Spring will officially be hereFriday, making it the perfect time to start planning your spring gardening & landscaping projects. Get free help with a series of four free programs from the Rock Island Public Library and local plant & garden experts!

March 19th, Attracting Bees and Other Pollinators, 6:30 pm at Main Library. Learn how to attract bees and other pollinators to your
garden or yard from the staff from the Nahant Marsh.

March 26th, Teas Me: Growing, Harvesting, and Enjoying Your Own Teas, 6:30 pm at Main Library. Learn how to grow and enjoy
your own teas in your garden or yard from the Mad Farmer, Hannah Forslund. Samples will be provided. Bring your questions!

April 9th, Pollinators - At Your Service, 6:30 pm at Main Library. You know the daytime pollinators because you see them. What about those that come out at night? They don't all fly. What can you do to welcome them? Get to know our area pollinators because you as one person, can make a big difference - come and find out how. Handouts will be available.

April 17th, Putting Some Herbs in Your Life, 6:30 pm at Main Library -Herbs add flavor and color to your garden and your home. Peg Christensen, from QC Herbs, will share her knowledge about herbs, how easily you can add them to most areas of your life - kitchen, bathroom, closets, and more. Bring your questions and your curiosity!

Where? Main Library Community Room, 401 - 19th Street. Free!

Rock Island, IL: March is full of reasons to visit your library, with a wide selection of free children's programs for learning and family fun. Choices range from Dr. Seuss celebrations and crafts, to  an early St. Patrick's Day party, technology workshops and crafts during the Rock Island Schools intersession break, and a free magic show to celebrate the birthday of Harry Houdini.

Dr. Seuss Birthday Events:

·         Read Across America Day is March 3, held annually to celebrate the birth of great children's writer Theodore "Dr. Seuss" Geisel. Families are invited to join us at the Rock Island Main Library Children's Room, 401 19th Street, at 6:00 pm on Monday, March 3 to enjoy free Dr. Seuss stories, songs, and crafts for all ages.

·         The library's monthly "crafternoon" also celebrates Dr. Seuss, with several make-and-take crafts for ages 6 to 12. The drop-in crafternoon event is from 4:00 to 5:00 pm on Wednesday, March 5, also in the Main Library Children's Library.

Saturday St. Patrick's Day Storytime and Party:

·         Families can get ready for St. Patrick's Day with storytime for ages birth to five on the color green from 11:00 am to 12:15 pm on Saturday, March 8, at the Rock Island Southwest Branch, 9010 Ridgewood Road. Activities include stories about the color green, singing, dancing, and a green craft.  The fun continues with a "Super Saturday" party for St. Patrick's Day at 2:00, also at the Southwest Branch. Events are for all ages, and include several books, games and crafts to provide holiday fun.

Special Events For School Intersession

Rock Island/Milan Schools are on intersession break starting March 17. If you're looking for free things to do with your children while school is out, try these free events:

·         Making Videos with Animoto: 6:00 pm, Tuesday, March 18, Rock Island Main Library Community Room, 401 19th Street. Kids in grades 2 and up can learn how to make a quick video using their own pictures. Participants should bring a flash drive or disk with pictures. Registration is required. Call 309-732-7360.

·         Using TumbleBooks & Book Flix: 4:00 pm, Thursday, March 27, Rock Island Main Library. A special hands-on program for Grades K-6 to demonstrate the fun you can have with free online versions of children's books. Drop in event; no registration required.

·         Craft Extravaganza Days: 10:30 am on  Thursday, March 20,  Main Library, and Tueseday, March 25, at the Rock Island Southwest Branch. Kids in Grades K-6 can choose from several crafts to make and take.

Celebrate Houdini's Birthday -

·         Harry Houdini, the world's greatest magician, was born on March 24. To celebrate, the Children's Room will offer a special magic program for all ages with local magician Rick Eugene, at 6:00 pm on March 24, in the Rock Island Main Library, 401 19th Street.

Friday Movie Fest -

·         The Rock Island  Library Children's Department offers free movies and popcorn when the Rock Island/Milan school system dismisses early. The next family film will be shown at 1:00 pm on March 21 in the Rock Island Main Library Community Room, 401 19th Street. The movie is a recent Disney release, loosely based on "The Snow Queen" by Hans Christian Andersen.

All events are free and open to the public.

Additional events for children and families at Rock Island Libraries include Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday morning storytimes, Wednesday Lego Block Clubs and Monday evening storytimes. For dates, times and locations, check the library website or pick up a flyer at Rock Island Libraries.

For more upcoming library events, visit the library website at www.rockislandlibrary.org, follow Rock Island Library on Facebook or call 309-732-7323.

(Rock Island, IL): Celebrate Valentine's Day as a family with two free family events coming at the Rock Island Public Library.

The library will offer a "Knight in Shining Armor" Valentine's Day Party, to complement the children's  Midwinter Knight's Read winter reading challenge. The 2:00 pm party on Saturday, Feb. 1 at the Rock Island 30/31 Branch Library, 3059 30th Street, is part of expanded Saturday programming offered to meet the needs of families with work or scheduling conflicts during the week. The event will repeat at 6:00 pm on Monday, Feb. 3 at the Rock Island Southwest Branch, 9010 Ridgewood Road.

Among other activities, children will make a knight's shield and valentine cards and play valentine bingo. "This is more than a storytime," said Children's Librarian Ranell Dennis. "It's a one-stop event with games, several stories and multiple crafts that beat cabin fever with some free family time at the library. And beyond fun, events like these foster a lifelong love of reading and learning." She noted that reading together helps children build vocabulary, verbal ability and comprehension skills that directly relate to improved reading, writing and learning.

"The library is a perfect place to begin learning literacy skills that will last a lifetime," she added.

Each Super Saturday starts with a early childhood storytime at 11:00 am, with the all ages party connected to a different holiday or theme following at 2:00 pm. Additional Super Saturday parties include a St. Patrick's Day party on Saturday, March 8 at the Southwest Branch; an April showers frog party on Saturday, April 19 at the 30/31 Branch, and a yellow-brick road Wizard of Oz party on Saturday, May 17 at the Main Library Children's Room, 401 19th Street. The Saturday storytime is at the same location as each month's party.

For more events at Rock Island Public Libraries, visit the library website at www.rockislandlibrary.org, follow the library on Facebook or Twitter, or call 309-732-7323.

Founded in 1872, the Rock Island Public Library serves the area through three locations, which include the Main, 30/31 and Southwest Branches, community outreach efforts, and online opportunities that provide resources to enhance personal achievement and stimulate the imagination.

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Rock Island, IL - Rock Island Public Library is one of several local libraries working with Casa Guanajuato Quad Cities on a new Citizenship Connection partnership that will help future citizens navigate the naturalization process with materials, special programs, library resources and other information.

The Citizenship Connection project will offer free consultation, citizenship and immigration workshops and classes led by accredited CASA Guanajuato staff at area libraries.

The partnership offers its first workshop Monday, Jan. 27 at the Rock Island Main Library, 401 19th Street. The workshop will be presented from 5:00 pm to 7:30 pm in the library's second floor community room, and will feature individualized consultation on navigating the naturalization and Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) processes.

Additional workshops will be offered in February at the Moline Public Library, in March at the Davenport Public Library, and in April at the Silvis Public Library. Workshops are free and open to the public.

For more information about the workshops, call  Elida Cabrera, Casa Guanajuato, at 563-322-3723. Participants should bring along a photo ID, such as a passport, green card, consular card or temporary visitor's driver's license.

As part of the partnership, the Rock Island Public Library will also establish a centralized citizenship collection with information on citizenship and naturalization, study materials for citizenship exams, resources for citizenship classes, and information on application processing.  In addition to the Rock Island Main Library, centralized citizenship collections will also be available at the Davenport Public Library and Silvis Public Library. Moline Library will offer materials within its regular Adult and Children's sections.

The Rock Island Main Library and Casa Guanajuato will also host 10-week citizenship classes with step-by-step study sessions.  The 10:00 am classes start Feb. 15 and run untilApril 26. For more information or to register, please contact Casa Guanajuato at 563-322-3723.

Supported by the New Americans Initiative and the Illinois Coalition of Immigrant and Refugee Rights, the Citizenship Connection project is part of a nationwide effort by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS)  to address a service gap in smaller communities and rural areas.

Local partners include Casa Guanajuato Quad Cities, Rock Island Public Library, Moline Public Library. Silvis Public Library and Davenport Public Library.

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