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
How to Be Heard
/in Blog, Your Community/by Stephanie, Reference CoordinatorSeveral difficult, emotionally charged, and polarizing issues are dominating national discourse in recent weeks. As humans, we all have opinions and we all want to be heard. One of the most convenient and tempting ways to share our opinions is, of course, the internet. Shouting into the void may be satisfying in the moment and […]
How to Care for Your Library Materials
/in Blog/by Sadie, Circulation ServicesOne of the greatest ways to get a bunch of librarians talking is to ask them what they have found inside of returned materials. My favorites have been a slice of cheese inside a book, a pancake in a DVD case, and a kitten in a backpack. Do not worry, the kitten is fine! While […]
Happy Pride Month!
/in Blog, Library Services, Special Interest, Staff Picks/by Elizabeth, Reference Services ManagerThe first pride festival I attended was in Minneapolis with my family. The year was 2000. I was an inquisitive 17-year-old, moving from infancy to adulthood. There was so much to take in, so much to learn about. I do not recall every detail of that first experience, but what I did take away from […]
I Want to Ride My Bicycle
/in Blog, Special Interest/by Christa, Circulation ServicesI wanted to ride my bicycle…but I couldn’t. After my old Schwinn finally pedaled its last mile, I had been looking at getting a replacement that was just right to fill that void. After doing a lot of research and looking around the area and the internet, I wanted to share some thoughts and resources […]
Saying Goodbye Isn’t Easy
/in Blog/by Jon, Reference AssistantSaying goodbye has never been something I’ve been very good at. In fact, until last month, I’d never quit or put in my two weeks notice for a job before. I’ll try my best not to be too sappy or corny with this post, but as you can tell from the title, this is my […]
Read Here, There, and Everywhere: Books on the Move Summer Reading for Adults in Anapestic Tetrameter
/in Blog, Library Events/by Anna, Reference & Digital Services LibrarianDo you like to read books? Do you like books a lot? “I do, I do!” you say when you’re put on the spot. Do you like to win prizes? Earn badges for proof? “Of course,” you say, “stop being so gosh darn aloof.” “What’s this all about? Why’s reading so important? ‘tis summer, […]
Planning for Paradise
/in Blog, Special Interest, Staff Picks/by Katie, Circulation Desk ClerkThere’s a fine line between not enough vacation planning and too much. You don’t want to waste precious time at your destination getting lost, but you don’t want to be tied down to a rigid schedule, either. On a recent trip to Key West, Florida, I created itineraries for several “days” that didn’t have to […]
The Silents: Falling Into Film’s Original Era
/in Blog, Curiosities, Special Interest/by Jan, Reference AssistantI don’t remember my first silent film, but I remember the feeling: the strangeness, the engrossing quiet, the sense of entering a world unknown as I stared, transfixed. In an age of superficial surplus and sensory overload, where the distinction between entertainment and distraction has become so blurred, here was something that quietly invited my […]
Is Your Resource Really Reliable?
/in Blog, Library Services, Services/by Stephanie, Reference CoordinatorThe concept of “fake news” isn’t new. In fact, people have been casting doubt on the credibility of sources since the advent of free press. (Check out this Smithsonian Magazine article for some eerily familiar examples of fake news in the time of the Founding Fathers.) But internet accessibility, social media platforms, and globalization have […]
Space Is the Place for the Hopeful Sci-Fi Folks
/in Blog, Curiosities, Library Events, Special Interest/by Bradley, Reference CoordinatorIt’s May, and we all know what that means! May the Fourth be with you! It’s also the time for our celebration of space exploration which is celebrated nationally as Space Day on May 6th. To celebrate, we have created a display of space-themed non-fiction books by the likes of Neil deGrasse Tyson and Stephen […]