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First Posted: 2/22/2014 WEST PITTSTON &#8212; To coincide with the ongoing Olympics, the West Pittston Public Library put on its own form of the games with its first &#8220;Library Olympics&#8221; held on Saturday afternoon.
Youths aged from 5 to 11 years old carried flags from competing countries in a miniature &#8220;Parade of Nations,&#8221; competed in Olympic-type events, took an official oath to compete and even held a &#8220;torch ceremony.&#8221;
Summer Belles, youth services coordinator at the library, designed the event with the overall objective of showing local families how the library can be exciting while also a place to learn and appreciate literature, books and other forms of learning.
She thought the Olympics would be a great way to entice local families to bring their children to the library.
&#8220;You have to stay current if you want the kids to be interested,&#8221; she said. &#8220;We want to show the library is a fun place to play and meet other kids.&#8221;
As a big fan of the Olympics, Belles thought tying a program in with the global event would be a great way to celebrate the games as well.
When entering the library participants were able to pour through a display of books depicting Olympic themes and photos and look at maps showing where the competing nations are located.
They circled around tables racing on paper plate skates, weaved in and around chairs set up for their own ski &#8220;slalom&#8221; and colored the flags of their temporary home nations.
Belles believes as the children get older they need more connection between the library and all of its resources and the world they live in.
She has plans to do a similar event for the summer Olympics foreseeing a &#8220;cotton-ball shot put&#8221; competition and &#8220;Q-tip javelin&#8221; games, she said.
Anne Bramblett-Barr, library director, called the event a &#8220;creative endeavor&#8221; that promotes the library in a very unique way.
Public participation at the library has increased by about 30 percent, Bramblett-Barr said, which she attributes to efforts like Saturday&#8217;s event .
The library just celebrated its 140th anniversary and is going strong even after recent floods which were costly to overcome, she added.
&#8220;We are realizing the fruit of the labors of the staff,&#8221; she said.
Other programs are planned for the future that will also interest adults in the library as well, Bramblett-Barr said. They include wine tasting, craft making and movie-themed events, she said.
&#8220;We do it to boost the interest in the library, so the public can see what we offer,&#8221; she said.

Library goers get in the spirit of the Olympics