by Kelly McCabe, Youth Services Coordinator
The Summer Reading Program kicked off at the Talpa Community Center and Library in the first week of June with an array of hands-on, creative activities – plus reading and skill building. Nina Vigil, Talpa’s Children’s Program Coordinator, created the 8-week program combining fiber arts, sewing, rotating activities like gardening and baking, and a core “Summer Reading” class each Friday morning that allows participants to check out books, read, and participate in group activities. On the day we visited, Vigil was distributing the Color Our World sport backpacks and folders with reading logs and activities for registered children. The children’s room features a large table for activities, a piano, many books, and an amazing view of the stately horse that lives just behind the library.
The classes are enjoyable and educational for the children, but also provide an important opportunity for busy parents and caregivers to get a much-needed break. The library provides a safe, secure place for community members of all ages, as it has for decades – even in its former life as the local elementary school. Both Vigil and the current Library Director, Effie Romero, were students at the old elementary school (although only for a few years for Vigil) and have watched the building transform into its current use as library and community center. The building also houses the Talpa Community Center Quilter’s Club, and the front parking lot is transformed on Friday’s by the Talpa Community Market with a variety of craft and food vendors. A traditional horno constructed last summer now overlooks a garden of peppers planted by this year’s summer reading participants. It was a very busy day at the library and easy to see how the space serves the educational, social, and mental needs of community members – all very important to library staff with deep roots in Talpa. I’m thankful to Talpa for welcoming us and sharing the start of their summer reading program with me.