The Edible Book Festival is an international celebration of books, food, and bad puns! In conjunction with the Library’s 2024 One Book One Community selection, Tasting History, the 3rd annual Edible Book Festival will be held during the One Book One Community Kickoff Party on Friday, March 8, 5-7 p.m., at the Main Library at Goodwood. Participants are invited to choose a book and create an edible representation of its title or wordplay on its title. Join us as we gather to view the bookish fare concocted to amuse, amaze, or, yes, even disgust onlookers and fellow participants. Vote for your favorites in categories such as Best in Show, Wittiest Wordplay, Least Appetizing and more! Winners will be announced at 6:45 p.m. and prizes will be awarded! To submit an entry, just bring your punny, edible creation to the Library on Friday, March 8 between 4 and 4:30 p.m. to be displayed! Here are a few previous winners. Can you “beet” them? Come on, “cake” a chance! Give us something to “taco” ‘bout! “Gouda” luck!
Join EBR Schools’ Talented Music for a musical performance at the Main Library at Goodwood on Sunday, March 3 at 3 p.m. Students from Glasgow Middle School’s and Baton Rouge Magnet High School’s Talented Woodwind Ensembles will entertain with music from Brave, “Kingdom Dance” from Tangled, “Simple Gifts,” Chaconne and Intermezzo from Holst’s “First Suite in E-Flat,” plus assorted other piano, violin, and woodwind solos.
East Baton Rouge Parish Library’s Press Start! Ready, Set, Read! program equips children ages 2-4 with early literacy skills that will enable them to enter kindergarten with confidence! Parents and caregivers can stop by the Children’s Room of any Library location to pick up a booklet full of fun activities that focuses on beginner reading and math concepts. Children start with Booklet One, work their way through the program at their own pace, and earn rewards along the way. Each monthly Press Start booklet:
Features a new letter, number, color or concept
Follows state curriculum guidelines for children ages 2-4
Includes simple activities to incorporate into your daily routine
Highlights community events for kids
Offers helpful parenting tips
Recommends books for reading to your child This month’s Press Start! booklet is brought to you by the letter U; the number 18; and the concepts, Soft/Hard!
Make beautiful art representing a wide variety of countries while learning the basics of acrylic painting. Join Martha Whittington at the Jones Creek Regional Branch on Wednesday, February 28 at 12:30 p.m. Registration is required. To register, call 756-1140.
Come explore the past through 4,000 years of recipes! From Babylon, circa 1740 BC, all the way to 20th century U.S.A, immerse yourself in cultures and cuisine! Join us this spring in reading our 2024 One Book One Community selection, Max Miller’s Tasting History! The 18th annual One Book One Community initiative will highlight Miller’s book as well as many other culinary and historical programs for all ages throughout the Library system. It all begins with a FREE Kickoff Party for the whole family on Friday, March 8, 5-7 p.m., at the Main Library at Goodwood, featuring live music by RJ & Zydeco Smoove, free food, children’s activities, community organizations, and more! The six-week celebration will culminate in a special presentation by Max Miller at the Main Library at Goodwood in April. For more information, please visit here.
Celebrate African American Read-In with the Carver Branch on Tuesday, February 27 at 4:30 p.m. by listening to George Washington Carver by Katie Marsico. Afterwards, we’ll talk about other famous African Americans, then ply bingo to reinforce what we learned. Refreshments will be served. Registration is required. To register, please call 389-7440.
Join us for free, hour-long Tai Chi sessions and meet friends through group practice. Together with the Tai Chi Club, we will explore the yin and yang of mind-body and find the way of nature in Tai Chi. By the end of the series you will have learned a full Tai Chi routine to practice on your own and share with people around you. This month’s sessions will take place on Sunday, February 25 at 6 p.m. Wear flat shoes and comfortable clothes!
Collect new musical skills! Discover new library books! Learn new dance steps! Kids’ Orchestra invites children, ages 5-11, to an experiential program that combines library books with music education. Each month, children will explore a theme as they learn about an instrument, sing a song, explore a dance, and play a game – all inspired by a book in the East Baton Rouge Parish Library collection. Books & Music is celebrating this carnival season by placing a spotlight on “When the Saints Go Marching in,” a traditional spiritual that you are very likely to hear during February in Louisiana. You might also hear it at a New Orleans Saints football game. Brass bands in parades often play this melody. Come see Ashley Bryan’s beautiful illustrations in the book Let It Shine. Also, play a partner song game, meet a professional musician, and practice solfege syllables and hand signs. What are those? Come and fi nd out!! See below for opportunities to attend this fun program! All children under the age of 9 must be accompanied by an adult. Registration is required.
Saturday, February 24 at 11 a.m. – Jones Creek Regional Branch
The Baton Rouge Magnet High School Beta Club will be offering FREE tutoring services on Saturdays, February 17 & 24, 9:30-10:30 a.m., at the Main Library at Goodwood. Beta members will offer help to elementary, middle, and high school students. See subjects offered below. Only 60 spots are available each Saturday. Registration is required. Register online at here or call 231-3770.
Elementary students: English, Math, Science, and Reading
As required by ACT 436, the East Baton Rouge Parish Library has begun to issue new library cards for ALL minor children aged 0-17. You may receive an email notification asking you to select the card category for your child, tween, or teen. You may also update the card status at your convenience at any library location this spring.
Parents must choose between several card categories:
Current, Standard Card
For existing students, this card would retain the same check out policies as prior to 2024. The Standard Card may be used to check-out print, AV, and other physical items, log in to use Library computers, and access databases within the appropriate collection—Juvenile (age 0-11), Tween (age 12-14), Teen (age 15-17), or Adult (age 18 and older)—based on the age of the cardholder:
Juvenile (age 0-11)
Juvenile Collection
Tween (age 12-14)
Juvenile Collection
Teen Collection
Teen (age 15-17)
Juvenile Collection
Teen Collection
Adult Collection, except for R-Rated Movies
Computer Use Only Card
This card may be used to access Library computers and database collections, either on site or remotely, within the appropriate collection—Juvenile, Tween, Teen, or Adult — based on the age of the patron. No loans of print, AV, or other physical items are allowed on a Computer Use Only Card.
Restricted Card AKA “Bookshelf” Card
This card may be used to check-out print, AV, and other physical items within the appropriate collection—Juvenile, Tween, or Teen—based on the age of the patron. No Computer Use, Internet or Database Access is possible with a Bookshelf Card.
Unrestricted Card AKA “Explore” Card
This card may be used to check-out print, AV, and other physical items within all collections, including Adult. Exception: R-rated movies are only allowed on Adult cards.
The implementation of this new set of tiered card categories will take place through June 1, 2024, at which time, all old cards will be blocked.
In order to keep your child’s current card active as a Standard Card, a Computer Use Only Card, OR as a STUDENT eCard, parents or guardians may simply contact the Circulation Department at cardmaintenance@ebrpl.com to indicate this approved status. No new plastic card is required. A form is also available on the website at ebrpl.co/parentalconsent.
In order to switch to either the new Restricted or Unrestricted status, parents or guardians must come in to the Library of your choice with their minor child and complete a new application; parents should present a photo ID and proof of current address to Circulation staff at that time.
