A Message from the Director
Gayle Holloman
Hello everyone. Let me take this time to thank all of the patrons of the Fulton County Library System (FCLS). Thank you!

You have maintained patience with the Library during its closure. You are anticipating the start of our curbside pickup of holds which will begin on July 1st. Please know Library employees agree with you that it is not enough.

Please know that, on a daily basis, we are working toward ways to bring back libraries to you in traditional ways. You want to come inside and sit with a magazine, browse the shelves, use computers, talk with staff, attend programs, use meeting spaces, and greet each other.  We believe all of those things will be a part of the many services offered at the Library again. However, for the safety us all of us, we will have to make that happen using a phased in process.

Please stay tuned to the website for updates on all changes, additions, and modifications to services. We appreciate that you have used the Library’s virtual resources in increased ways. Virtually, you are attending streaming storytime programs for children and adults, book clubs for teens and adults, cooking programs, read aloud programs, and you use the libraries e-resources to check out e-books, audiobooks, and to stream movies and music. You utilize the many databases for your information, research, and educational needs. Upgrades and additions will be made to the online services as we move forward.

On another note, please know that the FCLS will always strive to present diversity across the spectrum. We align ourselves with the American Library Association in its “unequivocal stand against racism” and we stand against all forms of discrimination. Also, we embrace and applaud the Fulton County Board of Commissioners’ stand against Hate Crimes and Racism and its commitment to diversity. The Library Board of Trustees and the Library Foundation continue to stand committed to our libraries and to all the communities we serve.

There is a statement that echoes in my mind, spoken by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr: “In a real sense, all life is inter-related. All men are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.” Whether the response to those things that affect us will lead to protests in the streets, discourse in the media, or books that express a myriad of opinions, there are links to how it all affects human beings.

All of us want to get through the COVID-19 pandemic. We want to find better avenues toward kindness and understanding of all people. We understand the rights stated in the United States Constitution regarding free speech, the right to peaceful assembly, and laws, be they local, state or federal. The Library stands with the Pledge of Allegiance in its ideal of “liberty and justice for all.” The “for all” is what has been challenged; and is what poses the greatest opportunity for each and every one of us to examine ourselves.

We challenge you to “Imagine Your Story.”  It is the theme of the 2020 Summer Reading Program. We each, in a real sense, get to write our own story, on paper, or mentally. It is composed based on what we hold true about, and for ourselves. The good thing is that we can always edit it.

Have a great summer!

Gayle
We Want To Hear From You!
The Fulton County Library System wants to hear from patrons about our digital resources! Please take a moment to complete this survey and tell us how you use our digital services, which new services you would like to see and any other input you'd like to share! We are looking forward to continuing to grow all the services offered through our digital library. We need your input to make this happen!

Curbside Services Begin July 1st
Curbside services begin Wednesday, July 1st and include curbside pickup and walk-up pickup of items on hold and book returns.

Click here for details.
Summer Reading Program - June 22-28
Celebrate Summer Reading with us this week! Simply click on the image below and print your schedule for some exciting activities this week! You can use this week's schedule as a coloring sheet.
Virtual Programming at the Library - June 22-28
Join us this week, June 22-28, 2020 for Virtual Programs with library staff! Click here to download and print this week's schedule at home.

Also, check out this week's Summer Reading Programs. We have some exciting readers and programs lined up for our summer readers! Click here to download and print this week's Summer Reading schedule at home.

Each week, we'll send out a new lineup of programming for all ages.
Streaming Storytime - Monday - Friday
Join the Fulton County Library System for Live Streaming Storytime, Monday - Friday at 11 a.m. with special guest readers throughout the summer to help the us celebrate our Summer Reading Program , "Imagine Your Story!"

Download the Summer Reading Virtual Program Schedule each week to join in the fun!
KITCHEN CHEMISTRY - MONDAYS
Kids' Kitchen: Sweet Potato Chocolate Pudding with Vickie Frazer and Karin Collins
Join us as we celebrate National Soul Food Month by showing you how to create a healthy chocolate pudding using sweet potatoes!

Watch on Facebook Live at 2 p.m.
Adults Eats and Treats: Turnips Two Ways! with Kay Clark and Melissa Jurgens
Join us as we celebrate National Soul Food Month by offering two recipes for making delicious turnip greens!

Watch on Facebook Live at 5 p.m.
FITNESS TUESDAYS
Stretching Your Back with Kiran Jamloki

Engage in strengthening and relaxing Yoga to
prevent pain, bring alignment and balance to the back.

LANGUAGE LAB
Join Fulton County Librarian Roger Chesley on Tuesday, June 23rd at 2 p.m. for Language Lab! Learn to read and write Japanese Hiragana today!

This is a Facebook program.
MAKER WEDNESDAYS - DIY/CRAFTS
Q-Tip Daisies with Krysta Price

Kids - Not a DAISY goes by that we’re not thinking of our library friends! Join in on the fun by creating daisies with Q-tips, Playdough, pipe cleaners and glue.

Watch on Facebook Live at 2 p.m.
Hobbyworks: DIY Hand Sanitizer with Krysta Price

Adults - Let's learn to create our own hand sanitizer with three ingredients.

Watch on Facebook Live at 5 p.m.

THURSDAYS - BOOK BREAK
Join Adult Librarians and Library Staff as they
read special excerpts from some of their
favorite titles on Facebook Live each Thursday at 4 p.m.

This week, join Librarian Ryland Johnson for a special excerpt reading of The Library of Babel by Borges.

This is a Facebook Live event.
Thursdays - Imagination Station
Join Youth Librarian, Ashley Daniel as she reads The Talking Eggs by Robert D. San Souci to Elementary aged children.

This is a Facebook Live event and takes place Thursdays at 2 p.m.
Fridays - All Booked Up - Book Time for Teens
Join your favorite Fulton County Librarians for Teen Book Reviews and more, Fridays at 3 p.m. on Instagram Live. Follow us @fulcolibrary .

Do you love YA Lit? Tune in as we chat with Librarian Abby Spasser about The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins.

This is an Instagram program.
Fridays - Book Stream for Tweens
Join us for FAN ART Fridays for Tweens. Watch on the Library's YouTube channel. Don't forget to like and subscribe while you're there! This program will also take place Saturday and Sunday, June 27 and 28.

Today we are sharing YOUR artwork as a part
of Fan Art Friday! Keep them coming! Send

Join us every weekend, Friday, Saturday and
Sunday on YouTube for some hot summer
reads with your librarian friends.
Join the Library for Zoom Book Clubs
Do you miss the lively discussion and gathering time of your library book club? We have some great Zoom book clubs taking place with Librarians throughout the Library System.

Email one of the staff members below to register and join any of our Zoom Book Clubs! You will be emailed a link to join before the meeting. Remember, you must pre-register to participate.
Mystery Readers
4th Tuesday of each month at 6:30 p.m.
Next book club is Tuesday, June 23
Book Selection:  The Way Through the Woods by Colin Dexter
Upcoming books: July 28 - A Crack in the Wall by Claudia Pineiro; August 25 - Standing In Another Man’s Grave by Ian Rankin
To join, contact Julia Padgett at Julia.Padgett@fultoncountyga.gov

South Fulton Book Club
4th Wednesday of each month at 12 p.m.
Next book club is Wednesday, June 24
Book Selection: Quilly by Jan Strickland
Upcoming book: July 22 - Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng
To join, contact Joan Centra at Joan.Centra@fultoncountyga.gov

Wolf Creek Book Club
4th Thursday of each month at 12 p.m.
Next book club is Thursday, June 25
Book Selection: Dreams From My Father by Barack Obama
Upcoming book: July 23 - Anthony Unshackled by Joan Vassar
To join, contact Joan Centra at Joan.Centra@fultoncountyga.gov

Midday at Milton Book Club
Next book club is Friday, July 10 at 11 a.m.
Book Selection: A Kind of Freedom by Margaret Wilkerson Sexton
(available on Hoopla as an eBook and an eAudiobook)
To join, contact Julia Ratledge at julia.ratledge@fultoncountyga.gov
The Alpharetta Library Book Club
Next club is Tuesday, July 14 at 5 p.m.
Book Selection: The Only Woman in the Room by Marie Benedict
To join, contact Carolyn Bean at

Science Fiction Book Club
2nd Tuesday of each month at 6:30 p.m. Next book club is Tuesday, July 14
Book Selection: Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
To join, contact Jason Blackstock at jason.blackstock@fultoncountyga.gov

Noonday Nosh
3rd Tuesday of each month at 12 p.m.
Next book club is Tuesday, July 21
Book Selection:  News of the World by Paulette Giles
Upcoming books: August 18 - Dear Mrs. Bird by AJ Pearce
To join, contact Julia Padgett at Julia.Padgett@fultoncountyga.gov

True Crime Book Club
Meeting date TBD
Are you a true-crime aficionado? Help start the new True Crime Book Club! If you like books, podcasts, and shows about true crime, join our online book club!
Email Carolyn.Bean@fultoncountyga.gov for more information





This Week at Auburn Avenue Research Library
AFRICANA VIRTUAL STORY TIME
The Negro Speaks of Rivers by Langston Hughes illustrated by E.B. Lewis
7:00 PM Wednesday, June 24, 2020
The AARL will host a virtual Africana Story Time reading of the Coretta Scott King Award Winning Book: The Negro Speaks of Rivers. Langston Hughes has long been acknowledged as the voice, and his poem, The Negro Speaks of Rivers, the song, of the Harlem Renaissance. Although he was only seventeen when he composed it, Hughes already had the insight to capture in words the strength and courage of black people in America. Artist E.B. Lewis acts as interpreter and visionary, using watercolor to pay tribute to Hughes’s timeless poem, a poem that every child deserves to know.
View this Event via Facebook Live at www.facebook.com/AuburnAvenueResearchLibrary
We Will Shoot Back: Armed Resistance in the Mississippi Freedom Movement by Dr. Akinyele Umoja Public Lecture and Community Discussion
7:00 p.m. Thursday, June 25, 2020
Given the February 23, 2020 murder of Ahmaud Arbery in Brunswick, Georgia; the March 13. 2020, killing of Breonna Taylor in Louisville, Kentucky; and the May 24, 2020 killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minnesota, the Auburn Avenue Research Library (AARL), in collaboration with Georgia State University’s Department of African-American Studies, will host Dr. Akinyele Umoja, who will discuss his publication, We Will Shoot Back: Armed Resistance in the Mississippi Freedom Movement.

Via the lens of the Black Lives Matter movement and ongoing racial justice demonstrations, Dr. Akinyele Umoja will explore the historical significance and contemporary relevance of armed self-defense within the Black community during the Civil Rights movement, particularly the freedom movement in Mississippi.
Dr. Akinyele Umoja is an educator and scholar-activist, and the former Department Chair of the African-American Studies at Georgia State University (GSU). He continues to teach courses on the history of the Civil Rights and Black Power movements at Georgia State University. As an activist, he is a founding member of the New Afrikan People's Organization and the Malcolm X Grassroots Movement.

Register in advance for this lecture at https://tinyurl.com/y83abt9q
Librarian Book Reviews for Youth and Adults
Are you interested in Reading Recommendations from our Librarians? You can learn about two featured books each week, one for youth and one for adults. Click on each of the images below to see a full review for each of these wonderful stories.