By MILFORD PUBLIC LIBRARY STAFF

Congratulations to Doris Miller, our first drawing winner of the Adult Reading Club. She chose the Rotisserie Chicken Cookbookand a book bag with the slogan, “Exercise Your Mind”. Keep reading and put your drawing slip into the bucket for each book you read or listen to!

MILFORD — News and events at Milford Public Library:

Library Program lets you “check-out” state parks

In 2016, Hoosiers can visit state parks free by checking out an entrance pass from a public library. Every public library in Indiana has a pass available to their patrons to use. The State Park Centennial Annual Pass Check-Out Program is a partnership between Indiana State Parks and the Indiana State Library to encourage people to visit libraries and parks.

Milford Public Library has one State Park Pass available for check out. The pass provides access to Indiana’s 32 state parks and also to Indiana’s state forest recreation areas where entrance fees are charged. The pass will only be available for 2016. The pass is checked out on a first come, first serve basis and cannot be placed on hold. Check out time is one week.

“We hope many families in the Milford Community take advantage of the State Park Pass and discover a park for the first time, or make a return visit to a favorite park,” said Julie Frew, Director of the Milford Public Library. The library has information on where the pass can be used and will have 2016 Indiana Recreation Guides available to anyone checking out the pass. This program is one way Indiana State Parks is celebrating its centennial anniversary. The Indiana State Parks system was a gift to the people of Indiana in 1916 in celebration of the state’s centennial. You can read more about activities that are part of the State Parks Centennial Celebration at INStateParks100.com.

“Our goal is to provide access to our great Indiana State Parks for those who may have never visited,” said Ginger Murphy, deputy director of stewardship for Indiana State Parks. “We also hope that those who come in to check out the annual pass will take time to explore the services and materials available in Indiana libraries.”

The Indiana State Library helped pay for the parks pass program. Call (574) 658-4312 for more information about the state park pass.

Paying Back Fines

This year the library is trying to avoid rolling over fines from 2015 into 2016. If you accrued a fine in 2015 or before, please be sure to pay it by Sunday, Jan. 31. If you have a large fine due to lost material, feel free to give us a call and we will work out a payment plan for you. All fines collected are considered income and help keep the tax rate down. Fines are not meant to be carried indefinitely on a patron card. Please come in and pay your fine today!

Adult Reading Club

Adults age 18 and up can register to participate in our annual Adult Reading Program. Stop by the adult circulation desk for program information. For each book you read, or book-on-compact disk you listen to, you can put your name in for a chance to win some fabulous prizes. Each Friday, the Library will draw a name out of the bowl, and that person will win a prize. Prizes are donated by local sponsors and will be displayed prior to being given away. The Adult Reading Program ends on March 31. We are going to read all winter anyway, why not read to win? Reading keeps the mind in great shape, so sign up to participate today!

Winter Story Time

Winter story time is coming soon. Join staff beginning Wednesday, Feb. 3, for Winter Story Time. Preschool story time is for ages 3-6 and will be at 10:15 a.m. or 1:30 p.m. Wednesdays and 7 p.m. Thursdays. Themes this winter include Keeping Warm Outside, Keeping Warm Inside, Eskimos, Penguins and Polar Bears, Winter Sports, and Books by children’s author, Mo Willems. We will read stories, make a craft and enjoy a snack! Bringing your children to Story Time is a wonderful way to introduce them to the library, practice and establish good listening skills and meet other children their age. Register your children at the circulation desk in the children’s department, or call the library. We hope you sign up to join us.