Show Us How You Connect! This fall, each HCLS branch features a one-of-a-kind social interaction station, a photo-ready, interactive display inviting you to explore how you Learn, Grow, and Connect at the library.
Snap a pic, share your story, and enter to win great prizes! Visit all six branches for more chances to win. Here’s how to enter:
Post to your feed or story on Instagram or upload here
Tag @hocolibrary + use #ConnectHCLS
For each branch you visit, share the picture. You can get up to six chances to win.
Don’t want to be featured on social media? You can still participate by adding your perspective to the board – each station has an opportunity for you to share the ways you learn, grow, and connect with us.
Weekly favorites will be featured on our page, and winners will score some fun library swag.
Contest runs until Oct 31. Winners announced in November.
Celebrate 85 years of excellence with a journey back to where it all began.
This year marks a major milestone in the life of Howard County Library System: 85 years of history, community, and connection. As we look back, it’s not just the number that amazes us—it’s the journey, the people, and the purpose that have brought us to where we are today.
As part of our birthday celebration, we invite you to a very special class:
Howard County Library: The Origin Story – Honoring 85 Years of History, Community, and Connection
Discover how it all started — the visionaries who helped shape it and those who carried it forward — making Howard County Library System one of the top-rated libraries in the country. This program has been lovingly curated and will be presented by several of our dedicated library retirees. These individuals, who spent years serving the library and its customers, have poured their passion and time into uncovering the roots of our library system. They’ve scoured archives, tracked down milestones, and rediscovered library stories.
Their commitment has turned this event into more than just a presentation. It’s a heartfelt tribute to what we’ve built together.
From a small lending library in a Highland store run by Lillian and Ada Disney in the 1930s to the opening of the Central Library in Columbia in 1981 and beyond, our story is one of continuous growth and innovation. We’ve evolved from rented rooms and bookmobiles to vibrant branches offering world-class resources, classes, events, and services. We’ve embraced technology, expanded access, and reimagined what a library can be. But through every decade, one thing has remained constant: you—our community.
Learn more about the early days of the Library when it was a storefront on Main Street Ellicott City led by Lenna Baker Burgess. Hear how the library grew from one location to a system of six modern branches over the following decades, under the leadership of Marvin Thomas. Learn about the contributions of Norma Hill, how Valerie Gross built on past successes to become a nationally ranked library, and about Tonya Aikens’ strategic vision for the future.
Were you around before the Miller Branch was built? Do you remember the excitement of the Central Library’s grand opening in Columbia? Did you visit the storefront libraries in Long Reach or Lisbon? Did a librarian change your life, or did a story from our shelves shape your path? Did a book or program from the library help set your future in motion?
Join us to reminisce, reflect, and reconnect. Bring your memories, old library cards, photographs, or mementos, and share them with us as we fill in the story of the last 85 years from the community’s perspective. Let’s celebrate not only the institution, but the people—customers, staff, volunteers, and supporters—who made this journey possible.
Here’s to 85 years of learning, growing, and connecting—and to the many more stories yet to be written. Thank you for being part of our history. We can’t wait to celebrate with you.
This summer kicks off the third annual reading challenge for adults, while also celebrating 85 years of the library. People are the heart of our library – and we want to see you achieve your goals, explore the world, and find joy in the pages of a good book. Pick up a booklet at any branch to inspire you through a year of reading, filled with suggested titles and prompts for reflection.
While there are 14 reading challenges listed, you need to complete only three of them to participate in summer reading. Once you have read three books (print, e-book, and audio all count), come back to the Library to receive a prize and be entered into a grand prize drawing.
Here’s a sneak peek – and a Chapter Chats review or two:
These are a taste of what a year of reading could have in store for you. Visit our branches often to check displays for more titles or to ask a staff member for a recommendation.
Two men at Howard County Library System. East Columbia Branch
by Tonya Aikens, President & CEO
At Howard County Library System (HCLS), we firmly believe in the dignity of all humans, regardless of their immigration status, gender, race, economic status, religious or cultural background, political ideology, or other identifier. Our libraries are open to all people, no questions asked.
Following the Executive Orders issued since January 20, many people have asked how they impact libraries. At HCLS, our vision, mission, and values remain unchanged. We continue to pursue a vision of an empowered community where all people reach their potential, and our mission remains as your place to learn, grow, and connect. Our organizational values of community, equity, intellectual freedom, learning, and teamwork serve as our foundation. We steadfastly affirm our unwavering commitment to supporting our community and maintaining the core values that guide our work.
Specifically, we wish to address three Executive Orders (EO) that impact libraries.
The recission of EO 14084 (Promoting the Arts, the Humanities, and Museum and Library Services) will impact libraries and cultural institutions across the nation. In Howard County, we are fortunate to serve in a community that believes in and supports the educational and societal value libraries provide. While some library systems are almost exclusively federally funded, less than five percent of our budget is derived from the federal government.
Importantly, Maryland’s passing of the Freedom to Read Act in 2024 was an intentional act to safeguard the autonomy of libraries that receive state funding by prohibiting the censorship of books based on the author’s background, origin, or viewpoints, as well as partisan disapproval. The bill also ensures protection for school and public library staff who adhere to the state library standards outlined in the bill, shielding library workers from retaliation.
Regarding EO 13993 (Revision of Civil Immigration Enforcement Policies and Priorities), libraries are unwavering in our commitment to your privacy. We provide resources and services to everyone who walks through our doors without regard to immigration status. At HCLS, it has always been our policy and practice to safeguard community member information. We developed specific guidance for all members of our staff reaffirming that HCLS does not provide community member information to law enforcement or immigration officers unless the request for information is accompanied by a court order or warrant signed by a judge. HCLS does not collect or track community member immigration information and therefore has no information to share. Please note that areas open to the public in our facilities are open to all and immigration officers may enter without a warrant. ICE agents may enter places open to the public, question people in public places, and conduct inquiries according to their statutory powers under 8 U.S. Code § 1357.
Regarding EO 13988 (Preventing and Combating Discrimination on the Basis of Gender Identity or Sexual Orientation), the Fairness for All Marylanders Act of 2014 prohibits discrimination based on gender identity in public accommodations. This is interpreted to give transgender people the right to use the bathroom that aligns with their gender identity.
While Federal policies may continue to change, our priorities remain the same:
Our individuality and our unique gifts and talents make us stronger. At HCLS, our staff and community are encouraged and supported in showing up as their full selves.
Libraries remain vital spaces for learning, collaboration, and connection. We are committed to preserving the resources, programs, and support systems that enable their success.
Our role in the community as a trusted partner and advocate for equitable access is more critical than ever.
We will continue to prioritize programs and initiatives that address the needs and aspirations of those we serve.
Thank you for helping to ensure HCLS continues to be the place where all people may learn, grow, and connect.
On July 19, 2022, educator and school librarian Amanda Jones spoke up against censorship at a Livingston Parish Library Board of Control meetingin Louisiana. Her speech focused on inclusivity, the freedom to read, and the importance of representation of diverse thoughts, beliefs, experiences, and community in a public library’s collection. Little did she know that her speech about her public library’s collection would result in a storm of bigotry, hatred, and vitriol against her, on a personal level. What followed can only be termed a nightmare. Members of nationalist, White Christian groups started bullying Amanda Jones mercilessly on social media, accusing her of grooming children and putting sexually graphic content in the hands of children.
Jones writes about how she was affected: how the defamation took a toll on her health and her personal life, and how she found inner strength with the support and loveof her family, friends, and wider community members locally and nationally. She rose above the fray of pettiness of the individuals who bullied her for her speech and her fight to preserve intellectual freedom. She fought her way through, stood up straight, and discovered her strengths and weaknesses in the process. She did not ask to be a hero, but she fought back, instead of backing down, when she was so wrongfully attacked by ultra-conservatives for defending everyone’s freedom to read. She made mistakes, but she eventually learned to respond with meticulous fact-gathering, background-checking and analyzing, and most importantly, with grace. All that she learned at library school about curating information came in handy in her campaign against ignorance and bigotry.
It was an excellent read, especially because I believe in everyone’s right to read whatever they want to with all my heart. Like Amanda Jones, I believe that representation matters. Kids, and everyone, deserve to see themselves in the materials they read. It is the responsibility of parents to monitor what their child is reading, not the library’s. There is a due process in place to ask a library to reconsider any material in the collection, and customers should avail themselves of that if they want to request libraries to remove materials – but one individual (or a group of them) who does not agree with the content should not take priority over the need for representation.
My only criticism of this book is not its message but that some ideas were repetitive. It seemed like some of the chapters were written as essays and the same idea was repeated, and the repetition took the edge off the author’s important message. I would rather have the message of intellectual freedom being reiterated than not.
Piyali is an instructor and research specialist at HCLS Miller Branch, where she facilitates two book discussion groups: Light But Not Fluffy and Global Reads. She keeps the hope alive that someday she will reach the bottom of her to-read list.
Maybe you’ve heard? Romantasy is IT! Nevermind that it’s really a newly coined termed for something that has existed for a long time (romance in your fantasy or fantasy in your romance). If you like to read on trend, you should take a peek at The Wren in the Holly Library by K. A. Linde, published by the same group that brought you the Fourth Wing series.
The idea that the world is full of monsters is not new, whether in real life or urban fantasy. In New York, sometime in the near future, the Monster Wars have ended and the vampires, goblins, wraiths, and werewolves have signed peace accords with humanity. Basically, it’s a pact of non-interference even though everyone is in each other’s business anyway, but life has begun to return to some semblance of normality – complete with tourists in Times Square. As always, there’s more than meets the eye. I have to say that the idea of troll toll-takers in the subway made me smile.
Kierse, master-thief and child of the streets, is clearly a New Yorker, one who loves the neighborhoods and byways of her city. She’s involved in a heist to steal a huge diamond that would provide financial security for herself and two best friends. As she sneaks into a wealthy brownstone in the Upper West Side, she can’t believe there’s seemingly so little security at the mysterious Holly Library. The unthinkable happens when, despite all her preparation and all her skill, Kierse gets caught. Graves owns the Holly Library, and he is the beast in the shadows with an agenda all his own.
This Beauty and the Beast tale, complete with library and helpful staff, takes off from there. It not only follows the classic story’s desire to rehabilitate the monster, it also contains a wild mashup of another, bigger heist, training sessions, a house party, sexy times, meaningful friendships, and ancient Irish legends. For the most part, the author manages to combine it all seamlessly into the bigger picture. I could wish for fewer side stories that distract from the main action, but it’s a fun book.
Kierse and Graves are the heart of the story – beautiful and beastly each in their own way. Trust is an issue, as is loyalty. Can you have the second without the first? Tragic personal histories haunt both main characters, but in the end you can’t help but be in their corner. The ending leaves the story wide open for at least one more installment, and I’m already looking forward to it.
Kristen B. is a devoted bookworm lucky enough to work as the graphic designer for HCLS. She likes to read, stitch, dance, and watch baseball (but not all at the same time).
Participants gather at HCLS Central Branch for an ongoing class focusing on knitting and needlepoint.
by Emily B.
These days, it seems more difficult than ever to find your community and make genuine connections. Over the past four years, the pandemic has re-shaped our lives. The way that we live, communicate, and connect has changed. These rapid changes led U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy to issue an advisory on the “epidemic of loneliness and isolation” in 2023.
Dr. Murthy remarked, “We’re seeing more forces that take us away from one another and fewer of the forces that used to bring us together.” Adjusting to this new social landscape is tough, especially for older Americans. It can be even more daunting without the built-in social opportunities found at work and school. Read the U.S. Surgeon General’s advisory on social connection at http://www.hhs.gov/surgeongeneral/priorities/connection.
Part of the framework to address the loneliness epidemic calls for a strengthening of social infrastructure, which includes public libraries and senior centers. These types of physical community spaces, known as “third places,” are any social space separate from your home (first place) or work (second place).
Howard County Library System’s classes and events are a great way to connect and find a community. Here’s a sampling of some of our ongoing offerings:
If you love to read, try The Unbook Reading Group. Meeting monthly at Backwater Books in Old Ellicott City, it offers an opportunity for readers to connect and chat without the pressure of assigned reading.
Get crafty with a range of creative classes for adults at various HCLS branches. Connect and make a new craft in a supportive, friendly environment with Craft Works. Pins and Needles meets every Thursday, alternating between HCLS Central and Miller Branches. Converse with other adults as you work on your knitting, crochet, embroidery, or sewing project.
Give Mah Jongg a try at HCLS Miller Branch. Mah Jongg Meet Up occurs twice a month, welcoming players of all experience levels. Looking to stay active? Start your Mondays off on the right foot Walking with East Columbia Branch and 50+ Center.
You can find and register for even more classes and events for adults at hclibrary.org. Enter the class name into the search bar.
Craft Works @ Central Branch | Dates and times vary between one Tuesday evening and one Thursday afternoon every month.
Walking with East Columbia & 50+ Center | Mondays; 9:30 – 10:30 am
Pins & Needles | Every Thursday; 10 am – 12 pm with 1st and 3rd Thursdays @ Central and 2nd and 4th & 5th Thursdays @ Miller
UnBook Reading Group @ Backwater Books | Wednesdays, 6:30 – 7:30 pm May 15, Jun 12
Mah Jongg Meetup @ Miller | 2nd and last Tuesday evenings; 6:30 – 8 pm
Bingo Social | Thu May 16 2 – 4 pm at Glenwood & Thu Jun 27 2 – 4 pm East Columbia
Ready, set, library! It’s National Library Week, and we encourage everyone to explore all the library has to offer.
Libraries give us a green light to experience something truly special: a place to connect with others, learn new skills, and pursue our passions through book clubs, classes for children, activities for teens, author events, and more. At Howard County Library System, we also offer art, tools, a makerspace, and a wealth of online resources.
No matter where you find yourself on the roadmap through life’s journey—preparing for a new career, launching a business, raising a family, or settling into retirement—we have the resources and support you need and an inclusive and supportive community where you will feel welcome.
That includes making sure our collection has something for everyone. We have seen a national movement to censor library materials according to the standards of only a section of a community, and penalize or even criminalize the work of library staff. While the overwhelming majority of the public oppose censorship, organizations are working across the country and in Maryland to censor and ban books. That is why we are thrilled that the Freedom to Read Act passed the Maryland General Assembly and is now on its way to Governor Moore for his signature. This legislation reaffirms the constitutional principle that library materials, services, and resources exist and should be provided for the interest, information, and enlightenment of all persons.
Maryland’s libraries have long been recognized as national leaders in developing successful, high-quality services and collections. The Freedom to Read Act provides a framework for how a library should serve, protects the unique quality of each library and its staff, and recognizes the professionalism of library staff. We thank our Howard County delegation for their support of this critical piece of legislation.
So, no matter who you are, what you want to read, or what you want to do, get ready to explore, become inspired, and connect with others this National Library Week. We are there for you and with you, all the way to the finish line.
On your next journey to the Central Branch, promise you will climb to the top floor and venture beyond the computers to the Equity Resource Center, established in 2021. The ERC is a place for community events and a treasure trove of classic and cutting-edge books, audiobooks, movies, television series, and music. A collection of materials you’ve always wanted to read, watch, and discuss.
Recently, I had the opportunity to shift the positioning of ERC materials. I was up to my elbows and down on my knees handling the books, CDs, and DVDs. This is a librarian’s paradise, being among new copies of books I’ve read and can barely wait to read. I wanted to open almost every book and peruse the first pages. This was a physical task, however; the goal was moving and organizing, not intellectualizing. Just as when I’m shelving materials or directing a customer to a topic area, my job at that moment is not to indulge my interests but to engage others’ curiosity. It’s rough, though, staying focused in the ERC when I’m surrounded by all the intriguing titles, many that have been past favorites, shelves of those that I’ve heard others rave about, and new publications that I’m excited to discover.
Honestly, I’m continually surprised by the ERC. The diversity of voices and perspectives in the works seems impossible. While the classic titles attest to the reality that marginalized communities with strong voices have always existed, the scope and depth of contemporary publications feels like hope. Publishers are expanding their willingness to broadcast unique perspectives, and exploring these materials in one place collapses time, as if we have always been privileged to share in each other’s experiences and dreams.
The ERC fills me with gratitude. I am thankful to be alive at a time when I can work and live in a place where the library system offers such wonders to all who choose to enter the doors. I am thankful when I realize how many of the DVDs are multi-award-winning, popular films and that so many of the books are past and current best sellers. These works offer engagement, information, and entertainment to those whose experiences are worlds apart from the authors’. They provide a shared experience for those who want to feel they are not alone. The creators of these artistic riches are of different races and classes. They come from many countries, practice a spectrum of religions, view the world from differently-abled perspectives, and live with distinctive gender identity and sexual orientation. The materials challenge stereotypes, open our minds, provoke strong opinions.
Visual characteristics that are plain for all to see do not define who we are or how we should be treated. We wouldn’t want to, nor should we have to, wear signs identifying the people we are or are not. No person or artist owes us their story. Nevertheless, history and narrative have been abundantly gifted to us in the ERC, presenting opportunities to read, watch, listen, and learn. The fiction and nonfiction, poetry and prose, exist to be soaked up, broaden world views, and spread inclusive perspectives.
Times may seem grim with two steps back for every one step forward. Sometimes I despair for the health of our children, our planet, and our marginalized communities. The ERC, though, attests to the fact that despite the pain in the world, forward strides have been accomplished. The sanctuary of the ERC may be in the back of the top floor of the Central Branch, but it is not distant. It is accessible and evolving as we speak.
Welcome to the library, the community gathering place you know, and the oasis of ideas and opportunities beyond what you’ve imagined.
Cherise Tasker is an Adult Instructor and Research Specialist at the Central Branch. When not immersed in literary fiction, Cherise can be found singing along to musical theater soundtracks.
The co-hosts of HCLS’ podcast, HiJinx, recall attending the annual American Library Association Conference in June. They had a great time, and hope you enjoy the podcast episode from the convention floor.
FROM ADDISON
I was at the ALA Conference to gather soundbites for the podcast. Coming from a career in the private sector, I could only pull from my recent experience at a smaller conference. I was concerned with capturing enough exciting material to appeal to our podcast’s audience. Nonetheless, I arrived, stepped on the escalator, and descended to the exhibit floor. I glanced out in astonishment. The conference floor was expansive, large enough to fit more commercial airplanes than one could count on their fingers.
ALA provides public, academic, government, and special libraries with programming, tools, and services. The 2022 annual convention was attended by 7,738 librarians, along with 5,431 exhibitors, publishers, and authors. My concern about filling a podcast episode became replaced with where to begin and what to cut.
We began our interviews, and as I’ve become accustomed to in the industry, people were friendly and willing to share their stories. This made the experience feel like we were catching up with old friends and not pointing a recorder at strangers. Before I knew it, it was nearing the end of the exhibit and time to go home to produce the podcast.
When listening to the episode, you will hear author interviews and publishers’ discussions, as well as learn about valuable vendors and services. In addition, you will get a glimpse at the inner working of the library world, one that I am excited to be a part of.
FROM SIMONE
This June when I had the opportunity to go to the ALA Conference, our team was in the company of other library professionals and literary enthusiasts. The event featured guest speakers and authors, exhibits, and vendors.
As first-timers, it was not easy to imagine the enormity of this conference. By the time we reached the vicinity of the convention center (while circling for good parking in the city on a busy Sunday), the sidewalks were bustling with attendees from all around the country. Buses rolled by wrapped in branding from related literary and tech companies, as increased crossing guards and security manned the busy intersections. So, we were in the right place – check! After making our way to the building, through COVID-19 screening, and check-in, it was time to hit the exhibit floor with our roving podcast.
We were in search of what’s now, new, and next in libraries. Since we met up at the Mango Languages booth – and posed in “Paris” at their green screen photo-op – it was only fitting to begin our interviews right there. HCLS customers have access to this convenient (and highest-rated) language-learning app.
Next up was a spirited chat with another Library vendor, Hoopla, a media streaming platform and probably one of HCLS’ biggest cheerleaders. We continued to wade through the sea of booths and conduct interviews with an array of vendors, authors, publishers, and a couple of staff members we bumped into along the way.
To hear directly from these dedicated individuals and organizations who help us bring high-quality education and services to the community, tune into Episode 48 of the HiJinx Podcast and explore the Library’s website for access to each resource.
CHAPTER CHATS 