Mystery Readers Meeting, December 15

The next Mystery Readers meeting will be held on December 15th at 6:30 pm in the Visalia Library's upstairs "blue" meeting room. There will be no book to read this month--instead, we will be playing the Yankee Swap game with books. To participate, please bring a gift wrapped book (a new or gently used paperback or hardcover) with no name on the package. The book you receive in the swap (or one you get for the Holidays) will be the book you'll discuss at January's meeting. For more information on this Yankee Swap is available here and on the Friends' web page.

Libraries Opening Late On December 17

The Visalia Library--and all its branches--will be opening late on December 17 due to a mandatory staff meeting.

The Visalia library will open at 2:00PM, and all the branch locations will open at 3:00PM.

We apologize for any inconvenience.

Santa Visits Children at Literacy Center

Santa Claus made an early trip to the Visalia area last Friday to visit the children attending the Early Literacy for Families (ELF) program.

Santa, aka James Royall, came to the December 3 sessions and gave books as gifts to the eighty children in attendance. Santa was accompanied by Mrs. Claus, aka Carolyn Royall.

ELF is a monthly event designed to demonstrate to parents how to prepare their preschool children to learn to read in school. The facilitators use the six pre-reading skills identified by the Every Child Ready to Read @ Your Library as necessary for reading achievement by young children. These skills are narrative, print motivation, phonological awareness, letter knowledge and print awareness.

The ELF program is sponsored by the Literacy Center of the Tulare County Library. For further information call 713-2745.

Friends of the Library Meeting, December 9

The Friends of the Tulare County Library will be holding their monthly meeting on Thursday, December 9, at 7 PM in the library's upstairs (blue) meeting room. Everyone is welcome to attend! Please contact Sheryll Strachan at 713-2709 for more information.

Wednesday, December 8th and 15th @ 10AM: Preschool Storytime!

Join us for stories, songs and fingerplays at our preschool story time every Wednesday @ 10AM. This week and next week we will celebrate the Holiday Season!

Tuesday, December 7th @ 10AM: Baby/Toddler Time!

Every Tuesday at 10AM, we will have a special time for babies (0-2) to play and interact with one another while building literacy skills!

Library Hours For December & January

The Visalia Library, and all its branches, will be closed on the following days in December and January.


**All book-drops will be closed from December 23rd through December 28 and from December 31 through January 1**

December 23: Furlough Day
December 24: Christmas Eve
December 25: Christmas Day
December 28: Furlough Day
December 31: Furlough Day
January 1: New Year's Day