It's time for Summer Reading Club!

Register at the front desk starting June 10th and get your passport journals to start tracking your reading and engage in activities related to this year's theme, Color Our World!

The children's Summer Reading Club Kick-Off Party will be held June 10th at 10 a.m. and will feature Texas Roadhouse's Armadillo mascot and freebies for families!

The teen Summer Reading Club Kick-Off Party will be held June 19th at 4 p.m. and will feature the opportunity to re-create famous works of art in a different medium with your personal flair!

We have been excitedly preparing for this year's Summer Reading Club! The theme is Color Our World and the children's kick-off party will be June 10th at 10 a.m., the teen's kick-off party will be June 19th at 4 p.m.!

Children's programs will be Tuesdays at 10 a.m., teen programs will be Thursdays at 4 p.m.

Check out our events page for program dates and more details!

During Summer Reading Club this year, some of our regularly scheduled programs will be on hiatus.

The programs on pause include Tuesday and Friday storytimes, music and movement, and middle grade and teen craft nights.

We apologize for any inconvenience and we hope to see you during Summer Reading Club programs!

Join us for the following FREE movie! Popcorn will be served!

Friday, June 20th at 4 p.m.:

Paddington

Heyday Films, PG, 95 minutes

We are excited to introduce Take Home Craft Kits! These include supplies from various storytime crafts and are great for those who need a fun activity to keep their little ones entertained!

Supplies are limited, but new craft kits will be added periodically as they become available.

Join us every other Monday at 4pm for LEGO Club! We provide the LEGOs and a building prompt, all you need to bring is your creativity! After you finish your creation, it will be on display at the library until our next LEGO Club meeting!

Log into Hoopla with your library card

With Hoopla you can instantly borrow digital e-books, audiobooks, comics, movies, TV and music with your library card! 

Here's how in 3 easy steps: 

We are thrilled to announce that our newspaper digitization project is now publicly accessible!

In 2024, the Alma Public Library applied for a newspaper digitzation grant offered annually by the Clarke Historical Library at CMU, and we were incredibly fortunate and honored to have been among the 2024 grant recipients! This grant allowed us to start the process of digitizing our collection of microfilm reels containing issues of the Gratiot County Herald dating all the way back to 1889 through 1906. Through fundraising efforts thanks to our amazing community, we have been able to secure funding to continue digitizing reels containing issues through 1945! We anticipate that these reels will be available digitally by the end of the summer in 2025.

We hope to keep the momentum of this project moving to eventually create a digital archive of the Gratiot County Herald through the year 2000 that will benefit the community and maintain accessibility to the rich history of our local area. If you are interested in supporting the efforts of this project, please contact the Alma Public Library for more information!

Use the following links to access and learn about how to navigate the newspaper portal!

DigMich Newspaper Tutorial

Clarke Historical Library DigMich Newspaper Portal

Announcing the launch of our 1000 Books Before Kindergarten program!

Alma Public Library has WiFi Hotspots to check out!

What is a hotspot?

Hotspots are portable, easy-to-use devices equipped with high-speed 4G LTE technology that can connect WiFi enabled devices to the Internet anywhere there is a strong cellular signal. Up to ten devices can be connected to the hotspot at one time.

Borrowing a HotSpot

• You must be at least 18 years of age and hold a valid Alma Public Library card in good standing
• Check out is for 2 weeks (14 days) with no renewals Temporarily 4 weeks during Stage 1 curbside-only service
• Households are limited to one hotspot checkout per month (one month between checkouts)
• Hotspots are checked out first come first serve ; no holds or reserves  Call library to check out hotspots during Stage 1
• Hotspots must be returned to the circulation desk inside the library ; fees charged for hotspots returned to book drop  Call library for drop-off instructions during Stage 1

Responsibility and Fines

• The overdue fine is $5.00 per day
• Overdue hotspots will be deactivated within 24 hours of due date
• Patrons returning a hotspot more than 5 days late will forfeit use of hotspots indefinitely
• Patrons are financially responsible for loss or damage to hotspots/accompanying materials (hotspot $80.00/charger $30.00)
• Excessive data usage not permitted (e.g., moderate use of movie and music streaming)
• The library is not responsible for information accessed using this device or for personal information that is shared over the Internet. Internet content filtering is NOT provided through library-issued hotspot devices. Parents/Guardians are responsible for monitoring what their children access while using the hotspot. The library is not responsible for any computer viruses that may be transferred to user-owned devices.

Using a Hotspot

1. Charge the hotspot, if needed, before use.
2. Turn the hotspot on and wait for it to establish a connection.
3. On your WiFi enabled device, locate the hotspot device, select it, and supply the password. The hotspot device name and password are on a card inside the case.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Keep the hotspot unplugged after it is fully charged. Failure to do this could damage the battery. Do not allow the hotspot to stay in a hot car.

We are hiring!

The Alma Public Library is currently seeking part-time Library Aides. 15-20 hours per week with scheduling flexibility required. Computer and communication skills required. Starting pay is $14.90 per hour. Deadline to apply is June 21st at 4:00 p.m.

Interested applicants should submit a City of Alma Employment Application to:
Cheri Rayner, Human Resources Manager
525 Superior Street
Alma, MI 48801
hrmanager@myalma.org

The complete job description and City of Alma Application can be found here.