April events at the Columbia Public Library

The Columbia Public Library, 24 South Sixth St., has announced its schedule of events for April.


The library will be closed on Friday, April 2 and Saturday, April 3.

Wednesday, April 7, at 6 p.m., the library will hold Family Film Night, featuring "A Bug's Life."

Thursday, April 8, at 11 a.m., "Two Weeks Around South America: Buenos Aires to Chile," a travel presentation, will be hosted by Dave and Linda Burrichter. People of all ages are welcome to attend.

Children who participated with the Disney on Ice reading program can take their stamped reading logs to the Giant Center to exchange for tickets to "Princess Classics," which will be offered at two different times for reading program ticket holders. The shows will be held on Thursday, April 8, at 7 p.m. and Sunday, April 11, at 5 p.m.

Saturday, April 10, at 10 a.m., the Saturday morning story time program will feature a special guest appearance by Peter Rabbit.

National Library Week will run from Sunday, April 11, through Saturday, April 17, and the theme will be "Communities Thrive @ Your Library." The library is committed to helping Columbia by providing Internet access for online courses and job applications, books for people of all ages and interests, computer instruction, and programs for both children and adults. A photo ID with a current address is the only item necessary to register for a library card, and there is no charge.

Wednesday, April 14, at 6 p.m., the library will present Family Film Night, featuring the live-action version of "Charlotte's Web."

Thursday, April 15, at 7 p.m., there will be a home buyers seminar with Katie Reed in the library’s conference room. Topics covered will include buying versus renting, credit scores, buying "For Sale by Owner" properties, types of mortgages, closing costs, how to budget, and more. Attendees are encouraged to come prepared with questions. There will be no charge for the seminar.

Friday, April 16, at 3 p.m., State Senator. Mike Brubaker will visit the library to read aloud the book “What a Treasure!” which is this year’s selection for the One Book, Every Young Child campaign. This event will be held outside in the Locust Street Park gazebo, weather permitting. In the event of rain, Brubaker will read aloud in the Children's Room of the library. The read-aloud was scheduled to coincide with dismissal from Park Elementary. People of all ages are welcome to come and meet the senator and share in the fun of reading aloud.

The official kickoff date for the 2010 One Book, Every Young Child program is Tuesday, April 13. Now in its fifth year, this program emphasizes the importance of reading early and reading often to children, including preschoolers.

Saturday, April 17, at 10 a.m., the library will offer the Saturday morning story time with Dottie Johnson. The topic will be "Do You Have a Pet?"

Wednesday, April 21, at 6 p.m., the library will host Family Film Night, featuring the live-action version of "101 Dalmatians."

Saturday, April 24, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., Lisa Greybill, library director, will read Earth Day stories at the Sahd's Salvage Earth Day Celebration, which will feature a variety of activities for people of all ages. The story time will be a station on the Reduce, Reuse, Recycle passport program.

April 24, at 10 a.m., the library will offer its Saturday morning story time with Dottie Johnson. The topic will be "Mmmmm….Pretzels!"

Wednesday, April 28, at 6 p.m., the library will hold Family Film Night, featuring "Happy Feet."

The Census Questionnaire Assistance Center, which is staffed by a census professional, will continue to be open Mondays through Thursdays from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Individuals who did not receive a census form via the postal service for any reason may stop in during the center’s open hours.

The library’s Web master Samuel Edmond will help interested readers with their income taxes. An appointment must be made in advance, and readers may call 684-2255 to set one up. The library has most federal tax forms and can print out specialized forms from the IRS Web site. There is no charge for forms or assistance. The deadline to file taxes is Thursday, April 15.

Edmond is also taking registrations for his one-on-one computer classes now. Readers may call 435-2039 to register throughout the month.

Read With the Barnstormers reading log bookmarks will continue to be available at the library for children and teenagers ages 5 through 18. After students write the titles and authors of four books they have read on their reading log bookmarks, a library staff member will stamp the bookmarks. The bookmarks then become tickets for lawn seating at a Barnstormers game on Saturday, May 1, at 6:30 p.m.; Friday, May 14, at 7 p.m.; or Saturday, May 15, at 6:30 p.m. Fireworks and a post-game party will be held on May 14 and 15. For more information about the Read With the Barnstormers program, readers may call 509-4487 or go to www.lancasterbarnstormers.com.