Saturday is International Games Day
Games of all kinds will be available this Saturday at the Great Bend Public Library, 1409 Williams St. The library will observe International Games Day, according to Young Adult and Marketing Librarian Jennifer King.
Board games, card games and dice games will be at the library all day.
There will be a Super Smash Bros. Brawl Tournament, with pre-qualifying events running from 10 a.m. to noon.
Any interested teens (ages 16+) and adults can show up prepared to duel for Magic: The Gathering, from 1 to 4:45 p.m.
“Libraries are becoming family destinations, and are continuously offering new formats and innovative programs and services that educated, entertain and expand interactions with their users,” King said. “Gaming is yet another exampled of how libraries are becoming more than just educational resources for the communities that they serve. They are also places where users of all ages are welcome to have fun together.”
International Games Day @ your library is supported by the American Library Association.
The Children’s Department at the Great Bend Public Library has a new look, thanks to several grants and gifts received in 2013.
Children’s Librarian Eric Coulbourne said staff started making the area brighter and cozier back in February by painting.
“We did one wall at a time,” he said Wednesday, while showing off the sturdy new furniture that arrived recently.
Back in February, Coulbourne was holding one of those giant facsimile checks from the Golden Belt Community Foundation. It represented a $1,100 grant made possible by the Kansas Health Foundation Youth Endowment and a special donation from the Don Miller Endowment Memorial Fund. That paid for most of the furnishings and painting, with the Friends of the Library making up the difference of the $1,700 project. But the work didn’t stop there.
A flatscreen television and a Blueray DVD player were purchased with a gift from the Aldrich Fund.
Derinda Folkerts' family trust provided a grant that paid for a combination reading tent and bookcase.
Great Bend and Ellinwood are two of 124 Kansas libraries receiving computer workstations for children, courtesy of a grant from the State Library of Kansas (SLK). The non-competitive grants provided $500 to libraries serving a population less than 10,000 and $1,000 to libraries serving a population over 10,000. Great Bend purchased two AWE Early Literacy Stations, created for children 2-8 years old.
The Early Literacy Station is a safe, standalone computer that requires no Internet and offers children 60 educational software programs – teaching reading, math, science, social studies, writing, art and music.
“Ensuring reading readiness and on-grade achievement for Kansas’ youngest residents is one of the State Library’s top priorities,” said State Librarian Jo Budler. “Placing these stations in public libraries will help young readers learn and practice the skills they need to be ready for school – and they’re having fun!”
Coulbourne said Great Bend’s Children’s Department follows SLK’s mission to promote early childhood literacy. Before most children can actually read or write, they are exposed the above skills, as well as technology and engineering. This is done by offering play time with Leggo’s and blocks, and through programs such as Story Time.
