Author: webAdmin

Cruise into Kindergarten is a statewide initiative designed to strengthen early learning and support kindergarten readiness through library programming, an online game, parent resources, and professional resources.

The activity stations help build pre-reading and pre-writing skills, as well as letter and number recognition, through a variety of play experiences. Interactive learning is modeled for parents. Even when library programs are out of session or unavailable, Cruise activity cards and the Cruise into Kindergarten board game can be accessed, providing families with lots of information and ideas for supporting early learning at home. By engaging in imaginative and guided play with young children, you can help them develop the skills for a successful transition to kindergarten.

• Model positive problem-solving.
• Practice following directions in fun ways.
• Give choices.
• Talk with your child and discuss their emotions.
• Develop routines, including bedtime and morning routines.
• Help your child develop independence, including self-help skills.

For additional ideas and support, families with children entering kindergarten can attend our Kindergarten Fairs scheduled in August. The Library has two events scheduled. One is on Tuesday, August 18th, at 5:00 pm at the Salvation Army (506 S. 29th Street, Harrisburg).  The second is on August 22 , 2026, at 11:00 am and will be held at the Ned Smith Center (176 Water Company Road, Millersburg).  The fairs will have activities, resources, and community partners available to answer questions about how to support your scholars.

By: Ann Marie Megoulas, Information Services Supervisor

This July 4th, the United States marks the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Communities across the country will celebrate this historic milestone with a wide range of events, including parades, exhibits, concerts, block parties, and more.

You can learn about celebrations like these by visiting websites like https://america250.org/ and https://america250pa.org/. America250.org highlights many of the major events taking place in cities like Washington, D.C., Boston, New York, and Philadelphia. It also makes it easy to find events closer to home. Just select “Calendar” and search for your location. https://america250pa.org/ focuses specifically on events happening in Pennsylvania and includes concerts, lectures, and other special events created to celebrate Pennsylvania ‘s contributions to this nation throughout the past 250 years.

To find commemorative events and celebrations taking place in and around Dauphin County, explore sites like https://www.visithersheyharrisburg.org/  (Hint: Select “America250 PA Dauphin County” under “Events.”)  Below is a list of a few local events taking place this year:

• Independence Weekend Family Celebration – Dauphin County Heroes Grove, 7/4/2026, 10 am -1pm
• 250PA Star Spangled Spectacular – Dauphin County Heroes Grove, 7/5//2026, 4-8 PM.
• 2026 Free Summer Concert Series at Reservoir Park, 7/4/2026, 7:30-9:00 PM
• Revolutionary Things exhibit at The State Museum of Pennsylvania (June13, 2026- August 1, 2026)

Also, as part of your celebrations, be sure to explore all the wonderful resources that your local library offers for celebrating the semiquincentennial. This summer at the Dauphin County Library System, you can:

• Attend programs like Planting the Seeds of Revolution (July 3rd at 3:00 PM at the William H. & Marion C. Alexander Family Library) and Lively Minds: Meet Rosie the Riveter (July 18th at 12:00 PM at the Elizabethville Area Library). For more information about these and our other fun, educational events, view their descriptions in our program guide, Compass, or online on our Events & Program page.
• Plan a visit to one of our library branches, or to The Library’s website, to explore the many American History-themed books, e-books, audiobooks, databases, pamphlets, and more that we offer. Copies of historical documents like the Declaration of Independence, letters, and newspaper articles from the Revolutionary era, photographs, biographies, and more can be found here.
• View relevant content right from the comfort of your own home by visiting https://www.dcls.org/research/ to investigate the history-themed reference e-books available in the Gale eBooks and Salem Online databases. Each contains reference books that provide concise entries perfect for looking up facts and for creating fun America 250th anniversary trivia games. In Gale eBooks, look for books like Colonial America: Reference Library, The Statue of Liberty, and The US Flag. In Salem Online, the Great Events from History series and the Defining Documents series offer hundreds of essays on the people, events, and issues that shaped the United States.
• Review newspaper articles on this topic. This year, I deepened my own understanding of American history by using The Library’s resources to read newspaper articles written at the time such milestones as the signing of the Declaration of Independence were taking place. Exploring those first-hand accounts made those moments feel vivid and immediate to me, bringing history to life in a way that felt far more meaningful and real. If you are interested in doing the same, open the Newspapers.com database and search for “Declaration of Independence,” “American Revolution,” or “U.S. Constitution” and select appropriate dates. Since Newspapers.com’s articles go back to 1690, you can find plenty of articles from Pennsylvania’s newspapers covering America’s founding. To find Newspapers.com, visit https://www.dcls.org/research/ and select it. For access outside of The Library, enter your library card number and PIN as well.
• Lastly, to find digital resources suitable for sharing America’s history with young children, be sure to explore the POWER Library resources designed just for kids. Databases like Bookflix and Britannica School make learning about topics like the American Flag or the American Revolution interesting and fun. Your Dauphin County Library System library card will give you access to all of POWER Library’s resources.

When it comes to celebrating America’s 250th Anniversary, you can trust The Library to provide you with reliable, accessible information.

By: Charissa Diethrich, Information Services Assistant

Do you ever wish you could travel back in time? Experience important events in U.S. history as they really happened? Well, with The Library’s newspaper databases, you CAN! Browse our Newspapers.com collection to view articles from as early as 1719, and watch history unfold before your eyes.

1776

 Let’s turn back the clock to 1776 – the year our nation was born. 

“THIS DAY, at twelve o’clock,” reads a headline in Poulson’s American Daily Advertiser, on July 8^th, 1776, “the DECLARATION of INDEPENDENCE, will be PROCLAIMED at the STATE-HOUSE.” You – a militia member in Revolutionary-era America – read on urgently to see what your orders will be. “Associated Militia of Pennsylvania…who can be furnished with arms and accoutrements, should be forthwith requested to march with the utmost expedition to Trenton…in New-Jersey.”

The time has come! After years of unrest, the colonies have officially separated from Great Britain. You don’t know how this war will end, but the future of your new country depends on it. To New Jersey!

1781

We leap forward in time, to 1781. Five long years of war have passed. But now, with the defeat of the British at Yorktown, the end is in sight.

“On Saturday last,” you read in the Nov. 10^th, 1781 issue of the Poulson’s American Daily Advertiser, “the great and important event of the Surrender of Lord Cornwallis and his whole army, to the combined forces commanded by his excellency general Washington, was celebrated here with every mark of joy and festivity. The day was ushered in with the beating of drums, and the American colours were displayed in various parts of town.”

You, like so many of your fellow citizens, feel the weight of years of conflict, now over and done. As celebrations sweep the country, you raise your glass and join in the toasts recorded in the paper: “[To] the memory of all who have fallen in this war in defense of America…[and to] a speedy peace, and the firm establishment of the independence of the United States of America.”

1787

Once more, we turn the dial of our time machine. It is now 1787, and the time has come to forge a new nation. You pick up a copy of the December 19^th issue of the Pennsylvania Gazette, and you see the news – Pennsylvania has become the second state to ratify the constitution of the United States!

Your spirits high, you read the descriptions of festive crowds and joyful celebrations, full of hope for the future. “[A] number of ship-carpenters and sailors conducted a boat, on a wagon drawn by five horses, through the city, to the great amusement of many thousand spectators….[T]he remainder of the day was spent in mutual congratulations upon the happy prospect of enjoying, once more, order, justice, and good government in the United States.”

Discover these historical moments and more in The Library’s Newspapers.com database, found on the “Research” page of our website (dcls.org). History is alive in the news of the past!