Join us for free activities at home, online, and in the community. For updates as they happen, follow us on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter, and sign up for our newsletter.
-------------------------
FOR KIDS & FAMILY
Free Books and Craft Kits for Kids to Keep
We’re extending our Summer Reading book giveaway through September. Pick up a free book for each child to keep. Books courtesy of the Friends of Eugene Public Library. Drop by at the Downtown Library (curbside): Monday, Tuesday, Friday, and Saturday, 10am-6pm; or Wednesday and Thursday, 12pm-8pm. Or drop by at Bethel and Sheldon (indoors): Monday through Saturday, 10am-6pm.
Plus during the same hours: each week we’ll give out a new craft project kit for kids, starting Monday and while supplies last. Special during Fiesta Cultural: starting Friday, Sept. 4, we’ll start giving out a Latin American craft kit created by Jessica Zapata of Eugene Arte Latino.
Family Storytime LIVE
Online: Tuesdays at 11:00 a.m., Facebook Live
Stories, songs, rhymes, puppets, and more - live! Storytime helps little ones develop the language skills they’ll need when they’re learning to read. Plus it’s a lovely way to play together. Join us live, or later, or over and over here!
Bilingual Storytime Online
Starting Friday, September 4, YouTube
Join Toña Aguilar online for fun stories, songs, and rhymes in Spanish and English. She is an experienced local teacher and currently coordinates the Nutrition Services Program at The Village School. She was born and raised in the Willamette Valley; her father was an activist for migrant farmworker rights and her mother was a bilingual elementary school educator. Enjoy this video anytime starting September 4.
Bilingual StoryWalk®
September 1 through September 13, in the park outside Petersen Barn
All ages: take a walk and enjoy the bilingual children’s picture book “My Colors, My World: Mis Colores, Mi Mundo” by Maya Christina Gonzalez. The beautifully illustrated pages are displayed on a series of signs arranged in order along the path to read as you stroll. Thanks to The StoryWalk® Project, created by Anne Ferguson of Montpelier, Vermont and developed in collaboration with the Kellogg-Hubbard Library. StoryWalk® is a registered service mark owned by Ms. Ferguson.
Tween Scene Book Group - filled; watch for October book group sign-ups starting Sept. 15
Online: Thursday, September 17, 4:00 p.m., Zoom
Preregistration required to receive event link: call 541-682-5450.
Join a fun conversation and activity for ages 9-12. This month, Tween Scene book group is reading “The Gauntlet” by Karuna Riazi, an action-packed adventure about getting trapped inside a board game (think steampunk “Jumanji”). Sign up and we’ll mail the book to you (within the Eugene area). Or get the eBook free with your library card: https://library2go.overdrive.com/library2go-eugene/kids/media/2754543
Teddy Bear Picnic
We held this summer’s Teddy Bear Picnic outside and online. You can still sing along and dance with Mike and Carleen McCornack and the Garden Variety Band! Watch it now..
------------------------
FOR TEENS
Free Book for Teens to Keep
We’re extending our Summer Reading book giveaway through September. Pick up a free book for each child and teen to keep. Books courtesy of the Friends of Eugene Public Library. Drop by at the Downtown Library (curbside): Monday, Tuesday, Friday, and Saturday, 10am-6pm; or Wednesday and Thursday, 12pm-8pm. Or drop by at Bethel and Sheldon (indoors): Monday through Saturday, 10am-6pm.
Stuck in the Middle and Teen Book Group: Together! -- filled; watch for October book group sign-ups starting Sept. 15
Online: Thursday, September 10, 4:00 p.m., Zoom
Preregistration required to receive event link: call 541-682-5450.
This month, two of our youth book groups are meeting together! Ages 11 to 19 are reading "Fresh Ink,” a collection of stories by popular YA authors edited by Lamar Giles in partnership with We Need Diverse Books. Sign up and we’ll mail the book to you (within the Eugene area). Or get the eBook free with your library card: https://library2go.overdrive.com/library2go-eugene/teens/search?query=fresh+ink
William Ritter: Live Interview
Missed our live interview with William Ritter, author of the popular and beloved "Jackaby" and "Oddmire" series? Watch it now.
-------------------------
FOR ADULTS
Puerto Rican Cooking Online
Starting Friday, September 4, YouTube
Sara Cintron demonstrates Puerto Rican cooking in "Nice Urban Spice, Lesson 1." Learn how to make two traditional dishes, mofongo and tembleque, to satisfy both savory and sweet tastes. Explore a new way to cook with plantains, coconut, and the spices of Puerto Rican cuisine for a rich and tasty cultural experience. Enjoy this English-language video anytime starting September 4.
The Biological and Cultural Construction of Race
In Conversation with Dr. Lisa Price
Friday, September 11, 12:00 p.m., pre-register to get Zoom link
Join the Eugene Public Library Foundation for the first in a monthly series , “In Conversation with Experts and Enthusiasts,” each featuring a brief lecture followed by Q&A. In September, Dr. Lisa Price will lead an exploration of race as a biological and cultural construction. This discussion sheds new light on what race is, offering additional context to understand the Black Lives Matter movement that has gained strength and new allies this year.
Dr. Price is a professor of anthropology at Oregon State University who regularly teaches a course at OSU on this subject. Her background makes her uniquely qualified to share her expertise and insight on this topic. Her international work includes consulting for scientific organizations and presenting at conferences on various aspects of diversity in education. Dr. Price specializes in food systems, farming, food security, gender, agro-biodiversity, ethnobiology, and methodology development. Her research interests are primarily at the interface of human culture, specifically gender, and the food environment. Her geographic area of specialization is Mainland Southeast Asia, although her experience covers many counties in Asia and Africa as well as North America and the Pacific.
Master Gardener Fall Festival Master Gardener Workshops
Sunday, September 13, 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., preregister to get Zoom link
Our Seed Library partners Lane County Master Gardener Association and Oregon State University Extension offer a free day of virtual classes, expert panels, and garden sharing. Bring your questions for workshops including Cover Crops, Some Like It Hot: Composting Questions Answered, Saving Seeds, and What to Do With All That Winter Squash. Learn more and register: https://extension.oregonstate.edu/mg/lane/events/fall-festival
Windfall Reading Series: David Axelrod and Sabena Stark
Tuesday, September 15, 6:00 p.m., YouTube Live
The new season of the Windfall Reading Series kicks off with writers David Axelrod and Sabena Stark, reading live and taking questions online.
David Axelrod has recently published a second collection of nonfiction, “The Eclipse I Call Father: Essays on Absence” and his eighth collection of poems, “The Open Hand.” He wrote the introduction, “My Interests Are People” for “About People: Photographs” by Gert Berliner. Axelrod directs the low residency MFA and Wilderness, Ecology, and Community program at Eastern Oregon University. He also edits “basalt: a journal of fine & literary arts” and serves on the editorial board of Lynx House Press.
Sabena Stark has published prose and poetry in a number of literary journals and in the anthology “Before There Is Nowhere to Stand,” which includes her poem “High Holy Days.” A longtime musician and composer, she wrote the song “Learning How to Fly” which was recorded by Tuck & Patti. A daughter of immigrants and a graduate of the UO School of Journalism’s Literary Nonfiction Program, she was awarded an Oregon Literary Arts Fellowship for her book in progress.
The Windfall Reading Series is presented in partnership by Eugene Public Library and Lane Literary Guild.
The EUG Parade 2020
Sunday, September 20
The 2020 EUG Parade/Pet Promenade is going virtual, with the theme Bounce Forward. Enjoy all the fun and silliness of our beloved EUG Parade while keeping each other safe and healthy. Community members are invited to provide entries for inclusion. The 2020 EUG Parade in Place will be available online on YouTube and on Community Television of Lane County, CATV Channel 29. More information: https://www.eugene-or.gov/2047/The-EUG-Parade-2020
Book Group for Adults: "Wild Things: The Joy of Reading Children’s Literature as an Adult "
Online: New date! Tuesday, October 27, 7:00 p.m., Zoom
Postponed from original August date; preregister to receive event link one week ahead: call 541-682-5450.
Do you love, miss, and long to know more about Ramona, Edmund, Harriet, Almanzo, and the Cat in the Hat? Get together with a community of readers for a lively conversation inspired by Bruce Handy’s funny and sometimes provocative book. Revisit beloved children’s books and learn about their philosophical, psychological, and literary underpinnings. “Let the wild rumpus start!”
Get the book free with your library card:
eBook: https://library2go.overdrive.com/media/3022436
Audio book: https://www.hoopladigital.com/title/11944086
William Ritter: Live Interview
Missed our live interview with William Ritter, author of the popular and beloved "Jackaby" and "Oddmire" series? Watch it now.
-------------------------
FRIENDS & FOUNDATION SPECIAL EVENTS
Surprise Me! Friends Book Sale
Online purchasing opens Monday, September 7, 9:00 a.m., order and pay online for contactless pick-up
The Friends of Eugene Public Library are back with another “Surprise Me!” used book sale. Order online, then drive through to pick up your book bundle. Choose a genre (mystery, biography, romance, etc.) and get a bundle of ten books for adults for $10, or fifteen children’s books for $10. Pick-up appointments will be September 20 at the Friends’ warehouse on Hwy. 99. For more information and ordering: https://libraryfriendsmarket.com
-------------------------
ONLINE & ONGOING
All free! Some online actitivies require a library card. If you don’t have one, call us to sign up: 541-682-5450.
Personalized reading recommendations
Get expert suggestions to match your tastes and interests. Fill out our online form for adults or kids and teens, email us, live chat with us, or call us at 541-682-5450.
Book lists, reviews, and more
Booklist Online
Books & Authors
NoveList Plus
Exhibit: Traditional Mexican Dresses and Charro Accessories
(Postponed: date to come; front windows of the Downtown Eugene Public Library)
See costumes from a variety of states of the Mexican Republic, including Chiapas, Oaxaca, Veracruz, Nayarit and Jalisco, in a display provided by Jessica Zapata of Eugene Arte Latino, Noche Cultural, and Ballet Alma de México.
Mexico’s modern folk dance tradition and dresses blend elements of its Indigenous, African, and European heritage. Dance and dresses evolved drastically from 1520 to 1750 with the arrival of the Spanish and continue to evolve. The iconic Charro (horseman) is representative of “La Mexicanidad,” featuring the classic sombrero, spurred boots, and more. Charrería is the national sport of Mexico, dating back to the 1500s when the Spanish brought horses and cattle to the region. UNESCO has recognized Charrería as part of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
Art Exhibit: Acrylic Paintings by Amy Hartsfield
Enjoy a video art exhibit featuring paintings of trees and other "nature-scapes" by self-taught Eugene artist Amy Hartsfield.
Eugene Public Library Escape Rooms
Solve puzzles and clues to escape! Work on these fun challenges alone or as a team.
- Undersea Atlantis Escape Room (ages 10 and up)
- The Labyrinth: Greek Mythology Escape Room (ages 10 and up)
- Spy School: Secret Agent Training Escape Room - Part 1 (ages 13 and up)
- Spy School: Secret Agent Training Escape Room - Part 2 (ages 13 and up)
- Murder in the Library (ages 13 and up)
Women Make Waves: Listening Experience
Take a listening adventure with a wide variety of performers and types of music. Start now.
Stay-at-home Storytimes
Delightful short "tastes of storytimes" we recorded this spring. Enjoy on Facebook or Instagram. Plus new recordings of recent storytimes held live online.
Ancestry.com
Explore your family tree, history, and more. Library card required. Start now.
Lynda.com
Professional courses in software development, web development, design, photography, and business. Library card required. Start now.
Mango Languages
Interactive lessons to learn dozens of languages, including English as a second language. Library card required. Start now.
And more ...
Yes, more learning and entertainment from home!
And even more!