Greetings from the Great Bend Public Library! Banned Books Week, a time to celebrate our freedom to read, is still going strong. This year’s theme is “Let Books Be. Protect the Freedom to Read.” According to the American Library Association, “Since 2021, ALA has tracked a sharp spike in censorship attempts in libraries. (The Office for Intellectual Freedom) tracked 4,235 unique titles challenged in 2025, the second highest ever documented by ALA. The highest ever documented was 4,240 in 2023.”
You can celebrate Banned Books Week with us by checking out a banned book or any title you’d like and exercise your right to decide for yourself what you want to read. Plus, if you’ve lost your library card or it was eaten by the dog, stop by the library any time during Banned Books Week for a replacement card for FREE. Signing up for a library card for the first time is always free (photo ID and proof of address required).
For the rest of this week, on Thursday, Oct. 8, after Genealogy Thursday at 11 a.m., we have Adult Craft Night at 6 p.m. This month we are making haunted paintings! Give an old picture new life by adding some ghostly visitors.
Friday we have our first session of our Tabletop Teens Crooked Moon campaign. Our table is full, but you can still join as an audience member and watch the campaign unfold. Travel to Druskenvald, a mysterious land of eternal night, in our upcoming miniseries. Steel thyself for the horrors and oddities found in the dark forests of this cursed land. Lock in your Halloween aesthetic by playing as unique races such as Harvestborn, Plagueborn, Relicborn, and more, combined with new and unique twists on familiar classes. Weave your own dreadful fate as you and your compatriots try to survive another night under the crooked moon.
Saturday, celebrate 10 years of Pokémon GO with us at Veterans Memorial Park! Visit the nearby gym and PokéStops while you complete our bug type scavenger hunt. Check in with us on the north side of the park to get started. There may even be prizes for Pokéfans!
Monday is Adult Bingo at 10:30 a.m. We are giving bingo a spooky twist this time complete with fabulously spooky prizes.
Tuesday, special guest Monique Koener will be here for two special programs. She will be leading a special storytime at 10:30 a.m. to teach children about germs. Then at noon, she will be back to teach Dining with Diabetes, a cooking class all about how to eat healthy while living with diabetes. I have it on good authority that there will be a taste test.
Later that same day, we have another special guest speaker for Writing Club at 5:30 p.m. Laurie Murray, who is returning to share more of her projects inspired by real life experiences, is a former assistant professor, teaching fellow, lecturer of English, and writing center director. She taught creative nonfiction in Tennessee and South Carolina. Her essay “Maidenhair” was the runner up in “The Iowa Review 2015 Awards” and was published in the winter edition 2015/2016.
Wednesday we have our next Tweentober event. Each week we will have a different teen program for tweens in grades 3-5 to try out. This week, get creative in the Teen Spot and turn paper pulp and paint into 3D pieces of art!
Last but not least, let’s cover Thursday, Oct. 15. After our regular Genealogy Thursday at 11 a.m., it’s time for our monthly Teen Manga & Anime Club at 5:30 p.m. For October’s meeting, we’ll be covering “Toilet-Bound Hanako-kun” by AidaIro. Afterwards, we’ll turn fuzzy socks into our own adorable Mokke! Copies of November’s title, “Witch Hat Atelier” by Kamome Shirahama, will be available for pickup.
Hannah Glass is the marketing and technical services librarian at the Great Bend Public Library. To see what else we are up to at the library, stop by and grab our most recent newsletter so you can keep up to date on all of our events coming up this fall! Find us on social media @greatbendpl and visit our website, greatbendpl.info. You can also message us on Facebook and Instagram, email us at gbcirc@gmail.com, or give us a call at 620-792-2409 with any questions about our programming or services.
