Westside Library - El Paso Public Library

Did you know that you can get free garden seeds at the library? The Westside Library has vegetable, herb and flower seeds so that you can work on your "green thumb." If you're not sure how to get started gardening, make sure you ask to see some of books about gardening! Some new books that we just got might interest you. A few new ones are listed below. Countertop Gardens  by Shelley Levis How to Grow Mushrooms From Scratch   by Magdalena & Herbert Wurth Starting & Saving Seeds   by Julie Thompson-Adolf

The Disasters by M.K. England The Disasters is a truly refreshing story. It's a space adventure, a story about unlikely friendships and saving the world. The main characters have all washed out of the elite space academy at Ellis Station. They're all on their way home, about to board a shuttle back to Earth when disaster strikes. They escape and become the only witnesses to the act of terrorism on the station. And now the four washouts are on the lam from very dangerous people. All of the characters are vibrant and different from the usual young adult heroes. The story is narrated by Pakastani-American, Nax, who grew up on a farm in Iowa (echoes of Captain Kirk?). The action starts right away as Nax meets his fellow washouts and then they are all working together to escape from the terrorists. I really came to like Nax and enjoyed his story arc throughout the book. The book is written for teens, but adults will also enjoy this excellent and fun adventure story. Find ...

Get ready for some fun Spring Storytimes at the Westside Library! Sing, dance and, of course, listen to stories. Storytime is every Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday from 11 am to 12 pm.

On the day before Easter, Saturday April 20, the Westside Library had TWO Easter Egg Hunts! We hid over 400 Easter Eggs and between around 120 participants, they found most of them! (One was still waiting for us at the library on Monday.) We also had activities like a "Bunny Hop," ring toss and egg shell stacking. We wish you were here!

Egg hunting is a fun part of Easter. But egg hunting real birds' eggs can land a person in prison. Did you know that the there is an ongoing nationwide police initiative in the United Kingdom called "Operation Easter?" The program, created in 1997 tracks wildlife crimes, specifically egg collecting, which can be illegal if the animals are endangered. Operation Easter is headquartered an hour north of London and run by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB). RSPB was created by women in 1889, when they were not allowed to join the British Ornithologists' Union. Because Britain doesn't have a central government agency to enforce wildlife crimes, the RSPB is important to preventing "bird crimes." Operation Easter makes up 25% of their work. They "crack down" on egg collecting. RSPB has found that the egg collectors still working aren't "interested in selling or even trading eggs, only in possessing them." One egg co...

Why is Tax Day on April 15? Income taxes were established when the Sixteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution was ratified in 1913. In 1954 Congress set the date for a deadline to file taxes on April 15, in order to give taxpayers enough time to "recover from Christmas expenses." Find out more using the library's TexShare databases: Rothman, Lily. 2015. “ How April 15 Became Tax Day .”   Time.Com , April, N.PAG.

Getting ready for the upcoming election, the El Paso Times printed bond issue improvements to be voted on. The Westside Library was in the bond issue for $1.6 million which would include construction of the building, books and furniture. Read more here: El Paso Times 5 April 1979

Using natural and recycled materials, Westsider,  Mary Ann Herman, makes dolls. The dolls were made of rocks, plastic, cotton balls and any other material Herman thought could be repurposed. Herman displayed her collection of dolls at the Westside Library in April of 1998. Read more here: El Paso Times  1 April 1998