Paper, Stamps, and Glue: The Art of Collage
My kitchen table looks like an art-class nightmare. Three teetering stacks of assorted paper pads to my left, a large box full of assorted scraps, buttons, and tissue paper in…
Cat’s Picks! Polish American Heritage Month
October is "Polish American Heritage Month"! This month is a celebration and acknowledgement of Polish American heritage, history and culture throughout time and across the nation. For this article, I've…
Nostalgic Showcase Presents: Steven Spielberg’s Amblimation
I was maybe eleven or twelve when I stumbled across my grandmother's VHS copy of An American Tail: Fievel Goes West. I had certainly passed by the cover a hundred…
Thank you, Drew Struzan!
You may not know his name, but I guarantee you know his work. Drew Struzan, aptly named, drew countless iconic movie posters over the course of his 30+ year career.…
Cat’s Picks! Italian American Heritage Month
October is also "Italian American Heritage Month"! This month is a celebration and acknowledgement of Italian American heritage, history and culture throughout time and across the nation. For this article,…
Introducing the Classic Radio Hour!
I am a huge fan of classic radio series. There's something so thrilling about these dramas, which were designed to tell a thrilling story without the aid of a visual…
Cat’s Picks! German American Heritage Month
October is "German American Heritage Month"! This month is a celebration and acknowledgement of German American heritage, history and culture throughout time and across the nation. For this article, I've…
31 Spine-Tingling Books I Want to Read This Halloween
I love Halloween time! Spooky stories, plastic pumpkins, scary skeletons...I love it all! And every year, I like to stock up on spooky books to help me get into the…
Get Cheesy With These Amazing Pizza Books and Movies
October is National Pizza Month and there is no better way to celebrate it than by picking up a great book or movie about pizza. Pizza is my favorite food…
Environmentalism Book Club Resources – 9/10/25 Meeting
This book was radical! Probably our most divisive book read by the club yet, this work of speculative fiction definitely got the conversation rolling.
Nostalgic Showcase Presents: Walter Lantz Productions
Of all the iconic catchphrases or quotes spoken from a cartoon, would you believe me when I said that a particular woodpecker's shrill laugh stands out the most in my…
Cat’s Picks! International Day of Sign Languages
Today is the "International Day of Sign Languages"! This month is a celebration and acknowledgement of deaf, hard of hearing, and other individuals who use sign languages to communicate, the…
Cat’s Picks! Hispanic Heritage Month
September is "Hispanic Heritage Month"! This month is a celebration and acknowledgement of Hispanic heritage, history and culture throughout time and across the globe. For this article, I've picked out…
Kinder Club Kits: Numbers and Alphabet Letters
Welcome back to Porter Library’s Kinder Club Kit blog. Each season, Mrs. K. and Ms. Jamie will put together a Kinder Club Kit containing a variety of early literacy activities…
Popular Mystery Subgenres
One of the most fun parts of my job is offering tips in Reader's Advisory to my coworkers. For those of you unsure what Reader's Advisory is, that's the process…
Cat’s Picks! Autumn International Celebrations
Changing leaves, cooling temps, pumpkin pie, and apple cider! Dragon dances, mooncakes, brightly colored powders, and bonfires! The autumn season brings some of the coziest and fun holidays around the…
Health Highlights: the Importance of 988
988 Day September 8 is the 2nd Annual 988 Day. This is a day set aside during Suicide Prevention Awareness Month (also in September) to raise awareness about the National…
Cat’s Picks! 80 Years Since the End of World War II
On this day, September 2, 1945, Japan officially surrendered to the Allied Powers, marking the end of World War II, one of the worst wars in the present history. Lasting…
Sink Your Teeth Into These Short Horror Stories
“Normal is an illusion. What is normal for the spider is chaos for the fly.” - Charles Addams Labor Day marks the unofficial end of summer. Even now the amount…
Stretch Into Yoga This September by Trying and Picking up a Helpful Yoga Book
September is officially the start of National Yoga Month. Yoga is a great mind and body exercise. Research shows the many health benefits associated with it. Yoga isn't just a…
Environmentalism Book Club Resources – 8/13/25 Meeting
"Afterglow" gave the Environmentalism Book Club so much to talk about! This short story collection, curated by the non-profit organization Grist, curated stories of climate fiction ranging broadly from tales grounded in reality to totally fantastical
Medium Monday: Gouache
What is Gouache? Gouache is the only medium in this series that I have not personally worked with. It is pigment with a water soluble binding agent, just like watercolor,…
A Brief History of the Pulps
When people ask me my favorite book genres, I generally say adventure stories and classics. But, there’s another genre that instantly springs to mind, but is perhaps a little less…
Staying Spooky with S.E. Schlosser
As we enter into August, something strange starts happening in my head. Namely, I start thinking about Halloween. And yes, I know, it's really early for that sort of thing,…