Friends of the Mount Rainier Library

Mount Rainier Day "Book Give-a-Way." For this 3rd annual event, Michelle Sust coordinated the effort to obtain about 3,000 books donated by Hearts of America Foundation, Library of Congress, and some community residents. At the festival, community residents, mostly children, picked up about 2,500 books. Nearly 100 teacher curriculum books were given to the Mount Rainier Elementary School ESL volunteers, some 30 home repair books were given to the M.R Tool Shed, and about 400 leftover books were given to the Mount Rainier Branch Library. In preparation, five teens (Luis Campos, Yesenia Campos, Louie Elkner, Osvaldo Elkner, Crysla Hernandez) guided by Michelle Sust sorted and tagged the books and created artful banners. [see photo 1] Further, teens Nestor Hernandez and Antonio Lucas volunteered to help with Mount Rainier activities. Peter Seitel and Fred Sissine set up and maintained book display tables. Spanish language books were exhausted early, but FOL will try to get more next time. Anthony Hall and Gayle Cox (Prince George's Literacy Council) provided information about library resources and literacy services. Librarian Deborah Davis, and staff Deborah Baxter and Frances Richardson, brought Sneaks-the-Cat to promote the Summer Reading Program. Ms. Davis reported that more than 150 people visited the library during the festival. Also, FOL's book activity was again coordinated with the "face-painting" activity led by senior artists Alex Morton, Parcy Suvanasai, and Irrin Suvanasai, along with apprentice artists David Friebele, and John McKindley-Ward. [see photo 2] The face-painting lines were long, and more than 250 kids came away with a dramatic "new look." Thanks to Steve Shaff, Jeff Elkner, and Roxana Alfaro for supporting the FOL activities. Also, many thanks from FOL to the Mount Rainier Day Committee, Mayor Miles and City Councilmembers, former Mayor Bryan Knedler, and the outstanding city staff for a great event!

More M.R. Day photos at Click Here

New Library / Building. Plans for a larger library in a new 3 to 4-story building at the old police-city hall site (3409 Rhode Island Avenue) are underway. After two planning sessions, the City Government has decided to keep the library on the ground floor. A new facility is critical to modernizing the library's capacity and serving community needs. For information about future planning meetings, contact Jan Townshend at 301-779-6010 or jtownshend@mail.ndc-md.org.

For more info and photos of the project concepts, go to the FOL web site at Click Here

Programs and Activities. (1) Summer Reading Program. Sign up children and teens for this wonderful free program beginning June 1, by contacting Librarian Deborah Davis at 301-864-8937. There is also a summer reading program for adults (Escape to Reading) and a weekly story time at the Library. (2) Adult Literacy. For free programs, call 301-699-9770, or go to http://www.literacycouncil.org/. (3) ESL Support. FOL has been assisting the English as a Second Language (ESL) volunteers at Mount Rainier Elementary School. Donations of introductory reading materials and computers are appreciated. (4) I-Net. Jeff Elkner brought an expert to examine the unused I-Net link in the library. He said, "This fiber optic cable could power half of the Pentagon." All other county branches, except Accokeek, have an operating I-net link. Librarian Deborah Davis says the county library system is in the process of making our link operational. (5) Get Books Online. You can order your favorite books online at http://www.pgcmls.info, and then simply pick them up at the Mount Rainier Branch. This saves a car trip and builds circulation for our branch! Also online are licensed databases, including telephone directories, health, WashingtonPost {free}, genealogy, full-text magazines, business info on companies, encyclopedias in English and Spanish, "learnatest" {take practice tests of all kind from home or office), and live, on-line homework help and 24/7 reference help (askusnow). (6) Book Sale. Get books, CDs, etc. on Sat. June 11 (9-5pm) and Sun. June 12 (12-5pm) at New Carrollton Branch Library. (7) National Night Out. This event will take place Tuesday evening August 2. As in past years, FOL expects to be there giving away books. Check with the Police Dept. for the exact time and place.