Greetings from the Great Bend Public Library! Now that summer has officially wrapped up, I wanted to say one more big thank you to everyone who participated and helped us make this another great summer at the library. I would also like to take a moment to thank our sponsors for helping us make our Summer Library Program possible: Applebees; Club One Fitness; Farmers Bank and Trust; First Kansas Bank; Freddy’s Frozen Custard & Steakburgers; Johnson Electric Inc.; Kiwanis International; OPI; the Pilot Club of Great Bend; Progress Club; Results Realty; Spectrum CPA Partners; Starbucks; Stone Sand Co. Inc.; Tonie Standish; the University of Kansas Health System; Walmart; Wendy’s; and Wheatland Electric. All of our amazing sponsors make it possible for us to do all the fun activities and provide all the fabulous prizes to readers each year.
With summer library programming over, it’s time to look to the fall. To keep you up to date with all the amazing events we have in store for you this coming season, you will need a fall events catalog packed with everything happening at the library from September to November. We’ve got a Halloween Carnival, a visit from a paranormal investigator, a book sale, more Tabletop Teens planned, new digital literacy classes, and much, much more. Grab your events catalog now and start filling your calendar with our free events at the library.
We may be ready to move on to fall (I know I am!), but we still have a few events left for you this month. Firstly, we start with Genealogy Thursday on Aug. 14 at 11 a.m. Have you hit a roadblock in your research? Stop by and ask our reference librarian for assistance.
Friday, Aug. 15, we have our last Silver Screen Society meeting of the summer. This month, we will be watching a film about the commandant of Auschwitz, Rudolf Höss, and his wife, Hedwig, as they strive towards the delusion of building their dream life in a house and garden next to the horrors of the death camp Auschwitz. This historical drama is based on photos from the Höss family and real-life accounts pulled from testimonies and journals of victims from Auschwitz, as well as Höss’s own journal he wrote about his time as commandant of Auschwitz after being captured. After the film, we will be showing the real-life photos taken at the Höss home, many of which you will see recreated in the film. This will be a unique look at the horrors of the Holocaust, not by the victims but by the perpetrators. Witness these individuals not as monsters so horrible they are practically mythological, but as real people capable of despicable acts. We hope to emphasize the importance of not merely recalling the horrors of the Holocaust and its victims, but also of experiencing films and stories like this to remind us that true evil sometimes looks like Mr. and Mrs. Smith from down the street.
On Tuesday, Aug. 19, we start the day off with Tech Tuesday at 11 a.m., followed by Open Book Club at 7 p.m. This month, we are discussing “The Tainted Cup” by Robert Jackson Bennett. Investigating a seemingly impossible death, detective Ana Dolabra — whose brilliance is matched only by her eccentricities — and her new, magically-altered assistant, Din — who is trying to keep his own secrets safe from her piercing intellect — uncover a scheme that threatens the safety of the Empire itself. Copies are available at the front desk.
Finally, next Thursday, Aug. 21, we have another Genealogy Thursday at 11 a.m., followed by this month’s Teen Manga & Anime Club at 5:30 p.m. For August’s club meeting, we’ll be eating popcorn and watching a mini marathon of “Sk8 the Infinity.”
Hannah Grippin is outreach manager at the Great Bend Public Library. Stop by and grab the fall newsletter so you can stay up to date on all the fall fun happening at the library through November. Find GBPL on social media @greatbendpl and visit the website, greatbendpl.info. You can also message GBPL on Facebook and Instagram, send email to gbcirc@gmail.com, or call 620-792-2409 with any questions about programming or services.
