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It’s January. Maybe you’ve made, or plan to make, some resolutions. Maybe you’re recovering from the holiday craziness and are taking the new year day by day. I’ve never been someone who makes new year’s resolutions, I usually fall into the second category. Many think of January as a time to start over or begin again. Putting your focus there is understandable as a new year is beginning. There is possibility. I challenge you to take advantage of one of the following unique January holidays this year! The library can help you on your journey....
Today is the second day of November. Is it too early to begin thinking about Thanksgiving dinner? I don’t think so. Maybe you’ve got your meal down to an art, after years of perfecting recipes handed down from generations before. Or, perhaps you are looking for a new recipe or Thanksgiving tradition. Whatever traditions you hold in your own families, I’m sure they involve food. Thanksgiving, in my own family, is a time for too many cooks in the kitchen, indescribable smells wafting throughout the house, too many pies too eat, and turkey, stuff...
October is the month when most think of Halloween. Over here at the Sweetwater County Library, we think of Harry Potter. For years now, we have worked hard each October to create the best, most realistic, and most fun Harry Potter party for you. We love doing it and we hope you love coming to it. The party starts at 1 pm.. on Saturday and this year, we’re celebrating “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix,” the fifth book in the seven-book series. Everything is new this year – activities and crafts that you’ve never seen before. Begin by me...
I have extremely fond memories of coloring as a child. Whether it was within the pages of a Mickey Mouse coloring book, on a piece of construction paper, or scribbled upon a scrap of lined notebook paper, I was a child that could be counted upon to be found sprawled out on the floor with my box of 64 Crayola coloring crayons composing a work of art. When I think about coloring books and crayons, I’m overcome with a heartwarming sense of nostalgia. Coloring books have a long history. The Little Folks’ Painting Book is credited as the first col...
I am a huge fan of audiobooks. I’m always listening to one in my car. Since I commute to work in Green River from Rock Springs, I start and end my workday with an audiobook. If you listen to audiobooks, you know the narrator can either elevate the author’s writing or ruin it. I know I’ve started a few audiobooks only to realize the narrator just wasn’t working for me and then had to return the books to the library. On the other hand, I’ve listened to some fantastic narrators who can really bring stories to life. Jim Dale is an exceptional voice...
“Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?” This is one of my favorite lines of poetry. Mary Oliver ends her poem, “The Summer Day,” with this question. The bulk of the poem meditates upon a moment of a grasshopper’s life. The beauty of poetry, I think, is its ability to take ordinary things and use them to push you to examine yourself, your actions, your life. April is National Poetry month. Millions of teachers, students, librarians, booksellers, publishers, bloggers, authors, and poets take part in this cele...
Every four years we find ourselves with an extra day at the end of February – a “Leap Day,” and 2016 is a leap year. The Leap Year has an interesting origination. I’m sure we were all told about the reason behind leap years in elementary school. I had to read up a little bit to refresh my memory on the phenomenon. Here’s the deal, for those of you in my shoes. Before Julius Caesar came into power, around 60 B.C., there was a 355-day calendar with the addition of an extra 22-day month every two years. Caesar was not a fan of this calendar,...
It’s Thanksgiving, Let’s Eat! Today is the day before Thanksgiving. It is Thanksgiving Eve, if you will. Perhaps you are brining your turkey or baking that last pumpkin pie. You might be doing some last-minute house cleaning or ironing of your tablecloths. Whatever you are doing, I hope you’re taking some time to relish the holiday. Whatever traditions you hold in your own families, I’m sure they involve food. Thanksgiving, in my own family, is a time for too many cooks in the kitchen, indescribable smells wafting throughout the house, too many...
Halloween is only three days away! I hope you’ve stocked up on fun-sized candy bars and have your costume all ready to go. I have many great childhood memories of Halloween. My mom used to sew all of my costumes throughout elementary school. I was Pocahontas, Jasmine (from “Aladdin”), an Olympic figure skater, a clown, a mummy, a sorcerer, and a number of other great and original entities. I always felt proud to wear my mother’s creations. I also remember the Halloween Blizzard of 1991 in Minnesota – where I grew up. I remember bundling...
Fall is here! Has anyone else noticed that we are more than halfway through September? How did that happen? Starbucks has been selling Pumpkin Spice lattes for three weeks. I am sad to see summer go, as I am every year, but autumn always brings much to look forward to. If you ask me, fall is a great time of year – if we are graced with a few weeks of it. The library is abuzz with school children again, story times are filled with tiny listening ears belonging to kids who are eager to learn, and adults are gearing up for Ghost Walks and other g...
August is just about over, but you still have time to celebrate romance. Whether you find it at home, on a date, or at the library, August is the month to think about romance. A few online Romance Awareness Month sources suggest adding a little romance to your relationship this month, or focusing on the romance that is already there. Send your significant other flowers, express your appreciation for her/him verbally, hold hands, give compliments, cook a special dinner. If you’re still looking for romance, might I suggest a visit to the l...
While I was getting my degree in library and information science, I took a number of what you might call “typical” library science classes: reference services (how to answer reference questions), cataloging (how to catalog library materials), collection development (how to select materials to add to the library’s collection), and public relations (how to appropriately market the library and its services to the public). I enjoyed all of these classes and learned quite a bit about the inner workings of the library as an organization. One of my...
June is Audiobook Appreciation Month! If you’ve never listened to an audiobook, this is the month to try one out! June is the month to not only listen to audiobooks but also to tell others how cool they are. The Sweetwater County Library has a great selection of books on CD, playaways, and electronic audiobook services. The term “audiobook” may be new to you, and if this is the case, don’t feel bad. You may know them as books on tape – as was their name when they were first popularized. Books on tape became popular in the 1970s and 80s, with...
If you have frequented the Sweetwater County Library lately, you may have noticed the addition of an adult graphic novel section. If you aren’t looking for it, you’ll probably pass it by as it is still in its inception and is quite small. Look between the large print and mystery sections, and you’ll find it. The library has boasted juvenile and young sdult graphic novel sections for some time now, and it was time for the adults to hop on the bandwagon. You might be wondering why the library even has a graphic novel section. In recent years...
“Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?” This is one of my favorite lines of poetry. Mary Oliver ends her poem, “The Summer Day,” with this question. The bulk of the poem meditates upon a moment of a grasshopper’s life. The beauty of poetry, I think, is its ability to take ordinary things and use them to push you to examine yourself, your actions, your life. April is National Poetry month. Millions of teachers, students, librarians, booksellers, publishers, bloggers, authors, and poets take part in this cele...
This March and April Sweetwater County residents will have multiple opportunities to read, watch, and experience Charlotte Bronte’s classic novel, “Jane Eyre.” The Sweetwater County Library System and the Sweetwater County Library Foundation are partnering with Western Wyoming Community College and the Hay Library to make this possible. You may have noticed a number of pass-along copies of the book on display at any of our three main libraries. Please pick one up, read it, and pass it along to someone else. The books themselves are very nice...
January is usually a time of new beginnings. It’s a new year with new possibilities and new aspirations. We’re all trying to stick to our New Year’s resolutions to lose a few pounds, save some extra money, or get that promotion at work. While these are excellent goals for the New Year, I propose you go a different route and take advantage of January as a month to begin a new hobby. January is, after all, National Hobby Month. I enjoy getting my hands into a variety of things. I’ve tried knitting and crocheting, drawing, cooking and baking,...
December is a month filled with holiday shopping, parties, family gatherings, travel, and anything else we can squeeze in. If you're game, I'd like to open your mind to an idea. This idea stems from the fact that the public library is not only a place to find entertainment through novels, DVDs, and Internet access, but a place that give you the tools to delve a little deeper. Dec. 1 is the anniversary of Rosa Parks' arrest for failing to give up her seat at the front of a bus and move to the...
