Denmark Library Has Gone to the Birds

We’ve got some caw-some news that we are raven about at Denmark Library! 

If you’ve been to Denmark Library you may have noticed or been heron about our bird feeder located in the adult area just outside the windows. After a few months of having it up, we have gained quite a faithful flock of visitors. A whooping amount of feeder birds such as wrens, cardinals, and blue birds have been visiting round the clock. In the sky you can catch a flicker of a turkey vulture or Cooper’s hawk. You may even spot a murder... of crows.

One of our frequent visitors, a male Brown-headed Cowbird. Did you know the Brown-headed Cowbird is North America’s most common “brood parasite.” A female cowbird makes no nest of her own, but instead lays her eggs in the nests of other bird species, who then raise the young cowbirds.

To help keep track of our feathery friends, a bird observation log is provided for everyone to fill out their observations at the bird feeder or anywhere on the library’s grounds. If you spot a bird, simply fill out the log with the date & time, weather, what bird you observed and its location, and any identifying information about the bird. Toucan even make it into a family event by checking out Georgia State Parks backpack, which contains binoculars and a bird ID guide book, and walking around the library grounds looking for birds with your brood.

Our bird watch log is available now! Peep the pine warbler on the feeder. They are another common feeder bird we see at Denmark.

To provide our quail-ity contributions to citizen science, the Denmark Library will be sharing these observations on our eBird page. For those unfamiliar with it, eBird is a global online database of bird observations and a citizen science project launched in 2002 by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and the National Audubon Society. It provides scientists, researchers, and naturalists with real-time data on bird distribution and abundance. Participation is free and you must create a free account to view findings and log your own.

We are piping with egg-citement about this project! Be sure to visit us swift-ly or you’ll egret it! (We apologize for the fowl language but we couldn’t help owl-selves.)

Jessica Dillard
Information Specialist
Denmark Library

Georgia Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled (GLS)

Did you know that Georgia has a free braille and talking book service for residents of any age who are unable to read standard print due to a visual, physical, or reading disability? GLS, the Georgia Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled, serves all of Georgia with books and magazines in braille and audio that are available through postage-free mail or via download. GLS is a network library of the NLS, the National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled, from the Library of Congress. 

There are a variety of ways that members of GLS are able to get their reading materials. For those that prefer audiobooks, GLS will send a talking book player and two cartridges (which hold up to 10 books per cartridge) via US mail. Members also receive access to the BARD mobile app for easy downloading of audiobooks to their personal device. For those that read braille, members can borrow books through the mail or they can request up to five hard copy braille-on-demand books per month from the NLS that are theirs to keep. Members may also borrow Large Print books via US mail. GLS has Reader Advisors that are available Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Learn more by visiting the GLS website. 

Applying to GLS is a simple process. Applications can be found here and once completed, they can be emailed, mailed, or faxed. If you prefer, you can also visit any Forsyth County Public Library branch to fill out a paper application and library staff can submit your application for you. Once GLS receives your application, they are usually able to send a talking book player and the initial books to you within seven working days. If you or someone you know could benefit from gaining access to reading materials in an accessible format, make sure to check out GLS!

Jen Bell

Information Specialist

Cumming Library

Unreadable Podcast Transcript - April 2026

In this episode of Unreadable, Ross speaks with Programming Manager Sarah Brubaker about the Georgia Reads for America250 Challenge. This challenge, designed to celebrate Georgia's history, encourages you to read a book from a curated Georgia250 list and complete a few activities that explore our wonderful state, including its history, natural features, and culture.

Introduction

[bouncy piano and brass music]

Ross Gericke: Hello and welcome to Unreadable, the official Forsyth County Public Library Podcast for news, upcoming programs, and recommendations.

I’m your host, Ross Gericke, the branch manager at Hampton Park.

In this episode I speak with podcast regular Sarah Brubaker, Programming Manager at FCPL about The Georgia Reads for America250 Challenge.  This statewide reading challenge celebrates the founding of Georgia by offering a curated list of books and activities for readers in grades K-12 and for adults.  You can find more information by creating or by logging into your current Beanstack account, if you’ve already created one for one of our Summer or Winter reading challenges in the past.  

Now on to the show.

Interview

Ross Gericke: Hello, Sarah and welcome back to the podcast.

Sarah Brubaker: Thank you for having me.

Ross Gericke: So, it's not just America that's turning 250 years old this year. As one of the 13 original colonies, Georgia is also turning 250 years old. And we're gonna celebrate in the most library way possible with a reading challenge.

Sarah Brubaker: Absolutely. We are so excited to take part of the Georgia Reads for America 250 Reading Challenges that were put together by the Georgia Public Library Service. So, the whole state is getting together to celebrate with this reading challenge. We've got challenges for elementary, middle school, high school, and adults. So, all ages are able to participate.

Ross Gericke: So, how do you take part in this challenge?

Sarah Brubaker: So, for our patrons who are familiar with our reading challenges, you're going to be using Beanstack. It is an awesome reading tracker app that you can just put right on your phone or access through the internet, and it is going to guide you through the challenge. 

This one is a little bit different from the ones that we do for summer and winter. It's not just reading anything that counts. There is actually a specific curated reading list. So, librarians across the state of Georgia, including our own Molly Moore, were on a committee that chose titles that represent Georgian and American history for all ages. So, each of those age groups is going to have their own reading list. And to complete the challenge, you'll need to read one of the titles from that reading list. So, Beanstack will have all of those books listed out, and you can just select the one that you want to read. 

Each of the challenges has eight activities that you need to complete to finish that challenge. These activities are based on different aspects of American history and political science. So we've got categories like artifacts, culture, history, people, places. Eight different categories, and each of those activities has five different options for you to choose from. Those activities give you a chance to dive a little deeper into Georgian and American history. Some of those activities are things like taking a virtual tour or checking out an experience pass. So you'll be able to see the full list of activity options in Beanstack and choose one from each category. You'll complete all eight activity badges in order to finish the challenge. So this will just give you a chance to dig a little deeper into our history and have a little fun while you're at it.

Ross Gericke: Well, I've got the list of books pulled up right next to me and there's some great ones on here and there's a wide variety of things, too. I see March, the graphic novel by and about John Lewis, which I really enjoyed that one a lot. Um, so I think there's some really cool stuff here that people can read.

Sarah Brubaker: Absolutely.

Ross Gericke: Well, reading is great and everything, Sarah, but I know that some of our patrons are going to want to know, is there a prize at the end of this challenge?

Sarah Brubaker: And our patrons will be delighted to learn that the prize is a button. So for all of our patrons who love love love their buttons, we have a special America 250 button that has a special dinosaur guest on it. So, it's a very cute dinosaur button with a little top hat celebrating America 250. So, that'll be a fun addition to the collection of any of our patrons who are participating in the Summer Reading challenge so they can add it to their beautiful lanyard.

Ross Gericke: I love it, Sarah. Who doesn't love a good dinosaur? Thank you for coming on the podcast. 

Sarah Brubaker: You're so welcome, Ross.

Closing

[bouncy piano and brass music]

Ross Gericke: Thank you for listening to the April 2026 episode of Unreadable.

Please subscribe to our podcast on the Apple Podcasts app, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Contact the podcast directly with any comments by email at Unreadable@ForsythPL.org

Keep up with all the excitement happening each month on our interactive calendar available on our website, www.ForsythPL.org. You can also stay connected with the library through Facebook and Instagram @FoCo Library.

Our theme music is “Open Those Bright Eyes” composed by Kevin MacLeod. This and other compositions by Kevin MacLeod are available at Incompetech.com.

I’m Ross Gericke, and this podcast has been Unreadable.