Lake Placid Public Library Assistant Librarian Erin Johnson shelves a book on eclipses in the children’s room on Wednesday, Feb. 28. (News photo — Sydney Emerson)

SARANAC LAKE — Libraries across the Tri-Lakes are preparing for the total solar eclipse on April 8 with glasses, books and programming.

At the Saranac Lake Free Library, there will be activities for the whole family from noon to 1:30 p.m. on the day of the eclipse.

MAP: See an interactive solar eclipse map.

“(It’s) something to do before it actually gets revved up. That seemed to make more sense than trying to do something after the fact,” said Saranac Lake Free Library Interlibrary Loan and Youth Programming Director Peggy Orman.

The programming is planned for the Cantwell Room on the lower level of the library. Organized by the library staff and some members of the local Women’s College Scholarship Club, a variety of crafts and activities targeted at different age ranges will be on offer.

Saranac Lake Free Library Interlibrary Loan and Youth Programming Director Peggy Orman demonstrates on Wednesday, Feb. 28, a colorful eclipse glasses craft that families will be able to make on the day of the eclipse. (News photo — Sydney Emerson)

“We’re going for a variety of levels of activities so that parents can bring the whole family,” Orman said. “The little, little ones can listen to a story, the older kids can do a project, they can have a Moon Pie and some juice.”

The event will be free and open to all, including tourists who are staying in the area to experience the eclipse. The library will also offer eclipse glasses, cardboard and plastic glasses designed to protect eyes from the strong light of the eclipse, in the week leading up to April 8.

“We’re giving them out … about a week to 10 days before (the eclipse),” Orman said. “We don’t want to give them out too soon, or people will lose them.”

Emma Galeotti, the library’s cataloging and gallery director, said that patrons have already begun checking out books on the eclipse.

“We had members looking for eclipse books for their grandchildren because, of course, this is an opportunity for close family to get together,” she said. “So, grandma is going to be ready with some books about the eclispe.”

Books on eclipses are found in the 520s of the Dewey Decimal System. (News photo — Sydney Emerson)

The library’s catalog offers more books about the moon than the eclipse, but librarians are working to expand their eclipse offerings.

“I think (patrons) are going to be educated about the whole solar system,” she said.

The Library of Congress offers a research guide on solar eclipses for young readers. Some of the books recommended in this guide include “When the Sun Goes Dark” by Andrew Fraknoi and Dennis Schatz, which is written for fifth through eighth grade students and “Sunpainters,” a “vividly illustrated” story of a Navajo boy viewing a solar eclipse by Baje Whitethorne.

Karen Armstrong, assistant librarian for children’s programming at the Lake Placid Public Library, said that she plans to use resources from NASA about solar eclipses in the weeks leading up to the eclipse. Viewable at tinyurl.com/5yeks6vk, NASA’s resources include safety tips for viewing the eclipse, hands-on activities for children to learn more about total solar eclipses and ways to help NASA record data during the eclipse.

The Lake Placid Public Library also has eclipse glasses at the ready for those who didn’t snag a pair online or in local shops.

In the children's room of the Lake Placid Public Library, a miniature solar system hangs above a shelf of Star Wars books. (News photo — Sydney Emerson)