Library kicks off National Library Week with rally

By BRITTANY FHOLER

Cove Leader-Press

The Copperas Cove Public Library kicked off National Library Week with the 3rd annual Rally Day held Saturday. 

Different organizations and clubs that use the library for a meeting space or event space were set up in the Meeting Room and the Teamwork Room. The groups had fliers and some even put on demonstrations to show visitors what each group has to offer. 

“We’re trying to really feature the clubs and organizations that meet at the library and offer classes and events for the public at the library,” said Kevin Marsh, Library Director. 

Groups at the Rally Day included the Double C’s Square Dance Club; the Central Texas Makers Club; the local chapter of the Society for Creative Anachronism; the Central Texas Writers Society; the Library Book Club; the Friends of the Library and the local AARP. 

There are also groups and organizations that meet at the library or hold events there that weren’t present at the Rally Day, including many Girl Scout troops and other community organizations.  

“It’s sort of neutral ground, everybody feels welcome here, so they can hold an event that’s for their members and for the public,” Marsh said. 

In the afternoon, students from Self Defense America showed off their martial arts skills for Rally Day participants. The Double C’s Square Dance Club had demonstrations of square dancing, which Mary Garrett joined in on. 

Garrett had come to see the martial arts demonstration to support a friend but stayed after to dance with members of the square dance club as well as other visitors. 

“I loved it. It was fun,” Garrett said. “We grabbed a flier [from the Double C’s table]. We’re interested so we’re gonna see if we can get a group of us girls together and go try it out.”

There were miniature horses outside for kids to pet and take pictures with. The library staff also had a treasure hunt map for visitors to take and go to different places in the library where they could get their map initialed to show that they went and learned about each particular area.  When finished, they could then turn their map in for a coupon for a free book from the book sale in the lobby. They would also be entered to win a gift card for Amazon when they turned in their completed treasure hunt map. 

Chick-fil-A and Schlotzsky’s donated food and drinks, which were available for the cost of a donation to the Friends of the Library, who had a container set up for “Cents for Books”.

The Writers Society had a pad of paper at their table where visitors could help write a story, one sentence or two at a time. The SCA had a few demonstrations of different styles of combat and an interactive demonstration of weaving set up near their table

The Double C’s Square Dance Club meets every Tuesday evening for free square dance lessons and holds square dances the second and fourth Friday of each month at the library. The Book Club meets at 10:00 a.m. the third Wednesday of each month while the Friends of the Library meet at 7 p.m. the third Monday of the month in January, May, August and November. 

The local AARP has been offering tax assistance to anyone who needs it at the library every Wednesday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. 

The Central Texas Writers Society meets at the library the second Thursday of each month at 6 p.m. and holds open mic nights at other locations such as Lil Tex Restaurant and Eden Culture Café, in Killeen. 

The Central Texas Maker Club was set up in the Teamwork Room, where the library’s 3-D printer is located, helping give tips and tricks on how to use the 3-D printer. The club formed less than two years ago shortly after the library purchased the 3-D printer. They meet the second Wednesday of each month at 6 p.m. in the Meeting Room and also hold classes and workshops on Saturdays, focusing on 3-D printing but also laser printing, software development and even woodworking among other things, according to Ron Nelson, one of the founders of the club. 

“The Maker Club is not just about 3-D printing. It’s not just about the high-tech stuff,” Nelson said. “It’s about melding together people with different interests because quite honestly, that’s where some of the most interesting ideas have come from, is somebody has a problem and they don’t even know that there might be a solution to the problem.”

The local chapter of the Society for Creative Anachronism, The Stronghold of Hellsgate, includes Copperas Cove as well as surrounding areas all the way to Salado and Moody.  They focus on history and crafts and culture from the Middle Ages and Renaissance periods. They meet every Thursday at Carl Levin Park in Harker Heights for their Social and Practice, to hone fighting techniques and social skills, and meet the third Wednesday of every month at the Copperas Cove Public Library at 8 p.m. to discuss the Arts and Sciences of the Medieval and Renaissance periods in what is called Arts and Sciences Night.