Join us at Crown Point Community Library on Monday, October 5, for Banned Book Evening, an opportunity to explore frequently banned and challenged books, learn more about the issues surrounding book challenges, and come together for a special documentary screening.
Banned Book Read-In | 5 p.m.
The evening begins with a Banned Book Read-In at 5 p.m. Browse a selection of frequently banned and challenged books, find a comfortable spot, and read a few pages. If you discover a book you’d like to continue reading, check it out and take it home.
You’re also welcome to bring your own current read and spend some time reading at the library.
Screening of The Librarians | 6 p.m.
At 6 p.m., we’ll screen the Emmy-winning documentary The Librarians, which follows several librarians as they navigate book challenges and censorship across the United States.
Before the screening, Library Director Julie Wendorf will provide a brief update on statewide library-related legislation and the current landscape surrounding banned and challenged books.
Participants can enter a free raffle for banned book items.
Popcorn and lemonade will be provided.
You’re welcome to attend the Banned Book Read-In, the documentary screening, or both.
Banned Book Evening
Monday, October 5
5 p.m. — Banned Book Read-In
6 p.m. — The Librarians screening
Crown Point Community Library
122 N. Main Street, Crown Point, IN 46307
Toy Drop-Off: Sunday, November 1–Sunday, November 8 (Crown Point Library – Children’s Library) Toy Exchange: Monday, November 9 at 5:00 p.m.
Do your children have toys they’ve outgrown but are still in great shape? Give those toys a second life—and bring home something “new-to-you”—at the Crown Point Community Library’s Toy Exchange!
This community event is a fun way to clear out the playroom, share gently used toys with other families, and discover something new to enjoy.
How It Works
Bring up to five gently used toys to the Youth Services Desk between Sunday, November 1 and Sunday, November 8.
Then, come back to the Library on Monday, November 9 at 5:00 p.m. for the Toy Exchange. Families who donated toys will have the opportunity to browse and select new-to-you items.
Didn’t have toys to donate? You can still participate! Shopping will open to families who were unable to donate toys at 5:15 p.m.
Toy Donation Guidelines
Please read the following guidelines carefully when selecting items to bring:
Bring no more than 5 toys.
Toys must be clean, complete, and in working condition. Please make sure there are no missing parts.
We cannot accept cloth toys or toys intended to be put in a child’s mouth, including teething items.
Examples of toys to bring include:
Complete puzzles
Games
Wooden toys
Toy sets
LEGO and other building sets
Action figures
Construction toys
Educational toys
Physical activity toys
The Toy Exchange is a great opportunity to give toys a second life while helping your family discover something new to play with. Gather those gently used toys and bring them to the Youth Services Desk November 1–8!
We’ll see you at the Toy Exchange on Monday, November 9!
Every child deserves the chance to grow up with books.
On September 25, Give Like Dolly Day, our community can make that belief a reality for even more children in Crown Point.
Through Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, 894 children in Crown Point currently receive a free, high-quality book every month from birth to age 5. Since our local program began in 2014, 1,346 children have graduated after receiving books throughout their early childhood years.
That’s more than 1,300 young children who have had the opportunity to build their own home libraries, discover new stories, and experience the excitement of receiving a book addressed just to them.
One Book Can Make a Difference
A book arriving in the mailbox can become a bedtime story, a shared laugh, a new question, or the beginning of a lifelong love of reading.
Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library helps make those moments possible by providing children with a new, age-appropriate book every month—at no cost to their families. For parents and caregivers, it’s an opportunity to build reading into everyday life and create meaningful moments together.
And the impact reaches beyond the individual child. When we put books into children’s hands, we’re helping create a community where reading, learning, and imagination have a place in every home.
A Community Effort
Dolly Parton has called her local Imagination Library partners the “true heroes” of the program. Here in Crown Point, we’re proud to have Crown Point Rotary Club as our local program partner.
Through its commitment to children and our community, Crown Point Rotary Club helps make it possible for local children to participate in Imagination Library. Along with donors and supporters, the Crown Point Rotary Club is helping ensure more children can experience the simple joy of getting a book of their own every month.
This is what community giving can do: turn generosity into something tangible that arrives at a child’s door.
Help Us Reach Even More Children
Right now, 894 children in Crown Point are receiving books each month. With community support, we can continue growing the program and reaching more eligible children and families.
Your donation helps provide the books that children look forward to receiving month after month. It helps parents and caregivers create reading routines. And it helps ensure that more children have books at home during some of the most important years for developing early literacy skills.
On Give Like Dolly Day, consider donating to Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library of Crown Point. Your generosity can help put another book into another child’s hands—and create another opportunity for a child to discover the joy of reading.
Thank you to Crown Point Rotary Club and everyone in our community who helps make Imagination Library possible. Together, we’re giving children something that lasts far beyond a single story: the opportunity to discover a lifelong love of books and reading.
Your artwork could become our next limited-edition library card!
September is National Library Card Sign-Up Month, and the Crown Point Community Library is inviting community members of all ages to get creative and help design a future library card.
Whether you love to draw, paint, sketch, or create colorful designs, this is your chance to leave your mark on the library. One winning design will be selected and transformed into a limited-edition Crown Point Library card that patrons can carry throughout the community.
The Library Card Design Contest is open to participants from Kindergarten through adults. We encourage artists of all skill levels to participate and share their creativity.
Your design could celebrate books, reading, imagination, learning, community, or anything that makes the library special to you. We want to see what inspires you!
The winning design will become part of the Crown Point Community Library’s collection of library cards, giving the artist a chance to create something that will be enjoyed by library patrons for years to come.
Contest Details
Who can participate: Kindergarten through adults
Entry forms and guidelines: Available at both Crown Point Community Library locations
Entry deadline: September 30, 2026
Winner announced: October 2026
Limited-edition library card available: January 2027, while supplies last
How to Enter
Pick up a contest entry form and review the guidelines at either library location, or download and print the form below.
Create your original library card design.
Submit your completed entry by September 30, 2026.
September is National Library Card Sign-Up Month, and the Crown Point Community Library is celebrating all month long with new library card designs, a chance to win a Kindle, and an opportunity for community members to design a future library card.
Four New Library Card Designs Are Coming
We’re getting ready to introduce four new Crown Point Library card designs! Whether you are signing up for your first library card or already have one in your wallet, there will soon be even more ways to show your library pride.
But that’s not all—your design could be next!
Design a Future Library Card
The Crown Point Community Library is inviting community members of all ages to participate in the Library Card Design Contest. Participants from Kindergarten through adulthood are encouraged to submit their original designs for a chance to have their artwork featured on a future limited-edition library card.
One winning design will be selected and transformed into a new Crown Point Library card design.
Contest details:
Open to participants from Kindergarten through adults
Limited-edition card available: January 2027, while supplies last
This is a chance to leave your mark on the library and create a design that library patrons will carry throughout the community.
Check Out and Enter to Win a Kindle
Throughout September, library cardholders can also enter for a chance to win a Kid’s Edition Kindle Fire or a regular Kindle Fire.
Every cardholder who checks out materials during the month will receive one drawing ticket per visit. Each cardholder may receive one ticket per visit.
Using the self-checkout station? Show your receipt at the Circulation Desk to receive your ticket.
The winner will be drawn on October 2.
Celebrate the Power of a Library Card
A library card opens the door to books, movies, digital resources, programs, technology, and so much more. During Library Card Sign-Up Month, there has never been a better time to make sure you have a Crown Point Community Library card.
Stop by the library this September to celebrate, enter the drawing, pick up information about the Library Card Design Contest, and get ready for four exciting new library card designs!
Your library card is more than just a card—it’s your connection to discovery, learning, and your community.
Sign up to get your library card online or in person at either library location.
The Crown Point Community Library is heartbroken by the passing of country music legend, cultural icon, and champion of literacy, Dolly Parton.
Through her award-winning Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, inspired by her father’s inability to read or write, Dolly helped put hundreds of millions of free books into the hands of children across America. She considered the program one of her greatest achievements, and her commitment to helping children develop a love of reading will be part of her legacy for generations to come.
The Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library program serving the Crown Point Community Library District was created in 2014 by the Crown Point Rotary Club. Through the Crown Point Rotary Club’s fundraising efforts, the program has sent out an incredible 58,570 books since it began. Currently, 859 children are registered for the program, while 1,325 children have graduated after receiving books until their fifth birthday.
Despite Dolly Parton’s passing, Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library will continue as part of the Dollywood Foundation, ensuring that her extraordinary legacy of literacy continues to reach children and families for generations to come.
We are deeply grateful to the Crown Point Rotary Club, our local funding partner, for their continued commitment to bringing Dolly’s vision to children throughout our library district.
If you would like to help support Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library in our community, donations can be made to the Crown Point Rotary Club fund at the Crown Point Community Foundation.
Your support helps ensure that children in our community can continue receiving the gift of books and discovering the joy of reading.
For more information about Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library and the program in the Crown Point Community Library District, visit the Library’s website.
Our community has been through a difficult stretch following the severe storms and widespread power outage.
We know many families are still working to get back to normal. Below is a Community Resource Handout with helpful information and local resources available to residents during this time.
Please share this post with neighbors, friends, and family who may find these resources helpful.
Revised 8-22-2026
State Disaster Relief Fund – Individual Assistance
The State Disaster Relief Fund applies only to individuals who are uninsured or underinsured. State funding cannot replace insurance coverage, which is the primary and best source of protection from storm damage. The fund only covers the costs of repairing, replacing, or restoring the applicant’s primary residence and cannot be used to pay insurance deductibles.
In Indiana, if your power was out for at least four hours and your refrigerated or frozen food spoiled, you can get replacement SNAP benefits. You must report the loss to the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration (FSSA) within 10 days of the outage by calling
1-800-403-0864 and filing a food loss affidavit. For the recent outages, the date has been extended to Monday, August 31.
DownlThe Disaster Distress Helpline (DDH) is the first national hotline dedicated to providing year-round disaster crisis counseling. This toll-free, multilingual crisis support service is available 24/7 to all residents in the U.S. and its territories experiencing emotional distress related to natural or human-caused disasters.
The American Red Cross is urgently trying to locate homeowners and renters in Merrillville and surrounding communities whose homes were heavily damaged or destroyed during the recent severe weather event. Financial assistance may be available to eligible individuals and families.If your home or apartment sustained major damage or was destroyed, please get in touch with the American Red Cross as soon as possible.
Have you ever dreamed of exploring the rainforests of Costa Rica, experiencing the charm of Ireland, or witnessing the breathtaking beauty of America’s canyon country?
The Friends of the Crown Point Library are excited to announce three travel opportunities for 2027 through Collette Tours. These professionally guided tours offer travelers the opportunity to experience unforgettable destinations while supporting the Crown Point Community Library.
To introduce these exciting adventures, the Friends invite the community to attend a special Travel Presentation on Wednesday, August 12 at 6 p.m. at the Crown Point Community Library.
Representatives from Collette Tours will provide an overview of each tour, discuss itineraries, accommodations, pricing, and available early booking discounts. The Friends are also partnering with All About Vacations, a local travel agency, to help promote the tours and assist travelers with questions and reservations.
Featured 2027 Tours
Tropical Costa Rica
March 8–16, 2027
Journey through one of the world’s most biodiverse destinations. Explore lush rainforests, encounter incredible wildlife, and experience the natural beauty and culture of Costa Rica.
Experience Ireland’s rolling green countryside, historic castles, charming villages, and vibrant culture on this unforgettable tour of the Emerald Isle.
When travelers reserve one of these Collette tours through the Friends of the Crown Point Library, the Friends receive a commission from Collette. Those funds are used to support library programs, services, events, collections, and community initiatives throughout the year.
By choosing one of these tours, you’ll enjoy an incredible travel experience while helping enhance the resources and programs that benefit our community.
Join Us for the Travel Presentation
Wednesday, August 12 6 p.m. Crown Point Community Library
Whether you’re an experienced traveler or simply curious about these destinations, we invite you to attend and learn more about these exciting travel opportunities.
Adventure awaits—and your next journey could help support your library.
Visitors to the Crown Point Community Library can explore two fascinating exhibits that highlight the history, determination, and lasting impact of the women’s suffrage movement. Both exhibits are on display through the end of July during regular library hours.
“A Right Worth Fighting For: The History of the League of Women Voters of the Calumet Area”
Located in the library’s display cases in the main lobby, this exhibit, presented by the League of Women Voters of the Calumet Area (LWVCA), tells the story of more than a century of civic engagement.
Through historical documents, photographs, clothing, and artifacts, the exhibit traces the founding of the local Leagues of Women Voters in the Calumet area, which eventually merged to become today’s LWVCA. Visitors will learn about the long struggle that led to women gaining the right to vote in 1920 and discover how the League has continued its mission of educating voters, encouraging civic participation, and protecting the right to vote for all citizens.
The exhibit serves as a powerful reminder that while the fight for women’s suffrage culminated with the ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment, the work of strengthening democracy continues today.
“Securing the Vote: Women’s Suffrage in Indiana”
Also on display through July is Securing the Vote: Women’s Suffrage in Indiana, a traveling exhibit from the Indiana Historical Society located in the library’s gallery hallway.
This compelling exhibit explores the history of Indiana’s suffrage movement, beginning with the state’s first Indiana Woman’s Rights Convention held in Dublin in 1851 and continuing through the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment in 1920.
Visitors will discover how Hoosier women spent more than 70 years organizing meetings, leading campaigns, and advocating tirelessly for equal voting rights. Despite numerous setbacks and defeats, they remained steadfast in their pursuit of full citizenship and the power to shape their communities through the ballot box.
Securing the Vote: Women’s Suffrage in Indiana is a project of the Indiana Women’s Suffrage Centennial, catalyzed by Indiana Humanities, the Indianapolis Propylaeum, the Indiana Historical Society, and the Indiana Historical Bureau, with support from Lilly Endowment Inc.
Both exhibits are free to view and will remain on display at the Crown Point Community Library through July 31 during regular library hours.
Four New Library Card Designs Are Coming
Design a Future Library Card
Check Out and Enter to Win a Kindle
Have you ever dreamed of exploring the rainforests of Costa Rica, experiencing the charm of Ireland, or witnessing the breathtaking beauty of America’s canyon country?
Visitors to the Crown Point Community Library can explore two fascinating exhibits that highlight the history, determination, and lasting impact of the women’s suffrage movement. Both exhibits are on display through the end of July during regular library hours.
