As we continue our celebration of the 100th anniversary of the Columbia Public Library and move through our library system’s strategic planning process, I am reminded of the core service that DBRL provides our communities — reading for pleasure. Part of our mission statement speaks to this: “DBRL strives to be at the heart of the community…connecting every person to opportunities for a lifetime of discovery, learning and joy.”

Inspired by this year’s One Read book “The Big Door Prize,” we invite Mid-Missouri artists ages 16 and older to contribute works that explore the potential, that capture a transformation, or that investigate what someone or something might become.

The exhibit will take place September 1-30 and can be viewed in person at the September 2 First Friday reception at Orr Street Studios.

This year, we’re celebrating Columbia Public Library’s 100th year as a publicly funded library! We’ll be sharing lots of history on our social media, on our website and in our building. To kick things off, here’s a look at the 77 years of effort put in before 1922 for the community to finally make their dream a reality.

As we celebrate our 100th year of tax-supported library service at our home base in the Columbia Public Library, we at the Daniel Boone Regional Library are also looking to the future. This year, we are formulating our next strategic plan, which will guide our public services for the next three to five years. The planning process involves analyzing our current services and use patterns and meeting with the staff, trustees and members of the public to identify our strengths, areas for growth and new opportunities to serve you.

Congratulations to the winners of our 2022 Summer Reading bookmark contest! These kids, teens and adults drew, painted and colored designs to celebrate this year’s theme, “Oceans of Possibilities.”

By a margin of 21 votes, the community voted to read “The Big Door Prize” by M.O. Walsh for this year’s One Read program. The community is given the summer to read the book in preparation for related events, including an author talk, in September.

“This year’s selection opens up some topics we haven’t explored in a One Read book before, like gratitude, teen mental health and identifying one’s personal potential,” said One Read co-chair Lauren Williams.

There has been some information in the news about the unionization efforts going on at Daniel Boone Regional Library (DBRL). You may be interested in reading the public statement the library shared with the local media in February 2022 that clarifies information referred to in the local coverage.

Babies learn a lot from us beginning the second they are born. Just from our daily routine, they are discovering new shapes, finding out what things feel like and understanding what different sounds mean. Sharing books with babies lets them explore beyond what they see every day at your house or grandma’s.

Our research has revealed many women were committed to getting a public-funded library established in Columbia, but Mrs. Emily Harshe stands out as a founding mother. In an address to the Missouri Library Association conference and the Kiwanis Club in 1927, E.A. Logan was quoted as saying, “Thirteen years ago, [the Columbia Public Library] was located in a ratty, obscure room of the courthouse and Miss Lelia Willis was the only one in town who gave any time toward its maintenance. Mrs. Emily Harshe, the ‘mother’ of the library of Columbia, is responsible for putting it on its feet.”

The One Read reading panel of community members from Boone and Callaway Counties narrowed the list of more than 230 book suggestions for the 2021 One Read title to two top contenders. From April 4-22, you can cast your vote for either “The Big Door Prize” by M.O. Walsh or “Deacon King Kong” by James McBride.

Vote online at oneread.org.