It's the beginning of a brand-new year! Here at the library, we're reflecting on all the fun things we did in 2024 and dreaming up some exciting new schemes for the year ahead. Some of our favorite memories from 2024 include Bigfoot scavenger hunts, the rubber duck outfits our Project Waddleway contestants created, moving the Teen Space to a sunny new location, Extra-Fun Fridays with teen volunteers during Summer Reading, and hilarious conversations over pizza in Teen Advisory Board meetings. We can't wait to see what 2025 brings!
We're starting off the year with some exciting programs and activities. Make a DIY fidget bracelet or keychain, compete in a Super Smash Brothers tournament, search for extremely tiny penguins hidden around the Teen Space, and more! Don't forget to register for our Winter Reading Program starting on January 6th.
Winter Reading Program 2025
January 21st-February 22nd
Log your reading and enter to win prizes!
Register on agawamlibrary.beanstack.com beginning on January 6th and log your reading beginning on January 21st. This year, we have a library-wide goal of reading 1,000 hours together. Help us reach our goal!
Teens can win raffle tickets throughout this challenge by logging their reading (1 raffle ticket per half hour read, up to 40 tickets) and writing book reviews (1 raffle ticket per review, up to 5 reviews). You'll also receive 1 raffle ticket for registering and 5 raffle tickets for completing the challenge (completing the challenge includes logging 20 hours and submitting 5 reviews), for a total of 51 potential raffle tickets that can be earned. You can use these tickets to enter raffles for real prizes!
There will also be three different penguin scavenger hunts in the Teen Space during Winter Reading. Anyone in grades 7-12 who completes a penguin scavenger hunt will be entered into a separate raffle for a plush penguin. The penguin winner will be drawn at the end of Winter Reading.
Program Spotlight: Super Smash Brothers Tournament
The Teen Advisory Board is hosting a Super Smash Brothers tournament! Mark your calendar for Wednesday, January 15th at 7:30pm.
Compete with your peers for the title of Agawam Public Library Super Smash Brothers Champion. The winner will receive a trophy made by a Teen Advisory Board member, plus eternal glory and bragging rights.
There will be snacks and additional activities for the downtime when you're not actively playing.
Teen Take & Make Craft Available starting Thursday, January 2nd
While supplies last
Grades 7-12
This month's Teen Take & Make craft is a DIY fidget bracelet or keychain (your choice)! Pick up your craft kit in the Teen Space starting on Thursday, January 2nd. They will be available until we run out of supplies.
After School Drop-in Tuesdays, January 7th, 14th, 21st, 28th 2:00PM-3:00PM Grades 9-12 Drop-in
Stop by the library after school and visit the Activity Room. Eat snacks, play board games or videogames, use our art supplies, or just hang out! No registration necessary.
Trivia Thursdays
Thursdays, January 2nd, 9th, 16th, 23rd, 30th 2:00PM-3:30PM Grades 7-12
Visit the Teen Space and answer a trivia question to get a small prize!
Teen Advisory Board
Wednesday, January 8th 6:00PM-7:00PM Grades 7-12
The Teen Advisory Board meets once a month for an hour to make plans for library programs and the Teen Space (and eat pizza!). TAB members earn community service hours for their participation. If you would like to join, pick up an application from the Children's Desk or contact Evan directly: edelano@agawamlibrary.org or 413-789-1550 ext. 3.
Super Smash Brothers Tournament
Wednesday, January 15th 7:30PM-8:30PM Grades 7-12
Registration required
Compete with your peers to determine who will be crowned the Agawam Public Library Super Smash Brothers Champion.
Penguin Scavenger Hunt #1 Tuesday, January 21st-Saturday, February 1st
Grades 7-12
A marching band of tiny penguins got lost during their most recent parade and ended up in the Agawam Public Library, where a librarian pushing a cart of books accidentally collided with them, scattering them across the Teen Space. Help us find the tiny penguins!
Complete the scavenger hunt and enter for a chance to win a plush penguin. The winner will be drawn at the end of Winter Reading.
Penguin Scavenger Hunt #2: Monday, February 3rd-Saturday, February 8th
Penguin Scavenger Hunt #3: Monday, February 10th-Saturday, February 22nd
"Hollis Beckwith isn’t trying to get a girl—she’s just trying to get by. For a fat, broke girl with anxiety, the start of senior year brings enough to worry about. And besides, she already has a boyfriend: Chris. Their relationship isn’t particularly exciting, but it’s comfortable and familiar, and Hollis wants it to survive beyond senior year. To prove she’s a girlfriend worth keeping, Hollis decides to learn Chris’s favorite tabletop roleplaying game, Secrets & Sorcery—but his unfortunate “No Girlfriends at the Table” rule means she’ll need to find her own group if she wants in..."
"Mia Thermopolis is pretty sure there’s nothing worse than being a five-foot-nine, flat-chested freshman, who also happens to be flunking Algebra. Is she ever in for a surprise. First Mom announces that she’s dating Mia’s Algebra teacher. Then Dad has to go and reveal that he is the crown prince of Genovia. And guess who still doesn’t have a date for the Cultural Diversity Dance?"
"An ambitious new student at Manhattan's prestigious Executive Pre-Professional High School, teenager Craig Gilner suddenly discovers that he has become an average kid among a group of brilliant students, a discovery that leads to increasing anxiety and a battle with clinical depression, during which he encounters a motley crew of fellow patients battling their own problems."
A Poem For January
To Know the Dark
by Wendell Berry
To go in the dark with a light is to know the light. To know the dark, go dark. Go without sight, and find that the dark, too, blooms and sings, and is traveled by dark feet and dark wings.