September Newsletter: Get Discounts and Giveaways With Your Library Card!

Check out what’s going on at the library in this month’s newsletter.

Featured: Library Card Sign-Up Month

September is Library Card Sign Up Month! With just one card, you can unlock endless possibilities! You can:

Check out books, movies, and music from our library, including new releases!
Check out ebooks through Hoopla and Libby, and streaming movies from Kanopy.
Check out items from our Library of Things, like a ukulele, a zoo pass, power tools, storytime kits, and more!
Use one of our public computers for up to 3 hours at a time.
Request books from other libraries through MeLcat.
Check out physical books from CADL with your ELPL card through the Visiting Patron Program.

To celebrate, we’re sharing giveaways, raffles, and discounts at local businesses!

Discounts: During the month of September, if you show your East Lansing Public Library card to participating businesses, you'll be eligible for a discount on goods and services at check-out! Valid for in-person purchases only, unless otherwise specified.

Biggby (Lake Lansing & Abbott): $1 off any drink
Capital City Sweets: 10% off your order
Dave’s Hot Chicken: 10% off your order
Fueld: 20% off your order
H Tea Cafe: 20% off your order
Mahabir Wellness: 20% off natural skincare treatments and a complimentary mini mental health consultation.
PKSA (Professional Karate Schools of America) East Lansing: 25% off your first month and waived registration fee for new students, or 50% off PKSA apparel for existing students

Do you own a local business? Would you like to participate in this program? It’s not too late! Email gkindig@elpl.org for more details!

Giveaways: During the month of September, renew, sign up for, or show your library card at our front desk and enjoy a free sticker, a yard sign, and one other item of choice from our treasure chest! Treasure chest prizes include hats and socks, notebooks, hand sanitizer, fidget toys, temporary tattoos, pens, phone wallets, and more!

You can also enter to win a raffle prize!

Celebrate all that libraries offer this month, and tell everyone you know to sign up for a library card!

Featured: One Grand Read

We’re so excited to share One Grand Read, a reading initiative designed to bring the community together through the power of shared storytelling! This year’s inaugural selection is Better Living Through Birding: Notes from a Black Man in the Natural World, by author and birding advocate Christian Cooper.

Cooper’s book is memoir, travelogue, and invitation to join the art of birding. Through his story, Cooper tells us not only about his birding journeys in places like Africa and Australia, but his journey to learn to claim and defend space for himself and others like him.

Through September, One Grand Read will feature a series of free community programs inspired by the book’s themes, culminating with a special visit from Cooper at 3pm on Saturday, September 20 at the Kellogg Hotel and Conference Center. Free tickets are available now to attend.

Fly on over and check out Better Living Through Birding from ELPL or any of CADL’s 13 branches, or purchase a copy for your home library from Schuler or Hooked.

Featured: Coming Soon - A Musical Garden!

What’s with all that fencing and construction in front of the library? We’re installing a musical garden! Soon there will be durable outdoor musical instruments shaped like flowers permanently available for visitors to explore, as well as improved landscaping and new seating!

The project is anticipated to be completed by December. While we improve drainage and replace sidewalks, both sets of stairs leading to the library entrance will be blocked off. During this time, please plan to use the accessible ramp on the south end of the parking lot.

Featured: Roadtrip Time!

Explore the state with the Michigan Activity Pass! Use your ELPL library card number to get free or discounted admission to hundreds of cultural and recreational sites across the state.

Go to the Michigan Activity Pass website and enter in your library and search radius. This will show you all the participating locations nearby and what deals they offer you. Then, you can enter your card number, and the pass will be sent to your email!

Check out our Michigan Activity Pass travel guide here! This summer, our comms team took a roadtrip to show off some of the cool participating locations nearby! Watch our travels and learn more about the fun things to do right in your backyard!

Featured: Upcoming Programs

Library programs are free and open to the public; you don’t even need a library card! Unless otherwise noted, no registration is required.

Teddy Bear Clinic (kids): Friday, September 12,1-3pm
- Join MSU College of Osteopathic Medicine's Pediatric Interest Group for a playful and interactive session with your child’s stuffed animal, while learning important lessons about germs, nutrition, and more!
Preschool Storytime - All About Birds (ages 3-5): Friday, September 19, 10:30-11:15am
- Join us for a special storytime all about birds! This is part of our ongoing One Grand Read celebration; this year’s inaugural title Better Living Through Birding by Christian Cooper.
Birding Club (all ages): Saturday, September 20, 10-11:30am
- Come to ELPL and join fellow bird enthusiasts at our monthly ELPL Birders Club meeting. Light refreshments will be provided. No registration is required.
Author Visit - Christian Cooper (adults): Saturday, September 20, 3-5pm
- Join author Christian Cooper for a discussion of Better Living Through Birding at the Kellogg hotel and Conference Center. Registration is required; free tickets are available through Eventbrite.
Page to Stage (adults): Tuesday, September 23, 1-2pm
- Join us and theatre professionals at the East Lansing Public Library to discuss local theatrical productions before they open live at the Williamston Theatre. Copies of each play will be available at the library in advance of the discussions. This month we will be discussing Every Brilliant Thing.
Youth Animation Club (ages 8-13): Wednesdays, September 24-November 12, 4:30-5:30pm
- Sign up for this eight-week series to learn different animation techniques! No prior animation experience is required. For the final week, we’ll share our creations at the 3rd Annual ELPL Animation Film Festival!
Community Plant and Seed Swap (all ages): Sunday, September 28, 1:30-3:30pm
- Swap seeds, plants, and other gardening supplies with fellow community members. Ground rules are:
  - Seeds or plants must be in good shape – no damaged, sick, or buggy plants if possible.
  - Please do not bring plants and seeds that are invasive or dangerous (example: no kudzu please!).
  - No one is required to bring plants or seeds to take something home.
  - We ask attendees to be respectful and take only plants and seeds for your own use – please invite friends who are interested in plants and gardening to attend!
  - Unclaimed plants and seeds will be made available to library visitors at the end of the program.
Teen Bingo (teens): Monday, September 29, 3:30-4:30pm
- Come play Bingo for the chance to win some cool prizes!
Read for Your Rights EL (teens and adults): Friday, October 3, 6-8pm
- Celebrate Freedom to Read Week with games, crafts, live readings, and an art show!
Teen Cooking Lab (teens): Monday, October 6, 3:30-4:30pm
- Decorate a haunted house using graham crackers, icing, and candy! Sign up at elpl.org.
Architecture of the Upper Peninsula (adults): Wednesday, October 8, 6-7pm
- Please join us for a visual tour of the architecture of the Upper Peninsula with Detroit-based photographer, speaker, and writer Josh Lipnik.
Banned Books With Bettie’s Pages (teens and adults): Thursday, October 9, 5:30-6:30pm
- Join Nicole Lintemuth, owner of Bettie’s Pages in Lowell MI, to discuss her book “This Book is Dangerous” as well as banned books in general. Learn to find tools to combat book bans and help fight to protect the right to read for everyone. Nicole has been featured on multiple podcasts, media articles, and has nearly 120k followers on TikTok.
National Fossil Day (all ages): Saturday, October 11, 11-1pm
- Celebrate the 16th anniversary of National Fossil Day! See real fossil collections, learn what Michigan looked like millions of years ago, and enjoy a variety of fossil themed demonstrations, activities, arts, and crafts. This is an open-house style event and is intended for all ages.

Spotlight: Back to School Resources

School is back in session, but don’t stress! Check out these resources that can help you ace your classes and sail through another school year.

Biography Reference Center has thousands of biographies!
Britannica School has nonfiction content geared for K-12 students, with articles, eBooks, novels, essays, and more!
College Students from LearningExpress Library has eBooks to review math, reading, grammar, and science as well as practice tests for six graduate school record exams including the GRE, LSAT, and MCAT.
Mango Languages is great for learning a new language!
Opposing Viewpoints in Context is great for finding contextual information and opinions on hundreds of today’s hottest social issues.
Tutor.com provides on demand tutoring, homework help, test prep and writing assistance for students in grades K-Adult in over 60 subjects with no appointment necessary. Tutors are available from 2 to 9pm EST 7 days a week.

ELPL in the News:

Up and Coming Dates:

The library will close October 13 for Indigenous Peoples Day.

Catch ELPL Next Month:

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

Fossil Day
Pumpkin Painting
Herbal Tea Tasting
Homeownership Education Seminar
Teen Escape Room
And more!

For more information, visit the library’s website or follow ELPL on social media!