Get The Latest News!
Don't miss our top stories and need-to-know news everyday in your inbox.
ALTON - This month, the Hayner Public Library District has a wide range of free programs for people with all different interests.
Executive Director Mary Cordes said that this quarter’s newsletter was the longest newsletter that Hayner has ever put out, largely due to the sheer number of events and programs that they have planned. She hopes these events are well-attended, and she looks forward to sharing the library’s resources with the community.
“We’ve got a lot going on,” Cordes said. “This is all free.”
At 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024, at Alton Square Mall, the library will host Wrestling at the Chase: An Evening with Ed Wheatley. Wheatley, a sports historian who believes St. Louis is the greatest sports town in America, will share information about wrestling in the region. Cordes said she has been stopped by many people who tell her how excited they are for the program.
Also on Oct. 15, 2024, Hayner’s new Cookbook Book Club will meet for the first time at 6 p.m. at the Alton Square Mall library. In the week leading up to the event, people are invited to come to the library and choose a recipe from “The Magnolia Bakery Handbook” by Bobbie Lloyd. They can then go home, bake the recipe, and return to the library on Oct. 15 to share their treats with other patrons.
“It’ll be like a recipe tasting, and then people can talk about their favorite cookbooks, what they like, cooking tips, that kind of thing. It’s just a book club,” Cordes explained. “It’s another example of a staff member, Janice Burgess, listening to what patrons like and what worked at other libraries and thinking ‘Well, we can do that for our patrons,’ and creating an entire program because that’s what somebody wanted.”
At 10 a.m. on Oct. 16 and 6:30 p.m. on Oct. 23, 2024, Cordes will host a Library 101: Getting the Most from Your Public Library: Navigating and Utilizing Hayner Library’s Collections, Programs, and Services class. This program will cover Hayner’s services and resources, as well as how to navigate the library’s website.
“Basically, it’s just how to use your library and get the full value out of the library,” Cordes said. “It’s getting the most from your public library.”
On Oct. 18, 2024, patrons are invited to the Fall Reading Retreat, where they can complete a craft, talk about books and read from 6–7:30 p.m. at the Alton Square Mall library.
Cordes encourages people to stop by Hayner through the month of October to take advantage of the Adult Scavenger Hunt. This program aims to familiarize people with the library and push them into the community as they search for different objects throughout Hayner and the Riverbend region.
The Illinois Heartland Library Crawl is also scheduled through October. People can visit over 125 participating libraries throughout the state for the chance to win a prize. Cordes explained that the goal is to see what different libraries offer and how patrons can take advantage of their programs.
“The whole point is to get people out into the libraries that they may not normally visit, and just take a look at their buildings and see what they’re offering and what’s available to you, because you can use your library card at those libraries and return things back and forth with each other,” she added.
Registration is encouraged for all of these events. For more information about upcoming events or Hayner’s programs and resources, visit the official library website at HaynerLibrary.org.
More like this:
