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 curbside pickup 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

1,102,067! That’s how many minutes you read as part of the Library’s 2020 Summer Reading Games, which went digital this year. 1,574 participants (815 kids, 178 teens, and 581 adults) completed challenges, reviewed books, and logged their minutes read.

The Summer Reading Games couldn’t happen without the support of the Friends of the Monroe County Public Library! Not only did the Friends sponsor the annual summer reading program, they pledged to donate $2,000 to Hoosier Hills Food Bank if the Library’s community-wide reading goal of 200,000 minutes was met. 

The goal was met less than two weeks into the games and the check was presented to the food bank!

Read more about One Million Minutes!

The historical fiction thriller, The Darwin Affair by Tim Mason, is the 22nd selection of Big Library Read. From August 3–17 readers can borrow and read this “intellectually stimulating and viscerally exciting” eBook through OverDrive and the Libby app. Solve the mystery from home with your library card and no waiting, then discuss the book online! Read more about Join the Big Library Read, the World’s Largest Digital Book Club

You did it! The community-wide reading goal of 200,000 minutes was met on Saturday, June 13, just 13 days into the summer reading games! Congrats to Hoosier Hills Food Bank, who will receive a $2,000 check from the Friends of the Library.

Since then, you’ve far surpassed this goal and have made it all the way to 539,745 minutes, as of Monday morning, June 29! In fact, the Library now has a new goal for summer reading––1 million minutes! 

Should this goal be met, some staff members have pledged personal donations totaling $1,525 to various community organizations of their choice. The organizations these staff members have selected include: Read more about New Summer Reading Goal: 1 Million Minutes