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. Join us at 2:00 pm 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." 

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.

A new "Citizenship Connection" partnership involving Rock Island Public Library, Casa Guanajuato Quad Cities, Moline Library, Davenport Library, and Silvis Library, kicked off Monday with a free workshop at Rock Island LIbrary, and the establishment of citizenship collections at participating libraries. 

The third of its kind in the nation, the partnership will help future citizens navigate questions about the immigration and citizenship processes with materials, special programs, library resources and other information.

The Rock Island Library has established a centralized collection at the Main Library. Material call numbers begin with "Citizen" and include books on becoming a citizen, the U.S. Constitution, and two citizenship kits. The section also includes information from Casa and the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services department.

CASA volunteers will offer 10-week Citizenship classes with step-by-step study instructions for the naturalization test. That class will be at the Main Library for 10 Saturdays from Feb. 15th through April 26th, from 10:00-11:30 am. There will be no meeting on April 5.  Registration is required. Call Casa a t309-736-7727.

Additional citizenship and DACA (deferred action for childhood arrivals) workshops offered in February at Moline Public Library, in March at Davenport Public Library, April at the Silvis Public Library and in May again at the Rock Island Main Library. CASA staff will discuss, one-on-one with interested immigrants about applying for citizenship, naturalization, and changing their immigration status.

Workshops are free and open to the public.For more information, call Casa Guanajuato at 563-322-3723 or 736-7727.

La Sirga, Spanish with English subtitles

Knit for Peace - Tuesday, Feb. 11th, 6:00 pm

Main Library. Come meet other knitters the second Tuesday of each month at the Main Library and bring your knitting needles or crochet hooks! 

Library How-To: Download Magazines - Tuesday, February 4th, 6:30 pm, Main Library. Learn how to use the Library's downloading magazine service, Zinio, to download some of your favorite magazines to your computer or other personal device!

February history and culture programs for adults at the Main Library, 401 19th Street, include;

Intimate Life of Abraham Lincoln, 2:00 pm, Wed., Feb. 12On a day set in November 1862, Abraham Lincoln reflects on his relationships with three men, both his past and his present time.  Presenter Michael Thomas Masters will read from Yours Forever, lead a question and answer session, and screen a documentary documentary screening on Lincoln.

A Leap of Faith: History of the Black Church, 6:30 pm, Thurs., Feb. 13. Rev. Dwight Ford, director of the Martin Luther King, Jr Community Center, presents on a discussion for Black History Month on the moral and ethical agency of the Black Church in history.

River of Logs: 19th Century Logging, 6:30 pm, Thurs., Feb. 20. In an illustrated talk based on her chapter in the 2004 Grand Excursions on the Upper Mississippi, Gayle Rein describes logging in Wisconsin and Minnesota and the rafting of logs down the Mississippi River to lumber companies in the Quad Cities area.  She includes many photos and stories from the early logging camps and rafting. 

Historic Bridges, 6:30 pm, Tues, Feb. 25. Illustrated presentation by Professor Curt Roseman on the major bridges on the Mississippi and Rock Rivers in the Quad Cities. Collectively, the bridges represent a great variety of styles and histories.  Included are truss, arch, and suspension bridges. Serveral QC bridges are historically significant, including one span that was built in 1868 and the first railroad bridge to span the Mississippi. His talk includes stories of how and why these bridges were originally conceived and built.  

It's cold outside - so why not get credit for the reading you are already doing? The "Midwinter Knight's Read" winter reading challenge is going on now at all Rock Island locations. 

Kids get a prize just for signing up. If they read 12 books or 3 hours of time, they'll win a book and bookbag. Special events during winter reading include a free "Clone Wars" children's movie at 1:00 pm on Friday, Feb. 14 at at the Rock Island Main Library. 

Teens can pick up entry slips at any Rock Island Library locations, turning in a slip for each five hours of reading time. Prizes will be drawn from all completed slips after the close of the promotion on March 1.

Adults participate just by completing one entry form for each adult book, eBook or audiobook completed during the Jan. 21 to March 1 challenge period. Only books read between the contest period should be counted. Entries will go into a random drawing for the grand prize of an Amazon Kindle Fire HD, or secondary prizes of gift cards and passes to restaurants, merchants and attractions. 

Entries are due back to Rock Island Library by  5:00 pm Saturday, March 1. "Joust" read and you could win! 

Money Smart Week Community Shred Day: Saturday, April 12, 10 am to noon, Rock Island Main Library, 401 19th Street. Identity protection project for Money Smart Week. Bring personal papers to be shredded in bulk by Document Destruction & Recycling Service (DDRS). Drive up, drop off, for secure bulk shredding offsite at the DDRS plant in Davenport.