Roslyn Public Library Events

The Roslyn Library Book Club

This Month's Read

Three Cups of Tea

Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace...One School at a Time
by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin

The Roslyn Library Book Club is a small and informal group of booklovers that meets at the Roslyn Library each month to discuss the book they have chosen in common to read. The Roslyn Library provides multiple copies of the chosen book.

Book selections vary from non-fiction to classics, poetry and plays to science fiction and young adult literature.

Please join this lively group at any time during the year or month. The book talks are held on the first Thursday of the month at 6:00 pm at the library.

FREE and OPEN to the public.

Upcoming Reads

Previous Reads

top of page

Story Time at the Roslyn Library
Tuesdays
10:30 am @ the Library

The Roslyn Library offers story time for children of all ages every Tuesday at 10:30 am.

Our library's story times are informal programs that focus primarily on books. Occasionally the librarian will feel intrepid and sing a song or get the kids to dance or help with rhymes. Volunteer readers are often featured and they are appreciated by all.

Selected books vary from educational to whimsical, but all of them help build literacy skills. Story time children build the six skills they need to learn to read:

Print Motivation;
Vocabulary;
Print Awareness;
Letter Knowledge;
Narrative Skills; and
Phonological Awareness

Not only that, but story time is a great time to build social skills! The laid-back atmosphere means your temperamental two-year old will be welcome even on her grumpiest days.

You'll be surprised how fast the other kids role model proper library behavior as they play together with puzzles and toys in the sunny children's area.

And it's a great place and time to meet other parents, check out parenting resources, and browse for books, videos, CDs, and magazines for yourself and other members of your family.

Story Time
Tuesdays
10:30 am @ the Library

top of page

Ready to Read in Roslyn

Ready to Read in Roslyn is an early literacy program of the Roslyn Library that aims to help develop pre-reading skills in young children, thus preparing them for success in school and beyond.

The program launched in 2008 with a storytelling and book giveaway event for area preschool children. This initial event and the launch of the program was made possible by a grant from the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation through the Washington State Library. Matching funds were provided by the Cle Elum Kiwanis with supporting funds from the Friends of the Roslyn Library. The program will evolve over the years as funds, staff time and opportunites permit.

In 2009, the Roslyn Library will initiate a special early todder time for children between 1 and 2 years old. This six week class, developed by Dr. James Thomas will provide parents and caregivers with resources and guidance to help their children get ready to read and learn while their children learn and have fun with one another.

For the young children, specific objectives include:

Establish comfort with the story time structure;
Provide familiarity with the 30 minute sequence;
Encourage appropriate interactions with one another;
Identify personal names and body parts;
Introduce language and concepts, such as the alphabet, numbers, colors, shapes;
Demonstrate use of gross motor skills through music and exercise;
Promote hand-eye coordination and small-motor skills.

For the caregivers and parents, specific objectives include:

Demonstrate that learning can be fun and enjoyable;
Model behaviors for individual interactions and group participation;
Suggest book titles and music for 12-24 months;
Share information by providing handouts to take home;
Provide opportunities for communication between parent and child in order to promote the development of early literacy skills outside of the story time setting.

The first class runs from May 12 - June 16th, on Tuesdays from 9:30 am to 10:00 am. Later classes may be offered as time and interest allow. To find out more, contact Erin Krake, Librarian, at (509) 649-3420 or send email to rpl@inlandnet.com.

top of page

The Summer Reading Program

Every summer, the Roslyn Library holds a summer reading program that aims to keep kids of all ages reading throughout the summer months. The program offers incentive prizes for time spent reading, a raffle for completing reading goals, and features weekly story times, activities and events.

The 2009 Summer Reading Program ended on August 5th, 2009, breaking all of the records kept since 1998.

121 children signed up for the program
74 children ended up logging their reading hours
1460 hours were spent reading
7 special events and programs were held
326 children and youth attended the activities

CLICK HERE TO VIEW PHOTOS FROM THE PROGRAM

The 2009 Summer Reading Program was sponsored and supported by:

Kittitas County Board of Commissioners
Friends of the Roslyn Library
Kiwanis Club

Friends of the Carpenter Library

Fred Meyer
Cle Elum- Roslyn Police Department
The Roslyn Theatre

Special thanks to Neil Boswell / The Boeing Co. and Alison Bingham for donating the grand raffle prizes that encouraged so many young people to spend time with books this summer.

Special thanks to the volunteers who gave their time and talents to help the kids "be creative" through weekly activities:

Dr. Dave Lundy
Marie Nickols
Ginger Lund
Cindy Gregory
Tuesday Bosch
Frank Schuchman

Check back in the spring for information about the 2010 Summer Reading Program!

To view pictures from the 2009 Summer Reading Program, click here.

top of page

World Affairs Series

Much like the Armchair Travel Series the library has presented in the past, the World Affairs Series provides the opportunity for our community to enage with other cultures. In this case, however, we bring the world to Roslyn. Professionals from across the globe visit Roslyn and share with us their culture and perspectives of the issues that we all face as part of the human race.

Each gathering is different, from a presentation on Sudan by Sudanese health workers to a reception at the Roslyn Brewery for a group of young, emerging leaders from various countries in Europe.

The next presentation will be held in the late winter of 2010 with a group of Fellows from the Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship Program from the University of Washington. Stay tuned for the details on the time, the place and the flavor of this exchange.

To view pictures of the World Affairs Series, click here.

top of page

Three Cups of Tea:
One Man's Mission to Promote Pease...One School at a Time
by Greg Mortenson & David Oliver Relin

The Roslyn Library is joining with the other public libraries in the county to offer our first ever One Book One Community program, in where we encourage everyone in our community to read and talk about the same book.

We have chosen the book Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortensen, which is the story of how Mortensen's life was transformed in a remote village in Pakistan, and how he turned that transformation into a crusade to build schools for the boys and girls of this volatile and remote region.

People throughout the county are being encouraged to read this book with us, and we have organized special events to coincide with the book at each library that will help readers engage with the book's themes on a deeper level.

You can borrow a copy of Three Cups of Tea from any of the public libraries in Kittitas County. The story is also available in a children's book called Listen to the Wind and in a young reader edition. Copies of the books for children and young adults are also available to borrow.

Roslyn Library One Book One Community Events Schedule

Monday, March 1st, 7:00 pm
Serving in Afghanistan: An informal Q&A session with local resident Tim Hyde about his time spent serving in the military in Afghanistan.

Tuesday, March 2nd, 10:30 am
Children's Story Time features "Listen to the Wind: The Story of Dr. Greg and Three Cups of Tea" by Greg Mortenson and Susan L. Roth.

Thursday, March 4th, 6:00 pm
Roslyn Library Book Club meets to discuss the book Three Cups of Tea. All others who have read the book, or who would like to learn more about it are welcome to join the discussion. Tea will be served!

Thursday, March 18th, 7:00 pm
Trekking in Baltistan: A photographic presentation of Baltistan, the region in Pakistan that is the setting for much of the book, Three Cups of Tea. This is considered to be some of the wildest and most breathtaking scenery in the world, and local resident Bob Hornbein, whose family has close ties with the Mortensons, will share his own unique experience of it.

Friday, March 26th, 5:00 pm and
Friday, April 30th, 5:00 pm
Last Friday Art Walk: Art done by local children from preschool to middle school that was inspired by the picture book Listen to the Wind: The Story of Dr. Greg & Three Cups of Tea. To be displayed at The Huckleberry House, 301 Pennsylvania in March and the Roslyn Library, 109 S. First Street in April.

Through April 30
Pennies for Peace: A fundraising campaign to help the Central Asia Institute in their mission to build and maintain schools in Pakistan and Afghanistan. Penny containers are on display at the middle and high schools and public libraries.

The Cle Elum-Roslyn high school and middle school have gotten involved in the project by launching a penny drive to help Greg Mortenson's Central Asia Institute build more schools in Afghanistan and Pakistan and to maintain the dozens of schools the Institute has already built. The high school's Amnesty International Club is spearheading the effort, called Pennies for Peace. The campaign is running through April, and penny drive containers are located at the schools and the upper county libraries.

While pennies may be worth very little in the United States, in Afghanistan and Pakistan:

1 penny = one pencil
2 pennies = one eraser
$2-3 = one teacher’s pay for a day
$20 = one student’s school supplies for one year
$600 = one teacher’s annual salary
$5,000 = support for an existing school for one year
$50,000 = one school building and support for up to five years

Want to learn more?

Pakistan Fact Sheet
Afghanistan Fact Sheet
Girls Education Fact Sheet

Tom Brokaw calls this book "one of the most remarkable adventure stories of our time." For a synopsis of the book and for more reviews of it, visit Powell's Books.

This program is being sponsored by The Friends of the Roslyn Library.

top of page

Unusual Movie Series

The Roslyn Library's 2010 "Unusual Movie Series" will feature films that are a bit different than what you'd find at Blockbuster, the local cineplex, or even Netflix. They will be projected onto a big screen. Roslyn Theatre popcorn will be passed around to share, and movie goers will be entered into a raffle to win a "Trip to the Movies" at the Roslyn Theatre.

Wed. Jan 27 7:00 pm	Around Cape Horn; Short Films of the Islands	Footage of the tall ship Peking rounding Cape Horn in 1929; A collection of footage of the Hawaiin Islands shot by Thomas Edison in 1898 and 1906. Unforgettable and illuminating.
Wed. Feb 10 7:00 pm	Roslyn Foundry	Unedited footage of the Roslyn Foundry and its operation from the 1970's and 1980's, narrated by former employee and Roslyn resident, David Gerth.
Wed. Feb 24 7:00 pm	Babette's Feast	The tale of Babette, a superb French chef living an anonymous life amoung a pious congregation on the desolate coast of Denmark. Delicious. (Danish with English subtitles.)
Wed. Mar 10 7:00 pm	The Birth of a Nation	The pioneering 1915 masterwork by legendary filmmaker D.W. Griffith that marks the birth of motion pictures and created great controversy with its strong racial overtones. (Viewer discretion advised.)
Wed. Mar 24 7:00 pm	Rashomon	Kira Kurosawa's masterpiece: A man is murdered, and his wife raped by a bandit. Kurosawa uses a stunning flashback technique to tell 4 different versions of what occurred. Sensuous imagery and dramatic action combine in this profound exploration of the quicksilver nature of truth. (Japanese with English subtitles.)

top of page