Services Offered at CCL

            We frequently hear people say, “I didn’t know the library could do that!” The truth is, the Calhoun County Library offers a variety of resources to the community at little to no cost. Three services that are available are assisting with passport applications, notarizing documents, and Book a Librarian.

Passport applications are taken by appointment only. Patrons can check out travel.state.gov for fees and forms. Our location does not take photos, but you can go to Wal-Mart, Walgreens, or CVS to purchase your photos. Some of the items you will need are your long-form birth certificate with the state seal, official photo ID, and passport photos. The Calhoun County Library has multiple staff members who are passport agents. Make sure to call and make an appointment as we do not take walk-ins.

In addition to assisting with passports, there are multiple staff members who are notaries and will notarize your important documents. This includes marriage certificates, wills and testaments, and other important documents. This is a free service to the public. Note: Please don’t sign the form to be notarized until you are in the presence of the notary. Make sure you have your official ID with the documents you need to have notarized. Walk-ins are welcome, but we advise to call ahead to make sure a notary is available.

Need help filling out a job application or writing a resume? Don’t know how to use some of the features on your new phone or laptop? Call the library and Book a Librarian. You can have access to a staff member for up to one hour free of charge. This service does require that you call and make an appointment. We’re here to help!

For more information about these services, patrons can call the library for information at 803-874-3389.

Educational Parent Help Kits

            Have you tried to explain complex ideas such as emotions, special needs, or going to the doctor to children? The Calhoun County Library understands how hard this can be and we might have a solution!

            Parent Help Kits are now available for checkout. These kits cover specific topics and are designed to teach children about them in an easy-to-understand manner. Each kit includes books to teach about the topic and a physical item for your child to use motor skills as well as listening skills. Some of the items featured in these kits are puzzles, shopping baskets and play food, a variety of balls, and more. The ages range from toddlers to elementary school.

            One kit introduces community helpers and addresses various careers to consider. It includes plastic figures depicting firefighters, policemen, etc.  We have four different choices of kits that deal with emotions which can be a difficult concept to teach a child. We have three different choices of kits addressing exercise and activity for multiple age groups. Each includes instructions for various exercises. We have two choices of kits that touch on certain feelings and teach children about what they are feeling and how to recognize particular feelings. Healthy habits are spotlighted in one kit while another kit focuses on the importance of having a balanced diet through games and activities. We have four kits that address the human body and its many wonderful functions with games and activities to support the concepts. We have doctor and dentist kits that have plush cases with instruments used by these medical professionals. We have a kit about relationships that uses activities to illustrate the importance of good relationships and a kit that explores the many areas of special needs with plastic figures depicting various physical special needs. We have two kits geared toward younger children that contain a mixture of ball-like toys for small and gross motor skills.

            If these interest you, head on over to the Calhoun County Library to check one of these kits out to get a head start on teaching your child a complex topic! You can keep them for up to three weeks so your child could read and play with the kits over and over again!

Movin' and Grovin'

We’re movin’ and grovin’ on the 2nd and 4th Saturday of the month for Music & Movement. Come bring your dancing babies!

Coffee and Chat

            You’re invited! The Calhoun County Library would like to invite everyone in the community to join us for Coffee and Chat next month.

Coffee and Chat will take place on February 21st and we invite members of the community to drop in, meet the library staff, and learn about all the programs that the Calhoun County Library has to offer. Come and enjoy some delicious coffee, hot chocolate, and other light refreshments while you learn about the programs and events at your library. Meet our staff members and ask questions you’ve always wanted to ask. Take a tour and find out where everything is located; you might even find out that we have materials you didn’t even know about! Relax in a comfy chair and read the newspaper or find a special spot and browse through some books. You’ll probably end up checking one out! Check on the status of your library card and renew it if needed or get a new one while you're here. It only takes a few minutes to get a library card. Pick up one of our refrigerator magnets with our hours of operation and contact information so you’ll always have it on hand. All of this will take place on Wednesday, February 21, 2024, from 9:30 AM to 11 AM. While you’re here, you can watch one of our early literacy programs, Mother Goose on the Loose, with Mary Jo Springs from 10:30 AM - 11 AM.

We would love to see everyone come to the library and learn about what we have to offer our community while also showcasing a program that is near and dear to our and many people’s hearts. We look forward to sharing an enjoyable, relaxing and educational morning with everyone!

Save the Children December Donation

We would like to thank Save the Children for donating even more books for us to give away to our community. We are so grateful for them. Everyone, help us thank them!

Teens Gobble Etiquette Lessons

            “Can you please pass the butter?” “May I have more water please?” “Which fork do I use?” “Where do I put my napkin?”

            These are just some of the things you would have heard at the last Teen Night at the Calhoun County Library during our table manners and dining etiquette that featured a Thanksgiving feast.

            We all get a little anxious when we sit down at a table set with multiple forks and several glasses. It’s confusing! On Tuesday, November 21, 2023, local teenagers were greeted by a maitre d’ with piano music playing in the background. They were preparing to enjoy a three-course meal. Before their meal, they learned the details of the table setting including which fork was the salad fork, which fork was the dinner fork, and where the dessert utensils were placed. They learned a few guidelines like how to properly cut meat, where to put your napkin, what the bread plate is for, and why you have two glasses. Along with that information, they learned not to put their elbows on the table, not to chew with their mouth open, and how to politely ask someone to pass items on the table. During the meal, the teens learned how to have appropriate conversations, such as what they would like to do after completing school and what their hobbies include, as if they were preparing to speak to a date’s parents.

            Join us next week on Tuesday, December 5, 2023, at 5 PM for another Teen Night for Christmas Games We will be opening presents wrapped in cling wrap using oven mitts, passing around a bucket of confetti using just our feet, and making Christmas ornaments. Any teenagers between the ages of 12 and 17 are welcome to join us and have fun!

Harry Potter Literacy Night

            Have you ever wanted to experience what it is like to graduate from a magical school? That is exactly what happened last week when the Calhoun County Library partnered with the Calhoun County High School to support their special literacy night.

            On Thursday, November 16, 2023, from 6 PM – 7:30 PM, CCHS hosted a Harry Potter Escape Room Literacy Engagement Night. This event involved students coming into the school’s library and participating in a digital escape room. The objective was to graduate from Hogwarts, and puzzles were difficult and encrypted. With answers being such things as the core of Harry Potter’s wand, I think we were all thinking it was going to be easier than it was. Although no one was able to finish this digital escape room and graduate, the good news is that everyone is able to continue their journey, for free, whenever they want.

            In addition to the activity, there was a catered Harry Potter Hogwarts-inspired meal. Accio food! We had Gilly Water and homemade Butterbeer (does not have alcohol) to drink. For dinner, there was baked chicken, mashed potatoes, fried zucchini straws, vegetables, and rolls. No meal would be complete without dessert and we had brownies and fresh fruit.

            The Calhoun County Library gave out many copies of J.K. Rowling’s book The Ickabog and other fantasy related works of fiction thanks to the generous donations from Save the Children.

            We would like to thank the Calhoun County High School for inviting us to this very fun event and for everyone who came out to escape with us. Let’s give it up to the graduating Hogwarts class of 2023!

A Squirmy Boo Bash!

            The Calhoun County Library had a very busy Boo Bash! on Halloween night, full of excitement, games, and treats.

On Tuesday, October 31, 2023, from 5 PM – 7 PM, the library held its annual Boo Bash! for the county trick-or-treaters to come have some indoor fun. There were a little over half a dozen games to play, including Toss Dem Bones, Pin the Spider on the Web, Eyeball Toss, and more. We went through many prizes, books, and sticks of freshly spun cotton candy, thanks to Twisted Sugar.

The highlight of the night was certainly when the Glover family gained the courage to test their wits in the Sensory Squirm right as the event was coming to a close. However, our friendly ghost went to shake their hands and the Glovers got spooked and almost took out the doorway! It was the perfect way to end the night.

In total, the library saw a few shy of 700 trick-or-treaters. It was an all-time high for the library and every person should be proud. With that, we would like to thank every single person who made this possible. Without every volunteer, staff member, adult, and child who came out to make this night special, we couldn’t make it one to remember.

Teen Night is Back with a Bang

            Need a spare tire put on your car? Call one of our teens from Teen Night at the library! Lee Hollingsworth of Hutto's Transmission came to speak at Calhoun County Library’s Teen Night about car care.

On Tuesday, October 17, 2023, Lee Hollingsworth presented a hands-on approach to learning about how a car works and how to maintain it during Teen Night at the library. Hollingsworth taught the teens many important aspects about a car including:

1.      Where the radiator is located and how to check the water in it (do not check it when the engine is hot).

2.      Where the oil well is located and how to use the dipstick to check oil.

3.      Where the washer fluid tank is located and what to put in it (do not use soap because it will leave a soap residue on the windshield).

4.      Where the battery is located and how to use jumper cables to jumpstart a car.

5.      Where the spare tire and jack are located in a car, truck, and Jeep.

6.      How to use the jack and chock the wheels of the car.

7.      How to check the air in a tire with a tire gauge.

8.      How to put air in a tire.

After instructing teens about each aspect, Hollingsworth put them to the test. The teens actually removed the lug nuts with a lug wrench and then took the tires off, rotated them, and put them back on. After that, they checked the air pressure in the tires and put more air in the ones that were low. They engaged in other hands-on activities with the car as well and many said they learned a lot from this experience.

We appreciate all of the teens that came with the mindset to learn important skills. The Calhoun County Library appreciates Lee Hollingsworth for teaching and for his time.

Join us for Teen Night on the first and third Tuesdays of each month at 5 PM from October through May. This program is for teens ages 12 – 17 and open to all teens in our county.

We are so happy that Teen Night is back and we’re learning important life skills!

Boo!

            We want to see you on Halloween Night! The Calhoun County Library is holding a fun Halloween event for everyone to come play some games and get a sweet treat.

Come visit the library on Halloween night from 5 PM – 7 PM. There will be games, prizes, Halloween books, and more. There will be Bat Bullseye, Ring ‘dem Bones, and many more games to keep everyone laughing and having fun. Also, if you ever wanted to feel how some monster organs feel, stick your hand into our Sensory Squirm. Adults, don’t worry; it’s harmless! Touch some vampire veins, witch’s fingers, eerie eyeballs, and so on.

This event will be a “boo-tiful” night for all ages. Stop by for a little bit while trick or treating to have some fun at the library. After playing the games and winning prizes, every child will get a Halloween book of their choice and some yummy cotton candy from Twisted Sugar!. The best part about this spooky evening is that everything is entirely FREE!

We look forward to seeing all of our creative people in their unique costumes. Join us at the Boo Bash!

An Evening with the Author

            The community had a chance to meet an award-winning local author last week at the Calhoun County Library.

On Thursday, October 12, 2023, C. Hope Clark visited the Calhoun County Library to discuss her Edisto Island Mysteries series. Hope was born and raised in the South, from Mississippi to South Carolina with a few stints in Alabama and Georgia. The granddaughter of a Mississippi cotton farmer, Hope holds a B.S. in Agriculture with honors from Clemson University and 25 years’ experience with the U. S. Department of Agriculture to include awards for her management, all of which enable her to talk the talk of Carolina Slade, the protagonist in her first series. Her love of writing, however, carried her up the ranks to the ability to retire young, and she left USDA to pen her stories and freelance. Clark is the author of The Carolina Slade Mysteries, The Edisto Island Mysteries, and The Craven County Mysteries. She’s the editor of FundsforWriters, one of the Writer’s Digest 101 Best Websites for Writers, and published in The Writer Magazine, Writer’s Digest, Guide to Literary Agents, Writer’s Market, and other trade and online publications. C. Hope Clark’s Edisto Island Mystery Series is set entirely at Edisto Beach, South Carolina, her home away from home. Murder on Edisto, the first book in the series, was chosen to represent the state of South Carolina.

Patrons enjoyed sandwiches and cookies as they were intrigued by the author’s engaging stories of how she came up with characters such as female sleuths, and plots that kept readers turning pages. We were enlightened by the fact that her website, FundsforWriters.com, featured weekly publications that reached over 35,000 readers. It was a wonderful event and we were fortunate to have the opportunity to meet Hope.

We are currently planning a local author fair for the spring, so keep an eye out for more information to follow!

We would like to extend our appreciation to C. Hope Clark and the Friends of the Calhoun County Library who made this event possible.

A Busy Baby

            The Calhoun County Library held a very successful Community Baby Shower on the last Sunday in September to celebrate all of the new parents in our county.

We had a fantastic turnout for our Community Baby Shower on Sunday, September 24, 2023. We had 70 people total, which included 30 mothers! That’s incredible. Babies are such a joy and we want a happy community with healthy babies. The Calhoun County Library and supporting partners throughout our county want to make sure every child is welcomed home with all the necessities. Therefore, we gifted each family with diapers, wipes, a bib, a pacifier and clip, a onesie, a welcome baby box, and five brand-new board books to start the baby’s home library. Parents also received a handmade baby blanket, thanks to the hel;pful hands of the Friends of the library and staff members.

Not only do we want to provide some necessary items, but we also want to connect our parents with the many resources we have in our community. Our partners, DHEC, First Steps, Family Health Center, MUSC Orangeburg, Natural Teacher, and OCAB Head Start, are valuable assets to these families, and this shower is the first time many of these parents are learning about each organization’s wealth of knowledge and support. Attendees enjoyed a lunch followed by cupcakes while listening and learning about newborns with various professionals from our community. After partners introduced themselves, we held a raffle, and thanks to community members’ donations, some lucky parents won wonderful prizes such as a bassinet, baby swings, Bumbo seat, hand crocheted blankets, and rocking baby seats. 

Parents had the opportunity to sign up for the library’s 1,000 Books Before Kindergarten program and for First Steps’ Dolly Parton Imagination Library program. These two programs expose infants and toddlers to books and the love of reading by celebrating reading milestones and by providing a free book delivered to each child’s home every month. In addition to those programs, we gave the opportunity to sign up for library cards, for both parents and babies. With our new library cards, children can get their very first card as  infants!

Thank you to our partners, volunteers, and donors for our Community Baby Shower. It was a huge success and many parents received valuable information along with some great gifts and goodies. Thank you to our partners, our volunteers, and the Friends of the Calhoun County Library who helped prep bags and blankets before the event. Thank you DHEC/WIC St. Matthews for the beautiful crochet blankets. Thank you community members who donated baby items. You made some community members very happy! Without all of your help, this event would not be possible. We appreciate you!

Read 1,000 Books Before Kindergarten

            At the Calhoun County Library, our program called 1,000 Books Before Kindergarten  promotes the importance of reading 1,000 books to your toddler before they start school. This may seem like a daunting task,but you’d be surprised how easily it can be accomplished. Bedtime stories, reading in the car, and even reading the same book over and over counts towards your 1,000 books!

            Reading at an early age promotes positive brain functionality and cognitive behaviors. As an incentive for our community of infants and toddlers, we have implemented 1,000 Books Before Kindergarten. Whether your child wants to read 1,000 different books or the same book 1,000 times, it counts! There's no better time to start reading than now! If you read just one book a night, you will have read 365 books in a year. That's 730 books in 2 years and 1095 books in 3 years!

            To sign up for 1,000 Books Before Kindergarten, come visit the library to receive your reading log and have your child’s picture taken for our milestone walls. For every 100 books your child reads, he will be able to come into the library, enjoy a confetti party, get a treat, and move his picture up on the milestone walls.. If you cannot make it into the library to register, you can sign up online at https://calhouncountylibrary.beanstack.org/reader365.

            We look forward to celebrating every 100 books with your child and moving his picture on the milestone walls throughout the library. When your child reaches 1,000 books, we will display his picture on the 1,000 Books wall at the front desk so that everyone can see his accomplishment!