January 29 is National Puzzle Day.  It is a perfect day to engage your brain in some activity.  Scientists have discovered that when we work on a jigsaw puzzle, we utilize both sides of the brain, improving memory, cognitive function and problem-solving skills in the process.   Recent studies have shown that people who participate in collaborative games, such as puzzles have higher levels of happiness and in some cases relaxation. 

 

The library has a large collection of over 300 jigsaw puzzles.  They check out just like books for two weeks; we are restricting puzzle checkouts to one at a time because of the possibility of mixing up different puzzle pieces.  The collection is designed for adults since most of the puzzles are over 1,000 pieces although we do have some floor puzzles for children.

           

The collection circulates all-year-long but is most popular during the winter months.  The puzzles range from 300 pieces all the way up to 3,000.  Some are easy, and some will be extremely hard.  The companies range from Ravensburger to Eurographics to Clementoni to Spingbok.

           

We add new puzzles regularly; just recently we added a big stack of puzzles ranging from seasonal scenes to an animal puzzle with owls as well as one of a charming scene of a girl eating lunch with her pets.    Scenic puzzles include “America’s Parks Collection: Mesa Arch, Canyonlands National Park, Utah” as well as puzzles of Oia, Santorini, Greece and Venice, Italy. Springbok has a beautifully-colored 1000-piece puzzle titled, “Water Wheel.”

 

Among the library’s collection, there are fine art reproduction puzzles including Monet’s “Woman with Umbrella,” Edgar Degas’ “Ballerina,” Renoir’s “The Luncheon,” Van Gogh’s “Wheat Field and Mountains,” and M. C. Escher’s “Up and Down.”

 

There are puzzles depicting “Star Trek: The Original Cast,” “Dinosaurs,” “Lord of the Rings,” “Red Rose,” “Quilting Bees,” “Durango Express,” or “White Tiger Face.”  Educational puzzles range from “Famous Writers” to “Flags of the World” to “History of Aviation,” to “Vintage Fire Engines.”  We also have some 3D puzzles such as “Tower Bridge,” “Saint Peter’s Basilica,” “Big Ben” and “Victorian House.” 

 

The collection is currently stacked on top of shelving across from the children’s section with the newest puzzles on display in the front of the library next to the magazines.    There are a lot of choices to keep you occupied this winter.  Our only caveat is that you are responsible for returning all the puzzle pieces in the zip lock bag provided.  If a puzzle is missing pieces when you assemble it, please let us know when it is returned.