Latest news with #FriendsOfTheLibrary
Yahoo
17 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
State library kicks off Summer Reading Challenge
HONOLULU (KHON2) — The Hawaiʻi State Public Library System held its 2025 Summer Reading Challenge kick-off event on June 7, with hundreds of bookworms showing up to the historic state library in Honolulu to participate. The event was complete with keiki activities, music and more, all for free. Native Hawaiian art piece to move into Kapolei Hale This summer's challenge theme is 'Mele,' and invites readers to celebrate poetry, songs and storytelling as a method of connection to the diverse communities in the islands. 'Our goal is to enroll 25,000 readers this summer, and we're thrilled to see so many families come together to celebrate books, music and learning,' said State Librarian Stacey A. Aldrich. 'Hawaiʻi was once one of the most literate nations in the world. The Summer Reading Challenge is a modern way to rekindle that legacy. We encourage everyone to join this year's Summer Reading Challenge.' Participants can register for the challenge at their local library branch or online. The challenge runs until July for readers include tote bags, books, snacks and even a grand prize of four round-trip tickets on Alaska Airlines. There are prizes for readers of all ages, from keiki to kupuna. 'We're very proud to support the Hawaiʻi State Public Library System,' said Nainoa Mau, executive director of the Friends of the Library of Hawaiʻi. 'We're grateful to all our sponsors for making this day so special and for making reading fun and rewarding all summer long.' Readers don't need to use traditional paper books either. The library is happy to count an array of books toward reading goals, including audiobooks and e-books. Download the free KHON2 app for iOS or Android to stay informed on the latest news 'You can read paper or plastic,' Aldrich said. 'So if you can't make it to the library to pick up a book to read or an audiobook to listen to, you can download our 'Libby' app and just use your library card to access audiobooks and e-books.' The challenge is supported by the Friends of the Library of Hawaiʻi, Alaska Airlines, McDonald's Restaurants of Hawaiʻi, Pizza Hut Hawaiʻi, Hawaiʻi State Federal Credit Union and local Friends chapters across the islands. For more information about the Summer Reading Challenge, visit Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
a day ago
- General
- Yahoo
Branch stepping down as Kingsville Library director
KINGSVILLE — Mariana Branch is stepping down from her position as director of the Kingsville Public Library, as of Friday, after 16 years in the position. The library will host a party celebrating Branch's time as director from 4-6 p.m. Thursday. Branch said she will miss everyone she worked with. '[I am grateful] to the board of trustees for their support over the years, the wonderful staff here, community members that we've worked with,' she said. She became involved with the library through joining the Friends of the Kingsville Public Library and the Kingsville community, she said. 'They would call me today an accidental librarian,' she said. 'This is a term that is known in the library world, because there's many of us out there.' Branch became director June 1, 2009, she said. 'I came in with a plan of how I felt the library could grow in services to the community, and plans for the future, and apparently they must've liked it, because they hired me,' she said. The library has secured hundreds of thousands of dollars in grant funding under her tenure, Branch said. 'I felt it was a really important way to supplement our budget, and not have to go back to the taxpayers for additional levy funds,' she said. 'Without those grants, a lot of our programs would not be possible.' One of the most important grants in Branch's tenure was one that paid for a digital literacy trainer to be on staff, she said. 'When I calculate these numbers, it's hard for me to grasp them,' she said. Branch loved presenting and preserving Kingsville history, she said. 'That's apparent to anyone who's walked in here,' she said. One of Branch's favorite projects is the library's education and exploration garden, she said. 'It integrates so many different educational aspects,' she said. 'It's open all the time. So, through [the COVID-19 pandemic], this was important that we had an accessible space. It provides a safe space for families to come, for children to play.' The library expanded reading services, she said. 'We wanted to offer more to the adult community,' she said. 'That also created more of a summer reading program for adults, which last year we had a record number of people participate. It was over 100 adults, who actually signed up.' Branch started outdoor movie nights at the library early in her tenure, she said. 'No one else was doing that in our county,' she said. 'There was special licensing required for that, so we figured that out, we got our licensing, we used the side of a white tent as our movie screen, and we put it on the townships square pavilion.' Branch is optimistic about the future of the library in Kingsville, and libraries across the state, despite challenges coming from the government and to funding, she said. 'The community and library professionals are all out there advocating for us, and libraries will always exist,' she said.
