2019 Summer Reading Club Drawing

The Summer Reading Club is back again, and we're hoping to make this our best year ever! This year, everyone who signs up for the Summer Reading Club at the Dorris Van Doren Library will receive a free book while supplies last!

Beginning June 8th, patrons of the Dorris Van Doren Library will have the opportunity to enter the Summer Reading Club Drawing for three amazing prizes sponsored by the Friends of the Westside Libraries.

The prizes are:

Prize 1: Nintendo Switch

Prize 2: $50 Gift Card for Western Playland

Prize 3: $50 Gift Card for Alamo Drafthouse

To enter sign up for the Summer Reading Club (either in-person or online at: wandooreader.com/elpasolibrary/summer2019), and read 8 books. Return your log to the Dorris Van Doren Library noting the books you read. Every 8 books read will earn you 1 ticket in the drawing.

You can also check out 8 items from the Dorris Van Doren collection. Every 8 items checked out earns you 1 ticket in the drawing.

You may enter multiple times for the 3 drawings. Write your name and phone number neatly on each of your raffle tickets and return the tickets to the circulation desk.

Be sure to specify which prize drawing you would like to enter!

The drawing for prizes will be held on Friday, August 2 during the Summer Reading Club party. You do not have to be present to win.

All ages are eligible to enter! We encourage everyone to join the Summer Reading Club and read this summer!

Early Music Concert

The Sprezzatuura Quartet visited the Dorris Van Doren Regional Library on Saturday, March 30, treating library patrons to a concert of Renaissance and Baroque music.

The ensemble has visited our library on multiple occasions and their concerts always draw large crowds. This time was no exception! Not only did attendees get to listen to beautiful music being played, but they also had the opportunity to learn about the history of early music.

After the concert, they had a recorder workshop for beginners, an opportunity several people took advantage of! Make sure you watch our calendar to see if there are any future concerts by this wonderful local group.

Third Thursday Book Club: The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides

The Third Thursday Book Club is back again with a new selection! This month's featured book is The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides. 

Alicia Berenson’s life is seemingly perfect. A famous painter married to an in-demand fashion photographer, she lives in a grand house with big windows overlooking a park in one of London’s most desirable areas. One evening her husband Gabriel returns home late from a fashion shoot, and Alicia shoots him five times in the face, and then never speaks another word.

Alicia’s refusal to talk, or give any kind of explanation, turns a domestic tragedy into something far grander, a mystery that captures the public imagination and casts Alicia into notoriety. The price of her art skyrockets, and she, the silent patient, is hidden away from the tabloids and spotlight at the Grove, a secure forensic unit in North London.

Theo Faber is a criminal psychotherapist who has waited a long time for the opportunity to work with Alicia. His determination to get her to talk and unravel the mystery of why she shot her husband takes him down a twisting path into his own motivations―a search for the truth that threatens to consume him....

The next meeting will be held Thursday, April 18th at 5 PM in the library's Family Room. The group meets monthly and is open to all library users. 

Please stop by the library to find out how to reserve your copy. You can also call 915-212-0440 for more information. 

Teen Hangout: Papier-mâché Art

Teens at the Dorris Van Doren Regional Library recently participated in a two-part workshop on making papier-mâché sculptures. The materials used to construct their sculptures were a flour-based glue, old newspapers, balloons, and pipe cleaners. They covered balloons with layers of glue-soaked newspaper to create their structures and then left them to dry. One teen was able to use the materials to construct a whale, using pipe cleaners to create fins.

The teens returned the following week to decorate their sculptures with paint and duct tape. While this project took more time than some of the other activities at our weekly Teen Hangout program, it was definitely worth it to see some of the amazing artwork that came out of it. 

Third Thursday Book Club: Where the Forest Meets the Stars by Glendy Vanderah

The Third Thursday Book Club is back again with a new selection! This month's featured book is Where the Forest Meets the Stars by Glendy Vanderah. 

After the loss of her mother and her own battle with breast cancer, Joanna Teale returns to her graduate research on nesting birds in rural Illinois, determined to prove that her recent hardships have not broken her. She throws herself into her work from dusk to dawn, until her solitary routine is disrupted by the appearance of a mysterious child who shows up at her cabin barefoot and covered in bruises.

The girl calls herself Ursa, and she claims to have been sent from the stars to witness five miracles. With concerns about the child’s home situation, Jo reluctantly agrees to let her stay—just until she learns more about Ursa’s past.

Jo enlists the help of her reclusive neighbor, Gabriel Nash, to solve the mystery of the charming child. But the more time they spend together, the more questions they have. How does a young girl not only read but understand Shakespeare? Why do good things keep happening in her presence? And why aren’t Jo and Gabe checking the missing children’s website anymore?

Though the three have formed an incredible bond, they know difficult choices must be made. As the summer nears an end and Ursa gets closer to her fifth miracle, her dangerous past closes in. When it finally catches up to them, all of their painful secrets will be forced into the open, and their fates will be left to the stars.

The next meeting will be held Thursday, March 21st at 5 PM in the library's Family Room. The group meets monthly and is open to all library users. 

Please stop by the library to find out how to reserve your copy. You can also call 915-212-0440 for more information. 

Exciting Times at Teen Hangout!

The teens that attend Dorris Van Doren's weekly Teen Hangout program have been battling the post-holiday slump by participating in a lot of creative activities. 

During one crafternoon, the teens did foil embossing. They drew designs on cardboard and then traced over their sketch using a hot glue gun. They covered the cardboard with foil and then colored their artwork. 

Another Thursday, the teens made colorful string dolls. They shaped the bodies using flower wire and then wrapped yarn around to create bulk. They decorated their dolls by stitching on faces and adding long hair. 

On Valentine's Day, our teens celebrated the day with treats. While they snacked on cookies and ice cream, they made paper flowers out of tissue paper. They experimented with multiple colors, different petal shapes, and even different sizes of tissue paper. 

We have a lot of fun activities planned for this spring. Check out our calendar to see what will be happening next!

New! Third Thursday Book Club: Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens

The Dorris Van Doren Regional Library is excited to announce the addition of the Third Thursday Book Club to our list of library programs. The group will meet monthly and is open to all library users. 

The first meeting will be held Thursday, February 21st at 5 PM in the library's Family Room.

The club's inaugural book selection is Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens. Please stop by the library to find out how to reserve a copy!