MLK Jr. Day student contest

The Stillwater Public Library is working with Stillwater Community United , OSU Division of Institutional Diversity and City of Stillwater on “Climbing Back to the Mountain Top,” a two day celebration of Martin Luther King Jr. taking place Jan. 14-15. The event includes a film screening, march and a community celebration. All events are free and open to the public.

The celebration also includes a poster and essay contest for students. Sally Houck, a member of Stillwater Community United, says that the purpose of the posters and essays is to reflect on Dr. King’s vision for our community, country, and world, and to encourage future study and involvement in peacemaking.

For inspiration, entrants are encouraged to watch Dr. King’s 1968 speech, “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop,” which is available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oehry1JC9Rk.

The poster contest is open to Stillwater students in grades K-5, and entries should reflect the theme, “. . . with liberty and justice for all.” Winners will be named in categories grades K-1, grades 2-3 and grades 4-5. Posters can be made using pencils, crayons, paints or markers and must be no larger than 12”x18”. A 2-8 sentence explanation should accompany the poster.

Students in 6-12 grades are invited to enter the essay contest which should discuss the declaration, “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop.” Essays by students in 6-8 grades should be 300-500 words, while essays by students in the 9-12 grade category should be 500-750 words.

Posters and essays are due at the Stillwater Public Library by 9 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 9. Essays may be emailed to stillwatermlkday@gmail.com.

Winners will be notified before MLK Day and will be presented with awards, including gift cards and prizes, on Monday, Jan. 15, during the MLK Day community celebration. All submitted posters will be on display during the celebration, and some winning essayists may be asked to present a portion of their essay during the celebration. Winning essays may be published in the Stillwater NewsPress.

Additional guidelines for the contest can be viewed online at http://library.stillwater.org/mlk_day.php. For questions, please email askalibrarian@stillwater.org or call the library Help Desk at (405) 372-3633 X8106.

Thank you Stillwater!

We want to give our community a huge thank you for the support you have given the library this year. Some of that support came from attending events and checking out books, while other support came in the form of shopping our semi-annual book sale or making monetary gifts to the Stillwater Public Library Trust (especially appreciated during the Jan.-June budget cuts!)

This year, the library circulated over a quarter of a million items, had nearly 200,000 visits and held over 700 programs, Over 1665 community members enrolled in summer reading, 200 adults got healthier through our Simple Steps to Better Health program and 220 got computer tutoring, while hundreds more got on the spot assistance.

Your support enabled the library to make huge strides in promoting reading, helping the community advance technologically and making sure that fellow community members had somewhere to turn for information, education and answers.

We could not have done it without you! And we have even bigger plans for the New Year. In March, we kick-off a six week reading series of “Killers of the Flower Moon,” which will culminate in our first time hosting a New York Times bestselling author! March through June features the unveiling of our Storywalks^TM in Couch Park meant to encourage young readers to exercise and young exercisers to read. And summer brings eight weeks of “Libraries Rock” reading programming.

If you would like to continue supporting the library in these efforts, there are several ways you can help.

·         Make a year-end tax deductible donation. The donation can be made using the “End of Year Giving” link on the front page of our webpage at http://library.stillwater.org. Online contributions are made via Pay Pal, but you can also contribute via check mailed to Lynda Reynolds, Library Director at 1107 S. Duck, Stillwater, OK, 74074. Gifts are still tax deductible for this year.

·         We encourage every community member to make shopping locally a priority for their families. It helps provide jobs for your neighbors and services like police, fire, and the library. If you do need to use Amazon, please use the Friends of the Library Amazon link on our front page. Amazon gives the Friends a percentage of the sale at no cost to you. Anything you purchase at Amazon, not just books, count.

·         Purchase a gift for family or friends by buying a $3 book tote or a Friends of the Library book sale gift certificate up at the checkout desk. Visit the business office to make a book purchase in the name of your loved one.

·         Make a book purchase in honor or in memory of a loved one or friend. Please contact the Business Office for more information at (405) 372-3633 x8100.

Thank you all and we hope you, your family and the entire Stillwater community have a fabulous New Year!