A wonderful way to spend time over the long, hot summer months is to vist your local branch library (or the Joel D. Valdez Main Library downtown) and read! And this year the reading program highlights Arizona’s Centennial.

From the Pima County Public Library’s website:

Summer Reading Preview – Our State, Our Story: Celebrating 100 Years of Arizona

Summer Reading is on the horizon. This year it begins on May 24 and runs through July 21. On May 24, mosey on in to your library to pick up your Reading Passport and Arizona Adventure Pass. This year’s program also includes activities that will keep you and your family exploring, doing, creating, writing and reading all summer.
What’s New?

Along with the fantastic fun programs and events that come with Summer Reading each year, this year we are rolling out a new way to think about Summer Reading. This year it’s going to be about reading, writing, creating, doing, and exploring. It’s going to be about reading for pleasure, encouraging a love of reading for all ages, and participation in creative, challenging and exciting activities.

Everyone (adults, teens and kids) who joins Summer Reading this year will receive a Reading Passport and an Arizona Adventure Pass. Your Reading Passport is where you’ll set your reading goal and log your activities. (Have your passport stamped as you meet goals and complete activities.)

Decide Your Reading Goal
What’s a good reading goal? Set your reading goal of minutes or number of pages. Make it your goal to read all of the books in a series or all of the books by a certain author. Maybe you’ll want to read 10 books about horses. Got a stack of magazines you’ve been wanting to read? That’s a reading goal—something that’s a challenge, but not a chore.

Choose Six Activities
In honor of Arizona’s Centennial we’re going to give you a list of 100 activities. Throughout the summer you’ll choose six appealing activities from the list to complete and log in your Reading Passport. You’ll find things that are easy to do as well as others that are more challenging. Your Arizona Adventure Pass will come in handy since it includes passes for fun activities and interesting venues all over the state.

Summer Reading Night at the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum
Who? Readers ages 2-14, your Adventure Pass is your ticket for free admission with one paid adult admission to Summer Reading Night on Saturday, June 23.

SummerQuest
You will have completed the journey with your fellow SummerQuesters when the hidden image you seek appears. How many of the quests will you fulfill to reach the goal?

SummerStory
Are you more the writerly type? SummerStory may be right up your alley. Each week the story will continue with an installment chosen from those you (teens 13-18) submit.
Finale Events

After you’ve accomplished your summer reading goals we want to help you celebrate!

Wrock out with those wizard rockers Harry and the Potters at the Hotel Congress on Thursday, July 19. Thanks to Bookman’s Entertainment Exchange and the Hotel Congress for joining with the library to make this event free and fun for all ages.

Kids who accomplish six activities will receive a pass to a finale event at Reid Park Zoo on Saturday morning, July 21!

The Summer Rock Concert returns this year. Talented local teen bands will play at this free, all ages, concert on July 21 at 8 pm. Teens who have completed 6 activities will receive a backstage pass to an exclusive VIP pre-party.

Wow! What a great way to continue to celebrate Arizona’s 100 birthday (February 14, 2012). Enjoy the summer by reading!

Photos below sent to me from Andrew Ryan, graduate student at Arizona State University’s School of Earth & Space Exploration. He co-authored an article that revealed evidence of lava coils on Mars (click here for my earlier blog about this today). I asked Ryan for photos (being as I’m from the Big Island of Hawaii where the active volcanoes are) and here’s what he sent me. First two of Mars, taken by NASA/JPL/University of Arizona, and the last one of Hawaii is courtesy of USGS.

Martian landscape with lava coils, colorized

Hawaiian lava coil

The article about this discovery in Science is co-authored by ASU Regent’s Professor of Geological Science Philip Christensen.

In April, we have our minds on money and money on our minds!

It can’t be helped since April 21-28 is Money Smart Week @ the Pima County Public Library!

Money Smart Week is a nationwide financial literacy event brought to you by the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, the American Library Association and the Pima County Public Library.

We invite everyone to participate! Come and learn about the resources, programs, services available in Pima County. There are workshops for everyone, from children to adults and covering topics including reading credit reports, financial survival, and fair housing information. We’ll have Storytimes for the kids, Creating Duct Tape Wallets for the crafty, and Coupon Club for the thrifty!

There couldn’t be a better time to begin planning for tomorrow. Financial fitness begins here, at your library… Special thanks to our partners: Debbi Jasperson’s Coupon Club, The Credit Wise Cats, Financial Education Collaborative of Southern Arizona, Southwest Fair Housing Council, Hughes Credit Union, and the Pima County Housing Center.

Lots of events from Monday April 23 to Saturday April 28, at various branch libraries–Nanini, Flowing Wells, Woods, Valencia, Martha Cooper, Dusenberry-River, Kirk-Bear Canyon (click here for full schedule). The free workshops include info on homebuyer education/fitness, identify theft, financial literacy, duct tape wallets, coupon clubs, credit card reports.

Now that Tax Day (April 15) is past, we can all concentrate on other money/financial matters.