ELDRED, NY — February 1 has been designated Take Your Child to the Library Day (TYCttLD) and Sunshine Hall Free Library is jumping into the celebration with both feet. The event will be held between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. on Saturday at the library, located at 14 Proctor Rd.

Celebrated worldwide on the first Saturday in February since the idea was conceived in 2012, the day celebrates the fact that library services are available to children and adults, regardless of population or economic status.

Patty Kennedy, Sunshine Hall Library director, said that TYCttLD is just one of many programs sponsored by the library that caters to younger patrons. The day will be in an open-house format and includes games, crafts, snacks, opportunities to read and a “Where’s Waldo?” search. A child, with parental assistance, can also become a part of the club of library cardholders.

Visitors will be able to see the renovations made to the children’s corner of the library, which have been funded in part through contributions from Young Life Lake Champion in Glen Spey.

Additions include a craft and game table and beanbag chairs on which kids can sprawl out while they peruse the array of books available to them.

A children’s story time is held twice a month catering to the preschool kids. The effort has been led for many years by Mary Paige Lang-Clouse.

The annual Summer Reading Program takes place in July and August. The six-week program’s theme for 2020 is “Create Your Own Story.” Is is geared primarily to pre-school and elementary school students, though older students can also attend. Reading challenges with rewards and crafts are a part of the program.

All of these initiatives complement the county-wide elementary reading program in which students at the Mackenzie Elementary School in Glen Spey are excelling. To date, of the 11,022 books read this school year, 2,634 have been read by Eldred students, placing them second in the county.

More time that children spend absorbed in a book means less time looking at a screen, helping to cultivate a life-long passion for reading and a love of learning.

For more information on TYCttLD or any of the other programs offered, contact the library at 845/557-6258 or at www.sunshinehallfreelibrary.org.