Five things you might not know Denton Public Library offers: E-books, Cricut printing and basic bike repair

Visit one of the Denton Public Library locations to learn more:

North Branch Library: 3020 N. Locust St.

Emily Fowler Central Library: 502 Oakland St.

South Branch Library: 3228 Teasley Lane

Summer reading challenge

Denton Public Library hosts a summer reading challenge every year. This year’s challenge ends July 31, so there’s still time to sign up. Director of Libraries Jennifer Bekker said there is a misconception that the program is only for kids because it takes place in the summer, but adults can participate, too.

“It helps kids with retaining [their] reading level,” Bekker said. “But for adults … it continues to build those neurons, and studies are starting to show that reading fiction helps grow empathy and understanding.”

Participants can sign up at Denton.ReadSquared.com and log the time they spend reading, and, yes, listening to audiobooks counts. For the first five hours logged, you win a free new book, provided by the Friends of the Denton Public Library. For the next five hours, you earn another free book. For every five hours logged, you also earn a ticket that will be put into a prize drawing.

Free events

All three library locations regularly host a variety of free events. They host story time events for kids. For teens, there are craft and game events, as well as a teen advisory board where teens can give feedback about library programs and earn volunteer hours.

For adults, there are casual book clubs, career and technology-focused classes, and art classes.

A library card is not required to attend any of these events, but some do require online registration ahead of time if there are a limited number of supplies or seats. For a full schedule, click here.

The Forge Makerspace

This tech-forward facility opened at the North Branch Library in June 2021. It hosts a wide array of technology including 3D printers, button makers, laser cutters and Cricut machines. People can create buttons and make prints on tote bags, mugs, coasters or T-shirts.

“We wanted to do this because the makerspace movement in public libraries is huge,” North Branch Assistant Manager Kasey Fanucchi said. “We saw the need in our community because we have so many creative people here who like to make things.”

The equipment itself is free to use, so participants only need to purchase materials. Materials are sold at the forge for low prices, but people are also allowed to bring their own materials.

“You get 10 buttons for $1 and the tote bag is $1,” Fanucchi said. “Everything’s really affordable because we want this space to be accessible to anyone.”

Fanucchi also said that some people have started small businesses selling the goods they made in the forge.

“We had one customer who had a jewelry making business,” she said. “They would buy pieces of wood, then cut the wood into shapes to make earrings on the GlowForge [laser printer], paint them with the paint pens that we provide here and then sell them on Etsy. And they were able to make little cute tags with their logo and everything in here.

“Start to finish, the whole product was made in this space.”

The forge is open on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. If those days don’t work for you, just contact the library to set up an appointment for a different day.

Discovery kits

With a library card, you can also check out a discovery kit: a clear backpack with materials to help people learn about a specific topic or hobby. Just like other items available for checkout, these kits can be checked out for up to three weeks.

“The goal is to provide some type of educational kit that includes resources,” Bekker said. “But also [has] a hands-on activity to support that learning.”

There are kits for kids that use interactive methods to teach them about coding or electricity, as well as a kit focused on dinosaurs that includes realistic fossil replicas. There are also discovery kits with Toniebox speakers, which play stories for kids and include a figurine of a character from each story.

Teens can make their own Lego movie with the stop animation kit or learn how to roll sushi with a cooking kit. They can also check out a Makey Makey, which transforms common objects into computer interfaces.

Adults can check out a beginner’s crochet or knitting kit or a guide to letterboxing. You can also check out a sewing machine or a record player from the library.

There are also language learning kits tailored to each age group.

Bekker said the library gets feedback from patrons online and in person, which helps library staffers decide on new themes for discovery kits, events and other programs.

“Libraries should always be evolving because our community is always evolving,” she said. “And our goal is to keep getting that feedback so we can continually grow.”

Online resources

Don’t have time to make a visit to the library? Check out the wide variety of online resources.

For e-books and audiobooks, check out the CloudLibrary or Hoopla apps. Checking out digital books from CloudLibrary works just like checking out physical books: You can keep them for up to three weeks, and if an item you want is unavailable, you can put it on hold.

Along with e-books and audiobooks, Hoopla also offers streaming movies, TV shows and music. Patrons can check titles out immediately, as there are no availability restrictions. However, the library system is only allotted a certain number of checkouts each day. Bekker said this limit is often reached pretty early in the day, so she advised patrons to check items out right after the allotment count renews at midnight.

“It’s so good that it’s actually a victim of its popularity,” she said.

For kids, there is also the LightBox learning platform, which offers interactive, nonfiction e-books available in multiple languages.

For students, there’s BrainFuse, which offers homework help from online tutors for students from third grade to college. If you’re wanting to learn a new language, you also gain free access to Mango Languages with a library card.

For people interested in professional development, there is LinkedIn Learning. An individual membership starts at about $20 per month, but you can use it for free with a library card.

Formerly known as Lynda.com, LinkedIn Learning offers video training courses. Although these courses mainly focus on technology and business, there are also courses that teach about photography or how to play a musical instrument.

These are just some of the resources available at Denton Public Library, but this is not at all an exhaustive list.

On their website, there is a form to suggest event ideas or submit comments about what you’d like to see at the library. Fanucchi said libraries are not just quiet places to read or study but a community space that offers patrons resources for improvement and enrichment.

“Libraries are about access to information and empowering the people in your community,” she said. “We just want to be here as a welcoming, open space for everyone to come in and improve their lives in whatever way they want.”