Hello from the Howard County Library! It is almost officially fall, and the weather is starting to reflect the season with cooler temperatures and shorter days. What a great time to come and visit your local library to see what we have to offer! Many of the most popular authors put out books at this time of year, and our “New” shelves are filling up. Reading a new bestseller is a perfect way to spend a fall evening.

Once you have read those new bestsellers, or an old favorite, or maybe a book that’s been on the shelves for a while that you have been meaning to read, you should join us on the first Thursday evening of the month. This is the meeting day for our adult book club, “Readers.”  We would love to have you join us. This club is an informal book club for anyone who likes to talk about books. You can share your thoughts about the books you have read recently or just listen to what others have to say, and maybe you will add to your list of books that you want to read! We have lively and informative discussions, and almost everyone leaves with something new to read. It is a lot of fun, and all adult readers are welcome! Our next meeting is October 5 at 6 p.m. until 7.

Some of you have indicated that you would like to do more to support our library. A great way to do that is to join “Friends of the Library!” This is an organization open to anyone who is interested in the ongoing success of the library. An individual membership to join friends is $10 annually, while a family membership is $20. We also offer lifetime memberships for $200. The purpose of Friends is to provide annual funding for the library collection, underwrite programs, such as The Summer Reading Program, Special Holiday events, and visiting author programs, and to support the purchase of various items that cannot be fulfilled from the library’s operational budget. We would love to have new members!

We continue to have our story and play times every week, with the Toddlers meeting at 10 a.m. on Thursdays and our older readers meeting at 11 a.m. on Fridays. This is a great time for our little patrons to listen to stories and visit our craft and activity center.