Boo Bash! at the Calhoun County Library!

            BOO! Did we scare you? Don’t be scared to come to the Calhoun County Library on Halloween night!

            The Calhoun County Library is hosting Boo Bash! on Monday, October 31, to celebrate all of our spooky, cute, and funny patrons who will be out trick-or-treating.

            Our Boo Bash! will take place on Halloween night from 4 PM - 7 PM at the library! We know that children don’t want to stop in one place for too long because that limits the amount of candy they may get while trick-or-treating, so we have a quick plan in place to make sure everyone has fun. Come through the main doors of the library and work your way through for crafts, games, a free book, and, of course, CANDY! We will have activities like sensory squirm, ring the skeleton, pin the spider in the web, and much more to keep you entertained while taking a break from walking.

            We hope to see everyone here at the Calhoun County Library on Halloween night!

Yoga: Connecting Mind and Body

            Although Monday’s are considered one of the worst days of the week, Calhoun County Library might be able to change that opinion with a fun class.

            Experience mindfulness on and off the mat with yoga. Start your week off right by attending a yoga class taught by Kathie Goodwin. Every Monday from 9:30 AM - 10:30 AM, we get out our yoga mats and focus on connecting our minds and bodies.

            Exhale to strengthen. Focus on balancing. Square your hips. Back to center.

            Through multiple stretching and breathing techniques, Kathie will guide you through movements that provide mental and physical benefits.  These classes focus on your inner awareness and your body’s present capabilities and emphasize the development of mind and body strength. Her instructions will challenge you without making you feel overwhelmed. Instead of feeling pressured to immediately perform correctly, the class feels more like a group of people encouraging each other. The energy is beautiful.

            It is only $2 a class or $7 for the entire month! All of us yogis (people who partake in yoga) meet every Monday first thing in the morning. We hope you join us for a class!

            There will not be a yoga class on Monday, October 24, 2022. This class has been rescheduled to Friday, October 28, 2022, at 9:30 AM.

(Photo by Rachel B. Ficek)

Staff Pick!

Janice Baskin

            Here at the Calhoun County Library, staff gets to express their creativity and enjoyment to promote fun reading and learning on a daily basis.

            “When I first read the Harry Potter series years ago, I was blown away. I read it along with my oldest daughter and we both fell in love with the books. Not only are the books magical and very adventurous, but multiple life lessons are hidden among the pages as well,” says Janice Baskin, Programs & Outreach Coordinator.

            Out of this mischievous group of friends, who are always managing to stumble into problems at every turn, Hermione is 9 times out of 10 saving the day. How did she get so smart? The answer is pretty simple actually. Since she was born to muggle parents, she nor her family had any idea of the wizarding world. They had to research to learn! I can only imagine how many hours Hermione stayed awake late at night, definitely using the Lumos / Nox spells, and reading to find out about the power she possessed.

            One scene that always stuck with Janice is when Hermione was petrified in the second book, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. She was found near the library and eventually Harry and Ron found a piece of paper balled up in her fist. Hermione’s passion for the library saved the day!

            Follow Hermione’s example: come by the library, pick up a book, and learn something new. 

Community Baby Shower Success

            Calhoun County Library hosted its second community baby shower the last Sunday in September to celebrate parents in our community.

            We were excited to host our second Community Baby Shower on Sunday, September 25, 2022, from 3 PM until 5 PM. 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 reading calendar, and five brand-new board books to start the baby’s home library. 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, Calhoun County First Steps, DHEC/WIC, SafeKids, and Family Health Centers, 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. 

            Javonna Lewis, Cassidy Gleaton, and Quinetta Garner attended representing Calhoun County First Steps. Donna Williams and Latasha Priester were representatives of DHEC/WIC. LaShayla Vernable, Dr. Sandra J. Stephens, and James Rickenbaker were representatives of Family Health Center.   Patricia Funderburk, a representative of SafeKids, supplied gift bags for the parents.  All of these community professionals provided essential information to our expectant or new parents as well as relevant answers during our question and answer sessions.

            The community baby shower welcomed 30 attendees, which included 13 expectant or new mamas. 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.

            The Calhoun County Library would like to thank everyone who came as attendees, volunteers, staff, speakers, and supporters. Thank you to our community members who graciously donated baby items for door prizes. We were thrilled to be part of this community project and we look forward to the next baby shower!

            This project is made possible by a Library Services and Technology Act grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services administered by the South Carolina State Library.

Celebrating the Community

            Calhoun County held Community Day last Saturday to celebrate every member of our community along with all of the commonalities that we share. The St. Matthews community members depend on each other to form relationships in order to meet common needs. During the event, the Calhoun County Library revealed the new bookmobile with a ribbon cutting ceremony.

            Our Community Day took place on Saturday, September 24 at the corner of Bridge Street and Richland Avenue. Calhoun County had a day of free fun to celebrate the community as a whole. There were fun games for all ages including giant checkers and Jenga, cornhole, a dunking booth, a fire station bounce house, and a slip & slide under the ladder fire truck spray. Community members also enjoyed free grilled hamburgers and hotdogs, cotton candy made on the spot, and ice cream from our local ice cream truck. A local DJ provided upbeat music that even had our vendors moving and grooving doing line dances and singing!

            In addition, Calhoun County Library gave away free books while providing opportunities to check out books, sign up for a library card, and register for Code Red, a community-wide alert system. At 12 PM, we had a ribbon cutting ceremony to celebrate our brand new bookmobile! Library director, Kristen Simensen gave a little history on our bookmobile outreach program, and one of our generous funders, Mr. Lanier Walling, representing the Dee and Joy Buyck Carpenter Trust, cut the ribbon signaling that our bookmobile is ready for reading! Being able to provide this outreach service to our community enables us to reach children and community members that otherwise may not have access to our library. Our bookmobile is already scheduled to visit local daycare centers and the Council on Aging. Look for us out on the road!

            “We had a wonderful time being part of Community Day along with many local residents that came to enjoy great food, music, and fun,” said Wendy Arends, Programs and Outreach Coordinator for the Calhoun County Library. “What a fantastic opportunity to showcase our Bookmobile to the patrons of our county.”

            This event was organized by the St. Matthews Fire Department and Police Department. Thanks to everyone who came out and celebrated our bookmobile and our community with us!

            We would also like to thank our generous donors for their support. The bookmobile is made possible with help from Calhoun County, the Dee and Joy Buyck Carpenter Trust, and by a Library Services and Technology Act grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services administered by the South Carolina State Library.

Science Programs are Back!

            The Calhoun County Library is starting up the STEM and STEM, Jr. program again this fall for K5 to 6th grade students.

            Between the months of October and May, the Calhoun County Library offers a STEM program for kids in 3rd - 6th grade and a STEM, Jr. program for younger kids in K5 - 2nd grade. 

            STEM occurs on the 1st and 3rd Wednesday of the month from 4 PM until 4:45 PM. STEM, Jr. occurs on the 3rd Wednesday of the month from 4 PM until 4:30 PM.

            The first STEM is Wednesday, October 5, 2022.

            The first STEM, Jr. is Wednesday, October 18, 2022.

            We are excited to offer this program to elementary-aged children in our community. STEM and STEM, Jr. is not only fun, exciting, and hands-on for our kids, but added benefits include problem-solving and teamwork. Kids will gain knowledge and learn to apply that knowledge to everyday events. STEM and STEM, Jr. will enforce concepts the area schools are teaching and instill a passion for innovation and the sciences. 

            Some of the topics covered this year will include circuits and currents, acids and bases, computer coding, geography, and astronomy.

            These programs are instructed by Dr. Lesa Rice-Jackson, a retired chemist; Mrs. Janice Baskin, a former chemistry and physics teacher; and Glenna Mason, a 4-H representative.

            This project is made possible by an awarded grant from Save the Children to support early childhood literacy.

What’s Happening This Weekend?

            The Calhoun County Library has a busy weekend ahead with two huge community events that are taking place in Saint Matthews. We’re getting ready for Community Day and our Community Baby Shower.

            Due to weather conditions on Saturday, September 10, 2022, Calhoun County’s Community Day had to be rescheduled, but we’ve planned a new date and location! The new date is this Saturday, September 24, 2022, from 10 AM - 3 PM and it will now be held on the corner of Richland Avenue and Bridge Street. During Community Day, the Calhoun County Library will be celebrating the new bookmobile with a ribbon cutting ceremony at 12 PM. We will also be giving away free books as well as allowing the community to check out books,  sign up for a library card, and register for Code Red, a community-wide alert system. You can grab a hot dog or hamburger while you’re there and get your groove on to the beats of the DJ! Come out and join us for all the fun!

            We would like to thank our generous donors for their support. The bookmobile is made possible with help from Calhoun County, the Dee and Joy Buyck Carpenter Trust, and by a Library Services and Technology Act grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services administered by the South Carolina State Library.

            Following Community Day is our Community Baby Shower on Sunday, September 25, from 3 PM - 5 PM. This event will take place at the John Ford Community Center located at 304 Agnes Street in St. Matthews. The 3 requirements for this event are: 1.to be a Calhoun County resident  2.to be expecting/adopting or have a baby under one year old   3.to register for the event by calling 803-874-3389 or by visiting the library.

            We hope that you can join us for the second Community Baby Shower! You’ll be showered with great gifts for your child and be filled with new information and ideas! Call the library at 803-874-3389 to sign up today. It’s not too late!

            This project is made possible by a Library Services and Technology Act grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services administered by the South Carolina State Library.

Hi, baby, hi!

            The Calhoun County Library is hosting a community baby shower at the end of the month for county residents who are expecting/adopting or have a baby under one year old.

            Our Community Baby Shower will be held on Sunday, September 25, 2022, from 3 PM - 5 PM at the John Ford Community Center located at 304 Agnes St, St Matthews, SC 29135.

            There are only three requirements for this event:

1. You must be a Calhoun County resident.
2. You must be expecting/adopting or have a baby under one year old.
3. You must register for the event by calling 803-874-3389 or by visiting the library.

            All attendees MUST register in advance for the baby shower.

            Welcome Baby bags have been taken to many businesses in Calhoun County. If you have not received one, feel free to stop by the Calhoun County Library to pick one up! These bags contain useful baby items, a board book, and an invitation to the shower. 

            While at the shower, you can get valuable information from healthcare professionals including a pediatrician, representatives from WIC, representatives from Safe Kids and Safe Sitter, Calhoun County First Steps, Head Start O.C.A.B., Family Health Center, and Regional Medical Center.

            Take part in question and answer sessions with knowledgeable professionals from the healthcare industry while you enjoy a boxed lunch and make a unique fleece baby blanket to take home for your baby. You’ll also be taking home free goodies including five FREE books to start your home library for your little one and FREE diapers and wipes.

            Please note that childcare is NOT provided for this event.

            We hope that you can join us on Sunday, September 25, and go home showered with great gifts for your child and be filled with new information and ideas! Call the library at 803-874-3389 to sign up today!

            This project is made possible by a Library Services and Technology Act grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services administered by the South Carolina State Library.

Bookmobile at Community Day

            The Calhoun County Library will be celebrating the new bookmobile with a ribbon cutting ceremony during Community Day in Saint Matthews.

            Although we have had the bookmobile since 2020, unforeseeable events prevented us from celebrating and fully implementing its use. We are making up for lost time, and to introduce the bookmobile officially to the public, there will be a ribbon cutting ceremony. This will commence at 12 PM on Saturday, September 10, 2022, during Community Day. The Calhoun County Library will be giving away free books as well as allowing the community to check out books and sign up for a library card without leaving the festivities!

            Community Day is an event to celebrate every member of our community and what it has to offer with a free day of fun. This event is organized by the St. Matthews Fire Department and Police Department. They will have fun games for all ages and will be serving grilled hamburgers and hotdogs with chips and ice cream. This year, it will be held on Saturday, September 10, 2022, from 10 AM – 3 PM at the John Ford Community Center.

            Come out to celebrate our community and the new bookmobile reveal. You won’t want to miss this!

            We would like to thank our generous donors for their support. The bookmobile is made possible with help from Calhoun County, the Dee and Joy Buyck Carpenter Trust, and by a Library Services and Technology Act grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services administered by the South Carolina State Library.

Calhoun County Library Receives $3,000 Grant from the Dollar General Literacy Foundation to Support Summer Literacy

St. Matthews, SC - June 8, 2022 – The Dollar General Literacy Foundation recently awarded Calhoun County Library a $3,000 grant to support summer literacy. This local grant is part of the Dollar General Literacy Foundation’s recent award of $10.5 million donation to support summer, family, and adult literacy programs, representing the organization’s largest one-day grant donation in its 29-year history.

 “The Calhoun County Library cannot thank the Dollar General Literacy Foundation enough for its generous funding of our summer reading program,” said Beth Rast, Programs and Outreach Librarian. “Because of the support from Dollar General, we were able to register over 160 readers and to log in over 60,000 minutes of reading this summer. Over 700 community members enjoyed educational, exciting programs that were interesting and focused on the importance of literacy. Involvement in our summer reading program helped to prevent the summer SLIDE for many students as they continued to read for incentives over the summer. We are thrilled with our partnership with Dollar General and look forward to working with them in the future!”

"For nearly 30 years, the Dollar General Literacy Foundation has been proud to invest in literacy and education programs in our hometown communities," said Denine Torr, executive director of the Dollar General Literacy Foundation. "The recent and significant shifts in the educational landscape have made the Foundation’s mission more critically important. As we work to create access to high-quality instruction for all individuals, we share our gratitude for the educators who are working to uplift and empower others. We hope these funds will have a meaningful impact on students and teachers across the country and look forward to seeing the positive impact they have on learners.”

The Dollar General Literacy Foundation supports organizations that increase access to educational programming, stimulate and enable innovation in the delivery of educational instruction and inspire a love of reading. Each year, the Dollar General Literacy Foundation awards funds to nonprofit organizations, schools, and libraries within a 15-mile radius of a Dollar General store or distribution center to support adult, family, summer, and youth literacy programs. The Foundation also offers a student referral program for individuals interested in learning how to read, speak English, or prepare for the high school equivalency exam. Referrals to a local organization that provides free literacy services are available online here or through referral cards found in the Learn to Read brochures that are available at the cash register of every Dollar General store. 

About Calhoun County Library

The Calhoun County Library is committed to optimizing library services, strengthening community involvement, and exemplifying strategic stewardship throughout the various communities in our service area, including St. Matthews, Fort Motte, Sandy Run, Cameron, Lone Star, and areas beyond. The Library meets this mission through the delivery of programs and services at the main library, the Bookmobile, the Sandy Run Express Point, and through outreach efforts. For more information, visit us on Facebook and Instagram @calhouncountylibrarysc or visit https://www.calhouncountylibrary.org.

About the Dollar General Literacy Foundation

The Dollar General Literacy Foundation is proud to support initiatives that help others improve their lives through literacy and education. Since 1993, the Foundation has awarded more than $216 million in grants, helping more than 15.4 million individuals take their first steps toward literacy, a general education diploma or English proficiency. Cal Turner, Jr. founded the Dollar General Literacy Foundation to honor his grandfather and Dollar General’s co-founder, J.L. Turner, who was functionally illiterate having dropped out of school in the third grade to support his family. The Foundation aims to provide support to schools, libraries and nonprofit organizations that seek to improve adult, summer, youth and family literacy initiatives. To learn more about the Dollar General Literacy Foundation, visit www.dgliteracy.org.

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1,000 Books Before Kindergarten

            The role of parent or guardian includes serving as a child’s first teacher. Not only do they provide a child’s basic survival needs, but they also prepare them for life. Reading to babies and toddlers gives them all the opportunity to develop a strong sense of literature through language and reading skills. They learn numbers, colors, shapes, and letters of the alphabet, all through books.

            At the Calhoun County Library, we strive for everyone to enjoy reading and to be able to learn at the same time. We are offering a new incentive, 1000 Books Before Kindergarten, to prepare young children of the community for school.

            By reading 1,000 books with your children before they begin kindergarten, you are letting them know that reading is an important life skill that will hopefully become a habit. You can sing, dance, play, and recite together to show that reading is fun!

            To participate in this program, sign up on calhouncountylibrary.com/reader365 or by coming into the library to fill out a simple form.

            1,000 books may seem like a lot, but don’t get intimidated. If you read only one book a day, that means that your child will have reached the goal in under three years! That doesn’t mean you have to read 1,000 different books either; every book counts. You and your child can read the same book over and over and it still counts each time!

            For every 100 books, Calhoun County Library invites you to bring your child in for a new log sheet and a reading celebration. This includes having their photo taken so they can be placed on our Wall of Fame in the children’s section of the library.

            When your child reaches 1,000 books, come celebrate at the library and get a very special prize! We want to celebrate our little readers for every achievement they make.

            You don’t have to stop at 1,000 books! There is a lot more learning ahead!

            This project is made possible by an awarded grant from Save the Children to support early childhood literacy.

Learn with Shapes

            The Calhoun County Library held a STEM and STEM, Jr. program all about simplifying geometry as part of our summer reading wrap-up!  

            Dr. Lesa Rice-Jackson informed children about Geometry and its properties which can be a little confusing unless you’re learning it in a fun way.  What better way to learn it than with snacks? On Thursday, August 4, 2022, our mathematicians aged 5 - 12 learned how to figure out diameters and areas while creating some geometric figures. We like seeing how creative children can get!

            Dr. Rice-Jackson made sure that every student learned something about geometry including measuring a base and height, measuring length and width, and discovering a radius and diameter. Children used  rectangular shaped graham crackers, round Ritz crackers, triangular Doritos, and square Cheez-Its for measuring and calculating. After the program was complete, they were allowed to eat their shapes! They also enjoyed a pizza lunch before meeting local author, Monica Roe, at the ice cream social afterwards.  Thank you, Dr. Lesa Rice-Jackson for giving our community a wonderful STEM and STEM, Jr. program this summer! We are very lucky to have you.

            The STEM programs are made possible by an awarded grant from Save the Children to encourage learning and understanding of science, technology, engineering, and math.

Local Author

            Local author Monica Roe visited the Calhoun County Library to discuss her newest book, Air, last Thursday.

            Monica Roe is a resident of Calhoun County and is a pediatric physical therapy consultant as well as an advocate for the social model of disability. She explained in an interview with teen volunteers Sara Birch and Sarah Nell Walling that her motivation for writing this book was because she was tired of people thinking that they knew what the disabled need and therefore ignoring their voices.

            Air is a junior fiction novel about a young girl named Emmie who is confined to a wheelchair and is growing up in rural South Carolina. We follow her as she faces discrimination and oversight due to her disability. As she overcomes these challenges, she teaches us the importance of respecting the needs and wishes of everyone. Many of the problems Emmie battles aren’t what would first come to mind when we think of the struggles that are the most obvious for a person with a disability. Monica does an excellent job of creating awareness by allowing the reader to see life from the perspective of a disabled person.

            Our community came together to discuss this award-winning book on Thursday, August 4, 2022. We celebrated with an ice cream social under the oak trees as Monica answered questions and read excerpts from Air. A lucky few won an autographed copy of Air and other books written by Monica Roe.

            As an added surprise, Roe announced that she has just released another new book! As part of the Jake Maddox JV Girls series, she published Snowboard Balancing Act on July 31 of this year. Be on the lookout for that book to be added to the Calhoun County Library’s collection. If you can’t wait, it is already being sold on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Target, and other online retail stores.

            In the meantime, go find Air by Monica Roe in the library today and enjoy the story of a strong girl who earns the respect of those around her!

            Thank you to Monica Roe who shared her work with our community and thank you to Save the Children who made this event possible.