Additionally, that morning CML will cut the ribbon on its new Gahanna Branch with a brief dedication ceremony open to the public at 9 a.m. The event will be followed by a daylong CML birthday bash.

CML will continue celebrating its 150th birthday throughout the remainder of 2023 with:

• Sesquicentennial Author Series: Bridgerton author Julia Quinn will speak at Main Library on Sunday, March 5. Click here to learn more and see the lineup and schedule.
• Columbus Book Festival: The new festival will be held at Main Library and Topiary Park on July 15-16 and feature national and local authors, vendors and programs. Click here to learn more.
• Sesquicentennial Passport: The passport program enables customers of all ages to pick up a booklet at any CML location starting March 4 and complete activities around the city to earn stamps and prizes.
• Partner Days: Customers’ library cards give them extra savings throughout CML’s 150th birthday year. Click here to see free or discounted opportunities.

Click here to view a special video highlighting CML’s history on its sesquicentennial. Members of the media are welcome to utilize it for their needs.

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The annual program challenges students to track their progress as they read for 20 days and complete five activities on their game boards. Examples of game board activities include “Read a book about science,” “Read a book in a series,” “Read a book about a holiday” and many more. Just for signing up, students can select a prize from the library’s Treasure Box. Students who complete the program will earn a book to keep, as well as a drawstring bag.

Last winter, approximately 3,800 students participated in the program.

Studies show that kids who read during out-of-school time maintain reading skills that are critical to future school success. The Third Grade Reading Guarantee in Ohio means many central Ohio third graders could repeat the grade if they don’t pass state proficiency testing. This year’s Winter Reading Challenge is supported by Altrusa International of Columbus and Battelle.

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All CML locations also offer a Native American Heritage Month Discovery Quest, an activity that invites customers aged 7 and older to find information posted throughout the library to learn facts about famous indigenous Ohioans.

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All CML locations will also offer a Hispanic Heritage Month Discovery Quest, an activity that invites customers aged 7 and older to find information posted throughout the library to learn facts about famous Hispanic and Latinx Ohioans.

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Starting April 4, each person who checks out one item or more will be automatically entered into two drawings to win:

• A $100 Kroger gift card (one winner from each of CML’s 23 locations)
• Four tickets to an upcoming Columbus Blue Jackets game (one winner)

One entry per person. CML employees and their immediate family members are not eligible. The Checkout Challenge is supported by the Columbus Metropolitan Library Foundation.

CML is also celebrating National Library Week with virtual and in-person events:

Monday, April 4 | First Day of Checkout Challenge

• Book Buzz: Preview of Spring/Summer 2022 Book Releases
  Virtual | 7 p.m.
  Our staff will share some “can’t miss” fiction and nonfiction titles due to be published this year.

Tuesday, April 5

• Staff Picks Live! Science Fiction
  Virtual | 7 p.m.
  Our staff will talk about their favorite science fiction novels for all ages. Join the chat to share your recommendations!

Wednesday, April 6 | Library Giving Day
Sponsored by the Columbus Metropolitan Library Foundation

• Author Talk with Ohio Poet Laureate Kari Gunter-Seymour
  Virtual | 12 p.m.
  Hear from and connect with Ohio’s poet laureate during this virtual program co-hosted with Columbus State Library.

• Your Next Skill
  Virtual | 7 p.m.
  Learn how to use the library’s free online resources to enhance your job skills, discover a new hobby or learn a new language.

Thursday, April 7

• The History of Columbus Metropolitan Library
  Virtual | 6:30 p.m.
  Our Local History & Genealogy team will explore how Columbus got a library.

Friday, April 8

• Live Family Storytime
  Virtual | 10 a.m.
  Visit our Facebook page for a live storytime featuring books, songs and rhymes.

Saturday, April 9

• Carnegie Author Series presents Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray
  Main Library | 2 p.m.
  Our 2022 Carnegie Author Series continues with the acclaimed authors of The Personal Librarian.

Sunday, April 10 | Last Day of the Checkout Challenge

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“We are committed to keeping a bright light on the advancement of social justice in central Ohio,” said CML CEO Patrick Losinski. “It cannot be something we discuss only when the news cycle brings it to our attention. We must continue to address it.”

Last year, CML hosted 10 virtual discussions focused on different books or films from its collection. This year’s series, once again all virtual, will focus on three books, but will expand the discussions to include a virtual book club for readers to share their thoughts and then conclude with a free virtual author talk.

The first title CML will explore in its 2022 series is So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo.

Virtual Panel Discussion: Tuesday, April 5 | 12-1 p.m.
Virtual Book Club: Tuesday, May 3 | 12-1 p.m.
Virtual Author Talk: Monday, May 16 | 2-3 p.m.

The second title will be White Like Me: Reflections on Race From a Privileged Son by Tim Wise.

Virtual Panel Discussion: Tuesday, June 28 | 12-1 p.m.
Virtual Book Club: Tuesday, July 26 | 12-1 p.m.
Virtual Author Talk: Monday, Aug. 15 | 7-8 p.m.

The third and final title will be Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates.

Virtual Panel Discussion: Tuesday, Sept. 13 | 12-1 p.m.
Virtual Book Club: Tuesday, Oct. 18 | 12-1 p.m.
Virtual Author Talk: Wednesday, Nov. 9 | 2-3 p.m.

Registration for each program will become available in the weeks leading up to it. All programs are free and open to all on the Zoom or Crowdcast platforms. Visit columbuslibrary.org/speak-up to learn more.

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New this year: Most CML locations will offer in February a Black History Month Discovery Quest, an activity that enables customers aged 7 and older to scan QR codes posted throughout the library to learn facts about people and events that shaped history.

CML is limiting the number of customers who can attend its programs to ensure social distancing. In-person programs could change to virtual programs due to public health needs or staffing challenges. Masks are required to enter CML buildings. Children under the age of 2 are not required to wear a mask. All CML locations remain closed on Sundays due to staffing challenges.

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The annual program challenges students to track their progress as they read for 20 days and complete five activities on their game boards. Examples of game board activities include “Read a book about a famous person,” “Read a book with a magical creature,” “Tell a staff member about a book you read” and many more. Just for signing up, students will receive a bookmark, mechanical pencil, eraser and sticker. Students who complete the program will earn a book they can keep, as well as a drawstring bag.

Last winter, approximately 7,800 students participated in the program.

Studies show that kids who read during out-of-school time maintain reading skills that are critical to future school success. The Third Grade Reading Guarantee in Ohio means many central Ohio third graders could repeat the grade if they don’t pass state proficiency testing.

This year’s Winter Reading Challenge is supported by Battelle, Altrusa International of Columbus, Ohio and Corde Westwater Robinson. Masks are required to enter CML buildings by order of the City of Columbus and Library Board of Trustees. Children under the age of 2 are not required to wear a mask. CML recently announced that, due to a staffing shortage, all 23 locations will close on Sundays through at least Jan. 9, 2022.

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COLUMBUS—Columbus Metropolitan Library (CML) is announcing a virtual viewing option for those wishing to see author Wil Haygood during his upcoming program at Main Library on Sunday, Oct. 24 at 2 p.m.

Haygood will speak in person in Main Library’s Reading Room, and CML will also livestream the program on its YouTube channel.

For in-person attendees: Proof of full vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test is required to attend this event. Masks are required to be worn at all times by order of the City of Columbus and Library Board of Trustees.

Haygood is the sixth author to speak as part of CML’s fifth annual Carnegie Author Series, which brings engaging national authors to central Ohio.

The Columbus author will discuss his forthcoming book, Colorization: One Hundred Years of Black Films in a White World, which examines 100 years of Black movies using the struggles and triumphs of the artists – and the films themselves – as a prism to explore Black culture and the American Civil Rights movement.

Haygood is the author of several nonfiction books, including The Butler: A Witness to History (2013), Showdown: Thurgood Marshall and the Supreme Court Nomination That Changed America (2015) and In Black and White: The Life of Sammy Davis, Jr. (2003). In 2018, he published Tigerland: 1968-1969: A City Divided, a Nation Torn Apart, and a Magical Season of Healing about Columbus’s East High School during the Civil Rights movement.

For nearly three decades, Haygood was a journalist, serving as a national and foreign correspondent at The Boston Globe, where he was a Pulitzer Prize finalist, and then at The Washington Post.

Before the program, in-person and virtual attendees will hear music from the Jazz Arts Group of Columbus’s Urban Jazz Coalition, whose performers will play a variety of theme songs from well-known films featured in Colorization. Guitarist Craig “Superfly” McMullen is the featured performer. CML wishes to thank King Arts Complex for coordinating the program’s musical guests.

This program is free. Parking is free in Main Library’s garage. Learn more at columbuslibrary.org/special-events.

The Carnegie Author Series is sponsored by NBC4.

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Starting Monday, April 5 and ending Monday, April 19, The Art of Taking it Easy by Dr. Brian King will be the featured title.

This promotion also coincides with CML’s National Library Week celebrations, including its Checkout Challenge. Click here to learn more.

Thousands of FREE library eBooks are waiting to be downloaded by CML customers at columbuslibrary.org.

In 2020, CML customers downloaded 2.7 million digital items – with numbers trending upward in 2021.

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