AARP volunteers setting up for the start of 2024 tax prep.

Welcome to 2025!

At the end of 2024, the village was buzzing with excitement as visitors from various destinations arrived to celebrate the holidays and partake in the festivities.

The LPPL was visited by many who sought a moment of calm, while others used the time to work in the computer room or the quiet areas of the non-fiction room. Families gathered to play board games or read stories in the children’s room.

The library installed a large world map in the entryway a year ago to engage visitors. Guests have pinned their home locations, and over time, the map has become a colorful mosaic of countless places from around the globe. Each pin represents the diverse backgrounds of visitors, showcasing the library as a gathering place for people from various regions. Most of the staff at LPPL have had the valuable opportunity to connect with each of them.

Storytime is held every Friday at 10:30 a.m. Ms. Linda shares stories and songs with young children and their families. This is a time for fun, and we welcome everyone to join us each week.

Homeschool group at Thrive and Thrift Shop learning about volunteerism in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service.

The AARP is setting up their computers and workspace in the non-fiction room preparing for the start of many days of serving people with free tax assistance. Last year these wonderful volunteers assisted more than 200 people from our area. Anyone interested in signing up for this service please call LPPL at 518-523-3200. This service ends on March 15.

On Thursday, Jan. 16 in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s National Day of Service, the Homeschool Thursday group toured Lake Placid’s new Thrive & Thrift to learn about volunteerism.

Reminders:

— You can now stream classic cinema, indie films and documentaries free with a library card. The Clinton, Essex, Franklin Library System added the video streaming service Kanopy to the resources you can access free of charge using your library card. With an extensive collection of narrative and documentary films, TV series, and kids’ content, CEF is pleased to bring this streaming service to the community. Kanopy can be enjoyed on your computer, on the go with a smartphone or tablet, and even on a smart TV. Go to cefls.kanopy.com to get started today.

— Our monthly craft social takes place on the last Monday of every month from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Bring a craft you are working on, have a cup of tea, and enjoy. The next craft social is scheduled for Monday, Jan. 27.

— The Lego Club meets on the last Thursday of each month from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. in the children’s room. The children had a great time at the holiday-themed meeting in December, which included a surprise for everyone. The January meeting will take place on Thursday, Jan. 30.

Upcoming events

— Join us on Monday, February 3, from 10:30 a.m to 12:30 p.m., for a folk-art-inspired watercolor class where you can create your hand-painted Valentine’s Day card. This class is free for adults and teens, all materials will be provided. You can sign up at the front desk or by calling 518-523-3200.

— Homeschool Thursday is for families with students in grades K-6, but students of other ages are welcome. On Feb. 6 at 10 a.m., the families will explore the art of storytelling through classic tales.

New arrivals

Adult Fiction — “The Waiting” by Michael Connelly, “Midnight and Blue” by Ian Rankin, “Lies He Told Me” by James Patterson, “The Mirror” by Nora Roberts, “The Note” by Alafair Burke, “Robert B. Parker’s Hot Property” by Mike Lupica, “Stuart Woods’ Golden Hour” by Brett Battles, “Now or Never; Thirty-one on the Run”, by Janet Evanovich, “Definitely Better Now” by Ava Robinson, “The French Winemaker’s Daughter” by Loretta Ellsworth, “Where The Creek Bends” by Linda Lael Miller and many more novels available.

Adult Non-Fiction — “Sisters in Science: How Four Women Physicists Escaped Nazi Germany and Made Scientific History” by Olivia Campbell, “Countdown 1960: the Behind-the-Scenes Story of the 312 Days that Changed America’s Politics Forever” by Chris Wallace with Mitch Weiss, “Making the Presidency: John Adams and the Precedents that Forged the Republic” by Lindsay Chervinsky and “The Serviceberry: Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World” by Robin Wall Kimmerer.

Juvenile Fiction — “The Bad Guys in One Last Thing” by Aaron Blabey, “Dog Man: Big Jim Begins” by Dav Pilkey, “Unraveled” by Shannon Messenger, “Haunting of the Ghost Dragon” by Tracey West, “I Survived the Black Death” by Lauren Tarshis and “Wings of Fire: Escaping Peril” by Tui T. Sutherland,

Juvenile Non-Fiction — “The Universe” by Abigail Beall, “How to Build Lego Robots” by Hannah Dolan, “Minecraft: Mega-Bite Builds” by Mojang Studios, “Narwhal: Unicorn of the Artic” by Candace Fleming, and “Lefty” by Mo Willems.

LPPL has added Vox Books to our children’s collection. A Vox Book is a picture book with an embedded audio recording. The audio is activated by a push button on the front cover. This allows children to listen and read along with the world’s first audiobooks that exist in print. A few of the Vox books on our shelf are “Eyes That Weave the World’s Wonders” by Joanna Ho, “Goodnight Moon” by Margaret Wise Brown and “The Big Cheese” by Jory John.

Children’s Books — “Stopping by the Jungle on a Snowy Evening” by Richard T. Morris, “The Most Boring Book Ever” by Brandon Sanderson, “A Cozy Winter Day” by Eliza Wheeler and “The Very Hungry Caterpillar’s Peekaboo Valentine” by Eric Carle.