The public is always welcome at the public library.
That’s even more so on April 19, when every Kitsap Regional Library branch will celebrate National Library Week with an open house.
Open houses will be held in the Manchester and Port Orchard branches from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
“We’ll also be celebrating our 50th anniversary as a KRL library,” said Kathleen Wilson, Port Orchard Library branch manager.
Wilson said a special nautical story time is set for 11:30 a.m., followed by Mayor Tim Matthes’ proclamation for National Library Week and the library’s 50th anniversary at 12:45 p.m.
At 1 p.m. KRL will announce, system-wide, the title for the “One Book, One Community” selection for 2014 with each branch having a special guest announce the title of this year’s book.
National best-selling author and Port Orchard resident Debbie Macomber will reveal the selection at 1 p.m., Wilson said.
The Friends of the Library will host a book sale from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and the library will host a “Library Snapshot Day.”
“We’ll have a little photo area set up where we can get snapshots of our patrons and their favorite books,” Wilson added.
At the Manchester Library, there will be a children’s cooking program at 2 p.m. called “Cooking Around the World with Grandma Millie” and making Greek baklava. The library will also be serving coffee and cupcakes throughout the day and reveal their book selection at 1 p.m. The library will also host a “Library Snapshot Day.”
Each year, KRL selects a single book and invites everyone in Kitsap County to read the book and connect through the shared experience. In October, KRL invites the community for discussions and events based on the “One Book, One Community” selection.
“A significant number of Kitsap residents are regular library patrons,” said KRL Director Jill Jean. “But whether you spend a lot of time at the library, or not, we’d like to invite you to visit KRL during National Library Week, and especially for our open house on April 19.”
One copy will be given away at each of the KRL branches, in addition to the bookmobile and to participants on KRL’s Facebook page.
Each branch library has its own plans for events during the open house. For a description of events, go online to www.krl.org/national-library-week-events-krl.
