Por Kathryn Johnson 

On your mark, get set, shop

Clear off your bookshelves and mark your calendar for July 29 for our Friends of the Library quarterly book sale! By shopping the thousands of books for sale, you help our amazing Friends of the Allied Gardens Library group generate funds to go toward our programming and equipment needs. When you support our Friends, you are supporting your community library.

Looking for volunteers

Our Friends of the Library group is always looking for new members. This hard-working group sorts book donations, puts together book sales and offers valuable input for library services. If interested, please contact the library for more information.

Cuentos

Yoga Story Time has a new day and time starting July 5. Children and their caregivers are welcome to join us for this movement and story program on Wednesdays at 3 p.m.

Don’t forget to join us for our other wonderful storytimes:

Baby Storytime Mondays at 10 a.m.

Toddler Storytime Tuesdays at 10:30 a.m.

Preschool Storytime Thursdays at 10:30 a.m.

Yoga Storytime the first and third Fridays of the month at 10 a.m.

Pajama Storytime the last Tuesday of the month at 6 p.m.

Lectura de verano

This year we will have a summer reading program for kids, teens and adults. This year’s Summer Reading theme is “Read by Design.”

Just like last year, all you need to do is sign up either online or with us here in the branch and you are ready to start reading! Once you read 10 books or 10 hours, you get a bag of fabulous prizes to take home. So be sure to get the whole family signed up, running from June 15 to Aug. 15.

Superhero Science

Tuesday June 20 at 2:30 p.m. the Fleet Science Center will be presenting Superhero Science! Everybody wants a super power right? Join us as we showcase super strength and other powers through the basics of science in this super-charged, super-fun show.

Create your own cupcake

On Tuesday June 27 at 2:30 p.m., join us for a fun and interactive program that the whole family can enjoy. We will provide all the materials you need to make your very own cupcake creations and the best part is you get to eat it when you’re done!

The scientists are coming

Tuesday, July 11 at 2:30 p.m. the League of Extraordinary Scientists and Engineers bring “LIFE-CYCLES to LIFE” during a 40-minute interactive presentation.

They will bring tadpoles, frogs, beetles, mantis, and more. We teach how everything alive has a life cycle and how those life cycles are connected — seeds to plants, babies to adults, eggs to butterflies.

We discover how scientists explore, discover, journal and share information to better understand our planet.

We observe differences to compare and contrast, for example between chrysalis and cocoons. Then they allow all of the students to come up close and explore.

Community garden

We are partnering with Ascension Lutheran Church to create a garden for our community. If you are interested in helping out, we would love to have more people on board as we work through the process. Please contact me if you would like more information at johnsonka@sandiego.gov.

Photography exhibit and reception

Stop by the Allied Gardens/Benjamin Branch Community Room on Saturday June 24 from noon–2 p.m. to meet local HDR photographers Brian Miller and Tim Mountain. Their gorgeous exhibit, “Views from Miller Mountain: Photography of Brian Miller and Tim Mountain” has been extended through the end of June. You won’t want to miss your last chance to see these vibrant landscapes!

Kids art display

A selection of children’s artwork created in our Art Workshop for Kids taught by Stacie Birky Greene will be featured in our display case until the end of June. This workshop was designed to give students experience in new ways of creative expression through drawing, painting and collage.

LGBT Pride Month display

Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) Pride Month is celebrated every June to honor the June 28, 1969 Stonewall riots, a pivotal moment in the American LGBT rights movement. The purpose of this commemorative month is to recognize the lasting contributions that LGBT individuals have made and continue to make to culture, society and the world.

Check out materials from our display of books, movies and music by and about LGBT writers, artists, musicians, scientists, activists and community leaders during the month of June. 

—Kathryn Johnson is managing librarian of the Allied Gardens/Benjamin Branch Library. Reach her at johnsonka@sandiego.gov.