Bitten by Books!

October is nearly over, which means another Teen Read Month is coming to an end. This year's theme was "Books With Bite" which seems so fitting considering the popularity of vampires, zombies, and other creepy creatures.



Here in Oak Harbor we had a full slate of events for teens, starting with a program called Invasion of the Gocks. Gocks, in case you don't know, are Goth Sock Puppets. Teens were supplied with old socks (clean of course), and a wide variety of things they could add to create their own Gock. Here you see a more wizardly Gock - the teens didn't limit themselves when it came down to putting their creative ideas to work!

We also had two gaming sessions with the ever popular Wii gaming system, and showed the animated feature Corpse Bride on Monday afternoon.



This Friday evening we wrap up the month with a special after-hours Halloween party for teens. I've been working with my Teen Advisory Group to plan the event, and it promises to be a fun time. We'll have plenty of food and drink, games, and a costume contest!

None of these events would be possible without the generous support of the Oak Harbor Friends of the Library and the Sno-Isle Libraries Foundation. Thank you on behalf of Oak Harbor Teens!

Celebrating Friends and Readers!

It's official - the Oak Harbor Library children's area has expanded to include a new "Ready Readers" area, especially for preschoolers and their families. Kids ages 4-6 and their caregivers will find computers designed with them in mind, readers for those who are learning to enjoy books on their own, and furniture just their size. There's even a special check-out station for kids! Many of the new items were purchased by the Friends of the Oak Harbor Library - thank you, Friends!

This month we celebrate Friends of the Library across the nation, and nowhere with more enthusiasm than in Oak Harbor. The Friends raise funds through booksales and contribute nearly 100% of the proceeds to the library. In 2008 the Friends of the Library contributed almost $9,000, purchasing toys, books and music cd's for story times, summer reading prizes for children and teens, and headphones for all the library computers. This year the Friends funded more than $3,000 of quality programming throughout the year including the Pacific Science Center, the Noise Guy and Don Ehlen's Insect Safari (love those bugs). The Friends also support ongoing programs, gaming and movies for teens as well as a wide variety of outreach activity that would not otherwise be possible. And, of course, those cute chairs, cushions and computer tables for the Ready Reader area. We could not do it without our Friends of the Library.

Join us for our celebration and ribbon cutting on Thursday, October 16, 2:45pm in the library. Friends program with author JoAnn Roe follows at 3pm. Mary