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Libraries provide educational programming, a welcoming space, and access to computers and internet connection. This last point has become increasingly important during the pandemic, especially for libraries serving rural areas. In order to safely continue serving their communities, they have faced both the obstacles of switching to virtual programming and ensuring people can access it, on what is often a tiny budget.

New Ulm, Minnesota, is located on the northern edge of Tornado Alley, an area of the central United States with frequent damaging tornadoes. The city’s location, between two rivers, makes it especially vulnerable to the effects of climate change. Flooding is growing more common and worse seemingly each passing year, along with tornadoes, drought, hail, and onslaughts of mosquitos and ticks during summer months.

Does your library have a podcast? Is someone you know a blogger? Do you have staff or patrons who are “digital storytellers”?

Creating media content has become easier than ever, thanks to the wellspring of new platforms and free tools. While we can’t forget that major companies like Facebook and YouTube are profit-driven, we can help our patrons navigate these platforms and build their technical confidence while also offering opportunities to explore the “bigger picture”: how what we create affects the world around us.

Organizing a public outpouring of library love isn't just good for our egos; it can be a smart way to market your library, advocate for funding and much more. So for National Library Lover’s Month (February), the Erie County Public Library contacted publishing houses and authors and had them write love letters to libraries.

According to the Pew Research Center, “roughly eight-in-ten U.S. adults go online at least daily.” However, many are unfamiliar with the basic ways the internet works, including why certain content ends up in our search engine results.