News Posts

With the holidays upon us, it's time to think about buying presents for our people, right? Some of the best gifts you can give a reader are ones related to authors and titles they love.  The following is a list of websites that will help you locate a unique literary or book themed gift idea for the bibliophile in your life. Have fun! Buy a little something for yourself...or perhaps, your favorite librarian?

Dreading the shorter days? Wondering how you will survive the holidays? Let me help you with some simple skills I use myself to cope with stress and “dark days.”

Let me preface this list by stating that I am not a professional. My experience is purely personal. However, I have been in treatment for mental health disorders for nearly 20 years, and these are some of the things I have found that work for me and other people in the mental wellness community.

Due to elevated mold counts in the Missouri River Regional Library Annex, the Library staff must relocate. The administrative team will be moving to 308 E. High Ste. 208, while the Tech Services, IT, Adult Services, and Teen Services staff will be relocating into previously public spaces and other staff space in the Main Library.

Sometimes you can’t help but feel paranoid.

One such instance is when your library card is scanned and the librarian pauses and squints to read the screen.

What’s going on? Is the FBI about to close in? Am I the millionth customer?  In this installment of “What’s going on behind the desk?” we will examine some of the reasons for “The Squint.”

There are a lot of reasons for that pause and fortunately, that's not necessarily bad!

For example, you could have an item on hold that’s ready to pick up. Hey, you’re a winner!

Music is universal.  We may not all have the same tastes in music, but we can experience music in any language.  Music is said to move mountains. I know it feeds my soul.  The sound and style of music often changes to mirror the events of the world.  

The weather has finally cooled off, pumpkin spice is officially in everything, and Halloween is quickly approaching! We don’t know about you, but this is one of our favorite seasons, and we are celebrating all month long at both branches! Make plans to attend one (or all!) of our programming, and be sure to check out your favorite Halloween-inspired film or book!

Main Library (Jefferson City, MO)

We’ve made it through Labor Day, school has started, and Missouri River Regional Library has wrapped up Summer Reading! The MRRL Summer Reading program encourages community members of all ages to read through a variety of challenges and earn prizes. Summer Reading kicks off in May, and wraps up in August each year.  The State Library of Iowa reports that “children who don’t read over the summer tend to lose literacy skills while children who do read during the summer actually improve their reading ability.”

This year’s Capital READ title is by Melissa Scholes Young, a Hannibal native who now lives in Washington, DC, and teaches creative writing at American University. She explores the universal theme of escape and going home again in her first novel, Flood.

MRRL offers a variety of crafting programs throughout the year. One of our very popular programs was the recent Silk Scarf Dyeing. If you would like to dye a silk scarf at home, here are the instructions we used at the program!

Supplies needed:
Silk Scarf
Acid-Based Dyes
Warm Water
Plastic Bag
Microwave Oven

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What was your reaction when your favorite book was turned into a movie? It’s always a nerve-wracking moment when you realize the characters that you pictured in your head could be different than the ones that appear on the screen. Or that your favorite plot point may be left out altogether!

Last year I read the book The Thriving Library: Successful Strategies for Challenging Times. It’s the kind of book library directors read for fun, and it was professionally speaking just the right book at the right time.  There was a quote in this book that has stayed with me for well over a year.

What’s the first thing you think of when we say “library”? Our best guess is books, getting shushed, and maybe cats. But the library is so much more! Here are five things you didn’t know (but should!) about your library:

eBooks and Audiobooks

Ditch that Audible subscription, and listen to your audiobooks for free with your library card! We have two different apps that offer both eBooks and audiobooks.  So, what’s the difference?

Undefeated: Jim Thorpe and the Carlisle Indian School Football Team by Steve Sheinkin

I am always drawn to underdog stories. I want to see the little guy make it big and defeat the big dog. Undefeated is definitely an underdog story.