Summer Reading Program: Reading Colors Your World!
Join us for a vibrant summer as we celebrate the many ways that reading can expand your world through kindness, growth, and community. Let’s get creative, try new things, explore art, and find beauty in diversity. Explore a new color and art medium each week with Take Home Art Activities, and a virtual color-themed storytime with Ms. Orquidea. Teens can dive into color theory with illustrator and filmmaker Kenton Hoppas. Check out Kenton's video "10 Ways to Stoke Your Creativity" for inspiration. All ages, including adults, can earn prizes by tracking reading time in the “Beanstack” app or online at monterey.beanstack.org. Need books? We’ve got free ebooks and sidewalk holds pickup (request a librarian-curated bundle on our homepage), and we hope to see you inside the Library when we reopen this summer. Avoid the summer slide and be ready to jump back into school next fall. Visit our Summer Reading page for details, or call (831) 646-3933.
Book to Action 2021: Equity
Join this summer's Book to Action, part of the Reading Colors Your World adult summer reading program, as we read, listen to, and discuss Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson. Through book, film, and panel discussions, explore the complicated concepts of race, equity, empathy, antiracism, intersectionality, and more. Book discussions begin Tuesday, June 22 and we welcome john a. powell, Director of the Othering and Belonging Institute at UC Berkeley, who will be speaking on Wednesday, June 30. The Monterey Public Library, in partnership with the Community Foundation for Monterey County, invites our community to read, discuss, and participate in Book to Action. Local nonprofits and businesses are encouraged to sign-up to participate as allies and receive a free copy of Caste (while supplies last). Check out a copy of the book and begin your summer reading today. Funding for Book to Action is provided by California Center for the Book, a program of the California Library Association, supported in whole or in part by the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act, administered in California by the State Librarian.

Memorial Day, May 31
Monterey Public Library will be closed on Monday May 31. Memorial Day is officially the last Monday in May, and is a national holiday to honor the military members who have died during service or combat. The remembrances began after the Civil War (ended in 1865), expanded after World War I, and became an official holiday in 1971. According to the Farmers Almanac, many people commemorate the day by visiting cemeteries to clean and decorate graves. Some cities hold memorial parades. And, of course, Memorial Day is often the unofficial start of summer, and this year may be one of the first major weekends for people to vacation with fewer Covid restrictions. Please continue to be safe and follow CDC, state, and local guidelines!
Buffalo Soldiers training horses, Monterey 1902
Cavalry Camp, 9th Cavalry, Monterey Presidio, 1902
Remembering Buffalo Soldiers in Monterey

In November of 1902, rotating out of combat from the Philippine-American War, the 9th Cavalry, 1st Squadron (known as the Buffalo Soldiers), arrived in Monterey. Posted to the Monterey Military Reservation, today’s Presidio of Monterey, the 425 cavalry troopers of the 9th were among the first black soldiers to be stationed in California. Upon arrival, the 9th was segregated. Troops built camp above China Point, located near today’s Hopkins Marine Station. A year later they moved into barracks they had constructed at the Presidio. Today, Presidio buildings 450, 451, 452 and 453 are still standing and in use. These barracks are unofficially known as the Buffalo Soldier Barracks. In the Spring of 1904 the squadron left for duty in the Sierras serving as the first park rangers for Yosemite and Sequoia National Parks. 
All Things Relative: Family Genealogy
Would you like to dive into your family history but don't know where to start? Join reference librarian and historian Kathy Nielsen as she shares her expertise in a five-part virtual class series on finding your ancestors. On the 2nd Thursday each month, starting June 10 at 4:00 pm, we'll explore resources at your local libraries and historical societies, how to identify and organize old photos, uncovering DNA, and more. Register here or call the Library at (831) 646-3933 for these free and fun classes.
Genealogy Research at Your Library
One of the best known resources for family history can be found on Monterey Library's Research page. During the Covid quarantine, Ancestry.com has been available to those with a library card right from their own homes. Take advantage of its rich resources, such as birth and death records, Census listings, and sometimes photos. Be sure to sign up for Kathy Nielsen's free classes (listed above, starting June 10 on Zoom) to learn great tips and secrets about this genealogy database and more.
Literary Birthdays
Ian Fleming
ONGOING EVENTS
Mindfulness Meditation: Every Wednesday, 12:15-12:45 pm. More info and register here.

Monterey's Magical History Tour: Historian Tim Thomas talks Monterey Pop Festival, June 17, 4:00 pm. Sign up here.
Monterey Public Library | (831) 646-3933 | www.monterey.org/library