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Cook the Book Club

Submitted by brussell on Wed, 2020-03-25 00:00

Cook the Book Club text over bowl of food

Once per month, we host a cookbook club-meets-potluck event that always draws a crowd. Each member picks a recipe from the same book (voted on by the group) and they bring in the dish to share.

The result is a potluck with lots of talk about cooking and recipes and how to improve on them. And it's about community, getting to know our neighbors and making new friends, with an opportunity for many of our refugee and new American patrons to practice English with native speakers in a fun, social setting.

Libraries Help Each Other Address Food Insecurity through Programming

Children eating lunch

In September, I had the opportunity to attend both the annual Association for Rural & Small Libraries (ARSL) and the biennial Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) conferences. For me, the major take-away from both events is that libraries can help each other develop programs that address food insecurity.

Nourishing a Community: Mechanicville Farmers Market, Garden & Orchard

Submitted by brussell on Fri, 2017-12-22 00:00

A booth at the Farmers Market

In June 2017, the Mechanicville District Public Library kicked off a community farmers market on the library’s front lawn. Throughout the summer, on Mondays from 4 to 7 p.m., hundreds of people came to stock up on vegetables, pasta, eggs, honey and other goods from local farms.

For a community with a 16.3 percent poverty rate, a market delivering fresh, local goods at affordable prices was a game-changer, and it also gave local farms an opportunity to sell their products.

Trucks! Trucks! Trucks!

Submitted by brussell on Wed, 2017-08-02 14:13

Mother and son ordering at a food truck

Trucks! Trucks! Trucks! is a food truck-meets-touch-a-truck festival. Local food truck vendors come to the library to sell a variety of sweet and savory foods while people explore the many trucks brought by local government, businesses and military departments.

In 2017, we held the event on a Saturday in mid-June from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. in our library parking lot. Roughly 2,300 people attended. 

Titanic Dinner at the Library

Scanned image of a real ticket for the Titanic

The Titanic Dinner invites guests to select real Titanic passenger tickets from a blind draw. Guests sit with their selected class (1st, 2nd or 3rd), and have dinner while watching a history lesson from a historical impersonator.

At the end of the dinner, patrons discover the fates of their selected passengers and whether or not they were survivors of the sinking.

Bridgerton High Tea

Submitted by harata on Wed, 2021-12-01 11:01

Text reads: Bridgerton High Tea. Photographs show marketing fliers created for the event.

Bridgerton High Tea is a program that combines a discussion of the "Bridgerton" novels and Netflix series with a classy afternoon tea and flower-arranging demonstration. 

Some participants dressed to the nines in gowns, gloves and tiaras. Regardless of attire, participants were treated to a spread of scones and teapots filled to the brim with hot tea.

Farm-2-Library

Submitted by harata on Mon, 2021-11-01 13:28

Photo of strawberries. Text reads: Fresh Books Fresh Food

The Southern Adirondack Library System works with two regional food distribution networks – the Comfort Food Community and Capitol Roots’ Squash Hunger Program – to reduce food waste by rescuing food. The food gleaned from local farms is shared through libraries located in rural food deserts to alleviate the challenges of food insecurity and food access.

Health and Wellness: Worthy of Full-Time Programming

Through its full-time youth health and program coordinator position, the City of Harker Heights (Texas) Stewart C. Meyer Public Library is working to infuse health and wellness into all of its programming.

Destinee Barton stepped into this new role in September 2018 after earning her bachelor’s degree in community health from Texas Woman’s University. I recently talked with Destinee, along with Library Director Lisa Youngblood and Children's Librarian Amanda Hairton, about how this new position emerged, what impacts it has had, and where they see it heading.

Wellness Wednesdays in Winterset: Lunch & Learns and More!

Selfie of participants in walking group

Winterset is a community of 5,120 in central Iowa, about 40 miles outside Des Moines. Since 2011, a number of our local organizations have collaborated to present Wellness Wednesdays in Winterset, a program series that strives to improve the health and wellness of our residents. Programs run from early May to late October and are free of charge and open to all ages.

Small Library, Big Community: Soup and Sound

Patrons at Slater Public Library share a meal and prepare to listen to entertainment at Soup and Sound

At Slater (Iowa) Public Library, we find that it's usually tough to get adults to attend programs. But we have also seen a few notable exceptions, one of which is our Soup and Sound program. As the name suggests, this consists of serving a meal and providing entertainment to attendees. Soup and Sound is not only popular — it's fun, community-building, and we've been able to cover our program costs with donations.

Get a Jump on Spring with Gardening Programs at Your Library

hands holding soil with plant growing out of it

For public libraries and community partners across North America, February is prime time for gardening programs. There are many types of gardening programs you can offer, and many partners you can work with to develop them. 

A quick survey of the gardening programs being offering this February and March in North America reveals that libraries are offering:

Nowruz Celebration

Submitted by cbarbus on Wed, 2016-05-25 00:00

Nowruz dance performance while audience watches

Nowruz is a non-religious, non-political Iranian holiday that falls on the vernal equinox and celebrates spring and the Iranian New Year. It is a cultural celebration, recognized throughout the world each year among Iranian families.

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