All library locations will be closed on Thursday, July 4th for Independence Day.
Posted on Thursday, June 22, 2023 by Megan
While we can’t guarantee that these crafts will make you happy, who can be blue when you’re crafting with rainbows? Below are some fun, queer crafts you can try at home! Some of these activities are more difficult than others so we have ranked them with rainbows, so the more rainbows the more challenging the craft. Enjoy and happy crafting! Continue reading “Be Happy. Do Crafts.”
Posted on Tuesday, June 20, 2023 by Grae
Warning: This blog contains spoilers for the series “Stranger Things,” plus a lot of fanning/fawning over New Wave/Synth Pop ROYALTY Kate Bush. Proceed with caution and/or get ready to dance your heart out.
It’s been a little over a year since the fourth season of Stranger Things debuted in two installments on Netflix in the early summer of 2022, and tbh I am still processing my feelings. I’ve been an avid watcher of Stranger Things ever since the first episode when Winona Ryder as Joyce Byers pulled her son Will (played by Noah Schnapp) close in his makeshift fort in the woods and endearingly screeched “What about my wiiiiiitch?” The series is famous for its 1980s pop culture nostalgia and homage to the films, television and music of that decade, but more generally I find that the show has just the right amount of heart, horror, humor and hair-raising adventure to keep me binging each season all in one go whenever it’s released. Plus, as someone who has basically wanted to be part of a Scooby gang and/or a Goonie all their life, I really admire how the show both explores and advocates for cross-generational friendships and community building, even in the face of (perhaps especially in the face of) truly gruesome ghouls from alternate dimensions.
But I’ll be honest, season four was rough. Continue reading “If You Like(d) Stranger Things . . .”
Posted on Thursday, June 15, 2023 by Adam
“There is a crack, a crack in everything,
That’s how the light gets in”
-Leonard Cohen, “Anthem”
This quote from a song by one of Lana Del Rey’s favorite singer/songwriters forms a kind of loose manifesto for her new album, “Did You Know That There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd” – the more cracks and flaws we have, and the more hardships we endure, the more compassionate, wise and humane we are capable of becoming. On her ninth studio album, the artist formerly known as Lizzy Grant is so cracked-open and vulnerable that it’s almost painful to listen to at times. What distinguishes “Ocean Blvd” from the rest of Lana’s catalog is the diaristic immediacy of the songs. Unlike her earlier work, Del Rey said in a recent interview with Billboard Magazine, “there’s no world-building…This music is about thought processing…Now, I just sing exactly what I’m thinking.” And what she’s thinking about on this album, beyond the perennial subject of romantic love, is family, faith, mortality, her troubled past and her uncertain future. Continue reading “Album Review: Did You Know That There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd by Lana Del Rey”
Posted on Wednesday, June 7, 2023 by Nigel Church
This Pride Month we want to connect you with some of the resources that are available in more than just June. Helping hands and human connections are what you’ll find in this list. Continue reading “LGBTQ Resources: Mid-MO and Beyond”
Posted on Wednesday, May 17, 2023 by Karena
…I had to love myself.
(Beabadoobee is on tour with Taylor Swift, and in 1000 words or less, I will try to explain why this is an epic and historic pairing to me specifically, and possibly, to other East and Southeast Asian girls who grew up searching hopelessly for themselves in the landscapes of pop and rock and singer-songwriting.)
Who is Beabadoobee? Continue reading “Before I Could Love Beabadoobee…”
Posted on Wednesday, April 19, 2023 by Megan
It’s been said that crafting can help with stress, and most of the time I would be inclined to agree. However, I should warn you that this project is one that can send you into a fit of rage, or maybe that was just my reaction when I found out how easy it was and realized I could have been doing it years ago! Continue reading “Upcycle Crafts: T-Shirt Wall Art”
Posted on Monday, March 27, 2023 by Grae
Let me turn your attention for a moment to an object so ordinarily ubiquitous that it’s become a part of the everyday furniture of scholastic life, so omnipresent, one might argue, that we often forget about its integral presence (in other words: magic ✨). Both sturdy and flexible, solid yet easily disintegrated, often a lovely matte shade of pink, but found in all the colors that exist, perhaps in some that do not or could have been, this overwhelmingly plain object is none other than the humble eraser, that chunky three-dimensional parallelogram or rectangular prism that offers its users the ability to unwrite what has been written, to unmark what has been marked, to change and adapt and shift and correct—to err, as is human, a transformational gift which might be its own kind of divinity (as I said: magic 🔮). Continue reading “Spring Break Boredom Buster: Eraser Stamps”
Posted on Thursday, March 16, 2023 by Karena
I’ve noticed a particular reaction when I mention my interest in NBA basketball – surprise. Is it because I’m built like the opposite of a basketball player? It’s true, my height better qualifies me to be the person who rushes to the floor with a towel after a player has fallen and left a sweat stain.
Maybe it’s because I’m not a man, which excludes me from the boisterous sports fan stereotype. Maybe I look more like the type to go home after work and curl up with a good book (I do, during halftime). In any case, I’m here to speak my truth: I love watching basketball. More than I love a lot of things. Continue reading “Basketball Is for Everyone”
Posted on Thursday, March 9, 2023 by Megan
We asked our patrons to share what they love about their local library! We received some wonderful comments and each month we have been featuring quotes from our patrons and library staff, highlighting the things that make their buildings so special. This month is our final entry, and we are showcasing the Columbia Public Library! Continue reading “Library Spotlight: Columbia Public Library”
Posted on Wednesday, February 15, 2023 by Megan
We asked our patrons to share what they love about their library! We received some wonderful comments and each month we will feature quotes from our patrons and library staff, highlighting the things that make their buildings so special. This month Eric S. is our guest staff member from the Southern Boone County Public Library in Ashland.
Continue reading “Library Spotlight: Southern Boone County Public Library”