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It’s Pride Month! June is the month in which Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Pride Month is celebrated in remembrance of the 1969 Stonewall riots that took place in Manhattan. The riot that began with a police raid on the Stonewall Inn on June 28, 1969 is often cited as the beginning of the gay rights movement. More information and resources can be found at the Library of Congress Pride month webpage.

We’ve had quite a few warm and sunny days here in Kitsap County, which makes me think that our summer season is finally here! Many of you may be furiously planning last minute vacations, camps, or activities for your kiddos to do once school is out. My family tends to be last minute planners, as much as I try to force us to be otherwise, so I’m totally with you. In the midst of figuring out the perfect summer for your kids (and participating in Summer Learning, of course), I want to remind you of an activity so simple you may overlook it—going outside.

Rejoice feline fanciers, because June is the cat's meow! Every year the American Humane Society spends the month of June encouraging people across the country to adopt cats and kittens from local shelters through a national promotional event they have dubbed Adopt-a-Cat Month®. From the American Humane website:

My dad was an amazing person. He was a school custodian, and he loved kids - he especially loved my sister and I. Did I every tell you about the time I gave him a rock for Father's Day? I was really young and didn't have any money. At the time, I remember I was collecting rocks, and one of my most recent acquisitions was a small piece of petrified wood. It was so cool, and I remember my dad explaining to me how the rock I held in my hand had been a tree long before my great, great...great grandfather had been born.

I am a librarian of many trades. By day, I am a book cheerleader; an advocate for youth, a storyteller extraordinaire, a juggler of many projects and meetings; and a research fiend, amongst many other things that might come to your mind when you think of a librarian, and a heap of things that probably don’t. By night (and sometimes early morning if I am feeling super motivated!), I am a concert-goer; a writer; a book hoarder; an instrument learner; a hiker; a crafter; a wannabe movie-enthusiast; and in an on-again, off-again love/hate relationship with the gym.

Free Comic Book Day may have come and gone (it was on Saturday, May 6, this year), but you can still borrow comics and graphic novels from your public library—for free!

This spring I've been spending some time reading. Shocking, I know. I've been reading and re-reading books that focus around some pretty difficult themes: teen violence and suicide. I have been lucky to be able to participate in a grant through the American Library Association and the National Endowment for the Humanities called the Great Stories Club. This year our topic is "Structure of Suffering: Origins of Teen Violence and Suicide".

In the following post Brianna, an intern at the Bainbridge Island location of Kitsap Regional Library, highlights the project that she created for the Library's Make Do Share initiative.             

“From birth to age 5, a child learns faster than at any other time in his or her life. Those early learning experiences influence success in school and beyond” (Ready for Kindergarten)

April is National Poetry Month – a time set aside every year to celebrate the written word and raise awareness and appreciation of poetry across the United States. Established in 1996, National Poetry Month was inspired by the success of Black History Month and Women’s History Month, celebrated each year in February and March, respectively. In 1995 the Academy of American Poets assembled a group of publishers, booksellers, librarians, literary organizations, poets and teachers to discuss the necessity and usefulness of establishing a yearly, month-long celebration of poetry.

Choosing your next book is as easy as going to KRL.org and searching the catalog.  Look up your favorite book and open its file; you’ll find suggestions for your next read, information about how many copies are available for checkout from the Library, and much more.

First, search for your favorite book. For more information, click Reviews & more.

Next, click Suggestions and more.

Here’s what I’m looking forward to, musically speaking, for the next few weeks.

Close Ties – Rodney Crowell

Songwriter, sideman and country legend offers a stellar collection of songs

Hot Thoughts – Spoon

“There is a strong supply of infectious earworms…” is how one vendor describes this CD

Spring is finally here! Now is the time for planting seeds. If digging in the dirt isn't your thing, what about supporting our local economy? Local farmers grow amazing food in our neck of the woods. You can meet many of them at farmer's markets around the county, almost every day of the week!  Two markets open this weekend, with others to follow shortly after.

Below is a list of local markets with their dates and times courtesy of their websites. 

What kind of community do you want to live in? That was the question that Kitsap Regional Library asked at 65 community gatherings in 2016.