The Library is now home to a community mask station provided by Bloomington Mask Drive! Located in the vestibule of the Main Library, the self-serve station is stocked with free masks for adults and children and can be accessed during Library hours.

Wearing a face mask is one of the simplest, most effective ways to slow the spread of COVID-19 and face coverings are required on Library premises. The Library is delighted to partner with Bloomington Mask Drive to offer free masks to the community and further its goal to provide a self and welcoming place for all.

Bloomington Mask Drive was founded by Kelly Clark and Nola Hartman, a former MCPL Librarian, with the mission to slow the spread of COVID-19 by providing clean, high-quality, homemade fabric masks to residents of Bloomington and Monroe County free of charge. Read more about Free Masks at the Main Library

The global pandemic has closed classroom doors around the world, but adult literacy and language services remain essential during this time of health crisis and uncertainty. According to Proliteracy, over 36 million adults in the United States cannot read, write, or do basic math above a third grade level. Adults lacking these essential skills have increased vulnerability to COVID-19, and are at greater risk for financial instability and other social issues.

Volunteers in Tutoring Adult Learners (VITAL) provides learning opportunities for adults who want to improve their reading, writing, math, or English-language skills. In order to safely continue services, VITAL services online provides distance learning opportunities that are flexible and can adapt to changing circumstances. Read more about VITAL Services Online

Each year the Friends of the Library invites Library employees to submit their enterprising ideas for consideration of a Pioneer Grant. Projects must be innovative and beneficial to the community and lead the way to a knowledgeable, inclusive, and engaged community empowered by the Library. This year two projects were awarded grants.

Adventure Backpacks

Community Engagement Librarians Jen Hoffman and Morning Wilder, and Edwin Fallwell, a Senior Information Assistant, proposed a collection of Adventure Backpacks. In their proposal, the team noted that the backpacks would “facilitate an interactive exploration of nature, the outdoors, and local park and trail systems.”

Adventures Backpacks contain several useful items for your outdoor adventure including identification guides (flowers, trees, birds), and outdoor tools (binoculars, compass, multi-tool, flashlight). Read more about Pioneer Grants Fund Adventure Backpacks and Dyslexia-Friendly Library Projects

Call for Submissions

Monroe County tweens (ages 7–11) are invited to contribute to making an online Tween Quaranzine to document how you, the community’s young people, are responding to these strange times of quarantine and social distancing in the face of COVID-19.

To participate, you may contribute an 8.5” x 5.5” page. All ideas that highlight the community and uplift your voices are encouraged and welcome. The Library will accept writing (250 words or less), artwork, comics, photography, recipes, tutorials, and/or a combination of all of these––really anything goes as long as it can be represented on paper. For example, you can make a sculpture but you’d have to photograph it and then share the photo which is what would be used. The Library cannot accept video or audio files. Read more about Tween Quaranzine

By Craig J. Clark Read more about Under the Kanopy: Two with Michel Piccoli