Patron Spotlight for STEAM Week: Diana Mustafa
STEAM Week is not just about egg drops, escape rooms and Astrophotography. It is also about being inspired by people who have chosen to pursue careers in STEAM. Meet Diana Mustafa.…
STEAM Week: With Your Head in the Clouds
When I was a kid, I loved to watch the clouds. So many cool shapes! So many cool varieties! Even now, on warm summer evenings, I love to look up…
Nostalgic Showcase Presents: Hanna-Barbera Land and The World of Sid and Marty Krofft
Nothing is more fun than visiting an amusement park! Rides, live performances, meet-and-greets with our favorite characters, greasy food, and coin munching arcades, there's something for everyone. It's no wonder…
Celebrate National Ice Cream Month With a Scoop and a Story!
I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice scream! July is officially National Ice Cream month and what better way to celebrate it than with a delicious scoop or…
You’re the Detective!
Who doesn't enjoy playing detective? Whether you're trying to discover who stole your lunch from the staff fridge of what animal left those tracks in the snow, it's fun to…
July Author Talks!
Every month, you can check out awesome author talks at your library! Thanks to our partnership with the Library Speaker's Consortium, readers of all ages can attend live webinars with…
Cat’s Picks! Immigrant Heritage Month
June is also "Immigrant Heritage Month"! This month is a celebration and acknowledgement of Immigrant heritage, history and culture throughout time and across the nation, specifically for those immigrating from…
Environmentalism Book Club Resources – 6/11/25 Meeting
"Regeneration: Ending the climate crisis in one generation" is, as we found out in our meeting of the Environmentalism Book Club last month (this blog is very late - apologies!),…
Cat’s Picks! Pride Month!
June is "Pride Month"! This month is a celebration and acknowledgement of the history of folks in the LGBTQ+ community, their positive and lasting contributions to society, and acceptance of…
Nostalgia Showcase Presents: Chuck E. Cheese’s and ShowBiz Pizza
Dear reader, I'll let you on a little secret- I never had a birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese's! I remember one or two of my childhood friends having their…
Environmentalism Book Club Resources – 5/14/25 Meeting
Robin Wall Kimmerer's beautiful book, "Braiding Sweetgrass", was the topic of discussion at this month's meeting of the Environmentalism Book Club. A moving meditation on humanity's relationship with the Earth, the book gave us a lot to talk about.
Nostalgic Showcase Presents: UPA and Terrytoons
If you attended my Mid-Century Cartoons program earlier this year, you might have noticed a theme- there's so much to discuss during that period of animation history! From the first…
Awesome Anime Movies
Sometimes, you want to chill with some excellent anime, but you don't want to go through the trouble of watching an entire series. So, what do you do? Why not…
Spring Into Pilates This Month!
Bring in spring by trying a new workout routine, Pilates! The month of May officially celebrates national Pilates month. This popular workout class was founded by Joseph Pilates. Joseph Pilates…
92 and Still So Much To Do! Happy Birthday Willie Nelson!
Willie Nelson, still "on the road" after all these years. Willie called this his "clean shaven smiling and looking straight as your local insurance salesman" “I remember one time, the…
Cat’s Picks! Fan Convention Retrospective
Sunday afternoon, about 2PM. I enter the Doubletree Hotel in Westlake, people entering the building wearing big eye-catching costumes, and leaving with big brown bags heavy with loot. With a…
Take a Bite of These Gourmet Manga
I'm not sure how its possible, but manga always manages to make food look delicious. Sometimes, it's obvious--cakes and other pastries are fun to draw and delightful to look at,…
Environmentalism Book Club Resources – 4/10/25 Meeting
This month, the Environmentalism Book Club met to talk about Hope Jahren's book "The Story of More". The book is a solid introduction to several topics concerning environmentalism and tells the story of "how we got to climate change, and where to go from here".
Nostalgia Showcase Presents: Blue Sky Studios
If you're a longtime reader of the series, you know just how much I adore animation- the history of it, the studios that created my favorite cartoons and movies, even…
On Rereading, or Books that I Will Never Stop Reading
I still remember the day my friend told me she doesn't reread books. It's been over a decade since that conversation, but I still can't get over it. I'm a…
Read All About It: Librarians as Protagonists Extraordinaire
Have you noticed that bookshelves everywhere are overflowing with titles about libraries and librarians, book club groups and their readers, book shops and their clerks and clients? Why the growing…
Old black sewing machine on white background
Let’s Get Sewing at Westlake Library!
Since this year's National Library Week Theme is "Drawn to the Library," I would like to draw your attention to one of the creative services our Makerspace offers at WPPL…
Join a Club at Your Library!
What's even better than spending some time at the library? How about spending some time at the library with a group of awesome people? Or, to make it even better,…
Classics Challenge: Mysteries
Welcome to our next installment of Classics Challenge, as we branch into the ever-popular genre of mysteries! These books are known for their suspenseful tone, questionable characters, and page-turning plots. If…