The Downtown Library is home to a community mask station provided by Bloomington Mask Drive! Located in the parking lot entryway, the self-serve station is stocked with free masks for adults and children and can be accessed during open Library hours.
The Library is excited to announce Grier Carson as its new Associate Director!
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.
Do you enjoy puzzles and fantasy games? Try our fantasy escape room! With themes reminiscent of a Dungeons and Dragons game, you can attempt to escape the Wizard Tower. You don't have to complete all of the puzzles to finish the game, but completing different puzzles makes for different endings.
You can attempt this escape room by yourself or as a group. Click on hints on the way if you need help. This escape room is intended for teens but adults and children can test out their mettle too! Good luck!
Enter the escape room.
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.
Adapting to life during the coronavirus pandemic is a challenge. Almost every aspect of daily life, from shopping at a grocery store to visiting the public library, has changed. Many have lost their jobs or are working reduced hours. Some are experiencing food or housing insecurity for the first time. Others have lost loved ones. Uncertain times can feel overwhelming and isolating, especially when you are unable to congregate in the community, and may not know who to turn to in order to ask for support.
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!
Welcome to the third issue of the Library's community Quaranzine!
There are two different versions––one is for reading on a screen, and the other has been imposed so it can be printed at home, folded, stapled, and read in that fashion. Select short-side binding on most printers to print correctly.
Thanks to everyone who contributed to this zine. Please consider contributing to the next issue, coming September 1!
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!
Library events aren't happening in person yet, but LEGO Club still lives! Watch a new video each month for a building challenge you can do at home. You can also submit your build to pduszyns [at] mcpl.info (subject: LEGO%20Club) so other kids can see it!
This month, we challenged you to build a monster or an alien. Watch the video, and take a look at the awesome Pincer monster Callum built!