Author – Spokane County Library District

Workshop discusses mental health, depression, and anxiety, presented in Spanish and English – Taller de salud mental. Depresión y ansiedad. Presentado en español e inglés.

Posted in News on July 3, 2020 at 6:00 am

By Dana Mannino Lea las noticias publicadas en español. The COVID-19 pandemic has raised everyone’s stress levels. But how do you tell if you’re just a little more stressed or if you’re actually suffering from depression or an anxiety disorder? You may be wondering: “At what point does it make sense to seek professional help? […]

Learn a new language from home with our digital resources

Posted in Explore and Discover, News on April 29, 2020 at 6:00 am

By Dana Mannino Use of language learning apps is on the rise! Who would have guessed that being stuck at home would make so many people want to learn a new language? As a bilingual librarian, I am delighted. This means that many more people will be interested in celebrating this week’s library holiday, Día […]

Ask for a story: An idea for staying connected over the distance

Posted in Explore and Discover on April 8, 2020 at 6:00 am

By Dana Mannino During this time of social distancing, we’ve all been urged to check in with people—especially people from an older generation who have to shelter in place much more drastically. I hope that all of you have taken this to heart and called your loved ones. I’m a list maker as well as […]

Answering the question: “What does it take to be a librarian?”

Posted in Explore and Discover on January 29, 2020 at 6:00 am

By Dana Mannino As I have shared before, being a librarian is pretty awesome. So it’s no wonder that I am often asked, “What does it take to be a librarian?” Of course, I treat this as a serious reference question and immediately launch into a technical description of the degrees and experience that we […]

Library insider: Helping your child research for school papers and projects

Posted in Explore and Discover on November 13, 2019 at 6:00 am

By Dana Mannino I always know when it’s research paper season. The first clue is that my work calendar explodes. For my work as a librarian, I offer research workshops to area high schools that aren’t fortunate enough to have their own library. Somehow all the requests for workshops come in at once. The second […]

Civic learning at the library

Posted in Explore and Discover, News on September 4, 2019 at 6:00 am

By Dana Mannino I hear a phrase uttered at the Thanksgiving dinner table at least once each year: “Kids these day, they have no idea how the government works!” But that’s not the only place I’ve heard it. Last spring, our librarians asked people what kind of a community they wanted to live in. One […]

Things to do during a sedentary summer

Posted in Explore and Discover on July 24, 2019 at 6:00 am

By Dana Mannino The way I see it, there are two phases of summer: active summer and sedentary summer. For me, active summer occurs when temperatures reach 70–85 degrees. At those temps, I try to spend most of my time outside, preferably in the mountains or at a lake, in the garden will do as […]

Project Memory: Your old photos and home movies transferred to digital

Posted in Explore and Discover, News on March 12, 2019 at 6:00 am

By Dana Mannino Is your family history collecting dust in a closet? Have a box of slides from Grandpa’s 1978 trip to Europe? How about those little 8mm film reels in their tiny cardboard boxes? If you have photos, film reels, or slides stashed away, now is the time to pull them out! Perhaps Mom’s […]

Poetry slams bring communities together for competitive arts

Posted in News on March 5, 2019 at 6:00 am

BY DANA MANNINO Feeling blah? Consider attending a poetry competition—or three. The 2nd Annual Valley Slam takes place on Wednesday, March 20, at 6:30pm in the University High School Auditorium (12420 E 32nd Ave, Spokane Valley), where students from Central Valley, Mica Peak, and University High Schools compete for cash prizes provided by the Fri […]

A twist on the New Year’s resolution

Posted in Explore and Discover on January 3, 2019 at 6:00 am

by Dana Mannino “Do one thing every day that scares you.” I first met this quote on a refrigerator magnet. Since then, I’ve seen it online attributed to Eleanor Roosevelt, Kurt Vonnegut, and several more historical figures. The website Quote Investigator says that it actually comes from a 1997 article by journalist Mary Schmich, but […]

Author: Dana Mannino