News
New Look for the Library
If you have come to the Chickasha Public Library recently, you were sure to notice the new doors were installed! The new doors are automatic sliding doors that allow for hands-free entry to the Library.
Staff and customers are pleased with the change, “It’s so great to have these new doors. They are so quiet and give our library a new look.” said employee, Sandy Robertson. One parent noted, “The doors are much easier to use while holding children and books.”
The Friends of the Chickasha Public Library purchased the new doors with proceeds from the Chocolate Celebration and donations.
City Manager John Noblitt and the City Council will recognize the Friends’ contribution at the City Council meeting on April 15th, 2019.
Health Literacy Lunch & Learn Series
The Chickasha Public Library is happy to announce that we have partnered with the Grady County Memorial Hospital to bring you a series of Health Literacy family orientated Lunch and Learn programs. Dietitian Cindy Wilcox will present a variety of topics to help your family thrive. Each month’s theme will focus on a different solution for today’s busy families.
The Health Literacy Lunch and Learns to kick off April 23, 2019, at 1:00 P.M. with “Budgeting and Meals for Two.”
Ms. Wilcox will give students tools and ideas for creating meal plans and budgets for smaller households. Lunch will be provided, or you are welcome to bring your own. Lunch and Learns will be held in the Library’s large meeting room located at 527 W Iowa Ave, space is limited, and registration is required. Please call the Library at 222-6075 to register.
Planned future topics include, “Healthy Snacks,” “Introducing your Baby to New Foods,” “Packing a Healthy Lunch.” We also are planning a program for teens to show how they can prepare healthy snacks.
“This project is funded in part through the Oklahoma Department of Libraries with a federal grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services.”
7th Annual Chocolate Celebration is Tues., Feb. 12
7th Annual Chocolate Celebration is Tues., Feb. 12
It’s almost ‘Chocolate Celebration’ time … so plan now to buy your ticket and join in the FUN!
The 7th annual ‘Chocolate Celebration’ fundraiser, sponsored by the Friends of the Chickasha Public Library, is Tues., Feb. 12, 2019 from 5:00-7:00 pm in the Epworth Church Life Center, 4th and Iowa in Chickasha. This event is open to the community. Enter through the double doors by the north parking lot.
At least 18 tables of tasty chocolate treats will be ready and waiting for those looking forward to taking home a special gift box (or two or three or more!) of delicious and beautiful chocolate desserts.
Each of the table sponsors will provide approximately 200 individual servings of a variety of chocolate treats.
Tickets are on sale now! Don’t miss out on your gift box of six individual chocolate dessert items selected personally by YOU!
Tickets are $6 and are available from the Friends of the Chickasha Public Library Board Members, the Table Sponsors and at the Chickasha Public Library. Depending on advance sales, a few tickets may be available at the door.
Also, those attending will find tables filled with delicious ‘bake sale’ items, featuring whole cakes, pies, cupcakes, candy, and plates of cookies, brownies, and bars. These food items will be individually priced.
Remember to stop by the Library on Sat., Feb. 2, from 10am-1pm to purchase your ticket and visit the bake sale – this will get you ‘ready’ for the BIG EVENT.
Table sponsors providing desserts for the ‘Chocolate Celebration’ include the AAUW, Altrusa Club of Chickasha, Bank of Commerce, CAS/CART (Chickasha Animal Rescue Transport), Chickasha Area Arts Council (CAAC), EPIC Charter Schools, First National Bank & Trust Company, Girl Scout Troup 3404,, Johnson’s Wreckers & Salvage, Library Tai Chi/Storytime, Lucile/Blue Bonnet OHCE, Pam Ratliff & Friends, P.E.O. Chapter FV, Shollie’s Sweets, Standley’s Systems, State Representative David Perryman, Sweet Creations and The Salvation Army.
The Friends of the Library are sincerely grateful for this year’s 34 Corporate Sponsors for their faithful and generous support of the Chocolate Celebration with financial gifts. Gold Level Sponsors are Arvest Bank, Ben Milam Heat & Air, Bob Lowe, Inc., Century 21/Mosley Agency, Chickasha Rotary Club, First National Bank & Trust, Kiwanis, LaForge Properties, Lifeline Home Health & Hospice, Rick Johnston – State Farm, Standley’s Systems, Steagall Oil, and The Herbal Choice.
Silver Level Sponsors include Angel, Johnston & Blasingame, Charles Allen Ford, Chickasha Optimists, DeHart Heat & Air, Gina & Tyler Lowe, Grand Avenue Dental Studio, Grisham Construction, HSI Sensing, Ivy, Ratliff & Chasteen, PC, Joe Bob Bail Bonds, Johnston & Associates, McCalla, Brown & Patel, Mark Mettry, DDS, Mike Day – State Farm, P.E.O. Chapter CR, P.E.O. Chapter DV, Pollution Control, Corp., Richard’s Printing, Ross Seed & Grain, Stephens Oil, and Teague Body Shop.
Proceeds from the 7th annual Chocolate Celebration 2019 will be used to help purchase electric doors for the main entrance of the Chickasha Public Library. These will provide much easier access for everyone visiting the Library.
Please contact the Library at 405-222-6075 for questions.
New Doors for the Library!
The Chickasha Public Library will be opening new doors soon! Thanks to the Friends of the Chickasha Public Library the Library will be getting new front exterior doors. The doors will be bi-part, automatic sliding doors from Dormakaba. The Friends of the Library will raise funds for the doors through multiple fundraisers. Beginning with the Friends of the Library Bake Sale on Saturday, February 2nd from 10:00 A.M. to 1:00 P.M. which will be held in the Library Meeting Room located at 527 W Iowa Ave, Chickasha Ok, 73018. In addition to all of the delicious baked goods, the Friends will have tickets available for their annual Chocolate Celebration (which is coming soon on February 12th). Proceeds from the Chocolate Celebration will also go towards the new doors. The Friends of the Library are also currently accepting donations to help with the purchase of the new doors. For additional information, call the Library at 405-222-6075.
Library History Search
2020 will mark the 115th year of the Chickasha Public Library. A lot has happened in that time and we want to celebrate! We are preparing a written history of the Library complete with a scrapbook of photos and news articles. If you have any pictures or news articles about the Library that you would like to share, please bring them in and talk to Michelle or Lillie. Also, if you have a memory you would like to share about the Library write it down and get it to us or if you prefer, we’ll write it for you please make an appointment with Michelle or Lillie. If you were on the Library Board or were employed at the Library, please contact us by calling 405-222-6075. We would like to make sure that our information is correct, we would like to know names and dates and photos to go with them would be great! Let’s enjoy the process. For additional information, please call the Library at 405-222-6075.
Best Books of 2018
Are you looking for an interesting and captivating book to read? Here are some of the best books from 2018, all of which are available for check out at the Chickasha Public Library (with each book’s shelf location in parentheses).
According to the New York Times, Asymmetry by Lisa Halliday (Fiction Halliday) is “a first novel that reads like the work of an author who has published many books over many years, and it manages to be, all at once, a transgressive roman à clef, a novel of ideas and a politically engaged work of metafiction.” There There by Tommy Orange (Fiction Orange) tells the interconnected stories of a group of Native Americans in California who are traveling to a powwow.
If you are interested in award-winning historical fiction, Washington Black by Esi Edugyan (Fiction Edugyan) is the winner of the 2018 Giller Prize and is set in Barbados in the 1830s during the last days of slavery. The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai (Fiction Makkai) has been nominated for the Booker Prize, and the National Book Award and its story centers around the early years of the AIDS epidemic.
For nonfiction readers, How to Change Your Mind by Michael Pollan (615.7 Pollan) details the history and science of psychedelic drugs and how it relates to consciousness. Barracoon by Zora Neale Hurston (306.3 Hurston) recounts the life of Cudjo Lewis, who was the last known person to be captured in Africa and sold into slavery in the United States. If you are seeking memoirs and current events, NPR recommends Becoming by Michelle Obama (Biography Obama), In Pieces by Sally Field (Biography Field), and Fear by Bob Woodward (973.933 Woodward).
2018 into 2019 Past and Future Youth Programs
There were many exciting programs at the Chickasha Public Library during 2018.
Stuart Meltzer, Library Board member, and retired USAO professor read to children during our Spring Reading Program and also during our summer Storytime with Grandpa program.
Chickasha Public Library has a special visitor every December Elf on the Shelf visits the Library to read.
Annual SUMMER READING Program
There was a symphony of fun at the Library during Summer Reading 2018. If you missed all the fun this past summer, there is another chance this coming June and July! In 2018, youth from all over Grady County signed up for the Summer Reading program. Also, the YMCA brought children to participate in the program once a week. The 2018 Summer Reading program was fantastic During the program we read books that tied into our “Libraries Rock” theme and children were able to create instruments of their own. There is more to the Summer Reading program than an hour every week of fun and games; the participants also keep track of the minutes they spend reading at home. In 2018 the participants read over 104,266 minutes in June and July. Children who spend time reading over the summer have a better chance of retaining all the skills from the previous school year. Many people and organizations make the Summer Reading program possible. We would like to say thank you to the organizations that provide funding and incentives, the Institute of Museum and Library Services, the Oklahoma Department of Libraries, the Oklahoman Newspapers in Education, Sonic America’s Drive-In, Corp, Pizza Hut, Water-Zoo Indoor Waterpark in Clinton, OK., and the Friends of the Chickasha Public Library. The Library would also like to thank performers Jammin’ Randy and Magical Michael, all of our volunteers, and the participants for making this year’s Summer Reading program one of the best yet.
Mark your calendars because May 30th will be the Library’s all-day Summer Reading sign-up day. On June 6th, we will blast off to explore a “Universe of Stories” during the 2019 Summer Reading Program. More details to come as May gets closer.
Mad Hatter & White Rabbit of Books Come Alive 2018
BOOKS COME ALIVE
Over eighty people attended our second annual Books Come Alive and Local Authors Festival event. Local volunteers chose some fantastic books, and some great characters wandered the stacks. Count Olaf attempted to keep his group of orphans in line, while Max and the Wild Things had roaring contests with all the kids, and a creepy woods took over the adult stacks, where participants witnessed a scene from the Watchers. Tune in next fall to see all the places we will go.
Count Olaf of Books Come Alive 2018
Professor Trelawney of Books Come Alive 2018
Some NEW Youth Programs for 2019 are:
Baby & You Storytime is every Thursday morning during the school year from 9:30 am – 10:30 am.
The program doesn’t begin until 9:45 and lasts 15 – 20 minutes, which leaves plenty of time for you to read, play with your baby, and talk with other parents.
This program is for babies ages 0-18 months and their caregivers.
For more information, email Courtney, Youth Services Librarian at courtney.mayall@chickasha.org, or contact us on Facebook.
Beyond the Shelf Youth Library Club is a weekly program on Wednesdays from 3:30 to 4:30 for youth ages 10 – 15.
The activities during this program will vary. Scifi-Monster Mania is the theme for February.
There will be a board game demo of King of Tokyo. Who will be the last monster standing? There will also be crafts and plenty of monster book discussions.
The last Wednesday of the month, we will show a film MST3K style.
For more information, email Courtney, Youth Services Librarian at courtney.mayall@chickasha.org or contact us on Facebook.
Preschool Storytime
Elf on the Shelf at the Library
The Elf is back!
This December at the Chickasha Public Library there will be an elf reading his way through the Children’s section of the library. Children are invited to come each day December 1st through the 21st to find the elf and the book he is reading and add their name to the drawing for a chance to take the elf home.
The Library is hosting some fun activities to go along with the elf on the shelf this year.
Please join us on December 7, 2018, from 4:00 P.M. to 5:00 P.M. for special craft time. We will be re-using Christmas cards to make a variety of crafts. This event is come and go, and the event is open to all ages — children 8 and younger need to be accompanied by a caregiver.
On December 13th there will be a special afternoon storytime at 1:30 P.M. for preschool ages children and their caregivers.
The elf will meet his new best friend on December 21st at 4:00 P.M. The winning name will be drawn at a party for all ages. There will be a story, crafts, and games. This event is all ages — children 8 and younger need to be accompanied by a caregiver.
All of these events will be held in the Library meeting room, located at 527 W Iowa Ave. For additional information check out the Library’s Facebook page or call the Library at 405-222-6075.
Books Come Alive and Local Authors Festival
On November 16th from 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm the Chickasha Public Library will be hosting their 2nd annual Books Come Alive and Local Authors Festival event. This year we are using books from the PBS Great American Reads booklist, there will be actors portraying book characters, book scavenger hunts, prizes, and fun for all. There is also an opportunity for the public to meet local authors, discuss their books, and buy them. Both events are FREE, donations will be welcome at the door.