Otsego District Public Library
INNOVATE • INTERACT • INSPIRE
Splash & Bubbles Tiny Tots
June 20 – July 25
(No meeting on July 4)
Mondays at 10 AM
0-24 Months
Sing, read, and play with other ocean friends.
Splishy, Splashy, Stories & Songs
June 22 – July 27
Wednesdays at 10 AM
Ages 0 – 5
Get ready to make waves as we sing, dance, read stories, play, and create! It’s going to be splishy, splashy fun!
The library will be closed for the Memorial Day holiday weekend.
CLOSED: Saturday, May 28 – Monday, May 30
Please note that the library will be having it’s parking lot resurfaced over the weekend. The drop box will be inaccessible during this process.
Have a safe and happy holiday with your family and friends!
Thursday, April 20 at 7 PM
Presented by Jay Follis, Curator of the Gilmore Car Museum
April 15 is the 110th Anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic. The story of the Titanic is well-known, but did you know that Michigan has several connections to the disaster? During this program you’ll hear the amazing, yet little-known stories of several West Michigan passengers aboard the doomed liner.
Nearly 100 era accurate items found at Titanic’s debris field will be on display as well as rare photos, postcards, sheet music, and newspapers surrounding the event. As a researcher and museum professional, Jay Follis has passionately pursued many facets of American history, including a fascination with the R.M.S. Titanic
The Otsego District Library currently has (1) open position.
* Employment applications and resumes are only accepted when the library has an open position posted.
The Otsego District Library serves 14,230 residents with a budget of $518,000 and a staff of fifteen. In 2009, a beautiful new 18,000 square foot, LEED-Silver Level building opened for service to the community. A dedicated library millage voted in perpetuity provides 75% of the library’s operating revenue. The library has a staff known for its commitment to outstanding customer service and a supportive board that is responsive to the community. Otsego is located in beautiful southwest Michigan, fifteen miles north of Kalamazoo, thirty miles south of Grand Rapids, and only forty minutes from Lake Michigan. The Otsego area offers affordable living, excellent schools, convenient shopping, and an outstanding quality of life.
Applying for a position as a high school student? Questions on how to write a first time resume when you are still in high school? Click HERE for a helpful link.
Monday, December 27 – Saturday, January 22
Waldo is hiding in eight different scenes, so come to find him during library open hours. Check in at the circulation desk to get your tally sheet. Participation to play will be by freewill donation.
All donations will go towards purchasing new books to “STOCK THE SHELVES” for the children’s collection.
Tiny Tots
Tuesdays at 10 AM
February 1 – May 10
Ages 0-24 months
Sing, read, and play with your little ones and friends!
Storytime – All Things That Go!
Thursdays at 10 AM
February 3 – May 12
Ages 2-5
Each session includes stories, songs, and a craft.
February – Winter Wonderland
March Spring – Surprises
April/May – Feathered Friends
Music & Movement
Wednesdays at 10 AM
February 2 – May 11
Ages 0-5
Movin’ & groovin’ fun with sensory play!
Take & Make Kids’ Craft Kits
Preschool – 5th Grade
Each month you will be able to pick up a seasonal themed craft kit.
Supplies and instructions will be included. Kits will be available throughout the entire month at our drive-thru pickup window.
STEAM Stations
Tuesdays at 4 PM
February 1 – May 10
(No meetings February 15 or April 5)
Kindergarten – 5th Graders
Drop in each week and choose one or several stations to investigate and discover new STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math) related ideas.
Spring Break Programs – Free as a Bird!
Fly on over to the library during spring break for some fun bird programs!
Bird Bingo
Tuesday, April 5 at 2 PM
Play a fun game of bingo featuring our feathered friends and win some prizes!
Birds of Prey
Presented by the Kalamazoo Nature Center
Friday, April 8 at 10 AM
During this one-hour Birds of Prey program, KNC’s educators will take the audience into the lives and habits of four unique birds. Program includes touchable artifacts and different species of live birds!
Book Packs To Go
Would you like a library staff member to pick out books for you or your child?
You can list your interests or genre’s you prefer and a staff member will choose up to 10 books that they feel you will enjoy. Do you like a certain genre or want to learn more about a certain subject? Staff member(s) will choose books to match that subject. The library will put them on hold for you to be able to pick up at our Drive-Thru Pickup Window. Click HERE to get your book pack started!
Rising Reader Activity Kits
We are VERY excited about this collection at ODL: Rising Reader Activity Kits! These are packs families will be able to check out that have phonics sets of books, games, flashcards, puzzles, and reading activities in them to help kids learn to read/improve their reading skills! The kits are based on the areas of vocabulary, phonics, comprehension, fluency, and phonemic awareness and are full of fun activities for families to do together. There are multiple kits for preschool through third grade! Rising Reader Kits require parental supervision and are not for children under 3 due to choking hazards in some of the game pieces. These kits were brought to us by the generous memorial donation of Albert Hoekstra.
STEAM Kits
Announcing the installment of our new ODL STEAM kits! These STEAM kits offer your family a fun way to learn and work on various science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics topics through stories, activities, games and flash cards!
This round of kits made possible by a generous grant from EATON. These Math topics are heading to the shelves shortly: Addition, Subtraction, Time and Clocks, Fractions, Money. Also coming soon – Place Value & Decimals, and Ecosystems and Biomes! You can look forward to even more science and technology kits this year from our recent EATON grant as well!
Creative Café – Fused Glass with Kathy Kuipers
Friday, March 18 from 4 – 6 PM
This class is for 6th-12th graders with or without parents. Create a spring-inspired fused glass art project. Participants will be able to choose from a variety of styles to make.
The cost is $20 (nonrefundable) and preregistration is required. Cost covers the instruction of the class, your finished product, and refreshments.
Teen Scene
February – May
1st & 3rd Thursday at 4 PM
Middle School – High School
Hang out with us each week as we play games, eat snacks, and create lasting memories. We will be featuring several Nintendo Switch consoles and awesome new tabletop games. There is no Teen Scene during Spring Break – check out the special Spring Break Events the first week of April.
Art Hub: Teen/Tween Art Club
February – May
2nd Thursday at 4 PM
Middle School – High School
Create beautiful and fun pieces of art at this art club. Join us for drawing, painting, crafting and more! The projects at these meet-ups are more advanced and picked with teens and tweens in mind.
Sweet and Salty Books – Teen/Tween Book Club
February – May
4th Thursday at 4 PM
Middle School – High School
Books can be sweet… and some characters are salty! Let’s get together to discuss what we are reading with sweet and salty snacks! Not everyone likes to read the same book, so choose the book you want to read and share with the group – your books, your choice! Ask a staff member about new and popular book titles in the young adult, juvenile, and graphic novel sections!
Spring Break Events
Donut Delight!
Tuesday, April 5 at 4 PM
Make donut keychains with us with our *NEW* Cricut machine while we smash delicious donuts. No registration required.
Rose Watercolor Painting
Thursday, April 7 at 4 PM
Get crafty with us and create a beautiful faux stained glass piece of art. No registration required.
VolunTEENs
Middle School – High School
Volunteer at your library to earn service credit hours for school and for building a resume for future job searches. Stop by during library hours for an orientation and to volunteer.
LEVEL UP! – Virtual Escape Room
All Ages
Become a video game expert at ODPL: go from Pong to Roblox in this exciting virtual puzzle! We’ll take you through video-game themed puzzles that test your trivia and problem-solving skills to see if you’re a novice, gamer, or expert. Kids that discover the secret code at the end can earn a prize for completing the virtual escape room.
Play with your family and friends to LEVEL UP!
Click HERE to begin your virtual escape room adventure.
Percy Jackson – Virtual Escape Room
All Ages
Ever wondered what it would be like to go on a quest like Percy Jackson and his demigod friends? Here’s your chance! Compete individually or with your friends to complete the Percy Jackson Escape Room. Navigate your way through the Labyrinth, meet the mystical Calypso, and test your skills as a hero. Can you escape all three levels to get back to Camp Half-Blood?
Click HERE to begin your escape room adventure!
Take & Make Monthly Crafts Kits
Grades 6 – 12
Pick up a seasonal craft kit each month from the DriveThru Pickup Window at the library.
Each craft kit will include supplies and instructions for teen themed crafts.
Book Packs To Go
Would you like a library staff member to pick out books for you or your child?
You can list your interests or genre’s you prefer and a staff member will choose up to 10 books that they feel you will enjoy. Do you like a certain genre or want to learn more about a certain subject? Staff member(s) will choose books to match that subject. The library will put them on hold for you to be able to pick up at our Drive-Thru Pickup Window. Click HERE to get your book pack started!
Saturday, February 12
10 AM – Noon
Abby Lyne Sisson (Otsego District Library’s Clerk) has written a beautiful children’s book, My Aunt has Tattoos. When Jem’s Aunt Amy comes home from the Army, she has love to give and stories to tell…about her tattoos!
Join Jem as she learns about why grown-ups get tattooed, and how some stories are told on a living canvas of memories.
There will be a special reading of the book by the author, signed books to purchase, a temporary tattoo station, snacks, plus a craft station where you can share your love for others by making your own Valentines!
