Explore and Discover

A peek into EnviroKids’ Club: Q&A with two partner agencies

Posted on August 19, 2020 at 6:00 am

By Erin Dodge Next week, we’re hosting three EnviroKids’ Club programs (sign up before they fill up!), each showing kids and their families different ways that they can champion the environment and take action to make changes at home and in their neighborhoods. In case you missed the announcement, here are those three programs: EnviroKids’ […]

Using your right to vote: Important information from the League of Women Voters

Posted on July 20, 2020 at 6:00 am

Guest blog by Beth Pellicciotti At the League of Women Voters’ National Convention this past month, Virginia Kase, the CEO of the national League, reminded us that at the height of the 1918 Flu Pandemic, women continued their fight for the right to vote. Their work was not in vain. In 1920, the 19th Amendment, […]

Health questions and related online resources

Posted on May 7, 2020 at 6:00 am

By Corinne Wilson DISCLAIMER: This blog containing health resources is not, nor is it intended as, a replacement or substitution for medical consultation with a healthcare professional. If you are experiencing a medical emergency: Dial 911. I was coming down with something right as the first COVID-19 cases appeared in Seattle. Fortunately, I knew e […]

Learn a new language from home with our digital resources

Posted 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 […]

Digging for accuracy: How information literacy helps you uncover the facts

Posted on April 14, 2020 at 6:00 am

BY CRYSTAL MILLER In the digital age, we are bombarded with news articles, ads, and memes—all trying to convey some kind of information. Deciphering which pieces of news are legitimate and unbiased takes some skills that we can all learn. These skills are especially important right now, as we are being inundated with news, possible […]

Become a fiction frequent flyer with short stories

Posted on March 25, 2020 at 6:00 am

By Melissa Rhoades As a novel enthusiast, I love returning to the same characters, settings, and writing styles for days or weeks at a time. It feels like taking an extended vacation. Short stories, in comparison, can feel like weekend getaways that end too soon. But Neil Gaiman has pointed out the positive side of […]

Glowforge 3D laser printer offers a different way to create

Posted on February 5, 2020 at 6:00 am

By Abra Cole If you’ve visited the North Spokane Library in 2019, you may have noticed the scent of burning wood. Or, maybe you noticed machine that is over 3 feet wide and 1 1/2 feet deep back in The Lab doing… something. That’s the District’s Glowforge 3D laser printer. And it is one of […]

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

Posted 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 […]

Saving seeds from the garden: Lovage, snap peas, and coriander

Posted on July 3, 2019 at 6:00 am

By Abra Cole Ah, summer. Here you are again, bringing all that sunshine and heat and gardening goodness with you. For most of us gardeners, our seasonal plants have not only been selected by now, but they’re planted and fairly well established in our gardens. Many perennials are blooming, or nearly so. The time has […]

Day in the life of a librarian

Posted on May 16, 2019 at 6:00 am

By Dana Mannino When kids tour the library, I like to ask them what they think a librarian does. Usually I get answers like “You tell us not to run.” I think to myself, “If I wanted to do that, I would have become a life guard!” I don’t think kids are the only ones […]