Little Read!

This year's Big Read program will be having the Little Read - children's programs featuring themes related to Mark Twain throughout April! The Big Read program encourages a community wide celebration of Mark Twain’s classic The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.

Big Read Kickoff on Saturday, April 10th

Join us from 2pm – 4:30pm at the Paul A. Biane Library for our Big Read Kickoff events. The Big Read kickoff is a fun, old fashioned, family Saturday for all ages. The kickoff event will include, an official ribbon-cutting by Mayor Don Kurth, M.D., entertainment, music, activities, crafts and games. Featuring storyteller Kurt Sutton as Mark Twain, Craig Newton’s “Historical Journey Through America’s Music,” the Guinness Book of World Records Tallest Cat, the Super Reader bookmobile, and more! No tickets are required.

“Music Born in America” by Sandii Castleberry at 4pm on Wednesday, April 14th at the Paul A. Biane Library (tickets available on April 7th) and Thursday, April 15th (tickets available on April 8th) at the Archibald Library. Free Tickets are required for this event.

Children’s Movie Showings

Monday,April 19th at the Paul A. Biane Library, “Wishbone – A Tail in Twain” from 6pm - 8pm. No tickets required - walk ins welcome!

Thursday, April 22 at the Archibald Library, the animated version of “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer” from 6pm - 8pm. No tickets required – walk ins welcome!

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer Play!

Wednesday, April 21st at Paul A. Biane Library in Celebration Hall (tickets available on April 14th.) A special theatrical production by Los Angeles theater ensemble, Will and Company on April 21st for ages 6 – 11. Free Tickets required. 

Please call the Children's Services department for further information 909-477-2720 ext. 5025 or 5075.

Welcome to Play in the Library

How do you provide babies and young children with access to early learning, literacy, and library services? The Rancho Cucamonga Libraries have spent the past several years working on the answers and solutions.

Over the past few years, the libraries have received federally funded grants administered by the California State Library to research the learning needs of the youngest members of our community. It was through this research, including needs assessments, surveys, focus groups, and training, that the answer was discovered … play.

Play stimulates an infant’s brain to develop connections, promotes intellectual capacity, and develops the mind and body with skills for early literacy. Play is how babies and young children learn and is their source for information about the world.

The library can make a difference in children’s lives by offering opportunities for children to play and learn – building skills for learning and literacy through life. The Rancho Cucamonga Libraries are proud to welcome play and learning in the library.

Find a PAL at the Library

 To build on this research, the RC libraries secured another grant to bring play and learning to the youngest members of our community. This grant allowed the library to build on the research to create specialized stations for infants, young children, and their families to play and learn.

These play stations, or Play and Learn Islands (PALS for short), have been designed to incorporate the critical types of educational play in a library space.

The community feedback from surveys, intercepts, and focus groups guided the inspiration for the themes of the four PALS that have been created:


“Discovery Dig”, “Make it Move”, “Big Build”, and “IlluminArt”.

Each PAL has a variety of hands-on activities encouraging different types of educational play allowing a range of ages to encourage the family to play and learn together. At these stations children will imagine, discover, create, and bring learning to life.

PALS will be spotted in the library, at library events, and we hope will visit local schools. Join us for their debut during National Library Week beginning April 11 and find a PAL at the library!

The Play and Learn Workshop

Family Place Libraries is a national movement that is helping to educate families and libraries on the importance of play in early childhood development and early literacy. Libraries are a place where everyone is welcome and the Family Place Initiative is helping libraries to become a space for the whole family.

The Rancho Cucamonga libraries are the proud recipient of a Family Place Library grant, the first of its kind in California, which will help the library implement the important foundations of early learning. Many of the important fundamentals are already in place at our libraries: a welcoming library space for all, programs and services for young children and families, a collection of resources for young children and parents.

The RC Libraries are proud to present the final piece of a family place library, a special workshop for parents and children. This parent & child program, The Play and Learn Workshop, will be offered in a series of sessions at the Paul A. Biane Library this April, with registration beginning March 24th at 10 am. The goal of this workshop is to bring the family together through play, with a focus on children ages 1 to 3.

The workshop allow parents a chance to meet one on one with child development professionals, meet other parents, pick up parenting tips, learn about child development and how play can help your child, and best of all, kids get to play.

Part of the Family Place model is that learning and play should expand beyond the workshop. The educational manipulatives used in these workshops will be available on the public floor for families to play and learn during their library visits. We hope you’ll visit us to play and learn!