YCL Celebrates the Friends of the Library

October 15–21 is National Friends of Libraries Week, a time to celebrate and thank our Friends of the Library for their year-round dedication and for all the differences they make. Formed in 1975, this group of community members advocates for funding and volunteers their time to assist with book sales, membership drives, and other activities. The funds raised from their efforts help support ​new books for our shelves, our popular Summer Learning Challenge and Patchwork Tales Storytelling Festival, and so much more.

Why not join the Friends to give back to our community, make friends of your own, and make our library even better? Already a member? Help spread the word! Join the celebration and follow #NationalFriendsofLibrariesWeek, #nfolw23, #friendsofthelibrary, and #libraryfriends on social media, and be sure to visit Friends Books on Main for thousands of donated books, DVDs, audiobooks, and CDs at great prices. Learn more at yclibraryfriends.org.

Banned Books Week: The Freedom to Read!

Join York County Library October 1–7 as we recognize Banned Books Week! This annual event celebrates the freedom to read and spotlights current and historical attempts to censor books in libraries and schools. Curious which titles that includes? Check out the ALA’s Top 10 Most Challenged Books Lists. You can also learn more about banned books at bannedbooksweek.org and find other tools and resources through Simon & Schuster's Books Belong program. Let Freedom Read!

YCL Awarded Grant for Food Literacy

With funds from this grant, the Main Library in Rock Hill will receive one Charlie Cart, a fully contained, mobile classroom kitchen with everything our staff needs to deliver cooking lessons in one place. We’ll also be able to provide each location with the curriculum and supplies for food literacy programs, including Kitchen in a Box kits that contain many of the same items as the Charlie Cart, but are smaller and more transportable.

This food literacy grant is made possible by funding from the Library Services and Technology Act provided by the Institute of Museum and Library Services and administered by the SC State Library. YCL would like to express our appreciation to the State Library for generously funding this project. Look for more information soon! *Photo Credit: SC State Library

New! Digital Multilingual Storybooks For Kids 

LOTE4Kids has more than 2,000+ digital picture books in 50+ languages, including French, German, Hindi, Italian, Japanese, Spanish, and American Sign Language. With new books and languages added each month, this collection is designed to increase language skills and engage immigrant, refugee, and multilingual families with literacy.

Access LOTE4Kids in library branches, at home, or as a mobile app on the Apple App Store and Google Play. Visit our Virtual Library to get started with LOTE4Kids and other language-learning tools now, and learn more about the Dollar General Literacy Foundation at dgliteracy.org.

Start Your Own Garden with 'Seed Library'

New Lego Sets Help Kids Learn Braille, Literacy

The Braille Brick sets will be used for special library programs and contain over 250 bricks in five colors, each with studs that correspond to characters in the braille code, and the printed version of the symbol or letter below. Although aimed at children ages 6 and older, Braille Bricks also give adults and families a fun opportunity to become familiar with the braille system and practice their tactile skills. YCL extends special thanks to Walmart for generously donating the funds to purchase these new Legos.

Exploring the Harmonica in American Music

Starting October 3, you'll join Grammy Award-winner and virtuoso harmonica player Peter Madcat Ruth each Tuesday via Zoom from 5–6 p.m. He'll cover a different topic each week, from the introduction of harmonicas in the U.S. to how we hear the instrument still today. Registration is required to receive the Zoom link. Please enter YORK COUNTY LIBRARY or YCL when asked where you heard about the program. You can find more information about this series and other workshops from Workforce Opportunity Services at wforce.org.

York County Library Hours & Closing Notices

All Locations: Monday–Thursday, 9 a.m.–7 p.m.; Friday, 9 a.m.–6 p.m.

Main Library (Rock Hill), Fort Mill, & Lake Wylie: Saturday, 9 a.m.–6 p.m.

Clover & York: Saturday, 9 a.m.–2 p.m.

• Early Closing: The Fort Mill Library will close at 12 p.m. on Saturday, October 21, for the Baxter Village/Fort Mill Fall Festival.

   

• Library Lockers: Locker pickup service has resumed! Enjoy convenient, contactless pickup, accessible 24/7 at your nearest library location. Please note that due to maintenance, the York Library Locker remains unavailable.
   

• Friends Books on Main: Shop a huge selection of books, DVDs, CDs, and audiobooks for all ages at the Friends of the Library bookstore, open to the public at 206 E. Main St. in Old Town Rock Hill, Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays, from 10 a.m.–4 p.m.