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What’s New at the Library This Month? Celebrations, Storytellers, Authors and More!

By Kaitlan Morehouse

Have you been to the Watauga County Public Library lately? Your local library has special events throughout the month of April. From celebrations to author talks to poetry events to storytellers, you’re sure to be entertained!

“Anytime is a good time to come to the library, depending on what your needs are,” said Monica Caruso, the Watauga County Librarian.

Employees at Watauga County Public Library help local patrons check out new books at the circulation desk. Pictured behind the desk are Circulation Manager Randy Feimster (left) and County Librarian Monica Caruso.
Employees at Watauga County Public Library help local patrons check out new books at the circulation desk. Pictured behind the desk are Circulation Manager Randy Feimster (left) and County Librarian Monica Caruso.

Join the local branch for National Library Week festivities April 10-16.

Read below for events, dates, times and more information regarding the National Library Week and other upcoming programs and events.

Visit www.wataugacountylibrary.org or call 828-264-8784 for more information. The library is located at 140 Queen Street in downtown Boone.

Library Hours:

Monday through Thursday: 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Friday and Saturday: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

April 10-16: National Library Week

National Library Week, sponsored by the American Library Association (ALA) and libraries – school, public, academic and special – all over the country, celebrates the contributions of libraries and librarians and promotes the support and use of the library.

Each year the American Library Association has a different theme for the week. This week, the theme will be Libraries Transform. You can show your support by adding the National Library Week Facebook Cover Photo, Libraries Transform Twibbon to your profile picture on Facebook and/or Twitter or taking part in the Libraries Transform Video Challenge to showcase what’s happening at your local library!

If you swing by the library during these days, the library will have special giveaways and story time guests at 11 a.m. who include:

  • Kathy Idol, library board
  • John Welch, county commissioner
  • Laura Donovan, musician
  • David Still, meteorologist

On Monday, High Country Lifelong Learners and the library will co-host and feature Hallstrom’s 2014 film “The Hundred Foot Journey,” from 2-4:30 p.m. on Monday, April 11 in the Evelyn Johnson Meeting Room. The PG movie, which stars Helen Mirren, Om Puri and Manish Dayal, tells the story of the Kadam family who leaves India for France and moves directly across the road from Madame Mallory’s Michelin-starred eatery.

Tuesday is National Library Workers Day, so be sure to thank your local staff for their service!

Wednesday morning will feature a special musical story time in the Evelyn Johnson Meeting Room with Local Musician Laura Donovan.

Arly, gray fox and Appalachian Regional Library mascot, will also be celebrating his birthday on Wednesday morning. He will be taking pictures with the kids from 10 a.m.-12 p.m. and eating cake.

Arly is native to North Carolina, like all gray foxes, and he roams around Ashe, Watauga and Wilkes counties. You can visit Arly’s den here to learn more about Arly or gray foxes!

The library will hide a bookmarks for a free Stick Boy Bread Company cookie coupon or for $1 off your book fines, so look for them throughout the day!

There will be a Special Preschool Storytime, “The Story Lady,” at the Western Watauga Branch at 9:30 a.m. on Thursday. Local Storyteller Sharon Clarke will weave story and song in a dramatic reading with imagery and imagination for a delightful and engaging performance.

Make sure to stick around and join Paula Finck at 2 p.m. on Thursday! She will show a short, 30-minute documentary about “Granny D,” who walked from Los Angeles, CA to Washington, D.C. in fourteen months, from 1999-2000, at the age of 84 to raise awareness for campaign finance reform.

“Granny D,” longtime acknowledgement and middle name of Doris Haddock (as of August 19, 2004), was an American politician and political rights activist from New Hampshire. She passed away in 2010 at the age of 100.

She wrote Granny D: Walking Across America in My Ninetieth Year, and co-wrote Granny D: You’re Never Too Old to Raise a Little Hell, Granny D’s American Century and Granny D with Dennis Burke.

Finck will promote her solo book, but all of the books are available in the library.

“She was my mentor, and luckily, I’ve been able to keep her memory alive,” Finck said.

Contact Paula Finck at 828-963-1164 for more information.

April 13-15: Western Watauga Branch Friends Spring Book Sale

Do you love a good book sale?

Watauga County Public Library.
Watauga County Public Library.

The Friends Book sale will be held at the Western Watauga Branch during the following times:

  • 4-7 p.m. (Friends group members only) – You can join the night of for $5!
  • 10 a.m.-7 p.m.
  • 9 a.m.-12 p.m.

April 16: Shred and Protect, 10 a.m.-1 p.m.

Did you finish your taxes?

If so, join the library and safely shred all those important personal documents and records that you don’t need any more and protect yourself from identity theft on Saturday, April 16!

Here’s a list of possible papers to shred:

  • Account numbers
  • Birthdates
  • Passwords or PINs
  • Signatures
  • Social Security Numbers
  • Addresses – physical, email or phone

There will be a limit of 3 document boxes or 75 pounds of paper per attendee.

The event will be sponsored by the Local Government Federal Credit Union (LGFCU).

Call 800-344-4846 (toll free) for more information.

April 17: Author Visit: Meg Reid, 2 p.m.

Join the local branch as it opens the Evelyn Johnson Meeting Room especially for Meg Reid, an editor, nonfiction writer and Deputy Director of Hub City Press! She will be coming from Spartanburg to present her book, Carolina Writers at Home, which is about North Carolina treasured writers.

For her book, she interviewed all of the authors who live in North Carolina, such as Joseph Bathanti, Clyde Edgerton, Nikky Finney, Allan Gurganus, Jill McCorkle and George Singleton, about what home means to and what inspires them. The book will sold after the event.

She has had essays featured in Chautauqua and Matter Journal, DIAGRAM, the Oxford American Fringe and The Rumpus.

Friends of the Library will sponsor this event.

April 23: The Community “Favorite Poem” Event, 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m.

The Community “Favorite Poem” event in the library’s Evelyn Johnson Meeting Room will be in observance of National Poetry Month and National Poetry Reading Day on Saturday, April 23 from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

At this event, you can present a poem of your own, a favorite poem or listen to your fellow community members present their “Favorite Poem.”

There will be a master of ceremonies and refreshments at the event.

Local poetry group Behind the Stacks and Friends of the Watauga County Library will co-sponsor the event,

For more information, contact Paula Finck at 828-963-1164 or Adult Services Librarian Ross Cooper at 828-264-8784, Ext. 2.

April 25: Small Investing for Teens: Writing Checks, 5-7 p.m.

Do you worry about your teenagers being financially dependent adults? Worry no more! The April installment of the teen financial literacy workshop, “Small Investing for Teens: Writing Checks,” will be held from 5 to 7 p.m. on Monday, April 25.

The NCWorks Career Center, 130 Poplar Grove Road Connector, will host its own workshop from 5 to 7 p.m. on Thursday, April 21.

The two workshops will attempt to answer: “As digital natives, teens have grown used to the online world but do they know enough to protect themselves.” Your teenagers will learn to identify common scams and strategies for protect themselves both online and in real life.

There will be food served at both workshops.

RSVP to or call 828-264-8784 ext. 2 for more information. You can also visit the library’s $mart Investing website for tools to help your teen learn to manage their money.

April 30: Author Visit: Eva Mull Wike, 11 a.m.

Eva Nell Mull Wike, PhD, a story teller and author, will present her book, Fiddler of the Mountains – Attuned to the Life and Times of Johnny Mull, which is an account of her Uncle Johnny.

Wike has obtained her Uncle’s old acetate records and had them restored and put in a CD to accompany her book.

In a release, Wike said:

It all seems like some kind of a miracle that I ‘accidentally’ got my Uncle Johnny’s personal photos from a dear friend who had worked with Johnny up in Canton, in the 1950’s. I no sooner got the photos from him, til a few days later he upped and died during open-heart surgery in Atlanta! About the same time, the Ohio landlady sent me the old acetate records which had been stored away in her closet for decades! Then just a few days later, her son called me to say that she had passed away. So in between sad times, I got down to business and wrote Johnny’s story. And dog-on if my book didn’t win the North Carolina Society of Historian’s AWARD!

Clubs and Organizations

April 6: Lego Club, 3:30 p.m.

Does your child play with Legos? You can have them join the library and create and play with other kids in the Lego Club. The club’s next meeting will be at 3:30 p.m. on April 6.

April 13 and 27: FANDOM Club, 4:30 p.m.

Does your teenager belong to any fandom or strongly favor a media niche, such as The Lord of the Rings series or Doctor Who? Teenagers aged 12-18 can join the library for the FANDOM Club. Your child will explore a pre-selected book, graphic novel, manga, podcast, web series, anime or TV series. The club will meet at 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday, April 13 and 27. Email Amy at ajones@arlibrary.org for more information.

April 14 and 28: High Country Writers, 10 a.m.

Do you love to write? Join the library as a guest for the High Country Writers, an organization that fosters the growth and creativity of writers of all genres offering its members support, constructive criticism and professional development, at 10 a.m. on Thursday, April 14 and 28. The meeting will feature Cynthia Gaw, local author of “Bone of my Bones.” For more information about the organization, membership and calendar of events, please visit the HCW website at http//:highcountrywriters.tripod.com.

April 19: Elementary BOB Book Club, 4 p.m.

Does your 4th and/or 5th grader enjoy reading? You can have them join the library for the BOB Book Club, which discusses “Battle of the Books” book selections, enjoys snacks and engages in fun activities. The club will meet at 4p.m. on Tuesday, April 19 to discuss this month’s The Homework Machine, by Dan Gutman.

The Worst Book Club Ever, 3:30 p.m.

Middle schoolers can join the library for The Worst Book Club Ever, which focuses on a book or theme of the month and allows kids to pick out their own selection and share it with the group. The next meeting will be held at 3:30 p.m. on Tuesday, April 19 and will feature the book Okay for Now by Gary D. Schmidt.

April 21: Movie Group, 6:30-8:30 p.m.

Do you like to watch movies? Join the library’s movie group from 6:30-8:30 p.m. on Thursday, April 21. The group will show Anthony Asquith’s 1952 film adaption of Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest. The movie is unrated. Call 828-264-8784 ext. 2 for more information.

April 25: Pokémon Club, 3:30 p.m.            

Does your kid want and/or trade Pokémon cards? Have them join the library for its Pokémon club for its next meeting at 3:30 p.m. on April 25!

April 26: Book Brunch Book Club, 1:30 p.m.

Join the library for the club the Book Brunch Book Club. The next meeting will be at 1:30 p.m. on Tuesday, April 26 and will feature the book The 100-Year-Old man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared.

Ongoing Library Programs

Monday-Friday: Family Story Time, 11 a.m.

Mondays: Alphabet Ready by 5

Tuesdays and Thursdays: Baby Lap Time, 10:30 a.m.

Second Week every month: Lego Free Play

A little reader enjoys daily story time at the Watauga County Public Library.
A little reader enjoys daily story time at the Watauga County Public Library.

Visit the Watauga County Public Library’s Children’s Services for more information.

For more information, visit the library online or its Facebook page now!

You can also call Watauga County Librarian Monica Caruso at 828-264-8784 or Branch Manager Jackie Cornette at 828-297-5515 or email the Library at www.wataugalibrarynews@gmail.com.

Contact the library five or more days in advance if accommodations are needed before an event.