Roslyn Public Library Events

The Roslyn Library Book Club

This Month's Read

On Beauty

by Zadie Smith

The Roslyn Library Book Club is a small and informal group of booklovers that meets at the Roslyn Library each month to discuss the book they have chosen in common to read. The Roslyn Library provides multiple copies of the chosen book.

Book selections vary from non-fiction to classics, poetry and plays to science fiction and young adult literature.

Please join this lively group at any time during the year or month. The book talks are held on the first Thursday of the month at 6:00 pm at the library.

FREE and OPEN to the public.

Upcoming Reads

Previous Reads

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Story Time at the Roslyn Library
Tuesdays
10:30 am @ the Library

The Roslyn Library offers story time for children of all ages every Tuesday at 10:30 am.

Our library's story times are informal programs that focus primarily on books. Occasionally the librarian will feel intrepid and sing a song or get the kids to dance or help with rhymes. Volunteer readers are often featured and they are appreciated by all.

Selected books vary from educational to whimsical, but all of them help build literacy skills. Story time children build the six skills they need to learn to read:

Print Motivation;
Vocabulary;
Print Awareness;
Letter Knowledge;
Narrative Skills; and
Phonological Awareness

Not only that, but story time is a great time to build social skills! The laid-back atmosphere means your temperamental two-year old will be welcome even on her grumpiest days.

You'll be surprised how fast the other kids role model proper library behavior as they play together with puzzles and toys in the sunny children's area.

And it's a great place and time to meet other parents, check out parenting resources, and browse for books, videos, CDs, and magazines for yourself and other members of your family.

Story Time
Tuesdays
10:30 am @ the Library

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Ready to Read in Roslyn

Ready to Read in Roslyn is an early literacy program of the Roslyn Library that aims to help develop pre-reading skills in young children, thus preparing them for success in school and beyond.

The program launched in 2008 with a storytelling and book giveaway event for area preschool children. This initial event and the launch of the program was made possible by a grant from the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation through the Washington State Library. Matching funds were provided by the Cle Elum Kiwanis with supporting funds from the Friends of the Roslyn Library. The program will evolve over the years as funds, staff time and opportunites permit.

In 2009, the Roslyn Library held a special series of story times for children between 1 and 2 years old. This six week class, developed by Dr. James Thomas provided parents and caregivers with resources and guidance to help their children get ready to read and learn while their children learn and have fun with one another.

For the young children, specific objectives included:

Establish comfort with the story time structure;
Provide familiarity with the 30 minute sequence;
Encourage appropriate interactions with one another;
Identify personal names and body parts;
Introduce language and concepts, such as the alphabet, numbers, colors, shapes;
Demonstrate use of gross motor skills through music and exercise;
Promote hand-eye coordination and small-motor skills.

For the caregivers and parents, specific objectives included:

Demonstrate that learning can be fun and enjoyable;
Model behaviors for individual interactions and group participation;
Suggest book titles and music for 12-24 months;
Share information by providing handouts to take home;
Provide opportunities for communication between parent and child in order to promote the development of early literacy skills outside of the story time setting.

Future classes may be offered as time and interest allow. To find out more, contact Erin Krake, Librarian, at (509) 649-3420 or send email to rpl@inlandnet.com.

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The Summer Reading Program

Every summer, the Roslyn Library holds a summer reading program that aims to keep kids of all ages reading throughout the summer months. The program offers incentive prizes for time spent reading, a raffle for completing reading goals, and features weekly story times, activities and events.

CLICK HERE FOR INFORMATION ON THIS YEAR'S PROGRAM

CLICK HERE TO VIEW PHOTOS FROM PREVIOUS PROGRAMS

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World Affairs Series

Much like the Armchair Travel Series the library has presented in the past, the World Affairs Series provides the opportunity for our community to engage with other cultures. Professionals from across the globe visit Roslyn and share with us their culture and perspectives of the issues that we all face as part of the human race.

Each gathering is different, from a Q&A presentation by Sudanese health workers to a reception at the Roslyn Brewery for a group of young, emerging leaders from various countries in Europe to an informal dinner that provided an opportunity for citizen diplomacy with a group of international professionals from the UW's Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship Program.

This series is made possible through a partnership with the World Affairs Council.

To view pictures of the different World Affairs Series programs, click here.

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Three Cups of Tea:
One Man's Mission to Promote Pease...One School at a Time
by Greg Mortenson & David Oliver Relin

The Roslyn Library is joining with the other public libraries in the county to offer our first ever One Book One Community program, where we encourage everyone in our community to read and talk about the same book.

We have chosen the book Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortensen, which is the story of how Mortensen's life was transformed in a remote village in Pakistan, and how he turned that transformation into a crusade to build schools for the boys and girls of this volatile and remote region.

People throughout the county are being encouraged to read this book with us, and we have organized special events to coincide with the book at each library that will help readers engage with the book's themes on a deeper level.

You can borrow a copy of Three Cups of Tea from any of the public libraries in Kittitas County. The story is also available in a children's book called Listen to the Wind and in a young reader edition. Copies of the books for children and young adults are also available to borrow.

Pennies for Peace

The Cle Elum-Roslyn high school and middle school raised nearly $1,500 by launching a penny drive to help Greg Mortenson's Central Asia Institute build more schools in Afghanistan and Pakistan and to maintain the dozens of schools the Institute has already built. The high school's Amnesty International Club spearheaded the effort, called Pennies for Peace.

While pennies may be worth very little in the United States, in Afghanistan and Pakistan:

1 penny = one pencil
2 pennies = one eraser
$2-3 = one teacher’s pay for a day
$20 = one student’s school supplies for one year
$600 = one teacher’s annual salary
$5,000 = support for an existing school for one year
$50,000 = one school building and support for up to five years

Want to learn more?

Pakistan Fact Sheet
Afghanistan Fact Sheet
Girls Education Fact Sheet

Tom Brokaw calls this book "one of the most remarkable adventure stories of our time." For a synopsis of the book and for more reviews of it, visit Powell's Books.

This program is sponsored by The Friends of the Roslyn Library.

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