Bee Cave librarian: Library wins statewide award for Candyland outdoor game
The Texas Library Association announced recently that the Bee Cave Public Library won the Wayne Williams Project of the Year Award for last year’s outdoor, life-size Candyland game offered over four weekends during the height of the pandemic. By making use of our Central Park, Sculpture Park, a trail near the Hill Country Galleria and the Galleria plaza, the library’s Candyland offered families a way to spread out safely and enjoy fun activities at each location based on the classic children’s game.
“Candyland brought our community together during a difficult time," said Gretchen Hardin, the library’s public services manager. "It helped us to remind Bee Cave of the joy that the library can bring into people’s lives and allowed people to explore the city in a new way.”
Summer reading in-person again
After two summers of mostly online programming, the Bee Cave library is thrilled to announce Reading Roundup, our 2022 summer reading program designed to encourage children, teens and adults to read over the summer. By keeping children reading and engaged in learning over the summer, the program helps children maintain the literacy and achievement gains they made during the school year and avoid the learning loss known as “summer slide.”
Readers of all ages are encouraged to download the Beanstack Tracker app and log their minutes online—it’s free and easy. Parents can track their own reading and their children’s minutes through one account, and everyone in the family can be eligible to win prizes just for reading. In keeping with a long-standing tradition at the Bee Cave library, children who read at least 500 minutes can have their photo made into a poster that will hang on the library wall this summer and receive their own copy to take home.
A variety of fun programs are planned for June and July, ranging from a trick roper to help us kick off our Western theme on June 1 to an outdoor bike rodeo on July 30. The library is partnering with Star Hill Ranch for an exciting Reading Rodeo at the Western- themed venue on June 8 from 10 a.m. to noon featuring crafts, games and songs set in old-time Bee Cave. The library will be closed that morning so that everyone can join in the fun at Star Hill Ranch. The event is free and fun for all ages with no registration required.
In addition to outdoor events open to everyone, the library will offer in-person programs at the library targeted to specific age groups that will require free registration to attend. Detailed information will be coming soon on the library website, or stop by and pick up a calendar to keep at home so you don’t miss any important dates.
Storytime resumes indoors
After a pandemic-friendly run outdoors at Bee Cave Central Park for the past several months, Storytime with Ms. Meliss and the Bee Cave Bee is returning to the library starting May 17. The 20- to 25-minute program is held on Tuesdays and Fridays at 10:30 a.m. on the second floor, and is best for children up to age 5. Registration is required and opens one week before each Storytime. We kindly ask each family to register for just one Storytime per week to make the program accessible to more families.
Books and Bees fest a hit
The inaugural “Books and Bees Festival” took place the last Saturday in April and was a resounding success. With author talks and panels taking place in City Hall as well as at the Hive and Barnes & Noble, there was something of interest for readers of all ages.
Outside on the lawn we had children’s crafts and games, bee education from an area beekeeper, free wildflower seeds and planting instruction, and a children’s concert, as well as book sales by Barnes & Noble and giveaways by the Friends of the Library, this year’s major sponsor. More than 1,500 people participated in the festival, many expressing their surprise at such a unique event in our small city. We hope to bring Books and Bees back next year and make it an annual event.
Teen board completes service project
The library’s Teen Advisory Board completed a service project over the past few months by building a “book nook” for the Southwest Trails Learning Center at the nonprofit Foundation Communities site in Oak Hill. After hosting a community-wide book drive, the teens collected more than 50 new books and visited the learning center to spend time with the children it serves. Using funds donated by the Friends of the Bee Cave Library, the group donated a bookshelf and beanbag chairs along with the collection of books to create a welcoming space for the children to visit after school.
Teen volunteers honored
In keeping with another long-standing tradition, the Friends of Bee Cave Public Library awarded scholarships totaling $3,000 to four graduating seniors who volunteered hundreds of hours of service to the library. Scholarship winners were Bane Maybury, Adithi Rao, Zoe May and Trey Homoya. Checks and certificates of appreciation were presented to the teens during the Books and Bees Festival.
Library hours
The library is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, and from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Wednesdays. During these hours we invite you to come in and browse, attend a program, check out books and other materials, use the public computers or copier, or ask a librarian to suggest a new book to read. We continue to offer contactless front door pickup service if you prefer that to visiting in person. For more information, call us at 512.767.6620 or email library@beecavetexas.gov.
Barbara D. Hathaway is the director of the Bee Cave Public Library.
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Bee Cave librarian: Library wins statewide award for Candyland outdoor game
