Summer Reading at the Longview Library kicks off June 23 - the day that Longview Schools release - and runs through August 5. "Build a Better World" is the theme for 2017, and we have fun events planned that celebrate building, construction, gardening, upcycling, and the magical world of Harry Potter.  

Everyone is invited to read for fun and prizes - babies, kids, teens, and now adults! You will be able to sign up, keep track of your reading, get book recommendations, and receive event reminders through Beanstack, our online reading challenge program linked on our website. Pre-registration is available right now!

This year marks the 20th anniversary of the first Harry Potter book, Harry Potter and the Sorceror's Stone. Celebrate with us outside on the library lawn at this all ages party.

Take a ride on the Hogwarts Express, get sorted into your Hogwarts House, have a wand choose you, take a potions class, play Quidditch, and more! Costumes are highly encouraged.

Job Search &
Resume Class
Two Part Class with WorkSource
Friday, June 2 & Friday, June 16 | 2 PM - 4 PM

Register for this free class at the library
or by calling 360.442.5300

All hail, Harry Potter! 2017 is the 20^th Anniversary of the original publication of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (or Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone in Great Britain). I remember in 1998 when the book was first published in this country and seeing that book on the bestseller list and wondering what it was. Week after week, I kept seeing that book on the lists and finally broke down and bought it. The Harry Potter books so dominated the bestseller list that they began to break out children’s books separately from adult titles. I have read many books in the fantasy genre but, other than reading books to my son, I hadn’t read a book specifically written for children since I had been a child (a long time ago).  From the moment that I read the first page and entered J.K. Rowling’s wonderful, fantastic, and yet so vividly real, world, I was hooked. I continued to read the others as they came out and began trying to convince my wife to read them. It took a couple of years, but I remember when she finally broke down and began to read them. I was back in Syracuse, New York attending a three-week session as part of my Masters in Library Science program and had taken the fourth book, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire with me to read. I hadn’t been in Syracuse very long when I got an email from my wife saying I had better get back with that book soon, because she had just finished Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban and could barely wait to find out what happened next. It wasn’t long after that that we began to read them to our son, which, besides hooking another person on the series, was a wonderful family experience. Even after he could read them on his own (and he did), when the later books came out we read them first together and later individually. We even went to a couple of midnight release parties to join others who found the books so amazing and timeless. When the final book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, came out we ended up buying three copies of the book and spent Saturday reading them. I was the first one to finish and could barely contain myself waiting for my family to finish so we could talk about it. As you might have guessed, I’m a big fan of Harry Potter. In honor of this anniversary, the library will be hosting a Harry Potter party on the evening of June 27 and we hope you’ll be able to join us. You might even see someone who looks a bit like me dressed as Dumbledore.