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Library Kits
- 1000 Books before Kindergarten
- Book Club in a Bag
- Memory Kits
- Read it Again Kits
- Roku Streaming Sticks
- STEM Kits
1000 Books Before Kindergarten
Children get a jump start for school by participating in this free program that encourages families to read 1,000 books before their children start kindergarten.
Program Overview
The concept is simple, however the rewards are priceless. Read a book - any book - to your newborn, infant or toddler. The goal is to have read 1,000 books before your little one starts kindergarten.
Reading 1,000 books isn’t as difficult as it sounds. If you read just one book a day, you will reach 1,000 in just three years. If you read three books a day, you’ll finish in under a year. Considering most children start kindergarten at around age 5, you have more than enough time to complete the challenge.
How to Participate
- Visit the front desk of the Mansfield Public Library to sign up.
- Each participating child will receive a sentence strip showing their name, year they start kindergarten and space for milestone stickers. These sentence strips will be displayed in the library in the children’s section.
- Start reading.
- Keep track of the number of books read. You may use a notebook, your phone, online or whatever method you wish.
- Visit the front desk of the library for every 100 books read to receive a milestone sticker to display on your sentence strip. You don’t have to present your reading list to staff.
- Once you have read 1,000 books, your child will receive a special medal commemorating their accomplishment.
Backpacks
The library now offers 1,000 Books Before Kindergarten backpacks. Each backpack is filled with 10 different books in a convenient and portable package. Once you’ve read through 100 backpacks, you’ll have read 1,000 books. The library currently has 200 different backpacks.
Enjoy these printable backpack reading logs:
Have a book club?
Are you looking for the next book club selection or looking to start a book club? Check out our Book Club in a Bag at the library! Each bag contains eight copies of the same title, discussion questions, articles about the author and read-a-likes. Bags can be checked out for six weeks at a time and picked up at Mansfield Public Library (must be returned at MPL). Check out our catalog for available titles.
Current Book club in a Bag titles:
- The Last Child by John Hart
- The Tattooist of Auschwitz by Heather Morris
- The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah
- The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides
- Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng
- The Last Thing He Told Me by Laura Dave
- Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson
More great titles coming soon...
What are the rules?
Book Club in a Bag kits can be checked out for six weeks and can be renewed only if no one is waiting for the item and your account is in good standing. Book Club in a Bag kits must be returned to the front desk of Mansfield Public Library once done.
Who is responsible for the bag’s contents?
The patron checking out the bag is the responsible party for this item and all its contents.
Memory Kits
Mansfield Public Library is excited to announce our new memory kits. Each memory kit or memory bag is filled with activities centered on a specific theme or a common time frame intended to create conversation among caregivers and a person with cognitive issues. Director of Library Services, Yolanda Botello, states, “Mansfield Public Library always looks for ways to serve our community and these memory kits give us a way to reach out to those in our community with cognitive impairments”. These kits are for caregivers of people with dementia, Alzheimer’s or cognitive impairment and are intended to prompt conversations and familiar memories.
Each kit includes soothing music, a large print book with colorful pictures, interactive activity and an informational book for caregivers. Themes include, “Planes, Trains and Automobiles”, “A Visit to the Beach” and “The Sewing Box”. In addition, the library breaks down the kits into different stages of dementia to include two kits for early stages of dementia, two for mid stage and two for late stage. Each stage has appropriate materials for the different levels of activity. The kits feature items for patrons to touch, move and reminisce about the past. The kits are easily located in the front of the library and each one checks out for three weeks and can be simply checked out by a library card.
Each kit contains:
- Interactive activity
- Large print book and colorful illustrations that are designed for people with memory loss
- Soothing or nostalgic music
- Caregiver’s Guide to Dementia by Laura Gitlin
- Audiovisual materials
How it works:
- Check it out with your library card!
- Checks out for three weeks
- Can renew up to two additional times if no one is waiting for it and if your account is in good standing
- Kit must be picked up and returned at Mansfield Public Library only.
Browse the catalog now
Read it Again Kits
Mansfield Public Library offers educational kits filled with books, games, toys, DVDs, CDs and more. Each kit is themed to enhance your child’s enjoyment of learning. The library has Read it Again kits on ABCs, art, Bill Martin Jr., colors, the five senses, friends, growing up, Halloween, imagination, manners, Pete the Cat, school, shapes, sharing, Splat the Cat, time and trees.
Check out all of our kits from our catalog.
Stream popular movies and more to your television over WiFi. A wireless Internet connection and an HDMI port on the TV is needed to use the Roku Streaming Media Device. The library’s Roku kit provides the rest. Just plug in the Roku to the TV, connect it to Wi-Fi, select your entertainment, and start watching.
Channels available on MPL’s Roku Steaming Sticks are: Disney Plus and HBO Max.
Requirements:
- MPL Adult Library Card (aged 17 and older)
- High speed wireless internet
- High Definition TV with HDMI port
Checkout:
- MPL Adult Card Holder only
- Loan period: 7 days
- Checkout Limit: 1
- Checkout and return at the library front desk. No returns in the book drops.
Note: Other than a Wi-Fi password, do not enter any of personal account information to any of the channels. Please, do not attempt to add or remove any channels or content.
Help: Setup Instructions:
- Plug in the power cable into the Roku box and wall socket. Roku does not have an on/off switch on the Roku box; it stays on.
- Plug the HDMI cable cables into the Roku box and the TV.
- Select the appropriate video source or input for the television, if necessary.
- Use the Roku remote to connect to your home WiFi for internet connection
- Go to the Settings menu, and select Network.
- Follow prompts to connect to your home WiFi, and enter a password if your home WiFi requires it.
- Use the Roku remote to select a channel and watch.
STEM Kits
Mansfield Public Library also offers educational science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) kits for grades kindergarten through sixth. Each kit features a different theme based on STEM subjects. The library has STEM kits on magnets (K-3), dinosaurs (K-3), architecture (4-6), X-rays (4-8), forensics (4-8) and more.
Check out all of our kits from our catalog.