Erica’s Book Talk: Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari
From renowned historian Yuval Noah Harar comes a groundbreaking narrative of humanity’s creation and evolution that explores the ways in which biology and history have defined us and enhanced our understanding of what it means to be “human.” One hundred…
Black Cats: Halloween’s Misunderstood Mascot
Black cats and Halloween really go together. This time of year, images of black cats are everywhere. A sleek black cat silhouette sits in the light of a full moon. Glowing eyes peek out from behind a window or on…
Three Great Books on a Terrible Topic (Sensitive Subject Matter)
This blog post discusses sensitive subject matter; reader discretion advised. There are some topics you can’t really find children’s books about. If you want to read about the Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment, for example, you need a teen or adult book or…
Try-It! Illinois Database Free Trial is Now Live!
Kick-off your fall research season with the Try-It! Illinois Database Trial! If you’re an Illinois resident with internet access, you are eligible to access the immense amount of information available during this year’s trial. Thanks to the generous sponsorship of…
Learning About the Irish Potato Famine
175 years ago, The Dublin Evening Post reported a serious failure in the potato crop. Potatoes were not a cash crop, but the food eaten by tenant farmers and farmworkers who grew cash crops to pay the rent. The potato…
Reflecting on a Difficult Past: Hiroshima and Nagasaki
Back when I was working my way through library school, I was a little shocked when a boy asked me for a book on bombs. We chatted for a bit, and I soon learned his question was really, “Could nuclear war…
Missed a Webinar? Watch it Now and Register for July and August Genealogy Club Programs!
Registration is open for our new summer Genealogy Club webinar series. We are thankful for all the speakers for allowing 30 day access to each lecture, as many of you may not be able to attend the webinars in-person. And…
National Doughnut Day and it’s World War I Connection
The first Friday in June is set aside for National Doughnut Day, a name which sounds so gimmicky it could be accused of being found on the window of a grab-and-go pastry shop. But National Doughnut Day has its origins…
May Genealogy Club Webinar Check-In and June Webinar Schedule
We are at the halfway point of May, and it is time to take a look at our current list of Genealogy Club webinars. We are really thankful for all the speakers for allowing 30 day access to each lecture,…
April Genealogy Club Webinar Roundup and May Webinar Schedule!
This April turned into an A+ month for our Genealogy Club! When the governor’s shelter-in-place order was issued in March, Fountaindale Public Library’s annual Genealogy Day was cancelled. But instead of chucking this up as a loss, our library team…