Happening at the Shelter Island Public Library

Construction and Landscaping Update

The new extension changes daily as roofing, concrete, walls and electric are beginning to be put into place, while the original building has drywall, plumbing, new mechanicals, ductwork and electric, as well as windows. 

In order to facilitate the installation of the new well, the sweet gum trees along the north edge of the library’s parking lot needed to be removed. But fear not, as renowned landscape architect Lisa Stamm and her daughter Vanessa Parsons have offered their extensive design experience to create a new, native tree buffer along that property line.

Lisa and Vanessa will also be mapping out an educational landscape design around the library’s perimeter that will feature native plants, along with informational signage that explains the plant’s benefits to the Island’s ecosystem. 

We are very fortunate and grateful to have such talented and engaged patrons assisting us. As always, we invite you to stop by and take a look at the progress and some newly-updated renderings and, if you have questions about what’s going on — timing, budget or anything else — Library Director Terry Lucas will be happy to answer them.

Adult Programs

Cooking at the library? Yes, indeed. A new service, Library Chef, is now available to all patrons, thanks to the support of Friends of the Library. 

Follow along with live cooking classes for adults, teens and children; check out older videos or glean some nutritional tips and tricks; but most importantly, learn how to unlock your inner chef. 

Visit Library Chef at silibrary.org and experience all the fun. And, to get you started, you can even check out cake pans and cookie cutters from our “Library of Things” collection. All of this is accessible with your handy, dandy library card. With the launch of Library Chef we will also be offering the new “Spice Club.” April’s spice is rosemary (for remembrance, herbalists say), so stop by the library or go to the website to reserve your kit.

And for even more cooking-related fun, join the Cookbook Club’s Spring-themed program: “Eggcellent Egg Dishes.” Bring your favorite eggy creation to the library on April 29 at 5 p.m. to share with the group. 

Also, the fifth Annual Bliss Morehead Poetry Reading and Contest will take place at 6 p.m. on April 30, at St. Mary’s Church.

Information on these and many, many other library programs, including the wide range of book clubs and weekly adult activities, is available on the library’s website, where you can also register for all the upcoming Zoom programs. Also, stop by the library and pick up the monthly newsletter, which features all of the events for children and adults, including the weekly programs such as Philosophy, Mah Jongg, Intermediate French, Poetry Roundtable, book clubs, story times and more.

Children/Young Adult Programs

Our Family Take and Make program this month is a Recycled CD Spring Chick Craft. Stop by the trailer to get your kit. But quick — don’t waste another day: take a guess at our Estimation Station before April 28 to guess how many jelly beans are in the jar. The closest guess wins — you guessed it — all the jelly beans! 

StoryCraft, a story and a craft, will be held on Saturday, April 18 at 10:30 a.m. Reading with Hannah, our therapy dog, is scheduled for Wednesday, April 29 at 4:15 p.m. Readers of all ages and abilities are welcome.

The Children’s Movie Day (ages 7+) will be held on Thursday, April 23 at 3 p.m. with a showing of “Zootopia.”

Collection Highlights

The staff favorite this month is “The Librarians,” by Sherry Thomas (no surprise there) but other standout additions to the adult collection include: “The History of Money,” by David McWilliams; “I Am Not Your Enemy,” a memoir by Reality Winner; Allegra Goodman’s “This is Not About Us,” “Order of Royals”, by Jude Deveraux and “Vigil,” by George Saunders. Season 3 of “White Lotus” is also available on DVD.

Again, this is a very small sampling of what’s going on at your library this month. Check out the website (shelterislandpubliclibrary.org) or stop by the trailer to learn what’s going on and what new items are on hand.

See you@ the library!