All City of Georgetown offices and departments will be closed Friday, July 3, in observance of the Independence Day holiday. The library also will be closed Saturday, July 4. Regular hours will resume at noon on Sunday, July 5. The bookdrop will be open for your convenience on July 3 and 4.

Ms. Rosa has added a new group of events to the summer reading program. They’re especially for kids who are a little too mature for some of the children’s activities, but they’re not old enough to participate in the teen program.

Activities that are scheduled include electronic game days with Guitar Hero, Dance Revolution, Rock Band and more, classes in creating your own computer game, cake decorating, simple sewing, jewelry making, and a computer class in creating an animated movie. Full details about these events are on the library’s website at http://library.georgetown.org/kids.summerreading.php, or pick up a calendar in the children’s room.

Because of the nature of these programs, attendance will be limited, so sign up in the children’s room for the events the kids want to attend. They’ll receive tickets that they’ll need to show the days of the events.

The second annual Sculpture at the Library show is open for your enjoyment. A cooperative effort between the Texas Society of Sculptors and the Georgetown Public Library has made possible a show of which Georgetown should be very proud. The works are beautiful, thought-provoking, and are creating a Big Buzz in the library. Everywhere you look there is something that demands to be examined more closely. There are 78 pieces in the show. Click  here and you can see examples of the work of all of the artists who have entered the show. These photos are merely to pique your interest–they do not do justice to the works!

The opening reception, at which the winners of the show will be announced, will be held from 1-4 p.m. on Sunday, June 21. The public is invited. Many of the artists will be available to answer questions you may have about their work or their techniques.

On Saturday, July 18, beginning at 1:00 p.m., some of the artists will return to the library and demonstrate their techniques.

The Texas Society of Sculptors includes artists from all over the state. Having their show here is a great privilege for the library and a wonderful opportunity for central Texans to see the work of some of the emerging talents in Texas as well as artists who have developed national and international reputations. The show will be in place until August 28. Don’t miss this!!

Eric Lashley presenting award to Judy Johnston

At an appreciation luncheon in several weeks ago, the library staff saluted the work of all of our volunteers and recognized three individuals for their outstanding service. Judy Johnston received the public services award. Not only has she long been a faithful and hardworking volunteer who empties the bookdrop, checks in materials, and shelves books, she served from 2004 until 2007 on the Library Advisory Board, and after going off the Board, continued for another year as its representative to the Central Texas Library System. Finally, for several years she was the library’s unpaid volunteer coordinator who recruited, trained, and scheduled our many volunteers. We were pleased to have this opportunity to recognize her dedication to making this library the best it can be.

Leo Hamilton received the technical services award. A retired librarian whose professional love is cataloging books, Leo has done original cataloging for the library since December 2000. There were times when we were far behind with our cataloging that he put in more than twenty hours in a week, a schedule that only the rare volunteer is willing to maintain. Health problems have forced him to cut back on his hours, but we still rely on him heavily to figure out what to do with those obscure books (usually donations) that need to be added to the collection. Unfortunately, illness also prevented Leo from attending the volunteer luncheon, so he received his award in a small ceremony with the staff.

Mary Beth Huba and Rosa Garcia

Mary Beth Huba received the children’s services award for twenty-five years of sharing her wonderful talent as a storyteller. Mary Beth’s day job is being the librarian at Benold Middle School. But for the past twenty-five years she has shared her summer vacation time with the library, providing storytime sessions for us nearly every week. And Mary Beth doesn’t just read stories to the kids-she makes stories come to life! Like Judy and Leo, the real treasure Mary Beth brings to the library is loving what she does.

The library depends on volunteers to do nearly all of the checking in and shelving of our circulating materials. The hours that volunteers contribute to the library each month is equivalent to four full-time employees! Clearly, we could not operate without that help. If you are interested in volunteering at the library, overviews of all of our programs (adult, teen, and community service) are available on our website (library.georgetown.org). If you’d like to apply, fill out an application and contact Kathleen Bowling (930-3624), our volunteer coordinator, to set up an interview.