The dog days of summer might be officially here, but the Selma-Dallas County Public Library still has a packed calendar of events for children and students.

Becky Nichols, library director, said this summer has been one for the books.

“We have had a sensational summer. One of the biggest we have ever had,” Nichols said. “The numbers of boys and girls that have crowded into the library for programs and to enjoy the arts and crafts has been much larger than last year. And we’re excited that lots and lots of books have been checked out and lots and lots of library cards have been given.”

The library has featured more than 30 programs so far this summer, giving young people something fun and educational to do.

“We feel like the kids have had a great time, but they also have been learning and reading, and that is a wonderful combination,” Nichols said. “The exciting thing is many of these kids were checking out books. Not only children, but lots of families. Moms and dads brought their kids and stayed and enjoyed programs and used the library, got acquainted with books of their interest.”

According to Nichols, the library had a book circulation of more than 9,000 books from April until June and over 3,000 children attended the programs.

“We feel like this has been a terrific summer in which people have fallen in love with their library, maybe for the first time, maybe for the 1,000th time,” Nichols said.

But the library is not done yet.

The programs, part of the sensational Selma summer fun campaign, will continue to run through July 24. On Monday, July 13, the library will host a pasta art program for children 5 and up at 10 a.m. and again at 2 p.m.

“Vernon Spicer is going to teach pasta art,” Nichols said. “He’s an artist and he actually takes macaroni, fettuccini, all that stuff and makes amazing pictures.”

On Tuesday, there will be a Cinderella puppet show at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m.

The library staff is going to be going crazy with crazy art day Wednesday at 10 a.m. for children 5-years old and up.

“We got about six different ways to paint, so it’s going to get kind of messy and a lot of fun,” Nichols said. “A lot of our crafts are things that kids can do at home and families can do together.”

Then on Thursday, the second program of a three part series called sensational science will offer youth ages 5-8 a creative way to look at science from instructor Amy Coffee.

“This is the second in a series of three programs aimed at getting kids involved in science, which is a great way to stimulate learning,” Nichols said.

“All of our activities have at our core, learning.”

To close out the week, like every Friday in the summer, the library will hold word bingo for all ages at 10 a.m.

Many of the programs have a limit of slots available. Nichols requested that anyone interested call 874-1725 to reserve a spot or ask for more information.