National Letter Writing Week
(Clip Art courtesy of The Old Design Shop [olddesignshop.com])Did you know that the second week of January is National Letter Writing Week? Neither did I, until it was already upon us! As I went...
View ArticleCozy at the Library
After a wet and mild couple of weeks, we finally have some snow in Portland! I'm sure I've said it before, but one of my favorite things about snow (and rain and whatever the sky wants to drop on us)...
View ArticleGroundhog Day
How anyone could not love this guy is beyond me, but how reliableis his weather report?I don't know how much stock I place in Punxatawney Phil, the nationally famous groundhog with unquestionable...
View ArticleOpen Access Literature at the Library
Open Access makes scientific and scholarly literature more accessible than ever.Students in high school and college are often tasked with writing research papers, and though the standards might vary...
View ArticleArticle 2
We have all kinds of DVDs available at the library--feature films, television shows, instructional videos, children's videos--but one category that I'm not sure people realize we have is faith-based...
View ArticleGraphic Novels - not just for kids!
Over the past several weeks, I have been occupied with finding new titles for one of our more overlooked collections - adult graphic novels!See our grandfather clock in the background?It says it's...
View ArticleInto the Swing of Spring
In my house, we often say spring is close at hand when these little guys start showing up again: The American robin is not merely a harbinger of spring:it is also the state bird of Michigan.Sure...
View ArticleEnglish is Weird
Take a look at the English words scale, scale and scale.Scale, as in "to climb up" comes from the Latin scala, meaning "ladder". A musical scale is probably derived from this definition, because the...
View ArticleSummertime Kick-Off!
Wasn't it just March? My calendar says June 3rd, but I swear it was just snowing and they were still selling leftover Valentine's Day candy at Rite Aid. Now all the trees are green, the weather is...
View ArticleNo Time to Read!
"I just don't have time to read."I've heard that a lot from family and friends. I've caught myself thinking it as well, when things get busy - how can I dedicate myself to sitting down and doing...
View ArticleBooks and Gardens and Seeds, Oh My!
Libraries are a great source of all kinds of resources - books, films, research, arts and crafts, and at PDL, even seeds and vegetables!So much potential in such a compact area - just like the seeds...
View ArticleLearning from Fiction
I mentioned in a previous post that I've been mixing a lot of fiction into my reading lately, because just focusing on non-fiction was starting to become a bit tiresome. Strangely, though, I feel just...
View ArticleBusy Days at the Library
It's been a few weeks since I've been able to write a post on this blog, but there's been so much going on that I'm excited to finally have a moment to share some of what we have on our agenda!So much...
View ArticleBooks We... Hated!?
Those of you stopping in to the library during the month of August may find an unusual display in the adult reference area.Yeah, not every book's a winner.Truth is, not everyone likes every book. Even...
View ArticleBack to School
Well, it's that time of year again. The youth department is quiet once more, until classes let out and students flock from their school building to ours, desperately yearning for more...
View ArticleWaiting for Hoover
One cool thing about working at the library is you get to see what people are reading. You also get to notice when a book is popular - a few books have spent weeks on the reserve list, being returned...
View ArticleAutumn Chills & Domestic Thrills
October is here at last, and with it begins what is affectionately known as the "spooky season". Ghosts, werewolves, vampires... There are all sorts of terrors lurking in the dark ; sometimes, on a...
View ArticleHorror Movies! (that started as books)
Halloween tradition dictates that one spend at least one evening in the month of October watching scary movies. Or at least, I think it does. And even if you're not a Halloween fan, there can be no...
View ArticleBook Review: Such Sharp Teeth
It's been about a year since I read Such Sharp Teeth by Rachel Harrison and I still find myself thinking about it from time to time. Especially now that Halloween is coming up.(Okay, sure, I read it...
View ArticleNational Novel Writing Month
Did you know that November is National Novel Writing Month?There's even an official non-profit NaNoWriMo organization.Every year, thousands of writers (amateur and professional both) sit down on...
View ArticleFlu Season - also, COVID Tests are Here!
It's that time of year again. It's getting cold outside and we're starting to feel the effects of the dry air. We're huddling up inside in close proximity, and before you know it, the whole house is...
View ArticleLibrary Updates for 2024
Hello again to our beloved patrons, and if I haven't seen you yet, happy new year!We're most of the way through January already. 2023 already feels like a long time ago, doesn't it? And yet I swear...
View ArticleBe Mine... or Actually, Don't
Valentine's Day is the season of love, they say. I'm sure everyone's seen the Valentine's Day hearts, chocolates, cards, etc. on display at our local stores for the past couple of months. I thought...
View ArticlePortland Peppers - Perfect Pick!
Indoor planting season is upon us! Shannon, our sultana of the seed library, was kind enough to inform me that it's the perfect time of year to start a popular produce pick - peppers!Even the seed...
View ArticleHappy Leap Day! But why?
Thirty days hath September,April, June, and November.All the rest have thirty-one,Except for February alone:It has twenty-eight days clear,And twenty-nine in each leap year.The first part of this poem...
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