Courtesy photo Mikayla Geishauser, age 8, talks with puppet character Sty R. Foam during a recent program “Sty’s Supplies” recorded at and given online by the Hollidaysburg Area Public Library. This program is a new branch of the Art Funshops series; it explains use and safety tips for a wide variety of art equipment. Mikayla is the daughter of Cory and Jennifer Geishauser of Altoona.

HOLLIDAYSBURG — The Hollidaysburg Area Public Library has announced its activities and resources for May.

The library will be closed May 29, 30 and 31 in observance of the Memorial Day holiday.

The library wishes to highlight the free virtual resources available with a current Blair County library card, accessible through the library’s webpage www

.hollidaysburglibrary.org:

Free Tutor.com access: Visit the library’s webpage and click on Tutor

.com to get started with resources including live tutors, SAT prep and more. For best access, create a free account with username/password.

CloudLibrary is a free, virtual way to read digital books using a library card and a digital device (phone, tablet, e-reader or laptop). Visit the library’s webpage and click on cloudLibrary to get started.

PowerLibrary contains a wealth of free resources including Chilton car manuals, reference materials and full text magazine and newspaper articles on thousands of subjects, PA Photos & Documents and more. Click the PowerLibrary logo on the library’s webpage to begin.

AtoZ Food America Database — The library also offers free access to AtoZ Food America Database online through the end of 2021.

Use your Blair County library card number to enjoy thousands of state, regional and ethnic recipes — including food culture articles and an ingredients section, as well as historical and reference articles.

This database is supported by the National Library of Medicine and National Institutes of Health with the University of Pittsburgh, Health Sciences Library System. Access it on the library’s Facebook page or at https://www.atozfood

america.com/?c=Rf7VGwm3EB.

Storytime videos will be posted on the library’s Facebook page each Wednesday throughout the month of May. Miss Melanie partners with other Blair County librarians to offer a variety of books, rhymes, songs, fingerplays and craft activities for children and their grownups to enjoy.

Tuesdays with Cory: Local artist and author Cory Geishauser presents a series of short art/cartooning/caricature videos for all ages, posted on the library’s Facebook page at 10 a.m. each Tuesday.

Lakemont Park Family Day Outreach will be held from 1 to 3 p.m.

May 8 at the park. Enjoy a variety of stories, songs, rhymes and movement activities with your young child. No signup is needed; children must be accompanied by an adult; social distancing must be observed.

Science Cafe: Cosmic Cocktails is a series of free science talks, geared for adults, that will be streamed at 6 p.m. on the first Thursday of each month on the library’s Facebook page and also on the Science Cafe: Cosmic Cocktails Facebook page. The next talk will be May 6 (topic to be announced).

Science Cafe is a partnership among the library, the Science Outreach Center at Saint Francis University and Allegheny Creamery & Crepes of Hollidaysburg, and 20% of takeout food purchases from Allegheny Creamery & Crepes (order by calling 814-696-5055 or using ChowNow) between 8 a.m. and 7 p.m. on the day of each talk will benefit the library. Call 814-472-3878 with questions.

CSB2 STEM Ecosystem Remake Learning Day will be held from 2 to 4:30 p.m. May 11 in the library’s outdoor amphitheatre.

Children from PreK-2 and grades three to five and their accompanying adults are invited to stop by and enjoy several stations with outdoor learning and simple art projects. For those who prefer it, a take-and-make option will be provided, while supplies last. Learn more about Remake Learning Days at

https://csb2ecosystem.org/remake

-learning-days.

National Limerick Day is May 12. Enjoy a poetry-themed display at the library and take a look at its Poet-Tree with writing prompts to help you create your own poem to share.

Citizen Science Activities: The public is invited to participate in the Network of the National Library of Medicine’s virtual health programming, a partnership with SciStarter.

May’s featured activity is an Online Memory Training Study. To participate, visit https://scistarter.org

/nlm/memoryTraining-nlm. The study involves playing a working memory training program, completing cognitive tests and filling out questionnaires. The main study can be completed in 11 business days.

There is a short follow-up session three months later. Upon completion of the study, participants will be entered into a monthly Grand Prize drawing for a chance to win a new iPad (10.2 Retina display with 32 GB of storage) or a gift card valued $20 to $100. Participants also will earn entries into a weekly drawing for $5 or $10 gift cards.

Watch for the library’s social media posts each Thursday and follow the simple directions. A different citizen science activity will be introduced each month.

Citizen Archivist Activity: The public is invited to help unlock history this May by tagging and transcribing historical records on the National Archives’ Citizen Archivist Dashboard.

This month’s focus is Native American History, where participants are invited to help tag photographs with descriptions such as art and artifacts, children, farming, leaders, fishing, music and more. Look for the library’s Facebook posts each Monday with more information or visit https://www.archives.gov/citizen

-archivist/missions/bia-photographs to get started.

Poetry Fridays: The library is participating in the PA Kindness Poem Project, a yearlong initiative by the PA Humanities Council.

Each Friday, the public will be invited to share messages of kindness which will be used as inspiration for a new poem by Philadelphia Poet Laureate Trapeta B. Mayson. Check out the Pennsylvania Humanities Council’s website (PAHumanities.org/Kindness) for more information on how you can “Share Your Kindness.”

Teen Reading Lounge will be held from 5:30 to 8 p.m. each Wednesday in May. Ages 12 to 18 are invited to participate; there will be activities and snacks; signup is required; space is limited. Email melanie@halibrary.org to reserve your student’s space.

Teen Reading Lounge is provided through a grant from the Pennsylvania Humanities Council, supported by Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) funds from the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services. For more information, visit pahumanities.org

/initiatives/teen-reading-lounge.

Springfest — The library will participate in the Hollidaysburg Area Community Partnership’s Springfest to be held on May 15 in uptown Hollidaysburg. Details will be posted on the library’s Facebook page.

Yard sale — The library will hold a yard sale from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. May 21 and 22. Donations of gently used, saleable items, including gently-worn baby and toddler clothing, will be accepted from May 18 to 20 at the library. No donations of clothing other than baby or toddler, please.

The Best of Times Book Club will meet at 2 p.m. May 27 at the library to discuss “Finding Chika” by Mitch Albom. Email janet@halibrary.org to sign up for this free book club.

STEM kits are available for checkout, provided through a CSB2 STEM Ecosystem grant through the Pennsylvania Department of Education and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. These kits contain a book, activity cards and materials to use at home for learning fun. A variety of subjects are in each box, and interest levels range from Pre-K to 12th grade.

Fort Roberdeau Blair County Libraries Backpack — Enjoy spring wildlife using the library’s Fort Roberdeau Blair County Libraries Backpack. The backpack contains literature on Colonial America and the birds/wildlife your family can see at Fort Roberdeau, as well as kid-safe binoculars and a magnifying glass. Fort Roberdeau itself is closed for tours, but the National Historic Site grounds are open from 8 a.m. to dusk for hiking, bird watching and other recreational activities for individuals and small groups. That makes the Blair County Libraries Backpack a great item to check out. Call 695-5961 to make sure the backpack is available for checkout…there is one backpack at each Blair County library.

For the most up-to-date information on library services and hours of operation, visit the the library’s Facebook page and webpage, www.hollidaysburglibrary.org.

The public is invited to support the library’s fundraising and the Best of Friends Bookstore.

All 20 books published in 2020 for the library’s fundraising THIS IS RED project are now available to check out at the library.

To buy them at Amazon, just search the name of the author, Keith Eldred. All profits benefit the project’s $1 million goal. See more at www.thisis.red.