Beginning July 1, 2025, patrons with Online Borrower Registration (OBR) accounts will no longer have access to resources from OverDrive or the Libby app. If you are using an OBR account to checkout ebooks, audiobooks, or magazines from OverDrive/Libby, you will need to visit one of our locations in person to switch to a regular library card. You will need to present a photo ID and proof of your local address to complete the application process. Please let staff know you have an OverDrive or Libby account. They will replace your old OBR account number with the new card number in OverDrive. You will not lose any of your checkouts, holds, tags, etc.
The theme this year’s Summer Reading Program is Color Our World, and there are many ways you can participate!
Summer Reading Kickoff
This year’s Summer Reading Program begins Saturday, June 7, with our Summer Reading Kickoff Celebration at Fairchild Community Center and Park from 11:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. We’ll have outdoor games and a bouncy house obstacle course, face painting from Painted Grape, balloon creations from Patti Cake, ice cream from Culvers, and more fun inside Fairchild Gym. Everyone is invited to take part in our community art project as well! The event is free to the public.
Log Your Reading
Read this summer and win prizes for every 90 minutes read! This year, you will track your minutes through Beanstack. Download the free app(recommended) or log in to the website, and use it to keep track of how much you’ve read. For everyone, your first prize after reading 90 minutes is a book! After that first 90 minutes, children can choose a prize from our prize box, and teens and adults will receive a (virtual) raffle ticket and can choose which basket they’d like to win. Baskets include Art, Baking, Bluey, Outdoor Fun, Tech and Treat Yourself.
Programming
Our existing children’s programming will continue throughout the summer, with additional special programs at each branch every month.
Highlights include:
June 13 – Gem Mining, Graham, grades K-5 (registration required)
June 19, July 17 and August 21 – Esports Champions, Graham, ages 13-18
June 19 – MAD Science, North Park, all ages (registration required)
July 5 and August 2 – AniMebane Senpai, Mebane, ages 13-19
July 8 – Paint Our World with Painted Grape, May Memorial, ages 7-14 (registration required)
July 15 – Afro-Columbian Dancing with Huepa!, May Memorial, grades K-5 (registration required)
July 31 – Big Bang Boom Children’s Concert, North Park, ages 3-10 (registration required)
August 4 – Pancake Art Party, Mebane, grades 6-12 (registration required)
In addition, our Mobile Library has two Pokemon Card Game programs each month. Kids of all ages – 7 to adult – are invited to learn to play Pokemon at Mackintosh On The Lake and Collington Farms.
For a full schedule of events, see our SRP calendar online or pick up a brochure at our branches.
For adults, we have a Summer Reading Craft Series. Each program will be offered at May Memorial, Mebane and Graham. In June, we’ll do rubber cement watercolor resist art, in July, we’ll offer Mason Jar Lid Suncatchers, and in August, we’ll make Button Bouquets. Our regular art programs will continue, including Experiment with Art at Graham and North Park’s Make and Take Tuesdays, plus we’ll add a monthly Loteria and Libros program at May Memorial, Cards and Coffee at May Memorial, digital literacy classes at Graham, and even more opportunities for adults to learn, play and thrive at the libraries this summer.
Have you cut back on paid video subscriptions this year? Try Hoopla’s BingePass to get your streaming fix. With the checkout of one BingePass, you will have access to a large selection of entertainment media including movies, TV, magazines, puzzles and video courses.
As a crafter, I love being able to hop on Creativebug and get ideas and inspiration for my next craft. The instructors go step-by-step and provide supply lists and downloadable resources to help every level of crafter to feel comfortable trying out something new. Most classes are divided up into segments to allow for easy playback. This feature has been helpful when I need to find and repeat part of the instructions. I enjoy learning about art mediums I am unfamiliar with and Creativebug allows me to sit back and relax by watching the creation of a craft. Whether you are looking for a daily practice or a one-off craft, give Creativebug a try and start creating!
To access BingePass, you will need to set up your Hoopla account using your library card number, your pin, and your email address. Once you are on the homepage, click the BingePass tab to view the collection. You have access to 4 instant borrows with your Alamance County Library card. A single BingePass counts one instant borrow that give you free access to that platforms’ content for 7 days.
Susana S. is a Library Assistant at Graham Public Library.
The Bergman Brothers Series follows the love lives of seven Swedish-American siblings living on the West Coast. Every novel is filled with heart, humor, and heat and each can be read as a standalone.
We meet the Bergman’s in Only When It’s Us, the first book of the series, as we follow Ryder and Willa’s frenemies-to-lovers relationship when both characters are forced to open up and be vulnerable in order to find their happily ever afters. Content warning: death of a parent, cancer, grief, sexual content.
Always Only You is the grumpy sunshine book that you didn’t know you needed. Ren Bergman – all-star hockey player and secret Shakespeare enthusiast – is the sunshine, and Frankie – lover of Harry Potter, coke flavored gummies, and her dog, Pazza – is the grump. He falls first, obviously, but she falls harder. Content warning: chronic illness, sexual content, ableism, drug use.
Here we have our first Bergman sister, Freya, the oldest of the Bergman clan in Liese’s third installment, Ever After Always. She and her husband, Aiden, are in a marriage of crisis as their own stubbornness and anxieties get in the way of them having an open dialogue to ease their worries. Content warning: sexual content, mental illness, panic attacks/disorders, abandonment, alcoholism.
With You Forever is our contemporary marriage of convenience with reserved Axel (Bergman) and sunshine incarnate Rooney (Sullivan-Bergman) and all of the shenanigans that happen up at the A-Frame, from siblings crashing without warning to animals upending well laid plans. Content warning: sexual content, abandonment, chronic illness, IBS, ableism.
Don’t be alarmed by the time skip in Everything for You. We still have all of our favorite Bergmans popping up, along with some new ones! Everything for You can be likened to what Ted Lasso would be if it was a bit gayer and American. Oliver is the rising soccer star that is grating on Gavin’s veteran talents until they are forced to co-captain their team together and learn that they are not only good at co-captaining their team, but their lives as well. Content warning: sexual content, mental illness, panic attacks/disorders, homophobia/biphobia, injury.
If Only You is where we have our youngest Bergman (and the only other sister) Ziggy wanting to change up her image a bit with the help of her brother Ren’s best friend – Sebastian. And honestly, Sebastian could use an image rehaul as well, and Ziggy’s squeaky-clean reputation can help balance out his bad boy image. This is probably the slowest of slow burns that Liese has written, but it is so worth the wait. Content warning: sexual content, alcoholism, chronic illness, emotional abuse.
Only and Forever is the conclusion to this Bergman Family saga where Viggo finally gets his moment. Viggo has seen all of his siblings fall in love and is hoping for his chance at his happily ever after. As Viggo’s path crosses with Tallulah again, can this hopeless romantic convince a chilly cynic that love is worth it, especially if it involves the two of them? Content warning: sexual content, chronic illness, medical content, mental illness, abandonment, fatphobia.
I cannot recommend this book series enough. It has something for everyone with the vast varieties of tropes but it also has so much neurodivergent representation alongside other various forms of chronic illnesses – mental and physical. I discovered Chloe Liese during the pandemic and she has become a comfort favorite. This is a series that I will always and gladly revisit.
Kayleigh D. is a Library Technical Processing Assistant at May Memorial Library.
This page-turning mystery follows the story of a bestselling author who is overcome with grief when his wife goes missing. If you’re a fan of the author like me, you know that Feeney is the queen of the plot twist. Feeney created so many twists and turns throughout the narrative, but she tied together all the loose ends beautifully at the end of the book. If you want to read a mystery that keeps you guessing until the very end, this book is for you!
Amy K. is the branch manager at May Memorial Library.
Highly Suspicious and Unfairly Cute by Talia Hibbert is a fun, heartfelt young adult romance that combines humor, witty banter, and a touch of vulnerability. The story follows two very different characters, Celine and Bradley, who initially have a contentious relationship but are thrown together in a high-stakes situation that forces them to confront their differences, while also exploring their underlying connection.
The premise centers around Celine, a smart, confident, and somewhat skeptical young woman who has a complicated relationship with Bradley, her former best friend-turned-rival. Bradley, on the other hand, is charming, popular, and often the center of attention, but beneath his outward persona, he struggles with personal issues and insecurities. When they both sign up for the same adventure challenge, they find themselves forced to team up, and the tension between them builds in both frustrating and romantic ways.
Talia Hibbert does an excellent job of balancing humor and heart in this novel. The dynamic between Celine and Bradley is the core of the book, and their interactions are full of sharp, hilarious dialogue and moments of real emotional depth. The way Hibbert develops their relationship from enemies (or, at least, wary acquaintances) to a romantic partnership is both entertaining and heartwarming.
One of the standout features of the book is Hibbert’s ability to create well-rounded characters with complex emotional lives. Celine is smart, fiercely independent, and unapologetically herself, but she also has her own vulnerabilities and insecurities that make her a compelling character. Bradley, though initially appearing to be the “perfect” jock, is revealed to have his own struggles and personal growth throughout the novel. This depth of character development makes their eventual romance feel earned and satisfying.
In addition to the romance, the novel touches on important themes like self-acceptance, the pressure of expectations (both from others and from oneself), and the complexity of relationships. The adventure challenge that Celine and Bradley take on provides a fun and lighthearted backdrop to the emotional growth they experience, and it allows for a mix of tender moments and hilarious situations.
The pacing of the book is well-handled, with the right balance of tension, conflict, and resolution. While the story is largely character-driven, Hibbert’s strong writing keeps the plot engaging, with plenty of twists and turns to keep readers invested. The book’s humor is another highlight, with Hibbert’s sharp wit coming through in the characters’ dialogue and internal thoughts.
Overall, Highly Suspicious and Unfairly Cute is an enjoyable, sweet, and witty romance with well-developed characters and a healthy dose of humor. Fans of Hibbert’s previous work and readers who enjoy YA romances with a good balance of humor, heart, and character growth will likely find this novel a charming and satisfying read.
Chantell H. is a Circulation Assistant at North Park Library.
Chalk full of tension, the terrifying thrills of augmented reality, and an interesting library of bird facts, Yume Kitasei’s The Deep Sky is a solid science fiction thriller perfect for fans of Andy Weir or Martha Wells’ The Murderbot Diaries.
Set on the Phoenix, a spaceship transporting the highly selective crew from Earth to Planet X with the hopes of rebuilding humanity, the story follows a young woman named Asuka. As an Alternate, Asuka is a jack-of-all-trades aboard the ship and the second choice for a mission she had dedicated years of her life to potentially join. When an explosion kills several crew members—including the captain—and derails their course, Asuka is tasked with unraveling the mystery of what caused the explosion… and which of the people on their ship may be responsible.
As Asuka struggles to uncover the truth behind the explosion, we learn more about her life before becoming one of the members aboard the Phoenix: the intense years of training on Earth before the final few candidates were selected, the complicated sociopolitical climate that surrounds the catalysts for launching the Phoenix, and the growing divide between herself and her mother after a devastating family tragedy. Asuka’s deeply fraught relationship with her mother and her special interest in birds further fleshes out her character in a way that enhances the drama and intrigue of the mystery-thriller sections of the novel.
For those who love the dramatic tension, complex parent-child dynamics, and humanity of Interstellar, this book may be your next favorite read! The Deep Sky is available as a physical copy (and as Large Print) through Alamance County Public Libraries.
Sara D. is a Library Assistant at Graham Public Library.
The Alamance County Board of Commissioners approved the new strategic plan for the library at the meeting on April 21, 2025. We are excited to share our new mission, vision, and goals for the upcoming five years and ready to continue supporting our community as they need!
Vision
Nurture. Connect. Thrive.
Mission
Nurturing minds, connecting communities, and building a thriving future.
We fulfill our mission by:
Nurturing Exploration, Early and Lifelong Learning, and Bridging the Divide
Connecting, Collaborating, and Meeting People Where They Are
Supporting a Thriving Community
Our Values
We are welcoming, helpful, knowledgeable, professional, resourceful, and innovative.
Celebrate National Poetry Month this April by diving into “Black Girl, You Are Atlas,” a powerful poetry collection by Renée Watson. This semi-autobiographical work beautifully encapsulates Watson’s journey as a Black girl growing up in Portland.
With a stunning array of poetic forms, from haiku to free verse, Renée Watson delivers a captivating experience that is both artfully crafted and deeply resonant. Her words vividly portray the essence of Black girlhood, the journey of self-discovery, and the importance of listening to one’s inner voice.
Accompanying with breathtaking illustrations and full-color artwork by Ekua Holmes that enriches the reading experience. “Black Girl, You Are Atlas” is more than just a book; it’s an inspiring reminder of the power and worth of Black women and girls, encouraging young readers to embrace their futures with confidence and a sense of sisterhood.
This thought-provoking collection invites you to take your time, reflecting on each poem and letting its profound messages resonate within you. “Black Girl, You Are Atlas” deserves a place on your reading list this National Poetry Month. It’s available as a physical copy at Alamance County Public Libraries, in our Young Adult collection.
Sharada F.M. is a Library Assistant at Graham Public Library Children’s Department.
