Friends of the Salem - Missouri- Public Library

09/01/2026

📚 September is Library Membership Month! 📚

Did you know you don’t have to live inside the Salem city limits to enjoy everything our library has to offer?

For September, the Friends of the Salem Public Library are offering a little help to our neighbors outside the city limits. ❤️

🎉 We will sponsor a FREE 6-month library card for qualifying county residents!

A library card can open the door to books, movies, research resources, internet access, STEM backpacks, fishing poles and so much more.

Want to apply? You can pick up a scholarship form at the library or use the QR code to take you directly to the form.

Because being a library member shouldn't be out of reach just because of your address. ❤️📖

08/28/2026

💥📚 **Read Comics in Public Day!** 📚💥

You have our official permission to sit somewhere in public and read a comic book like it’s the most important thing in the world.

Find a bench. Sit at the park. Grab a coffee. Visit the library. Take your comic with you and **read it proudly!**

And don’t let anyone tell you that comics “aren’t real reading.”

Comics combine words, art, storytelling, humor, history, science, and imagination — sometimes all on the same page. They can introduce reluctant readers to books, help build vocabulary and comprehension, and remind lifelong readers that **reading is supposed to be fun.**

So whether you’re a superhero fan, a manga lover, a newspaper-comic traditionalist, or someone who just enjoys a good graphic novel…

💥 **READ THAT COMIC IN PUBLIC.** 💥

📚 Stop by the library and see what comics and graphic novels we have waiting for you!

08/21/2026

Say "happy birthday!" to beloved character Winnie the Pooh today by checking out this fun display in the children's section of the library!

08/21/2026

📝✨ **Happy Poets Day!** ✨📝

Today we celebrate the poets — the people who somehow manage to say in a few carefully chosen words what the rest of us need three paragraphs to explain. 😂

Poetry can be serious, silly, beautiful, strange, heartbreaking, hilarious, or all of the above.

And you don’t have to be a *“real poet”* to write it. A poem can be scribbled in the margins of a notebook, tucked inside a drawer, written on the back of a receipt, or shared with the whole world.

So today, read a poem. Write a poem. Or just find a favorite line that has stuck with you over the years.

📚 **And if you’re looking for poetry, you know where to find it… your local library!** ❤️

What’s your favorite poem or poet? Tell us in the comments! 👇

08/17/2026

✏️ **Happy #2 Pencil Day!** ✏️
**August 17**

Yes, there really is a day for the humble #2 pencil. And honestly… we think it deserves a little recognition. 😂

The #2 pencil has been there for us through **spelling tests, crossword puzzles, library scavenger hunts, doodles, grocery lists, and approximately 47,000 erasers.**

And if you grew up hearing *“Use a #2 pencil!”* before every standardized test, you know exactly what we mean. 😉

So today, grab your favorite pencil, sharpen it up, and celebrate one of the most dependable little tools around.

✏️ **Fun fact:** The “ #2” refers to the pencil’s graphite hardness — it’s right in the middle of the hardness scale and is the standard pencil used for many standardized tests.

08/14/2026

🎒✏️ Are you headed to the Back to School Fair at Salem Community Center at the Armory?

📚 Be sure to stop at the library’s table!

🖍️✂️ Supplies are available from 3:00 this afternoon until 7:00 this evening. So is information on loads of community resources to help make this school year fantastic!

🌭🚰 Food and drinks have been provided by Bound Together. 🎯 Games, too!

08/14/2026

08/11/2026

📚 **ATTENTION, SALEM: WE HAVE A MYSTERY!** 📚

Over the last few weeks, the Friends of the Library have been blessed with **oodles and oodles and OODLES of book donations!** And we are incredibly grateful!

A big THANK YOU to **Steve Thompson** for his very generous donation! ❤️

But then… there is **The Mystery Lady.** 🕵️‍♀️📚

A very kind lady dropped off a *mountain* of books for the Friends of the Library — and then disappeared without leaving us a name!

Ma’am, we appreciate your generosity, but **we’d really like to know who you are so we can properly thank you!**

So, Salem, this is where small-town community comes in:

**WHO KNOWS THE MYSTERY BOOK LADY?** 👀

If you were the lovely lady who recently dropped off **oodles and oodles of books** at the library, please comment below! And if you know who she is, **tag her!** We promise this is a friendly investigation. 🕵

The books will be sold at our annual Friends of the Library Book Sale, with the proceeds going right back toward supporting our local library.

Thank you, Mystery Lady — whoever you are! ❤️📚
**Salem, do your thing. We know somebody knows somebody.** 😉

08/01/2026

I've used a bill, a piece of trash, a pressed flower.

What's the strangest thing you've used as a bookmark?