Where Cool Stuff Happens

Written By: Marlene Osteen | Issue: September 2024

Tracey Enerson Wood

There’s much to love about our local libraries. Stop by either the Hudson Library or the Albert Carlton-Cashiers Community Library and you’re likely to find patrons browsing shelves, accessing community programs and taking refuge.

Equally important, the twin libraries are also the places where the seeds of imagination take root in our young people – their minds ignited by a host of educational after school programs set to continue this month in time for our students return to school.

Every Thursday at 3:30, kids in grades K-5 can enjoy a variety of fun and educational programs at Hudson Library’s Kids Zone. Designed to provide afterschool fun through various STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Mathematics) activities, the program encourages interactive learning and creativity. Access to Kids Zone is further facilitated by the Student Access program, allowing students to seamlessly use their school IDs to access library resources, thus supporting their academic needs without the barrier of a traditional library card process.

At Albert Carlton-Cashiers Community Library, STEAM programming is offered on Tuesday afternoons with sessions aimed at sparking interest in the sciences and arts and hands-on activities that are educational and fun. The programs are enhanced by additional resources provided by the library that includes NC Live – the free online library that allows access to over 1.6 billion online articles, streaming videos, eBooks and more); and NC Kids – a digital library designed for youth ages pre-K through 4th grade and includes picture books, youth fiction and non-fiction and more.

Both libraries welcome acclaimed author Tracey Enerson Wood on Saturday, September 14 – at 12:30 P.M. at the Hudson Library to include lunch bites and at 3:00 P.M. at the Albert-Carlton Cashiers Community Library. Enerson, a retired registered nurse and published playwright and author, will talk about her newly released novel, Katharine, the Wright Sister, a vibrant historical novel about the unsung hero behind the groundbreaking aeronautical achievement of Wilbur and Orville Wright: their sister. Books will be available for signing and purchase at these free events.

Fontana Regional Library system – which comprises six public branches in Jackson, Macon and Swain Counties – is also benefiting from a $300,000 Digital Champion Grant, which is set to improve digital literacy and access among its patrons by assisting North Carolinians in accessing high-speed internet. The grant promises to create a bridge across the digital divide and ensure that community members have the access they need to thrive in today’s tech-driven world.