December News and Events

Santa and Mrs. Claus are coming to the library this month!

Join us for activities, singing, a treat, a StoryWalk® and pictures with Santa Claus! Please bring your own camera for picture taking.

View the full list of dates and times of each visit at our website.

View Santa's Schedule

Adults, Teens, and Kids are invited to join the Library’s Winter Reading Bingo Challenge! The challenge starts on December 6th and ends on January 20th.

Patrons can earn badges for reading, completing activities, and submitting a book review. Earn 5 badges in a row for BINGO and complete the whole card for a BLACKOUT.

For the BINGO prize, patrons can win a prize of their choice from the prize box at any branch.
For the BLACKOUT prize, patrons' names will be placed in a grand prize drawing for a chance to win.

Patrons can register for the Winter Reading Challenge in person or on the Beanstack App.

Start the Reading Challenge

The Library has recently launched Wonderbooks in the branches, which are print books for children with a ready-to-play audiobook built inside! Kids and their parents can use the easy-to-operate controls to press play and begin Read-Along mode to read or sing-a-long to their favorite book, or Learning Mode to continue learning about the book.

Wonderbooks can be read in branches and can be checked out to be taken home. If a patron would like to read a Wonderbook in a branch, headphones will be provided at the circulation desk for independent listening.

Check Out Wonderbooks

Did you know the St. Tammany Parish Library has a podcast? Check It Out is where staff promote library events and services, interview special guests, and share community stories.

Episode 141 was recorded in November, National Novel Writing Month, and local award-winning author, Joy E. Rancatore, was invited to share her experiences and insight on novel writing.

Joy provided valuable tips on finding time, balancing passion for writing and life, and planning any writing project.

Check out the podcast on our website and Joy’s books, in our catalog.

Listen to Episode 141

Learn about Joy

Each year library staff nominate employees who have gone above and beyond for special recognition awards. Awarded employees are carefully chosen considering patron compliments and manager feedback.

This year’s awardees are listed below (pictured above from left to right):

Full-time Employee of the Year: Carol Hopton
Part-time Employee of the Year: Jodi Firmin
Librarian of the Year: Susan Badon
Rookie of the Year: Maria Condatore
Hercules Award: Vickie D'Antonio

The Hercules Award is given to staff who accomplished a nearly impossible task and displayed great dedication to their work. This award, unlike other awards listed, is not awarded every year.

All St. Tammany Parish Library offices and branches will be closed from December 24th through December 26th for the Christmas Holidays.

Offices and branches will also be closed on January 1, 2025, for New Year's Day.

Children

Teens

Adults

The Friends of the Library of West St. Tammany will hold their monthly Used Book Sale on December 13th and 14th, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at their building located at 1301 N. Florida St. in Covington, near the St. Tammany Parish Fairgrounds.

Some items start as low as 25 cents. Find books, DVDs, music and audio CDs, and puzzles, with a large selection of homeschool items and children's books. All proceeds support St. Tammany Parish Libraries.

Each month the Friends hold a silent auction at the Covington Library with an array of interesting titles. Check the Covington Library for the auction list and starting bids.

Click here to view the Friend's webpage, which includes all future sale dates and the monthly auction list.

The Friends of the Library of West St. Tammany needs volunteers!

Teens and adults are welcome to volunteer at the Friend’s building every Tuesday and Thursday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. As a special thank you, volunteers will receive 1 free book per service hour.

To learn more about volunteering or to set up a training orientation call Alice at (479) 244-0503.

The Friends of the Slidell Library (FSL) will hold their monthly Used Book Sale on Friday, December 6th for Members only and on Saturday, December 7th for the public, inside the meeting room of the Slidell Library on Robert Blvd.

Only members may select and purchase books on December 6th, however, memberships are available for sale or renewal at the door. Annual memberships cost $5 for individuals and $8 for families. New and renewing members receive one annual membership premium to be used during any FSL sale event in 2025.

The public sale will run from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on December 7th. Book prices will range from .50 cents for mass-market paperbacks and children’s books to $1 for trade paperbacks and hard-cover books.

This sale will feature specially priced sets of books, a selection of vintage books, large print titles, magazines, and mystery bags of books sorted by theme. There will also be several thousand books for all ages and interests, both fiction and non-fiction.

The Friends will hold an SSSSale on Saturday, December 14th from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. inside the Slidell Library, 555 Robert Blvd.

Second Saturday Special Sales are themed sales featuring specially selected books in excellent condition. This sale will include over a hundred pre-owned books for children and teens. Sale prices will be very reasonable and will range from $1-$3 per book.

Only cash and checks are accepted for purchases

The Friends of the Slidell Library, an all-volunteer non-profit organization founded in 1976, raises funds using used book sales and silent auctions to help support the Slidell, Pearl River, South Slidell, and Lacombe libraries. For more information on FSL and its activities, send an email to fsl70458@yahoo.com.

Download this Month's Event Calendars

Looking for what's new in our collection?

Browse our newest arrivals

We are very grateful for our support organizations. Learn more about them at the links below.
St. Tammany Library Foundation
Friends of the Slidell Library — Friends of the Library of West St. Tammany

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St. Tammany Parish Library
1112 W 21st Ave. Covington LA 70433
www.sttammanylibrary.org