Craftsy Videos Available on Hoopla

August 14, 2021 | melissa c
Image with text reading: Craftsy now available on hoopla

Did you know you have access to Craftsy tutorials for free, through Hoopla?

Download the Hoopla app from your app store and enter your library card. Once you're logged in, do a search for Craftsy.  You can also find Craftsy tutorials by clicking Browse > Television > Genres & Collections.  You have 20 checkouts per month on Hoopla and each Craftsy tutorial counts as one checkout. 

Find videos on bread making, quilting, cake decorating, tailoring, yarn dying, making your own candy, and more! 

STEAM Together

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STEAM Together is a multigenerational program for kids ages 6-7 and a caregiver. During this hands-on experience, we will explore a science, technology, engineering, art, or math concept and then build, create, or experiment with some aspect of that concept. STEAM Together offers a fun and educational opportunity for one-on-one time with the child in your life. 

 

Upcoming sessions

There are no upcoming sessions available.

Share Your Thoughts with the Redistricting Commission

May 13, 2021 | melissa c
six different colored speech bubbles

What is the Michigan Independent Citizen Redistricting Commission?

The Michigan Independent Citizen Redistricting Commission, created when voters approved a 2018 constitutional amendment, is tasked with dividing MI into voting districts for state and federal elections, beginning with the 2022 elections. The Commission will review the districts every 10 years and adjust, or "redistrict," as needed based on the latest U.S. Census data and other specific criteria.

The Redistricting Commission is composed of 13 registered MI voters randomly selected from a pool of applicants; four members who affiliate with the Republican Party, four who affiliate with the Democratic Party, and five who do not affiliate with either party.  

Why was the Commission created?

Previously, every 10 years, following the census, the political party in control of the state legislature at the time controlled the redistricting process. This situation resulted in gerrymandering, which happens when the political party in charge of redistricting manipulates the boundaries of the districts to gain an unfair advantage in future elections. Michigan has recently had some of the most gerrymandered districts in the country. The Independent Citizens Redistricting Committee was approved by Michigan voters as a way to end gerrymandering. 

Nonfiction Book Group: July

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Join us Saturday, July 17, 2021 at 10:00 AM via Zoom video conference as the Nonfiction Book Group discusses:   

The United States of paranoia : a conspiracy theory [electronic resource] by 1970- Jesse Walker

In The United States of Paranoia, Jesse Walker explores this rich history in the United States, arguing that conspiracy stories should be read not just as claims to be either believed or debunked but also as folklore. When a tale takes hold, it reveals something true about the anxieties and experiences of those who believe and repeat it, even if the story says nothing true about the objects of the theory itself. In a story that stretches from the seventeenth century to today, Walker lays out five conspiracy narratives that recur in American politics and popular culture. With intensive research and a deadpan sense of humor, The United States of Paranoia  combines the rigor of real history with the punch of pulp fiction.

This book is immediately available on Hoopla in e-book format. If you would like to reserve a print copy, call us at 734-397-0999 to place a copy on hold. 

Registered participants will receive an email two days before the program with a link to attend the discussion. To help you make the most of your virtual program experience we have compiled some tips and resources.

Upcoming sessions

There are no upcoming sessions available.

Nonfiction Book Group: June

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Please note: the group is meeting one week earlier than usual this month. Join us Saturday, June 12, 2021 at 10:00 AM via Zoom video conference as the Nonfiction Book Group discusses: 

The comedians : drunks, thieves, scoundrels, and the history of American comedy [electronic resource] by Kliph Nesteroff

In The Comedians, comedy historian Kliph Nesteroff brings to life a century of American comedy with real-life characters, forgotten stars, mainstream heroes and counterculture iconoclasts. Nesteroff's groundbreaking work is a narrative exploration of the way comedians have reflected, shaped, and changed American culture over the past one hundred years. 

Starting with the vaudeville circuit at the turn of the last century, Nesteroff introduces the first stand-up comedian - an emcee who abandoned physical shtick for straight jokes. After the repeal of Prohibition, Mafia-run supper clubs replaced speakeasies, and mobsters replaced vaudeville impresarios as the comedian's primary employer. In the 1950s, the late-night talk show brought stand-up to a wide public, while Lenny Bruce, Mort Sahl, and Jonathan Winters attacked conformity and staged a comedy rebellion in coffeehouses. 

From comedy's part in the Civil Rights movement and the social upheaval of the late 1960s, to the first comedy clubs of the 1970s and the cocaine-fueled comedy boom of  the 1980s,  The Comedians culminates with a new era of media-driven celebrity in the twenty-first century.

This book is immediately available on Hoopla in e-book format. If you would like to reserve a print copy, call us at 734-397-0999 to place a copy on hold. 

Registered participants will receive an email two days before the program with a link to attend the discussion. To help you make the most of your virtual program experience we have compiled some tips and resources.

Upcoming sessions

There are no upcoming sessions available.

Mini Succulent Art

melissa c
photo collage of birds eye view images of different succulent plants

Channel your inner artist and gardener with this program. Participants will be provided with a set of mini succulents, a pot, a tiny container, and a variety of earth materials to create a living work of art. Photos of examples will be provided for inspiration - or use the materials to make something wholly original, it's up to you!

  • COVID-19 regulations permitting, this program will be held outside behind the library.
  • In the case of inclement weather, Grab & Go kits containing supplies will be available for pickup inside the library at the time of the program.  
  • Registration for both sessions opens at 9:00 AM on Thursday, June 24, 2021.
  • This program is for ages 18 and up.

Upcoming sessions

There are no upcoming sessions available.

DIY Neon Signs: Grab & Go

melissa c
yellow neon text reads your words here on black background

Teens (ages 13-18), brighten up your space with a custom neon sign! The library will provide a kit and instructional video for this fun DIY project. You will pick up the grab & go kit and make the sign anytime you want. 

Each kit will contain: 

  • neon wire with battery pack
  • stretched canvas
  • painters tape
  • sewing needle
  • thread
  • written instructions
  • a link to the demonstration video

You will need to supply:

  • 2 AA batteries
  • a pencil
  • scissors

 

- Registration for this Grab & Go Kit opens on Thursday, July 22, 2021. 

- On Thursday, August 5 you will receive an email with instructions for picking up your kit. 

Upcoming sessions

There are no upcoming sessions available.

Celebrating the Arab American Community

April 11, 2021 | melissa c
White text reads Arab American Heritage Month over blue and gold background

This month we celebrate Arab Americans, our friends and neighbors whose heritage can be traced to the Arab world. Many people assume the Arab world is synonymous with the Middle East, but there are twenty-two countries, spanning West Asia to North Africa, that make up the Arab world. While sharing a common linguistic heritage, the Arab American community's diversity is reflected in the various religious and cultural practices of its members. 

Michigan is home to the second-largest Arab American population in the United States. While the community is concentrated primarily in metro-Detroit, Arab Americans live in 81 of Michigan's 83 counties. In Michigan, and across the U.S., cities, townships, cultural institutions, and other organizations celebrate April as Arab American Heritage Month and we are happy to count CPL  among them. Check out the resources below to learn more.  

Places to visit, volunteer, or donate

Larry McMurtry, Author and Screenwriter, 1936 - 2021

March 30, 2021 | melissa c

Larry McMurtry, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Lonesome Dove, has died.  A prolific writer, McMurtry penned 29 novels and wrote dozens of screenplays.  Many of McMurtry's books have been turned into award-winning films and television series, including Hud, The Last Picture Show, Terms of Endearment, and Lonesome Dove.  McMurtry won an Academy Award for adapting E. Annie Proulx's short story Brokeback Mountain into a screenplay (with writing partner Diana Ossana).  Larry McMurtry lives on through his contributions to Western literature, film, and popular culture. 

Selected Works

Lonesome Dove : a novel by Larry McMurtry
Also available in: video | e-video

Beverly Cleary, Author, 1916 - 2021

March 28, 2021 | melissa c

When Beverly Cleary started elementary school, she was assigned to the "low reader" group. She didn't enjoy reading, didn't like the books at school and struggled to read them. Then one rainy day, bored at home, Beverly picked up The Dutch Twins by Lucy Fitch Perkins - and everything changed. Beverly was interested in this story, about the everyday adventures and antics of two siblings, and she really did enjoy reading!

From then on, Beverly went to the library to find books that she wanted to read. After college, Mrs. Cleary became a children's librarian and began to write her own books about the everyday adventures and antics of a group of kids on Klickitat Street. You may know them - Ramona and Beatrice "Beezus" Quimby, or Henry Huggins and his dog Ribsy. Mrs. Cleary wrote dozens of books that engaged children, including The Mouse and the Motorcycle and the Newberry Award-winning Dear Mr. Henshaw. 

Beverly Cleary had a gift for capturing the essence of childhood, what it feels like to be a kid, and respectfully representing the inner lives of children. Mrs. Cleary's work has been translated into twenty-eight languages and touched the lives of children around the world. Twenty years ago, the Library of Congress named Beverly Cleary a Living Legend and, though Mrs. Cleary has passed, that legend lives on through her books and their readers. 

"Quite often somebody will say, ‘what year do your books take place?’ and the only answer I can give is, ‘in childhood.’" - Beverly Cleary

A Selection Beverly Cleary's Books

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