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ALTON - The Hayner Public Library District has several programs lined up for community members to enjoy.
“We just keep offering more programs, and people keep signing up and participating in them,” said Executive Director Mary Cordes. “In addition to all the books that we check out and the movies that we check out and the items that we stream and download and all that, there’s also that component of programming and being a community center and service group that we have found people really want and we’re happy to adapt and give to people. We’re always trying something new.”
From 6–7 p.m. on Wednesday, March 5, 2025, hopeful readers can stop by the Alton Square Mall library for “Library Speed Dating: Find the Book of Your Dreams.” This event, rescheduled from February, encourages people to check out different genres of books and find new authors to enjoy. Cordes noted that it’s also a great social opportunity to engage with people who love the books you want to read.
At 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, March 11, 2025, the community can check out “Jazz at the Library: An Evening with the Alton High School Jazz Band” at the Alton Square Mall library. The Alton High Jazz Quartet will play swing and jazz music, and Cordes expressed her excitement to welcome these students to the library.
“You always hear, ‘Oh, kids these days.’ Well, there are some super awesome kids these days,” she said. “This group is going to be amazing, so we encourage everyone to come out and listen to them. They’re even going to play some of their own compositions. These are super talented kids and I’m super excited to have them at the library.”
On March 13, 2025, the bimonthly Branching Out Genealogy Classes will return with “Digital Family Trees and Files: Organize and Preserve Them.” This class will teach people how to digitize their genealogy information, an important aspect of genealogy research in the 21st century.
The Genealogy and Local History Library will host a special program at 10 a.m. on Saturday, March 15, 2025. “Arches, Mounds, Domes, and Bucky Fuller with Benjamin Lowder—Reimagining Places of the Past: Historic Preservation Lecture Series, Part 3” will take attendees through the architecture of Southern Illinois and SIUE with Benjamin Lowder. Lowder will discuss the work of Buckminster Fuller, an architect and professor at SIUE.
At 6:30 p.m. on April 8, 2025, community members are invited to the Alton Square Mall library for “Compassionate Connections: Harp Music for the Soul,” a presentation and performance by Amy Conrady Camie. Cordes noted that Camie is “so talented” and will be talking about how music can be used for therapeutic purposes to treat a variety of ailments.
“She’s kind of a pioneer in harp therapy, so she has coauthored different pilot studies demonstrating the effects of harp music on brain wave and immune system function, pain and anxiety,” Cordes explained. “She’s going to come and she’s going to play the harp, and it’s just an hour for everybody to sit and relax and learn about how this harp music, how music in general, can help you.”
Looking ahead, Cordes is also excited for a special presentation about naturalist John Audubon. She said that more information about this presentation, as well as the many other programs and events offered by Hayner in the spring, will be available in the library’s quarterly newsletter, to be mailed in the next few weeks.
“It’s just a great way to feed your mind and to meet new people and just talk and just be part of the community,” she added.
All of Hayner’s programs are free, though registration is encouraged. Call 1-800-613-3163 to register. For more information about the Hayner Public Library District, including a calendar of upcoming events, check out their official website at HaynerLibrary.org.
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