November: Make Your Own Category
This month we invite you to create your own category! You may be inspired by some of the suggested categories below, but please share your chosen category when you report your monthly activity via Beanstack, email, or phone call. Your idea may appear in future Reading Challenges.
• A Book Set on a Train
• A Book about the Environment
• A Book That Makes You Laugh
• A Biography about an Artist
• A Memoir about a Person You Admire
• A Non-fiction Book about Animals
• A Book about Reaching Across the Aisle
• A Book of Poetry from the 15th Century
• A Book Written by Someone Born in the 21st Century
• A Cookbook Featuring a Different Cooking Style
• A Book about a New Hobby
• A Book about a Different Religion
• A Historical Novel about Witchcraft
• A Book about Mythology
• Folk Tales from a Foreign Land
I Put a Spell on You: What to Watch This Season
/in Blog, Staff Picks/by Ashley, Circulation ServicesAutumn is here! Like many others, this is my favorite season. If you asked me why, I don’t think I could answer with any specific reason. Instead, I’d answer with some of my favorite memories: the huge piles of fallen leaves that my brother, sisters, and I would jump into; early morning cups of tea […]
Get to Know BadgerLink
/in Blog, Explore, Library Services, Services, Special Interest/by Stephanie, Reference ServicesThe library provides access to a lot of useful online resources you might not be aware of – there are so many that even library staff sometimes forget! Don’t believe me? Just check out our website’s Explore page. Today, though, I’m going to highlight one particular collection of resources: BadgerLink. BadgerLink is an online resource […]
Our Library: Then & Now
/in Blog, Library Events, Special Interest/by April, Circulation ServicesThis library is 162 years young, but it has seen a lot. A lot of people, a lot of media, and a lot of humanity. Who says libraries are boring? If you’re like me, you grew up in this building. As a child, I played hide-and-go-seek on all floors (don’t do that). My teen self sheepishly checked […]
A Commendable Spectacle: The Renaissance Festival
/in Blog, Special Interest, Your Community/by Jan, Reference ServicesHEAR YE, HEAR YE…IT’S FESTIVAL SEASON! Huzzah! I refer not to the many summer music gatherings (stop being such a normie), but to the nerdy entertainment extravaganza that is a Renaissance festival: a seasonal fair set roughly in the theme of a fantasized renaissance-era Europe. Common to all Renaissance festivals is the great variety of […]
Who Got All This Art in My Book?
/in Blog, Library Services, Special Interest/by Joel, Reference AssistantIf you are reading this, it’s a solid bet that you are reading quite a few other things as well. Similarly, we here at the library are in the business of reading everything we can get our hands on. But we get excited about things other than literature too. With the new location opening soon, […]
Is Eau Claire Time Travel Possible?
/in Blog, Your Community/by Jan, Reference ServicesNothing disorders my mind quite like the mutability of time. It feels like an age since our library – the real library – was open. For me, the Real Library is the downtown location as it was before the renovation and pandemic: open to everyone, with copious oak and brick, faux skylights, endless tall shelves, […]
Celebrating 32 Years of the ADA
/in Blog, Special Interest/by Anna, Reference & Digital Services LibrarianWHAT IS IT? Thirty-two years ago, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was signed into law by President George H.W. Bush. Passed with bipartisan support, this landmark civil rights legislation prohibits discrimination against individuals with disabilities in all areas of public life, including schools, transportation, in the work force, and all public and private places […]
Nostalgia for the ’80s – Outside Edition
/in Blog, Special Interest, Staff Picks/by Bethany, Circulation ServicesWith season four of Stranger Things taking over the world, I feel this is an appropriate time for us to revisit the ‘80s! Because I am a child of the ‘80s it is my opinion that this was the best decade, partially from the nostalgia that I have attached to it, but more so because […]
The Forgotten Tornado: Exploring the Events of June 13th, 1930
/in Blog, Special Interest, Your Community/by Katie, Circulation Desk ClerkThe history of significant tornadoes in west-central Wisconsin is thankfully sparse. Ask someone to name one, and the three most likely answers would be the 1958 Colfax tornado (a particularly strong storm that is in the living memory of quite a few locals), the 1899 New Richmond tornado (which killed 117 and remains the deadliest […]
Summer Reading Lists
/in Blog/by Sarah, Reference ServicesLately, the talk of the library has been the Summer Reading Programs for both children and adults. But this week I want to take on something a little different: summer reading lists. Most bibliophiles are likely to have an ever-constant, ever-growing To Be Read (TBR) list. But for those die-hard bibliophiles, one list may not […]