The Berkshire Athenaeum Has Some September Surprises Coming!

All I can say is, thank goodness for the Berkshire Athenaeum! Ever since my family moved to the beautiful Berkshires in 1982, the Athenaeum has had me covered when I wanted and/or needed to get my reading on!

It's almost time for back to school and the month of September is National Library Card Sign-Up Month! What better reasons do you need to get reacquainted with the Athenaeum? Or, if you've never been, trust me, now is the time to get yourself a library card!

The Berkshire Athenaeum, in honor of National Library Card Sign-Up Month, is offering up some awesome promotions. Check this out: Book lovers who sign up for or renew a library card in September can enter a raffle to win a $150 Downtown Pittsfield, Inc. gift card and two family memberships to the Friends of the Berkshire Athenaeum. Now, how cool is that?

Entries are accepted at the library’s Circulation Desk and Children’s Desk. But wait, that's not all. Once you have your library card, you can enjoy benefits and discounts at numerous participating locations. You can find information outlining all those special offers at any of the service desks at the Athenaeum.

Tony Award-winning performer Idina Menzel (Frozen, Wicked) and her sister, author, and educator Cara Mentzel, are the honorary chairs of the 2022 National Library Card Sign-up Month. According to a media statement from the Athenaeum:

The sisters encourage exploring all that libraries have to offer, including new children’s books, access to technology, and educational programming.

All the goodies that come with National Library Card Sign-Up Month are courtesy of the Berkshire Athenaeum in partnership with the Friends of the Berkshire Athenaeum, Downtown Pittsfield, Inc., and several Pittsfield businesses and organizations.

So what are you waiting for, Berkshire County? Get to the Berkshire Athenaeum and reacquaint yourself with the many pleasures derived from reading a good book!

LOOK: The most extreme temperatures in the history of every state

Stacker consulted 2021 data from the NOAA's State Climate Extremes Committee (SCEC) to illustrate the hottest and coldest temperatures ever recorded in each state. Each slide also reveals the all-time highest 24-hour precipitation record and all-time highest 24-hour snowfall.

Keep reading to find out individual state records in alphabetical order.

How Many in America: From Guns to Ghost Towns

Can you take a guess as to how many public schools are in the U.S.? Do you have any clue as to how many billionaires might be residing there? Read on to find out—and learn a thing or two about each of these selection’s cultural significance and legacy along the way.

LOOK: Here are the 50 best beach towns in America

Every beach town has its share of pluses and minuses, which got us thinking about what makes a beach town the best one to live in. To find out, Stacker consulted data from WalletHub, released June 17, 2020, that compares U.S. beach towns. Ratings are based on six categories: affordability, weather, safety, economy, education and health, and quality of life. The cities ranged in population from 10,000 to 150,000, but they had to have at least one local beach listed on TripAdvisor. Read the full methodology here. From those rankings, we selected the top 50. Readers who live in California and Florida will be unsurprised to learn that many of towns featured here are in one of those two states.

Keep reading to see if your favorite beach town made the cut.