As a member of the newly formed, Backpack Alliance of Dorchester County, we are proud to be a collection “drop spot” for school supplies. Local drop spots include: both branches of the Dorchester County Public Library (Cambridge and Hurlock), Anchor Point Family Thrift Store (714 Meadow Ave.), Associated Black Charities (824 Fairmont Ave.), and the Cambridge Judy Center (1405 Glasgow St.). Supplies will be placed in backpacks and shared with our local schools to distribute to students in need.

Please help our Dorchester County school students (elementary through high school) get the materials they need to be successful in the upcoming school year. Kindly consider donating new school supplies from this suggested wishlist:

• composition notebooks

• spiral notebooks

• loose-leaf paper

• child-friendly scissors

• 3-ring binders

• binder dividers

• glue sticks

• pencil boxes

• pocket folders

• tissues

• sanitizer

• whiteboard markers

• crayons

• colored pencils

• rulers

The deadline for donated school supplies is Aug. 18. Thank you for your support! Members of the Backpack Alliance include the Dorchester County Public Library, the Cambridge Judy Center, Anchor Point, Associated Black Charities, Dorchester Early Childhood Advisory Council, Dorchester Retired Educators Association, Dorchester County Department of Social Services, and the Local Management Board.

Changes Coming To Your Library:

The public libraries on Maryland’s Eastern Shore are joining together to form a new Shore-wide Library Consortium this August! Here’s what you need to know:

• The Library will be closed Aug. 2 for staff training, and Aug. 16 -17 for system installation and updates.

• No item requests may be placed after July 22. This will give the items time to arrive to fill your holds before our current system goes offline.

• The system will be offline from Aug. 11-17.

During this time you will be unable to access your account, use the Library catalog, pay for fines, or check your hold status. Overdue fines will not be charged for this time period.

• You will still be able to check out materials, use the computers, and have WI-FI access.

How will these changes affect library users?

• Library members must save any current reading histories and lists, and email them to themselves by Aug. 9.

• No library materials will be due between Aug. 9 and Aug. 21.

• After Aug. 18 all library cardholders must come in and verify information on their library account.

• Access to an online catalog that includes the collections of all 8 libraries on the Eastern Shore (Caroline, Dorchester, Kent, Queen Anne’s, Somerset, Talbot, Wicomico and Worcester

Counties).

• Access to more materials.

• Faster availability of new titles.

• Faster delivery of reserved materials.

• User friendly and modern catalog.

• Searching for library materials and placing holds will be easier and more efficient.

• Mobile friendly services.

• Your library card is ready to use at each county on the Eastern Shore of Maryland.

• Digital library materials (e-books, downloadable music and movies, etc.) will be searchable within the library catalog.

• New Library outreach opportunities — Visit us at community events to checkout materials and/or register for a new card.

Summer Reading Winds Down:

Summer reading will soon be coming to a close, but it’s still not too late to sign-up and complete tasks for prizes! Everyone who signs up receives a free book and tasks to complete for prizes or gift cards. Follow us on Facebook or pick up a summer brochure to keep up to date on our packed summer of events at both library branches. Our events focus on environmental awareness, community building, and STEM-friendly engineering and construction - and are typically family-friendly.

Summer Reading ends mid-August. The grand prize raffle drawings for children who complete their bingo game boards will be Aug. 14. Children will be eligible to win a brand new backpack with school supplies and other goodies. Quality Family Time @ the Library:

Your child’s first five years are the most vital for building a solid foundation of positive learning experiences. The free resources at our library can help you on this learning journey with your child(ren). There is something for everyone at the library! Bringing your child to the library can help instill the importance of reading, responsibility, and sharing, as well as, open a world of possibilities filled with new and different information. Our library is a community center of learning, play, imagination, and information – for all ages. Come see what we have to offer – and bring the family!

CAMBRIDGE EVENTS:

Lunches & Laptops will be held Aug. 1 and Aug. 8, from 12:30-2:30 pm.

Pizza & Videogames Night will take place Aug. 8, from 5-7 pm.

Lego Free Play will be held Aug. 10, from 6-7 pm. All ages are welcome!

Build-A-Rama! will be held Aug. 15 and Aug. 22, from 1-3 pm in the Cambridge Library Meeting Room. Building objects will be available for all ages to construct creatively, including Lego’s, big blocks, and other STEM-related building materials.

Beginner’s Yoga will be held on Saturdays, from 2-3 pm in the Meeting Room with Ms. Sara. Join us on July 29, Aug. 10, and Aug. 26. Families are welcome! Free Meals For Kids In Cambridge:

Free meals and Thursday evening snacks are graciously provided through a partnership with the Dorchester County Board of Education. Free meals are available for children under the age of 18, in the Cambridge Library Meeting Room.

Free breakfasts: Every Wednesday, at 10:15am. (Followed by Story Time/Special Guests)

Free lunches: Every Monday and Tuesday at 12:30 pm

Free snacks: Thursday evenings at 5:30 pm (Followed by a Family Event)

Lunches are also typically followed by a library event. Laptops are available on Mondays from 1-2:30 pm, for children and teens, elementary age and up, for playing games like Roblox and Minecraft. No library card required. Children under the age of eight must remain supervised by an adult of 18 or older, for the duration of the event.

Environmental workshops, in partnership with Dorchester 4-H, take place on Tuesdays, from 1-2:30 pm. Workshops are recommended for children in grades K-5, but may be suitable for older children, as well. Pre-registration is greatly appreciated. Children under the age of eight must remain supervised by an adult of 18 or older, for the duration of the event.

July 31: Healthy Gardens – Make Your Own Salsa! (Final Workshop)

Build a Better World @ Story Time!

Story Time is recommended for families with infants and toddlers up to age 5, but expands in the summertime to include elementary-age children. Story Time is held every Wednesday, with breakfast at 10:15 am, and the program starting at 10:30 am. August story times will focus on summer’s end and gearing up for school. Join us Aug. 9, 23, and 30, in the Cambridge Library Meeting Room.

Our sessions are a great place to enjoy reading, singing, cuddling, and dancing, with your child. Follow up our story times by playing with your child(ren) upstairs in the Children’s Area. Peruse our early literacy center toys, Lego blocks, stuffed animals, and children’s computer - then check out some Summer-tastic books to read together at home!

HURLOCK HAPPENINGS:

Chess-tastic: Show off your strategy skills during our chess lessons! Lessons will be held Thursdays, at 6 pm, and taught by a US Chess Federation Expert. Chess sets will be provided.

Interested in Donating to Our Library?

We appreciate being considered for donations in the form of library-related materials or monetary gifts – at both branches. Items are most welcome in the form of new or gently used: books, DVD’s, recent magazines, unabridged audiobooks on CD, and music CD’s. Damaged items, textbooks, old encyclopedias, outdated magazines, scratched discs, and/or materials not normally found circulating in a library, are best placed elsewhere. Usable items will either be added to the library’s circulating collections or given to the Friends of the Library for a monthly book sale. Proceeds from these book sales go right back into the library’s budgets for new materials and programs.

Please keep staff time and library space in mind when donating items. We can typically only accept and manage about five boxes of donations at a time, per patron – and even less at our Hurlock Branch. Arrangements may be made with our Friends of the Library group for more extensive loads. Receipts are available at the Circulation Desk for tax purposes. Unusable materials are recycled – at the library’s expense. Please consider utilizing the free recycling centers in both Cambridge and Hurlock as alternative sites for damaged and/or outdated print materials.

*Please note: Donated materials should NOT be placed in library book-drop returns. This can lead to the misplacement or damage of library materials already in the return, and may prevent patrons from being able to return checked-out items if full.

Follow us on Facebook for more information and updates!

Editor’s note: Books in the Belfry is a regular feature provided for local book lovers by the staff of the Dorchester County Public Library.