September is national Library Card Sign-Up Month, so the Seattle Public Library is encouraging everyone – especially students – to sign up for their own card.

Library card holders can check out books and movies or download e-books or magazines, plus check out museum passes, watch a movie online or at the library, print from their own devices using the library’s free Wi-Fi, learn programming or Web design through Safari Books Online, attend free classes, reserve a computer for up to 90 minutes a day, check out a Wi-Fi hotspot, get personalized book recommendations with Your Next 5 Books, stream and download music from 100 local bands and musicians with PlayBack, get help with homework and classes as a K-12 student or an adult, and more.

Anyone who lives, works, owns property or goes to school in the library’s service area can get a free library card. Cardholders from several library systems in Washington may also qualify for a Seattle library card.

You can apply online if you are 13 or older, or visit a library branch to sign up. Bring a valid I.D. and proof of your current address, like a utility bill. Young adults and children ages 17 and under do not need to provide proof of their resident address.

Seattle Public Library is hosting 25 writing workshops for its Seattle Writes fall program series, now through December, at branches all over the city, including Greenwood and Broadview.

Workshops are free and open to anyone. Registration is not required, but seating is on a first-come, first-seated basis. Doors to the meeting room will open 30 minutes before each class. Attendees should bring a pen, pencil and paper, or fully charged laptop.

From 2-4 p.m. on Sept. 17 at the Greenwood Library, 8016 Greenwood Ave. N., novelist Peg Cheng will teach that “fear is a natural part of the creative process and how you can use fear to propel your writing, rather than hinder it.”

From 2-4 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 15 at the Broadview Library, 12755 Greenwood Ave. N., author and educator Martha Brockenbrough will lead “First 500 Words – Make the beginning of your book as strong as possible in this free class for fiction and nonfiction writers.”

See the full Seattle Writes workshop schedule here.

Seattle Public Library is now out of solar eclipse viewing glasses.

SPL will livestream NASA’s Live Eclipse Megacast at 14 branches, including Greenwood, Broadview, Ballard, beginning at 10 a.m. Monday.

The Greenwood Library, 8016 Greenwood Ave. N., reopens at 10 a.m. today (Wednesday) after a 9-day closure to install a new glass exterior wall in the front.

The old glass wall had been removed, along with the boulder that extended from the outside to the interior, because of ongoing moisture issues. The boulder will be incorporated into the new park under construction across the street.

Holds that were temporarily suspended during the closure will automatically be restarted on Wednesday, but if you chose to pick up holds at another branch during the closure and need help changing back to Greenwood, see a library staff member for help.

The library, which was extensively remodeled from February through April, will host a renovation party with entertainment and refreshments from 1-3 p.m. on Saturday, July 15.

The installation of the new exterior glass wall at the Greenwood Library is coming along nicely, so the library will reopen at 10 a.m. next Wednesday, July 5. The library closed last Monday, June 26, for the installation.

The library’s interior was extensively remodeled from February through April, with a new laptop bar in the teen area, combined service desks, increased seating options, added electrical outlets to tables, an upgraded meeting room, repositioned public computers to reduce glare, and new carpet. The boulder that had extended from the exterior to the interior was removed because of moisture issues, but will be placed in the new park across the street. A temporary plywood wall was installed until the glass wall could be installed this past week.

Holds that were temporarily suspended during the closure will be automatically restarted on July 5, but if you chose to pick up holds at another branch during the closure and need help changing back to Greenwood, see a library staff member for help.

The library, at 8016 Greenwood Ave. N., will host a renovation party with entertainment and refreshments from 1-3 p.m. on Saturday, July 15.

The Seattle Public Library needs Homework Help volunteers at 11 libraries – including Greenwood and Broadview – for next school year.

Homework Help volunteers support students by helping them understand homework assignments, develop literacy and mathematics skills, and prepare for college and careers. Volunteers mentor students in all academic subjects and may also specialize in college-prep subjects, like English and science, technology, engineering or mathematics (STEM) fields.

Most of the students are first-generation Americans who speak a language other than English at home. Volunteers interact with students of all ages in small groups and individually.

Volunteers will provide Homework Help once a week when public schools are in session, and a commitment throughout the school year is requested. Visit www.spl.org/homeworkvolunteer for more information. Volunteer applications are due by Monday, July 31.

Homework Help volunteers are needed from Sept. 11, 2017, through June 14, 2018.

Seattle Public Library, United Way of King County and Food Lifeline are bringing free, healthy lunches and snacks to six libraries – including Broadview and Green Lake – for kids 18 and under this summer. The program runs from today (Monday) through Friday, Sept. 1, but is closed on July 4.

The Kids Cafe Summer Meal Program will serve food from 12:30-1:30 p.m. every Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday at the Broadview Branch, 12755 Greenwood Ave. N.; and from 12:30-1:30 p.m. every Monday, Tuesday and Thursday through Aug. 31 at the Green Lake Branch, 7364 E. Green Lake Dr. N.

All kids are welcome — no proof of income, address or citizenship is ever required. Kids Cafe meals are specifically selected to appeal to kids’ notoriously picky palates and to meet their special nutritional guidelines.

Free food is also served at several Seattle Parks and Recreation sites, as we told you about earlier.

Seattle Public Library has just announced that all holds for the Greenwood Library will be temporarily suspended beginning Saturday, June 17, while the branch closes on June 26 for about two weeks while the new front window is installed. Holds will resume automatically when the library reopens. (You can always choose a different library location when placing a hold online.)

The library at 8016 Greenwood Ave. N. closed from Feb. 13 to April 16 for renovation, including new carpet, a laptop bar in the teen area, combined service desks, increased seating options, added electrical outlets to tables, upgrades to the meeting room and repositioned public computers to reduce glare.

During the new closure, the new custom exterior glass wall will be installed. The front windows/glass wall is being replaced because the large boulder that extended from the outside into the library was removed because of continuing moisture problems. That wall is currently covered with plywood.

The library’s garage also will be closed, but the exterior book drop will remain open.

The Greenwood Library will offer homework help and skills-building tutoring from 4:30-6 p.m. Monday through Thursday beginning in the fall. This free program is open to anyone in Kindergarten through 12th grade. Besides homework help, students can get one-on-one reading support and play math skills games.

It is administered by the library but staffed by adult volunteers. Volunteers are asked to commit to a certain shift every week, from Sept. 11, 2017, through June 14, 2018. For more information or to apply, see the library’s Homework Helpers page.