There are so many reasons that my family loves living in Howard County … the beautiful farm land, wonderful people and accessible county resources – including our world-class Howard County Library System.
We love using the Library. My family all take out books of course, but we engage in many Library programs as well, and love the garden at the Miller Library.
Why does this matter to me?
This matters to me because we all need to support each other to the best of our abilities. We love our library community! Everyone is always so helpful and accommodating, and they offer so many incredible programs and resources to help us raise our family.
In fact, the Library is so important to my family, and to me personally, that I have chosen to invest my personal time as a member of the Board of the Friends & Foundation of the Howard County Library System, or as we simply refer to it as, “The Friends”.
Friends and Foundation of Howard County Library System is a nonprofit organization that supports HCLS in its mission to deliver high quality education for all ages.
Specifically, we support:
Battle of the Books
HCLS Spelling Bee
HCLS BumbleBee
HiTech STEM classes and events
Notable Author Events
HCLS Project Literary Graduation
Rube Goldberg Challenge
Summer Reading
Children’s Discovery Fair
Teen Time
Online Homework Assistance
Enchanted Garden
Family Movie Nights
While our family favorite is the Enchanted Garden, we know the entire county enjoys all of these Library efforts, and then some. That’s why my family supports the Friends, and I invite you to as well.
The Friends & Foundation is hosting a Floral Fundraiser to Kick Off National Library Week. This fall, HCLS will be introducing a new mobile library van, On the Road to Kindergarten, that will bring library collections, services, and programs to all corners of the community, focusing on preparing children from birth to three for kindergarten. The Friends & Foundation of HCLS is holding a floral fundraiser this spring to support it. You can donate and enjoy a thank-you gift(s):
$35 – Hanging Flower Basket
$30 – Sobar Drink Kit
$30 – Flower Cookie Kit
A portion of your donation goes directly to HCLS to support this fantastic project that will creatively bring education, support, and activities to young minds outside the library’s buildings – it’s a Win, Win, Win!
There’s something for everyone at the Howard County Library System, and the Friends & Foundation is here to support it. Please join me and my family in both as we celebrate National Library Week!
Spring is here! Temperatures are warming, plants are budding and blooming, and animals are reemerging – including creepy crawlies that we might be less than enthusiastic to greet. As you welcome the change of seasons, here are some reads that celebrate the natural world. Take a look below to find titles for all ages, and keep an eye on our social media to see additional suggestions for each age group.
A rabbit explores a garden and finds flowers of every color, before hopping home for a nap and dreams of rainbows. Rhyming clues invite the reader to answer the question: What does bunny see?
Join your little one in discovering all the amazing creatures that live in the unique ecosystem of a mountain pond. As a boy and his mother paddle across the pond, they discover the interconnected nature of the creatures that call the pond home. Turn the pages to the end of the story to read facts about all the animals you see.
Come balance, sway, sing, and stretch along with children imagining what it’s like to be a tree. Bright, colorful pictures show children of different backgrounds learning to embrace nature, each other, and themselves. The fun, singsong text is full of sweet affirmations written in both Spanish and English.
Explore the gorgeous illustrations in this volume filled with information about the species that have vanished over the last century. Along with the tragic stories of how many of these species have been lost to the world, this book also shares inspiring tales of species that were rediscovered and some that were successfully reintroduced into the wild.
A vacant lot in inner-city Cleveland, Ohio brings together a community in unexpected ways in this classic tale. Follow the stories of 13 diverse residents as they discover the power of gardening and working together to heal and make change.
This richly illustrated book combines poems with the fascinating backstories of 20 animals who’ve figured out how to thrive in cities. From reticulated pythons in Singapore’s sewer system to coyotes in Chicago, discover why these animals came to be such close neighbors with humans. At the end of the book, enjoy bonus pages on poetry forms and resources to learn more about these clever creatures.
This beautiful nonfiction volume explores some of the quirkiest creatures you can find, along with more common animal companions and friends. Beginning with Darwin’s theory of evolution, the author also explains how advances in scientific knowledge, especially genetics, have expanded our understanding of how animals became their current selves.
This multi-authored novel tells the story of ten teens left alone in the wilderness for a three-day survival test. The diverse group of troubled teens have to overcome their vast differences to survive in the wild with no readily available food or water, just the packs on their backs.
When Oliver takes a summer trip from the bustling city of Chicago to Boulder, Colorado, he experiences a bit of a culture shock. There he meets Essa, a nature-loving girl who plays wilderness survival games with her friends. The two begin to explore Buddhism and meditation at the local Zendo. When one of their survival games goes wrong, the two have to rely on their newfound spiritual strength if they are to save Essa’s sister, Puck, and survive the trip themselves.
In Montana’s Mission mountains, conservationist and rancher Bryce Andrews watches a young grizzly bear be tagged with a GPS collar. As the seasons pass, he tracks her through forests, cornfields, and cattle ranches as she struggles to feed herself (and later her two cubs) from a wilderness increasingly fractured by human use, while he works with farmers, hunters, and Native organizations to protect the bears. Tensions rise as bear encounters with humans and their property become more frequent and destructive, and, as a series of tragic events unfolds, Andrews eloquently wonders what can be done to find balance between these two species. While deeply personal and rooted firmly in the landscapes and culture of the American West, this story is also emblematic of global struggles where habitat loss is pushing wildlife into ever closer proximity with human settlements.
Spring is upon us, and maybe you want to venture into the yard and get ready for outdoor living! In Garden Renovation, you’ll find practical do-it-yourself plans to build or re-build your garden environment. Like many gardening and outdoor project books, the beautiful pictures are just as much fun to look at and dream over as they are instructive. If you decide to take on a project, don’t forget the DIY Education Center can help!
If you’re not familiar with this humorous author, you are in luck, because we own many of his fantastic books. In A Walk in the Woods, Bill Bryson recounts his discovery of and attempts to hike the Appalachian Trail. In this book, you are not inspired by the story of a very fit hiker doing the entire trail from Maine to Georgia in record time, but rather laugh along with the story of an average middle-aged person and his old friend hiking and discovering together. While very funny, Bryson also weaves interesting trail history and social commentary into his tale. I always recall his comments on how few people walk in the woods, and how, after days in the woods, the modern world seems harsh, especially for those on foot. Robert Redford produced and starred as Bryson in the film adaptation, available on DVD.
The Elkridge Branch + DIY Education Center opened the doors of its new building in March 2018. Our staff are always happy to help you with your questions about books, tools, technology, and more!
I volunteer with the food pantry run by the Indian Cultural Association (ICA) and I’d like to share a little bit of what I see in the parking lot at HCLS Miller Branch. Just the other day while we were unloading boxes, a lady walked up to me. She had come to pick up books at the library and was curious about the long line of cars. When I told her about the boxes of food – milk, eggs, meat, fresh produce, that ICA was prepping to deliver, she quickly got into the line. After about five minutes she beckoned me to her car, and her mother, or mother-in-law, and her young son were with her. She asked how much she’d have to pay for the food, and I told her – it’s free. She looked away and mumbled something that I didn’t quite understand. I said, “Excuse me?” She looked up and said that her family hadn’t had a proper meal in three days. That look of desperation in her eyes is imprinted on my brain.
That is why cars start lining up hours in advance of the start time even in bitter cold. When the food distribution starts, the cars flow through non-stop and all four loading stations are constantly busy. The folks in that line represent a wide diversity – from older couples to families with kids in car seats. In that parking lot we see all the shades of skin color – both in the cars collecting food as well as among the volunteers loading the boxes into the cars. More than 350 volunteers help ICA distribute the food. The way ICA is bringing the community together gives me a lot of hope for our future.
The Indian Cultural Association’s mission is to introduce and enhance the vibrant culture and heritage of India through various programs. A fledgling organization, it was incorporated in 2018 by Sanjay and Niti Srivastava. ICA has been working to help put food on the table of families in our community and alleviate hunger among so many affected by the pandemic. Niti shares some surprising statistics, “Nearly 28% of Howard Countians are food insecure, meaning they are not certain about where their next meal will come from or they will be making a choice between paying essential bills or buying food for their families. 1 in 4 children and 1 in 6 adults are food insecure. You will be surprised to learn that these are 2018 figures”.
Inspired by the core philosophy of Seva, or selfless service to those in need, ICA has distributed more than 1,600,000 pounds to date (and counting) of food to more than 100,000 hungry families. ICA has distributed more food to Howard County residents than the Howard Food Bank during the pandemic.
Working in tandem with community organizations, Howard County Library System has been tirelessly engaged in supporting and assisting our customers and our community through this troubling year. These efforts have included lending Chromebooks and hotspots to enhance digital learning as well as supporting food pantries to address food insecurity among Howard County households. One of our most valuable partners in this effort at mitigating hunger has been The Indian Cultural Association (ICA) of Howard County.
Rohini is the Adult Curriculum Specialist with HCLS. She loves literature and rainy days.
By Tonya Aikens, President & CEO of Howard County Library System
It’s National Library Week, a time to celebrate libraries! This year’s theme, Welcome to Your Library, is especially fitting as we welcome customers back inside our branches for limited in-person service for the first time since closing last March due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
While our doors were closed, our libraries were indeed open. Our team pivoted quickly and effectively to assist customers, develop and teach virtual classes, lead virtual book discussion groups, present renowned authors and speakers, coordinate virtual events, make more eBooks and eAudiobooks available, create a COVID portal with community resources, and work on a phased reopening plan – all while adapting to life in a pandemic.
We created new opportunities to connect and engage – changing the Longest Table from a physical to a virtual table, converting the HiTech Carnival to a carnival-in-a-bag experience, transforming Evening in the Stacks into a virtual trip to Italy, adapting the Battle of the Books academic competition to an online space, creating Bundle Bags for people who missed being able to browse the shelves, launching a new blog, adding STEM Activity Kits to our collection, and lending Chromebooks and hotspots to help address the digital divide for those without devices or internet access.
While dealing with the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, we are also addressing the pandemic of racial injustice by integrating equity practices into our internal and external work, launching a Racial Equity Alliance, and supporting community building. Watch for news in coming weeks on our website and social media channels.
Underlying all our work is a commitment to education for everyone in our community. We look forward to launching the On the Road to Kindergarten mobile unit later this summer, enabling us to bring our preschool classes and learning resources to children of families who do not have access to our six branches. By making these classes and services fully accessible, children can take their first steps to become ready for kindergarten.
It’s clear that at Howard County Library System, we offer endless opportunities to transform lives, whether you visit our branches in person or virtually.
We are grateful for our supporters and donors, especially the Friends & Foundation of HCLS, and our customers. Our staff is excited to welcome you back to your library!
The summer camp directories are out, and though summer will still be COVID-impacted, these camp listings have me thinking about the freedom and fun of summers past. Do you have any cherished (or miserable?!) summer camp memories? Do you think of s’mores or lakes or mosquitoes? While there are all kinds of camps and camp memories, one universal camp experience, it seems, is the intensity of friendships that form in that time-bounded space. When kids are briefly brought together from various places and situations and thrown into the intimate, shared life of a camp routine, something special happens.
That powerful camp-created bond lies at the core of Meg Wolitzer’s engrossing novel, The Interestings. Six teenagers become friends at Spirit of the Woods camp in the summer of 1974, and the relationships they form with one another shape the rest of their lives. Spirit of the Woods is an arts camp, a place designed to foster talent and passion. Julie Jacobsen isn’t sure she belongs in this place but is thrilled when the self-named clique “The Interestings” enfolds her into their circle of specialness.
As the six kids grow, age, and build their lives and careers, Jules continues to measure her life against those of her camp friends and to use their experiences as a guide to what makes a life successful. Their diverse talents – so glittering in their camp days – play out in many ways in adulthood, and though the bonds of friendship provide a lifeline through crises, they also drive wedges as Jules’ and her friends’ fortunes diverge. Through Jules’ eyes, readers can consider the question: what would you do for a friend?
This beautifully written story made me think about my own friendships and how they’ve evolved over time. It swept me into the juicy world of these characters’ lives and relationships but also gave me lots to chew on – it’s both ice cream and salad, a perfect summer feast! If you’re looking for something fun and, well, interesting, check out Meg Wolitzer’s The Interestings.
Jean B. is a Children’s Instructor and Research Specialist at the Central Branch and loves reading books for all ages when she isn’t enjoying the outdoors.
CHAPTER CHATS 