By SHELBA NIVENS / Community Columnist

Elizabeth Hyde will be in second grade at Chelsea Park Elementary School this fall, she said. Meanwhile, she enjoys visiting the Chelsea Public Library, where I recently met Elizabeth and her parents Heather and Daryl.

Elizabeth likes books about horses and ponies, she told me, and books with tapes she can read along with. She also enjoys building things at the library with Legos.

The Lego Club has been very popular with kids, Head Librarian Dana Polk said. The Lego program is for ages five and up. It meets Saturday mornings at 9:30.

Summer Reading programs are now under way. Those require registration, but readers may still register. Participants in all groups will be eligible for prizes. Adult readers will have opportunity to win goody bags and a Kindle.

Tot Spot for toddlers meets Wednesdays at 10:30 a.m.; Dig Into Reading, K5-fifth grade Wednesdays at 2 p.m.; Beneath the Surface, sixth grade-up Thursdays at 2 p.m..

Supporters of the Chelsea Public Library Summer Reading Program are Kiwanis International, City of Chelsea and Bojangles.

If a book is unavailable at the Chelsea library, Dana said, but available at another Shelby County Library, it can be ordered for pickup in Chelsea.

Other programs include BYOC (Bring Your Own Craft) Fridays 10:00-11:00, and the beginning photography class in August or September. “This is a free class, but it’s limited to twelve, so you need to pre-register,” Dana said. It will be a two-night class on two consecutive Thursday nights, 6-9 p.m.

Exhibits featuring art by members of the Shelby County Arts Council will change every quarter. Artists wishing to exhibit their work should contact the Arts Council, Dana said.

“Heather and I love the proximity (of the library), that it’s part of our community,” said Daryl Hyde, former fifth-grade teacher at Chelsea Intermediate School, who will teach at Chelsea Park in the fall.

But they love it, “mostly that, for being so tiny and new, it has an amazing selection of books,” he said. “Whoever is in charge of acquisition does a superb job!”

Chelsea school reading lists are available at the library and at chelsealibraryonline.com.