May is a busy month, almost as busy as December. Believe it or not, we get busy at the library, too. 

Summer Reading Events begin on Wednesday, June 1 at 2 p.m. in the Mineola Memorial Library. We are putting together the activities we will provide and getting reading logs ready to distribute.

Thank you for your patience during the first two weeks of May. We had an employee leave for other career opportunities and one went on vacation. This has left us a little short-handed, but we have persevered and had some great volunteers to help us.

Why do we host Summer Reading? It is to encourage everyone, especially children, to continue to read during the summer months. We want to encourage reading for fun. We are going to ask children to try to read something every day. They may read a cereal box, street signs or even an actual book. Each week they will bring their reading log and receive recognition for their efforts. They will also be able to add to our ocean-themed decorations by adding paper fish to show their efforts.

We have some special events planned as well. Dates to be announced in the next column. We will host a visit from the Texas A&M Chemistry Road Show at the Mineola High School gym in June. We will have Elizabeth Ellis, a storyteller with the Texas Commission of the Arts, and the Texas Alliance of Minorities in Engineering (TAME) Science Trailer will make a return visit in July.

Many thanks to those who participated in East Texas Giving Day and made donations to the Mineola Memorial Library, a 501(c)3, non-profit. Your donations will help us begin a technology upgrade beginning with our front desk computers and continuing through the office and patron stations. It is never too late to donate to the library, and your donation may be tax-deductible. We have also received donations from Carol Hollen and the Twentieth Century Club which are being used for our summer reading events.