April 2023 Newsletter: National Library Week and More!

This Month at the Library: Books, Bites, & Bids Returns!

April brings even more excitement to the library. Check out what’s happening here. 

Featured: Books, Bites, & Bids

The East Lansing Public Library's biggest annual fundraiser is back, in person for the first time since 2019! This year is extra special because it's also our 100th anniversary!

Books, Bites & Bids is always celebrated during National Library Week. Join us for an incredible silent auction, delicious food, beer & wine, music, and more! 

Tickets to attend are $70 per couple/family and $35 for individuals. They can be purchased via cash or check at the service desk, or through our website. To pay online, go to our blog and purchase an individual or family ticket using the buttons provided.

Monies raised at BBB will go toward the educational, interactive children's garden which begins construction in 2023.

The library will close at noon to get ready for the evening.

Featured: National Library Week

National Library Week is an annual celebration highlighting the valuable role libraries, librarians, and library workers play in transforming lives and strengthening our communities. It will be celebrated April 23-29 this year, and the theme is "There's More to the Story."

Libraries are incredible places to house books and stories of every kind, but they're also so much more: ELPL has a library of things, a Maker Studio where people can create, and exceptional programming for all ages to learn and explore new skills and interests. Library infrastructure advances communities, provides internet and technology access, and connects people to resources. Libraries are a place to share stories, but also knowledge, innovation, creativity, and human connection. Best of all, we do it all for free!! 

Now is a great time to celebrate all that libraries do for our communities, and help support ELPL so we can continue to provide all of this for free. Whether you’re able to donate your time, money, or voice of support, we appreciate the community we serve and your efforts to help us keep going strong.

If you’d like to show your love of the library to the world, we still have some yard signs available! Ask for your free yard sign at the service desk.

Featured: 100 Book Challenge

Join the 100 book challenge! Starting in March 2023, we are encouraging everyone to read 100 books in honor of our 100th birthday. Pick up a tracking sheet from the service desk and check off a box every time you read a book. When you finish the sheet, bring it back to earn a prize!

Learn more and check out our FAQs here.

Featured: National Poetry Month

April is National Poetry Month! To celebrate, check out some of these staff picks of favorite poetry. See the full list here. 

Featured: Paging Through the Past

We’ve started a new series called “Paging Through the Past,” which explores the library’s storied history, decade by decade! Watch the second episode below, which talks about the library’s developments in the 1930s, and interviews some of the volunteers from the Friends of the ELPL:

Featured: April Programs

Check out what’s happening this month at the library! For more information about these events and others, visit our events page at elpl.org.

• Make Way for Butterflies with Jessica Rose Wright (kids): Tuesday, April 4, 4:15-5:15pm   
  • Join Jessica Rose Wright from Michigan's 4H Children's Garden and Butterfly House! Learn about local butterflies and what you can do to help keep them healthy & strong! Attendees will take home a butterfly-friendly plant to help their local pollinators. Please sign up at elpl.org.
• Pajama Night StoryTime (kids): Wednesday, April 5, 6:30-7:15pm  
  • Put on your pajamas, grab your favorite stuffed animal or blanket, and head to the East Lansing Library for a cozy story time before bed! We will read stories, sing songs and unwind from our busy day. Hope to see you there!
• Game Day (teens): Thursday, April 6, 3-5pm   
  • Super Smash Bros - Thursday, April 6, 3-5pm
  • Mario Kart - Friday, April 21, 3-5pm
  • We’ll be setting up the Nintendo Switch in the meeting room to give you and your friends a chance to play on the big projector screen. Up to 6 players can join at a time. Grab your friends and game on! This event is open to teens and tweens. 
• Silver Linings: Songs to Help Our Community Heal (all ages): Wednesday, April 12, 7-8pm      
  • Reggie Harris, Rev. Robert Jones, Matt Watroba and Josh White, Jr. will bring our community together in song to feel, reflect, and heal together. 
• Creative Writing Workshop and Open Mic Night (all ages): Thursday, April 13, 5-6:30pm      
  • Draft fiction or poetry with the provided prompts, then share your own work or other work that inspires you during the open mic portion!
• Birding Club Kickoff (all ages): Saturday, April 15, 10-11am      
  • Come learn about library birding resources, meet fellow amateur bird enthusiasts, and mark your calendar for upcoming events! In future months, we’ll go on short nature hikes and look for birds together!
• Seed Starting for Kids (kids): Saturday, April 15, 3:30-4:30pm      
  • MSU Extension's Dr. Brent Crain will teach us how to start a garden from seed!
• Author Talk: Jamie McCallum (adults): Thursday, April 20, 7-8:30pm      
  • Labor scholar and activist Jamie McCallum will discuss his book, Essential: How the Pandemic Transformed the Long Fight for Worker Justice.
• Collaborative Animation Workshop (all ages, 6+): Saturday, April 22, 1-3pm      
  • Participants will work together in pairs trading drawings back and forth to produce a short animation, so you can plan to bring a friend to work with or meet a new friend at the event. 
• Centennial Book Club (adults): Monday, April 24, 7-8pm      
  • This month we’re discussing A Raisin in the Sun, by Lorraine Hansberry.
• Poetry Buffet (teens): Thursday, April 27, 3-4:30pm      
  • Enjoy a buffet of poetry and snacks!
• Books, Bites, & Bids (all ages): Friday, April 28, 5:30-8:30pm      
  • Enjoy a silent auction, food and drinks, and other entertainment!

Featured: Counseling Continuing Through April

Free, confidential counselors from the Community Mental Health Authority of Clinton, Eaton and Ingham Counties (CMH) will continue to offer crisis support at ELPL through the month of April. These services are available on a walk-in basis on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, from 12:30-5pm, to help support community members following the tragic events that took place on MSU's campus on Feb. 13 . 

Counseling services will not be offered at ELPL on April 28. We’ll be closing at noon that day.

Up and Coming Dates:

• Sunday, April 9, the library will be closed.
• Friday, April 28, the library will close early at noon to prepare for Books, Bites, & Bids later that evening.

Catch ELPL Next Month:

Be on the lookout for more excitement in May! ELPL will be sharing featured reading lists, book displays, and programs throughout the month. Some of the library programs will include:

• Art workshops
• Book Clubs
• Birding Outings
• Design Workshops
• And more!

And in May, Summer Reading Program registration begins! Be on the lookout for more information coming soon!