Planting the Seeds of Knowledge at Your Local Library
Your local Library the J. Robert Jamerson Memorial Library is more than just books, we are a community hub of knowledge, entertainment, and community outreach.
Last week was busy, with lots of planning, programs, and plants. Part of staff planning is for the 2026 Summer Reading Program “Unearth a Story” (Desentierra una Historia). There will be a focus on dinosaurs, archaeology, adventurers, and more, starting on June 1st!
On Tuesday, March 10th, the Library hosted their monthly Tween Steam Program, featuring “Pi Skyline”, made possible by the Infinite Sums Rural and Small Libraries Grant. Turning the numbers of Pi into a skyline using graph paper, makers, and crayons to create art out of math.
The Library featured the book “How to Catch a Leprechaun” by Adam Wallace for the Wednesday, March 11th’s Story & Craft Time. You’ve been planning night and day, and finally you’ve created the perfect trap with shamrocks, pots of gold, and rainbows galore! Now all you need to do is wait. Is this the year you’ll finally catch the leprechaun? The kids enjoyed snacks, while creating tissue paper shamrock wreaths. Our next Story & Craft Time will be on Wednesday, March 18th, our guest reader will be Ranger Chance from Holliday Lake State Park, featuring a spring and flowers themed book and craft project at 11:00 am, and 12:00 pm.
The Library hosted both the Teen and Adult Book Clubs on Wednesday, March 11th. For the Teen Book Club, the featured book was “What the River Knows” by Isabel Ibañez, and the Adult Book Club’s featured title was “The Lost Apothecary” by Sarah Penner.
For the Creative Class for Adult, also on Wednesday, March 11th, everyone was all twisted up for math-based Pi string creations, turning mathematical data into visual art. The purpose of this class is to encourage adults to explore their creative side through freestyle thinking and imagination, turning inspiration into originality and resourcefulness.
The Library hosted their Tween Book Club on Thursday, March 12th, featuring the book “The Secret of Kells: The Graphic Novel (Cartoon Saloon’s Irish Folklore)” adapted by Samuel Sattin. The kids enjoyed snacks and a discussion on friends, secret powers, Vikings, and legends. Our next Tween Book Club will be held on April 16, 2026 at 4:00 PM featuring the book “Wolfwalkers” by Samuel Sattin. In a time of superstition and magic, a young apprentice hunter, Robyn Goodfellowe, journeys to Ireland with her father whose job it is to wipe out the last wolf pack. Robyn, unable to hunt with her father and sick of being confined, sneaks out to explore the forbidden lands outside the city walls. There, Robyn befriends a free-spirited girl, Mebh, a member of a mysterious tribe of WOLFWALKERS rumored to have the ability to transform into wolves by night. There are multiple copies of this book available at the circulation desk.
If you would like to view The Secret of Kells, you can watch the animated feature on kanopy, the Library’s free streaming service. To find out more about kanopy, you must have a valid and active library card, and visit our website at www.jrjml.org, then click on kanopy to get started.
Due to no school on Friday, March 13th, the Library hosted another Infinite Sums Rural and Small Libraries Grant event of Pi-related activities and crafts. We had pi, pies, and Moon Pies!
It was a Piepalooza on Saturday, March 14th, for a family style event with patrons of all ages, with crafts and snacks to celebrate math and all things Pi and Pie!
Spring is coming, this would be a great time to donate those unused books, DVDs, and magazines to the Library. We accept items that are free of the scent of smoke / mold, and in clean condition. If we can not make use of these donated items, they will be put in several little free libraries that we maintain, sold in our book sale, given to another organization, or disposed of as needed.
The Jamerson Seed Library returns! Join us in growing a stronger community starting Wednesday, April 1st. Whether you’re a beginner or a master gardener, come browse our free selection of seeds, bulbs, bareroots and other items! To ensure everyone gets a chance to plant, there is a limit of 3 items per household weekly. Have extra items? Please consider donating to keep our community bounty growing! Let’s cultivate beauty, sustainability, food security, support of local pollinators, and grow together!
The Library staff is also getting ready for their annual spring plant swap by rooting cuttings, getting pots ready, and planting seeds! We will start announcing the date of this event in April. Be sure to keep an eye out for this event and other Library-related information at the online newspaper the Appomattox Times at https://appomattoxtimes.com, our website at https://www.jrjml.org/, or our social media accounts on Facebook, Instagram, and Bluesky.
Help us feed our community! The J. Robert Jamerson Memorial Library is still accepting donations for our “Meal in a Bag” program, which provides easy-to-make, nourishing meals to families in need. We have made donating easy: you pick up a bag with a recipe card at the library, fill it with the non-perishable ingredients, and return it to us. Check out the recipe ideas at https://www.jrjml.org/tbtc/.
Do you, or a neighbor, need support with meals? Please sign up to receive a box of meal kits at https://www.jrjml.org/finr or by calling us. We will reach out when your kits are ready for pickup.
If you have any questions or concerns about this article or other library-related topics, please feel free to call us during normal business hours.
Article/photo submitted by
Katharine G. Bloodworth
J. Robert Jamerson Memorial Library
The Library receives a steady supply of new and donated items and would like to highlight the following items:
DVDs
- The Great Math Mystery
- A Brilliant Young Mind
- The Story of Math
- Fractals
- Now You See Me Now You Don’t
- The Vampire Diaries – Season 1
- The Vampire Diaries – Season
Picture Books
- Don’t Eat Eustace by Lian Cho
- Chicka Chicka Peep Peep by Julien Chung
- Little Moments in a Big Universe by Todd Stewart
Juvenile Graphic Novels:
- The Adventures of Rabbi Harvey by Steve Sheinkin
- Rabbi Harvey Rides Again by Steve Sheinkin
- Rabbi Harvey and the Wisdom Kid by Steve Sheinkin
Young Adult Graphic Novels:
- Love, Misha by Askel Aden
- Raised by Ghosts by Briana Loewinsohn
- Children of the Night (When Monsters Wake #1) by Victoria Setian
Young Adult Fiction
- The Same Backward as Forward by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
Young Adult Nonfiction
- American Spirits: the Famous Fox Sisters and the Mysterious Fad That Haunted a Nation by Barb Rosenstock
- White House Secrets: Medical Lies and Cover-Ups by Gail Jarrow
- White Lies: How the South Lost the Civil War, then Rewrote History by Ann Bausum
Adult Fiction
- To Ride a Rising Storm (Nampeshiweisit #2) by Moniquill Blackgoose
- Rakesfall by Vajra Chandrasekera
- I, Medusa by Ayana Gray
- The Place Where They Buried Your Heart by Christina Henry
- The Book of Love by Kelly Link
- The Rules of Falling for You by Mollie Rushmeyer
- Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil by V. E. Schwab
- The Merge by Grace Walker
- Fallen City (Fallen City #1) by Adrienne Young
Adult Nonfiction
- Tulips and Chimneys by E. E. Cummings
- The Complete Works of Nathaniel Hawthorne: Twice-Told Tales
- Poems and Essays by Ralph Waldo Emerson
- Collected Works of Oscar Wilde
- Collected Works of Rudyard Kipling (volumes 1 and 2)
- Fire in Every Direction: a Memoir by Tareq Baconi
- The Complete Book of US Presidents (2025 Edition) by Bill Yenne
March 16th, Monday – Sun Bonnet Sue Stitchers to meet at the J. Robert Jamerson Memorial Library starting at 10:00 am. Anyone interested in sharing or learning a skill like crocheting, knitting, quilting, needlework, sewing or other related hobbies are encouraged to attend. Enjoy good company while sharing patterns, exchanging ideas, learning new projects or teaching others. This meeting is open to anyone willing to teach or learn, yes gentleman, this includes you too!
March 17th, Tuesday – Jamerson Library Board to meet in the Library’s community room starting at 4:00 pm. The Library is located at 157 Main Street in Appomattox, VA. These meetings are open to the public.
March 18th, Wednesday – Jamerson Library to host Holliday Lake State Park for Story & Craft Time starting at 11:00 am & 12:00 pm. Join Ranger Chance as he reads an age-appropriate book about spring and flowers, followed by a craft project and snacks!
March 18th, Wednesday – Cryptology: The Mathematics of Making and Breaking Secret Codes. Join Steven Hoehner in the Jamerson Memorial Library’s community room starting at 4:00 pm for an interactive and activity-based mini lecture on cryptology.
March 19th, Thursday – Jamerson Library’s Math Movie starting at 6:00 pm in the commentary room. This movie is about an incredible untold story of three brilliant African-American women working at NASA. They served as the brains behind one of the greatest operations in history: the launch of an astronaut into orbit. This movie is rated PG, snacks will be served.
March 21st, Saturday – Jamerson Library to join the Moose Lodge for their Easter Egg Hunt from 10:00 am to 11:00 am. The Library will be inside with crafts, coloring pages, and Library information. The Moose Lodge is located at 307 Lee’s Crossing Lane, Appomattox, VA.
March 23rd, Monday – GED Outreach @ the J. Robert Jamerson Memorial Library. From 12:00 pm–3:00 pm, Doriane Mills from the Adult Learning Center will be at the Library to answer your questions and help you sign up for classes to earn your GED.
March 24th, Tuesday – Jamerson Memorial Library’s Teen Crafts at 3:30 pm in the Library’s community room. Want to learn about Junk Journaling? Join us as we help you turn memorabilia, photos, magazine and scrapbooking paper, stickers, rhinestones, and other embellishments to create the first few pages of your very own junk journals. We will supply all needed materials, including an empty, ready to decorate, journal, to get you started, while you supply the imagination. If you want, you can bring in your own personal items such as photos, ticket stubs, special paper and other items you would like to add to your journals.
March 25th, Wednesday – Preschool Story & Craft Time at the J. Robert Jamerson Memorial Library starting at 11:00 am and 12:00 pm. The Library will feature an age-appropriate book followed by a simple craft project and snacks. Everyone is welcome to attend with the understanding that this program is intended for preschool patrons.
March 25th, Wednesday – High-Dimensional Geometry and Probability talk with Steven Hoehner in the Jamerson Library’s community room starting at 4:00 pm. He will be presenting his recent work highlighting a new paper that demonstrates the optimality of random partial sphere coverings.
March 26th, Thursday – After School Crafts with MaKayla starting at 4:00 pm in the Library’s community room. Come create small junk journals with lots of craft supplies such as markers, crayons, stickers, fancy paper and other embellishments.
March 28th, Saturday – Jamerson Memorial Library’s Career Fair from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm in Abbitt Park, located next to the Library. Join us for an in-person opportunity to learn about local companies, the armed forces, and other organizations that are potentially hiring. You can submit resumes, network, and find a career that best matches your education, personality, and interests.
March 30th, Monday – GED Outreach @ the J. Robert Jamerson Memorial Library. From 12:00 pm–3:00 pm, Doriane Mills from the Adult Learning Center will be at the Library to answer your questions and help you sign up for classes to earn your GED.
March 31st, Tuesday – Brick Bird Building in the conference room of the Jamerson Memorial Library, starting at 4:00 pm. Turn colorful little bricks into an assortment of tiny birds. It is one kit per patron. This program is intended for primary and elementary school-aged children and above. Please be aware that these small bricks are a choking hazard for smaller children.
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