The new Friendsville Library is open for business! Come see this great new fixture of the community - Garrett County’s first new library in over 20 years, and your new place to visit, explore great books and movies, relax, get work done, meet people, participate in cool events, and much more! This new Library features amenities like a fireplace, reading patios outside, a reading nook for kids, a meeting room and a study room for public use, a Nintendo Switch 2 in the teen area, programmable exterior lighting, and much more - plus an expanded selection of programs, books, movies, board games, ebooks, and audiobooks for you to enjoy. We’re so glad to be able to bring this to you at last, and thank the Maryland State Library’s Capital Grant Program, the County, the Town of Friendsville, the Board, the Friends of the Library, our elected officials, and the many dedicated Friendsville community members that helped make it all happen!
But that’s not the only big news this month - the Library, in cooperation with Garrett County Public Schools, held a county-wide Spelling Bee for the first time this month - which we hope to make an annual tradition! Kids from 5th-8th grade participated at the Performing Arts Center and the winners got trophies to take home, as well as gift cards provided by the Friends of the Library.
We’re also gearing up for this year’s Battle of the Books event alongside Garrett County Public Schools as well as Allegany County’s schools and public library system. The event will be held in March and once again showcases students’ ability to read booklists as a team and tackle trivia questions - it’s a real highlight of the year for everyone in 6th-8th grades, and signups begin soon, so keep an eye out!
In Friendsville, our Student Discovery Series program will be taking place on October 28 - come learn about apples with our friends at UMD Extension with “Apple Explorers! The Friendsville Library also has its rotating LEGO Club and STEAM Kids events this season for you to enjoy, as well as its ever-popular Culinary Connections Cookbook Club, which is now in its 4th year!
Meanwhile in Kitzmiller, a new Teen Book Club has been created and will be on the last Wednesday of each month from 5:30-6:30 - book lovers of Kitzmiller, we’ve got your hangout spot!
And in Grantsville, we’ve got something for everyone! Mini and Me movement classes and Storytime for the littles, LEGO club, Halloween Fun on the 30th and a Clay Animation class on the 6th for kids, and a Creative Writers group, Mahjongg every Thursday and a puzzle club for everyone else! There’s even going to be a Super Smash Bros. Ultimate tournament on Saturday, November 14th for all ages to enjoy. Plus, don’t forget our Friendsville and Grantsville locations are also places you can receive food assistance monthly with the Maryland Mobile Food Truck and talk to folks in Social Services at the same time should you need to - the Library is here to help.
The Library’s trivia events are coming up as well! We hold trivia sessions every other Friday at the Green Room in Oakland at 7:00, and at the Mountain Grape Tavern monthly at 6:00 on Wednesdays. Come on by with your friends and give your brains a workout!