It’s National Library Week, a time to celebrate the contributions of libraries, librarians and library workers in schools, campuses and communities nationwide -  and the perfect time to discover how worlds connect at your library.

The Calcasieu Parish Public Library is celebrating National Library Week, National Poetry Month, and Earth Day with a variety of activities April 13 to 18. All programs are free and open to the public.

The Calliope Puppets will present eight imaginative performances for families in honor of National Library Week. Each show features captivating visual imagery and they use traditional hand puppets as well as life-sized direct manipulation and shadow puppets, or a combination of all these puppets to present their stories.

Calliope Puppets invite verbal or active participation by the audience in parts of each show. All voices are performed live. The schedule of library appearances is:
Monday, April 13: 3 p.m. at the Westlake Library 937 Mulberry Street, 721-7113.
Tuesday, April 14: 6:30 p.m. at the Sulphur Regional Library, 1160 Cypress Street, 721-7138.
Thursday, April 16: 2 p.m. at the Fontenot Memorial Library in Vinton, 1402 Center Street, 721-7095.
In addition to the Calliope Puppets programs, the following programs are offered to the public.

Monday, April 13:
Fontenot Memorial Library: 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.: Open House with refreshments to honor all library volunteers.
Moss Bluff Library: 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., Teen Open Mic Night to celebrate National Poetry Month. Teens have a platform on which to express themselves through poetry, song, spoken word, or music in this night of friends, food, and fun in a coffeehouse setting.

Tuesday, April 14:
Fontenot Memorial Library: 4 p.m. to 5 p.m., Family reading and puppets time. Door prizes and refreshments.

Wednesday, April 15:
Fontenot Memorial Library: 10 a.m to 10:45 a.m., Birds and Wild Animals, for “N-B-Tweens in grades 3-5. After a discussion about habitats, they will make  birdfeeders to take home.
Fontenot Memorial Library: 11 a.m. to 12noon, Books-n-Bites for Teens. Teens will discuss their favorite books, authors and recent new arrivals in the library system. They will discuss having a teen book club.
Moss Bluff Library: 4 p.m. to 5 p.m., The Ravenous Readers (3rd-5th grade) will make Crazy Creations from Styrofoam balls, packaging peanuts, toothpicks and paints.

Saturday, April 18:
Fontenot Memorial Library: 11 a.m.to 12 noon., Dance, Dance Revolution Spring Break, for Teens and N-B-Tweens, with door prizes and refreshments.

“Everyday, libraries in big cities and small towns, colleges and universities, in schools and in businesses help transform their communities,” says Michael Sawyer, Calcasieu Parish Public Library Director. “At our library, people of all backgrounds come together for community meetings, lectures and programs, to do research with the assistance of a trained professional, to get help finding a job, help with their business, or to find homework help.”

For more information, call 721-7116, or visit the Calcasieu Parish Public Library at  www.calcasieu.lib.la.us, for a complete listing of resources, programs, locations, and hours.