This summer is shaping up to be a busy one at Brown Library. With the arrival of hot weather comes the event we look forward to the most at the library: the Summer Reading Program. The program is open to all children ages 3 through 12, with options for every reading level. Sign-up has already begun, so hurry in and register today.

This year’s Summer Reading Program theme is One World, Many Stories. We’ll be showing movies taking place all around the world and hosting some wonderful storytellers. The program kicks off at 11 a.m. Friday at the First United Methodist Church fellowship hall with Priscilla Best, a storyteller from Goldsboro. The events will run until Aug. 5, our grand finale, featuring the North Carolina Aquarium at Roanoke Island with a program on estuaries at 11 a.m. at the First United Methodist Church as well.

Remember, your reading logs for prizes must be turned in by Aug. 5. For a full schedule of events, check out our blog at http://brownsbookshelf.blogspot.com. Be sure to also pick up a brochure from our front desk with all the details to hang on your refrigerator.

This year, Brown Library is dipping its toes into the dangerous waters of teens by hosting a small Summer Reading Program just for the teenage crowd, ages 13 through 18. Teens are invited to fill out a small form every time they read a book from our young-adult section. Each form is worth one entry into a prize drawing at the end of the program. What better way to earn free stuff than by spending a few hours reading this summer?

In conjunction with our Teen Summer Reading Program, there is now a new display section in our young-adult area at the library.

This summer, we’ll be relating the display to our teen programs, and for June we’re starting with something a little outside the box: Steampunk. Steampunk started as a literary genre mash-up of the Victorian era and steam-based technology. Now, it’s expanded to movies, video games and music. To learn more about this growing phenomenon, and to check out our Steampunk book selection, stop by the display. Our first event will be a showing of the Steampunk-inspired anime film, “Howl’s Moving Castle,” at 4 p.m. Friday. Keep an eye on our blog and the display for dates and times.

You may also want to watch out for our July event, focusing on the release of the last Harry Potter film, “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2.” While we’ll be hosting our own event at the library, we will also be joining up with I Can’t Believe It’s a Book Store downtown for some special magical fun.

Brown Library will be July 4 in observance of Independence Day. We will resume normal operating hours July 5 at 10 a.m.

Brown Library is open from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., Mondays through Fridays; from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturdays; and from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. Sundays.

Be sure to bookmark our blog on your computers, your resource for news and events happening at Brown Library: http://brownsbookshelf.blogspot.com.And if you haven’t already, make sure you come by and get the smartest card you’ll ever have: a library card.

Elizabeth Tankard is a part-time library assistant at Brown Library.