OCEAN CITY – Salazar Slytherin’s locket, Helga Hufflepuff’s cup and Tom Riddle’s diary were just a few of the items stashed among the shelves at the Ocean City library last week.
To the delight of young Harry Potter fans, librarians hosted a Hogwarts End of Year Party May 26 and 27 to celebrate the start of summer at the Ocean City library. The event included Harry Potter themed crafts, displays and even a scavenger hunt.
“We just wanted to help kick off summer reading and remind people we’re here,” said Brittany Herz Glenn, branch manager.
At a table amid potions jars and spell books, children who visited the library Friday and Saturday tried on the Hogwarts sorting hat and were handed marauder’s maps to guide them on a scavenger hunt.
Herz Glenn said the first of its kind event at the Ocean City library was a way to mark the approaching end of the school year with a series loved by countless children.
“We’ve never done much for the beginning of summer reading,” she said.
She hopes the Hogwarts party served as a reminder to local children of how exciting books can be. During the summer, the library offers various prizes and special programs to children who log the books they read into the library’s online system.
A stack of books associated with the Harry Potter series was part of last week’s scavenger hunt.
Along with the summer reading program, the Ocean City branch will bring a number of other programs and experiences to visitors in the coming months. A wall has been knocked down to expand the library’s children’s area, which now has room for crafts. Staff members are also in the midst of renovating a former storage room to expand the library’s technology offerings. While the facility already has a 3-D printer and numerous computers, there hasn’t been space to offer much else. When the changes to the one-time storage room are complete, it will include podcast equipment, a green screen and a virtual reality system. Patrons will have access to numerous games and educational programs through the system, which will feature an Oculus Rift headset.
“You put it on and you’re completely encompassed,” Herz Glenn said. “It’s like a 360 experience.”
She says work on the technology room is ongoing but she expects it to be complete by July.
“It’s exciting,” she said. “We’ve been working on this for quite a while.”
In addition to the physical changes, Herz Glenn said the library had a variety of unique children’s programs scheduled throughout the summer, including Mad Scientist, Mister Don the Music Man, Harold Wood’s “Circus in a Suitcase” and Crecyling among others. She’s particularly excited to offer Crecycling, which is for ages 9 and up.
“They’re going to be making stuff out of recycled materials,” she said.
For a complete listing of the library’s summer programs go to www.worcesterlibrary.org.
