the library often, track everyone’s progress on the scoreboard, and read your way to victory. Let the Games begin!
Encourage your child to read with a book buddy, Feb. 12-13
Celebrate reading with a book buddy
Children love to curl up and read with a stuffed-animal friend who makes them feel comfortable and safe. Even babies and toddlers can develop pre-reading skills by sitting down with a book and looking at the pictures.
Our annual Book Buddies Day encourages children to have special quiet time with books. Children 12 and younger who visit the library and check out a book February 12-13, 2021, just before Valentine’s Day, will take home a stuffed-animal book buddy to join in their reading adventures.
We’re currently accepting donations of new or gently used stuffed animals to give to children as Book Buddies. All donated items will be cleaned and sanitized, and then presented to children in our community to encourage them to take the time to read.
Children become readers on the lap of someone they love. Read with a child every day!
Download the newest issue of our quarterly magazine
Celebrate Halloween week at the library October 26-31
Whether you plan to go out or stay in this Halloween, these safe and affordable Halloween activities from the library will make your celebration extra spooky.
Subscribe to our YouTube channel for spooky storytime all week long
Tag us in your Halloween costume photos on facebook or Instagram to compete for prizes in our virtual costume contest
Answer trick-or-treat trivia questions on facebook for special trick-or-treat prizes
Check Instagram to guess Miss Taylor's literary costume
Check-out Halloween books and movies
Pick up a complimentary Halloween treat bag
Happy Halloween!
2020 Summer Reading by the numbers
97 young people between 18 months-18 years old enrolled in this year's program
Participants logged more than 71,000 minutes of reading time during the program--that's more than 1,100 hours of reading!
26 sponsors gave of their time, services, and merchandise
Ms. Taylor created 21 online story times and 13 activities over a period of 7 weeks
The total running time of program videos was 14,239 seconds, which is 237.3167 minutes, or 3.9553 hours
Please continue to enjoy the 2020 summer reading videos here, or on our YouTube channel. We'll also keep the website links* posted so you can quickly find the resources you need to participate in the activities outlined in the videos.
Texas Word Wrangler book festival canceled for 2020
Welcome back--We've missed you!
We reopened to the public Monday, May 4, 2020! Our business hours are M-F 10A-6P and SAT 10A-1P. For the health and safety of our community, library programs and services will reopen in stages.
Beginning Monday, May 4
Patrons may come in and can check out materials. The computer lab is open on a limited basis. Printing, faxing, copying, and notarizing services are available. The book drop is open.
We'll follow the 25% occupancy guidelines outlined by the governor and maintain 6 feet of safe distancing. Hand sanitizer is on-site for staff and community use.
Beginning later--date to be determined
When it's determined safe to do so, we'll reopen the children's play area of the library.
We will continue to follow the governor's advice and closely monitor the situation to decide when we can resume our classes and programs. Likewise, we will later decide when to begin renting out the meeting room and when we can make all computers in the lab available.