By Kris Wiley

Library Director

New Ulm Public Library invites the public to celebrate Love Your Library Day on Saturday, September 17 with events and activities for the entire family.

Pokmon events will occur throughout the day. For Pokmon Go players, lures will be set at 9:45 a.m., 11:30 a.m., and 3:30 p.m. I’m told these 30-minute lures will draw a lot of those people you see looking at their phones as they walk around town. Including me because as of last week, I joined the Pokmon Go craze. I’m on Team Mystic, and although I don’t really know what I’m doing, I’m having a ball.

We encourage all Pokmon Go players to come into the library and check out a Pokmon display that will be filled with books and movies. Bring your library card and take some of these gems home with you!

In addition, the library will have a Pokmon scavenger hunt and Pokmon crafts and coloring sheets in the Children’s Room, available courtesy of the Muir Library in Winnebago.

At 10 a.m. in the Children’s Room, the library will show a family friendly film. The movie, which is rated G and runs about 95 minutes, is made possible by the Optimist Club of New Ulm. Because of restrictions set by the licensing company, we are unable to name the film in this space; call the library at 507-359-8331 for the title.

From 10-11:30 a.m., the inaugural Silent Book Group will meet in the Fred W. Johnson Founders Room. There are two rules for this group: 1) No talking and 2) Have fun. I have been hearing about this type of group for a couple of years, and I love the idea of getting together with fellow readers and reading whatever I want, whether it’s for another book group or for the next Conversations From the Cubicles article. The idea is that this time is set aside specifically for enjoying the reading experience. Of course there will be treats because they go hand in hand with silent reading. We’ll break at 11:15 to discuss what we’re reading. All ages are welcome. My goal is to develop Silent Book Group into a monthly event.

If patrons want to share their affection for the library, there will be two cards available. Patrons can complete the sentences “I love my library because ” and “I know my library loves me because ” Responses will be posted in the window near the Children’s Room steps.

Love Your Library Day is New Ulm Public Library’s contribution to Outside the Lines, a weeklong celebration designed by library marketers and directors from Colorado that “demonstrates the creativity and innovation happening in today’s libraries.” The goal is to have fun and to showcase the library as an active, vital partner in the greater New Ulm community. Learn more about Outside the Lines at www.getoutsidethelines.org.

Stop by for an hour or the whole day on September 17 and Love Your Library!