Val Verde County Library turns National Library Week into community event

Miniature ducks were hidden across both Val Verde County library branches in Del Rio as the county used National Library Week to turn a familiar government building into something closer to a neighborhood hangout.

The “Quack Quest Duck Hunt” was one of several events tied to National Library Week, which runs through Saturday, April 25, under the 2026 theme “Find Your Joy.” The American Library Association’s honorary chair this year is Mychal Threets, and the national celebration has been organized annually since 1958, when it was created as a response to worries that Americans were reading less as television and other media spread.

At the Main Library, 300 Spring St., and the Branch Library, 315 E. Chapoy St., the duck hunt included kid-friendly versions for younger patrons, giving families a reason to visit beyond the usual checkout trip. The week’s schedule also packed in low-cost activities meant to draw different kinds of residents at once: Kids’ Story Time at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, Yoga at the VVCL at 11 a.m., and Coffee and conversation with Toni from Conrad’s Casita at 5:30 p.m.

On Thursday, the library’s lineup continued with a Fiber Arts Social at 4 p.m. and a Kids’ Tea Party at 5 p.m., keeping the focus on hands-on, social programming rather than a single large event. Saturday brought the Friends of the VVCL National Library Week Book Sale at 11 a.m., followed by an Altoid Tin Wallet Craft for Adults at 11:30 a.m.

The book sale was listed as cash only, and the proceeds go back into the Val Verde County Library and Val Verde County Branch Library for programs such as the annual Summer Reading Program. That makes the sale more than a bargain table; it is part of the library’s funding cycle for the next round of children’s and family programming.

Barbara Galvan, identified as the program librarian, said, “We’d like our community to get to know our libraries, and we are enlisting the ducks to help us.” That approach matches the county’s broader programming model, which offers story time, workshops and book clubs for children, young adults and adults.

The week’s mix of ducks, yoga, crafts, coffee and books also reflects a practical reality in Val Verde County: residents looking for affordable things to do have limited options that are both social and family-friendly. By spreading events across the Main Library and Branch Library and tying them to National Library Week, the library was not just celebrating books. It was making a case that a public library can still function as one of Del Rio’s most accessible gathering places.