At the Library 6/5/25

 

Ignite the Arts at Your
Washington Public Library

By LeAnn Kunz

Candyland Spinner

    Here at the library we are gearing up for Washington’s “Ignite the Arts” weekend, June 13-15. Last fall, the city of Washington was awarded the distinguished designation as one of Iowa’s “Cultural and Entertainment Districts”. This status was appointed to our town because of our reputation for numerous concerts, artistic events, building murals, art-focused businesses, and a vibrant public library.

    We are fortunate that The Washington Performing Art Series brings a broad array of professional music and talent to town throughout the year, our Washington Chamber of Commerce brings us Thursday Night Live and Municipal Band concerts all summer long, and your Washington Public Library hosts two free noon time concerts every 2^nd and 4^th Thursday of the month. Our town also has a proud history of arts and theater, including our Washington Community Theater bringing us live theater since 1976 and our historical State Theatre, the world’s oldest continuously operating movie theater. More recently the Farm to Film Festival has been established and is growing. They showcase independent films and filmmakers every spring.

    Your Washington Public Library is proudly at the center of this creative community. We provide a calendar filled with programs for all ages and all skill levels of artistic endeavor. Besides our concert series, which began because of the generous donation of our 1888 restored piano, we also have two art galleries for local artists to exhibit their work. The Helen Wilson Gallery is on the second level of the library and Art Underground is on the lower level. We even enjoy a curated collection of permanent art at the WPL. Patrons can stop in anytime we are open and stroll around all three levels to get their art fix. In addition, we are now coming upon our first anniversary of the opening of the Make IT Place! It includes a variety of machines and technology for patrons to design and make items. Once you are certified through our process, you can use our laser cutter, cricut cutter, 3-D printers, memory lab equipment, sewing machines, recording studio, and pottery studio.

Licorice Lagoon in Life-Sized Candyland

    
    On the weekend of “Ignite the Arts”, the library will be presenting some fun opportunities for everyone. Around the square will be a Story Walk. Take a saunter with your little ones and follow the children’ story as it progresses to a heartwarming end. On Friday, June 13 from 8-5 and Saturday, June 14 from 9-1, the ever-popular Life-Sized Candyland returns. Bring the whole family, grab a spinner, and have a round of sweet amusement as you weave through the Candy Cane Forest and Gumdrop Mountain to make it to the Candy Castle! On Saturday June 14 from 10 am to noon, the library will kick off its next Community Fiber Art Project with the Bubbleverse experiments in the alley behind the library. K-6^th graders are invited to come try creating a bubble globe from balloons, yarn, and glue. 

Globe Bubble made from a balloon, yarn, & glue
in the Bubbleverse Experiments

    There are also two art tours of the WPL collection on Saturday at 10:30 am or 1:30 pm. Carol Ray will talk about the pieces we have curated, many of which are by local artists. Finally, the WPL will be hosting a Make IT Place Open House on Saturday, June 14 from 10-3 pm which will include demonstrations and make-and-takes. You can come create a quilted or paper bookmark on the sewing machines, cut out a flower on the Cricut, engrave a wooden bookmark on the Glowforge, do a drop-in recording in our recording studio, or watch demos on pottery, 3-D printing, and the memory lab. The place will be bustling with creativity, so make sure to stop in!

Lizard made on the 3-D Printer

 

 

At the Library 5/29/25

How To Use the Mysterious QR Code

by Beth L Swift

WPL Tech Librarian

It used to be that a “QR reader” app was required in order to scan QR codes.  Generally, these apps are not needed anymore.  With technology upgrades for both Android and iOS (Apple) phones, you should be able to simply open your camera on your device and point it at the QR code for access.  But what are QR codes exactly?   

What Are QR Codes and How to Use Them

QR codes, short for "Quick Response" codes, are two-dimensional barcodes that store information in a square-shaped grid of black and white pixels. Originally developed in Japan in the 1990s for tracking automotive parts, QR codes have become a widely used tool for quickly sharing digital information using smartphones and other devices.

What Can QR Codes Be Used For?

QR codes can store a variety of data types, including:

• Website URLs
  
  

• Contact information
  
  

• Wi-Fi network credentials
  
  

• Event details
  
  

• App downloads
  
  

• Payment processing links
  
  

• Product information or promotions

The Washington Public Library uses QR codes on many of our flyers to help patrons get to our website, and direct people to registrations.  

They’re commonly seen on posters, product packaging, restaurant menus, business cards, and event tickets, making it easy for users to access more information with a quick scan.  Some restaurants provide QR codes on meal tickets to pay directly from your table.

How to Use QR Codes with Your Phone

Using a QR code is simple:

1. Open your camera app on your smartphone. Most modern Android and iOS devices have built-in QR scanning functionality in their default camera app.
   
   

2. Point your camera at the QR code so that the code is clearly visible on your screen. (do not “take’ a picture)
   
   

3. Wait a moment until a notification or link appears on your screen.
   
   

4. Tap the notification to open the content (e.g., a website or app).
   
   

If your phone's camera app doesn’t support QR scanning (rare), you can download a QR code scanner from your device’s app store.

Troubleshooting: If It's Not Working

If you’re having trouble scanning a QR code, try the following:

• Open settings on your device and give permission to use your camera

• Clean your camera lens to ensure it's not blurry or dirty.

• Improve the lighting or move to a better-lit area so the camera can easily detect the code.
  
  

• Hold your phone steady and ensure the code is fully within the camera frame.
  
  

• Avoid glare or reflections that might obscure the code.
  
  

• Zoom in or out slightly to help your phone focus on the code.
  
  

• Update your phone or camera app, as older versions might not support QR scanning.
  
  

• If your phone still doesn't recognize the code, try using a dedicated QR code scanning app.
  
  

QR codes offer a fast, touch-free way to access digital content, making everyday tasks like visiting a website, connecting to Wi-Fi, or viewing a menu faster and more convenient.

Practice here!  This will take you to our website!

At the Library 5/22/25

by Tammy Valentine

Summer Book Clubs for Adults

    Working at the library has the benefit of being able to use my personal interests in my job, one of which is reading, what a surprise.  As a lifelong reader one of my favorite things to do at the library is to host book clubs. Book clubs have all the best things including books, good friends, and great conversations. This will not change but we will be aligning with the Summer Reading Club slogan of Level Up!   

    Bookish people love to talk about books, read books set in libraries, and books with characters who read.  So the book clubs will include information on how fiction is categorized by genre and how nonfiction fits into the Dewey Decimal System. I hope you will enjoy them. Instead of adding book clubs I am transitioning the current ones into something just a little bit different.  The What are you reading? Book Club has been a lot of fun, sharing what each of us has been reading, our favorite authors, and what is in our to-be-read pile.  This book club is now transitioning to Books & Banter!  We will still have the show-and-tell structure but now we will read within a specific genre.  And we will learn about that genre, along with the subgenres in that category.  During the summer we will read Romance!  But each month will be a specific subgenre of Romance.  

The Bite Size Business Book Club was very interesting, to say the least.  It has given us so much information on improving our work skills, productivity, leadership, and communication. But we are ready for a change. The Bite Size Book Club is transitioning to Fact Finders Book Club!  We will be reading through the Dewey Decimal System, one class at a time.  A sidenote: when I first started working at the library I loved walking the stacks in the nonfiction.  The world was right there, at my fingertips, ready for me to dive in.  And now you can come with me!

Of course, there is still the Sci-Fi Book Club, without changes!  The June title is Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? This book inspired the movie, Blade Runner.  I already read (audiobook) it and found it very interesting.  Level up your lit by giving this a try! 

Last but not least, is the Summer Reading Challenge for adults of all ages.  I challenge you to read at least 1,500 pages between June 1st and July 31st.  Contact the library to sign up.

Don’t forget, the Summer Reading Club for adults  is called Level Up Your Lit!  You can register by calling the library or online. 

At the Library 5/15/25

 Job Shadowing at the Washington Public Library

by Maci Baker

I have never been one for meeting new people. Something about it has always put me on edge and going to the Washington Public Library for a job shadow was no different. Walking in, I didn't know what to do or who I should talk to. I had never done something like this before. The staff were very nice, and I was quickly introduced to the director, Carry Ann. She had a way of putting my nerves at ease as we talked, and as she gave me a tour of the building. Now I know you may be thinking that “it’s just a library. There isn't that much to see or do,” but you'd be wrong. From clay and strings to making your own crafts, they have just a little of everything.
I found out they have pottery classes they offer, as well as 3D printers, a Cricut, art of all kinds, and so much more. They offer many different events that people can attend, like the Titanic dinner, Dungeons and Dragons, reading programs for kids, movie nights, concerts, writers workshops, sticks and strings–and the list is always growing. I was able to observe what some of these programs did, and I was even allowed to help plan future events like the K-2 summer reading program they host. 

Throughout my time there, I was given the opportunity to learn how to catalog books, learn the system they use, and even look at some of the books that were donated when the library first opened. For a little bit every day, I worked on marking all the books in the young adult sections. The goal of the library was to mark all the books based on genre. Each genre would be given a different colored tape. After making all the books, they would like to move them so that all the romance is together in one place and all the fantasy is all in one place. 

During this time I was also able to observe some programs for younger kids, like the Lego Club. This is an after-school program that encourages creativity and problem-solving. The other program I got to see was the reading program. This was for a younger audience of kids who don't know how to read quite yet. They did all sorts of things, from dancing and singing to playing.

This was my time at the Washington Public Library. I would like to give a special thanks to Carry Ann and the rest of the staff for not only giving me the opportunity to learn about the job but also igniting a new appreciation for libraries all over.

At the Library

The WPL Has Lots of Opportunities to Help Parents Read Early to Young Children

 

by Alison Greiner

Research has shown that reading to children at a young age has many benefits. Beyond using that time as an opportunity to bond with your child, it also positively impacts their cognitive development and emotional skills while also fostering their creativity and imagination. We are fortunate to offer two programs at our library designed to support parents when choosing books that reinforce these skills and encourage children to love reading at a young age. 

The first program I would like to highlight is one we have had in our library for nearly three years.  It is called "1000 Books Before Kindergarten".  This program encourages parents and young children to work towards the goal of reading 1000 books before they are in Kindergarten.  Prizes and incentives are offered at various milestones as the children read their way to the  1000 books goal.  Once they have read 1000 books, they will have their picture taken and displayed in the children's section at the library.  They also choose a book in the children's section, and a label is placed inside with their name to honor their accomplishment. 

 

Another benefit of this program is the ease it offers parents when choosing books for their children.  While the children can read any book to earn 1000, the library has pre-filled backpacks with 10 books in each backpack.  Each backpack has a different theme, and the books are all centered around that theme.  The books were also carefully compiled and are some of the best children's books.  These backpacks are a quick and easy way to choose books and keep their child on track to earning their goal.

Recently, we have started offering another program for children called Dolly Parton's Imagination Library.  Once parents sign their child up for this program, their child will receive a free book each month until age five from the Imagination Library sent directly to their home.  The Dolly Parton Foundation created this program because of her desire to inspire all kids to read.  If you want to learn more about the Imagination Library, visit www.imaginationlibrary.com.  You can also sign up your child on this website if your zip code is within the sponsored area. 

The Washington Free Public Library Foundation made each of these programs possible. If you would like to learn more about the foundation and the other programs it supports, you can read about it at this link: https://www.washington.lib.ia.us/about/library-foundation-board. 

Remember, our librarians are here to answer any questions about either of these programs.  We love to encourage all children to read and love books and know this can be the best start to a lifetime of learning and enjoyment.