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!