To a young child, every new experience is fascinating and surprising. Trying to see the world with the fresh eyes of childhood can help us turn mundane experiences into spur-of-the-moment learning opportunities.

Staff from the children’s teams at all of our libraries offer parents and caregivers the following ideas on how to cultivate novel learning moments while you’re running errands or doing things around your home.

Now you have access to 22 more popular online magazines that you can read via our new subscription to Flipster. These titles, including back issues, can be read using the Flipster app or by visiting the Flipster website in a web browser.

The library is now part of Columbia’s Adopt-A-Spot Litter Control program, so you’ll be seeing more of us outside the library doing what we can to improve our environment. DBRL’s Sustainability Committee and other library staff met Saturday, July 1 for the first quarterly trash pickup event. We collected 10 bags of trash along the blocks defined by Broadway, Garth, Walnut and Providence Road.

Jennifer Rodewald attended the University of Missouri, where she earned a double-major in English and political science in 2007, and graduated from the University of Iowa College of Law in 2011. She returned to Columbia in 2011, where she now lives with her husband, Brandon, and their two kids, Chloe (age 9) and Jackson (age 4). Jennifer is currently the government relations counsel at Shelter Insurance.

Congratulations to the winners of our 2023 Summer Reading bookmark contest! These folks drew, painted, and colored designs to celebrate this year’s theme, “All Together Now.” The 17 winning designs will be printed and distributed at our libraries this summer.

Carolyn Cain and Cletus Baurichter have been book buddies for over 20 years. It all began when Cletus and his wife moved to Lenoir Woods retirement center in 2001. One fine day, they decided to walk from their new apartment to the Lenoir lobby to check out the Daniel Boone Regional Library’s monthly lobby visit. Standing with a smiling warm face behind a table loaded with books to borrow, was Carolyn, the library staff member helping patrons during that visit.

The library now has a way to communicate with people in more than 240 languages with our new Language Link Translation service. This immediate over-the-phone interpretation service will enable our staff to be even more helpful to non-English speakers visiting our libraries or bookmobile.

Your local public library provides you with services to help bridge the digital gap. At the library, we often help patrons who have never used a computer apply for jobs or set up a laptop for the first time. Others have come in to get help building their résumés, to practice their keyboarding skills and to learn how to use their smartphones or tablets. Take advantage of the digital services at the libraries in Ashland, Columbia, Fulton and Holts Summit.

If you’re looking for fun active learning projects for kids, the library’s new online resource, Lerner Maker Lab, will give you all kinds of ideas. You’ll discover easy crafts, kid-friendly recipes, engaging experiments, simple building plans and fun party projects.

Who doesn’t love spring — the time of year when nature brings us renewal, warm fresh air and the opportunity to get outside and enjoy the sunshine? For me, spring also brings a reminder of our stewardship of the Earth. Here at the Daniel Boone Regional Library, we take our stewardship of public library resources seriously, not just in the materials and services we provide, but also in our four facilities.