Just try Googling “college financial aid” and see if your head doesn’t explode from all the information. The links below are considered by many to be Step 1 for any students looking to expand their education beyond high school.

Federal Student Aid Web Resources provides a list of websites that are available to students to help them learn about and apply for financial aid. The document also includes shortcut URLs to popular topics and lists resources for those who assist students in learning about financial aid.

Help Students Find Money for College or Career School provides instructions for ordering free materials and highlights a few publications that may be relevant to your college search.

Both links above come from the U.S. Department of Education, which provides more than $150 billion in financial aid to
college and career school students each year.

Ann Swanson has no idea how much money her family saves each month by using the library, but she’s guessing it’s plenty.

In a typical 30-day span, Ann said, she and her two youngest children check out two movies, a couple of video games and up to 30 books. Then there are the dozen or so books she checks out weekly to read to the children in the daycare she operates. And when they are offered, Ann attends KDL’s Early Childhood Essentials classes for free, rather than paying fees of about $25 per class.

Minus the classes, that’s an estimated $638 the Swanson family checks out in library materials every month, according to KDL’s Value Calculator. And that also doesn’t include the weekly Storytimes she brings her daycare children to at the Kentwood (Richard L. Root) and other branches.

“You should see my calendar at home right now; it’s just filled with anything and everything to do (at KDL) that fits,” said the mother of five. “With such a large family, I never could have afforded to do so many fun things on our own.”

As much as they get from their library, the Swansons also give back. Two of Ann’s children have been library volunteers for many years, and this year her youngest, Kolby, 11, will become the third.

An avid reader since childhood, Ann said she was not a heavy library user until she became a parent because she grew up living far from a public library.

“I think that’s why I really didn’t know all the services that were available at libraries until I had kids of my own,” she said. “I still know people who don’t use libraries and I can’t imagine why not. I definitely get my money’s worth.”

Ann Swanson was the winner of KDL’s “Tell us how KDL has saved your family money” contest, and has received a $25 Schuler Books & Music gift card. Share your own story here.

Bring old or damaged American flags to the library for proper disposal. From Friday, June 14 (Flag Day), through Saturday, July 6, all 18 Kent District Library branches will accept them, and in cooperation with local Boy Scout troops, they will be properly disposed of during flag retirement ceremonies.

This KDL Gives Back initiative is part of the KDL Happiness Project, an 18-month campaign aimed at promoting happy, healthy and helpful attitudes and actions to staff and patrons at our 18 branches. The effort, modeled after the book The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin, includes programs for all ages and community involvement projects.

East Grand Rapids branch Manager Dawn Lewis was honored by the school district’s Parent Teacher Association Council recently with the group’s annual Distinguished Service award. Dawn was recognized for her work to help switch three of the district’s elementary school libraries to a “learning commons” model, which reflects that a library is more than materials – also a place to meet, to study together or separately, to work on a project with an iPad or a laptop.  Way to be yet another resource for your community, Dawn!

Dawn Lewis, at left, is surprised by Kim Rossi, who presented her with
the Distinguished Service award from the PTAC. (photo: mLive)

Helmets are beautiful things. I fell off my bike when I was around 10 (on the way home from the library, no less, with a basket filled with books), and though my arms and legs were pretty skinned up, I was very lucky my head didn’t take any of the impact. Even now I still see one or two kids take nasty spills every summer, and thank goodness they often have helmets on. Unless they don’t.

The Grand Rapids Griffins will give away a limited number of free bike helmets at 2:00 PM on Monday, June 10 at the Comstock Park branch to children ages 1 to 12 , as part of the Griffins’ annual Put A Lid On It! helmet safety campaign. A parent or guardian must also be present to receive a helmet.

The helmets, paid for by the Griffins, are distributed at various Safe Kids events around the community. The Griffins also give away vouchers for two free tickets to a Griffins hockey game to anybody age 17 and younger who signs an online pledge to wear a helmet.

What kid isn’t tantalized by a tyrannosaurus? Who isn’t rapt by velociraptors? Mark your calendars for our Dinosaur Dig program for children ages 6 and younger. There will be stories, crafts and games of prehistoric proportions!

Schedule:

Monday, June 10, 10:00 AM – Plainfield Township branch
Wednesday, June 12, 10:00 AM – Plainfield Township branch
Thursday, June 13, 10:00 AM – Plainfield Township branch
Thursday, June 13, 10:30 AM – Englehardt branch
Tuesday, June 25, 6:30 PM – Comstock Park branch
Wednesday, June 26, 10:30 AM – Comstock Park branch
Tuesday, July 2, 10:30 AM – Sand Lake / Nelson Township branch
Tuesday, July 9, 2:00 PM – Byron Township branch
Tuesday, July 16, 1:30 PM – Cascade Township branch
Wednesday, July 17, 10:00 AM – Walker branch
Wednesday, July 24, 10:00 AM – Tyrone Township branch
Monday, July 29, 2:00 PM – Krause Memorial branch
Thursday, August 1, 2:00 PM – Caledonia Township branch
Wednesday, August 7, 2:00 PM – Gaines Township branch

We’re two weeks away from the best local, free summer event for teens: five straight hours of Peace, Love and Happiness! Join us to celebrate the end of the school year and the start of Summer Reading @ KDL with music, food and prizes.

Wenesday, June 19, 4:00 – 9:00 PM — Kentwood (Richard L. Root) branch
Sponsored by the Friends of the Kentwood Library

We’ve got a stellar line-up of cool programs from June through August that make the library the place to be during summer vacation. From Mexican food-tasting to Hunger Games-like survival to music and art, we’ve got something for everyone — bring your friends!

Click on each event title for dates, times, locations and the event description:

• Teen Zone
• Beneath the Electronic Surface
• Beneath the Surface: Marble Magnets
• Uncover Your Hidden Artist
• Under the Radar: Dystopian Survival
• The Great Quesadilla Taste-Off
• Underground Music
• Game On!
• Teen Summer Video Game Tournament
• Photography: Digging Beneath the Surface
• World War II Re-enactor
• DIY at the Library
• Introduction to Final Cut Pro
• Final Cut Pro Intermediate
• Kentwoodpalooza

Time is running out to get your free tickets for the WGVU Real Oldies Concert at the Ball Park on Saturday, June 1 at 6:00 PM at Fifth Third Ballpark in Comstock Park. Featured bands are The Grass Roots, The Eschelons and The Westside Soul Surfers.

You do not have to have a KDL library card to get a free concert ticket at any one of our 18 branches.

Can’t make the concert? You don’t need a ticket to download free oldies music 24/7 from Freegal (but you do need a KDL card).

As part of this fundraiser to help support WGVU Real Oldies and the West Michigan Whitecaps Inner City Youth Baseball/Softball program, a classic car show in the parking lot starts at 3:00 PM.

After relocating to a Michigan mill town following the 1871 Chicago fire, 12-year-old Adrian struggles to adjust to small-town life and faces the prospect of losing yet another home, his new friends and his secret hobby. The Town That Disappeared, a historical fiction novel by Battle Creek’s Sandy Carlson, is a delightful coming-of-age story based on real-life events that will teach young readers about area history, compassion and acceptance. It’s a good story to tell, and Carlson does a very nice job. Aimed at middle-school readers, this book definitely would appeal to the Guys Read set.

Carlson’s book is part of the Local Indie @ KDL collection, housed at the Cascade Township and Kentwood (Richard L. Root) branches. It was created to give independent authors, filmmakers and musicians the opportunity to be added to our shelves and to be featured by staff in order to increase viewers, readers and listeners.

Click here to browse our Local Indie @ KDL collection.