Author: webAdmin

Luke Blum is our Account Executive at iHeart Media. We’ve been working with him for almost two years.

It’s been great to be involved with the Dauphin County Library System. It’s something that that means a lot to me. The Library is always there, trying to help folks out. It’s a center of culture. When I think of libraries, I think of culture and a gathering place. Your library can reflect your town or city and it’s full of people that care and want to help others. It’s not like those people get huge bucks to be there. They’re there because they are passionate about it and that’s something I’ve always really appreciated.

It’s really cool to be able to help spread the word about some of these events that Dauphin County Library System is having. [The Marketing team] said they didn’t want The Library to be the best kept secret anymore, and that was something that really resonated with me, so we hit the pavement pretty hard and started spreading the word. The first thing that we did as a big project was the renaming of the George & Hettie Love Memorial Library. That was really cool. We did some ads, and we did an interview on one of our shows on WHP-580. I think that did very well.  

We’ve also expanded to do some podcast ads advertising different programs like Children’s Book Week.

This is something that I’m passionate about because libraries bring people together. Libraries tend to be a place where somebody who doesn’t know where else to go or who doesn’t have another place to belong can find their place and find things that they’re interested in.

I really like East Shore Library. A lot of the libraries that I’ve been to tend to be in these cool buildings. Large buildings with unique architecture. I think that the East Shore Library is one of those for sure.

I can still picture what the library looks like in the town where I grew up — Westminster, Maryland. They had garden boxes everywhere and it was a place that I looked forward to going to a lot when I was younger.

As I grew older, I learned there’s this whole other aspect to the library: Research. That was something they taught us about when I was in high school, but I didn’t really appreciate it until I got to college and was attending Millersville University. We had a very big library there. It was a place where we spent a lot of time, and it became a place for getting work done. I would go there, almost like I would go to an office, to do research for school and for projects. I’d use databases, which many libraries offer for free. I don’t think most people realize how incredible that service is.

Now we’re in a digital age. And not enough people know that you can do more than check out books. You can check out DVDs. You can check out CDs. You can check out games. You can check out seeds, all sorts of stuff.

I think that as I got older, I started to realize that the library is a place for culture, entertainment, music, art, literature, and joy.

The Winter Reading Challenge is right around the corner! No, literally, it starts on Monday!

This year, at the Dauphin County Library, we’ll be doing an Olympics-themed challenge! In this point-based challenge, participants will log reading and reviews to earn “medals” (Beanstack badges) and a prize at the end!

Registration

All registrations will be through Beanstack, which carries us through this year’s Winter Reading Challenge. To register, all you have to do is go to dcls.org/wrc to find the Beanstack link. You can also register on the Beanstack Tracker app. Don’t have the app but would like it? Search for Beanstack Tracker in the App Store or Google Play Store to download. You can also use the Beanstack link on any desktop computer!

How to Participate

To earn points for this year’s challenge, you can log your minutes or books, as well as reviews, in the Beanstack app.  1 book = 5 points, 10 minutes of reading = 1 point, and 1 review = 5 points. Log your reading online using the username and password you chose. You’ve completed the challenge once you hit 100 points! 20 books or 10 books + 10 reviews = 100 points! Beanstack will notify you when you have prizes or have completed the challenge.

Remember – ALL READING COUNTS!

Prizes

Members can pick up their prize starting on February 1. Adults (and teens, if they prefer) will get the annual mug with hot cocoa or tea! Pre K and Kids (and teens if they want it) will be getting bubbles featuring our Winter Reading Challenge art!

Please note that there is no registration prize for the Winter Reading Challenge this year.

The Winter Reading Challenge is a great way to get you and your little ones reading this winter! Consider joining us in all the fun this season! Visit https://dcls.beanstack.org/reader365 to register!

By: Ann Marie Megoulas

In 1990, President George H.W. Bush and Congress passed a joint resolution officially designating November as “National American Indian Heritage Month.” Since then, the full month of November has served as a time to honor and celebrate the diverse cultures, significant contributions, and deep histories of Native American Indian communities. In more recent years, this observance was expanded to include recognition of Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian, and American Samoan peoples as well, and starting in 2009, presidential proclamations have regularly designated November as National Native American Heritage Month.

A visit to a library is a wonderful way to celebrate National Native American Heritage Month as libraries offer rich collections of books and materials on this topic. Here at the Dauphin County Library System, you can find nearly 700 Native American themed books, e-Books, videos, music, and more by searching our catalog using the search term, “Native American.”  Search for “Indigenous American” content and your will find even more.

Library databases are another major source of information about Native Americans and this year we are introducing the newly added Indigenous Life in America database.

What is Indigenous Life in America? It is an easily navigable digital news archive that delivers an expansive overview of the Indigenous experience in the United States, spanning from 1690 to the present day. It features more than 16 million primary source documents from varied sources and presents a multifaceted narrative that highlights the profound influence Native communities have had on shaping the nation’s history.

Where can you find Indigenous Life in America? Indigenous Life in Americacan be found by visiting The Library’s Research webpage and browsing through the alphabetic list of resources. When you find it, just click on its title or its “USE RESOURCE” link to open it. Remember that whenever you are outside of a library, you will also need to enter your library card and PIN.

What does Indigenous Life in America offer? It offers an aggregated news archive covering the experience and impact of Indigenous Americans as recorded by the news media from the late 17^th century to the early 21^st century. Its content is organized by significant time period and event and then further sorted into subcategories covering topics like arts and entertainment, government action, notable people, and more. Since that content is pulled from so many varied new sources, Indigenous Life in America offers balanced coverage and varied viewpoints.

How can you search Indigenous Life in America? You can perform a keyword search of your own choosing, or you can browse through Indigenous Life in America’s Suggested Searches (expertly composed search queries created to provide focused access to the search results covering the most significant topics impacting Indigenous Americans.) I personally recommend browsing the Suggested Searches as they provide students and researchers with quick access to the most relevant content.

Want to learn more? View this short video.

This November, please join us in honoring the contributions and impacts of Native American communities by exploring The Library’s broad collection of Native American resources and by examining the interesting articles and reports shared in our newly added Indigenous Life in America. You will not be disappointed!