Happy New Year from Russellville Public Library! We hope your holiday season brought you all the joy and good tidings you could handle. We know many of you are busy working on those New Year’s Resolutions for 2019, and we hope you have been able to find some resources at the library.

Our regularly scheduled monthly programs will begin again, starting this month:

First Fridays at 10:30 a.m. – Pre-K story time

Second Saturdays at 11 a.m. – Family movie

Third Thursdays at 10:30 a.m. – Adult programming

The library is excited to jumpstart the year of the Alabama Bicentennial 200, and we have some exciting programs, exhibits and collections for you all to access and enjoy.

Jan. 17 at 10:30 a.m., Ruth Elder will discuss the Alabama Bicentennial 200 Wade Hall postcard exhibit on display at Russellville Public Library.

The library is excited to offer several Alabama-relative resources for your convenience, as well. Whether searching online or in print, the library is your place for local history and information.

The library offers free access to Ancestry.com – Library Edition for all local residents who stop by the library during 2019. You can access census records, military records, maps and more for free any time!

Looking for something to do as part of the bicentennial celebration? The website www.alabama200.org has a wonderful, cumulative list of events on the community calendar to make sure you never get bored.

The library is excited to be working on building our own Alabama collection. Are you curious about what qualifies someone as an Alabama author? Check out www.alabamaliterarymap.lib.ua.edu for a wealth of information on Alabama authors, their ties to the area, and visual guides.

The library is also making plans to have a bicentennial celebration of its own. As part of the event, we will be incorporating a time capsule. If you have a timely, historical item that you would like to submit for consideration, please submit a photo and a written request to the Russellville Public Library. All items are welcome, but space is limited. Priority will be given to smaller items with popular or historical significance to the area. The window for submission is Jan. 1 to March 14, 2019. We look forward to celebrating with you all!

Russellville Reads is written by Russellville Public Library director Ashley Cummins.