What, you might ask, is going on in the Children's Library? Fall programming is well underway. Preschool, Toddle-In, and Lapsit storytimes are taking place on Thursday mornings. The first six-week session will go through Thursday, October 9. The second session will begin on Thursday, October 30. For information, or to enroll your child, please phone 626-0180, ext 4, or stop by the children's desk.

Those readers who are regularly in the children's section during the day have probably noticed that there are lots of little ones in the library lately. That is due to two special programs taking place currently. The first is a continuation of a grant made possible by Smart Start of Southwest Kansas. The grant enabled the library to send mailings over the summer to each child enrolled in Head Start for the upcoming school year.

The second part of the grant involves the Head Start students visiting the library four times per year for a special story time. The children recently took part in the first visit.

Teachers at USD 480 Preschool expressed an interest in bringing their students to the library on a regular basis. A rotating schedule was devised so that the classes will each get a chance to come to the library every five weeks.

Coming up the week of November 17 will be the Fourth Annual Kansas Reads to Preschoolers. The theme this year is health and a fun story time is planned. In addition to our Thursday morning story time, there will be an identical story time offered in the evening that week. Watch for publicity.

For older students, once again this year library staff members are taking part in nutrition education at the Recreation Center 's twice monthly Snack Attack program. Good, sound nutrition information is provided at each session, as well as something healthy to snack on.

A program totally new will be taking place on Tuesday, October 28. Children grades K through 4 are invited to take part in an after school gathering from 4:00 to 5:15. The session will revolve around a book series with author information, reading from one of the series books, and crafts centered on the series. Flyers will be posted in the library and the schools to announce the theme of the first gathering. Any time school is in session on the last Tuesday of the month, the after school program will take place. This will be a drop-in event, meaning youngsters do not have to make a reservation to attend.

This time of year speculation takes place on which books will win the major awards. Lots of new and interesting books are coming into the children's area daily. These new additions are displayed for easy visibility, but patrons should know that this does not make them inaccessible! Any book on display may be checked out. That includes books in the alcove.

Currently our north alcove is reminding everyone to exercise their right to vote. In addition, it is also informing patrons that the library is now a voter registration site. Anyone unregistered has until October 20 to register in order to be eligible to vote in the upcoming November 4 election. If you know someone in the community who has a collection of campaign memorabilia, the library would like to display it in its glass display case. Please put that person in touch with the library.

Last week was Banned Books Week and the adult area features a unique display of some of those books that was interactive for patrons. Each book was covered with a paper bag and the reason why that particular title was challenged. Patrons were encouraged to read the description before lifting the bag to reveal the title.

Another thing on display in the library is artwork of local students in kindergarten through the sixth grade who entered the Ozfest coloring contest. Entries were judged by grade and are hanging in the library entry hall, as well as in the children's area. Not only are there great books to check out, including many copies of the Wizard of Oz, but you can also come down and check out our display items as well. See you at Memorial Library!