It remains to be seen just how snowy (or brown) our winter may be. The library has lots of fun available to you and your family, no matter the weather.

It goes without saying that we have plenty of books to check out, but I’ll say it anyway. Mix it up by reading outside of your favorite genres or formats. We have books for all stripes and offer print, large print, CD audiobook, eBook, eAudiobook, and more! Young readers might like to try our new Vox book collection. Vox books are traditional picture books with an audio component attached. Readers can follow along with the text while listening to the story.

If you’re looking for an activity your family can do together, check out our board game collection. The board game world is continually releasing inventive games with interesting premises. You might try one of my favorites, “Love Letter,” a simple card game in which you try to get your secret letter into the princess’ hands while thwarting other players. Or “Telestrations,” a mash-up of Pictionary and Telephone, which is sure to have everyone laughing as they try to interpret each other’s drawings.

We also offer a wide variety of activities in our Library of Things. If we do end up getting enough snow, you could check out our snowshoes, sleds, and snow-fort-building tools. Or you can explore electricity with our Snap Circuits kits, architecture with our magnetic building cubes, music with our guitar and keyboard, coding with our Code-a-pillar, and much more! For more information about the library’s collections, visit www.newulmlibrary.org and choose Library Catalog.

If you’d like to learn something new, you can check out our online resources, including Creativebug and Mango Languages. Creativebug is an online platform that gives you access to a wide variety of crafting and art classes. You can view as many classes on as many topics as you like. Mango Languages is a language learning tool that offers over 70 languages. You can create an account to keep track of your progress, and Mango even offers apps for Android and Apple. For more information about the library’s digital resources, visit www.newulmlibrary.org and choose Digital Resources.

If you need to get out of the house, don’t forget that at the library we offer building toys, scavenger hunts, crafts, puzzles, coloring, games, and more, just in our children’s room alone. If you visit us in person, you can also use our 3D printer, Memory Lab digitization tools, and genealogy resources. We invite you to attend our many entertaining, informative, and engaging events. Adults are invited to participate in our Winter Adult Reading Program. Visit www.newulmlibrary.org and choose Library Events for a full calendar of all the exciting activities on the horizon.

This is by no means an exhaustive list of all we offer to you. Stop by the library soon to explore everything we offer, both in-house and to take home. We wish you a very happy New Year and hope to see you soon!