The Cortez Public Library is preparing for a busy June, with summer reading programs, family activities, movies and adult events scheduled throughout the month.
The library’s summer reading program is open to children, teens and adults. Participants can count books, audiobooks and other reading toward the program by keeping track on a reading log. Completed logs turned in at the end of July will be entered for grand prizes donated by local businesses and organizations.
The program begins with a summer reading kickoff party on Thursday, June 4, from 4 to 6 p.m. at the library. The event will include treats, sidewalk chalk, bubbles, children’s excavation activities, adult painting activities, face painting and a nine-hole mini golf course set up inside the library.
The library’s regular children’s programs will continue through the summer. Storytime for young children takes place Tuesdays at 10:30 a.m. Teen Monthly Video Game Club will meet Friday, June 12, from 2 to 3:30 p.m., with snacks and Nintendo Switch games.
The library will also host a 3D printing workshop for children ages 8 and older on Wednesday, June 17, at 2 p.m. Participants will be able to design their own model and have it printed for free.
Other June programs connect to this year’s summer reading theme, “Unearth Your Story.” A T. Rex Tea Party for children is scheduled for Friday, June 26, from 2 to 3 p.m. Kids are invited to dress up and have tea with a “Tea Rex.”
Programs for adults include Mahjong Club on Mondays from 1 to 4 p.m. The library’s monthly book club will meet Thursday, June 4, from 4:30 to 6 p.m. to discuss Remarkably Bright Creatures.
Movie Club will meet Thursday, June 11, at 5:15 p.m. for a showing of Joy. The library will also screen Jurassic Park on Saturday, June 13, at 1 p.m. as part of its summer reading programming.
A life-affirming discussion group with adult services librarian Heather will meet Thursday, June 18, from 3 to 4 p.m. The monthly conversations cover topics such as mindfulness, personal growth, goal-setting and self-esteem.
For National Pollinator Week, the library will show the PBS documentary My Garden of a Thousand Bees on Monday, June 22, from 4:30 to 6 p.m. A Montezuma County 4-H student will also give a presentation on beekeeping.
An adult art class on pink eraser stamp carving is scheduled for Friday, June 26, at 10 a.m. Space is limited to 15 participants because of room and material needs.
The library will also hold an adult show and tell on Thursday, June 25, from 5 to 6 p.m. Participants are invited to bring an object or story connected to their own lives and share it in five minutes or less.
The library will be closed Friday, June 19, for Juneteenth.
Library staff are also continuing to update public computer services. The library has installed new operating systems on patron computers and a new print management system, with staff still working through some technical issues.
Director Leroy Harris with the Cortez Public Library said the library continues to serve a wide range of daily needs, from study rooms and printing to book searches and a free place for people to spend time.
And outside the library, the local goose family has moved on from its nest. Harris said all five goslings hatched and followed their mother, Petunia Paddle Foot the First, down to the pond, where they joined their father and began swimming.
