From April 8-12, we celebrated National Library Week at Hekman Library by offering several fun events, encouraging the Calvin community to enjoy the library in many ways.

Monday's presentation and reception, "Through the Looking Glass," showcased beautiful materials from the new Bult collection of rare children's books and toys. Librarian Francene Lewis gave an insightful talk about the history of this collection, its donors, and the challenging but rewarding work of processing this one-of-a-kind collection. Eventually, this collection will have a permanent home in the library, but for now, you can come see some selections on display in the Heritage Hall windows on the main floor.

Despite the slow pace of reading recess on Tuesday for the Grand Rapids Public Library event, we still had plenty of passersby learning more about the many resources available through the local public library system and signing up for GRPL cards. We also had some participation in our week-long Instagram Eye-Spy. If you liked that little game, follow @Hekmanlibrary to join in for future fun!

Finally, our grand finale, the Books in the Baking competition, made a return with a full spread of delicious and delightfully decorated baked goods! We crowned a winner of People's Choice and Judges' Pick - Emily Joustra and Christina Ribben's Make Way for Ducklings cake and Stephanie Voogt and Kathyrn Boerman-Cornell's Charlotte's Web cake. Special nod to Calvin Catering for providing the huge, amazingly intricate Green Eggs and Ham sheet cake. Check out our Facebook or Instagram for more photos on this week's fun.

We hope to bring you these events and others to make the library a center for fun and learning.