Nassau’s public libraries have a groovy challenge for you: How many libraries can you visit this summer? Find out by cruisin’ on the Nassau Library Tour. Each one is a gateway into a new community. Visit the library, then explore the attractions, restaurants, and parks nearby. Take a self-guided tour as a family, a team of friends, or go solo. Plus, tour participants can collect prizes and invaluable memories along the way.
(Photo by Illiterate Iguanas via Instagram)
Open to all ages, this self-paced journey takes place from June 12 to August 12. Prizes are earned for visiting 5, 15, 30, and 50 of the participating public libraries in Nassau County. Anyone who visits all 58 participating locations will also be entered to win a fabulous grand prize raffle. Start the journey by picking up a Nassau Library Tour map at any participating public library in Nassau County. Participants can begin at any of the 58 libraries and go in any order. Taking photos of the library adventure and sharing them on social media with the hashtag #NassauLibraryTour is encouraged. The tour is an opportunity to explore Nassau’s public libraries and discover all they have to offer, such as books, technology, and events. Be sure to bring the map and have it updated with a sticker to get credit for that library. Visit the tour website at https://tour.nassaulibrary.org to plan which library to hit next, and learn about nearby places.
“(Having the tour)coming out of COVID is the perfect time to get people. Most people, if they do visit their library at all, they only see their own libraries. They probably don’t know anything about all of the other libraries in the county. So this is a really great way for people to spend the summer visiting different libraries. It’s a bit of a launchpad into all of the different communities in the county and it’s open to everybody,” said Lisa Zuena, Communications & Marketing Specialist for the Nassau Library System.
Taking photos of the library adventure and sharing them on social media
with the hashtag #NassauLibraryTour
is encouraged. The tour is an opportunity to explore Nassau’s public libraries and discover all they have to offer, such as books, technology, and events. “A lot of people may have a little bit of an outdated view of what a library is. They don’t realize that we have things like museum passes. Many libraries have “libraries of things” where you can come in and and check out power tools, and lawn games and things like that. You can download ebooks and audio books from home. (The staff) was hoping people would see all see the physical buildings, of course, but then also see what all of these libraries have in common that people may not even realize,” Zuena said.
“More and more, Nassau’s libraries deliver rich experiences – in addition to books and media. What better way to enjoy the uniqueness of every Nassau public library and every Nassau community than to set out on a fun challenge this summer? We’re proud to sponsor the Nassau Library Tour, highlighting the best of what Nassau has to offer,” said Caroline Ashby, Director of the Nassau Library System.
The Nassau Library Tour debuted in 2019 with the idea of exploring the libraries in Nassau County. Back then there were 53 participating libraries to visit, so for those who were among the 22,000 people who participated in the inaugural tour, there are even more new libraries to see this time around. “The library tour gave us the opportunity to explore all the other Nassau County Libraries as a family,” said Jessica Katz, who was the first to finish the original Nassau Library Tour with her family in 2019. “We loved showing up at some of the libraries and having staff already know who we were!”
While this event happens every three to four years, there are plans in the works for a separate puzzle-game mystery event. “During the summer we would give out clues, and people would have to do some some traveling. But they could do some things maybe in a digital format. They could solve a puzzle or a mystery and also learn about the libraries that way. We don’t have anything official yet, But we really are looking forward to doing something like that in future summers,” said Zuena.
For the list of participating libraries and more information, see https://tour.nassaulibrary.org. Grab your map and get ready to hit the road. Be sure to bring the map and have it updated with a sticker to get credit for that library. Visit the tour website at https://tour.nassaulibrary.org to plan which library to hit next, and learn about nearby places.
— Submitted by Nassau Library System with additional reporting by Amanda Olsen