CULLMAN – Set to wrap up next Thursday, this year’s Summer Library Program has been a success thus far with little ones packing the house at the county’s flagship library location on Clark Street in Cullman.
The Cullman County Public Library has a lengthy history of providing summertime programs specially designed for children in the region, with its earliest summer reading programs going back several decades, possibly dating back to the building’s opening in 1967, according to longtime librarian Lesia Coleman.
“We’ve had the program for as long as I’ve been here and that’s a long time,” Coleman shared on a recent morning when the normally quiet library was full of youngsters coloring baseball, basketball and football pennants.
Taking the place of the summer reading program of old, the Alabama Public Library Service sponsored “On Your Mark, Get Set, Read” inspired theme of fitness has been the hallmark of this summer. Programming has included soccer demonstrations, an obstacle course and a special day of taste-testing different vegetables.
Upcoming curriculum includes “The Science of Sports” presented by the McWane Center of Birmingham, an archery exhibition provided by Cullman Parks and Recreation and tips on exercising like a ninja with a martial arts demonstration by Triad Martial Arts.
One constant throughout the years of operation is the library staff’s ability to improvise and roll with the punches. On what was scheduled to be a class on exercising musical muscles with Polly Easterwood, the staff and children shifted their expectations and held a crafts class instead due to a scheduling conflict.
Librarian Janice Cook says an upcoming, highly anticipated event is an art installation by Chip Ghigna of Birmingham. Ghigna’s work has been displayed throughout the United States and in France. His display is expected to be up at the library in early July.
The main branch of the Cullman County Public Library is located at 200 Clark Street NE in Cullman. Find them online at http://www.ccpls.com/.
