Patron Profiles #1
In our first Patron Profile, Frances (Adult Services) sits down to chat with Rick Neubauer. A portion of this conversation was included on the Westlake Porter Public Library podcast, Beyond…
Medium Monday: Charcoal and Graphite
What is Charcoal? What is Graphite? Charcoal and graphite are both made of carbon, but the element is structured differently for each. This means that graphite and charcoal have different…
Medium Monday: Acrylic Paint
What Is Acrylic Paint? Art supplies get their color from pigment. That pigment can be mixed with a "medium," which changes the way the pigment is handled. In the case…
Folklore Fun! Latin American Tales
It's hard to believe that I've written eleven installments of the Folklore Fun series! Yet, I knew that there was still a huge geographical region that I hadn't explored yet:…
Cat’s Picks! A Charlie Brown Christmas
If you're a kid of the 1970s, like my parents, you might've caught some of the best stop motion Christmas specials as they broadcasted for the first time, or on…
Medium Monday: Papercraft
What Is Papercraft? Papercraft, broadly speaking, is a work of art that is created out of paper. The interesting thing about papercraft is its variety of forms. There is the…
Porter Library Celebrates 139 Years
The first library building, it served as the library's home until the 1950s. This year, December 15, 2023, marks the 139th anniversary of the Porter Public Library. Since 1884 the…
Cat’s Picks! Cozy Holiday Books for Families!
Whether your household celebrates Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa or the Winter Solstice, Westlake Porter Public Library has an abundance of picture books for all of the winter holidays. Click on the…
The Classic of the Month: A Christmas Carol
Welcome to this month's Classic of the Month! Today, we're looking at an absolute classic of the Christmas season. The story in this book has been told and retold, again…
Exploring Illustration at the Mazza Museum Weekend Conference
The University of Findlay's Mazza Museum is home to a stunning collection of original art from picture books. As a UF alumnus from their illustration program, I spent a lot…
Addressing the Stigma of Mental Illness
Westlake Porter Public Library's 2023 Health Fair takes place on Saturday, November 4, and one of the featured events is Understanding Mental Illness at 2:30pm. It aims to "reduce the…
Resources for ADHD Support
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder is a very treatable condition that affects 366 million adults (according to the Journal of Global Health). It is a treatable and manageable condition with the…
Age Is Just a Number … But What Do Those Categories Mean?
I have always been known for reading outside of my age group. When I was little, I loved to pick up books that challenged me, reading titles that were meant…
Fun with Artificial Intelligence!
Artificial Intelligence is rapidly invading our lives. That may seem scary, but it's also exciting! The potential of AI to improve our everyday tasks is boundless. You may already be…
Zombies on Your Bookshelf? It May Be More Likely Than You Think
How Can a Book Be Undead? I'll be honest: I've never liked zombies. They're scary. They're gross. They bear the faces of humans—people who once laughed, and dreamed, and fell…
Artificial Intelligence Resources on LinkedIn Learning
AI, or artificial intelligence, has gotten a lot of attention recently, but what is it? Amongst many other resources, Westlake Porter Public Library has lots of videos from LinkedIn Learning…
Folklore Fun: World Tour!
This post was updated in November 2026 to reflect WPPL’s current collection. In honor of WPPL's Welcoming Week, we're going on a whirlwind trip around the world! Let's ease in…
Recipes From Around the World
A great way to experience a different culture is by tasting their cuisine. We are fortunate to have restaurants and groceries in the Cleveland area allowing us to try authentic…
Florence Skyline at Sunset
Explore the World With Travel Guides
Porter Public Library celebrates Welcome Week! One of the goals of Welcome Week is to help build a sense of community – a sense of “we.” Traveling and seeing the…
Check Out Our World Languages Collection!
Did you know that the library has a collection of titles in several foreign languages? Books in world languages can be easily searched in the library catalog with these instructions,…
Folklore Fun! China
This post was updated in October 2026 to reflect WPPL’s current collection. I started this blog post with zero knowledge about Chinese folklore. Fortunately, WPPL has a great selection of…
Medium Monday: Printmaking
What Is Printmaking? E. B. Goodale uses monotype prints in The Moon Remembers Printmaking is actually an umbrella term for several different methods. At the most basic level, it is…
Celebrating 50 Years of Hip-Hop
On August 11th, 1973, DJ Kool Herc was hired to spin records at a back-to-school block party in the Bronx. He set up two turntables so he could play the…
Medium Monday: Colored Pencil
What Is Colored Pencil? Colored pencils are just what they sound like. A thin outer layer of wood makes a stylus with a pigmented core that leaves a mark when…