Posted on Friday, August 7, 2026 by Dana
Summer is winding down and school is just around the corner!
Here’s a few tips to help get you get ready, even if it’s the last thing you want to do. Continue reading “Ready or Not, School is Coming”
Posted on Wednesday, July 15, 2026 by Grae
You may already know that this summer we’ve been unearthing all kinds of stories for Summer Reading 2026.
(If you somehow didn’t know Summer Reading has been happening, as perhaps you have been living under a rock and intentionally not unearthing anything whatsoever 🪨🙃, never fear! You have until August 2nd to finish your tracker to redeem a free mini planter and a chance to win big in our grand prize drawing. 📚📝🤓🆓🪴🎇🎁)
For many of us in #libraryland, we have been taking this year’s theme quite literally, focusing our decor and programming on what lies unseen beneath our feet. In particular, we have been focused on the fossil record and the awe-inspiring remnants of our world’s ancient past — like DINOSAURS!!! — although the geologic past holds tiny treasures, too, many of which you can find in the creeks, rivers and bluffs of Missouri’s own state parks system. Continue reading “Urban Fossils 🐚🌆”
Posted on Wednesday, May 13, 2026 by Grae
I’ve always had a HUGE sweet tooth and have my mother to thank for this: as the family lore goes, when carrying me to term in the summer of my birth, she devoured an entire peach pie by herself. #GoodForHer #HappyBelatedMothersDay 💖🍑💖
But a very unwelcome bodily change hit me around my early twenties: though I LOVE candy in all its sugary forms, I can no longer digest most of it. While I’ve since made peace with my body’s dietary shift, there is still a part of me that is always searching for a lil treat to fill the sour gummy worm hole in the dirt cup that is my heart. On my journey into alternative candies, I’ve been delighted to discover that candied citrus peel 1. doesn’t upset my tender digestive disposition and 2. is actually pretty easy to make yourself via a little kitchen witchery! Texturally, the candied peel is wonderfully chewy (but not tacky) and both tastes and looks quite vibrant all on its own. Moreover, if your own dietary journey requires less sugar, since you’re candying the peel yourself, you get to decide how much sugar to add &/or whether to use a sugar-substitute, like sucralose or stevia.
After consulting a few recipes available in DBRL’s vast cookbook collection (which can be found at the nonfiction call number 641.5 in the Children’s, Teen and Adult areas!), I landed on a quick, straightforward version from Marie Asselin‘s “Simply Citrus,” which is currently available as an eBook on hoopla. Let’s get into it!
Posted on Wednesday, April 8, 2026 by Grae
Happy Spring! While I am more of a #winterwitch myself, I will begrudgingly admit that there is something lowkenuinely pleasing (and grounding and cleansing) about the re-greening of the world that happens every March-April-May. And I do adore how the woods and fields transform into live-action seek-and-finds with the sudden blooming of the first wildflowers and flowering weeds, like dead nettle and dandelion and wild sweet william and false rue anemone. So, to celebrate the arrival of spring, which is also the survival of winter, I have a really simple, yet stunning botanical craft to share with you. Consider this your introduction to Nature Printing 101! Continue reading “Nature Printing 101 🌸🎨”
Posted on Thursday, November 13, 2025 by DBRLTeen
November 16-22, 2025, is Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week. Worldwide, there are 795 million people who don’t have enough to eat. Many Americans are forced to choose between buying groceries, paying rent, or seeking medical attention. Locally, over 200 students are reported homeless annually by Columbia Public Schools. Learn more about Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week.
To bring awareness to hunger and homelessness in our community, we have partnered with Flourish Initiative to create a CommunityMade book list. Flourish is a local non-profit focused on supporting youth and young adults experiencing homelessness and other significant socioeconomic barriers to college and career success. They help youth through transitional housing for ages 16-24 who are experiencing homelessness. Flourish has a street outreach program that provides basic needs and case management to support youth and young adults who are experiencing homelessness with the goal of accessing housing. Continue reading “CommunityMade List by Flourish Initiative”
Posted on Wednesday, April 23, 2025 by Grae
Back when I was studying for my MFA in the effervescently endless green of North Carolina’s Piedmont region, I was tasked with proposing a business that engaged with poetry in some way. A child of the “There’s an app for that” generation — and the exact opposite of what you might call a Shrewd Business Man™ — my idea was to create a location-based app that a user could turn to when in need of a poem to ground themselves in a particular place or landscape. 📲
What would it be like to read or listen to Matthew Arnold‘s 19th-century poem “Dover Beach” while standing near the Strait of Dover on its famous White Cliffs? 🌊
Or, in a more mundanely magical Mid-Missouri moment, to experience Mary Oliver‘s beloved poem “Wild Geese” while walking around the noisy gaggle that make their home at Stephens Lake? 🦢
A wonderfully wise poet-friend of mine often says each poem is only fully completed when it reaches its reader(s); I wonder how poems can be completed in the landscapes, places and moments we move through each day — and in turn, complete us in some small, necessary way. ✨ Continue reading “Poets Laureate We Love: Ada Limón 🌿”
Posted on Wednesday, February 5, 2025 by Megan
Have you been curious about tarot but aren’t sure where to start? Starting anything new can be daunting, but don’t worry with a little practice you’ll be tapping into your intuition in no time!
Tarot has been around for centuries in various forms, early versions of tarot cards can be traced back to the late 14th century. However, the most commonly used Smith-Rider-Waite wasn’t published until 1908. Many artists still use the imagery and meanings of the Smith-Rider-Waite deck to this day. If you want to read more about the creation of this deck, you can read the biography of Pamela Colman Smith.
Posted on Wednesday, November 13, 2024 by Laura W
I’ve wanted to cosplay for many, many years. Before this year, however, I never had the courage. I always assumed that I would take up too much space, that people would look at me too much. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve realized that taking up space is not actually a bad thing. If people judge me adversely for cosplaying, that’s their problem, not mine. With this in mind, I recently created my first costume! One of the absolutely hardest parts for me was starting. With many projects, it can seem incredibly daunting at first. Luckily, we have many resources here to help with that. Regina made an absolutely wonderful list of costuming books. Though it’s labeled as being for Halloween, many of the titles work year-round! If even a book is overwhelming, keep reading for my list of how to get started. Continue reading “First Time Cosplaying Tips”
Posted on Wednesday, July 10, 2024 by Laura W
Obviously, I am an avid lover of books. In fact, I love books so much that I am one of those people who thinks that the book is almost always better than the movie. Don’t get me wrong, I love adaptations; There are some that are incredibly well done. For instance, the new Percy Jackson series on Disney Plus is insanely good. They did a fantastic job capturing what made the books so magical for so many people. But generally, no matter how good I think a movie is, I still tend to think the book is better. There is just something about the medium of literature that cannot be outdone. This fact holds true for everything except one of my all-time favorite series: “The Lord of the Rings.” If I believe that books are better than movies nine out of ten times, why would I change my mind for arguably one of the most influential series of the 20th century? Read on to uncover the mystery. Continue reading “Why “The Lord of the Rings” Movies are Better Than the Books”
Posted on Wednesday, June 12, 2024 by Laura W
If you’ve read any of my other blogs, you’d know that I am a lover of all things fantasy. I pretty much essentially only read fantasy. I play mostly fantasy video games. If I could dress in fantasy inspired clothing every day, I absolutely would. My love of fantasy started pretty young, but the one franchise that really solidified it for me was “The Lord of the Rings.”
I first saw the movies when I was about 12 years old. From that point on, I have consistently watched them at LEAST once a year. I genuinely believe that everyone should watch those movies, regardless of whether they’re into fantasy or not. Here’s my top 3 reasons why: Continue reading “Why Everyone Should Watch “The Lord of The Rings” Movies”