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Be a hero at the Merrimack Public library this summer

Did you know there are officially "Five Laws of Li­brary Science" that librarians ascribe to their service?

S.R. Ranganathan, the father of library science, de­veloped these laws. Two that readers will most appreciate are:

"Every reader his (or her) book" and "Every book its reader."

Yes, in the thousands of stories the library holds, each one has its reader and each reader will find his or her story.

This summer, the Merri­mack Public Library, along with libraries all over the na­tion, are taking this theory further with our Summer Reading Challenge theme, "Every Hero Has a Story." We’re honoring heroes of every kind, whether they’re local community heroes, su­perheroes with superpowers, heroes of history or heroes of legend. We have many up­coming events to celebrate these heroes for kids and teens. Here are just a few:

Is your child a superhero fanatic? So are we, and we’re hosting a "Superhero Smash" for children ages 3-8 from 3-4 p.m. Monday, July 27. Children are encouraged to come dressed as superheroes to participate in games and stories packed with a super-powerful punch.

Any teen who visits and supports the library is a hero to us, and luckily teens are still able to nab a spot in our popular Midnight Madness Party, this year with a "Flash­back Friday" theme. From 8 p.m.-midnight Friday, July 31, teens are encouraged to "pajama up" for a breakfast-for-dinner buffet, old-school games, a nostalgic movie and more.

If your child fancies him­self or herself a future fire­fighter, policeman or sol­dier, you won’t want to miss "Hometown Heroes," our tribute to the local folks who save the day on a regular basis. Costumes are encour­aged, so dust off that hard­hat, and join us for stories and activities with a commu­nity hero focus. This event is at 2 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 4, for ages 5-8.

Supporting animals and the environment makes he­roes out of all of us, which is why Annie and the Natural Wonder Band is the perfect musical guest for our Con­cert in the Park finale. An­nie and Safari Bob will take you and your family on a rhythmic journey from the Amazonian rainforests to the Sahara Desert and back again. This concert will take place at Abbie Griffin Park at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 5, and is the last of our youth events for the summer.

Merrimack residents of all ages can show off their heroics by joining us for the Summer Reading Challenge. Kids and teens track reading time, and adults engage in simple and fun library ser­vices to receive raffle tickets toward great prizes.

The motivation for kids and teens is especially big, as our community reading goal will help us fund a dona­tion to Veterans Count New Hampshire, an organization that helps local veterans with home and living expenses. If we reach 10,000 hours of reading time as a com­munity, the Friends of the Merrimack Public Library will make a donation to this worthy organization.

Registration is required for all of our youth events, so have your library card handy and visit merrimacklibrary. org to sign up via our online calendar. Or, simply call the library at 424-5021, ext. 105, to register, or stop by the Children’s Room next time you visit.

While you’re there, pick up a reading log for the Summer Reading Challenge and put that reading and li­brary time toward helping a local hero in need.

Our Reading Challenge runs until Monday, Aug. 31. We hope you can join us for "Every Hero Has a Story!"