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.

The One Read reading panel of community members from Boone and Callaway Counties narrowed the list of more than 200 book suggestions for the 2023 One Read title to two top contenders. Between April 10-28, the public can cast their vote for either “When Two Feathers Fell From the Sky” by Margaret Verble or “Why Fish Don’t Exist: A Story of Loss, Love, and the Hidden Order of Life” by Lulu Miller.

LOTE4Kids (Languages Other Than English) has introduced sign language kids books into their collection of languages. You’ll now find picture books in American (ASL), Australian (Auslan), and British (BSL) sign languages as well as more bilingual and read-along stories and downloadable activities.

OverDrive has announced that their legacy app for Android and iOS devices will be discontinued at the end of April. This means if you’ve been using the OverDrive app for accessing eBooks, digital audiobooks and magazines, you will need to switch to the replacement Libby app.

Next week, you’ll notice some updates to the library’s homepage. The top navigation and search function will remain the same, but the rest will look refreshed. To make it easier for you to find what you’re looking for, we’ve established standing sections for different topics of interest to you.

This winter, we asked patrons of all ages to design a new book cover based on a book that reminds them to take care. Congratulations to our winners! These folks drew, painted, and colored designs to celebrate this year’s Winter Reading theme, “Take Time to Take Care.”

To improve their services, libraries, along with the rest of society, have embraced evolving technologies over the last century. If a time machine took us back to 1922, we could visit the Columbia Public Library, but we would miss the view from the Quiet Reading Room on the third floor and the convenience of the self-check stations in the current building. We would also miss our digital devices that connect us to the online library catalog, streaming Kanopy movies and all of the other things you love to do through the library’s website.

In the last few years, the Daniel Boone Regional Library has added new services that address community needs thanks to gifts made to the Daniel Boone Regional Library Foundation. Every penny donated is spent directly on services that benefit your friends, family and neighbors.

New trustee Margrace Buckler has called Columbia home for 48 years. She grew up in Nevada, Missouri, came to Columbia to attend college and later married Kevin, a Columbia native. She worked in state government for 12 years and recently retired from the City of Columbia after almost 23 years of service. For most of her career, she worked in human resources. Now she gardens, reads and walks miles with her dog Marley. She and her husband enjoy fly fishing and traveling to national parks.