Summer Reading started last week at all Rock Island Libraries. If you haven't picked up your forms yet for the childrens, young adult or adult reading clubs, there's still lots of time to read and win! With themes such as Reading is So Delicious, Feed Your Mind: READ and Books are Brain Food, the library is cooking up a summer stacked high with fun and reading.

To see the entire list of events, see "Summer @ Your Library" on the library website. See below for events during Week 2 of our summer!

Summer Reading events and prizes sponsored by Friends of the Rock Island Public Library, Milan-Blackhawk Area Public Library District (Southwest Branch events) and the Rock Island Public Library Foundation (summer art and drama.)

The Reading is So Delicious summer reading club offers: A Read-to-Me club log for ages two to five, the I'm a Reader book club for ages six to eight, and the Ravenous Reader log for ages nine to 11. With each log, kids earn prizes for reaching age-appropriate reading goals at three levels, and an extra chance to win special prize baskets.  Fill out an ice cream cone iwth your name on it to be added to our summer reading wall! Events this week include :

Ventriloquist Kevin Horner and friends: Thursday, June 14, at 2:30 pm, Main Library. Please note NEW time - schedule changed after publication of summer reading brochure!

Storytime at 30/31 Branch: 10:30 am, Tuesday, June 12

Storytime at Southwest: 10:30 am., Wednesday, June 13

Book Tasting at 30/31 Branch: 3:00 pm, Wednesday, June 13, 30/31 Children's Room. Offers a taste of new books to add to your summer reading list.

Legos at 30/31 Branch: 4:00 pm, Wednesday, June 13 , 30/31 Children's Room

Math Munch with Elizabeth: Build a taste for math with five weeks of fun projects! 3:15 to 4:00 pm, Tuesday, June 12 to July 10. Main Library Children's Room.

Max Reader's Birthday Bash, Friday, June 15, 10:30 am, Main Library Children's Room. Stories and birthday fun with our library mascot, Max Reader Mouse. (Replaces regular storytime.)

All programs are free. No library card required. Questions, call the Children's Room at 309-732-7360,

Teens ages 12 to 18 turn in a reading card when they complete at least six hours of reading, or a program card for attending any one of 20 events. You can enter multiple times, and earn more chances to win books, DVDs, gift cards, or the grand prize, an Amazon Kindle® eReader. This week, you can earn points for attending:

Teen Game Night: Thursday, June 14, 5:30 to 7:30 pm, Main Library Community Room, 2nd floor. Board games, Wii games and snacks.

The Chocolate Game, 3:00 pm to 4:30 pm, 30/31 Branch, 3059 30th Street. Chocolate-bar eating contest with obstacles. Win a gift card!

Adults 18 and up can win with the Books Are Brain Food reading club.  To enter the reading contest, adults fill out an entry form for every book they read between June 4 and July 27.  Entry forms and boxes at all Rock Island locations. Top prize is a new Sony® eReader.

Events this week include :

All About NuVal Numbers, 3:30 pm, Tuesday, June 12, Southwest Branch Community Room, 9010 Ridgewood Road. What do those numbers on the front of packages mean? How can you use them to eat better? Learn how with HyVee nutritionist Chrissy Walters.

Recipe Club Swap and Shop: A delicious program for adults! Bring a favorite recipe to share, and watch a cooking demonstration by cook Rachel Doumbia. This session will focus on breakfast foods. 2:00 pm, Wednesday, June 13, Southwest Branch Community Room, 9010 Ridgewood Road.

Southwest Branch Location

And next week, don't miss:

Dinner and a Movie Night, Tuesday, June 19, 5:30 to 7:30 pm. Bring dinner from a local restaurant or home and enjoy the free classic movie, "Fried Green Tomatoes." Rock Island Main Library Community Room, 401 19th Street.

Just in time for National Historic Preservation Month, the Rock Island County Historical Society (RICHS) is offering a special history day from 1:00 pm to 5:00 pm on Thursday, May 10 at the Rock Island Main Library Community Room, 401 19th Street.

Society representatives are seeking maps, books, letters, personal papers, photographs, films, journals and manuscripts, historical objects, paintings, diaries, historic records, vintage brochures, pamphlets and postcards, newspapers and other publications, yearbooks, and memorabilia. Items may be donated outright, or scanned for archiving by the Society.

A special workshop on preserving family treasures will be offered at 2:30 and 3:30 pm.

Society members will also record oral histories. Veterans are encouraged to share their stories. No registration is required for the drop-in event.

Learn the basics of using your point-and-shoot digital camera at special "Senior Series" class on Tuesday, May 22, from 2:00 to 3:30 pm at the Rock Island Main Library Community Room, 401 19th Street.

Digital Camera 101 is a beginning "nuts-and-bolts" class for those new to digital photography. Led by instructor Dee Oberle, of Gypsy Chicks Photography, the class will teach basic terms, taking and deleting photos, the meaning of those little pictures on the dial, and how to get your images off the memory card and into print.

This is a hands-on class, so enrollment is limited. Registration is required. To sign up, leave a message at 309-732-7303 or email Library Public Relations.

What to bring: Your digital point-and-shoot camera with charged batteries and memory card, and the camera manual (if you have one.)

This class is not for experienced camera users or for owners of digital SLR cameras with interchangeable lenses.

Professor and historian Dr. Art Pitz will continue his discussions of the Middle East in presentations on "The Arab-Israeli Conflict" at the Moline and Rock Island Public Libraries.  This year's series includes new topics generated from Dr. Pitz's travels to Israel and the Palestinian territories. In 2010, he spent a month in the Middle East, where he was briefed by the Israeli Foreign Ministry, traveled to southern Israel near Gaza, and visited the West Bank and a Palestinian refugee camp.

The May 8 and May 15 presentations are at the Moline Public Library, 3210 41st Street For details, call the Moline Library at (309) 524-2440 or see their website.

The May 22 and May 29 presentations at the Rock Island Main Library cover these topics:

• May 22: "The Palestinian Unilateral Declaration of Statehood: Will it lead to peace or war?"
• May 29: "Can Israel Negotiate with any Palestinian Government?"

All presentations are at 6:00 pm. They are free and open to the public. No registration is required.

The 2012 series is sponsored by the Jewish Federation of the Quad Cities, the Rock Island Public Library Foundation, and the Friends of the Moline Public Library.

A Tribute to Children of the Holocaust: Portraits that Bridge the Gap Between Then and Now will be on display one more month at the Main Library. The exhibit will close the week of June 8. The exhibit was sponsored through grants from the Scott County Regional Authority and the Rock Island Community Foundation (RICF) to the Jewish Federation of the Quad Cities.

And your library has all sorts of appetizing summer reading contests and summer events planned for children, teens and adults. Parents can register children now for free five-week art, drama and math workshops by calling the Children's Room at 309-732-7360. A brochure with free events for children, adults and teens is posted online.

Reading is soooo delicious! Feed your mind this summer . . .at your library!