Library to hold end of summer celebration

IRONWOOD - The Ironwood Carnegie Library is hosting a dual event on Monday to celebrate the end of the summer reading program and solar eclipse.

Lynne Wiercinski, librarian, said Monday's event will kick off at 12:55 p.m. They would like all their summer readers, parents and everyone else who can make it to come to the library for the event.

Wiercinski said they have glasses on hand. Having been listed as an official provider on the internet, they have given away a bunch of glasses, but also kept a large number for Monday's event. While Wiercinski was talking to the Globe, a man from Ashland came in to get two pairs.

Laura Noren, programmer for the library, is speaking on Monday about eclipses and how to watch them safely, including why people wear glasses to look at eclipses and how to wear them properly.

Wiercinski said children under 8 should be accompanied by a parent and children over 8 need to be educated before coming to the library about not looking at the sun. The library is not responsible for people staring at the sun.

Wiercinski said Ironwood is only supposed to see about a 75 percent eclipse and around 1:20 p.m., the Friends of the Library are providing a cook-out with hot dogs for all in attendance. During the cook-out, Naomi Wegmeyer, retired music teacher, will play her guitar and sing about the sun. There will be crafts and games for people to play during the event.

In the event the sky is cloudy and the eclipse is not visible from the ground in Ironwood, the library is live-streaming the eclipse from other areas in the country, which will allow people to see the full eclipse instead of the partial one in this area.

At 2 p.m., the summer reading drawing will be held, according to Wiercinski. The winner of the drawing receives a free pizza party, while gift cards will also be handed out to kids involved in the summer program.

The library has a link with useful information about the solar eclipse under the 2017 Solar Eclipse tab.