Welcome to Gentry Public Library

Big News – the Library is changing hours. Starting Monday, October 31, the library will be open Monday – Wednesday from 9:00 am – 6:00 pm, Thursday from 9:00 am – 5:00 pm, Friday from 9:00 am – 4:00 pm, and Saturday from 9:00 am – noon. We’re seeing more children and parents coming in after school and locals who commute coming in after 5:00. This will give them a little more time before the library closes. Friday afternoons are very quiet in the library and closing a little earlier will give staff an extra start before Friday night traffic. We will continue to monitor our hours to try to provide the best service we can.

November is Native American Heritage Month. In recognition, we have several book displays of fiction and nonfiction books relating to Native Americans. A totem pole to color and build is our children’s craft this month. It can be done in the library or taken home.

We’ll continue Story Time @ the Library Wednesdays at 10:30, Yoga @the Library Mondays at 8:30 am & Thursdays at 5:00 pm, and Free Community Fitness Class Mondays and Wednesdays at 6:15.   

The library will be closed for Thanksgiving from Thursday, November 24^th through Sunday, November 27^th. Stop in before then to find a good book for the holiday weekend.

Happy November All!

Welcome to October @ the Library! Along with our regular programming, we have a few new activities for October.

Story Time @ the Library continues on Wednesdays at 10:30. Join Ms. Hannah for a variety of toddler books and a snack. All-abilities yoga sessions start at 8:30 am on Mondays and 5:30 on Thursdays. A new Gentry Fitness Class will be held on Wednesdays from 6:15 pm – 7:00 pm conducted by Angela Withers.

Autumn is a great time for good books, and we have plenty of new releases in our adult and children’s areas. Stop by and check them out 😊 Since it’s also getting close to Halloween, pick out a scary book or two. And look for our spooky window displays.

Come to downtown Gentry for Trick or Treat on Main Street on Monday, October 31^st. The Library, Policy Department, City Hall, Fire Department, and businesses throughout downtown will be handing out candy to little ghosts and goblins.

The library will be closed Saturday, October 8^th, and Monday, October 10^th in recognition of Indigenous Peoples’ Day and Columbus Day.

Meteorological fall starts September 1st, but the Autumnal Equinox, the official start of fall, is on September 22. Summer has slipped away, and our season changes to autumn. School’s back in session. Labor Day is over. The mornings are cooler. The sun sets earlier every evening.

GPL’s Toddler Storytime @ the Library begins again on September 7^th at 10:30 am. Toddlers, and their siblings and parents, are welcome to join Ms. Hannah for stories and snacks.  

Stop in after Labor Day and pick up this month’s children’s craft – build your own birdfeeder (and take home some seeds to fill it).

Yoga continues on Monday mornings at 8:30 and Thursday afternoons at 5:30. All ages and abilities welcome.

Be sure to fall into the library in September!

August is a month of transitions. Summer starts turning into autumn. Children begin returning to school. Vacations wind down; back-to-school shopping starts up. The days start getting shorter; darkness lingers longer in the mornings.

And it’s a perfect month to transition some of your reading habits. Never touch a romance novel? August is Read-A-Romance Month; maybe this is the time. Check out our display of ever-enduring romances (say, Jane Austen) or pick a newcomer (maybe, Colleen Hoover).

We’ve expanded our collection of manga and graphic novels for kids and young adults. Books in this popular genre fly off the shelves – good thing we have plenty!

Stop by August 8 (or later) for a children’s craft.  Something to enjoy before going back to school.

Enjoy your August transitions and check out our September blog to see what we’ll be doing this fall.

July has been a busy month at the library. Lots of new people coming to the library for library cards. Lots of people checking out new fiction books. Lots of kids checking out graphic novels and manga books. Lots of folks coming in to commiserate about the heat and lack of rain. If anyone needs a place to cool down, the library welcomes everyone Monday – Thursday 9:00 – 5:30, Friday 9:00 – 5:00, and Saturday 9:00 – noon. Stay cool!

June! Astrologically, summer officially begins on June 21, the summer solstice, but here at the library, summer has begun.

The Main Event – our summer reading program, Oceans of Possibilities, kicks off on June 7^th with two programs conducted by the staff from the Amazeum! For 3-5 year olds, the Ocean Explorers program will run from 10:00 – 11:00. For 6-12 year olds, the Circuit Creatures program will run from 11:00 -12:00. Reservations are needed. Please call the library at 479-736-2054. We also ask that participants first register with READsquared – available from our website. Tuesdays, June 14, 21, & 28 at 11:00 and Saturdays, June 11, 18, & 25 at 10:00, all age children can drop by for story time and crafts. Crafts can be made in the library or taken home. Readers can complete paper reading logs or list them on their READsquared account. All events are free to the public. Readers who submit reading logs will be placed in a drawing for gift certificates from local businesses. And, pick up a yard sign that reads “Gentry Public Library Readers Live Here!”

Be sure to drive by to see our coral sea made by our librarians, Hannah & Jamie.

The book club selection this month is Pachinko, by author Min Jin Lee, published in 2017. Author Erica Wagner said of the novel, “If proof were needed that one family’s story can be the story of the whole world, then PACHINKO offers that proof….” Stop by and pick up a copy then discuss it with the staff or online.

Of course, you don’t need a special occasion to visit the library. Come by and pick up a beach read, a little mystery to keep you up at night, or a cookbook to up your grill skills. Need to cool off? Take a tour of the library – a cool building built as a hardware store in 1913 and remodeled to open as the Gentry Public Library in 2007. Or just drop by and say hello.

Through May, we’ll continue our regular library programing: Storytime Wednesdays at 10:30, yoga Mondays at 8:30 am and Thursdays 5:30 pm, and Coffee Time Fridays 9:00 – 11;00. We will also be preparing for our annual Summer Reading Program.

With funds received from our friends group, Gentry Public Library Association, and a grant from the American Library Association, we have purchased many new books for juveniles, including popular series, graphic novels, and nonfiction. We’ve also added many new Young Adult novels. Stop by and have a look!

Gentry Public Library welcomes everyone to join in our summer reading program “Oceans of Possibilities”. The program will be held Tuesday June 7, 14, 21, and 28 from 11:00-noon and on Saturday June 11, 18, and 25 from 10:00 to 11:00. The kickoff on June 7^th will feature presentations by the Scott Family Amazeum (space is limited, so stop in the library to register beginning May 23). Weekly summer reading program sessions include story times, snacks, and crafts. If preferred, grab bags will be available for pickup. Along with in-library programming, participants can use Readsquared to track their reading, play puzzles and games, and watch reading related videos. Please call (479-736-2054) or stop by the library (105 E. Main St., Gentry, AR 72734) for more information.  We’ll have oceans of possibility related books for your summer reading fun.

So far, our May has been rainy and cool, but local meteorologists assure us hot weather is coming. Our hearts go out to those affected by the storms that have left wind damage and flooding to homes and businesses. We are anticipating the arrival of those May flowers.

We can say emphatically that March went out like a lion! Let’s hope April is a little less dramatic.

We are continuing our programming in April: Toddler Storytime Wednesdays 10:30-11:15, yoga Mondays 8:30 am & Thursdays 5:30 pm, & Friday Coffee Hours 9:00 – 11:00.

With help from the American Library Association Libraries Transform Communities grant, we have greatly increased our children’s fiction, nonfiction, and graphic novels collections. Stop in and check out all the new materials we have.

Hope you have been by to see the library windows. In celebration of Mayor Johnston signing the annual World Wildlife Federation Mayor’s Monarch Proclamation, a large butterfly and caterpillar will make their homes in our windows through April. Monarch butterflies lay their eggs on milkweed plants, the only plant the Monarch caterpillar feeds on. If you want to help these beautiful creatures, stop by the library for some free milkweed seeds.

The first of April is already bringing those April Showers we need for May Flowers. Happy Spring!

ALA Libraries Transforming Communities Conversation

Our second community conversation(s) was held on Friday March 25^th and Saturday March 26^th from 9:00 – 11:00 am. We had a total of 26 people attend the events. Our conversation was about the challenges of creating community in a rapidly growing small town. Participants discussed various aspects of the growth the community is experiencing including traffic challenges, growth in parks and recreation, new houses being built, and school capacity. The attendees also responded to a written survey that hoped to get feedback from all attendees. Twenty-one of the 24 attendees completed the survey. The survey results:

How long have you lived in Gentry? Less than one year – 3, One to two years -3, Five to ten years – 3, Eleven or more years – 7, Forever – 5

In your household are there? Adults ages 18-40 9, Ages 41-64 9, Ages 65+ 7, Ages 13-18 4, Ages 5-12 4, Ages 0-4 3.

What do you like about Gentry (select all that apply)? Small town atmosphere -19, Cost of living -11, Children’s sport options & facilities – 6, Gentry schools 9, Gentry Library – 16, Parks and outdoor space – 14, Other 3.

What Gentry city amenities do you use (select all)? Gentry Public library – 16, Gentry City Park & Park Pavilion – 17, Gentry Ball Fields – 6, Gentry Splash Pad – 9, Flint Creek Nature Area 15, Other 3.

How often do you use city amenities? More than once a week – 9, 1-2 times a week – 5, 1-2 times a month – 5, 6 times a year – 2

If you have children, which amenities do they use: Library – 6, City Parks 11, Ball fields -5, Splash pad – 9, Flint Creek Nature Area – 10.

How satisfied are you with having made your home in Gentry? Three stars – 3, Five stars 18.

What do you like best about Gentry?

            Home/Small town 12

            Library & parks 3

            Safe, police & fire 2

What would you change about the community if you could?

            Downtown/Main Street – 6

            Rural Internet – 1

            Restaurants – 1

            No growth – 2

Property care / enforce maintenance codes – 2

Additional Comments? Thanks -1, Thanks to the library for activities for kids and safe during Covid – 1

 “Libraries Transforming Communities: Focus on Small and Rural Libraries is an initiative of the American Library Association (ALA) in collaboration with the Association for Rural & Small Libraries (ARSL).”

March 2022!

While a celebration is in order now that the ice and snow have melted, March can be rainy and windy, so we probably need to celebrate indoors. At GPL, we’re celebrating the return of programming to the library.

On March 5^th, from 9:00-11:30, a seed exchange will be held in the McKee room. We’ll have vegetable and flower seeds to give away. If attendees have extra seeds they’d like to share, they’re welcome to bring them. We’ll also be giving away mildewed seeds to help support Gentry’s proclamation as a Monarch City. Our friends at Gentry Ace Hardware have graciously donated a $50 gift certificate to us. Attendees at the seed exchange can sign up for the drawing.

Yoga is back at the library – Mondays at 8:30 am & Thursdays 5:30 pm.

Storytime is back at the library – Wednesdays at 10:30.

Coffee Hour is starting at the library – Fridays 9:00-11:00.

Stop by & see us!