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Indiana Room Helps Rediscover Lost Treasures

Black and white scan of an illustration of an open book with stars, a butterfly, balloons, and a rainbow. Illustrated text reads "Discover a great book at the MCPL!" by Amy Heeter, Binford 5th

After rediscovering pieces of writing from her daughter, Ariel, during her time as a student at University Elementary School in Bloomington, Amanda Ray shipped a box of various childhood gems—including an award winning piece that had been published locally in the The Herald-Times in 1995—all the way to Ariel’s new home in Maryland. She was hoping that Ariel would be able to share the pieces with her young children to inspire them to write stories of their own, “because readers inspire reading and writers inspire writing,” said Amanda.

   

Slash Subscriptions in 2023

Text reads Slash Subscriptions in 2023. An arrow in the background points from cut to use and Netflix to Kanopy, Hulu to Hoopla, Audible to Libby, Spotify to Freegal, Skillshare to LinkedIn Learning, Amazon to Library of Things. All FREE with your library card.

With so many entertainment platforms, it’s easy to stack subscriptions and blow your budget. We’re here to help you save your hard earned cash! Put away your credit card, pull out your library card, and try some of our Library services.

Instead of Netflix, plan your movie nights with Kanopy, a high-quality video streaming service with over 30,000 films. Don’t miss Kanopy’s selection of brand-new titles from BBC Film!

   
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Banned Books Week: September 18–24

Celebrate Banned Books Week 2022

Books unite us. They reach across boundaries and build connections between readers. Censorship, on the other hand, divides us and creates barriers. One of our most important goals here at the Library is to provide free and equitable access to information and resources. Among the many implications of that word–access–is the notion of freedom: you are free to read, watch, play, or listen to whatever interests you.

   
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Great MCPL Kid’s Bake Off

A cake decorated with blue candy waves, a lightning bolt, a trident, and icing writing Percy Jackson.

The first Great MCPL Kid’s Bake Off is a wrap! We challenged 17 children to make their best book-inspired dessert. The catch? They had to include a mystery ingredient–beet root powder!

Each participant received a kit that included measuring spoons, beet root powder, some suggestions for baking books, and a copy of The Complete Cookbook for Young Scientists: Good Science Makes Great Food: 70+ Recipes, Experiments, & Activities to keep.

   
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MCPL Digital Collection Launches

Text says "MCPL Digital" on a peach colored background with illustrations of an open yearbook and an owl with a graduation cap. MCPL Digital is a growing repository of high-resolution digital photograph collections of Monroe County Yearbooks and other local historical records. Our mission is to bring digital versions of the community's historical records to a broader audience!   Library Director, Grier Carson, says the digitization program has been in full force since early 2020. The first items to be digit

MCPL Digital is a growing repository of high-resolution digital photograph collections of Monroe County Yearbooks and other local historical records. Our mission is to bring digital versions of the community's historical records to a broader audience!

Library Director, Grier Carson, says the digitization program has been in full force since early 2020. The first items to be digitized were the Library’s collection of area school yearbooks.

   
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Ellettsville Branch Awarded Gardening Grant

A photo of four raised garden beds outside of the Ellettsville Branch.

The Ellettsville Branch was recently awarded a Growing Together mini grant of $1,500 in association with Purdue Extension–Monroe County!

 

Ellettsville Branch Garden

The garden was created as part of the Branch’s 2019 renovation. The garden was funded in part by a grant from the Smithville Charitable Foundation to install raised garden beds and a bench and provide resources to begin gardening programming.

   

New Digital Creativity Services

Level Up

There are now more ways to get creative in Level Up, our digital creativity space! 3D printing and memory preservation have joined our existing services, which include video and audio recording, Adobe Creative Cloud-equipped workstations, and more!

   
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2022 Fix-It Fair

Learn more about the event in this video.
   

You’re invited to bring in an item for repair free of charge at our third Fix-It Fair, Saturday, June 4, 2022 from 11 AM–4 PM at the Downtown Library!

In partnership with the City of Bloomington Department of Economic and Sustainable Development and the Library, local professionals will provide repairs and be available to coach attendees interested in learning how to make their own fixes.

Bring in your broken:

   
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April is Poetry Month

Poetry Month

Every April, the world celebrates poetry! The month is a reminder that poets play an integral role in our culture and that poetry matters. To celebrate, we have a lot of opportunities to read, listen, connect, and create with poetry in a variety of ways.

“Poetry is humanity's oldest form of literature–it's both ancient and modern. If you don't like reading it, you can listen to it,” said Jack Kovaleski, Community Engagement Librarian. “If you don't like listening to it, you can write it! Give it a chance and it will surprise you.”

   
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