A big thank you all around to everyone who attended the Holiday Tour of Homes this December! And a special thank you to the hosts who opened their homes to the public. The event raised over $2,000! Every dollar raised goes to the betterment of the library through the Carlisle Library Foundation. The Foundation exists to help raise money for current or future building projects for the library. It was a great night and a fun way to celebrate the season! If you would like more information or to donate further please contact our director, Stacy!

It has been about a year since the library started a newsletter! I hope you are enjoying our monthly news and updates about your local library. And what a year it has been! We said goodbye to some familiar faces and welcomed some new. We celebrated a whole new look in March. And don’t forget a Summer Reading Program that was ready to get us all reading AND moving.

In the December/January newsletter last year I shared how we have grown since the library first opened. This year we certainly have grown again! We added 364 new card holders and our program attendance went up by 383 people! But even more importantly is how people are using the library. No longer are we a place of quick stops in and out. With our comfortable new look, people are using the library for a place to relax and read the paper, do homework or play games. The library is being used in a whole new way!

It should be pointed out that so much hard work went into last year by not only staff but wonderful volunteers. We had 49 volunteers helping out last year. Thank you to all who helped on daily basis and those that worked to scrape, paint or even pull up carpet! We couldn’t do what we do without you!

So welcome to a new year! I can’t wait to see what 2017 has in store for the Carlisle Public Library!

This month's craft, on January 6th at 1pm, will be a snowflake button picture. Please bring $2 to contribute to the cost of supplies. As with last month, you are more than welcome to bring your own project to work on, in the company of friends and laughs.

The Youth Advisory Committee will be doing their annual read-a-thon on January 6th. The teens use this event to raise funds for the library. Previously, they have used the funds to purchase a movie license for the library and to install a new water fountain. Contact a YAC member to donate or call the library. 989-0909

Book club will be meeting on January 11th at 2:15pm. We will talk about the books we read over break. We will begin reading Inkheart by Funke, the next meeting will be Feb 8th.